The last fifteen years have seen a considerable shift in the way companies and individuals market and brand themselves to the public. With the rise of social media, online advertising, and new age marketing, it is no longer enough for companies to simply have a logo, tagline, and a few television commercials. Now, they are expected to release viral videos, have a strong Facebook presence, and advertisements which win awards. Students looking for careers in marketing and branding are entering into a field which requires creativity, innovation, and discipline. Although a marketing department alone cannot brand a company, the department is the driver behind brainstorming and implementing their company’s image.

What is Marketing and Branding?

There are hundreds of definitions for branding and marketing, but most experts agree that branding is about the emotional connection a company makes with customers and clients, while marketing is the tactics used to make this connection. Branding is far from a new phenomenon. Artists have been marking their clay pots with a personalized signature or “logo” since 1300 B.C. However, in the 1990s and early 2000s, branding moved to a whole new level of significance when everyone from solo photographers to universities, cities, and specific flavors of ice cream implemented new branding campaigns. When branding, a business paints a picture of how it wants other people to see them. For example, REI is the outdoors store, Subaru is a car for snow, and Las Vegas is a party city. The media used to spread this brand image is a company’s marketing techniques. Everything from television commercials to a LinkedIn profile qualifies as marketing. Marketing and branding often go hand in hand. Most marketing agencies today offer branding services as well as advertising, public relations, and more.

Who’s Doing Branding Right?

Every company out there is branding themselves, whether they know it or not. However, most companies see the value in hiring a professional marketer to create the most ideal brand for their company. One of the most effective ways for aspiring marketers and branders to learn about the industry is through example. Here are examples of a few key marketing and branding principles, and companies that implemented these strategies successfully:

• Starbucks – Tell a Story: Before Starbucks, no one would have dreamed of spending over $4.00 on a coffee drink. Today, you can barely walk a block in a metropolitan American city without coming across a Starbucks. The man behind Starbuck’s branding, Stanley Hainsworth, says that branding is about telling a company’s story. Starbuck’s story of reliable coffee drinks in a clean and neighborly shop is one customers love to hear again and again.
• University of Phoenix Online – Put the Customer First: The University of Phoenix Online jumped on the chance to use an online medium, YouTube, to spread the word about their virtual education opportunities with a large library of videos. Each video was directed to a unique prospective student. Branding and marketing is about connecting with the right customers in a way they understand. Phoenix’s YouTube channel is an excellent example of this in action.
• Spring Singapore – Commit to a Vision: Spring Singapore, and interior design firm, used branding to grow from an eight person company to an international entity. Their secret was creating a branding mission and ensuring the head of every department in the company followed this branded vision. A key to branding and marketing success is commitment to the image from everyone in the company.

And of course, students and marketing professionals can learn from other’s mistakes:

• Qwikster – Change without Considering the Customer: Netflix, the movie rental company which did brilliantly well for many years in the 2000s, flubbed when they spun off the dying leg of their business, mailed rental DVDs and games, under the name Qwikster. Slapping a new name on a segment of a company is no way to brand successfully. Branding and marketing takes time. Qwikster was a good idea for Netflix the business, but not for customers. In branding, marketing, and all other aspects of business, the customer should always come first.
• Gap – Using Branding as a “Quick-Fix”: In what most people agreed was an effort to invigorate declining sales, Gap released a new logo 2010. It was met with a serious backlash from social media users. Eventually, they reverted back to the old logo, but not before learning the valuable marketing and branding lesson: A simple logo change doesn’t fix underlying problems. Branding and marketing can only do so much for a failing company. At some point, companies must take a look at what the real problems are, address these issues, and create a branding and marketing plan to match this new and improved version of itself.

The Future of Branding and Marketing

The future of branding and marketing is wide open for creative, inventive, and daring new professionals in the field. Marketing and branding appear to be as important as ever with more CEOs getting involved with their company’s marketing department and consumers having a deeper understanding of how branding affects their purchasing decisions. Graduates looking for a fast-paced and dynamic environment with opportunities for advancement might find the perfect fit in the branding and marketing industries.

Additional Resources

Branding Strategy Insider – Sponsored by the Blake Project, authors and industry experts Derrick Daye and Brad VanAuken offer high quality marketing and branding insight in this regularly updated blog.

Brand Insight Blog – Brand strategist John Ferguson offers his insight into the marketing and branding industry, which he has been an active part of for over 25 years.

Mashable – Mashable is a forerunner in social media, online marketing, and branding news.

Brand and Market – Since 2006, this branding and marketing blog has been offering practical marketing advice to company owners, professionals, and the marketing community.

Seth Godin – Seth Godin, well-known for his marketing books including Free Prize Inside and many more, offers intelligence into marketing and branding on his blog.