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  Definitions
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.
 

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
 

AMA
Another Meaningless Acronym. (Couldn't help throwing 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
A fancy consultant's term that refers to how the products (or services) an organization owns are branded. One type of "architecture" is using sub-brands, for example, iMac is a sub-brand of Apple. Another type is a master brand such as Coca-Cola.

Brand Audit
Another expensive consultant's term that means 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 owning organization. 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 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 Strategy / Branding Strategy
Answers the question, how do we uniquely position this to make it the most compelling and appealing to its prospective buyers? This should precede all other marketing, including naming, 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 have contact with and awareness of 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 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 used visually on stationery, marketing materials, packaging, 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.

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

Logo
The logo is the visual representation of a company's or product's brand. Generally, a logo can be a mark or symbol, or a logotype, which is the name in a particular, customized typesetting.

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, etc.

Marketing Strategy
Answers the question, how do we most effectively market this? What combination of messaging, visuals, events, media, 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 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.

SEO / Search Engine Optimization
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
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 with 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'scompetitive 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 also used to describe some unique value a brand, company, product or service offers that its competitors don't. 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.

 

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