What is a Brand??

First of all, what is a brand?

People have different opinions about what brand is. Try asking few marketing enthusiasts about "What is a Brand??". I am sure not only would they be surprised at your question, the answers to those (if they give any :P) would be as random as you can think them to be.

So lets us understand what few of the learned men in the world have to say about it.

• To start with...Wikipedia :)
  
  A brand is a name or a trademark connected with a product or a producer.
  As simple as that. But as we discuss ahead we will see that Brand Name itself is one of the Brand Components. So the definition is a bit hazy, i would say, as according to this definition Brand itself is a part of Brand Component.
• A “brand” is not a thing, a product, a company or an organization. A brand does not exist in the physical world—it is a mental construct. A brand can best be described as the sum total of all human experiences, perceptions and feelings about a particular thing, product or organization. Brands exist in the consciousness—of individuals and of the public.
  
                     —James R. Gregory, “Leveraging the Corporate Brand”

• A brand is not an icon, a slogan, or a mission statement. It is a promise—a promise your company can keep....This is the promise you make and keep in every marketing activity, every action, every corporate decision, every customer interaction.
  
  —Kristin Zhivago, “Business Marketing” 
• A brand is more than just advertising and marketing. It is nothing less than everything anyone thinks when they see your logo or hear your name.
  
  —David F. D’Alessandro, CEO of John Hancock and author of “Brand Warfare: 10 Rules for Building the Killer Brand”

The above definitions must have given you an idea of what brand really is. It is what exists in the eyes or rather the mind of the beholder. On a lighter note it is nothing but everything.