Brand

A brand is a sign of identity, the mark or label which differentiates one product from another. A brand is also a symbol encompassing the key features of a product such as its physical features, its price and its image. A brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services, or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. A brand name is the name of the distinctive product, service, or concept.

According to Sir Anthony Tennant, ‘a brand name is particularly important for functional products which operate in such market sectors as household goods, motor oil and stationery, where rival brand perform the same practical purpose and there is little rather than the name, to distinguish between them’.

The famous advertising copywriter and ad agency founder David Ogilvy's definition of a brand:

“The intangible sum of a product's attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it's advertised”.

American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."

A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image.

A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. For example, Coca Cola is the name of a brand make by a particular company.

Features of Brand

Brands are usually protected from use by others by securing a trademark or service mark from an authorized agency, usually a government agency. Before applying for a trademark or service mark, company need to establish that someone else hasn't already obtained one for their name or company. Once it has learned that no one else is using it, company can begin to use the brand name as a trademark simply by stating it is a trademark (using the “TM “where it first appears in a publication or Web site).

Brands are often expressed in the form of logos, graphic representations of the brand. In computers, a recent example of widespread brand application was the "Intel Inside" label provided to manufacturers that use Intel's microchips.

Use for evaluation: A company's brands and the public's awareness of them are often used as a factor in evaluating a company. Corporations sometimes hire market research firms to study public recognition of brand names as well as attitudes toward the brands.

Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc.

Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect.

Brand Experience: The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The brand experience is a brand's action perceived by a person.

Brand Image: The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product, service or the company(ies) providing them.

Brand Orientation: Orientation of the whole organization towards its brand is called brand orientation.

Brand, according to Paul Stobart, are important to brand owners at three levels.

I. They serve as a focus for consumer loyalties and, therefore, can be developed into assets which generate easy and steady streams of cash flow,

II. A brand serves to capture the promotional investment put into it. According ti him, brands like Pepsi, Marlboro and Kellogg are still benefiting massively from the hude advertising budgets pumped into them in 1950’s and 60’s when media buying are not so expensive.

III. Brands serve as a strategic links between the manufacturer and the consumer, regardless of the middle men.

Branding

Branding is the process of creating and disseminating the brand name. Branding can be applied to the entire corporate identity as well as to individual product and service names.

Branding can be defined as the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

Branding is also a way to build an important company asset, which is a good reputation. Whether a company has no reputation, or a less than stellar reputation, branding can help change that. Branding can build an expectation about the company services or products, and can encourage the company to maintain that expectation, or exceed them, bringing better products and services to the market place. Branding is the process where the brand known as idea or image is marketed so that it is recognizable by more and more people, and identified with a certain service or product when there are many other companies offering the same service or product.People engaged in branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace.

Consumer’s Perspective on Branding

Consumers may look on branding as an aspect of products or services, as it often serves to

denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic. From the perspective of brand owners,

branded products or services also command higher prices. Where two products resemble each

other, but one of the products has no associated branding, people may often select the more

expensive branded product on the basis of the quality of the brand or the reputation of the brand

owner.

Advantages of Branding

Advertising professionals work on branding not only to build brand recognition, but also

to build good reputations and a set of standards to which the company should strive to

maintain or surpass.

Branding is an important part of Internet commerce, as branding allows companies to

build their reputations as well as expand beyond the original product and service, and

add to the revenue generated by the original brand.

Branding a company's product is very important. Most of customers believe in the brand

that famous or the brand that has a long history. It is first thing that the user will think

about. The most famous brand names of the world have to build an image of a great

brand to eyes of the customers, to make people believe in their brands. Each industry has

few stand out brand name that spring to mind by suddenly, the moment a need for sure

product arises, as a result of good marketing.

Stages in Branding

There are six stages in branding, where a brand will undergo six different phases are as follows:

1. Unbranded goods

Producers make effort to distinguish between brand and their goods, with the result that the consumer’s perception of goods is utilitarian. Most resort to pricing strategy as a means of competitive advantage, which leads to thinner margins.

2. Brand as reference

Competitive pressures stimulate producers to differentiate their goods from other manufacturers. This is achieved primarily through changes in physical product attributes.

3. Brand as a personality

As most manufacturers make the same claims, comparing the functional attributes of a certain product becomes very difficult. Therefore, marketers begin to give their brands personalities by differentiating their brands with other competition brands.

4. Brand as icon

In this stage, the brand is “owned by consumers”. They have extensive knowledge about the brand – frequently worldwide – and use it to create their self-identity.

5. Brand as a company

This stage marks the change to post-modern marketing. Here, the brand has a complex identity and there are many points of contact between the consumer and the brand.

6. Brand as policy

Few companies to date have entered this stage, which is distinguished by an alignment of the company with ethical, social and even political causes.

Case Study

Mercedes Benz U.S.A-Design and Launch of the new ‘M’ class off-roader

When Mercedes Benz decided to build its new M Class off-road vehicle, it decided to build it and launch it in the USA. The head of Mercedes USA knew that at its launch, it would be entering a crowded market, and that the mere fact that it was a Mercedes would not guarantee sales. They had to try something different.

In the USA it is still possible to obtain free access to data and they obtained details of all current owners of off-road vehicles and Mercedes cars. Mercedes then undertook a series of mail-outs to the names on the database.

It began with a personally addressed letter from the head of Mercedes USA. It said something along the lines of - "...we at Mercedes are in the process of designing a brand new off-road car and I would like to know if you would be prepared to help us..."

Now America is the land in which one receives probably more direct mail than any other country in the world, but it is not every day that the head of Mercedes writes and asks for you customers help. There was a significant, positive response. Those people who responded received a series of questionnaires that asked for guidance on design issues such as whether the spare wheel should be outside or inside the vehicle, desired engine sizes, exterior colors and interior designs.

What is interesting is that, along with the questionnaires, Mercedes began to also receive advance orders. What these customers were feeling was that Mercedes was custom building a car just for them. No other manufacturer had ever involved them in the design and build process in quite the same way.

As a result, Mercedes pre-sold its first year sales target of 35,000 vehicles. It was expecting to spend some $70 million US marketing the car, but by using this one to one approach, it only needed to spend $48 million saving $22 million. It has been heard and observed that this program was so successful that Mercedes is looking to use the same approach in the future with other model launches.

Brand Image

Images evoked by exposure to a named (popular) brand.

Brand image is the overall impression in consumers’ mind that is formed from all sources. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these associations, they form brand image. An image is formed about the brand on the basis of subjective perceptions of associations’ bundle that the consumers have about the brand. For example, Volvo is associated with safety. Toyota is associated with reliability.

Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers.

Brand image can be reinforced by brand communications such as packaging, advertising, promotion, customer service, word-of-mouth and other aspects of the brand experience.

The impression in the consumers' mind of a brand's total personality (real and imaginary qualities and shortcomings) is called brand image. Brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme, and is authenticated through the consumers' direct experience.

Features of the Brand Image

It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers’ perception about the product.

It is the manner in which a specific brand is positioned in the market.

Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image.

Brand image is nothing but an organization’s character. It is an accumulation of contact and observation by people external to an organization. It should highlight an organization’s mission and vision to all.

The main elements of positive brand image are- unique logo reflecting organization’s image, slogan describing organization’s business in brief and brand identifier supporting the key values.

Good brand images are instantly evoked, are positive, and are almost always unique among competitive brands.

Brand images are usually evoked by asking consumers the first words/images that come to their mind when a certain brand is mentioned (sometimes called "top of mind"). When responses are highly variable, non-forthcoming, or refer to non-image attributes such as cost, it is an indicator of a weak brand image.

How to create a Brand Image?

A brand is unlikely to have one brand image, but several, though one or two may predominate.

1. The key in brand image research is to identify or develop the most powerful images and reinforce them through subsequent brand communications.

2. The term "brand image" gained popularity as evidence began to grow that the feelings and images associated with a brand were powerful purchase influencers, though brand recognition, recall and brand identity. It is based on the proposition that consumers buy not only a product (commodity), but also the image associations of the product, such as power, wealth, sophistication, and most importantly identification and association with other users of the brand.

3. In a consumer led world, people tend to define themselves and their "persona" by their possessions. According to Sigmund Freud, the ego and superego control to a large extent the image and personality that people would like others to have of them.

The idea behind brand image is that the consumer is not purchasing just the product/service but also the image associated with that product/service. Brand images should be positive, unique and instant. Brand images can be strengthened using brand communications like advertising, packaging, word of mouth publicity, other promotional tools, etc.

Brand image develops and conveys the product’s character in a unique manner different from its competitor’s image. The brand image consists of various associations in consumers’ mind - attributes, benefits and attributes. Brand attributes are the functional and mental connections with the brand that the customers have. They can be specific or conceptual. Benefits are the rationale for the purchase decision. There are three types of benefits: Functional benefits - what do you do better (than others ),emotional benefits - how do you make me feel better (than others), and rational benefits/support - why do I believe you(more than others). Brand attributes are consumers overall assessment of a brand.

Brand image has not to be created, but is automatically formed. The brand image includes products' appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame, and overall value. Brand image is actually brand content. When the consumers purchase the product, they are also purchasing it’s image. Brand image is the objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they purchase a product. Positive brand image is exceeding the customers’ expectations. Positive brand image enhances the goodwill and brand value of an organization.

To sum up, “Brand image” is the customer’s net extract from the brand.