The link between branding and advertising is very close. In fact, people interchange the term branding and advertising all the time because they are so closely linked. While branding and advertising come together for a specific purpose, they are different, and it’s important to know the differences between the two.
Let’s look at branding and advertising – both very closely linked elements of marketing and why it’s vital that you use both elements in your business.
Branding Explained
The branding of your business is one of the things that you will create or hire someone to create at the very beginning stages of your business. Your “brand” is the look, feel, and complete experience that your customers have with the product or services that you provide. This experience starts with the look and feel of your logo, website, and even the sign on your building or business card.
Think of your brand as the overall big picture of your business. How do you want your customers to feel when they see the colors, the font, the images, or even the words you use in your print advertisements and digital communications? Does it have a modern flair or a country hand-made touch? Are the lines of your website and images clean and straight, or does it flow with the mood and design of your product?
To effectively build your brand, you must first know your audience and what kind of customers you hope to acquire. You want to be different from your closest competitors but recognizable and memorable at the same time. If the main customers that you’re trying to reach are looking for medical equipment and are 80-plus years old, then Instagram probably isn’t where you should concentrate on building your brand. However, if your target audience is in their 20s and looking for trending clothing styles, then this is exactly the place to be.
If you hire a brand agency to assist you with creating a logo and other brand elements, they will help you keep everything. This can include your logo, website, print ads, brochures, business cards, letterhead, social media posts, advertisements, and more. They are all uniform and stick to the brand that you have chosen to use for your business. This brand consistency will come together to give your business an incredibly professional feel. You’ll look put together, and customers will see you know what you’re doing. Building trust with your customers is one of the most important parts of branding.
The brand agency you hire must truly understand your customer base and know you and your desires for your business. Your company’s brand is the identity you want to be known and recognized for. A strong brand is vital to your company’s long-term recognition and success. Don’t overlook this essential part of your business setup.
Advertising Explained
Advertising, also known as ads, are very different from branding. They use the brand look and feel that you have created to advertise specific products or services. Ads are paid and sometimes free (think social media advertising) opportunities to get your message out to potential customers. These ads can be in print form, on the radio, television, on social media sites, online, or even at events that you hold for advertising purposes.
Generally, advertising is creating and spreading the word about what you do or sell. An ad agency that you may hire will create these messages or advertisements by using your brand to create awareness about your company in hopes that it will pique the interest of potential customers.
An advertising strategy will be laid out with your help and input, specific goals will be made, and then the ad agency will produce the ads as well as plan for where each ad will be placed and when. Hiring these kinds of things out is truly a gift to yourself. You are already busy enough handling the rest of the daily business operations to worry about an ad deadline.
The Link Between Branding and Advertising
It can be confusing to realize the difference between each part of the marketing process as the link between branding and advertising is closely related. Simply put, advertising and branding are each part of the bigger marketing process. They all work together to increase sales and improve the name and reputation of your company.
Remember, branding helps bring loyalty from your customers as they learn your logo or symbols and the design, look, and feel that goes with it. Advertising is used to help educate or influence potential customers to buy your product or service. It’s what puts the word out about your company. A huge bonus with advertising is that as the business owner and marketer, you completely control your message as well as to whom, when, and how it gets sent out.
Should You Hire a Branding Agency or Advertising Agency?
Now that you’ve learned the differences between creating a brand and designing an advertisement, which kind of agency should you hire? Do you need branding or advertising more? It all depends on your goals and what your company’s objectives are. If you’re a new business, you need both. If you want people to know who you are and recognize your product, you want to hire a branding agency. If you want to let customers know about a new product, an advertising agency is the way to go.
Make a list of specific goals for your business, and ARYU Advertising can help direct and guide you on how to reach those goals.
The good news is ARYU Advertising can do it all. From strategizing to web design and branding creation and ad planning and execution, we can make things happen quickly and in the most efficient and effective ways. Do you still have questions about the link between branding and advertising? Contact ARYU Advertising to learn more about how we can help you grow your business with both marketing fundamentals today.
