Branding is one of the most important aspects of marketing in our time. If a company wants to create something great in its field, it is not enough to simply create a great product. This by itself is not going to make it popular among the general public. The creation of a great product or a company by itself is not going to generate enough curiosity or knowledge or awareness about the company or its product among its potential buyers. So the principles, ethics and morals followed by the company are not going to convert by themselves into sales and the resultant revenue. Of course, there may be some word-of -mouth publicity that can take an occasional company or a product to great heights. But this is more of an exception than a common occurrence. How does a company, product or person build itself as a brand?
Catching the attention of the general public is the key to this. This is why big businesses always advertise their names prominently at events that attract the viewership of millions of people like Nascar, Wimbledon, NBA, NFL etc. As millions of people watch these games, they see the advertisements in the back ground. Over a period of time, the name becomes somewhat familiar in the customer's mind.
Over a long term basis this can convert into a sale. When does this happen? The customer can be in a mall, department store, grocery store, supermarket, convenience store or a gas station looking for a particular product. When a few brands are available, the customer is more likely to choose a product with a familiar name. This is where branding can works its magic. People who are not sure about choosing a product can be swayed by the branding that has been performed over a long period of time.
When it comes to the branding of a person, he or she has to stay in the limelight and portray a certain image. If the image is broken, the brand is going to suffer. This has been proven time and again in cases of sporting personalities like Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant. Marketing companies are the people who create a branding concept for a company, product or a person and try to portray that desired image to the general public. Through constant feeding over a long period of time, a brand is created, and it will generate revenue for many years to come.