Understanding the Difference between Brand Awareness and Recognition

Brand awareness and brand recognition — while seemingly similar terminology, there are key differences between the two that you need to know before you begin building your offline and online presence. If you want to make the most of your brand recognition strategies, then you need to understand that they aren’t the same thing.

Brand recognition represents exactly what it says — it’s how people and your target audience can recognize your brand. Alongside a memorable business or brand name, a good brand recognition strategy involves developing color schemes, unique logos, visual elements, and even a tone of communication that your customers can quickly associate with your brand.

If deployed in an effective manner, brand recognition strategies can make your brand name synonymous with the service or product you provide. The most successful brands build such a strong connection that their brands become a part of natural language. Popular examples include Google for searching online or Coca Cola for soft drinks.

Separating Brand Awareness from Brand Recognition

Generally, the main focus of brand recognition strategies is to keep the company or product in the eyes and minds of your customers at all times. That translates into creating a consistent visual and communication strategy. You have to make sure that you’re on the right social media platforms, and have a pro-active approach in improving your marketing reach.

While brand recognition is an integral element of brand awareness, the definition of brand awareness is much more encompassing. Brand awareness is everything about building a connection between the brand and the customer. Rather than just knowing what your brand does (recognition), or being able to identify you from your logo, the brand aware customers will immediately know that your product is the best solution for their need.

Brand awareness is about showcasing what makes your company different, and using those comparative advantages to highlight the value of your brand and product. Brand recognition highlights your unique aspects in terms of strategy and image, whereas brand awareness focuses on the added value of your company, encompassing everything that convinces your customers to choose your product over anyone else.

Brand awareness might inspire more loyalty and brand affinity than brand recognition strategies, but you need to address both aspects if you want to create a powerful image for your company.