WHAT IS A BRAND?
“A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these that identifies the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and differentiates them from the competition”.
Kotler et al. (1999).
Brands are a fusion of three elements: words, logo and associations.
- Words
- Symbol – image-logo
- Associations
The image of the brand that is developed and uniquely meaningful to each individual member of its targeted audience. The brand identity that the brand manager wants to portray.
A brand is a set of associations that a person makes with a product. These associations may be intentional – that is, they may be actively promoted via marketing and corporate identity – or they may be outside the company’s control. For example, a poor press review for a new product may harm the product manufacturer’s overall brand by placing negative associations in people’s minds.
To illustrate the idea, let’s take the best-known product – or brand – in the world – Coca-Cola.
Although essentially just a soft drinks product, Coca-Cola the drink is eclipsed by the sheer might of Coca-Cola the brand. This phenomenon is best summed up by the following quote from a Coca-Cola executive:
If Coca-Cola were to lose all of its product-related assets in a disaster, the company would survive. By contrast, if all consumers were to have a sudden lapse of memory and forget everything related to Coca-Cola, the company would go out of business.
‘A brand is a sellers promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits and services consistent to the buyers”.
Kotler (2001)
SO THAT DEFIES A BRAND BUT WHAT IS BRANDING EXACTLY?
If a brand results from a logo, words and a set of associations and perceptions in people’s minds, then branding is an attempt to harness, generate, influence and control these associations to help the business perform better. Any brand can benefit enormously by creating a brand that presents the company as distinctive, trusted, exciting, reliable, and so on. A brand, its reputation and your own personal experience of it, so creating a good customer experience is the essence of good branding. By experience we mean any point at which contact is made between the brand and a potential customer at every point. By controlling the touch points you can ensure that all customers have a good brand experience. A touchpoint is simply a contact point between the brand and the consumer.
- A brand is a promise, you know what you’re going to get with a well-branded product or service.
- A brand is a set of beliefs, values and perceptions that exist in the mind of your stakeholders about the organisation.
- A brand is also a combination of its logo and corporate identity. This includes it’s strapline, typeface, design, colours, personality, price, services etc.
- A brand is also a bundle of attributes.
- A brand is a financial asset.
- A brand is a storehouse of trust and reputation.
- A brand is about loyal experience.
- Buying a certain brand says something about the person who buys it.
A BRAND SHOULD BE:
- Recognisable
- Memorable
- Distinctive
- Viewed favourably
- Preferred over others so brand loyalty is achieved
WHY DOES MY BUSINESS NEED A BRAND?
- Branding will help you stand out from your competitors.
- Add value.
- Spread the message, slogan, strap-lines.
- Give the business a voice.
- Engage with customers.
ADDING VALUE
On the whole consumers are generally willing to pay more for a branded product than something that is not. A brand can be extended through a whole range of offers too.
CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS
Creating a connection with people is important for any organisation and a brand can embody attributes which consumers will feel drawn to.
DEFINING YOUR BRAND
If you are thinking of rebranding or launching a new company, product or services, or if you want to assess where your brand stands at the present time, there are a few elements to consider below:
The big idea – what lies at the heart of your company?
Values – what do you believe in?
Vision – where are you going?
Personality – how do you want to come across?
You should ask these types of questions:
- How can you stand out?
- What is your offer?
- What makes you different?
- What is your personality?
- What do consumers want or need?
- Is there a gap in the market?
BRAND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
Once your encompassing brand ‘promise’ is in place, you need to consider how you will communicate it and then how you will manage and develop it over time.
GETTING YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS
STORYTELLING
An established technique in branding a business is to tell its story through communication elements, such as corporate identity, packaging, stationary, marketing materials and so on.
CREDIBILITY
The credibility of your brand’s offer must also be solid. With it own tome of voice, personality and visual identity.
STREETS MARKETING AGENCY CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR BRANDING PROJECTS. CONTACT STRETS MARKETING CALL 0044 (0)1733 243235 OR EMAIL maddie@streetsmarketing.co.uk.
