What is a brand?

Here are some of my favorite definitions of what a brand is but I hope that you will also add your favorites to the list.

• A brand is the source of a promise to its customers. It promises relevant, differentiated benefits.
• A brand is the personification of an organization and its products or services. It has a personality and character and can be trusted or not.
• A brand resides in the mind of the customer. It is the sum total of all experiences and associations that the customer has with it.
• A brand consists of identity elements that link to associations in the customer’s mind.
• A brand is a gut feeling about an organization and its products and services.
• A brand is a promise consistently made backed by an experience consistently delivered.
• The primary indicator of a brand is the ability to charge a price premium over commodities in the same product/service category.
• A brand indicates the unique source of a product or service.
• The brand is the story behind an organization and its products and services.
• A brand is the identity applied to an organization and it products and services.
• A brand is the value delivered above and beyond the functional value of the product or service (or the book value of an organization).