Branding is overrated

We are obsessed with branding, rather than the critical art of brand building. However, this subtle difference in terminology has a huge impact on our business.



We are obsessed with branding, rather than the critical art of brand building. However, this subtle difference in terminology has a huge impact on our business. Brands matter, we are told, and they do. Those who have real brands will benefit in the coming months and years, and those who do not will be found out. Nonetheless, the opportunity is there to engage in the difficult but rewarding task of brand building. Branding is about identification, naming, signs and symbols. Brand building is concerned with delivering consistent and deliberate value that is reinforced to the customers through marketing communications.
Too many marketers are heavily into the visibility that branding affords, and too few get stuck into the more rewarding activity of building brands by delivering value. Marketers need to step back from our current obsession with communicating product features, and instead lead the brand building process. Future success will be based on compelling propositions, which can only be made by those who are actively engaged in brand building. In short, we need to spend more time building the house and less time painting it.