Brand identity is the visible elements of a brand, such as color, design, and logo, that identify and distinguish the brand in consumers' minds. Brand identity is distinct from brand image. The former corresponds to the intent behind the branding and the way a company does the following—all to cultivate a certain image in consumers' minds:
Brand image is the actual result of these efforts, successful or unsuccessful.
Brand identity in many ways is the visual (symbol or illustration) aspect of a brand. Think of the Nike 'swoosh' or Apple's apple—those are two instances where the identity of a brand is connected with a symbol or visual aspect. Building brand identity must have a strong visual image to link the brand. A brand identity is compiled of various branding elements. When you put them together, the identity in many ways is the mascot of your brand. It is how a company expresses and describes itself from the images on its marketing materials, the colors that represent the brand, and how a company markets itself on social media. A strong brand identity strengthens a company's popularity and presence in a competitive market. Beyond saving the company money on promotion, a successful brand can be one of the company's most valuable assets. Brand value is intangible, making it difficult to quantify. Still, common approaches take into account the cost it would take to build a similar brand, the cost of royalties to use the brand name, and the cash flow of comparative unbranded businesses. Nike, Inc., for example, owns one of the world's most instantly recognizable logos, the "swoosh." According to Forbes' "The 2020 World's Most Powerful Brands" report, the Nike brand ranked 13 with an estimated brand value of $39.1 billion, even though, in a world devoid of brand perception, taking the swoosh off of Nike's shoes and apparel would change nothing about their comfort or performance. The top brand on the 2020 list was Apple, with an estimated brand value of $241.2 billion. The steps a company should take to build a strong, cohesive, and consistent brand identity will vary, but a few points apply broadly to most:
Building a brand identity is a multi-disciplinary strategic effort, and every element needs to support the overall message and business goals. National, religious, guild, and heraldic symbols, which we might see as analogous to modern branding, go back millennia. The modern practice dates to the industrial revolution; however, when household goods began to be produced in factories, manufacturers needed a way to differentiate themselves from competitors. Thus, these efforts evolved from simple visual branding to advertisements that included mascots, jingles, and other sales and marketing techniques. Many companies claim to have the oldest trademarked brands: Twinings Tea, Stella Artois, and Levi Strauss. Building a brand identity is a multi-disciplinary strategic effort, and every element needs to support the overall message and business goals. It can include a company's name, logo, and design; its style and the tone of its copy; the look and composition of its products; and, of course, its social media presence. Apple founder Steve Jobs famously obsessed over details as small as the shade of gray on bathroom signs in Apple stores. While that level of focus may not be necessary, the anecdote shows that Apple's successful branding results from the intense effort, not just luck. But building brand identity isn't just for the big leagues. All companies, both small and mid-sized businesses, should build a strong brand identity.
Brand identity matters because without it, customers are not able to recognize a brand easily. A strong brand may helps sell a company to consumers.
A good brand has a clear focus, strong visuals, is familiar with its target audience (family versus mature audience, for example) and is easily recognizable in a sea of similar brands.
Nike, Mcdonald's, Apple, Google, Disney, and Amazon have some of the most recognizable and valuable brands.
Explain the product life-cycle concept.
The product life cycle describes the stages a new product goes through in the marketplace: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Product sales growth and profitability differ at each stage, and marketing managers have marketing objectives and marketing mix strategies unique to each stage based on consumer behavior and competitive factors. In the introductory stage, the need is to establish primary demand, whereas the growth stage requires selective demand strategies. In the maturity stage, the need is to maintain market share; the decline stage necessitates a deletion or harvesting strategy. Some important aspects of product life cycles are (a) their length, (b) the shape of the sales curves, and (c) the rate at which consumers adopt products.
Identify ways that marketing executives manage a product's life cycle.
Marketing executives manage a product's life cycle in three ways. First, they can modify the product itself by altering its characteristics, such as product quality, performance, or appearance. Second, they can modify the market by finding new customers for the product, increasing a product's use among existing customers, or creating a new use situation for the product. Finally, they can reposition the product using any one or a combination of marketing mix elements. Four factors trigger a repositioning action. They include reacting to a competitor's position, reaching a new market, catching a rising trend, and changing the value offered to consumers.
Recognize the importance of branding and alternative branding strategies.
A basic decision in marketing products is branding, in which an organization uses a name, phrase, design, symbols, or a combination of these to identify its products and distinguish them from those of its competitors. Product managers recognize that brands offer more than product identification and a means to distinguish their products from competitors. Successful and established brands take on a brand personality and acquire brand equity—the added value a given brand name gives to a product beyond the functional benefits provided—that is crafted and nurtured by marketing programs that forge strong, favorable, and unique consumer associations with a brand. A good brand name should suggest the product benefits, be memorable, fit the company or product image, be free of legal restrictions, and be simple and emotional. Companies can and do employ several different branding strategies. With multiproduct branding, a company uses one name for all its products in a product class. A multibranding strategy involves giving each product a distinct name. A company uses private branding when it manufactures products but sells them under the brand name of a wholesaler or retailer. Finally, a company can employ mixed branding, where it markets products under its own name(s) and that of a reseller.
Describe the role of packaging and labeling in the marketing of a product.
Packaging and labeling play numerous roles in the marketing of a product. The packaging component of a product refers to any container in which it is offered for sale and on which label information is conveyed. Manufacturers, retailers, and consumers acknowledge that packaging and labeling provide communication, functional, and perceptual benefits. Contemporary packaging and labeling challenges include (a) the continuing need to connect with customers, (b) environmental concerns, (c) health, safety, and security issues, and (d) cost reduction.
Recognize how the four Ps framework is expanded in the marketing of services.
The four Ps framework also applies to services with some adaptations. Because services cannot be patented, unique offerings are difficult to protect. In addition, because services are intangible, brands and logos (which can be protected) are particularly important. The inseparability of production and consumption of services means that capacity management is important to services. The intangible nature of services makes price an important indication of service quality. Distribution has become an important marketing tool for services, and electronic distribution allows some services to provide global coverage. In recent years, service organizations have increased their promotional activities. Finally, the performance of people, the appearance of the physical environment, and the process involved in delivering a service are recognized as central to the customer experience.
The added value a brand name gives to a product beyond the functional benefits provided.
Any word, device (design, sound, shape, or color), or combination of these used to distinguish a seller's goods or services.
A set of human characteristics associated with a brand name.
A marketing decision in which an organization uses a name, phrase, design, symbols, or combination of these to identify its products and distinguish them from those of competitors.
Integrating the service component of the marketing mix with efforts to influence consumer demand.
seven Ps of services marketing
An expanded marketing mix for services that includes the four Ps (product, price, promotion, and place or distribution) as well as people, physical environment, and process.
A branding strategy that involves giving each product a distinct name when each brand is intended for a different market segment.
A branding strategy in which a company uses one name for all its products in a product class.
Charging different prices during different times of the day or days of the week to reflect variations in demand for the service.
Describes the stages a new product goes through in the marketplace: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
Advertising plays a major role in the ___ stage of the product life cycle, and ___ plays a major role in maturity.
Answer: introductory; product differentiation
How do high-learning and low-learning products differ?
Answer: A high-learning product requires significant customer education and there is an extended introductory period. A low-learning product requires little customer education because the benefits of purchase are readily understood, resulting in immediate sales.
What does “creating a new use situation” mean in managing a product's life cycle?
Answer: Creating a new use situation means finding new uses or applications for an existing product.
Explain the difference between trading up and trading down in product repositioning.
Answer: Trading up involves adding value to the product (or line) through additional features or higher-quality materials. Trading down involves reducing the number of features, quality, or price or downsizing— reducing the content of packages without changing package size and maintaining or increasing the package price.
What is the difference between a line extension and a brand extension?
Answer: A line extension uses a current brand name to enter a new market segment in its product class, whereas a brand extension uses a current brand name to enter a completely different product class.
Explain the role of packaging in terms of perception.
Answer: A package's shape, color, and graphics distinguish one brand from another, convey a brand's positioning, and build brand equity.
How do service businesses use off-peak pricing?
Answer: Service businesses charge different prices during different times of the day or days of the week to reflect variations in demand for the service. |