The bottom line is that unless the role of a brand is simply to support other brands by providing credibility, the brand identity needs to provide a value proposition to the customer. What is a brand value proposition? Brand value proposition is a statement of functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits delivered by the brand that provide value to the customer. An effective brand value proposition should lead to a brand–customer relationship and drive purchase decisions. The central concepts of functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits of brand value proposition are explained below. 1. Functional Benefits The most visible and common basis for a brand value proposition is a func tional benefit–that is, a benefit based on a product attribute that provides functional utility to the customer. Such a benefit will usually relate directly to the functions performed by the product or service for the customer. For laser printers, functional benefits mightContinue reading
Brand Management
Brand Identity Traps
Brand Identity Traps represent approaches to creating an identity that are excessively limiting or tactical and that can lead to ineffective, and often dysfunctional, brand strategies. After these brand identity traps have been analyzed, a broader identity concept will be developed, its scope and structure discussed, and the value proposition and credibility that flow from it examined. The Brand Image Trap Knowledge of the brand image (how customers and others perceive the brand) provides useful and even necessary background information when developing a brand identity. In the brand image trap, however, the patience, resources, or expertise to go beyond the brand image is lacking, and the brand image becomes the brand identity rather than just one input to be considered. The brand image trap does not tend to occur when a brand image is obviously negative or inappropriate. When there are only subtle image inadequacies caused by customers’ past brandContinue reading
Brand Identity
A person’s identity serves to provide direction, purpose, and meaning for that person. Consider how important the following questions are: What are my core values? What do I stand for? How I want to be perceived? What personality traits do I want to project? What are the important relationships in my life? A brand identity similarly provides direction, purpose and meaning for the brand. It is central to a brand’s strategic vision and the driver of one of the four principal dimensions of brand equity associations, which are the heart and soul of the brand. Nestle uses the term brand constitution to reflect the importance and reverence with which a brand identity should be held. So, what exactly is brand identity? Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain. These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply aContinue reading
Brand Hierarchy
A brand hierarchy is a means of summarizing the branding strategy by displaying the number and nature of common and distinctive brand elements across the firm’s products, revealing the explicit ordering of brand elements. By capturing the potential branding rela tionships among the different products sold by the firm, a brand hierarchy is a useful means of graphically portraying a firm’s branding strategy. Specifically, a brand hierarchy is based on the realization that a product can be branded in different ways depending on how many new and existing brand elements are used and how they are combined for any one product. Because certain brand elements are used to make more than one brand, a hierarchy can be constructed to represent how (if at all) products are nested with other prod ucts because of their common brand elements. Some brand elements may be shared by many products (e.g., Ford); other brandContinue reading
Brand-Product Matrix
To characterize the product and branding strategy of a firm, one useful tool is the brand-product matrix, a graphical representation of all the brands and products sold by the firm. In the brand-product matrix all products offered under different brands are represented by columns. This helps marketers understand the current brand line and explore further opportunity in expanding the product line. In the brand-product matrix all current existing brand are represented in form of rows referred to as brand portfolio. The brand portfolio analysis is essential to design and develop new marketing strategies to target a given product category. Brand-product matrix helps in showcasing different brands in any given product category. In that respect brand hierarchy is graphical representation of company’s products and its brands. Hierarchical structure starts with corporate brand and then showcases different product category and below brands. This sort of presentation helps devise marketing strategy at manyContinue reading
Brand Licensing
Licensing is a contractual agreement whereby a company allows another firm to use its brand name, patent, trade secret or other property for a royalty or a fee. Licensing also assists companies in entering global markets with minimal risk. Essentially, a firm is ‘renting” another brand to contribute to the brand equity of its own product. A strong brand often has associations that may be desirable in other product categories. To capitalize on this value, a firm may choose to license its name, logo or other trademark item to another company for use on their products and merchandise. Traditionally, licensing has been associated with characters such as Garfield the cat, Barney the dinosaur, and Disney’s Mickey Mouse or celebrities and designers such as Maratha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. Recently more conventional brands such as Caterpillar Harley Davidson, Coca-Cola and other have licensed their brands. Licensing can be quiteContinue reading