The terms’ Brand identity’ and ‘Brand positioning’ are both critical components needed by a business, when dealing with the consumer market. Brand identity is how a consumer will portray the business, based on the various factors of the brand.
Brand positioning is a concept that affects the mindset of your target consumer. It is practised by the company to make the consumer think their brand in the time of need.
Brand Identity vs Brand Positioning
The main difference between brand identity and brand positioning is that the former aims to create a perception of the brand and place It out for display, while the other creates an idea to make the brand the go-to choice.
Comparison Table Between Brand Identity and Brand Positioning (in Tabular Form)
| Parameters of Comparison | Brand Identity | Brand Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The identity is created to shape the perception of the brand in the consumer’s mind. | Companies use brand positioning to shape the decision process of the consumer and direct them towards the company’s brand. |
| Elements | Few essential elements are logo, tag lines, style consistency, colours, packaging, messaging. | Essential components or elements are target customers, brand personality, brand essence and brand promise. |
| Role in branding | The purpose is to communicate the overall message of the brand and hence promote business goals. | The purpose is to make the brand stand out from the others in the market and look different. |
| Order of implementation | Identity building is always done after the company has positioned itself. | It is the first step that is implemented before any identity building. Here, everything is analyzed. |
| Implementation process | Identity is implemented by – deciding the mission statement, brand personality, brand personality and the company’s belief. | Thorough research of competitors is done. Consumer market needs are analyzed as well. |
What is Brand Identity?
‘Brand identity’ is how a company wishes to be seen one day by the customer market. It is a way to build a brand image, with the help of various elements. It is the soul of the company, its online and offline presence, and how the customer will perceive the brand as a whole.
Building a brand identity requires one to take into consideration the following elements –
- Logo
- Tag lines
- Style Consistency
- Colour pallet
- Targeted messaging
- Business cards
- Web design
All of the above are essential for the brand’s identity because these elements help create an image or they display the idea of the brand to the target customer through visual and auditory stimuli.
The brand should stand out. It must be memorable and flexible in terms of how it looks. The customer must be able to navigate through any interfaces provided easily.
The process of forging an identity comes after the target customer market is analyzed (analyzation/positioning step), and a strategy is in place on what the image should look like in the customer’s mind.
A few key aspects to keep in mind while creating a brand identity –
- Mission statement
- Brand voice
- Brand personality
- The beliefs of the company
What is Brand Positioning?
A company practices brand positioning to analyze the target audience. To build an image, and establish an identity, a company must first take a look at who else is competing in the market.
Once a company has a detailed report of – its competitors, an understanding of consumer benefits, and get a proper consumer insight, it moves onto the next step to find out how it can exploit the differences of the competitors and use it as an advantage. This would help the company position itself apart from the rest of the companies in the market.
The brand must focus on finding a way to embed itself in the consumer’s mind. The consumer market moves at a fast pace, and to help the customer save time, the brand tries to make itself the go-to choice for a specific need. This would help the customer decide faster.
There are a few critical elements for brand positioning –
- Target customers
- Brand personality
- Brand essence
- Brand promise.
Brand positioning is done to get an idea, on how to shape the identity or image of the brand. The company needs to catch the eye of the consumer. And by understanding what the consumer wants, and how the company can deliver the product differently, the brand can succeed.
Main Differences Between Brand Identity and Brand Positioning
- Brand identity is how the company wishes to be perceived in the eyes of the consumer. Brand positioning is how the company makes itself the best option for a specific need.
- Brand identity uses elements such as logos, web design, and colours. Brand positioning uses factors such as target customers, brand personality, brand essence and brand promise.
- Brand identity’s purpose is to promote the message of the company. Brand positioning uses all the analyzed data and helps figure out a plan to stand out.
- Brand identity is done after the company has positioned itself.
- Brand identity is implemented by using the data from positioning and building an image accordingly. Brand positioning is done by researching into the competitors and consumer market.
Conclusion
‘Brand identity’ and ‘Brand positioning’ both are essential processes in the building of a brand. The former deals with helping create an image of the brand itself, and mainly deals with what the brand will look like in the consumer’s mind. The latter shows us how a company can help shape the decision process of a customer and make itself the best viable option for a specific need.
Brand identity is dependent on brand positioning, and the company needs to attain the information on its competitors and consumers to change its image and be able to look different. The aim of brand positioning is mainly to develop a strategy to get into the mindset of the target audience, and it is accompanied by creating a brand identity to execute the plan.
References
- https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=52290
- https://eprints.qut.edu.au/39683/1/c39683.pdf