It is irksome when professionals misuse terms related to their respective profession. Part of being a professional involves the ability to communicate well. The foundation of good communication is agreeing on the definitions of words. A graphic design colleague mention they were hired for a “rebranding” job. I knew the job in question was an identity job not a rebrand. When I ask her about it she said they were the basically same thing. They are certainly related but they define different areas of activity. Of the words that are misused, Brand and rebranding are the biggest offenders but other related words, logo, identity, reputation and advertising all have plastic usage as well.
My original thought was to highlight how these words are misused, and to provide some insight into how they can be clearly defined to foster better communication. After a bit of research I defenestrated that thought. Everyone and their sister has an opinion what these words mean and how they should be used. Even armed with good, workable definitions it seems a Sisyphean task to get others on board with common usage at this late stage. What was intended as a focused essay will now meander.
My advice when you encounter someone using these words, regardless if they are a professional or layperson is to assume you are not sharing the same definition. Keep this assumption to yourself and ask relevant follow up questions to tease out what they mean. For example, if someone mentions they want need to “rebrand” a thing, a good follow up question might be “what is your biggest concern regarding the current brand?” The answers will often betray the truth.
Despite the realization that they will not be used, I can’t help but offer my own ideas on what the definitions might be. These are based on my thoughts and experiences and do not necessarily reflect dictionary definitions.
A logotype, shortened to logo, is a symbol. It is a “mark” or a “bug” in design vernacular, that is used by a company or individual to identify themselves and distinguish them from others. A logo is not a brand, neither is it an identity. A logo is discrete, generally relatively simple, able to scaled, and transferable to multiple applications. A logo may contain the name of the company, but does not usually contain any other supporting type. A logo alone cant do all the work it needs help.
An identity, sometimes visual identity, is the collection of materials, usually visual, that represent that same company. These items may include all the things customers may interact with; signage, forms, advertisements, business cards, logos, color schemes, fabrics, et al. It is the sum of these materials that allow an audience to identify a business. An identity is used to develop a brand.
A brand is concerned with collective ideas and feelings of the public that are developed over time. Brands are customer centered. A brand is what people think about when they think about specific products, product lines or services. A brand is earned and developed, it is emotional and psychological. You cannot rebrand, per se. You can endeavor to alter your brand, but brute force alone cannot change what an audience thinks and feels.
Reputation and brand seem similar and may overlap a bit, but describe different domains and attitudes. Where brand is customer centered, reputation is company centered. A reputation encompasses the public behavior of a company. Reputation includes things like how a company treats their employees, how they interact with the community, the environment and charitable contributions they make. Nike is a reasonable example. Nike can have a negative reputation for it’s manufacturing practices, while at the same time a positive brand impression for it’s shoes. A reputation is more susceptible to brute force. It is easy to behave differently.
A quick note on advertising. Advertising and branding may be conflated as they share many aspects, but they vary in scope. Branding is concerned with the big picture and focuses on long term strategy. Advertising is in support of a brand and fulfills a shorter term goal.
As I argued at the start, branding and rebranding are often misused. Now that I have established working definition for brand we can address an obnoxious subset of those errors; personal branding. As a person you have a reputation, I find it a misnomer to consider oneself a “brand.” Even if consider many famous people, they are not actually brands. In the “I am a brand” argument who is your “audience”? Saturation is necessary for a brand, a collective feeling and impression. How much saturation can an individual hope to achieve? If we all indeed have a personal brand, then we are using brand when mean reputation.
If you need help with branding what should you do? Graphic designers are professional logo and identity creators. Branding does not always fall under their purview. Check with your designer before assuming they have the training, resources and skills to accomplish what you want. In some instances a branding professional may better suit your needs.