5 Dimensions of Brand Identity

Brand identity is composed of various shares that trigger particular responses in consumers in addition to filling the afore-mentioned functions. These shares build on one another; the more shares a brand has, the stronger and more positive the relationship with consumers.

Mind

At the very lowest level, mind share must be created in the consumer consciousness (cognitive level). This means that, as a complex perceptual and conceptual construct, the brand evokes an internal neural representation in the minds of consumers, leaving behind certain brand impressions.

Heart

This refers to the emotional relationship a consumer should develop with a brand. Heart share is less a matter of a product’s functional utility and more a matter of its symbolic attributes. The buyer of a Ferrari, for instance, will not develop an affection for the car based purely on functional attributes, but rather as a result of the values associated with the brand and the brand environment it operates in.

Buying intentions

Brand identity must trigger a buying intention share in consumers. After all, despite the importance of a brand’s mind and heart share, it only makes sense for a supplier to invest in brand identity if consumers will also want to buy the brand.

Self

Brand identity contributes to self share, which means that the brand functions as a manifestation of the self, a tangible expression of self-image within the social environment. In this context, brands serve self-expression and self-design purposes, differentiating the individual within the social group. Brands can easily serve similar ends in the realm of business-to-business, where they bolster self-image in terms of a company and its functions.

Legend

Here, the brand shares in the existential search for meaning conducted by a consumer in a world enlightened to the point of meaning-lessness and takes on a virtually religious character. This aspect sheds light on the cultural-sociological proposition that brand management is worshiping the customer. Brands allow consumers to achieve social position or status, to partake of cultural expression, to create mythology and shape meaning, and as a result, to weave themselves into the social and metaphysical fabric of the world. In this context, a loyal customer is a member of a community and an individual loyal to that community not just a customer who makes repeat purchases. A brand is a tool for building a sense of community and belonging, for building the community itself.

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Branding’s “Periodic” Table

Talking about elements in the previous post just sent me straight to a nice visual periodic table of brand elements. It is bassically a small branding glossary and here are some quotes out of it:

20 – Brand Evolution – Adapting a brand to align a company’s promise, or value proposition, with its growth over time; a company’s brand must reflect its current position to ensure that it keeps its promises and is accurately “known” by customers

36 – Brand Identity – The outward manifestation of a corporate brand, product brand, service brand or branded environment including name and visual appearance.

37 – Brand Integration Plan – A proactive, structured and disciplined plan, with clear strategic objectives and detailed implementation steps that helps merged companies build a new, integrated brand and value proposition. Ideally this planning begins prior to completion of merger or aquisition

See full branding “periodic” table.

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Brand Elements

Martin Jelsema, marketing consultant and freelance promotional writer, graphics designer and founder of Signature Strategies has an interesting list of elements that should be considered and incorporated into any company’s branding strategy. They will take on a different mix of importance depending on factors such as product life cycles, competitive activity, importance to consumers, loyalty patterns of consumers, commodity/custom perception and others. But within this product environment, these elements will all have to be addressed.

  • Existing perceptions of the product category by target market segments.
  • Existing structure and infrastructure in this product category.
  • Competition for the same dollar from other product categories.
  • Product attributes deemed important to target market segments.
  • The positions currently occupied by you and your competitors in the collective minds of target market segments.
  • Product differentials, real or perceived by target market segments.
  • Corporate images of the marketers of products in your category.
  • Expectations of buyers about products in your category.
  • The programs, activities and policies in support of your brand. They include names, logos, packaging, slogans, ad content, ad media, ad specialties, trade shows, contests sponsored, public relations, literature, promotions, events sponsored, distribution channels used, charities and causes supported, web site activity, guarantees, return policies, co-branding activities, graphic standards, customer relations policies and personnel, audio symbols/themes, trade association and standards committee participation, and any other activities that provide exposure of the brand to your markets by you and by your competitors.
  • Relation of a particular brand with other brands from the same company (line extensions, brand adaptations, co-offerings etc.).
  • Budget and financial considerations.
  • Product expectations for volume, profit, longevity.
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Internal Branding – 8 Principles

In terms of branding, companies need to learn to run at the same pace internally as well as externally. Building a truly world-class brand requires that the company makes sure that all of its internal processes, practices and symbols, fit its brand values. If the company’s brand is playing the role it should in creating value for the company, it should be viewed as a simple cohesive framework for organising all of the internal practices and processes and making sure they work towards creating the desired customer experience.

Succesfull companies do not see one single department as custodian of the customer relationship and do not rely only on market reasearch data to get to know their customers. They seek a better understanding of customer’s values, and the ways to customer relates with their brand. Then, they seek to spread this understanding at an intuitive level throughout their organisation. They build a shared understanding of the desired brand experiece and how it delivers value to the customers, emphasise trust among employees and what people must do not what people must not do.

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Trends in Brand Naming

TippingSprung, a Manhattan-based brand consultancy, observed that few regular surveys focus on trends in brand naming. Consulting with a panel of branding experts, TippingSprung designed a brand-naming survey to help answer key questions: Which names are most popular? Which are most effective? What are some of the major trends in brand naming today?

Results from TippingSprung’s first annual survey of brand names revealed the top brand names in a number of key categories. Major trends in brand naming were also uncovered. The survey focused on names and products that had been released within the prior 18 months.

Choosing a name is one of the most important decisions a company can make when launching a brand. While packaging, taglines, or even product formulation can change on a regular basis, the name is the one element of the brand that remains constant.

said Martyn Tipping, president, TippingSprung.

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Re-branding the Right Way

Rebranding, is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand or company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. This may involve radical changes to the brand’s logo, brand name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. On the other hand, it might involve merely superficial changes. Rebranding can be applied to either new products, mature products, or even unfinished products as well as to the corporate itself. (source Answers.com)

Some re-branding exercises have been evolutionary, developing over time and in response to feedback and change in business requirements. But also, a lot of re-branding efforts fail, and fail expensively. Why is it that while some re-branding exercises succeed, others are left licking their wounds? The main reason for failure stems from the complexity of the task. Companies often jumps unprepared into an ill-conceived consolidation, leaving customers puzzled and business associates confused.

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Laws of Personal Branding

No one wants to believe the need for their services will become obsolete. Whether business is booming or tough times are looming, branding can position you in the hearts and minds of your clients so you stand out and are remembered longer. It’s the most important form of insurance an entrepreneur can have.

By defining and promoting yourself in a way that makes you rationally and emotionally appealing to a targeted demographic by filling a specific need for them, the demand for your services will never expire.

[tag]Personal Branding/tag] works whether you are a professional ready to catapult to the next level in your career or an entrepreneur embarking on your first business venture.

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Branding Trends

In all aspects of business, and branding makes no exception, are influenced nowadays by the trend of customization and personalization. Both are now hard to avoid and they are shaking hands with the new technologies.

The basic concept of branding will definetly remain unchanged — to create an emotional attachment between the consumer and a product — but the near future (or should I say present?) will demand from branding to adapt to consumers high demand for specialized – peronalized – customized products.

The new technologies are changing the way consumers interact with companies, or with other consumers for that matter, exchanging views, complaints, opinions and comments about products and services, about brands, about companies, about YOUR company.

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10 Steps For Successful Corporate Branding

For any company, branding is critically important it reflects and shapes relationships with its stakeholders customers, media, investors. Branding could mean the difference between success and failure. Just found an interesting article from author of author of Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Strong Brands, Martin Roll presenting 10 crucial steps for succesful corporate branding strategy:

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Drive Growth Through Branding

A brand is state of mind, a mental image that consumers have based on experiences with a company and its products. Successful branding is a process to determine how you can create your own state of mind with customers, and how that can drive growth — the ultimate reason for a brand.

Branding as a topic today is filled with clichés and buzzwords that can sometimes trivialize the real advantage of having a good brand. A brand is more than just hype communicated with heavy spending on advertising and promotion. That just creates awareness, which helps but being well known isn’t enough.

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