Branding vs. Marketing: How to Promote Your Company
No matter your business, no matter its size, you have to brand and market yourself to target audiences. But when it comes to branding vs. marketing, it can be challenging to know which tactic suits your business best.
Whether you’re promoting products and services or your organization’s mission and values, branding and marketing play a huge role. So what is the difference between branding and marketing? To find out which strategy you should take, let’s explore each one, discover how they can benefit your business and how they can even work together.
Take a look at Smartpress’ array of business essentials your biz needs.
What is Branding?
Branding consists of anything that identifies your business, company or organization. Right away, you might think of logos and color schemes or even an overall message. In terms of marketing vs. branding, the goal of branding is to distinguish your business from your competitors. The most obvious way to do that is with visuals that are recognizable to both your target audience and the wider general public.
Printed Branding Examples
Print and branding go hand-in-hand, and one difference between branding and marketing is what those printed materials are. For branding, effective printed assets are things like business cards and stickers.
Business cards are a perfect chance to showcase your branded colors and logos as you network. Custom stickers give you another opportunity to present your brand and create a cohesive brand identity across printed assets. We like these other print products for branding, too:
See how one of our clients infuses fine art into his print branding.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is any advertisement and promotion for your products, services and business as a whole. A simple way to differentiate branding and marketing is to think of marketing as the buying and selling side of things, aka the money. (Cha-ching!)
Marketing includes any strategies you implement to specifically generate sales and communicate value, from content on your website and social media profiles to messaging on printed assets and even public relations. And that goes for all audiences, from targeted customers to other businesses and potential partners.
Printed Marketing Examples
Just like branding, your marketing plan is more effective when printed materials are incorporated. (And be sure to add QR codes on them!) When it comes to branding vs. marketing, messaging is the key differentiator. Print marketing assets are ideal for communicating specific product benefits or promo offers that result in engagement and sales – it’s all about the ROI, baby.
Whether you’re promoting products, services or events, these print assets work really well:
Want some postcard marketing inspo? Check out our complete guide.
What is the Difference Between Marketing & Branding?
The difference between marketing and branding? It’s all about intent. Is your printed piece or digital content geared toward identifying your brand? Then you’re in brand land. Does it have persuasive messaging designed to result in sales? Then you’re in marketing territory. It’s as simple as that.
Take a peek at how a Smartpress’ client branded her biz with print.
How Do Branding & Marketing Work Together?
As any business owner will tell you, you need both marketing and branding if you want your company or organization to succeed. It’s not a question of branding or marketing. They influence each other and are most effective when utilized together.
For customers, clients and potential partners, branding is what makes them decide how they feel about your business and it determines their loyalty to it. How they feel about your company, in turn, results in how much and how often they spend with you. When you employ branding and marketing strategies together, you boost your visibility and profitability, which is the whole point(ibility).
Print Your Branding & Marketing Essentials with Smartpress
For businesses, corporations and nonprofits of all kinds, branding and marketing are essential for success. It’s less about branding vs. marketing and more about maximizing your potential with both of them.
One way to do that is by printing your branded and marketing materials with Smartpress. You’ve answered the what is the difference between marketing and branding question, and now comes the fun part – designing them both! Choose from our wide selection of business essentials and marketing essentials, and then upload your print-ready files today.
