I have worked with many groups recently that have problems comprehending what a brand is. Here is a simple attempt to help
As I tell others I don’t expect people to need to understand the ins and outs of branding. Same as I don’t expect someone to know how to make sausage. I just expect them to consume it.
A brand is how people perceive you. Similar to the idea of focusing on user experience is about the user. We need to focus on the user here the brand is not us pushing out our message but how our messages on aggregate are received.
Here are some slides that I used to present about brand to a leadership group on campus.