Branding & Marketing Terms

There is a great deal of confusion around the terms used in marketing and branding. Much of it is probably because the more big words some people use, the more they think they can charge. We hope to clarify things a bit here.
 

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AMA

Another Meaningless Acronym. (Had to throw this one in).

Awareness – as in "brand awareness"

The measure of how well people in your target audience are aware of your brand and what it is about.

Brand

First what it is NOT: A brand is not a company logo. The logo is only the visual representation of the brand. What it is, is not as easy to explain. In the end, a brand is the associations people have with the company, product or service that are beyond its real, tangible aspects. It is important to realize that the brand exists in the minds of the marketplace. From the company side, a brand is a unique promise of quality.

Brand Architecture

Ah, jargon! A term that refers to how the brands a company owns are organized. One type of "architecture" uses sub-brands, for example, iMac and iPod are sub-brands of Apple. Another type is a master brand such as Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola does have some sub-brands, such as Diet Coke, however most of the brands the company owns, such as Sprite and Odwalla, are separate master brands themselves.

Brand Audit

More jargon! The term refers to the process of assessing how a brand is perceived, what its strengths and weaknesses are, and how well known and regarded it is. An audit may also extend to a review of all marketing materials, advertising, and corporate identity elements to see how consistent they are and how well they function to represent the desired brand image.                

Brand Equity

The amount of "juice" a brand has built up, i.e., how well known and regarded a brand is. The more equity a brand has, the more valuable it is to the company or organization that owns it. When considering updating a brand's identity, packaging, and marketing materials, it is important to consider how changes will impact its equity.

Brand Essence

The fundamental nature or character of a brand. This reflects the organization that owns the brand, its culture, and how it does business.

Brand Identity

(Not to be confused with brand image). See Corporate Identity.

Brand Image

How a brand is perceived. The impression people have of the brand, and therefore of the corresponding company, product(s) or service(s).                

Brand Roadmap

Helpful jargon! In a large company a brand roadmap is helpful to communicate internally the brand essence, the core brand message, and ways in which they are consistently communicated with the outside world. Some also refer to it as the blueprint for the ongoing marketing and branding activities.

Brand Strategy / Branding Strategy

Answers the question, how do we uniquely position a product or company to make it the most compelling and appealing to its prospective customers? This should precede all other marketing, including naming and corporate identity, as everything should flow from the brand strategy.

Branding

The process of discovering and then communicating the desired brand image. Since, as explained above, the brand lives in the minds of the marketplace, in order for branding work to be successful, it must be consistent with the experiences of the people who are awareness of and have had contact with the brand.                

Business-to-Business

Also "B2B" and "B-to-B." The area of marketing and commerce in which a company sells to other businesses as opposed to individuals.

Business-to-Consumer

Also "B2C" and "B-to-C." The area of marketing and commerce in which a company sells to individuals as opposed to other businesses (natch).

Collateral

An odd but standard term for the various marketing materials – brochures, data sheets, and such – that are used in the course of sales.                

Corporate Identity / Company Identity

The company logo or logotype and any associated type and graphics, and the consistent manner in which they are visually used to represent the brand, on stationery, marketing materials, packaging, website, signage, etc.

Differentiation

How one product or brand is positioned compared to competitors, i.e., what the key differentiating factor(s) one has over the others that makes it more desirable, at least to some portion of the market.

Integrated Marketing Communications

A fancy term for marketing that takes into account all the different media and aspects of communications that should be considered anyway.

Keyword Phrase

Internet searches are seldom done for one word, but more often phrases. These search strings are refered to as keyword phrases. When optimizing a website so it is found in Web searches (SEO), likely keyword phrases are identified, prioritized, then included in the content on the site.

Landing Page

A Web page that is the click-through point for an online advertisement or marketing campaign. Special landing pages are often prepared that focus specifically on the offer or keywords that the Web surfer clicked on.                

Logo / Logotype

The logo is the visual representation of a company's or product's brand. Generally, a logo can be a mark, a symbol, or a logotype. A logotype, also known as a wordmark, is the company or product name in a particular, customized font, spacing, color, etc.

Long-Tail Keyword Phrase

A keyword phrase usually consisting of four or more words.

Marketing

In a list of marketing terms, I guess "marketing" should be included. Marketing is the process of creating awareness of and interest in companies, products, or services. While some in sales says they are "in marketing," the two are distinct functions. Branding, advertising and PR are all elements of marketing.

Marketing Communications

The part of marketing that creates the stuff used to communicate the brand, the value proposition, and the offers, e.g., the ads, the brochures, presentations, Web sites, etc.

Marketing Strategy

Answers the question, how do we most effectively market this? What combination of messaging, media, visuals, advertising, events, etc. do we use to make our product/service/company memorable and desirable? Now write that down.                

Positioning

Perhaps best explained with examples: BMW is "the ultimate driving machine"; Volvo is known as the car for people who are safety-minded. Two very different positionings.

PPC Advertising

Online advertising in which the advertiser pays per click, i.e., each times someone clicks the mouse on their ad and links to the landing page.

Sales Funnel

A term that depicts the relatively large number of people who become aware of a product or service through marketing, narrowing down through the sales or buying process to the people who become actual prospects, then customers. When a funnel graphic is used, it typically shows the steps along the way. The steps vary by product and industry.  

SEO / Search Engine Optimization

So-called "on-site" search engine optimization is the process of writing and coding a Web site so that it will appear – especially place well – in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific terms, or "keywords phrases." SEO is also used to refer to "off-page optimization," which is the process of building incoming links to a Web site.

SERPs

Search Engine Results Pages.

Servicemark

Same thing as a trademark, except specifically for a service organization.

Strategic Branding

(See Brand Strategy). How branding must be done. Branding work done without a great underlying strategy doesn't fly.                

Strategic Marketing

Marketing that follows a defined marketing and branding strategy (how's that for a circular definition?)

SWOT Analysis

A clever acronym that conveys part of the analysis of a company's or product's competitive situation: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Trademark

The legal term for a logo or logotype, i.e., a mark used in trade to identify a product or company.

Value Proposition

Literally, what it is the customer gets for what s/he pays. The term is used to describe some unique value a brand, company, product or service offers that its competitors don't, or at least don't emphasize. Often used interchangeably with differentiation, it is one of the factors to consider when determining a marketing strategy.                

Web 2.0

One of those "cool" terms that is batted around with little definition. It refers to the “second generation” Web, today’s WWW that is more interactive and participatory than the Web used to be. Most people use it to refer to things like social networks such as Facebook, and other sites such as YouTube, where people can post stuff and others can comment. Some people are referring to "Web 3.0" already.

Web 3.0

Even cooler than Web 2.0.

Wordmark

Another term for a logotype.