Brand

According to Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap, a brand is "a person's gut feeling about a product, service or organisation" — not the logo and not the name, which are only its carriers. Put more humanly: a brand draws you into a story without words, in which you, the viewer, are the hero you have always wanted to be, and the brand is your magic weapon. The thing that makes you special, different and strong. Whether you are a founder or a customer, a brand unites everyone around shared values, goals and promises. Brand identity can speed up that cohesion or break it to pieces. What it cannot do is make up for a business that offers no real value in its audience's eyes.

Related terms: Branding, Brand strategy, Brand identity.