Do you realize that today marketing and branding companies go hand in hand and are inextricably linked forever more? Every major marketing group has files full of case studies to back this statement up, and we can attest to this.

In the past a business or company had “brand people” and “PR people”. The branding folks were typically creative-types with visual or graphics skills combined with great communication, written and oral skill. The PR people had similar attributes yet historically they would often function separately as two distinct areas under “marketing.” In some companies, these groups didn’t even interact.

The Inter-functionality of Marketing and Branding

Today we better understand that all marketing and branding companies have functions that are completely interconnected, and the case is never more apparent when it comes to marketing and branding.

These functions no longer operate as though they are parallel. Recent market surveys have discovered that in fact, these two disciplines often act as catalysts, or at the very least chain reactions– to every area of marketing.

Many things fall beneath the marketing umbrella today– It is truly staggering. Besides the tools that have been around forever– like the reliable press release– you’ve also got a list of newer things such as social media, reviews, and blogging that not only reach into the marketing area, but also affect your reputation management.

Anytime you are running a small business– reputation management can make or break that business. All it takes is a single bad review on Yelp and suddenly you have some serious image control on your hands.

Branding and brand management is very closely tied to reputation management. This can also can be proactive by it’s nature. Branding is a term, a design, a symbol or any feature that identifies a seller’s goods or services as separate and distinct from all the other sellers.

Marketing and Branding Companies: Effective Approaches

This also includes messaging because it helps to establish specific perceptions of you for your audience. One example is the Hertz rental car company. Hertz maintains a completely different perception to consumers than does Enterprise car rentals.

To me at least, Hertz stands for premium service with their Gold counter– while Enterprise takes a stand for convenience ie; “we’ll pick you up.” Marketing and messaging has helped deliver these connotations to me and they can also elevate a brand by providing the necessary communications through various avenues.

These messages are just a few of the things that deliver information about how a product or service is distinct from others. In this way, marketing can very much be tied to branding.

Branding can impact marketing as well. Having the right brand message will accelerate or inhibit public communications efforts. If you have the wrong  message for your business, product or service, or if you have a brand communication that doesn’t actually add up to who you really are–public relations will be almost impossible to accomplish effectively.

Rent-A-Wreck won’t be coming out next week claiming to have better premium car selections than Hertz. Branding and marketing efforts would be laughed at and no amount of marketing will change that perception.

Marketing and branding– largely because of today’s technology– have been linked together. Think about how branding, event marketing, direct marketing, social media, email, and everything else fits perfectly together. Anytime someone posts positive comments over Facebook about your business, it impacts your marketing. It aids your branding. It creates direct-marketing and viral marketing opportunities. It builds customer lists. The list goes on.

Anytime businesses think about or understand the inter-connections happening in marketing today– versus just five years ago, the better off they will be.