Excerpt:
Identity and branding…why worry?
Whether we want to be or not, we are a brand. We’re out there—and our members and others are continually forming opinions about us. Those opinions will be positive, negative or ambiguous. We need to participate actively in influencing those opinions.
We can choose to be either visible or invisible. We can either ensure we get credit for the things we do, or we can do good things and risk getting no credit for them. We can work to be either understood or chance being misunderstood. We can become perceived as either a good brand or a bad brand; a clear brand or a confusing brand; a helpful brand or an irritating brand; a responsible brand or an irresponsible brand. It’s up to us.

Is our logo our brand?
Our logo is a thing—it identifies us on objects and in environments. In and of itself, it doesn’t say a whole lot about the AIGA or graphic design. As beautiful or unique as any logo may be, it remains essentially inanimate. Without being placed onto or into something, it has very little meaning.
Branding starts when the identifier is placed into an environment. (…)

Source:
> AIGA - Identity Guidelines [PDF]
> AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)