‘A brand is the most valuable real-estate in the world, a corner of

the consumer's mind’ [Bates. C]

‘A brand is the name, term, symbol or design, or a combination of

them which is intended to signify the goods or services of one seller
or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of
competitors’ [American Marketing Association]

The above definitions of a brand explain its main characteristics and what it
intends to do. There are two recognizable dimensions on which a brand is
based – i) Psychological Dimension and ii) Physiological Dimension.

When Colin Bates defines a brand in his poetic sense, he relates a brand to
the perceptions of consumers and its importance to any profit making
organization by terming it as ‘real estate’. Here, the keyword is ‘perception’
which is the psychological association of a consumer with a product or the
company itself. Perceptions of consumers are said to be shaped by distinct
parameters such as functional and emotional experiences. Thus, if the most
valuable perception in the world occupies the right corner of a consumer’s
mind, it becomes a brand.

The physiological nature of a brand is its logo or symbol. These are

considered to be strong communication tools when it comes to brand
management. How well a company conveys the nature of its products
reflects in its name and symbol. With today’s world revolving around looks,
appearance and visual attraction, it has become all the more important for
companies to be able to differentiate themselves with a unique identity that
will help create a lasting impression in the minds of consumers.

‘As economies become global and information more critical,

intangible assets have replaced tangibles as a major source of
shareholder value…Brands account for approximately one third of
the value of today’s Fortune 500 companies’

[BRANDZ - Top 100 Most Powerful Brands by M/s. Millward Brown, 2007, Pg.
3]

Branding:

“The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that

identifies and differentiates a product from other products” is known
as Branding [Lake. L, Marketing Guide at about.com]

“It is the intentional declaration of who you are” [BRANDING PROCESS

by M/s. Carty Design Consultants, pg. 1]
People may say ‘what’s in a name’? But, branding is the process of creating
a strong brand identity which will help a company differentiate itself from its
competitors. Branding involves creating an image of the company in a way
that it builds perceptions in the minds of customers that leads to positive
buying behavior. A brand image can create perceptions but to create that
brand image requires branding and this is confirmed by Scott M. Davis when
he says “Image and perception help drive value; without an image
there is no perception”.

Branding comes about as a process that requires careful planning, strategic

focus and integration within the organization. The process of branding, if
carried out properly will give a company insurmountable benefits in terms of
building a brand image and making and retaining customers. But, if the
same process is not given justice to, it may prove to shake the company
right from its roots.
Some examples of branding initiatives that have gone good and some really
bad have been mentioned as follows:

The initiative of Fiat Panda – The name could be pronounced in the same
way in eight different languages of the world. [Metelski, 1980] and so it was
a success

The initiative of Legacy Chocolates – The firm after changing their logo, saw
sales jump 300% in the first month and the sales never fell thereafter

The Ford Edsel Disaster of 1957 – Ford decided to name its new car Edsel
even though initial research showed that it was one of the least liked names.
[BRAND FAILURE, Haig. M, 2003, pg. 16]

Thus branding is the combination of good research, good strategy and a

strong visual identity.

Importance of branding to consumers

“The most powerful brands don't come from "marketing," but from
great customer experiences”
Product quality, consistency, creativity, performance, value, features, design,
and style are the main drivers of today’s conspicuous consumer.

Consumers require branding as it helps them differentiate a product from the

thousands available in the market. The consumers are so overwhelmed by
the variety of products available to them that making the right choice on the
basis of quality, price, stylishness, etc. becomes difficult.
This is where branding comes into play and solves the problem of the
consumer by differentiation.

“Google has perfectly executed a branding strategy which has

proven to be one of the most brilliantly effective branding
strategies witnessed by man” [Google’s Branding Strategy, V7Network
Blog, 31st January, 2007]

The strategy that Google has been seen to use is the “I’m your friend”
strategy. Where this is seen to be the most doubted approach to branding, it
has worked for Google.
The consumers of Google, or in simple terms, its visitors, have been provided
with a pool of information and a gateway to instant knowledge at the click of
a button. It has a distinct logo, a popular name and has worked its way up to
being the most differentiated as well as the most preferred search engine in
the world. The fact that its convenience is incomparable makes it a strong,
successful and an ethical brand. It has become a household name, at times
replacing the original word or action it was meant for, ‘SEARCH’.

McDonalds “is made for you”; this branding platform has catapulted the
company to new heights. However, with “I’m loving it” being its showcase
slogan, McDonalds has used both these slogans to position itself in such a
way that it displays a sense of responsibility to the consumer and the link
between ‘I’m loving it because it is made for me’.

Complan, the famous nutrition drink developed by Glaxo not only is a brand
in itself but also makes its consumers the same. A good strategy where
consumers associated with it are also branded. Consumer branding is as
important as product branding and the slogan “I’m a complain boy/girl” is
one example.

Since consumers want to feel special and derive emotional value from
everything they spend on. Branding is one of the main platforms where this
is made possible and no matter in what way companies do it, it is never too
good for the consumers and this makes it the driving force of corporate
branding in the race for excellence where brand value can change overnight
if the consumer backlashes.

Importance of branding to organizations

“A company's brand is its definition in the world, the name that

identifies it to itself and the marketplace” [Web, 2009]
"Strong company reputations can contribute to the product being a
safe choice" [Mike Stefaniak, vice president, client services and partner, with Milwaukee-based
Scheibel Halaska Inc. commenting on Toyota’s brand management]

Toyota might not use extraordinary approaches to branding itself. But, its
investment in the most ethical practices and culture reflects in the quality of
the products and services. Academia on management and culture praises
the Toyota Production system (TPS) and regards it as one of the best
management practices in current times. Toyota, with a record earning of
$120.9Bn has proved to be a self branded organization in its own respects.

Fashion retailer Zara’s branding strategy is very interesting as they do not

give an option to their customers to shop online even though they have a
website with one of the best aesthetics available to a fashion consumer.
Encouraging customers to visit their stores is a very strategic move as
expenses on website development are cut down and in-store sales are
increased which is a popular mantra for today’s ferociously competitive
organizations.

Both the organizations are examples of sustainable and highly competitive,

yet strategically differentiated giants in their respective fields.

Where the value of a brand can easily exceed an organization’s assets, more
and more companies are investing in branding activities than ever before. If
a triple bottom model of sustainability is followed. People, Planet and Profits
are the main proponents of growth. If through branding, companies cater to
the three aspects, growth is inevitable. Projection of the right image can get
the company to higher levels than any other strategy.

“Building brands rarely happens quickly. It requires a lot of planning and patience. But your
future profits and market share are likely to be far greater by putting the effort into
branding from the start”
References:

1. [Bates. C]
MBA in Strategic Marketing from the UK Chartered Institute of
Marketing http://www.sideroad.com/Branding/what_is_brand.html

2. [American Marketing Association]

http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/whatisbranding.htm

3. [BRANDZ - Top 100 Most Powerful Brands by M/s. Millward Brown,

2007, Pg. 3]
http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/optimor/Media/Pdfs/en/BrandZ/BrandZ-
2007-RankingReport.pdf

4. [Lake. L, Marketing Guide at about.com]

http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/whatisbranding.htm

5. http://www.cartydesign.com/Branding08.pdf

6. http://www.slideshare.net/brierman/before-and-after-by-david-brier

7. http://books.google.ae/books?
id=6o7SrLdgx8gC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=biggest+branding+disaster&sourc
e=bl&ots=tcTsax5WxG&sig=ECIJI6yHnnbMMTu__8vMdAip_UQ&hl=en&ei=sW
 QTS6DPLoeBkQWZzImjBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved
=0CBYQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=biggest%20branding%20disaster&f=false
Brand failures: the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time
By Matt Haig

8. http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/3453/29/Importance-Of-Branding-
What-s-In-A-Name.html

9. http://www.taberconsulting.com/download/dtr-18.htm

10.http://blog.v7n.com/2007/01/31/googles-branding-strategy/

11.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_42_40/ai_58251889/

12.http://www.industryweek.com/articles/the_toyota_branding_system_13433.as
px

13.http://brandcameo.org/features_webwatch.asp?ww_id=190

14.http://www.lohas.com/articles/101570.html

15.http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=B

16.http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/marketing-quotes.htm

17.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_loyalty

18.http://www.chemarkconsulting.net/docs/articles/03biz_corner_MAR06.pdf

19.http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/optimor/Media/Pdfs/en/BrandZ/BrandZ-
2007-RankingReport.pdf

20.http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/016942.html

21.http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/3453/29/Importance-Of-Branding-
What-s-In-A-Name.html

22.http://www.esp-conference.de/handouts.pdf

23.http://www.brandlogic.com/practices/brand_strategy_research

24.http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82248.html

25.http://www.sideroad.com/Branding/what_is_brand.html

26.http://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/addfiles/documents/community/what_is
_a_brand.pdf

27.http://www.infotrends.com/public/Content/MRD/Projectdescriptions/brandperc
eption.html
28.http://www.mudvalley.co.uk/collateral/content/15.htm

29.http://www.cartydesign.com/Branding08.pdf

30.http://www.lanebaldwin.com/increase.htm

31.http://www.articlegallery.net/Art/293347/16/Building-Brands-Will-Increase-
Your-Profits.html