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A brand is a mental construct that identifies an entity (a business, product, service, organization, or person) as something special. As a mental construct, a brand is intangible; you can’t see, hear, touch, smell, or taste it. But it can have a powerful impact on how people perceive and feel about something, such as an organization, person, or product.

Although a brand itself is intangible, several tangible items contribute to creating a brand, including the following:

 Brand name

 Mission and values (for corporate or individual brands)

 Personality

 Distinctive features (quality, design, value)

 Visual design elements (logo, color, typography, tagline, images, packaging)

 Content (website, blog posts, social media, images, video, white papers)

 Customer experience (location atmosphere, convenience, customer service)

All these elements and others contribute to the perception consumers have of the brand. Just think about one popular brand: Coca-Cola. Its brand name, red-and-white Spencerian script, and unique bottle shape are recognizable everywhere in the world and have been for more than a century. But although the company is built around soft drinks, its marketing focuses on selling happiness and camaraderie and on eliciting a strong emotional response from customers.

Creating a strong emotional bond with customers is the primary purpose of a brand. But a brand also serves other purposes, including the following:

 Differentiating an organization, product, or person from any competitors

 Building trust

 Building loyalty

 Establishing credibility

 Motivating customers to take action (buy a product or service, join a cause, vote for a candidate, watch a video, and so on)

 Building equity or value that can ultimately be sold