Marketing is a multifaceted discipline that involves a variety of strategies and tactics. Among the different approaches, there are three areas that are often confused with each other: branding, performance, and brand forming. I will tell you what they are and what their main differences are.

Which is what: understanding the definitions

Branding is the process of creating and managing a unique brand image in the minds of consumers. It includes the development of a name, logo, slogan, color scheme, as well as the formation of values and mission of the company. Branding is aimed at distinguishing a company from competitors, creating an emotional connection with the consumer and forming audience loyalty.

Examples of branding tools:

commercials that tell the story of the brand;
event sponsorship;
Create unique visuals.

Performance marketing is an approach focused on achieving specific and measurable results. For example, sales, leads, clicks, conversions. The focus is on efficiency and return on investment. Performance marketing includes contextual advertising, targeted advertising on social networks, email marketing, SEO, and other channels that allow you to track the effectiveness of each advertising campaign and optimize it.

Examples of performance marketing tools:

Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns
retargeting;
Promotions with a clear call to action (CTA).

Brandformance marketing is a hybrid approach that combines elements of branding and performance marketing. It seeks to simultaneously strengthen the brand image and achieve specific results.

Examples of brand forming tools:

video ads about the benefits of the product with a call to action;
influencer campaigns to promote your brand and drive purchases.

Focus and goals
Focus and goals are the core of any marketing direction. They determine where the company's efforts are directed, what tasks it solves and what results it plans to achieve.

Branding
Branding is focused on creating and strengthening the company's image. Its goal is to build long-term awareness, loyalty, and recognition of the brand itself, rather than specific products or services. That is, so that the brand is heard by a wide audience, is easily recognizable, and the company's reputation inspires confidence in customers (current and potential).

The main goals of branding:

creating brand awareness and creating a unique image that is easily identifiable;
increasing consumer loyalty and establishing an emotional connection with customers;
maintaining reputation and creating positive perception and trust in the brand.
Performance
The focus of the performance is to achieve immediate and measurable results in the short term.

The main goals of the performance:

increase in conversion — the number of purchases, registrations, or other targeted actions;
cost optimization to achieve maximum ROI (return on investment);
Accurately track and analyze campaign results.
Brand Formation
Brand formation focuses on the harmonious combination of long-term branding goals and short-term performance marketing results.

The main goals of brand forming:

preservation, strengthening and development of the brand;
achieving specific results, increasing sales and conversions;
Leveraging the strengths of both approaches to achieve the best results.

Target audience
The target audience of the marketing approach is those who are potentially interested in the company's products or services and can become its customers.
 
  
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Branding
Branding is aimed at a wide audience. The focus is on creating a positive image and reputation among all consumers, regardless of their current stage in the sales funnel.

However, it is important to understand that even with a wide coverage of the audience, branding should and can be personalized. Each audience segment has its own unique needs and expectations. A brand must be able to tailor its messaging to each of these groups.

Performance
The target audience of the performance is specific segments that are closer to the end of the sales funnel. These can be users who have already shown interest in the product or service.

The audience for performance campaigns is carefully segmented according to various criteria. For example, website behavior, demographics, purchase history. This allows you to create the most personalized advertising messages.

Brand Formation
Brand formation combines approaches to a wide and narrow audience. The strategies are aimed at both creating long-term brand awareness among a wide audience and attracting specific segments that are ready to make purchases.

By combining elements of branding and performance marketing, companies can attract new audiences and increase sales among current customers.
Approaches, methods and tools
Each marketing area uses its own approaches. The choice of specific methods and tools depends on many factors – target audience, budget, type of product or service, market.

Branding
Branding is characterized by a creative and emotional approach. This determines the choice of methods and tools, which include:

visual identity — creation of logos, corporate identity, colors; 
content marketing – blog posts, social networks, videos;
PR and communications – interaction with the media, participation in events, sponsorship;
SMM — managing brand pages on social networks, creating and publishing content, interacting with the audience to increase engagement and loyalty.

Performance
The performance is dominated by an analytical approach and the accuracy of campaign settings. Therefore, such methods and tools as the following are used here:

digital advertising – contextual advertising, targeting, remarketing;
SEO – website optimization to improve visibility in search engines and attract organic traffic;
SEM — paid advertising management;
Analytics and Optimization – Use web analytics tools to measure and optimize campaigns.
Email marketing — personalized email newsletters to stimulate user actions;
Affiliate marketing is the attraction of partners who will promote a company's products or services for a reward for each conversion.
Brand Formation
In brand forming, a creative approach is combined with an analytical one. Therefore, they combine methods and tools that are used in branding and performance. In particular, these are:

Creative advertising campaigns — videos and banners that tell the story of the brand and at the same time include a call to action; 
Content marketing is the creation and distribution of content that engages audiences and drives purchases at the same time.
social media – distribution of content that promotes brand awareness and stimulates interaction;
collaboration with influencers – campaigns with bloggers who can promote the brand by combining personal influence and a call to action;
SEO – creating content that improves search engine rankings, increases brand awareness, and leads to conversions;
Targeted advertising: Customize ads based on user behavior, interests, and demographics.
retargeting — showing ads to users who have already interacted with the brand to increase the likelihood of conversion;
Analytics and optimization – Use data and analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns in terms of branding and performance.
Metrics to measure performance
Marketing metrics are quantitative metrics that allow you to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and actions. They help you understand how well your goals are being achieved and what areas need improvement.

Branding
Qualitative indicators that are used in branding do not always directly lead to immediate sales. However, achieving positive results contributes to the long-term value of the brand.

The following metrics are used to measure the success of branding campaigns:

brand awareness – surveys, consumer awareness research about the brand;
customer loyalty – loyalty index (NPS), repeat purchases, customer reviews;
image and reputation – analysis of mentions in the media and social networks, assessment of brand perception.

Performance
Performance marketing uses quantitative indicators that are based on data and analytics.

Here they measure metrics such as:

conversions — the number of completed target actions (purchases, registrations);
ROI is a return on investment, a cost efficiency indicator;
CPA and CPL are the cost per customer or lead.
Brand Formation
Brand formation uses combined metrics that evaluate both image and performance indicators. This is:

Brand Lift — changing the perception of the brand before and after the campaign;
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the long-term value of the customer;
Cumulative conversions and sales growth – Measure the impact of campaigns on overall business results.
Strategies and Time Perspectives
Marketing strategies are comprehensive action plans that should help achieve certain goals in the long run. In fact, the strategy contains all the data on how the company will interact with its target audience, what tools and channels it will use, and what results are expected.

Time perspectives in marketing are associated with the horizon of planning and implementing strategies. They can be both short-term (a few months) and long-term (several years).

Branding
Branding is focused on the long term. Strategies are developed for years to come in order to gradually strengthen the image and reputation of the brand.

Branding strategies include:

choosing the right audience;
creating compelling brand stories;
the use of brand values to form an image;
participation in events that do not have a direct purpose of sale.
Performance
Performance uses short-term campaigns that are aimed at achieving quick results.

Performance strategies include actions such as:

creation and optimization of advertising campaigns;
optimization of landing pages;
conducting A/B tests to determine the effective elements of advertising campaigns;
Collaborate with partners and leverage their resources to increase conversions
stimulating repeat purchases and increasing customer loyalty through various bonuses and offers.

Brand Formation
Brand formation combines immediate and long-lasting results.

Brand strategies involve actions such as:

dividing audiences and using different approaches to each group;
combining image and performance events to create a synergistic effect;
data analysis to optimize both image and conversion indicators;
quick response to market changes and strategy adjustments;
working with influencers to strengthen the brand image and achieve specific business results at the same time;
Use of various media channels to reach a wide audience and increase brand awareness;
development of loyalty programs that stimulate repeat purchases and strengthen long-term relationships with customers;
Running promotions and events that both increase brand awareness and drive immediate sales.
 

In simple words, branding focuses on creating and strengthening a brand image in the long run. Performance marketing is focused on achieving specific and measurable results in the short term. Brand Formation combines both approaches, creating synergies to achieve better results – both in the short and long term.

Understanding the differences between branding, performance, and brand formation helps companies allocate resources efficiently and achieve their goals. And the use of the right strategies, tools, and metrics in each of these areas allows brands to remain competitive and successfully develop in the market.
Summary table of differences between branding, performance and brand formation