Brand marketing vs. content marketing: What’s the difference?
I have to admit. The other day, I was chatting with a prospective client, and when they asked me this question, I had to take a minute to really establish my thoughts so I could provide a good answer. The reason I got held up is because I kept thinking in terms of marketing jargon. Words like “lead magnet” and “gated content” that mean NOTHING to people that are from outside the marketing world.
If you found this blog post because you had the same question, your research was probably flooded with tons of marketing jargon, and you might still not be clear on why they’re different.
If you’d like to skip to the end, you’ll miss some great content, but you can find a clear answer to the difference between brand marketing and content marketing in the last paragraph.
But first, I’ll explain what each term means. And because I love to give examples, I’ll give you a brand marketing example and a content marketing example.
What is brand marketing?
Brand marketing is commonly misunderstood as simply flaunting your company’s awesome logo a hundred times and hoping that it lodges in a potential customer’s head, but this is far from the way it’s actually done.
While branding in the past referred to slapping a label or trademark on something, the modern-day definition of branding has evolved. Nowadays, a company’s brand can define anything that stems from their identity, such as who they are, what they do, why they matter, and their reputation.
When done well, brand marketing drives preference for a product or brand over other products or brands.
Brand marketing is not always a popular route for newer companies because it can take time for it to work. Popular landmark companies like Apple and Ford have been around for decades with consistent marketing focusing on their brand.
For example, when you think of Apple, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
I think of simplicity, intuition, beautiful design, and high-quality products. This is a result of being exposed to Apple’s branding strategy for years and years as well as using their products. Apple’s branding strategy focuses on aspects such as lifestyle (think Apple Watch for athletes, AirPods for students, etc.), innovation, design and more.
The simplest way to define brand marketing? It’s a way that a company communicates its brand’s promise to a customer. This includes what they can expect from your products and services and how you’re different from the competitors. Simply put, your brand is what makes you, you.
Examples of brand marketing
Let’s talk about Nike. In my opinion, Nike does a stellar job of brand marketing.
By consistently sticking with their “Just do it.” tagline, they have stood for and continue to stand for empowerment. They reinforce this by sponsoring athletes who inspire the world to be more and do better. They also reinforce this by telling stories of the everyday athlete, like in their “Find Your Greatness” ad, one of my all-time favorite ads.
Nike doesn’t have to talk about the quality of their products because they so clearly brand themselves as the brand that empowers people to “just do it”. Because of their focus on empowerment throughout the years, Nike as a brand means something to people. And having a strong brand means you can drive consumer preference for your product.
Brand marketing works. I’d venture to guess that if you’re in the market for a new pair of running shoes, chances are you’re going to consider Nike.
What is content marketing?
Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Or, in plainer words, the idea behind content marketing is that when you create high quality content about topics that your target market seeks out, they find your content, and discover your brand. So, with content marketing, while you might talk about your brand here and there, if you’re doing it well, you’re talking about lots of other topics and making content that your target audience cares about.
Content marketing can be found in many media, but most commonly on social media, blogs, podcasts, and even films.
Examples of content marketing
To be completely transparent, before I share my favorite example of content marketing, I’d like to point out something that might not seem obvious.
This blog that you’re reading right now is a form of content marketing. Our goal in writing The Grind is to provide quality information and tips to business owners who are looking to grow their business. Should our readers determine that they need additional help, or that they want to outsource marketing, we want them to consider Kafen8. Weekly blogging is part of our own company’s overall content marketing strategy. Being helpful and helping companies grow their business is part of our overall brand strategy.
Back to the fun part. One of my favorite examples of content marketing. While I tend to use B2B examples often when talking about content marketing, I want to use one of my favorite B2C examples.
Have you seen The Lego Movie? Did you think about it as a big, long ad for Lego? Or did you get wrapped up in the story of Emmet, the normal, naive guy who thinks everything is awesome, but quickly finds himself as the hapless leader of a ragtag bunch of Lego characters trying to save the world from an evil tyrant?
I, for one, got wrapped up in the story. I loved that Emmet, the “normal guy”, finds his power in believing in himself, and by believing that he can be a “master builder”, he saves the world. And my son, who was 4 years old when the movie was released, came out of that movie believing he could be a “master builder” too.
To me, that’s great content marketing. Content that entertains and inspires a target audience. (And, that leaves the audience with a great impression of the brand).
And guess what Lego’s brand mission is? It’s to “inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”. So, to me, the Lego movie does a great job of brand marketing, too.
The key difference between brand marketing and content marketing
While they do overlap, there are differences when you consider brand marketing vs. content marketing.
Brand marketing tends to be more interruptive and pushed out to a target audience.
Content marketing pulls in their audience by providing information they’re seeking. Brands with great content marketing get “discovered” when their target audience is seeking information on a specific topic.
Brand marketing pushes their information to their audience, and content marketing pulls their audience in. That’s the key difference between the two.
Content marketing and brand marketing can overlap, just as they do with The Lego Movie. They’re not mutually exclusive, but they’re definitely not the same thing either.
The ideal marketing strategy
Ideally, a good marketing strategy should use a combination of both brand marketing and content marketing. A strong brand foundation is necessary so that you can create content marketing that is truly differentiated and that resonates with your target audience.
If you’re interested in growing your customer base and engaging with customized marketing strategies, feel free to reach out. We’re a Denver content marketing agency that works with clients all over the country.
If you liked this content, the best compliment you can give us is to share our post with someone who might get the same value out of our content. Use the share icons below or share our link. Thank you!
