“Advertising” and “Branding” are two words that many people think are interchangeable. Like “smart” and “intelligent,” or “merry” and “jolly.” But they’re not. They actually mean completely different things.

Advertising is a form of communication. It’s a way of telling the story of your product or service. It’s a television commercial, a billboard, a magazine ad, a Facebook profile. Advertising aims to drive consumer action.  Advertising is a means to an end. And that end is sales.

Branding, on the other hand, is much bigger. Branding requires a deeper connection with your product or service. Branding is what you get when you delve into the essence of a company; it’s the result of countless hours of analyzing, hoping, figuring out, looking at your company’s core. When you create a brand, you have your product or service, your employees, your mission statement, your culture, your customers, your company signage, your employee uniforms, and a host of other esoteric factors. Branding aims to create consumer feelings.

Advertising is concrete; branding is abstract.

And while advertising and branding are two very different parts of a business, they couldn’t exist without each other.

Advertising needs a brand on which to build its ideas. It needs a loyal customer base to grow sales. Branding needs advertising to get the word out about the company’s offerings. Neither exists in a bubble.

Forte Marketing Group is a Birmingham, Alabama-based branding, marketing and advertising firm that helps companies nationwide differentiate their brands. Learn more about us at www.fortemg.com.