Trade Marks VS. Brands

On a flight last week a thought popped in my mind, what is the difference between a Trade Mark and a Brand? I immediately opened my diary and started to make notes, I usually find it easy to gather my thoughts and more often through figures and diagrams. I am a visual thinker and find it easier to see relationships through geometric figures. Anyway without digressing… so what is the relationship between Trade Marks and Brands?

A Trade Mark and a Brand is essentially the same thing! The Brand is the social interaction of a Trade Mark with the consumers and customers depending on which side of the B2-B/C fence the marketer may be sitting. If you have followed my old essays or picked or for that matter any book on Brand Management there is a strong emphasis on the dialog with the consumer. Brand is a negotiation on values, position, attributes and presentation & communication between the Trade Mark and the consumer. The competitive communication & exchange is the execution through the various channels.
 

Trade Marks by themselves have little value, it is the Brand that drives value far exceeding the investment. Although Trade Mark is certainly the tangible portion of the Brand, the Brand delivers value to the Trade Mark.