A brand may never have the ownership over its category like Coke does, but branding is the signpost that leads consumers to products and services. And with proper care, branding builds and continues a customer relationship throughout the years to come. Although the advertising messages a consumer views are visual, it's the invisible that gives a brand its edge. The backbone of a successful campaign or effective communication is based on a single coherent brand message.

Branding is created from a process of paring down complexities into a single statement of intent. A brand's statement must be crisp and clear to drive through the clutter, not only on the street, but in people's minds. There's no mistaking a powerful brand in advertising and marketing; its very logo alerts the consumer instantly to what the brand is about. Branding identification carries an important message to the consumer: what a product or service means in relation to them. The more meaningful the message, the more successful the brand. If a brand stands for nothing, it means nothing to the person in the street.

It's the responsibility of branding to match the ideals of the target market to the brand offering. A brand can't be all things to all people: a well-defined brand strategy communicates to whom is most likely going to respond to it. If you try to be everything to everyone, your message loses its crispness, and so, its power.

Companies lose market position because they don't move with the times. Culture is forever changing and affects people's daily lives: the unpredictable shift in consumer trends, or the fast pace of changing technology. A brand strategy is ongoing: it re-evaluates the brand's strengths and weaknesses in relation to the market and its culture.

A brand of longevity is about its cultural relevance. A successful brand is consistent in its message, but changeable to global happenings by its organically geared nature. If there's no awareness of the culture in which you sell, competition arises fast, and if well-prepared, a competitor can dominate an industry at any time.

A successful brand has a passionate ethos behind it. Some brands even shift away from the product itself and just leave the ethos behind. For example: The Body Shop would not be as successful as it is today, if it didn't advocate for humanitarian causes. Humanitarian brands are different to brands with human qualities. Apple stands for individuality. Its human qualities are expressed in the product's design that appeals to human needs like ease of use; and to human senses like touch, feel, and see. If a Mac computer looked and functioned the same as a PC, it would have no identity; and price would be the only qualifier. It's the brand identity or personality that communicates the brand's ethos. When the consumer identifies with the personality of the brand, they feel proud of the association. The most successful brands are the people's choice.

 A strong competitor makes it easier for a brand to position its product or service as different to their opponent's; and this gives a brand the spark it needs to pale the competitor in comparison. Branding is the one element that differentiates one product against another. This is why big brand names purposely position themselves in second place instead of going head-to-head with a powerful leader like Pepsi did with Coke, like Apple did with IBM. It takes courage, strong ideas, and a vision for the future. A brand needs time to build - it grows from a well-thought out strategy focused on long term outcomes, not quick fixes. For instance, Nokia invested heavily in building and maintaining their brand worldwide. Their aim was to differentiate their brand from their rivals. And they succeeded by advertising the human-like features of their products with simple messages: 'Talk to me,' 'Hold me,' and 'I'm with you.'