The concept of branding applies to any individual, organization, product, or service, as long as there is a transaction between human beings. Indeed, branding relies on fundamental principles of psycho-sociology – essentially the way our memory processes, stores, and recalls information. Not to actively manage one’s brand name is therefore the equivalent of putting one’s head in the sand and wishing for the best.
Many law firms, for example, assume that branding would negatively impact their reputation. However, branding should not be confused with television commercials. Whereas relationships and quality work are still fundamental to the success of a law firm, brand management can help a law firm in many ways, including

1. Making clients more loyal to the firm as a whole than to specific professionals within the firm;

2. Communicating a focused message to attract new clients, who increasingly shop around for razor-sharp legal expertise;

3. Retain talent and attract bright new graduates, for whom the reputation of a firm is often an important non-cash factor.

Along the same lines, branding can usefully help David defeat Goliath when an asymmetry of resources makes the battle seemingly one-sided.
In 1981, the mighty IBM Corp launched the IBM Personal Computer -- the smallest IBM computer to date -- at the aggressive introductory price of $1,565. The IBM PC became an immediate success and an industry standard, epitomized as Time magazine's 1982 "Man" of the Year.

Apple Computer needed something radically novel to counter the new IBM PC. Unfortunately, Apple's own new products, the Apple III and Lisa, missed an opportunity to make much of an impact and were received with a cold shoulder. Working with Frog Design, an industrial design firm, Apple decided to wrap its innovative technology into an equally innovative product design that would contrast with the boxy IBM PC. This collaboration gave birth to the original Macintosh, which is now part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

There are branding steps that can have a considerable impact on revenues without the need for big budgets, such as the brand positioning strategy, the naming of the product, the packaging design, the delivery process of a service, the consistency of the brand experience at each contact-point with the customer, to mention a few.