What is branding?
Branding is the creation and communication of a simple, positive image for your product or service. Your brand can be stated overtly (for example, in a name or tagline) or implied throughout your marketing.

Why brand?
Branding helps buyers make complicated decisions. It tells prospects what to expect from you and lets you focus your marketing on a well-defined market. Some examples:
Porsche = fast                         Volvo = safe
Marlboro = rugged                    Virginia Slims = feminine
Los Angeles = glamorous         San Francisco = hip
Calvin Klein = stylish                Wrangler = functional
Men’s Wearhouse = low price   Nordstroms = personal service

What makes branding work?
Successful branding must be accurate and verifiable or your customers and prospects will come to doubt both your brand and your reliability. (If you’re going to call yourself Budget Rent-a-Car, you’d better have low prices.)

It should be something you know your customers care about. (Subway has tapped into the market for healthy fast food, but McDonalds discovered – remember McLean? -- that burger buyers are not that health conscious.)
While your arguments can be complex, your brand itself should be simple
    Subway – Eat fresh (health)
    Avis – We try harder (service)
    Energizer – Still going (longevity)

Branding takes time. (You brand grows in credibility as your performance supports your claims.)

You must be able to defend your brand against attack. (K-mart spent years establishing a "low price" brand image and then lost it when Wal-Mart beat them at their own game.)