Brand identity
In summary, a brand is a shared desirable and exclusive idea embodied in products, services, places &/ experiences
Defined as
‘Everything can be a brand’
Celebrities endorsing brands
Celebrities being regarded as brands in their own right e.g. David Beckham
Places promoted as brands
Experiences
Formulation of a brand in terms of what it stands for from the perspective of the organisation that created it; brand image is the perception or interpretation of a brand from outside the org.
‘Identity is on the sender’s side’ whereas ‘brand image is on the receivers side’
Six Facets of Kapferer’s Prism
Facet
Physique
Personality
Culture
Relationship
Reflection
Self-image
Helps to define the sender
Bridges the gap between send & recipients
Helps to define the recipient
Strong identity prism should be ‘concise, sharp and interesting’ having:
Few words per facet
Diff words for each facet
Strong rather than lukewarm words
Brand reputation
A collective representation of a brand’s past actions & results that describes the brand’s ability to deliver valued outcomes to multiple stakeholders
Built on its interactions with & evaluations by multiple stakeholders, not just consumers
Derived from variety of sources:
Who you have seen consuming the brand
Any marketing of the brand to which you may have been exposed and media articles about the brand
Own perception from viewing the brand
Brand equity
The monetary value of psychological goodwill which the brand has created over time
Indicators include:
Spontaneous recall of the brand
Part of a buyer’s consideration
Brand recognition
Brand consumption
Power of brand equity is evident in the purchase of valuable brands by other org’s. E.g. BMW purchasing Rover group
Brand content
Engages consumers to relate to the brand, because it does not talk about its products, but about a domain of mutual interest between brand & its public
Provide content that will engage, help, inform or entertain people which they will want to share
Response to development of Web 2.0
Brands seek to be opinion leaders, shaping tastes and opinions directly through their content
Requires continuously refreshing to maintain interest
Range of channels may be used
Led to concerns about the power and influence of marketing, especially where consumption has been as potentially harmful
Care needs to be taken by less controversial offerings to ensure brand content doesn’t cross over into covert marketing of the brand/deliberate manipulation of consumers
Role of brands for organisations
Comm device to consumers
Royalties through licensing
Enable premium pricing to be charged
Increase bargaining power with distributors
Customer loyalty
Future income
Facilitate own entry into new markets
Deter market entry from potential competitors
Benefit sales through I.D. & familiarity
Role of brands for consumers
Stimulate emotional rewards
Facilitates decision-making
Cues to info about products
Facilitate I.D. & cost to consumers of searching among offerings
Inspire trust & increases confidence in purchase selection
Reduce risk of purchase
Comm brand associations/ activate brand interfences that contribute to satisfaction
Logos
Packaging & Labelling
Org’s use logo & particular colours to augment the distinctiveness of their brand & help to make them readily recognisable
Can be used to encapsulate qualities/heritage of a brand
Contribute to comm & perception of brands
Imagery & info can feed into consumers purchase decision-making.
Secure packaging also reassure consumers that content are safe & have not been damaged or tampered with
Sustainability of packaging is important & consumers may seek out products with recyclable packaging/avoid excessive packaging