DEFINITION OF BRAND

 A brand, in short, can be defined as a seller’s promise to

provide consistently a unique set of characteristics,
advantages, and services to the buyers/consumers. It is a
name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of all these
planned to differentiate the goods/services of one seller or
group of sellers from those of competitors. Some examples
of well known brands are Mc Donald’s’, Mercedes-Benz,
Sony, Coca Cola, Kingfisher, etc.
 Brand Name
 Brand name is one of the brand
elements which helps the customers to
identify and differentiate one product
from another. It should be chosen very
carefully as it captures the key theme
of a product in an efficient and
economical manner. It can easily be
noticed and its meaning can be stored
and triggered in the memory instantly.
Choice of a brand name requires a lot
of research. Brand names are not
necessarily associated with the
product.
 Features of a Good Brand Name

 A good brand name should have following characteristics:

 It should be unique / distinctive (for instance- Kodak, Mustang)
 It should be extendable.
 It should be easy to pronounce, identified and memorized. (For
instance-Tide)
 It should give an idea about product’s qualities and benefits
(For instance- Swift, Quickfix, Lipguard).
 It should be easily convertible into foreign languages.
 It should be capable of legal protection and registration.
 It should suggest product/service category (For instance
Newsweek).
 It should indicate concrete qualities (For instance Firebird).
Brand Attributes
 Brand Attributes portray a company’s brand
characteristics. They signify the basic nature of brand.
Brand attributes are a bundle of features that highlight
the physical and personality aspects of the brand.
Attributes are developed through images, actions, or
presumptions. Brand attributes help in creating brand
identity.
Cont…
 A strong brand must have following attributes:
 Relevancy- A strong brand must be relevant. It must meet people’s
expectations and should perform the way they want it to. A good job
must be done to persuade consumers to buy the product; else inspite of
your product being unique, people will not buy it.
 Consistency- A consistent brand signifies what the brand stands for and
builds customers trust in brand. A consistent brand is where the
company communicates message in a way that does not deviate from
the core brand proposition.
 Proper positioning- A strong brand should be positioned so that it
makes a place in target audience mind and they prefer it over other
brands.
 Sustainable- A strong brand makes a business competitive. A
sustainable brand drives an organization towards innovation and
success. Example of sustainable brand is Marks and Spencer’s.
 Credibility- A strong brand should do what it promises. The way you
communicate your brand to the audience/ customers should be realistic.
It should not fail to deliver what it promises. Do not exaggerate as
customers want to believe in the promises you make to them.
 Brand Positioning

 Brand positioning refers to “target consumer’s”

reason to buy your brand in preference to others. It is
ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is
guided, directed and delivered by the brand’s
benefits/reasons to buy; and it focusses at all points of
contact with the consumer.
Brand positioning must make sure that:

 Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ?

 Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ?
 Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and
businesses ?
 Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and
original products ?
 Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all
points of contact with the consumer ?
 Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial
goals ?
 Is it able to support and boost up the organization ?
 Brand Identity

 Brand identity stems from an organization, i.e., an organization is

responsible for creating a distinguished product with unique
characteristics. It is how an organization seeks to identify itself. It
represents how an organization wants to be perceived in the
market. An organization communicates its identity to the
consumers through its branding and marketing strategies. A brand
is unique due to its identity. Brand identity includes following
elements - Brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality,
relationships, and presentations.
Brand Awareness

 Brand awareness is the probability that consumers are

familiar about the life and availability of the product. It is
the degree to which consumers precisely associate the
brand with the specific product. It is measured as ratio of
niche market that has former knowledge of brand. Brand
awareness includes both brand recognition as well as
brand recall. Brand recognition is the ability of
consumer to recognize prior knowledge of brand when
they are asked questions about that brand or when they
are shown that specific brand.
 Brand Loyalty
 Brand Loyalty is a scenario where the consumer fears purchasing
and consuming product from another brand which he does not
trust. It is measured through methods like word of mouth publicity,
repetitive buying, price sensitivity, commitment, brand trust,
customer satisfaction, etc. Brand loyalty is the extent to which a
consumer constantly buys the same brand within a product
category. The consumers remain loyal to a specific brand as long as
it is available. They do not buy from other suppliers within the
product category.
 Brand Association
 Brand Associations are not benefits, but are images and symbols
associated with a brand or a brand benefit. For example- The
Nike Swoosh, Nokia sound, Film Stars as with “Lux”, signature
tune Ting-ting-ta-ding with Britannia, Blue colour with Pepsi, etc.
Associations are not “reasons-to-buy” but provide acquaintance
and differentiation that’s not replicable. It is relating perceived
qualities of a brand to a known entity. For instance- Hyatt Hotel
is associated with luxury and comfort; BMW is associated with
sophistication, fun driving, and superior engineering.
 Brand Promise
 Brand evokes the responses. There
are many people who love their
Apple iPod or love their car etc.
There are certain feelings that
come to your mind when you think
about your favorite brands. People
expect that these brands should
demonstrate brand promises every
time whenever they are,
encountered. Inconsistencies in the
performance of services can lead to
damage in further relations. This
can cause a customer to select
some other brand.
 Steps in Building a Brand Name Product or Service

 Branding is a process that allows an individual or a group of

individuals the ability to provide a brand image and lettering to
an idea. Upon doing so, one has a better chance of selling such
items to a broader audience whether that be on a local or global
level. Therefore, while the old adage “nothing happens until
somebody sells something,” still stands true to some extent, at
times almost seems as if the process of advertising and branding
has overtaken the desire to sell.
 Although branding generally identifies the company and
philosophies behind same, it can also be representative of those
working for such a company. This is a good thing as it generates
the right type of audience to the product or service being sold
based on personal relationships with those running the company.
Therefore, benefiting both the organizations selling the branded
product or service and the dealers buying same.
 Brand Equity
 Brand Equity is the value and strength of the Brand that decides its
worth. It can also be defined as the differential impact of brand
knowledge on consumers response to the Brand Marketing. Brand
Equity exists as a function of consumer choice in the market
place. The concept of Brand Equity comes into existence when
consumer makes a choice of a product or a service. It occurs when
the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable
positive strong and distinctive brand associations in the memory.
 Co-branding
 Co branding is the utilization of
two or more brands to name a
new product. The ingredient
brands help each other to
achieve their aims. The overall
synchronization between the
brand pair and the new product
has to be kept in mind. Example
of co-branding - Citibank co-
branded with MTV to launch a
co-branded debit card. This card
is beneficial to customers who
can avail benefits at specific
outlets called MTV Citibank club.
Types of Co-branding

 Ingredient co-branding implies using a renowned

brand as an element in the production of another renowned
brand. This deals with creation of brand equity for materials
and parts that are contained within other products. The
ingredient/constituent brand is subordinate to the primary
brand.
 Composite co-branding refers to use of two
renowned brand names in a way that they can collectively
offer a distinct product/ service that could not be possible
individually. The success of composite branding depends
upon the favourability of the ingredient brands and also
upon the extent on complementarities between them.
Brand Extension

 Brand Extension is the use of an

established brand name in new
product categories. This new
category to which the brand is
extended can be related or unrelated
to the existing product categories. A
renowned/successful brand helps an
organization to launch products in
new categories more easily. For
instance, Nike’s brand core product is
shoes. But it is now extended to
sunglasses, soccer balls, basketballs,
and golf equipments.