A brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.

It’s a brilliant definition and one all marketers should heed.

It highlights two essential principles.

First, that a brand is a perception. And second, that a brand is owned by audiences. Not businesses.

You don’t own it, but you can shape it.

A business’s name, logo and visual presentation. What a business says and how it says it. These create experiences that create an impression.