Branding Glossary( A - H) Part 1

A.    Awareness The percentage of population or target market who are aware of the existence of a given brand or company. There are two types of awareness: spontaneous, which measures the percentage of people who spontaneously mention a particular brand when asked to name brands in a certain category; and prompted, which measures the percentage of people who recognise a brand from a particular category when shown a list.

B.    Brand A brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible and intangible, symbolised in a trademark, which, if managed properly, creates value and influence.

“Value” has different interpretations: from a marketing or consumer perspective it is “the promise and delivery of an experience”; from a business perspective it is “the security of future earnings”; from a legal perspective it is “a separable piece of intellectual property.” Brands offer customers a means to choose and enable recognition within cluttered markets.

Brand Architecture How an organization structures and names the brands within its portfolio. There are three main types of brand architecture system: monolithic, where the corporate name is used on all products and services offered by the company; endorsed, where all sub-brands are linked to the corporate brand by means of either a verbal or visual endorsement; and freestanding, where the corporate brand operates merely as a holding company, and each product or service is individually branded for its target market.

Brand Associations The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that consumers (customers) have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand positioning and the basis of differentiation.

Brand Commitment The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to re-purchase/re-use in the future. The level of commitment indicates the degree to which a brand’s customer franchise is protected form competitors.

Brand Earnings The share of a brand-owning business’s cashflow that can be attributed to the brand alone.

Brand Equity The sum of all distinguishing qualities of a brand, drawn from all relevant stakeholders, that results in personal commitment to and demand for the brand; these differentiating thoughts and feelings make the brand valued and valuable.

Brand Essence The brand’s promise expressed in the simplest, most single-minded terms. For example, Volvo = safety; AA = Fourth Emergency Service. The most powerful brand essences are rooted in a fundamental customer need. Also, in Interbrand’s model, a vivid distillation of the Brand Platform.

Brand Experience The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences are controlled such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc. Some are uncontrolled like journalistic comment and word of mouth. Strong brands arise from consistent experiences which combine to form a clear, differentiated overall brand experience.

Brand Extension Leveraging the values of the brand to take the brand into new markets/sectors.

Brand Harmonisation Ensuring that all products in a particular brand range have a consistent name, visual identity and, ideally, positioning across a number of geographic or product/service markets.

Brand Identity: The outward expression of the brand, including its name and visual appearance. The brand’s identity is its fundamental means of consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand’s differentiation from competitors.

Brand Image: The customer’s net “out-take” from the brand. For users this is based on practical experience of the product or service concerned (informed impressions) and how well this meets expectations; for non-users it is based almost entirely upon uninformed impressions, attitudes and beliefs.

Brand Licensing: The leasing by a brand owner of the use of a brand to another company. Usually a licensing fee or royalty rate will be agreed for the use of the brand.

Brand Management Practically this involves managing the tangible and intangible aspects of the brand. For product brands the tangibles are the product itself, the packaging, the price, etc. For service brands (see Service Brands), the tangibles are to do with the customer experience - the retail environment, interface with salespeople, overall satisfaction, etc. For product, service and corporate brands, the intangibles are the same and refer to the emotional connections derived as a result of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles are therefore managed via the manipulation of identity, communication and people skills.

Brand Parity: A measure of how similar, or different, different brands in the same category are perceived to be. Brand parity varies widely from one category to another. It is high for petrol, for example: about 80% of respondents (BBDO survey) see no real difference between brands. By contrast, brand parity for cars is low: only about 25% of respondents say that one make is much the same as another.

Brand Personality The attribution of human personality traits (seriousness, warmth, imagination, etc.) to a brand as a way to achieve differentiation. Usually done through long-term above-the-line advertising and appropriate packaging and graphics. These traits inform brand behavior through both prepared communication/packaging, etc., and through the people who represent the brand - its employees.

Brand Platform Interbrand’s proprietary model for defining brands. The Brand Platform consists of the following elements:

•       Brand Vision The brand’s guiding insight into its world.

•       Brand Mission How the brand will act on its insight.

•       Brand Values The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance.

•       Brand Personality The brand’s personality traits (See also definition for Brand Personality).

•       Brand Tone of Voice How the brand speaks to its audiences.

Brand Positioning The distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment to ensure that individuals in its target market can tell the brand apart from others. Positioning involves the careful manipulation of every element of the marketing mix.

Brand Strategy A plan for the systematic development of a brand to enable it to meet its agreed objectives. The strategy should be rooted in the brand’s vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained consumer appeal. The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure consistent brand behaviors and brand experiences.

Brand Valuation The process of identifying and measuring the economic benefit - brand value – that derives from brand ownership.

Brand Values The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and perfor-mance. (See also Brand Platform.)

C.    Co-branding The use of two or more brand names in support of a new product, service or venture.

Consumer Product Goods (consumer goods) or services (consumer services) purchased for private use or for other members of the household.

Core Competencies Relates to a company’s particular areas of skill and competence that best contribute to its ability to compete.

Corporate Identity At a minimum, is used to refer to the visual identity of a corporation (its logo, signage, etc.), but usually taken to mean an organization’s presentation to its stakeholders and the means by which it differentiates itself from other organizations.

Country of Origin The country from which a given product comes. Customers’ attitudes to a product and their willingness to buy it tend to be heavily influenced by what they associate with the place where it was designed and manufactured.

Customer Characteristics All distinguishing, distinctive, typical or peculiar characteristics and circumstances or customers that can be used in market segmentation to tell one group of customers from another.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tracking customer behavior for the purpose of developing marketing and relationship-building processes that bond the consumer to the brand. Developing software or systems to provide one-to-one customer service and personal contact between the company and the customer.

Customer Service The way in which the brand meets its customers’ needs via its various different channels (for example, over the telephone or Internet in the case of remote banking, or in person in the case of retail or entertainment).

D      Demographics The description of outward traits that characterize a group of people, such as age, sex, nationality, marital status, education, occupation or income. Decisions on market segmentation are often based on demographic data.

Differential Product Advantage A feature of a product that is valuable to customers and is not found in other products of the same category.

Differentiation Creation or demonstration of unique characteristics in a company’s products or brands compared to those of its competitors.

Differentiator Any tangible or intangible characteristic that can be used to distinguish a product or a company from other products and companies.

E       Endorsed brand (See Brand Architecture.) Generally a product or service brand name that is supported by a masterbrand - either dominantly e.g. Tesco Metro or lightly e.g. Nestle Kit-Kat.

F       FMCG Fast moving consumer goods. An expression used to describe frequently purchased consumer items, such as foods, cleaning products and toiletries.

Focus Group A qualitative research technique in which a group of about eight people is invited to a neutral venue to discuss a given subject, for example hand-held power tools.

The principle is the same as an in-depth interview, except that group dynamics help to make the discussion livelier and more wide-ranging. Qualitative groups enable the researcher to probe deeper into specific areas of interest (for example, the nature of commitment to a brand). The result adds richer texture to the understanding of broader data (for example, quantitative), which may paint general trends or observations. Also known as a group discussion.

Freestanding Brand (See Brand Architecture.) A brand name and identity used for a single product or service in a portfolio, which is unrelated to the names and identities of other products in the company’s portfolio.

Functionality What a product does for the buyer and user; the utility it offers the user; what he or she can do with it.

G      Goods A product consisting predominantly of tangible values. Almost all goods, however, have intangible values to a greater or lesser extent.

H      High Technology (high tech) A term with vague and far-reaching meaning. This covers electronics, data technology, telecommunications, medical technology and bio-chemistry. In order to be classed as a high tech company, one definition is that at least 35 percent of staff should have a technical qualification, and at least 15 percent of sales should be used for R&D. Another definition states that the company must employ twice as many scientists and engineers and invest twice as much in R&D as the average of all manufacturing companies in the country.

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Concept of Brand

Introduction

The word “brand”, when used as a noun, can refer to a company name, a product name, or a unique identifier such as a logo or trademark.

The concept of branding also developed through the practices of craftsmen who wanted to place a mark or identifier on their work without detracting from the beauty of the piece. These craftsmen used their initials, a symbol, or another unique mark to identify their work and they usually put these marks in a low visibility place on the product.

The Meaning of Brands

Brands are a means of differentiating a company’s products and services from those of its competitors.

There is plenty of evidence to prove that customers will pay a substantial price premium for a good brand and remain loyal to that brand. It is important, therefore, to understand what brands are and why they are important.

One complete definition of a brand is as follows:

“A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, that is intended to identify the goods and services of one business or group of businesses and to differentiate them from those of competitors”.

Example

MacDonald sums this up nicely in the following quote emphasizing the importance of brands:

“…it is not factories that make profits, but relationships with customers, and it is company and brand names which secure those relationships”

Businesses that invest in and sustain leading brands prosper whereas those that fail are left to fight for the lower profits available in commodity markets.

What is Branding?

Branding is the business process of managing your trademark portfolio so as to maximize the value of the experiences associated with it, to the benefit of your key stakeholders, especially current and prospective:

•       employees

•      customers

•      stock/share holders

•      suppliers

•      intermediaries

•      opinion leaders

•      local communities

•      purchasers and licensees

Experts argue as to which stakeholders should be the main focus of the branding process, but this is probably the wrong question as their experiences are all inter-related:

•      Employees - the more your employees value your brands and understand what to do to build them, the more your customers, suppliers, local communities and opinion leaders will value them. The more attractive your brands are to potential employees, the more they are likely to want to work for you

•      Customers - the more your customers value your brand, the more they will buy your products and services, and recommend them to other people. They will also pay a premium for them and make the lives of your employees easier. This, in turn, will enhance the value of your brands to prospective purchasers and licensees. Research has shown that strong brands are more resistant to crises of reputation

•      Stock/share holders - strong brands multiply the asset value of your company (90% of the asset value of some major corporations lies in their intellectual property), and assure them that your company has a profitable future.

They also allow you to afford to give competitive dividends to your current stock/share holders

•      Suppliers - suppliers like to be associated with strong brands as this benefits their own reputation in the eyes of other current or potential customers. You are therefore likely to get better service at a lower total acquisition cost

•      Intermediaries - retailers, distributors and wholesalers value strong brands as they improve their own profit margins. They are likely to give you more “air time” and shelf space, thus enhancing further the value of your brands in the eyes of your current and prospective customers

•      Opinion leaders - the media, politicians and non-government organisations are more respectful of strong brands

•      Local communities - supportive local authorities can make your life easier in many ways, and offer you better deals, if you have prestigious brands. Your local communities provide you with your work force and can be highly disruptive if they perceive you as damaging their environment

•      Purchasers and licensees - the question prospective purchasers and licensees ask is “how much more profit can I get for my products and services sold under this brand than under any brand I might build?” Strong brands can be spectacularly valuable.

Characteristics of Brands

Our definition of a brand adheres to a model which shows the extent to which a product or service can be augmented to provide added value to increasing levels of sophistication. This model, views a brand as consisting of four levels

•      generic

•      expected

•      augmented

•      potential

The generic level is the commodity form that meets the buyer, or user’s basic needs, for example the car satisfying a transportation need. This is the easiest aspect for competitors to copy and consequently successful brands have added values over and above this at the expected level.

Within the expected level, the commodity is value engineered to satisfy a specific target’s minimum purchase conditions, such as functional capabilities, availability, pricing, etc. As more buyers enter the market and as repeat buying occurs, the brand would evolve through a better matching of resources to meet customers’ needs (e.g; enhanced’ customer service).

With increased experience, buyers and users become more sophisticated, so the brand would need to be augmented in more refined ways, with added values satisfying non-functional (e.g. emotional) as well as functional needs. For example, promotions might be directed to the user’s peer group to reinforce his or her social standing through ownership of the brand.

With even more experience of the brand, and therefore with a greater tendency to be more critical, it is only creativity that limits the extent to which the brand can mature to the potential level.

Brand Evolution

This is evolved from the company’s core vision and values, building on what is important to the organisation, then translated into impactful, purposeful design.

Brand Evolution is a collaboration of strategists, and people specialists who come together to work with organisations to help them identify what makes them unique, their positioning in the market place and competitive advantage.

Branding challenges and opportunities

Brands build their strength by providing customers consistently superior product and service experiences. A strong brand is a promise or bond with customers. In return for their loyalty, customers expect the firm to satisfy their needs better than any other competitors.

Brands will always be important given their fundamental purpose – to identify and differentiate products and services. Good brand makes people’s lives a little easier and better. People are loyal to brands that satisfy their expectations and deliver on its brand promise. The predictably good performance of a strong brand is something that consumer will always value.

The challenges to brands

1) The shift from strategy to tactics: – With the increasing pressure to generate ever-improving profitability, it is often considered a luxury for managers to develop long-term strategic plans. This is further exacerbated by short-term goal setting, which is frequently designed primarily for the convenience of the financial community.

2) The shift from advertising to promotions: – As a consequence of the increasing pressure on brand manager to achieve short-term goals, there is a temptation to cut back on advertising support, since it is viewed as a long-term brand-building investment, in favour of promotions which generate much quicker short-term results.

3) On-Line shopping: – The Internet is facilitating on-line shopping. On-line shopping is different from traditional mail order because:

• Brands are available all the time and from all over the world;

• Information and interactions are in real time;

• Consumers can choose between brands which meet their criteria, as a result of selecting information which is in a much more convenient format for them, rather than the standard catalogue format.

This poses threats to brands, some components of added value, agent or the retail outlet which originally added value by matching consumers with suppliers, may be eliminated.

4) Opportunities from technology: – Brand marketers are now able to take advantage of technology to again a competitive advantage through time. Technology is already reducing the lead time needed to respond rapidly to changing customers need and minimizing any delays in the supply chain.

5) More sophisticated buyers: – In business-to-business marketing, there is already an emphasis on bringing together individuals from different departments to evaluate suppliers’ new brands. As inter departmental barriers break down even more, sellers are going to face increasingly sophisticated buyers who are served by better information system enabling them to pay off brand suppliers against each other.

6) The growth of corporate branding:- With media inhabiting individual brand advertising, many firms are putting more emphasis on corporate branding, unifying their portfolio of brands through clearer linkages with the corporation, which clarifies the those all the line brands adhere to. Through corporate identity program functional aspects of individual brands in the firm’s portfolio can be augmented, enabling the consumer to select brands through assessment of the values of competing firms. Firms developed powerful corporate identity programmes by recognizing the need first to identify their internal corporate values, from which flow employee attitudes and specific types of staff behavior secondly, to devise integrated communication programmes for different external audiences.

Brand Strategies

Branding is crucial for products and services sold in huge consumer markets. It’s also important in B2B because it helps you stand out from your competition. Your brand strategy brings your competitive positioning to life, and works to position you as a certain “something” in the mind of your prospects and customers.

Think about successful consumer brands like Disney, Tiffany or Starbucks. You probably know what each brand represents. Now imagine that you’re competing against one of these companies. If you want to capture significant market share, start with a strong brand strategy or you may not get far.

Successful branding also creates “brand equity” – the amount of money that customers are willing to pay just because it’s your brand. In addition to generating revenue, brand equity makes your company itself more valuable over the long term.

Best Case	Neutral Case	Worst Case
Prospects and customers know exactly what you deliver. It’s easy to begin dialogue with new prospects because they quickly understand what you stand for. You acquire customers quickly because your prospects’ experience with you supports everything you say. You can charge a premium because your market knows why you’re better and is willing to pay for it.	The market may not have a consistent view or impression of your product and company, but in general, you think it’s positive. You haven’t thought a lot about branding because it doesn’t necessarily seem relevant, but you admit that you can do a better job of communicating consistently with the market. You’re not helping yourself but you’re not hurting yourself either.	You don’t have a brand strategy and it shows. It’s more difficult to communicate with prospects and convince them to buy. They don’t have an impression of your product/service or why it’s better. What you do, what you say and how you say it may contradict each other and confuse your prospects. Competitors typically have an easier time acquiring customers.

Develop your brand around emotional benefits

·         List the features and benefits of your product / service. A feature is an attribute – a color, a configuration; a benefit is what that feature does for the customer.

·         Determine which benefits are most important to each of your customer segments.

·         Identify which benefits are emotional – the most powerful brand strategies tap into emotions, even among business buyers.

·         Look at the emotional benefits and boil them down to one thing that your customers should think of when they think of you. That’s what your brand should represent.

Define your brand personality, story and positioning statements

·         Think of your brand as a person with a distinct personality. Describe him or her, then convey these brand personality traits in everything you do and create.

·         Write positioning statements and a story about your brand; use this brand messaging throughout your company materials.

·         Choose colors, fonts and other visual elements that match your personality and create your corporate identity.

·         Determine how your employees will interact with prospects and customers to convey the personality and make sure your brand “lives” within your company.

After Brand Strategy

Together with your competitive positioning strategy, your brand strategy is the essence of what you represent. A great brand strategy helps you communicate more effectively with your market, so follow it in every interaction you have with your prospects and customers.

If you’re wondering how to choose a great brand name, complete your written brand strategy before you start the naming process. Since your name is an extension of your brand, it’ll be much easier to evaluate the quality of your name choices (instead of starting with the name) with it completed.

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