Brand Image vs Brand Identity -With Examples & Explanation

Branding typically means the process you use to equip your services and products with brand power. In a sense, you’re creating a distinct line between your items and other things on the market. In that context, the terms brand identity and brand image typically get used interchangeably, but they are quite different.

Generally, brand identity focuses on how a brand owner defines the brand. However, brand image will determine the consumer perception of the brand.

Alternatively, you can look at the brand identity as the tagline, slogan, logo, tone, and style. Thereby, the brand image is the basic impression and belief of the potential and existing customers who regard the brand.

As a business owner, you have to focus on both to create customer loyalty. If you have a negative brand image, you’ll likely experience less growth and fewer sales because of it.

Today, you’ll learn the difference between the two.

What Brand Identity Refers To

Brand identity is the way a company portrays itself to customers and how it wishes to be perceived by others. Overall, it’s the face of the company, which reflects the brand’s personality, ideals, ideas, and values. It includes the quality, attributes, features, services, support facilities, and performance that it offers or possesses.

Typically, brand identity is the result of the entire organization and how it manages things to create a product with distinctive characteristics. Likewise, it will determine how the company wants to be recognized by its target audience.

Generally, branding and marketing strategies will help the organization communicate its identity to the people. It focuses on relationships, personality, positioning, and brand vision. Overall, it’s about the operational and intellectual connections within the company that will provide brand recognition, differentiation, and familiarity later.

What Brand Image Refers To

Generally, the term “brand image” is the perception of existing/prospective customers and how they see the company. It focuses on the collection of ideas, beliefs, and impressions customers hold, which are formed from many sources.

Overall, it explains how customers think of the brand and the feeling it gives when someone hears the name.

Creating a strong brand image isn’t a one-day affair. Instead, it must be developed over time through direct customer interactions and promotional campaigns. It’s everything and anything that influences the customer’s perception of the company.

Companies must determine the target audience they want to attract through an appropriate brand strategy. The customers will then create connections with the organization because of their interactions and experiences.

A successful brand image focuses on the visual elements, but it goes much deeper than this.

To create a positive brand image, it’s important to understand how to connect with consumers. Remember that your brand’s image might change depending on your position in the market and could be positive or negative as the years go by.

Brand Identity and Brand Image – Key Differences

Let’s discuss the difference between brand identity and brand image now:

• Brand identity brings together all the components that the company created with the goal of showing the right image in front of the consumer’s eye. However, brand image represents the full impression of the brand or product in consumers’ minds and considers all sources.
• Though you must actively participate to create brand identity, brand image is more passive. In fact, it’s made by the real experience of consuming or using it.
• Generally, brand identity covers the visible elements of a brand, such as its colors, design symbol, name, and logo. However, brand image encompasses brand associations, such as reliability and quality, as well as the visual elements, including the tagline, logo, and more.
• Usually, brand identity will represent the reality of the firm, such as its mission, vision, objectives, and core values. However, brand image will show the consumer’s perception of the brand.
• Traditionally, brand identity will depend on how the company has presented itself in front of the target audience. Alternatively, brand image is solely based on how customers interact with the brand and their experiences.
• Brand identity focuses on looking back and improving things in the coming years. In contrast, brand image is all about looking forward to provide better experiences in the future.

A Few Good Brand Image Examples

To provide these brand image examples, we focused on companies we were familiar with. Then, we read various articles and reviews to learn what customers were talking about. Let’s break things down for you:

1. McDonald’s

McDonald’s is well-known for its inexpensive and fast food. However, people do complain about its poor customer service and unhealthy meal options.

When you look at the website, you see the brand image focuses on quality ingredients, and there’s a nutrition calculator on the site. However, McDonald’s isn’t known for being healthy or high-quality.

Though it does have a bright, fun, and warm brand image, it mostly caters to children. Likewise, the inexpensive meal items and deals are what bring people in. The brand should focus more on those aspects instead of trying to be something it’s not (healthy).

2. Brooklinen

Brooklinen is an online bedding company that has positive customer service, good reviews, and luxurious sheets. It does a great job of highlighting its reviews and demonstrating the quality and excellence of its products.

Though the items are expensive, they’re highly rated to be soft and high-quality. Plus, the image is modern and fun, and clients agree!

3. United Airlines

United Airlines doesn’t have a great brand image. It’s been marred by many scandals. Though it’s known for its business-class seating and roomy spaces, it treats its customers poorly.

The tagline itself mentions friendly skies, but that’s not what most people receive when they fly with United Airlines.

You’ve probably read about airline personnel removing a man from a flight because it received coverage worldwide. However, 10 years earlier, Dave Carroll flew with United Airlines, and his guitar was broken during the baggage-handling process.

Similarly, flight personnel demanded a woman put her pet dog in the overhead bin, which led to its death.

Do we know if United Airlines really treats luggage and customers so poorly? Is it worse than other airlines? That doesn’t matter. The perception is there, and it’s a huge part of the company’s brand image. When you add typical delay times and normal flight cancellation rates, it doesn’t fare well for the airliner.

It’s also important to look at the company’s website. Its brand identity is nowhere on the homepage. You’ll have to visit the “shared purposes and values” tab to learn about it. Then, you see that things don’t align correctly.

The first value listed is connecting people and uniting the world. It talks about helping others share special moments, but how would that affect you as a consumer? If you asked people what they thought of United Airlines, they wouldn’t say, “Oh, they helped me share moments.”

You also see that the airline mentions being the best to customers and employees, but there’s no explanation of why that’s true. Plus, it doesn’t align with its brand image.

Later, you see that United Airlines talks about safety, indicating that it was one of the top 20 safest airlines in the world. This is good information, but most consumers won’t know that. If United was really worried about safety, it would use it in its messaging and make it more of a priority to bring it into its brand image.

How to Find Your Company’s Brand Image

When people have a positive feeling about your brand, they will likely return. Overall, a positive perception of any brand leads to returning customers. This can bring in more revenue and cost less for marketing. The question is: how do you build a more positive brand image? Here are some tips:

• Build Credibility – Nothing will harm your brand’s image more than a broken promise. It’s better to market attainable values than overpromising to one-up your competition. Likewise, credibility is built by showing that you care more about people than profits. Launch campaigns that are relevant to the audience and close to your brand. Show your employees and how you care for them and nurture the workplace culture.
• Respond to Customers – Many companies are tempted to introduce new features. However, if people don’t see the value or need it, you won’t bring in customers. Make sure you’re staying competitive in the market, gather feedback from customers, and learn what they think is important, delivering on those things.
• Provide Great Customer Service – You’re bound to make mistakes, but you have to learn to recover from them. Roughly 80 percent of all customers are willing to forgive bad experiences if the customer service is excellent.

Conclusion – Understanding Brand Image and Brand Identity

Overall, brand identity is how the brand portrays itself to its target audience. However, brand image is how prospective and existing customers perceive and connect with the brand.

You checked out three examples of brand image and identity. While Brooklinen’s image and identity aligned well, McDonald’s was only partially aligned. Just because you tell people about your brand, they won’t always believe it. Therefore, you must communicate effectively to say what your brand stands for.

If you’re having trouble with brand image and identity, Mosaic Media Films can help you. Book a strategy call today to see how video content can benefit you!

FAQs About Brand Image and Brand Identity