BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT BRANDING

Brand
A brand is an idea and perceived value formed by its intended audience based on a company’s culture, product, and service. An identity system that includes the logo and color scheme is typically the starting point of a brand, but it can branch out to exactly how you word things to customers, to what type of people you hire, to what furniture you even want to use.

Brand is not just visual images and tag lines; it is the collective emotional response to images and experiences. In other words, a brand is not defined by the product or service, but rather the person who uses it, talks about and engages other with it defines it.

Brands are not composed of the people who purchase their brands; rather people and communities are composed of the brands they use.

Branding is an audience experience created through a collection of ideas and images. Among others, this includes a company’s vocabulary, attitude, tone, style, design, colors, and the tools used to communicate with others.

Marketers often like to think of brands as a psychological phenomenon, which stems from the perceptions of individual consumers but what makes a brand powerful is the collective nature of these perceptions.

- A distinctive identity then engenders loyalty
- Total interaction with the public
- Includes a logo and a theme and goes far beyond those items to encompass every activity that surrounds it
- Identity that immediately communicates what it is and what it does (personality, image)
- Recognition of your individuality
- Communicates specific information about an organization, product or service, distinguishing it from others in the marketplace. A brand carries a "promise": a promise regarding the qualities and particularities that make the organization, product or service special and unique.
-

Why is a brand important?
The aim of successful branding is to clearly associate the organization, product or service with an image or identity in the mind of the audience. The brand should associate this image with the quality and characteristics of the product or service. A solid brand is a quick way to show and tell the public what an organization represents and what it has to offer.

The top 5 aspects of a successful brand

1. Consistency
2. Understanding the costumer
3. Message communication
4. Creative/design
5. Relevance

Brand experience
People engaged in branding seek to develop 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

Brand recognition
One goal in brand recognition is the identification of a brand without the name of the company present. For example, Disney has been successful at branding with their particular script font (originally created for Walt Disney's "signature" logo). Consumers may look on branding as an important value added aspect of products or services, as it often serves to denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic

Brand identity
How the brand owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand - and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity.Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.
Attitude branding
Is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all. Marketing labeled as attitude branding include that of Nike, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Safeway, and Apple Computer In the 2000 book, No Logo, attitude branding is described by Naomi Klein as a "fetish strategy".
"A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters." - Howard Schultz (president, ceo and chairman of Starbucks)


"No-brand" branding
Recently a number of companies have successfully pursued "No-Brand" strategies, examples include the Japanese company Muji, which means "No label" Although there is a distinct Muji brand, Muji products are not branded. This no-brand strategy means that little is spent on advertisement or classical marketing and Muji's success is attributed to the word-of-mouth, a simple shopping experience and the anti-brand movement. Another brand that is thought to follow a no-brand strategy is American Apparel, which like Muji, does not brand its products.
Muji: The Japanese 'No-Brand'
Mujirushi Ryohin is the full name of the popularly known Muji brand from Japan founded in 1980. The name in English means: "No label, quality goods". Muji has been one of the brands that have popularized the anti-brand movement. With a mission to popularize quality of goods without screaming of any designer tags, Muji has merchandise of good quality at affordable prices. Though the brand does not have a corporate tag line, it occasionally comes out with the tag line "Simple. Functional. Affordable". This is to ensure that the message is engrained in the customers' minds.
With the global, regional and national markets being tremendously flooded with all sorts of branded merchandise, the no-brand strategy of Muji seems to work as a very powerful differentiating factor.
Muji goes to the extent of recycling or reselling the unsold products in the same condition, using natural fiber material, and including very minimal and informational manuals, with minimal packaging. All these activities in totality contribute to Muji's image of a brand that is against the "branded world".
Brand association
Brand, as many marketers say, is like a person. If we think of a friend, we immediately relate some attributes to it – Genius, Caring, Full of energy etc. Similarly when we think of a brand, we make some imagery of that in our mind. These are called the Brand Associations or sometimes Brand Imagery.
A: Product Attributes: This is the most direct association to the product category the brand belongs. Eg ‘Adidas’ to shoes, ‘Samsung’ to TV :)
B: Country / Geographic Region: These association results from the brand name itself or the origin of the brand. ‘British Airways’ instantly relates to Britain due to inclusion of ‘British’. However, Sony is related to Japan because the brand originated there. Champagne (though it is a product & not brand, but still I would like to mention) as you know, proudly carry the name of its birthplace.
C: Competitors: This is perhaps both the best & worst part. When one thinks of a brand he quickly thinks of the competition as well. I have a doubt if ‘Coca Cola’ and ‘Pepsi’ can be thought of separately without the other.
D: Product Class: The brand also reflects the class it belongs. ‘Mercedes Benz’ carries a professional high class image with the name.
E: Personality / Lifestyle: This is more of a perception and related to the users (or vice versa?) – ‘Marlboro’ always remains as the tough cowboy personality.
F: Endorser: In many case, the famous personality who endorses the brand comes to people’s mind. But it becomes more direct if the brand keeps the same endorser for a long time. ‘Nike’ reminds us Michael Jordan.
G: User/ Buyer: Brand also carries with it the image of its user. ‘Johnson & Johnson’ immediately tickles the babies & their softness in our minds.
H: Use / Application: Sometimes the brand reminds us the usage or application of it. If I say ‘Scotch Brite’, can you see someone washing the dishes? While the moment I say ‘Dettol’, you will mostly think of a wound.
I: Relative Price: Brand often reminds us the price positioning. Think of ‘WalMart’ and you can feel you are getting a cheaper deal.
J: Customer Benefits: Sometimes the benefit from the brand also gets associated with brand. ‘Head & Shoulders’ easily got associated with removal of dandruffs.
K: Logo attributes/ Symbol: The logo attributes (shape/ color etc) or symbol often comes into mind. If we think of ‘Nike’ the ‘Swoosh’ comes to our mind. If we think of ‘Kodak’ we associate with the Yellow Red combination. Sometimes brand characters are also associated with brand – Think of ‘Playboy’ or ‘Duracell’ – did you see the rabbit?
L: Founder/ Creator of the brand: The founder or creator of the brand/ company often associated – like we think of Bill Gates whenever we think of ‘Microsoft’.
M: Intangibles: Tune/ Music of Intel, essence of ‘Davidoff Coolwaters’ perfume
N: Slogan: Often we associate the tag line or slogan of the brand. Examples – Jonny Walker – Keep walking or Adidas – Impossible is Nothing
Brand as a cultural icon
Cultural branding applies particularly to categories as lifestyle, image, badge or ego-expressive products.

Cultural branding also applies to other marketed entities that people rely on to express their identity (culture), industry products (films, TV stars, musicians, heroes, cartoon characters), social movements.

Icon brands provide extraordinary identity value because they address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation.

Brands become iconic when they perform identity myths: simple fictions, imaginary worlds.

The brand becomes a symbol (as costumers drink, drive, they experience a bit of the myth)

Icon brands function like cultural activists, encouraging people to think differently about themselves.

‘Brands are built on what people are saying about you, not what you’re saying about yourself.’


References:

Books:
- Douglas B. Holt, How Brands Become icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding
- Margot Wallace, Museum branding: how to create and maintain image, loyalty, and support. 2006
Websites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand (11-05-2009)
- http://tuhinmahato.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/brand-association-what-we-actually-mean/ (11-05-2009)
- http://www.venturerepublic.com/resources/Muji_The_Japanese_No-Brand.asp (11-05-2009)
-