Are we confusing "Branding" with brand?

Over the last 100 years or so, a kind of religious faith has emerged in business: the cult of Branding. Adherents to this faith believe that a brilliant logo, a compelling slogan and just the right name will build growth, margin and customer loyalty.

But does the "Branding" create a brand? Or is it the company and its customers?

Do slogans and advertisements persuade a market - or do they confirm what the market already knows?

The Priests of the "Branding" faith, (also known as brand consultants, advertising execs. and Chief Marketing Officers) will frequently point to successful companies that posses powerful brands that are valued or even loved by millions of people all over the world. The "priests" will then promise that if you follow them - if you change the look and feel of your name and logo, if you use a certain color, or a certain design template, a slogan, a communications framework or a set of talking points - then you too can have a powerful brand.

And so, the faithful go to these priests of branding - they give them dollars and time, they allow the priests to prod and poke their employees and customers - and then they change their signs, their slogans, their bullet points, brochures, advertisements and business cards.

And then, the priests declare the greatness of the new branding, and this is confirmed by the focus group testimonials, and perhaps even by awards from other priests.

But...with all this great new branding...for all this change...what does a company actually gain?

• sometimes the share price climbs a bit, for many investors adhere to the branding faith...but that bump in price will diminish as soon as expectations are not matched by results.
• sometimes employees with branding faith will swell with pride at their new and improved logo...but that will diminish over time, and as the realities of their work set in.
• sometimes a customer or two, curious about all the new words and pictures, will inquire...but unless there's something substantive to back up the changes in words, the customers will lose interest.

So...does "Branding" provide the magic of a powerful brand?

Or...is there another way besides "Branding" to create that magic?

I suspect that modern business has become confused by "Branding" and has missed what a brand actually is, why it is important, and how a company goes about getting one in the first place. The high priests of "Branding" may be right that brand is good - but they might not be really helping companies get there.

Are we confusing "Branding" with brand?