Are You a Branding Expert?

Study Notes

A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol that identifies the goods and services of one seller and differentiates them from competitors.
A brand's reputation is a significant component of its identity.
Brands save time by eliminating the need to decide which products and services to buy.
The three pillars of branding are marketing, graphic design, and intellectual property.
Brand protection is crucial in decision-making, such as choosing a name.
Brands reflect who we are in our own eyes and contribute to a brand's value.
A brand stands for things and means specific things to its target consumers.
Brands provide consumers with meaning and define people in their own eyes and in the eyes of others.
A business must choose a target customer to serve and position its product or service in a way that enables its target consumers to understand what the business does and who it does it for.
Brand strategy involves deciding what the business wants to be known for and how it aims to win in the market.
Startups should consider what they can realistically aspire to stand for.
Small businesses go through five stages: existence, survival, success, take-off, and maturity.
Brands are developed over time and are like an unwritten contract between the business and the customer.
Early stage businesses need to decide what they want to be known for and choose something they can stand behind long term.
Brand strategy is never a linear activity and involves gaining new insights.
All big brands started out as unknown small businesses.
Startups aspiring to be a brand should manage their business like a brand from the beginning.
It's important to choose a brand name and visual identity for the long term.
Brand strategy is the activity of defining and developing a brand.
What brand strategy means for early-stage businesses differs from established businesses.