What is the difference between a Brand and a Trademark?

Are you familiar with Apple? It is a popular technology company worldwide, known for its smart gadgets. But do you know Apple’s brand and trademark? Usually, people confuse the difference between a brand and a trademark and assume the same. For Apple, the brand indicates a magnificent identity related to advanced innovation, user-friendly technology, and top-quality designs. At the same time, the trademark is the legal security that prevents the Apple logo, which is the bitten apple, or other products, or company name from being misused commercially.

Don’t worry. This blog highlights the key difference between brand and trademark and leaves you with a clear concept of brand and trademark. Additionally, you will know the significance of both and how they impact the reputation and growth of a business or a company. Let’s explore the interesting aspects of brand and trademark.

When we find the word “brand,” most individuals assume of a logo, slogan, or other unique identification mark. However, this is just only part of the definition. The term “brand” is a broad concept. It is an abstract marketing concept, that helps people understand and identify a product and stand out against one of its competitors.

A brand is a unique feature that describes the products or services of a company in the marketplace. Usually, it is created through attractive design, packaging, and marketing elements that differentiate the specific product from its competitors. A successful brand is a key factor in adding tremendous value to a company, giving it a huge advantage over others in the same industry.

Following is a common list of the types of brand names –

• A combination of various words 
• Any name that defines the advantage of the product
• The initials of a name or anything 
• Foreign phrases or words in a different language

A brand is a special feature that describes the products or services of a company and it can be a unique logo, tagline, design, or company name. Some popular examples include the TATA Group’s unique logo or the attractive slogan of Amul “Amul Doodh Pita Hai India.” Whenever you see or hear these brands, there is a strong possibility that you will recognize the company and its products or services.

Brands are the visual way of communicating a message that a product is impressive, simple to use, budget-friendly, exclusive, trendy, or more eco-friendly than its competitors. Usually, this is challenging when the product has its affordable options. For example, Jio is a brand name for Reliance Communications. Through impressive marketing and offers, the company convinces customers that Jio is a better choice than the affordable general versions.

Most companies spend huge amounts of time and budget on establishing and maintaining their brands which involves in-depth research and marketing.

The concept of branding emerged first after 2000 B.C.E. when merchants began thinking about how they could sell their goods more effectively. In ancient Babylon, merchants developed product demos to attract customers. Artisans or tradesmen branded or carved symbols on their goods to indicate their origin.

When a company aims to build its public image, first, it must find out its brand identity or how it wishes to be viewed by the public. The aim is to make the brand famous and attractive to the target audience, whether that is single people, families, or senior citizens.

The company may use an individual’s creativity, a design firm, or even logo design software to extract ideas for the visual elements of a brand. A successful brand precisely explains the emotions or messages that the company wants to deliver to customers. These efforts result in building the brand’s existence or brand awareness and its services. 

When a brand is successful in creating positive connections among its target audience, the company is said to have built brand value. Some famous companies with brand value are Apple, TATA, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, and Reebok.

If executed correctly, a brand derives an extraordinary increase in sales for the specific product being sold and also for different products sold by the same company. A good brand builds trust, and, after satisfying with one product, customers tend to try other products of the same brand. This inherent likeliness is known as brand loyalty.

The type of brand used depends upon the individual using it. Here are some of the most common types of brands:

• Product Brands

Launching a new product in the market or supporting an existing one involves designing and maintaining a brand. Branding of a product starts with in-depth market research and recognizing the suitable target audience. Companies may proceed by developing a master brand identity plan for their major goods and other brand products.

• Corporate Brands

One of the most expressive ways for companies to boost their reputation is corporate branding. It magnificently differentiates itself from competitors in its business sector. The corporate brand indicates the mission, target audience, or market and excellently defines the values and purposes of the company. Usually, companies use different taglines, logos, images, designs, and combinations of these as tools to define their brands.

Some of the well-known examples of corporate branding are Google, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and Mastercard. These companies have effectively built up product brands and have managed to use slogans, advertisements, and other tools to establish their names in the market.

• Personal Brands

Social media is an important aspect of recent times and impactfully enables common people to become influencers. Their financial development depends upon their skills to create a brand that attracts a huge audience. Some specific advertisers want to reach those influencers for their advertisements. Personal brands are established through various social media posts, sharing of images and videos, and organizing meetings. 

To gain customer loyalty, branding of your business is one of the essential ways. It can be managed by the business itself, or outsourced some reputed professional marketing firm. But what are the essential elements included in a brand?

A brand includes:

• Registered trademarks
• Website design
• Social media presence
• Content tone
• Packaging
• Company culture
• Storefront design
• Celebrity endorsements
• Reputation
• Unregistered slogans, graphics, and images

Building a brand furnishes numerous benefits to an individual or a corporation.  A company that creates its message related to products can inspire and provoke emotion within its customers, gaining unique customer relationships. The companies depend on these specific customers to help attract o

thers. This helps companies build trust and loyalty which gives them a competitive advantage against the competition.

It also helps companies significantly to launch new products and services in the market. Customers stay loyal to their known and trusted brands, and with which they already have a connection. This connection makes them inclined to when new products are released, and they tend to purchase even if they are expensive.

Although brands and trademarks are often interchangeable and create confusion, thus, it is important to understand what is the difference between a brand and a trademark. Understanding the difference between a brand and a trademark helps customers stay informed and allows them to use both terms precisely. A trademark is a legal way to protect a specific word, symbol, or tagline, while a brand indicates the overall concept and value of a business.

To expand, businesses require a robust basis in both. A trademark facilitates legal protection, prohibiting others from using a unique element. However, a brand is established through advertisements, customer experience, and prestige.

By neglecting the key difference between brand and trademark, businesses are exposed to vulnerability to competitors or experience limited market reach. A robust brand without trademark protection can easily attempt to scam, while a trademark without a robust brand may struggle to connect with customers.

Brand and trademark are closely interrelated and usually used interchangeably, which in reality should not be used. If an individual only focuses on brand building and has no robust, safeguard trademark, other businesses may acquire trademark rights that they are planning to register soon. Similarly, if individuals are only concerned about trademarks and ignore trying efforts for brand building, other businesses will take advantage of standing in the market. 

By knowing the concept of what is the difference between a brand and a trademark and concerning those differences while building up your business, you provide your company a huge chance of being successful.

A trademark is a tool used by a company to distinguish its products or services from others in the market. However, a trademark is a legal name provided to a product or a brand that helps to protect the brand name from fraud and safeguards the originality of its identity. In other words, a trademark is a legal protection for the brand owners that allows them to operate the business without any legal complexity.

Here, some of the important factors are mentioned that explain the difference between brand and trademark well.

Do you know what are other important factors that distinguishes a brand from a trademark? Here is a detailed insights that explain the difference between brand and trademark. Read them to know how they impact the operations of a business.

• The major difference between a brand and a trademark is registration. It is a clear fact that a trademark can be registered while a brand cannot. Always remember, that a brand is a conceptual aspect whereas a trademark is real.

Trademarks have different levels of registration which provides them legal protection –

• Trademarks registered at the state level have protections for products exclusively within the state where it is registered.
• Trademarks registered at the national level have protection for products nationwide. This is considered a robust available protection. In India, trademark registration protects the product at the national level, including all states.

However, a brand is also a real thing and similar to a name or logo, but there is no authentic way to legally protect it and prevent it from being utilized by other businesses.

This is the reason that most brands involve trademarks. Trademark ensures that a brand is safe and no one can use it illegally or connect with your customers, even forged companies use the brand name for their advertisements.

• A brand has a bigger scope than a trademark. Trademark scope is comparatively narrow, which protects specific products only. The scope of a brand includes almost everything a company regulates or shares with the public, such as social media platforms to employee dress codes.

Due to this, a brand has a bigger scope in connection to how it connects and reaches customers as well as what is its purpose. As a trademark gives customers a starting impression of the business, it is commonly related to providing limited information of a business.

A brand is considered a fast-moving object that spreads globally and connects huge customers in a few moments, just like a high-speed internet service.

• A trademark is a tool that helps customers explain brands separately, while a brand is focused on gaining customer loyalty. Or you can consider a trademark to act as source evidence that reveals information to customers about which company is selling a specific product. This information helps customers easily differentiate their trusted brand and also helps in preventing further trademark violations and fraudulent product sales.