Ironically this info came across my desk in relation to our advertising business

Every company, product, and service has an image--a public perception. The image isn't necessarily what the company, product, or service is, but how it is perceived. It lives, or doesn't, in the mind of the public. What creates this image? Everything from packaging to PR to word of mouth.

In contrast, identity--not to be confused with "corporate identity" or "brand identity"--is how the company, product, or service really is, before its message has ever been exported into the marketplace and the consumer's mind and senses.

What is branding, then? Branding is the collective actions--design, packaging, message, color, personality, media--taken by a company, product, or service to create its image. This is where "brand management" comes in. Adroit management can keep a brand, and the company, product, or service to which it applies, alive and well. Mismanagement has been known to kill not just brands but entire corporations as well.