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A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separa ...
,
marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
, and
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
for recognition and, importantly, to create and store value as brand equity for the object identified, to the benefit of the brand's customers, its owners and shareholders. Brand names are sometimes distinguished from
generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
or store brands. The practice of branding - in the original literal sense of marking by burning - is thought to have begun with the ancient Egyptians, who are known to have engaged in livestock branding as early as 2,700 BCE. Branding was used to differentiate one person's
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot
branding iron A branding iron is used for branding, pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving an identifying mark. History The history of branding is very much tied to the history of using animals as a commodi ...
. If a person stole any of the cattle, anyone else who saw the symbol could deduce the actual owner. The term has been extended to mean a strategic personality for a product or company, so that "brand" now suggests the values and promises that a consumer may perceive and buy into. It includes the voice and the tonality of the business. Over time, the practice of branding objects extended to a broader range of packaging and goods offered for sale including
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
, wine,
cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
, and fish sauce and, in the 21st century, extends even further into services (such as legal, financial and
medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
), political parties and
people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of propert ...
(e.g. Lady Gaga and
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...
). Branding in terms of painting a cow with symbols or colors at flea markets was considered to be one of the oldest forms of the practice. In the modern era, the concept of branding has expanded to include deployment by a manager of the
marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
and communication techniques and tools that help to distinguish a
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
or products from competitors, aiming to create a lasting impression in the minds of
customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for ...
s. The key components that form a brand's toolbox include a brand's identity, personality, product design, brand communication (such as by logos and trademarks),
brand awareness Brand awareness is the extent to which customers are able to recall or recognize a brand under different conditions. Brand awareness is one of two dimensions from brand knowledge, an associative network memory model. Brand awareness is a key consi ...
,
brand loyalty In marketing, brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand, and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly, regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the envir ...
, and various branding (
brand management In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is p ...
) strategies. Many companies believe that there is often little to differentiate between several types of products in the 21st century, hence branding is among a few remaining forms of product differentiation.
Brand equity Brand equity, in marketing, is the worth of a brand in and of itself – i.e., the social value of a well-known brand name. The owner of a well-known brand name can generate more revenue simply from brand recognition, as consumers perceive the prod ...
is the measurable totality of a brand's worth and is validated by observing the effectiveness of these branding components. As markets become increasingly dynamic and fluctuating, brand equity is built by the deployment of marketing techniques to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, with side effects like reduced
price sensitivity A good's price elasticity of demand (E_d, PED) is a measure of how sensitive the quantity demanded is to its price. When the price rises, quantity demanded falls for almost any good, but it falls more for some than for others. The price elastici ...
. A brand is, in essence, a promise to its customers of what they can expect from products and may include emotional as well as functional benefits. When a customer is familiar with a brand or favors it incomparably to its competitors, a corporation has reached a high level of brand equity. Special accounting standards have been devised to assess brand equity. In accounting, a brand, defined as an intangible asset, is often the most valuable asset on a corporation's balance sheet. Brand owners manage their brands carefully to create shareholder value.
Brand valuation Brand valuation is the process of estimating the total financial value of a brand. A conflict of interest exists if those who value a brand were also involved in its creation. The ISO 10668 standard specifies six key requirements for the process of ...
is a management technique that ascribes a monetary value to a brand, and allows marketing investment to be managed (e.g.: prioritized across a portfolio of brands) to maximize shareholder value. Although only acquired brands appear on a company's balance sheet, the notion of putting a value on a brand forces marketing leaders to be focused on long term
stewardship Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources e ...
of the brand and managing for value. The word "brand" is often used as a
metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
referring to the company that is strongly identified with a brand. Marque or make are often used to denote a brand of motor vehicle, which may be distinguished from a
car model The model of a car is its design, in the context of the manufacturer's range or series of cars. Different models are distinguishable by technology, components, underpinnings, and/or style and appearance. The methods used to categorise cars into ...
. A ''concept brand'' is a brand that is associated with an abstract concept, like breast-cancer awareness or environmentalism, rather than a specific product, service, or business. A ''commodity brand'' is a brand associated with a
commodity In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a co ...
.


Etymology

The word, ''brand'', derives from its original and current meaning as a firebrand, a burning piece of wood. That word comes from Old English ''byrnan'', ''biernan'', and ''brinnan'' via Middle English as ''birnan'' and ''brond''. Torches were used to indelibly mark items such as furniture and pottery, and to permanently burn identifying marks into the skin of livestock and even slaves. Later the firebrands were replaced with branding irons. The marks themselves took on the term and came to be closely associated with craftsmen's products. Through that association, the term evolved to its current meaning.


History

Branding and labeling have an ancient history. Branding probably began with the practice of branding livestock to deter theft. Images of the branding of cattle occur in ancient Egyptian tombs dating to around 2,700 BCE. Over time, purchasers realized that the brand provided information about origin as well as about ownership, and could serve as a guide to quality. Branding was adapted by farmers, potters, and traders for use on other types of goods such as pottery and ceramics. Forms of branding or proto-branding emerged spontaneously and independently throughout Africa, Asia and Europe at different times, depending on local conditions.
Seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
, which acted as quasi-brands, have been found on early Chinese products of the Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE); large numbers of seals survive from the
Harappan civilization Harappa (; Urdu/ pnb, ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The Bronze Age Harappan civilisation, now more often called the Indus Valley Civilisation, is named after the site, which takes its name from a mode ...
of the Indus Valley (3,300–1,300 BCE) where the local community depended heavily on trade;
cylinder seals A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...
came into use in Ur in Mesopotamia in around 3,000 BCE, and facilitated the labelling of goods and property; and the use of maker's marks on pottery was commonplace in both ancient Greece and Rome. Identity marks, such as stamps on ceramics, were also used in ancient Egypt. Diana Twede has argued that the "consumer packaging functions of protection, utility and communication have been necessary whenever packages were the object of transactions". She has shown that
amphorae An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
used in Mediterranean trade between 1,500 and 500 BCE exhibited a wide variety of shapes and markings, which consumers used to glean information about the type of goods and the quality. The systematic use of stamped labels dates from around the fourth century BCE. In largely pre-literate society, the shape of the amphora and its pictorial markings conveyed information about the contents, region of origin and even the identity of the producer, which were understood to convey information about product quality.
David Wengrow David Wengrow (born 25 July 1972) is a British archaeologist and Professor of Comparative Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. He co-authored the international bestseller '' The Dawn of Everything: A New Hist ...
has argued that branding became necessary following the urban revolution in
ancient Mesopotamia The history of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing i ...
in the 4th century BCE, when large-scale economies started mass-producing commodities such as alcoholic drinks, cosmetics and textiles. These ancient societies imposed strict forms of quality-control over commodities, and also needed to convey value to the consumer through branding. Producers began by attaching simple stone seals to products which, over time, gave way to clay seals bearing impressed images, often associated with the producer's personal identity thus giving the product a personality. Not all historians agree that these markings are comparable with modern brands or labels, with some suggesting that the early pictorial brands or simple thumbprints used in pottery should be termed ''proto-brands'' while other historians argue that the presence of these simple markings does not imply that mature
brand management In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is p ...
practices operated. Scholarly studies have found evidence of branding, packaging, and labeling in antiquity. Archaeological evidence of potters' stamps has been found across the breadth of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
and in
ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
. Stamps were used on bricks, pottery, and storage containers as well as on fine ceramics. Pottery marking had become commonplace in ancient Greece by the 6th century BCE. A vase manufactured around 490 BCE bears the inscription "
Sophilos Sophilos ( grc, Σώφιλος; active about 590 – 570 BC) was an Attic potter and vase painter in the black-figure style. Sophilos is the oldest Attic vase painter so far to be known by his true name. Fragments of two wine basins ( dino ...
painted me", indicating that the object was both fabricated and painted by a single potter. Branding may have been necessary to support the extensive trade in such pots. For example, 3rd-century Gaulish pots bearing the names of well-known potters and the place of manufacture (such as Attianus of
Lezoux Lezoux (; oc, Lesós) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It was a key location in the filming of the 2004 film Les Choristes (The Chorus). Population See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme departme ...
, Tetturo of Lezoux and Cinnamus of Vichy) have been found as far away as
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...
and Hadrian's Wall in England. English potters based at Colchester and Chichester used stamps on their ceramic wares by the 1st century CE. The use of
hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
s, a type of brand, on precious metals dates to around the 4th century CE. A series of five marks occurs on
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
silver dating from this period. Some of the earliest use of maker's marks, dating to about 1,300 BCE, have been found in India. The oldest generic brand in continuous use, known in India since the
Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
(c. 1100 BCE to 500 BCE), is the herbal paste known as
chyawanprash Chyavanprash (), originally Chayavanaprasham, is a cooked mixture of sugar, honey, ghee, Indian gooseberry ( amla) jam, sesame oil, berries and various herbs and spices. It is prepared as per the instructions suggested in Ayurvedic texts. Chyavanp ...
, consumed for its purported health benefits and attributed to a revered ''
rishi ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" o ...
'' (or seer) named Chyawan. One well-documented early example of a highly developed brand is that of ''White Rabbit'' sewing needles, dating from China's Song dynasty (960 to 1127 CE). A copper
printing plate Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The e ...
used to print posters contained a message which roughly translates as: "Jinan Liu’s Fine Needle Shop: We buy high-quality steel rods and make fine-quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time." The plate also includes a trademark in the form of a 'White Rabbit", which signified good luck and was particularly relevant to women, who were the primary purchasers. Details in the image show a white rabbit crushing herbs, and text includes advice to shoppers to look for the stone white rabbit in front of the maker's shop. In ancient Rome, a commercial brand or inscription applied to objects offered for sale was known as a titulus pictus. The inscription typically specified information such as place of origin, destination, type of product and occasionally quality claims or the name of the manufacturer. Roman marks or inscriptions were applied to a very wide variety of goods, including, pots, ceramics, amphorae (storage/shipping containers) and on factory-produced oil-lamps. Carbonized loaves of bread, found at Herculaneum, indicate that some bakers stamped their bread with the producer's name. Roman glassmakers branded their works, with the name of
Ennion Ennion was one of the most prominent glassworkers of Ancient Rome, active from about 1 to 50 CE. He is famous for being the first known maker of decorated mold-blown glass, and for the exquisite quality of his work. Ennion branded his work by signi ...
appearing most prominently. One merchant that made good use of the titulus pictus was Umbricius Scaurus, a manufacturer of fish sauce (also known as garum) in Pompeii, circa 35 CE. Mosaic patterns in the atrium of his house feature images of amphorae bearing his personal brand and quality claims. The mosaic depicts four different amphora, one at each corner of the atrium, and bearing labels as follows: : 1. G(ari) F(los) SCO SCAURI/ EX OFFI iNA SCAU/RI (translated as: "The flower of garum, made of the mackerel, a product of Scaurus, from the shop of Scaurus") : 2. LIQU
inis INIS may refer to: * International Nuclear Information System * Iraqi National Intelligence Service * iNiS Corporation * Institut national de l'image et du son *Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service The Irish Naturalisation and Immigrati ...
FLOS (translated as: "The flower of Liquamen") : 3. G riF osSCOM ri SCAURI (translated as: "The flower of garum, made of the mackerel, a product of Scaurus") : 4. LIQUAMEN/ OPTIMUM/ EX OFFICI A SCAURI (translated as: "The best liquamen, from the shop of Scaurus") Scaurus' fish sauce was known by people across the Mediterranean to be of very high quality, and its reputation traveled as far away as modern France. In both Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum, archaeological evidence also points to evidence of branding and labeling in relatively common use across a broad range of goods. Wine jars, for example, were stamped with names, such as "Lassius" and "L. Eumachius"; probably references to the name of the producer. The use of identity marks on products declined following the fall of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
. In the European Middle Ages, heraldry developed a language of visual symbolism which would feed into the evolution of branding, and with the rise of the
merchant guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s the use of marks resurfaced and was applied to specific types of goods. By the 13th century, the use of maker's marks had become evident on a broad range of goods. In 1266, makers' marks on bread became compulsory in England. The Italians used brands in the form of watermarks on paper in the 13th century. Blind stamps,
hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
s, and silver-makers' marks—all types of brand—became widely used across Europe during this period. Hallmarks, although known from the 4th-century, especially in Byzantium, only came into general use during the Medieval period. British silversmiths introduced hallmarks for silver in 1300. Some brands still in existence date from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries' period of mass-production.
Bass Brewery The Bass Brewery () was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an ...
, the British brewery founded in 1777, became a pioneer in international brand marketing. Many years before 1855, Bass applied a red triangle to casks of its pale ale. In 1876, its red-triangle brand became the first registered trademark issued by the British government. '' Guinness World Records'' recognizes
Tate & Lyle Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...
(of Lyle's Golden Syrup) as Britain's, and the world's, oldest branding and packaging, with its green-and-gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885. Twinings tea has used the same logo capitalized font beneath a lion crest since 1787, making it the world's oldest in continuous use. A characteristic feature of 19th-century mass-marketing was the widespread use of branding, originating with the advent of packaged goods.
Industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econom ...
moved the production of many household items, such as soap, from local communities to centralized
factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
. When shipping their items, the factories would literally
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
their logo or company insignia on the barrels used, effectively using a corporate trademark as a quasi-brand. Factories established following the Industrial Revolution introduced mass-produced goods and needed to sell their products to a wider market—that is, to customers previously familiar only with locally produced goods. It became apparent that a generic package of soap had difficulty competing with familiar, local products. Packaged-goods manufacturers needed to convince the market that the public could place just as much trust in the non-local product. Gradually, manufacturers began using personal identifiers to differentiate their goods from generic products on the market. Marketers generally began to realize that brands, to which personalities were attached, outsold rival brands. By the 1880s, large manufacturers had learned to imbue their brands'
identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...
with personality traits such as youthfulness, fun, sex appeal, luxury or the "cool" factor. This began the modern practice now known as ''branding'', where the consumers buy ''the brand'' instead of the product and rely on the brand name instead of a retailer's recommendation. The process of giving a brand "human" characteristics represented, at least in part, a response to consumer concerns about mass-produced goods. The
Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. ...
began using the image of the Quaker Man in place of a trademark from the late 1870s, with great success.
Pears' soap Pears transparent soap is a British brand of soap first produced and sold in 1807 by Andrew Pears, at a factory just off Oxford Street in London. It was the world's first mass-market translucent soap. Under the stewardship of advertising pio ...
,
Campbell's soup Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
,
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
, Juicy Fruit chewing gum and
Aunt Jemima Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for Baking mix, pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed i ...
pancake mix were also among the first products to be "branded" in an effort to increase the consumer's familiarity with the product's merits. Other brands which date from that era, such as
Ben's Original Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that was introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Its headquarters are in Denver Harbor, Houston, Tex ...
rice and
Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toast ...
breakfast cereal, furnish illustrations of the trend. By the early 1900s,
trade press A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for t ...
publications,
advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
, and advertising experts began producing books and pamphlets exhorting manufacturers to bypass retailers and to advertise directly to consumers with strongly branded messages. Around 1900, advertising guru James Walter Thompson published a housing advertisement explaining trademark advertising. This was an early commercial explanation of what scholars now recognize as modern branding and the beginnings of brand management. This trend continued to the 1980s, and is quantified in concepts such as brand value and
brand equity Brand equity, in marketing, is the worth of a brand in and of itself – i.e., the social value of a well-known brand name. The owner of a well-known brand name can generate more revenue simply from brand recognition, as consumers perceive the prod ...
. Naomi Klein has described this development as "brand equity mania". In 1988, for example,
Philip Morris Companies Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc.) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes and related products. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in ...
purchased Kraft Foods Inc. for six times what the company was worth on paper. Business analysts reported that what they really purchased was the brand name. With the rise of mass media in the early 20th century, companies adopted techniques that allowed their messages to stand out. Slogans, mascots, and jingles began to appear on radio in the 1920s and in early television in the 1930s. Soap manufacturers sponsored many of the earliest radio drama series, and the genre became known as '' soap opera''. By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers had started to develop relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense. Advertisers began to use motivational research and
consumer research Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix ...
to gather insights into consumer purchasing. Strong branded campaigns for
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
and Exxon/Esso, using insights drawn from research into psychology and cultural anthropology, led to some of the most enduring campaigns of the 20th-century. Brand advertisers began to imbue goods and services with a personality, based on the insight that consumers searched for brands with personalities that matched their own. Aaker, J., "Dimensions of Brand Personality", ''Journal of Marketing Research'', Vol. 34 No. 3, 1997, p. 347; Aaker, J., "The Malleable Self: The Role of Self-expression in Persuasion", ''Journal of Marketing Research'', Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 45–57; Parker, B. T., "A Comparison of Brand Personality and Brand user-imagery Congruence", ''Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 3, 2009, pp. 175–184''


Concepts

Effective branding, attached to strong brand values, can result in higher sales of not only one product, but of other products associated with that brand. If a customer loves Pillsbury biscuits and trusts the brand, he or she is more likely to try other products offered by the company – such as chocolate-chip cookies, for example. Brand development, often performed by a design team, takes time to produce.


Brand names and trademarks

A brand name is the part of a brand that can be spoken or written and ''identifies'' a product, service or company and sets it apart from other comparable products within a category. A brand name may include words, phrases, signs, symbols, designs, or any combination of these elements. For consumers, a brand name is a "memory heuristic": a convenient way to remember preferred product choices. A brand name is not to be confused with a ''trademark'' which refers to the brand name or part of a brand that is legally protected. For example, Coca-Cola not only protects the brand name, ''Coca-Cola'', but also protects the distinctive Spencerian script and the contoured shape of the bottle. It appears that a brand name and the relationship the consumer keep with the brand as a whole has evolved. From the simple product recognition process a brand name now holds a symbolic and social identification spectrum. ournier 1998For example, one can buy Nike because they want to be associated with the kind of people who wear Nike and with the values and attributes of that brand. More than a product it is a statement that one should seek to purchase by proxy of the brand
elk 1988 The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The commo ...


Corporate brand identity

Brand identity is a collection of individual components, such as a name, a design, a set of images, a slogan, a vision, writing style, a particular font or a symbol etc. which sets the brand aside from others. For a company to exude a strong sense of brand identity, it must have an in-depth understanding of its target market, competitors and the surrounding business environment. Brand identity includes both the core identity and the extended identity. The core identity reflects consistent long-term associations with the brand; whereas the extended identity involves the intricate details of the brand that help generate a constant motif. According to Kotler et al. (2009), a brand's identity may deliver four levels of meaning: # attributes # benefits # values # personality A brand's attributes are a set of labels with which the corporation wishes to be associated. For example, a brand may showcase its primary attribute as environmental friendliness. However, a brand's attributes alone are not enough to persuade a customer into purchasing the product. These attributes must be communicated through benefits, which are more emotional translations. If a brand's attribute is being environmentally friendly, customers will receive the benefit of feeling that they are helping the environment by associating with the brand. Aside from attributes and benefits, a brand's identity may also involve branding to focus on representing its core set of values. If a company is seen to symbolize specific values, it will, in turn, attract customers who also believe in these values. For example, Nike's brand represents the value of a " just do it" attitude. Thus, this form of brand identification attracts customers who also share this same value. Even more extensive than its perceived values is a brand's personality. Quite literally, one can easily describe a successful brand identity as if it were a person. This form of brand identity has proven to be the most advantageous in maintaining long-lasting relationships with consumers, as it gives them a sense of personal interaction with the brand Collectively, all four forms of brand identification help to deliver a powerful meaning behind what a corporation hopes to accomplish, and to explain why customers should choose one brand over its competitors.


Brand personality

Brand personality refers to "the set of human personality traits that are both applicable to and relevant for brands." Marketers and consumer researchers often argue that brands can be imbued with human-like characteristics which resonate with potential consumers. Such personality traits can assist marketers to create unique, brands that are differentiated from rival brands. Aaker conceptualized brand personality as consisting of five broad dimensions, namely: sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, and cheerful), excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, and up to date), competence (reliable, intelligent, and successful), sophistication (glamorous, upper class, charming), and ruggedness (outdoorsy and tough). Subsequent research studies have suggested that Aaker's dimensions of brand personality are relatively stable across different industries, market segments and over time. Much of the literature on branding suggests that consumers prefer brands with personalities that are congruent with their own. Consumers may distinguish the psychological aspect (brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand) of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is termed the consumer's '' brand experience''. The brand is often intended to create an emotional response and recognition, leading to potential loyalty and repeat purchases. The brand experience is a brand's action perceived by a person. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the ''brand image'', is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product, with a service, or with the companies providing them. Marketers or product managers that responsible for branding, seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics, which make it special or unique. A brand can, therefore, become one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the
marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
. This means that building a strong brand helps to distinguish a product from similar ones and differentiate it from competitors. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called
brand management In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is p ...
. The orientation of an entire organization towards its brand is called
brand orientation In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is pe ...
. Brand orientation develops in response to market intelligence. Careful brand management seeks to make products or services relevant and meaningful to a target audience. Marketers tend to treat brands as more than the difference between the actual cost of a product and its selling price; rather brands represent the sum of all valuable qualities of a product to the consumer and are often treated as the total investment in brand building activities including marketing communications. Consumers may look on branding as an aspect of products or services, as it often serves to denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic (see also brand promise). From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services can command higher prices. Where two products resemble each other, but one of the products has no associated branding (such as a
generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
, store-branded product), potential purchasers may often select the more expensive branded product on the basis of the perceived quality of the brand or on the basis of the reputation of the brand owner.


Brand awareness

Brand awareness Brand awareness is the extent to which customers are able to recall or recognize a brand under different conditions. Brand awareness is one of two dimensions from brand knowledge, an associative network memory model. Brand awareness is a key consi ...
involves a customers' ability to recall and/or recognize brands, logos, and branded advertising. Brands help customers to understand which brands or products belong to which product or service category. Brands assist customers to understand the constellation of benefits offered by individual brands, and how a given brand within a category is differentiated from its competing brands, and thus the brand helps customers & potential customers understand which brand satisfies their needs. Thus, the brand offers the customer a short-cut to understanding the different product or service offerings that make up a particular category. Brand awareness is a key step in the customer's purchase decision process, since some kind of awareness is a precondition to purchasing. That is, customers will not consider a brand if they are not aware of it. Brand awareness is a key component in understanding the effectiveness both of a brand's identity and of its communication methods. Successful brands are those that consistently generate a high level of brand awareness, as this can be the pivotal factor in securing customer transactions. Various forms of brand awareness can be identified. Each form reflects a different stage in a customer's cognitive ability to address the brand in a given circumstance. Marketers typically identify two distinct types of brand awareness; namely ''brand recall'' (also known as ''unaided recall'' or occasionally ''spontaneous recall'') and ''brand recognition'' (also known as ''aided brand recall''). These types of awareness operate in entirely different ways with important implications for marketing strategy and advertising. * Most companies aim for "Top-of-Mind" which occurs when a brand pops into a consumer's mind when asked to name brands in a product category. For example, when someone is asked to name a type of facial tissue, the common answer, "Kleenex", will represent a top-of-mind brand. Top-of-mind awareness is a special case of brand recall. * Brand recall (also known as ''unaided brand awareness'' or ''spontaneous awareness'') refers to the brand or set of brands that a consumer can elicit from memory when prompted with a product category * Brand recognition (also known as ''aided brand awareness'') occurs when consumers see or read a list of brands, and express familiarity with a particular brand only after they hear or see it as a type of memory aide. * Strategic awareness occurs when a brand is not only top-of-mind to consumers, but also has distinctive qualities which consumers perceive as making it better than other brands in the particular market. The distinction(s) that set a product apart from the competition is/are also known as the unique selling point or USP.


Brand recognition

Brand recognition is one of the initial phases of brand awareness and validates whether or not a customer remembers being pre-exposed to the brand. Brand recognition (also known as ''aided brand recall'') refers to consumers' ability to correctly differentiate a brand when they come into contact with it. This does not necessarily require that the consumers identify or recall the brand name. When customers experience brand recognition, they are triggered by either a visual or verbal cue. For example, when looking to satisfy a category need such as a toilet paper, the customer would firstly be presented with multiple brands to choose from. Once the customer is visually or verbally faced with a brand, he/she may remember being introduced to the brand before. When given some type of cue, consumers who are able to retrieve the particular memory node that referred to the brand, they exhibit brand recognition. Often, this form of brand awareness assists customers in choosing one brand over another when faced with a low-involvement purchasing decision. Brand recognition is often the mode of brand awareness that operates in retail shopping environments. When presented with a product at the point-of-sale, or after viewing its visual packaging, consumers are able to recognize the brand and may be able to associate it with attributes or meanings acquired through exposure to promotion or word-of-mouth referrals. In contrast to brand recall, where few consumers are able to spontaneously recall brand names within a given category, when prompted with a brand name, a larger number of consumers are typically able to recognize it. Brand recognition is most successful when people can elicit recognition without being explicitly exposed to the company's name, but rather through visual signifiers like logos, slogans, and colors. For example, Disney successfully branded its particular script font (originally created for Walt Disney's "signature" logo), which it used in the logo for
go.com Go.com (also known as The Go Network) is a portal for Disney content that was created after The Walt Disney Company acquired the search engine Infoseek. Go.com is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, one of four divisions of the ...
.


Brand recall

Unlike brand recognition, brand recall (also known as ''unaided brand recall'' or ''spontaneous brand recall'') is the ability of the customer retrieving the brand correctly from memory. Rather than being given a choice of multiple brands to satisfy a need, consumers are faced with a need first, and then must recall a brand from their memory to satisfy that need. This level of brand awareness is stronger than brand recognition, as the brand must be firmly cemented in the consumer's memory to enable unassisted remembrance. This gives the company huge advantage over its competitors because the customer is already willing to buy or at least know the company offering available in the market. Thus, brand recall is a confirmation that previous branding touchpoints have successfully fermented in the minds of its consumers. Marketing-mix modeling can help marketing leaders optimize how they spend marketing budgets to maximize the impact on brand awareness or on sales. Managing brands for
value creation In marketing, a company’s value proposition is the full mix of benefits or economic value which it promises to deliver to the current and future customers (i.e., a market segment) who will buy their products and/or services. It is part of a com ...
will often involve applying marketing-mix modeling techniques in conjunction with
brand valuation Brand valuation is the process of estimating the total financial value of a brand. A conflict of interest exists if those who value a brand were also involved in its creation. The ISO 10668 standard specifies six key requirements for the process of ...
.


Brand elements

Brands typically comprise various elements, such as: * name: the word or words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept * logo: the visual trademark that identifies a brand * tagline or catchphrase: a short phrase always used in the product's advertising and closely associated with the brand * graphics: the "dynamic ribbon" is a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand * shapes: the distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle and of the Volkswagen Beetle are trademarked elements of those brands * colors: the instant recognition consumers have when they see Tiffany & Co.’s robin's egg blue (Pantone No. 1837). Tiffany & Co.’s trademarked the color in 1998. * sounds: a unique tune or set of notes can denote a brand. NBC's chimes provide a famous example. * scents: the rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked * tastes: Kentucky Fried Chicken has trademarked its special recipe of eleven herbs and spices for fried chicken * movements: Lamborghini has trademarked the upward motion of its car doors


Brand communication

Although brand identity is a fundamental asset to a brand's equity, the worth of a brand's identity would become obsolete without ongoing brand communication. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) relates to how a brand transmits a clear consistent message to its stakeholders . Five key components comprise IMC: # Advertising # Sales promotions # Direct marketing # Personal selling # Public relations The effectiveness of a brand's communication is determined by how accurately the customer perceives the brand's intended message through its IMC. Although IMC is a broad strategic concept, the most crucial brand communication elements are pinpointed to how the brand sends a message and what touch points the brand uses to connect with its customers hitty 2005 One can analyze the traditional communication model into several consecutive steps: * Firstly, a source/sender wishes to convey a message to a receiver. This source must encode the intended message in a way that the receiver will potentially understand. * After the encoding stage, the forming of the message is complete and is portrayed through a selected channel. In IMC, channels may include media elements such as advertising, public relations, sales promotions, etc. * It is at this point where the message can often deter from its original purpose as the message must go through the process of being decoded, which can often lead to unintended misinterpretation. * Finally, the receiver retrieves the message and attempts to understand what the sender was aiming to render. Often, a message may be incorrectly received due to noise in the market, which is caused by "…unplanned static or distortion during the communication process". * The final stage of this process is when the receiver responds to the message, which is received by the original sender as feedback. When a brand communicates a brand identity to a receiver, it runs the risk of the receiver incorrectly interpreting the message. Therefore, a brand should use appropriate communication channels to positively "…affect how the psychological and physical aspects of a brand are perceived". In order for brands to effectively communicate to customers, marketers must "…consider all
touch point A touchpoint can be defined as any way consumers can interact with a business organization, whether it be person-to-person, through a website, an app or any form of communication (“Touchpoint Glossary”, n.d.). When consumers come in contact ...
, s, or sources of contact, that a customer has with the brand". Touch points represent the channel stage in the traditional communication model, where a message travels from the sender to the receiver. Any point where a customer has an interaction with the brand - whether watching a television advertisement, hearing about a brand through word of mouth or even noticing a branded license plate – defines a touchpoint. According to Dahlen ''et al.'' (2010), every touchpoint has the "…potential to add positive – or suppress negative – associations to the brand's equity" Thus, a brand's IMC should cohesively deliver positive messages through appropriate touch points associated with its target market. One methodology involves using sensory stimuli touch points to activate customer emotion. For example, if a brand consistently uses a pleasant smell as a primary touchpoint, the brand has a much higher chance of creating a positive lasting effect on its customers' senses as well as memory. Another way a brand can ensure that it is utilizing the best communication channel is by focusing on touchpoints that suit particular areas associated with
customer experience Customer experience (CX) is a totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral consumer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages. Pine and Gilmore described the ...
. As suggested Figure 2, certain touch points link with a specific stage in customer-brand-involvement. For example, a brand may recognize that advertising touchpoints are most effective during the pre-purchase experience stage therefore they may target their advertisements to new customers rather than to existing customers. Overall, a brand has the ability to strengthen brand equity by using IMC branding communications through touchpoints. Brand communication is important in ensuring brand success in the business world and refers to how businesses transmit their brand messages, characteristics and attributes to their consumers. One method of brand communication that companies can exploit involves electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). eWOM is a relatively new approach helps et al., 2004 identified to communicate with consumers. One popular method of eWOM involves social networking sites (SNSs) such as Twitter. A study found that consumers classed their relationship with a brand as closer if that brand was active on a specific social media site (Twitter). Research further found that the more consumers "retweeted" and communicated with a brand, the more they trusted the brand. This suggests that a company could look to employ a
social-media campaign Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation and information sharing, sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and Network virtualization, ...
to gain consumer trust and loyalty as well as in the pursuit of communicating brand messages. McKee (2014) also looked into brand communication and states that when communicating a brand, a company should look to simplify its message as this will lead to more value being portrayed as well as an increased chance of target consumers recalling and recognizing the brand. In 2012 Riefler stated that if the company communicating a brand is a global organization or has future global aims, that company should look to employ a method of communication that is globally appealing to their consumers, and subsequently choose a method of communication with will be internationally understood. One way a company can do this involves choosing a product or service's brand name, as this name will need to be suitable for the marketplace that it aims to enter. It is important that if a company wishes to develop a global market, the company name will also need to be suitable in different cultures and not cause offense or be misunderstood. When communicating a brand, a company needs to be aware that they must not just visually communicate their brand message and should take advantage of portraying their message through multi-sensory information. One article suggests that other senses, apart from vision, need to be targeted when trying to communicate a brand with consumers. For example, a jingle or background music can have a positive effect on brand recognition, purchasing behaviour and brand recall. Therefore, when looking to communicate a brand with chosen consumers, companies should investigate a channel of communication that is most suitable for their short-term and long-term aims and should choose a method of communication that is most likely to reach their target consumers. The match-up between the product, the consumer lifestyle, and the endorser is important for the effectiveness of brand communication.


Global brand variables


Brand name

The term "brand name" is quite often used interchangeably with "brand", although it is more correctly used to specifically denote written or spoken linguistic elements of any product. In this context, a "brand name" constitutes a type of trademark, if the brand name exclusively identifies the brand owner as the commercial source of products or services. A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand name through
trademark registration A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
– such trademarks are called "Registered Trademarks". Advertising spokespersons have also become part of some brands, for example:
Mr. Whipple Mr. George Whipple (also known as George the Grocer) is a fictional supermarket manager featured in television commercials, radio, and print advertisements that ran in the United States and Canada from 1964 to 1985 for Charmin toilet paper. Typica ...
of
Charmin Charmin ( ) is an American brand of toilet paper manufactured by Procter & Gamble. History The Charmin name was first created on April 19, 1928 by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950, Hoberg changed its name to Charmin Pape ...
toilet tissue and
Tony the Tiger Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties) breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. Tony has also been the mascot for related cereals such as Tony's Cinnamon Kru ...
of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. Putting a value on a brand by
brand valuation Brand valuation is the process of estimating the total financial value of a brand. A conflict of interest exists if those who value a brand were also involved in its creation. The ISO 10668 standard specifies six key requirements for the process of ...
or using
marketing mix modeling Marketing mix modeling (MMM) is statistical analysis such as multivariate statistics, multivariate Linear regression, regressions on sales and marketing time series data to estimate the impact of various marketing tactics (marketing mix) on sales ...
techniques is distinct to valuing a trademark.


Types of brand names

Brand names come in many styles. A few include: *
initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
: a name made of initials, such as "UPS" or "IBM" * descriptive: names that describe a product benefit or function, such as "Whole Foods" or "Toys R' Us" *
alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...
and
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
: names that are fun to say and which stick in the mind, such as "Reese's Pieces" or "
Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...
" * evocative: names that can evoke a vivid image, such as "Amazon" or "Crest" * neologisms: completely made-up words, such as " Wii" or "
Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, N ...
" * foreign word: adoption of a word from another language, such as " Volvo" or " Samsung" * founders' names: using the names of real people, (especially a founder's surname), such as " Hewlett-Packard", "
Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), Server (computin ...
", " Disney", "Stussy" or "Mars" * geography: naming for regions and landmarks, such as "
Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
" or "
Fuji Film , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from th ...
" * personification: taking names from myths, such as "Nike"; or from the minds of ad execs, such as "
Betty Crocker Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was originally created by the General Mills, Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 following a contest in the ''Saturday Evening Post' ...
" * punny: some brands create their name by using a silly pun, such as " Lord of the Fries", "Wok on Water" or "Eggs Eggscetera" * portmanteau: combining multiple words together to create one, such as " Microsoft" ("microcomputer" and "software"), " Comcast" ("communications" and "broadcast"), " Evernote" ("forever" and "note"), " Vodafone" ("voice", "data", "telephone") The act of associating a product or service with a brand has become part of pop culture. Most products have some kind of brand identity, from common table salt to
designer jeans Designer clothing is expensive luxury clothing considered to be high quality and haute couture for the general public, made by, or carrying the label of, a well-known fashion designer. Brands Designer clothing is not always created by the foun ...
. A
brandnomer A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...
is a brand name that has
colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...
ly become a generic term for a product or service, such as Band-Aid, Nylon, or
Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, tampons, and diapers. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue in the United States and Canada, the na ...
—which are often used to describe any brand of adhesive bandage; any type of hosiery; or any brand of facial tissue respectively. Xerox, for example, has become synonymous with the word "copy".


Brand line

A brand line allows the introduction of various subtypes of a product under a common, ideally already established, brand name. Examples would be the individual Kinder Chocolates by Ferrero SA, the subtypes of
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
, or special editions of popular brands. See also
brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...
.
Open Knowledge Foundation Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) is a global, non-profit network that promotes and shares information at no charge, including both content and data. It was founded by Rufus Pollock on 20 May 2004 in Cambridge, UK. It is incorporated in England ...
created in December 2013 the BSIN (Brand Standard Identification Number). BSIN is universal and is used by the Open Product Data Working Group of the
Open Knowledge Foundation Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) is a global, non-profit network that promotes and shares information at no charge, including both content and data. It was founded by Rufus Pollock on 20 May 2004 in Cambridge, UK. It is incorporated in England ...
to assign a brand to a product. The OKFN Brand repository is critical for the Open Data movement.


Brand identity

The expression of a brand – including its name, trademark, communications, and visual appearance – is brand identity. Because the identity is assembled by the brand owner, it reflects how the owner ''wants'' the consumer to perceive the brand – and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. This is in contrast to the brand image, which is a customer's mental picture of a brand. The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors. Brand identity is distinct from brand image. Brand identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential consumers. However, over time, a product's brand identity may acquire (evolve), gaining new attributes from consumer perspective but not necessarily from the marketing communications, an owner percolates to targeted consumers. Therefore, businesses research consumer's brand associations. The brand identity works as a guideline, as the frame in which a brand will evolve and define itself, or in the words of David Aaker, "…a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain." According to Kapferer (2007), there are 6 facets to a brand's identity: * Physique: The physical characteristics and iconography of your brand ( such as the Nike swoosh or the orange pantone of easyJet). * Personality: The persona, how a brand communicates with their audience, which is expressed through its tone of voice, design assets and then integrates this into communication touchpoints in a coherent way. * Culture: The values, the principles on which a brand bases its behaviour. For example, Google flexible office hours and fun environment so the employees feel happy and creative at work. * Reflection: The "stereotypical user" of the brand. A brand is likely to be purchased by several buyer's profiles but they will have a go-to person that they use in their campaigns. For example, Lou Yetu and the Parisian chic profile. * Relationship: The bond between a brand and its customers, and the customer expectations of the brand (the experience beyond the tangible product). Such as warranties or services during and after purchase help maintain a sustainable relationship and keep the consumer trust. * Self-image: How does one brand-customer portrays their ideal self – how they want to look and behave; what they aspire to – brands can target their messaging accordingly and make the brand's aspirations reflect theirs.


Visual brand identity

A brand can also be used to attract customers by a company, if the brand of a company is well established and has goodwill. The recognition and perception of a brand is highly influenced by its visual presentation. A brand's visual identity is the overall look of its communications. Effective visual brand identity is achieved by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create distinction, such as specific fonts, colors, and graphic elements. At the core of every brand identity is a brand mark, or logo. In the United States, brand identity and logo design naturally grew out of the Modernist movement in the 1950s and greatly drew on the principles of that movement – simplicity (
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
's principle of "Less is more") and geometric abstraction. These principles can be observed in the work of the pioneers of the practice of visual brand identity design, such as
Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum; August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was an American art director and graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Morningstar, Inc., Westinghouse, ...
and Saul Bass. As part of a company's brand identity, a logo should complement the company's message strategy. An effective logo is simple, memorable, and works well in any medium including both online and offline applications. Color is a particularly important element of visual brand identity and color mapping provides an effective way of ensuring color contributes to differentiation in a visually cluttered marketplace.


Brand trust

Brand trust is the intrinsic 'believability' that any entity evokes. In the commercial world, the intangible aspect of brand trust impacts the behavior and performance of its business stakeholders in many intriguing ways. It creates the foundation of a strong brand connect with all stakeholders, converting simple awareness to strong commitment. This, in turn, metamorphoses normal people who have an indirect or direct stake in the organization into devoted ambassadors, leading to concomitant advantages like easier acceptability of brand extensions, the perception of premium, and acceptance of temporary quality deficiencies. Brand trust is often used as an important part of developing the portrayal of the business globally. Foreign companies will often use names that are associated with quality, in order to entrust the brand itself. An example would be a Chinese company using a German name. ''The Brand Trust Report'' is syndicated primary research that has elaborated on this metric of brand trust. It is a result of the action, behavior, communication, and attitude of an entity, with the most trust results emerging from its action component. The action of the entity is most important in creating trust in all those audiences who directly engage with the brand, the primary experience carrying primary audiences. However, the tools of communications play a vital role in transferring the trust experience to audiences who have never experienced the brand, the all-important secondary audience.


Brand parity

Brand parity is the perception of the customers that some brands are equivalent. This means that shoppers will purchase within a group of accepted brands rather than choosing one specific brand. When brand parity operates, quality is often not a major concern because consumers believe that only minor quality differences exist. Instead, it is important to have brand equity which is "the perception that a good or service with a given brand name is different, better, and can be trusted" according to Kenneth E Clow.


Expanding role of brands

The original aim of branding was to simplify the process of identifying and differentiating products. Over time, manufacturers began to use branded messages to give the brand a unique personality. Brands came to embrace a performance or benefit promise, for the product, certainly, but eventually also for the company behind the brand. Today, brands play a much bigger role. The power of brands to communicate a complex message quickly, with emotional impact and with the ability of brands to attract media attention, makes them ideal tools in the hands of activists. Cultural conflict over a brand's meaning has also influences the diffusion of an innovation. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 75% of US customers tried different stores, websites or brands, and 60% of those expect to integrate new brands or stores into their post-pandemic lives. If brands can find ways to help people feel empowered and regain a sense of control in uncertain times, they can help people reconnect and heal (and be appreciated for it).


Branding strategies


Company name

Often, especially in the industrial sector, brand engineers will promote a company's name. Exactly how the company name relates to product and services names forms part of a
brand architecture In the field of brand management, brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity. It is the way brands within a company's portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, one another. According to J.-N. Kapferer, ...
. Decisions about company names and product names and their relationship depend on more than a dozen strategic considerations. In this case, a strong brand name (or company name) becomes the vehicle for marketing a range of products (for example, Mercedes-Benz or
Black & Decker Black+Decker Inc. is an American manufacturer of power tools, accessories, hardware, home improvement products, home appliances and fastening systems headquartered in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, where the company was o ...
) or a range of subsidiary brands (such as
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods Inc, Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest ...
Dairy Milk, Cadbury Flake, or
Cadbury Fingers Fingers are a popular chocolate biscuit in the United Kingdom and Ireland which consists of a rod-shaped biscuit centre covered in chocolate. Fingers are produced at Burton's Biscuit Company in the United Kingdom and sold by Cadbury UK, and are d ...
in the UK). Corporate name-changes offer particularly stark examples of branding-related decisions. A name change may signal different ownership or new product directions. Thus the name Unisys originated in 1986 when Burroughs bought and incorporated
UNIVAC UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company an ...
; and the newly-named International Business Machines represented a broadening of scope in 1924 from its original name, the
Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) was a holding company of manufacturers of record-keeping and measuring systems subsequently known as IBM. In 1911, financier and noted trust organizer, "Father of Trusts", Charles R. Flint amal ...
. A change in corporate naming may also have a role in seeking to shed an undesirable image: for example, Werner Erhard and Associates re-branded its activities as
Landmark Education Landmark Worldwide (known as Landmark Education before 2013), or simply Landmark, is a company, headquartered in San Francisco, that offers personal-development programs. Landmark Education started in 1991 with the licensing of rights to use i ...
in 1991 at a time when publicity in a ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique sty ...
'' investigative-report broadcast cast the est and Werner Erhard brands in a negative light, and
Union Carbide India Limited Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was a chemical company founded in 1934. UCIL employed 9,000 people. UCIL was 50.9% owned by Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation (UCC) located in the United States and 49.1% by Indian investors including the ...
became
Eveready Industries India Eveready Industries India Ltd. (EIIL) is an Indian company that manufactures and markets Batteries, Flashlights, Lighting solutions (Lamps and Luminaires). The Eveready brand has been present in India since 1905. EIIL's principal activities are th ...
in 1994 subsequent to the
Bhopal disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's ...
of 1984


Individual branding

Marketers associate separate products or lines with separate brand names - such as Seven-Up,
Kool-Aid Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. History Kool-Aid was invented by ...
, or
Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on 28 March 1882, by Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1890, it ...
Sun ( Beiersdorf - which may compete against other brands from the same company (for example,
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, ...
owns Persil,
Omo Omo or OMO may refer to: Geography Ethiopia * Omo River (Ethiopia), in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin and namesake for all the topics below * Omo Nada, one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia * ...
, Surf, and
Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, O ...
).


Challenger brands

A challenger brand is a brand in an industry where it is neither the market leader nor a niche brand. Challenger brands are categorized by a mindset that sees them have business ambitions beyond conventional resources and an intent to bring change to an industry.


Multiproduct branding strategy

Multiproduct branding strategy is when a company uses one name across all its products in a product class. When the company's trade name is used, multiproduct branding is also known as corporate branding, family branding or umbrella branding. Examples of companies that use corporate branding are Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, and
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
as the company's brand name is identical to their trade name. Other examples of multiproduct branding strategy include Virgin and
Church & Dwight Church & Dwight is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1846 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-known brands ...
. Virgin, a multination conglomerate uses the punk-inspired, handwritten red logo with the iconic tick for all its products ranging from airlines, hot air balloons, telecommunication to healthcare. Church & Dwight, a manufacturer of household products displays the
Arm & Hammer Arm & Hammer is a brand of baking soda-based consumer products marketed by Church & Dwight, a major American manufacturer of household products. The logo of the brand depicts the ancient symbol of a muscular arm holding a hammer inside a red c ...
family brand name for all its products containing baking soda as the main ingredient. A multiproduct branding strategy has many advantages. It capitalizes on brand equity as consumers that have a good experience with the product will in turn pass on this positive opinion to supplementary objects in the same product class as they share the same name. Consequently, the multiproduct branding strategy makes product line extension possible.


Product line extension

A product line extension is the procedure of entering a new market segment in its product class by means of using a current brand name. An example of this is the
Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to beco ...
, primarily a producer of canned soups. They utilize a multiproduct branding strategy by way of soup line extensions. They have over 100 soup flavours putting forward varieties such as regular Campbell soup, condensed, chunky, fresh-brewed, organic, and soup on the go. This approach is seen as favourable as it can result in lower promotion costs and advertising due to the same name being used on all products, therefore increasing the level of brand awareness. Although, line extension has potential negative outcomes with one being that other items in the company's line may be disadvantaged because of the sale of the extension. Line extensions work at their best when they deliver an increase in company revenue by enticing new buyers or by removing sales from competitors.


Subbranding

Subbranding is used by certain multiproduct branding companies. Subbranding merges a corporate, family or
umbrella brand Umbrella branding (also known as family branding) is a marketing practice involving the use of a single brand name for the sale of two or more related products. Umbrella branding is mainly used by companies with a positive brand equity (value o ...
with the introduction of a new brand in order to differentiate part of a product line from others in the whole brand system. Subbranding assists to articulate and construct offerings. It can alter a brand's identity as subbranding can modify associations of the parent brand. Examples of successful subbranding can be seen through Gatorade and Porsche. Gatorade, a manufacturer of sport-themed food and beverages effectively introduced Gatorade G2, a low-calorie line of Gatorade drinks. Likewise, Porsche, a specialized automobile manufacturer successfully markets its lower-end line, Porsche Boxster and higher-end line,
Porsche Carrera Carrera ('' Spanish'' for "race" and "career") is a brand of Porsche automobile. The name commemorates the company's success in the Carrera Panamericana race. The following vehicles have been called ''Carrera'': * Porsche 356 * Porsche 904 * Po ...
.


Brand extension and brand dilution

Brand extension is the system of employing a current brand name to enter a different product class. Having a strong brand equity allows for brand extension; for example, many fashion and designer companies extended brands into fragrances, shoes and accessories, home textile, home decor, luggage, (sun-) glasses, furniture, hotels, etc. Nevertheless, brand extension has its disadvantages. There is a risk that too many uses for one brand name can oversaturate the market resulting in a blurred and weak brand for consumers. Examples of brand extension can be seen through Kimberly-Clark and Honda. Kimberly-Clark is a corporation that produces personal and health care products being able to extend the
Huggies Huggies is an American company that sells disposable diapers and baby wipes that is marketed by Kimberly-Clark. Huggies were first test marketed in 1968, then introduced to the public in 1978 to replace the Kimbies brand. Products Huggies ...
brand name across a full line of toiletries for toddlers and babies. The success of this brand extension strategy is apparent in the $500 million in annual sales generated globally. Similarly, Honda using their reputable name for automobiles has spread to other products such as motorcycles, power equipment, engines, robots, aircraft, and bikes. Mars extended its brand to ice cream,
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symph ...
to shoes and watches, Michelin to a restaurant guide,
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
and Puma to personal hygiene. Dunlop extended its brand from tires to other rubber products such as shoes, golf balls, tennis racquets, and adhesives. Frequently, the product is no different from what else is on the market, except a brand name marking. Brand is product identity. There is a difference between brand extension and
line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...
extension. A line extension is when a current brand name is used to enter a new market segment in the existing product class, with new varieties or flavors or sizes. When
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
launched Diet Coke and
Cherry Coke Coca-Cola Cherry (originally marketed and stil commonly referred to as Cherry Coke) is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international m ...
, they stayed within the originating product category: non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. Procter & Gamble did likewise extending its strong lines (such as Fairy Soap) into neighboring products (Fairy Liquid and Fairy Automatic) within the same category, dish washing detergents. The risk of over-extension is brand dilution where the brand loses its brand associations with a market segment, product area, or quality, price or cachet.


Co-branding

Co-branding is a variation of brand extension. It is where a single product is created from the combining of two brand names of two manufacturers. Co-branding has its advantages as it lets firms enter new product classes and exploit a recognized brand name in that product class. An example of a co-branding success is Whitaker's working with Lewis Road Creamery to create a co-branded beverage called Lewis Road Creamery and Whittaker's Chocolate Milk. This product was a huge success in the New Zealand market with it going viral.


Multibranding strategy

Multibranding strategy is when a company gives each product a distinct name. Multibranding is best used as an approach when each brand in intended for a different market segment. Multibranding is used in an assortment of ways with selected companies grouping their brands based on price-quality segments. Individual brand names naturally allow greater flexibility by permitting a variety of different products, of differing quality, to be sold without confusing the consumer's perception of what business the company is in or diluting higher quality products. Procter & Gamble, a multinational consumer goods company that offers over 100 brands, each suited for different consumer needs. For instance,
Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders (H&S) is an American brand of anti-dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo produced by parent company Procter & Gamble. It was introduced in the United States on 1 January 1961 based in Manhattan and used the slogan THE AMERICA AND WORL ...
that helps consumers relieve dandruff in the form of a shampoo, Oral-B which offers inter-dental products, Vicks which offers cough and cold products, and
Downy Downy, also known as Lenor in Europe, Russia and Japan, is a brand of fabric softener produced by Procter & Gamble that was introduced in 1960. Lenor is a brand name of fabric softener and dryer sheets, also produced by P&G, sold in Europe, Russi ...
which offers dryer sheets and fabric softeners. Other examples include
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
, Nestlé,
Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toast ...
, and Mars. This approach usually results in higher promotion costs and advertising. This is due to the company being required to generate awareness among consumers and retailers for each new brand name without the benefit of any previous impressions. Multibranding strategy has many advantages. There is no risk that a product failure will affect other products in the line as each brand is unique to each market segment. Although, certain large multiband companies have come across that the cost and difficulty of implementing a multibranding strategy can overshadow the benefits. For example,
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, ...
, the world's third-largest multination consumer goods company recently streamlined its brands from over 400 brands to center their attention onto 14 brands with sales of over 1 billion euros. Unilever accomplished this through product deletion and sales to other companies. Other multibrand companies introduce new product brands as a protective measure to respond to competition called fighting brands or fighter brands. Cannibalization is a particular challenge with a multi-brand strategy approach, in which the new brand takes business away from an established one which the organization also owns. This may be acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall. Alternatively, it may be the price the organization is willing to pay for shifting its position in the market; the new product being one stage in this process.


Fighting brands

The main purpose of fighting brands is to challenge competitor brands. For example,
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
, Australia's largest flag carrier airline, introduced Jetstar to go head-to-head against the low-cost carrier, Virgin Australia (formerly known as Virgin Blue). Jetstar is an Australian low-cost airline for budget conscious travellers, but it receives many negative reviews due to this. The launching of Jetstar allowed Qantas to rival Virgin Australia without the criticism being affiliated with Qantas because of the distinct brand name.


Private branding strategy

Private branding (also known as reseller branding, private labelling, store brands, or own brands) have increased in popularity. Private branding is when a company manufactures products but it is sold under the brand name of a wholesaler or retailer. Private branding is popular because it typically produces high profits for manufacturers and resellers. The pricing of private brand product are usually cheaper compared to competing name brands. Consumers are commonly deterred by these prices as it sets a perception of lower quality and standard but these views are shifting. In Australia, their leading supermarket chains, both
Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...
and Coles are saturated with store brands (or private labels). For example, in the United States, Paragon Trade Brands, Ralcorp Holdings, and Rayovac are major suppliers of diapers, grocery products, and private label alkaline batteries, correspondingly.
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
, Walmart, RadioShack, Sears and
Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...
are large retailers that have their own brand names. Similarly,
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wit ...
, a mid-range chain of department stores offers a wide catalogue of private brands exclusive to their stores, from brands such as First Impressions which supply newborn and infant clothing, Hotel Collection which supply luxury linens and mattresses, and Tasso Elba which supply European inspired menswear. They use private branding strategy to specifically target consumer markets.


Mixed branding strategy

Mixed branding strategy is where a firm markets products under its own name(s) and that of a reseller because the segment attracted to the reseller is different from its own market. For example, Elizabeth Arden, Inc., a major American cosmetics and fragrance company, uses mixed branding strategy. The company sells its Elizabeth Arden brand through department stores and line of skin care products at Walmart with the "skin simple" brand name. Companies such as
Whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
, Del Monte, and Dial produce private brands of home appliances, pet foods, and soap, correspondingly. Other examples of mixed branding strategy include Michelin, Epson, Microsoft,
Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...
, and Toyota. Michelin, one of the largest tire manufacturers allowed Sears, an American retail chain to place their brand name on the tires. Microsoft, a multinational technology company is seriously regarded as a corporate technology brand but it sells its versatile home entertainment hub under the brand Xbox to better align with the new and crazy identity. Gillette catered to females with Gillette for Women which has now become known as Venus. The launch of Venus was conducted in order to fulfil the feminine market of the previously dominating masculine razor industry. Similarly, Toyota, an automobile manufacturer used mixed branding. In the U.S., Toyota was regarded as a valuable car brand being economical, family orientated and known as a vehicle that rarely broke down. But Toyota sought out to fulfil a higher end, expensive market segment, thus they created Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of premium cars.


Attitude branding and iconic brands

Attitude branding is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
of the product at all.
Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
labeled as attitude branding include that of Nike,
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
,
The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company currently has a range of 1,000 products sold in about 3,000 stores, divided ...
,
Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, del ...
and Apple. In the 1999 book '' No Logo'', Naomi Klein describes attitude branding as a "fetish strategy". Schaefer and Kuehlwein analyzed brands such as Apple,
Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream ...
or
Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
describing them as 'Ueber-Brands' – brands that are able to gain and retain "meaning beyond the material."
A great brand raises the bar – it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters. –
Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who served as both chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as interim CEO since 2022. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basket ...
(President, CEO, and Chairman of
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
)
Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that contribute to consumer's self-expression and personal identity. Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value are said to be "identity brands". Some of these brands have such a strong identity that they become more or less cultural icons which makes them "iconic brands". Examples are: Apple, Nike and Harley-Davidson. Many iconic brands include almost ritual-like behaviour in purchasing or consuming the products. There are four key elements to creating iconic brands (Holt 2004): # "Necessary conditions" – The performance of the product must at least be acceptable, preferably with a reputation of having good quality. # "Myth-making" – A meaningful storytelling fabricated by cultural insiders. These must be seen as legitimate and respected by consumers for stories to be accepted. # "Cultural contradictions" – Some kind of mismatch between prevailing ideology and emergent undercurrents in society. In other words, a difference with the way consumers are and how they wish they were. # "The cultural brand management process" – Actively engaging in the myth-making process in making sure the brand maintains its position as an icon. Schaefer and Kuehlwein propose the following 'Ueber-Branding' principles. They derived them from studying successful modern Prestige brands and what elevates them above mass competitors and beyond considerations of performance and price (alone) in the minds of consumers: # "Mission Incomparable" – Having a differentiated and meaningful brand purpose beyond 'making money.' Setting rules that follow this purpose – even when it violates the mass marketing mantra of "Consumer is always Boss/right". # "Longing versus Belonging" – Playing with the opposing desires of people for Inclusion on the one hand and Exclusivity on the other. # "Un-Selling" – First and foremost seeking to seduce through pride and provocation, rather than to sell through arguments. # "From Myth To Meaning" – Leveraging the power of myth – 'Ueber-Stories' that have fascinated- and guided humans forever. # "Behold!" – Making products and associated brand rituals reflect the essence of the brand mission and myth. Making it the center of attention, while keeping it fresh. # "Living the Dream" – Living the brand mission as an organization and through its actions. Thus radiating the brand myth from the inside out, consistently and through all brand manifestations. – For "Nothing is as volatile than a dream." # "Growth without End" – Avoiding to be perceived as an omnipresent, diluting brand appeal. Instead 'growing with gravitas' by leveraging scarcity/high prices, 'sideways expansion' and other means.


"No-brand" branding

Recently, a number of companies have successfully pursued "no-brand" strategies by creating packaging that imitates
generic brand Generic brands of consumer products (often supermarket goods) are distinguished by the absence of a brand name, instead identified solely by product characteristics and identified by plain, usually black-and-white packaging. Generally they imitat ...
simplicity. Examples include the Japanese company
Muji (), or is a Japanese retail company which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. Muji's design philosophy is minimalist, and it places an emphasis on recycling, reducing production and packaging waste, and a no-logo or "no-bran ...
, which means "No label" in English (from 無印良品 – "Mujirushi Ryohin" – literally, "No brand quality goods"), and the Florida company No-Ad Sunscreen. Although there is a distinct Muji brand, Muji products are not branded. This no-brand strategy means that little is spent on advertisement or classical marketing and Muji's success is attributed to the word-of-mouth, simple shopping experience and the anti-brand movement. "No brand" branding may be construed as a type of branding as the product is made conspicuous through the absence of a brand name. "Tapa Amarilla" or "Yellow Cap" in Venezuela during the 1980s is another good example of no-brand strategy. It was simply recognized by the color of the cap of this cleaning products company.


Derived brands

In this case the supplier of a key component, used by a number of suppliers of the end-product, may wish to guarantee its own position by promoting that component as a brand in its own right. The most frequently quoted example is Intel, which positions itself in the PC market with the slogan (and sticker) "
Intel Inside Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 series ...
".


Social media brands

In ''The Better Mousetrap: Brand Invention in a Media Democracy'' (2012), author and brand strategist Simon Pont posits that social media brands may be the most evolved version of the brand form, because they focus not on themselves but on their users. In so doing, social media brands are arguably more charismatic, in that consumers are compelled to spend time with them, because the time spent is in the meeting of fundamental human drivers related to belonging and individualism. "We wear our physical brands like badges, to help define us – but we use our digital brands to help express who we are. They allow us to be, to hold a mirror up to ourselves, and it is clear. We like what we see."


Private labels

Private label brands, also called
own brand A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
s, or store brands have become popular. Where the retailer has a particularly strong identity (such as Marks & Spencer in the UK clothing sector) this "own brand" may be able to compete against even the strongest brand leaders, and may outperform those products that are not otherwise strongly branded. Designer Private Labels A relatively recent innovation in retailing is the introduction of designer private labels. Designer-private labels involve a collaborative contract between a well-known fashion designer and a retailer. Both retailer and designer collaborate to design goods with popular appeal pitched at price points that fit the consumer's budget. For retail outlets, these types of collaborations give them greater control over the design process as well as access to exclusive store brands that can potentially drive store traffic. In Australia, for example, the department store,
Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products ...
, now offers a range of exclusive designer private labels including Jayson Brundson, Karen Walker, Leona Edmiston, Wayne Cooper, Fleur Wood and ‘L’ for Lisa Ho. Another up-market department store, David Jones, currently offers ‘Collette’ for leading Australian designer,
Collette Dinnigan Collette Mary Ann Dinnigan (born 24 September 1965) is an Australian based fashion designer. Born in South Africa, Dinnigan moved to New Zealand, then Australia, where she obtained work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She ope ...
, and has recently announced its intention to extend the number of exclusive designer brands.
Target Australia Target Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Lindsay's and Lindsay's Target, formerly stylised as Target. and doing business as Target and Target Australia) is a department store chain owned by Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers. Target stocks c ...
has teamed up with
Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show '' Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on t ...
to produce her "Petites" range. Specsavers has joined up with Sydney designer,
Alex Perry Alexandros Pertsinidis (born on February 14, 1963), known professionally as Alex Perry, is an Australian fashion designer and television presenter, mostly famous for his womenswear. His designs have been worn by celebrities including Jennifer ...
to create an exclusive range of spectacle frames while
Big W Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employ ...
stocks frame designed by Peter Morrissey.


Individual and organizational brands

With the development of the brand, Branding is no longer limited to a product or service. There are kinds of branding that treat individuals and organizations as the products to be branded. Most NGOs and
non-profit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
carry their brand as a fundraising tool. The purpose of most NGOs is to leave a social impact so their brand becomes associated with specific social life matters.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
,
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...
, World Wildlife Fund and
AIESEC AIESEC is an international youth-run, non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and global volunteer exchange experiences. The organization focuses on em ...
are among the most recognized brands around the world. NGOs and non-profit organizations moved beyond using their brands for fundraising to express their internal identity and to clarify their social goals and long-term aims. Organizational brands have well-determined brand guidelines and logo variables.


Personal branding


Employer branding


Crowd sourced branding

These are brands that are created by "the public" for the business, which is opposite to the traditional method where the business creates a brand.


Personalized branding

Many businesses have started to use elements of personalization in their branding strategies, offering the client or consumer the ability to choose from various brand options or have direct control over the brand. Examples of this include the #ShareACoke campaign by
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
which printed people's names and place names on their bottles encouraging people.
AirBNB Airbnb, Inc. ( ), based in San Francisco, California, operates an online marketplace focused on short-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The company was founded in 2008 by ...
has created the facility for users to create their own symbol for the software to replace the brand's mark known as The Bélo.


Nation branding (place branding and public diplomacy)

Nation branding Nation branding aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to place branding). In the book ''Diplomacy in a Globalizing World: Theories and Practices'', the authors define nation branding as “the application of ...
is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to
place branding Place branding (includes place marketing and place promotion) is a term based on the idea that " cities and regions can be branded," whereby branding techniques and other marketing strategies are applied to "the economic, political and cultural de ...
). Some approaches applied, such as an increasing importance on the symbolic value of products, have led countries to emphasize their distinctive characteristics. The branding and image of a nation-state "and the successful transference of this image to its exports – is just as important as what they actually produce and sell."


Destination branding

Destination branding is the work of cities, states, and other localities to promote the location to tourists and drive additional revenues into a tax base. These activities are often undertaken by governments, but can also result from the work of community associations. The Destination Marketing Association International is the industry leading organization.


Brand protection

Intellectual property infringements, in particular
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
, can affect consumer trust and ultimately damage brand equity.
Brand protection Brand protection is the process and set of actions that a right holder undertakes to prevent third parties from using its intellectual property without permission, as this may cause loss of revenue and, usually more importantly, destroys brand eq ...
is the set of preventive, monitoring and reactive measures taken by brand owners to eliminate, reduce or mitigate these infringements and their effect.


Doppelgänger brand image (DBI)

A doppelgänger brand image or "DBI" is a disparaging image or story about a brand that it circulated in popular culture. DBI targets tend to be widely known and recognizable brands. The purpose of DBIs is to undermine the positive brand meanings the brand owners are trying to instill through their marketing activities. The term stems from the combination of the German words ('double') and ('walker'). Doppelgänger brands are typically created by individuals or groups to express criticism of a brand and its perceived values, through a form of parody, and are typically unflattering in nature. Due to the ability of doppelgänger brands to rapidly propagate virally through digital media channels, they can represent a real threat to the equity of the target brand. Sometimes the target organization is forced to address the root concern or to re-position the brand in a way that defuses the criticism. Examples include: * Joe Chemo campaign organized to criticize the marketing of tobacco products to children and their harmful effects. * Parody of the Pepsi logo as an obese man to highlight the relationship between soft drink consumption and obesity. * The FUH2 campaign protesting the Hummer SUV as a symbol of corporate and public irresponsibility toward public safety and the environment. In the 2006 article "Emotional Branding and the Strategic Value of the Doppelgänger Brand Image", Thompson, Rindfleisch, and Arsel suggest that a doppelgänger brand image can be a benefit to a brand if taken as an early warning sign that the brand is losing emotional authenticity with its market.


International Standards

The
ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Is ...
branding standards developed by the Committee
ISO/TC 289 ISO/TC 289 Brand evaluation is Technical Committee n.289 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) formed in 2014 to develop standards in the area of Brand evaluation. History In January 2014 the Technical management Board of IS ...
are: * '' '
ISO 10668 ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Is ...
:2010' '' '' Brand valuation - Requirements for monetary brand valuation '', * '' '
ISO 20671 The international standard ISO 20671 ''Brand evaluation - Principles and fundamentals'', renumbered ISO 20671-1 in November 2021, provides guidance to organizations, regardless of their activity or size, on the evaluation of brands. This standard w ...
:2019' '' '' Brand evaluation - Principles and fundamentals ''. Two other ISO standards are being developed by ISO/TC289: * ISO/AWI 23353 Brand evaluation - Guidelines for brands relating to geographical indications * ISO/AWI 24051 Brand evaluation - Guide for the annual brand evaluation.


See also


References

{{Media manipulation Branding terminology Communication design Graphic design Intangible assets Product management