Brand marketing. You’ve probably heard the term thrown around by entrepreneurs and marketers alike. But what is brand marketing, really? It’s more than just advertising a product or service—it’s about shaping how people perceive your business as a whole.
When you define brand marketing, you’re talking about a strategy that builds recognition, trust and emotional connection with customers. Instead of focusing on a single product, brand marketing techniques create a bigger picture—your story, values and identity—so customers remember and choose you over competitors.
In this article, we’ll explore top global brands that have mastered brand marketing, break down key brand marketing techniques and share actionable insights to help you craft a strategy that works for your business. Plus, we’ll cover common mistakes to avoid to ensure long-term success.
- Brand marketing builds recognition, trust and emotional connection by promoting your business as a whole rather than just individual products.
- Branding defines your identity and values, while marketing promotes your offerings through various channels.
- Brand marketing works best when it fosters long-term relationships, builds recognition and stays consistent across all platforms.
- To build a strong brand marketing strategy, define your purpose, research your audience, craft a compelling story, analyze competitors and establish brand guidelines.
- Avoid inconsistency, neglecting competitor research and short-term thinking to create a lasting, successful brand.
What is brand marketing?
Brand marketing is the practice of promoting a business by building and maintaining a strong, recognizable brand identity. It focuses on creating an emotional connection with customers, increasing brand recognition and fostering long-term loyalty.
Unlike product marketing, which highlights specific offerings, brand marketing emphasizes the overall perception, values and mission of a company.
Brand marketing entails several key elements, including:
- Brand identity: Your brand’s visual and verbal elements of branding, such as logo, typography and messaging, that create recognition.
- Brand story: The narrative that communicates your brand’s mission, values and journey.
- Consistency: Maintaining a uniform presence across all marketing channels, including digital and print.
- Emotional connection: Engaging customers in a way that builds trust and loyalty.
- Differentiation: Positioning your brand uniquely in the market to stand out from competitors.
What’s the difference between branding and marketing, and which comes first?
Good question. It’s important you understand the difference between marketing and branding so you can efficiently use them together. In essence, marketing is how you build awareness of your brand and its products and generate sales. What is branding, then? It’s how you express who your business is for and what it’s all about.
Think of marketing as your business-generating toolkit and branding as your overall approach to reaching your target audience. Branding is one of the primary building blocks of your marketing strategy, so it will always come first. If your brand was KFC, your branding would be the “secret herbs and spices,” and your marketing would be everything you do to get your customers excited to try your chicken, like your TV and radio ads, billboards and social media ads.
No matter what industry you’re in or how large you aim to grow, it’s important to work out who your business is as a brand before you create a marketing plan.
Once you’ve defined how your brand looks, keep it organized in a brand guide.
Brand guide design by Ludibes via 99designs by Vista.
That means clearly identifying your company’s personality. In other words, defining your brand. This means carefully choosing your illustrations, logo, typography and business colors to embody your brand’s values. For example, if you’re a bold brand, you’d likely choose a bright color palette and a punchy copy voice. If you’re a timeless, traditional brand, you’d probably go with more muted colors and a sophisticated font for your website and email template. These design choices are the foundation for your marketing strategy.
When is brand marketing most successful?
For Colgate, effective brand marketing means being the go-to oral health expert.
Via Potion
You’re in it for the long game with brand marketing. It works best when your goal is to create repeat buyers (for instance, when it comes to everyday products) or to connect with buyers making long-term, expensive purchases like vehicles. This is because a clear brand creates recognition and ignites a distinct feeling about it that will stay with your audience forever.
A print ad with strong brand marketing.
Flyer design by L.W Dezigns via 99designs by Vista.
For example, a tourist will know they can trust Colgate toothpaste to keep their teeth clean wherever they are in the world. Colgate has taken a unique approach to its brand marketing over the years, deciding to educate its audience rather than just push products to them. For example, the brand started the Oral Care Center YouTube playlist, which hosts a series of videos about oral hygiene. On its website, the brand also posts articles about oral hygiene, and it also shares important facts about how to care for your teeth in advertisements, particularly across its social media platforms. This brand marketing strategy has helped Colgate to not only sell toothpaste, but to become one of the most trusted oral care brands around the globe.
The more thorough you are in your brand marketing strategy, the greater your likelihood of thriving when you execute those strategies. Investing in a solid brand marketing strategy now will make your future marketing campaigns easier to execute because you’ll have guidelines to follow and past successes to build upon.
Here are three questions every business should answer when putting together their brand marketing strategy:
- Who is your target audience?
- What is your brand’s primary goal?
- How does your brand define success?
Understanding the answers to these simple questions will help define what your objectives should be, how you should talk to your audience and how you’ll measure your success.
Brand marketing communicates where your brand fits into the world.
Logo and brand identity design by Ševarika™ via 99designs by Vista.
Three of the best brand marketing strategies in the business
Apple, McDonald’s and Nike are three brands that almost anybody in the world will recognize. How did they reach this point? Effective brand marketing with thoughtful brand marketing techniques!
Apple’s brand marketing strategy
Apple’s brand marketing strategy is simple. Don’t just create a brand, create a movement. In all of Apple’s marketing efforts, the company doesn’t just sell its newest phone or tablet, it sells a lifestyle. From the crisp white packaging and provocative taglines (“Think Different” being one of the brand’s most famous) to the event-like product launches, Apple’s brand marketing makes people feel like they need Apple products to improve their lives.
Apple’s packaging is more than a brand, it’s part of a movement
via Swedbrandgroup
This brand marketing strategy has created a dedicated fandom. Apple recognizes its fandom’s staying power and, with that in mind, never strays away from its comprehensive brand. Even when its marketing executions change, its clear, modern and innovative brand marketing strategy remains the same.
Apple’s product launches are events that excite the whole world.
Via Financial Times.
Nike’s brand marketing strategy
Nike’s brand marketing strategy involves not just selling a product but selling a story. From its website to its product descriptions to its social media, Nike takes every opportunity to tell a story about the brand’s products, beginning or ideas.
Nike is an expert at telling stories, from their social to their product descriptions. Via Entrepreneur.
Adding a storytelling element to your brand or giving your customers the background of your business story adds a human element to your business and may be a great marketing strategy for you. Remember, your story doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. Simply explaining where you came from and giving your customers something to relate to is far more influential than just selling a product.
Nike’s print ads always do more than sell a product, they tell a story.
Via Business Insider.
McDonald’s brand marketing strategy
According to numerous studies, McDonald’s is one of the most recognized brands worldwide. So, it’s no surprise that its brand marketing strategy relies heavily on brand consistency. Its golden arches are instantly recognized everywhere, from America to India to Australia, and people associate the brand with feeling happy.
When a brand is as big as McDonald’s, even merchandise without the company’s name is instantly recognizable.
Via McDonalds.
How has McDonald’s created such a distinguishable brand? Well, it’s kept its brand identity and product consistent for over 60 years while making thoughtful and on-brand improvements. The logo has remained relatively the same, and the marketing taglines have unrelentingly endorsed the same message: We make you happy. Here are a few ways the company has said it over the years:
- You deserve a break today (1971-1975)
- That’s my McDonald’s (1981)
- Have you had your break today? (1995-1997)
- Smile (2001-2003)
- I’m lovin’ it (present)
When you’re creating a brand marketing strategy, invest in something that has longevity. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you create a new marketing campaign or make a logo. In fact, doing so could create more harm than good because inconsistency and extreme changes will likely confuse and even alienate your audience.
Want to learn how to brand a restaurant? Check out our guide to replicate the success of McDonald’s!
Brand marketing in five simple steps
Brand marketing isn’t reserved for industry giants like Nike, Apple and McDonald’s. Any brand, at any size, can pull it off with carefully chosen brand marketing techniques. Learn how to build your brand by following these five steps:
1. Understand your brand purpose
This ad answers almost all the questions above. It’s a high-tech cap that kills bacteria fast, making health-conscious buyers feel their water is safe when they use it.
Social media ad via Maryia Dziadziulia via 99designs by Vista.
Understanding why your brand exists is core to your brand marketing strategy. Ask yourself these questions to help you nail your brand purpose.
- Who is your target audience?
- Why would they trust you?
- What does your brand make them feel?
- What challenge does your brand solve?
- Who are your competitors?
- What is your brand’s background story? Why was it created in the first place?
- If your brand was a person, who would they be and why?
This first step is where you’ll start defining how your brand will look and feel. This means choosing your brand color palette, typography and imagery. If you’re not already familiar with how to represent your brand persona through visual design choices, take a look at our resources on how to design a logo, logo color meanings, font choices, visual design styles and logo shapes.
2. Research your target market
Understand who your customers are by creating customer personas. A customer persona is a comprehensive picture of your perfect purchaser. It will help you create an emotional connection with your target audience. For example, if you’re selling small budget vehicles, your customer persona might be an 18-25-year-old female university student who’s looking for her first car. When crafting your customer persona, ask yourself questions such as:
- How old is this person?
- Are they married?
- Where do they live?
- What is your job?
- What do they do every day?
- What’s their educational background?
- What was their most recent purchase and where do they like to shop?
- What do they care about?
- What do they need from my product or service?
A clear vision of your ideal customer persona will guide everything from your business name to the art style you choose for your logo. Logo design by Desana via 99designs by Vista.
This billboard tells the story of a city slicker being briefly transported to a tropical paradise by enjoying fruity, delicious wine.
Billboard design by MindArt89 via 99designs by Vista.
3. Define and sell your story
You can sell and tell your brand’s story by creating the right message. The story you craft and sell will connect your brand with your target audience, encourage loyalty and help with brand recall. Take time to really develop an engaging story that has all the same elements as your favorite novel or movie: characters, a conflict and a resolution. After all, brand storytelling is one of the most effective budget-friendly brand strategies for small businesses!
The story doesn’t have to be dramatic; it can be as simple as your grandparents deciding to open a bakery in town 50 years ago and passing the business and their beloved recipe on for generations, then you finding ways to make their iconic cakes and pastries with all organic ingredients, offering the community healthy, delicious baked goods. Capture your market’s attention with a great story, then let them be part of the story by interacting with your brand.
Sometimes, the story is more subtle — like in this logo for a keto bakery.
Logo design by Asaad™ via 99designs by Vista.
If your brand’s weirdness is what sets you apart, don’t be afraid to get weird in your branding.
Logo design by olimpio via 99designs by Vista.
4. Get to know your competitors
Just like getting to know your own audience, it’s equally important to get to know your competitors. Research them, determine how you’re different from them and then focus on this difference in your marketing messaging and the brand marketing techniques you use. For example, if your competitor is known for being the cheapest, you may want to focus on why quality is more important than price in your communications.
5. Create brand guidelines
Once you understand your brand and audience, think about how to connect them in your marketing. To do this, you need to create a brand style guide where you’ll cover your logo design, use color theory for branding, discuss fonts, tone of voice and more.
It will help any designers and marketers you work with tell your brand’s story and deliver your message in the best possible way, as well as ensure brand consistency.
Brand guidelines are an important part of brand marketing.
Brand guide design by Terry Bogard via 99designs by Vista.
Three things to avoid when you’re developing a brand marketing strategy
When you’re developing a brand marketing strategy, make sure you avoid these pitfalls:
1. Not checking out your competitors
Imagine creating a brand marketing strategy and rolling out your messaging in the form of marketing materials, only to realize that your competitor has already done a very similar thing. This happens all too often, and the best and only way to avoid it is to thoroughly research what everyone else in your industry is doing before you get started. Explore your branding market well!
If you’re selling juice, make sure to see what other brands are doing with their packaging.
Product packaging via FreshApple. via 99designs by Vista.
2. Having inconsistent creative output
Having different creative executions each time you go to market with a different piece of communication might seem fun, but it’s actually confusing for your audience and damaging to your brand. For example, if you own a burger chain, you wouldn’t want to push a celebrity endorsement video at the same time as an animated ad about your ingredients. It would get confusing for your audience as they’re trying to recognize your brand, and it would also be more expensive to produce.
The same goes for voice consistency across channels. Whether you’re talking to your audience on social media, via a print ad or in a video, you want to make sure your voice always sounds like your brand. Remember, even if you’ve seen your communications and messaging hundreds of times, your audience hasn’t.
Consistent creative output is key to creating a strong brand marketing strategy.
Instagram post design by Pepper Pack Design via 99designs by Vista.
3. Lacking a long-term vision
Without goals and a brand mission, your branding strategy will not be focused and may lack direction. It’s important to know what you want to achieve in the long term rather than just having short-term goals. An example of a long-term goal might be expanding internationally, bringing new products to market or creating a large social media presence.
Cover everything in the brand guide, even branding needs you don’t yet have.
Brand guide design by Terry Bogard via 99designs by Vista.
At some point, you might want to consider rebranding your small business — and to do that, you need to know how to rebrand. Learn how to do that in our guide!
Good brand marketing is key to a successful business
Remember, whether you try to create a movement like Apple, tell a story like Nike or have great brand recognition like McDonalds, the more thorough you are in your brand marketing, the simpler it will be to create, launch and grow with each of your marketing campaigns.
Product Packaging for Little Rituals with a strong brand marketing strategy.
Product packaging design by JianBranding via 99designs by Vista.
If you’re just starting out or you’re looking to refresh and revive your brand, make a budget-friendly brand strategy for your small business the first thing on your to-do list.
FAQ about brand marketing
What is brand marketing?
Brand marketing is about building recognition and trust for your business by promoting your brand’s identity, values and story—not just individual products or services. It’s what makes people connect with your business beyond the sale.
Why is brand marketing important for small businesses?
It helps small businesses stand out, build customer loyalty and create a lasting reputation. A strong brand makes marketing easier and more effective—people are more likely to buy from a business they recognize and trust.
How do you create a brand marketing strategy?
Start by defining your brand’s purpose, values and target audience. Then, craft a consistent brand identity (logo, colors, messaging) and use marketing channels like social media, content and advertising to share your brand story.
What are some effective brand marketing tactics?
- Storytelling: Make your brand relatable with an authentic narrative.
- Consistent visuals and messaging: Keep branding uniform across platforms.
- Social media engagement: Interact with your audience and build relationships.
- Content marketing: Share valuable blogs, videos and guides.
- Influencer partnerships: Leverage trusted voices in your industry.
How can small businesses measure the success of brand marketing?
Track brand awareness (social media mentions, website traffic), customer engagement (comments, shares, reviews), loyalty (repeat purchases, referrals) and brand equity. Surveys and direct feedback also help gauge brand perception.
