Brand identity vs. Brand image
Brand identity is what the company believes in, their
benefits, authenticity and quality. Brand image is how consumers perceive the
products and service. Companies do are great job when brand identity and image
are similar to each other.
Branding used to be a source of ownership and now branding is synonym of quality.
What Good Brands Have
in Common?
What do State Farm, Nike, and Apple all have in common? First, you
recognize each one of them right away. They own nearly 100 percent of mind
share in the markets they serve— you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who
does not immediately recognize their brand. And what else do they have in
common? Consider this: nearly 40 percent of all companies, and thus company
brands, last fewer than ten years. These companies are beating the odds by
four, five, and ten times over. What else? They have the ability to price their
products and services at levels that set benchmarks for the industry, and when
you experience their names, logos, or unique value propositions, you recognize
them immediately, know what they do and offer, and relate to them on a personal
level— perhaps through an agent in your neighborhood, with a celebrated athlete
and a favorite pair of running shoes, or by browsing products in their store,
utilizing Apple’s Genius Bar, or savoring the joy of opening artfully designed
packaging delivered to your home. Finally, you have a clear sense of their
image— where they are in the pecking order of competition, how their products
and services compare in value for price, and how you feel about their brand.
This is what a brand and good branding is all about— an object choice, an
enterprise and its offerings, about which you and the marketplace forge an
emotional and intellectual relationship. (Break through branding page 5)
Companies who do a great job in branding could lose all its
assets but would still remain in business due to its brand awareness with the
public. Brand awareness is a great source for business success.
Brand building requires the organization to understand
itself and unify efforts within. Once everyone has the same perception, the concept
will become a framework, which will guide “near term business planning”, long
term strategic planning and marketing planning.
Brand elements
Readily observable elements:
·
Name: trade mark.
·
An aesthetic: everything about the look that can
distinguish the brand that activates sense. Font, color, graphics, logo, sound,
smells.
·
Unique selling or value proposition: word or phrase in which express a reason to
be or a promise. Used as slogans and in same cases the names itself convey the
message.
Tangible elements:
·
Product and services
·
People
·
Quality and reputation
·
Environments where the brand is created promoted
and delivered.
Experiential elements:
At organizational level, the company can decide how the
market will use their brand. The consumer on the other hand has to develop a
need or desire towards the brand and it has his own expectation of what its
supposed to be offered.
Apple experience, six design lesions from Apple store:
1.
Create and experience, not an artifact
The customer is dragged in and focuses on the brand’s offerings, only
after start to focus on his/hers needs.
2.
Honor context
Focus on customer experience regarding the display of products rather
than internal logic.
3.
Prioritize your messages
Fewer messages more content available when the customer needs it.
4.
Institute consistency
Consistency through all communication channels.
5.
Design for change
Understand the need for change in this fast pace environment. Listen to trends and feedback is the way to
ahead of the market.
6.
Don’t forget the human element
The brand also represents the people involved. From those who represent
the brands to those engaged with it.
Intentional elements:
Intentions are expressed in mission, values and vision.
3 brand dimensions
Identity: what you are? what you do? who is your target audience?
Personality: features, quality, benefits
Image: what you want to be.
Brand Identity models
In The Great
Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald writes, “Personality is an unbroken series
of successful gestures.” Similarly, a brand is the result of an
unbroken series of consistent gestures, encompassing both what it does and how
it does it. Brand Identity is the tool marketers use to articulate the rules
for brand gestures. It explains how the brand will support the organization’s
overall mission and objectives, and forms a bridge to making decisions about
more than just marketing. Successful companies use the brand as a filter for
determining whom to hire, which businesses to participate in, what partnerships
to pursue and more. As a result, creating a brand identity is one of the most
important steps a company can take to ensure a consistent, enduring brand.
(Carol Phillips and Judy Hopelain)
Kapferer's Brand identity model.
Examples:
D. Aaker's brand equity model:
This model can be used to get to grips with a brand’s equity
and gain insight into the relation between the different brand equity
components and (future) performance of the brand. Apart from the five
components, the model also reflects indicators (and/or consequences) of the
pursued branding policy. It goes without saying that brand equity will rise as
brand loyalty increases, brand name awareness increases, perceived quality
increases, brand associations become stronger (and more positive), and the
number of brand-related proprietary as- sets increase. The model also provides
insight into the criteria that indicate to what degree actual value is created
with both consumer and company due the pursued branding policy.
Sources:
Lindstron, Martin. Brand sense: build powerful brands through touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound
New York, NY USA.Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2005. Accessed: 10.02.2016
Walters, Suzanne, and Jackson, Kent L.. Break-Through Branding : Positioning Your Library to Survive and Thrive. New York, NY, USA: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Incorporated, 2014. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 11 February 2016.
Copyright © 2014. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
