UNIT 3:

Brand Management ; Brand Management and Crafting of Brand Elements; Consumer Brand
Knowledge; Brand Identity, Personality and Brand Associations; Brand Building.

Brand
Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's
product distinct from those of other sellers.
" Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising. Initially, livestock branding was
adopted to differentiate one person's cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol
burned into the animal's skin with a hot branding. A modern example of a brand is Coca-Cola
which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company.
The word "brand" is often used as a metonym referring to the company that is strongly identified
with a brand.

A brand name is used by the marketers because of the roles it can perform. It identifies the product
or service. This helps consumers to specify, reject or recommend brands. This is how string brands
become part and parcel of a consumer’s life.

Secondly, brands help in communication. Brands communicate either overtly or subconsciously. For
instance, the brand ‘Fair and Lovely’ communicates what the product does.

Characteristics of Brands
Brand can be considered in terms of four levels:

Generic: It is the commodity level which satisfies the basic needs such as transportation. It is so easy
to imitate a generic product. A brand continues to add values so as to reach the expected level.

Expected: A generic is modified to satisfying some minimum buying conditions such as functional
performance, pricing, availability, etc.

Augmented: Brand is refined further by adding non-functional values along with the functional
ones. We may direct advertising to the social prestige, the possessor of the brand is likely to enjoy.

Potential: As brands evolve, we become more critical. Creativity plays an important role to grow up
the brand to its full potential. If no creative effort is taken, there is danger of the brand relapsing to
its augmented or expected level.

The Types of Brands

Different types of brands work for different marketing approaches that your business might take.
Basically, there are a few general types of brands that your business could fall into:
Product and Brand Management Product brands: Products (commodities) become branded
products when you win awareness in the marketplace that your product has compelling
characteristics that make it different and better than others in the product category. Branding is a
powerful tool that differentiates your offering in ways that create consumer preference and allow
you to command premium pricing.

Service brands: Services are products that people buy sight-unseen. People buy services purely
based on their trust that the person or business they‘re buying from will deliver as promised. If you
sell a service or run a service business, you absolutely, positively need to develop and manage a
strong, positive brand image.

Business brands: You can brand your business, itself, in addition to or instead of branding your
products or services. If you can only build one brand — and that‘s the best advice to any business
that‘s short on marketing expertise or dollars — make it a business brand because this brand can
attract job applicants, investors, and (maybe most importantly) customers.

Personal brands: Whether you know it or not, you have a personal brand. If people know your
name or recognize your face, they hold your brand image in their minds.

Personality brands: Personality brands are personal brands gone big-time. They‘re individual
brands that are so large and strong that they not only deliver wide reaching personal celebrity but
also create significant value when associated with products or services.

Brand Management.
Brand Management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product
line, or brand. It seeks to increase the product’s perceived value to the customer and
thereby increase brand franchise and brand equity.

Brand management is essential for many reasons. It helps create an emotional connection
between the customer and the company, and it also helps build customer loyalty and
increase customer lifetime value. Brand management can also help a company to charge a
premium price for its products or services.
Brand management, also known as Marketing, is responsible for the overall management of
a brand. This includes everything from product development and marketing to advertising
and public relations. All of these aspects work together to create a particular image or
reputation for a brand. The goal of brand management is to create a robust and positive
reputation for a brand that will result in increased sales and market share.

Crafting of brand elements

 The 8 universal branding elements every brand needs
Logo

Color palette

Shape

Tagline

Tone of voice and vocabulary

Fonts

Imagery

Positioning

1. Logo
Every brand needs a logo. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a brand that doesn’t have a
logo, which arguably makes it the most important element of branding.

A logo is a brand’s whole personality boiled down into an easy-to-recognize image. It’s often
the first interaction you have with a brand; the image that sticks in your mind and conjures
up memories (good, bad or indifferent) about the brand when you see it again.

Your brand’s logo goes on almost every asset your brand owns: your business cards, your
website, your merchandise, your social media pages, any branded templates you use and all
of your advertising and marketing materials. That’s why your logo should represent what
your brand is all about and encapsulate the essence of your brand identity.

2. Color palette
Colors are another key ingredient in any brand identity. Take a look at the following color
swatches and try to guess which brand each palette represents. Color is so important to
branding that some companies have gone so far as to trademark their signature brand
colors. A few examples of trademarked colors include UPS brown, Tiffany blue and Fiskars
orange.

But why is color so important? Because colors express key values and personality traits.
We’ve covered color psychology and how to choose effective colors for your
branding before, so if you’re not sure which colors are best for your brand, check these out.

And don’t feel like you need to stick to just one color—the colors in your palette work
together to express your brand while giving it a unique look.
3. Shape
Shape is another part of an overall branding strategy. Not just the shapes present in your
logo, but the shapes in your web page backgrounds, layout design, packaging and even your
business cards and other stationery.

We’ve discussed how different shapes convey specific brand values and other aspects of
your identity in previous blog posts. As you develop your brand identity, determine which
shapes align with your brand’s persona best. Keep in mind that you aren’t locked into just
one shape or type of shape—if your brand’s look demands two or more shapes, use those
shapes.

4. Tagline
“Eat fresh.”

“Just do it.”

These are two of the most well-known taglines in the world. Taglines, also known as slogans,
are the flagship of brand messaging.

Brand messaging is how you communicate your brand’s unique offer. Sometimes that offer
is obvious, like Subway’s “Eat Fresh” slogan. Subway chose “Eat Fresh” as their slogan to
differentiate themselves from other fast food brands by positioning themselves as a healthy
alternative. Using green in their branding and running commercials showing customers’
testimonials of losing weight while eating Subway hammered this point home.

For other brands, this unique offer is more abstract, like Nike’s urging the customer to “Just
Do It.” But despite being somewhat abstract, Nike’s message is clear: don’t hesitate, take
action. Get up, exercise, do what you know is right for your body and your mind—no
excuses, just do it.

Your tagline gives your logo additional information and context. It doesn’t just tell people
what you do, it tells them what to expect.

5. Tone of voice and vocabulary

At Starbucks, you can’t get a small coffee.

Well, you can get the smallest of their three standard sizes… but the name of the size is
“tall.”

That’s because Starbucks developed their own unique branded vocabulary to differentiate
their product offerings from other brands’. Even though they didn’t coin the words they use
for the different drink sizes, they were the first to use them in this unique way.
This isn’t the only unconventional naming convention Starbucks is known for. They’re also
well-known for misspelling customers’ names on beverage cups—sometimes hilariously
inaccurately. And although Starbucks hasn’t officially acknowledged any deliberate choice to
spell customers’ names wrong, they have recognized writing names on cups as a fun part of
their brand. Individual baristas, however, have different takes on the misspellings.  

A specific vocabulary is part of a brand’s tone of voice. A brand’s tone of voice is the voice
you read in all the copy produced by the brand, like the emails you receive from them, the
content on their website and the language they use on social media.

Your tone of voice is one of the most effective ways to shape—and reshape—how the world
perceives your brand. Wendy’s is one example of a brand that carved themselves a new
persona by developing a consistent, unique social media persona. Before they were on
Twitter, they were just a fast food restaurant that sold square burgers, frosties and chili.
Now they’re a fast food restaurant that sells square burgers, frosties, chili and never passes
up an opportunity to be snarky and savage.

6. Fonts
The fonts a brand uses are another key element of branding. Wherever a brand uses text,
like in their logo, on their website and as part of an email template, the font used for that
text isn’t random—it’s carefully selected to communicate the brand’s personality and
values.

Much like specific colors correlate to different emotions and traits, so do fonts’ components.

7. Imagery
Imagery includes all the kinds of images you use in your branding, marketing and
advertising. This isn’t your logo or the specific pieces of content you publish; it’s the choice
of photos and stock images you use, the style of the graphics on your website and other
brand assets and your overall brand aesthetic.

Think of gradient and patterned backgrounds, packaging or banners—you don’t need

concrete imagery to communicate a brand clearly; you can easily do so with abstract
imagery through your shape and color choices.

Brand imagery works closely with other elements of branding, like color and shape.

But it doesn’t stop with illustrations and graphics. Brand imagery also refers to how a brand,
and this extends to when an individual creates a personal brand, presents themselves
visually. You see this a lot with celebrities who drastically alter their images, like Selena
Gomez’s evolution from Disney Channel star to a fashion-forward artist who dabbles in
creating independent horror films.
8. Positioning
Positioning is the niche in the market that a brand fills. When you determine your brand’s
persona, you determine not just what it offers buyers, but how it fits among other brands in
its space. Are you priced higher, about the same or lower than your competitors? What
makes your offer more attractive than competing offers?

A brand’s positioning has a direct impact on its branding. For example, a low-priced brand
that aims to communicate that they’re the most economic choice might choose bright,
value-communicating colors like yellow and orange and craft a brand voice that’s simple,
friendly and optimistic.

In contrast, a higher-priced brand might employ darker hues and a mysterious brand voice
in order to position themselves as the more exclusive option.

Brand positioning isn’t just carving out a space in the market, though. It also involves
interaction with other brands, both within the same industry and brands from other
industries. This is where positioning overlaps with brand imagery: the brands you partner
with (and that includes influencers) shape how the world perceives you.

BRAND KNOWLEDGE

Brand knowledge isn’t a stand-alone idea. Instead, it’s a combination of two things: brand
awareness and brand image. Brand awareness is the level of brand recall and recognition
that consumers have of a particular brand and its specific product category. Brand image is
the set of mental associations with a brand that influence the buyer. Although different
brands may mean different things to different people, brand knowledge is always a function
of awareness and image.

Brand image is way more challenging, because it is the associations in the consumers’ mind
of both real and imaginary qualities and shortcomings that influence the customer’s buying
decision. bloomfield knoble strives to build images that have strong (based on personal
relevance and consistency), favorable (based on consumer needs) and unique (connections
not shared by competitors) associations in the consumer’s mind. Starbucks is a good
example of a company that built a strong, favorable and unique brand. Consumers keep
going to Starbucks because of the unique brand experience as much as the coffee. Creating
brand image means selecting elements that become an asset to the brand .

Brand building
Brand building is the process of marketing your brand, whether that be for the purpose of
building brand awareness, promoting products, or simply connecting with your intended
audience for the purpose of establishing a relationship with them in their day-to-day lives.
Brand Building is generating awareness, establishing and promoting company using
strategies and tactics. In other words brand building is enhancing brand equity using
advertising campaigns and promotional strategies. Branding is crucial aspect of company
because it is the visual voice of the company. Goal of brand building is creating a unique
image about the company.

Importance of Brand Building

Brand building can be initiated with a well thought brand identity which can help
create a strong brand image which goes a long way in consolidating the brand.
Brand Building comprises of creating value to consumers that how consumers feel,
think and know about your brand. There are three popular brands known-
• Product brand: A physical product or items or goods are a product brand. Brand
building is ensuring a good quality product is given to the customer along with good
brand visibility, packaging, warranty etc. All these cumulatively help in brand
building. Example of product brands are Adidas, Rolex etc
• Service Brand: A non-tangible offering is a service brand like telecom service,
ecommerce etc. In this case, brand building is most dependent on the experience
that a customer gets. Example of service brands are McDonald’s, Starbucks etc
• Retail Brand: Retail brands are a combination of service & product i.e. products
are sold through a service offering. Hence brand building has to ensure good
customer experience as well as high quality products. Example of retail brands are
Tesco, Walmart etc.

Steps involved in brand building are-

• Describe your brand: The first step of brand building is to describe the brand. This
can be done through product description, packaging, logos etc. The way a brand is
defined builds the brand equity and forms the foundation of the customer perception.
• Brand Differentiation & Positioning: Once a product or service is created, it is
critical that the brand is differentiated from its competition with some unique value.
Also, positioning the brand correctly is an essential element of brand building.
• Brand Promotion: Advertising & promoting the brand using TVCs, social media,
print ads, online advertising etc is one of the most important pillars of brand building
as it helps in creating brand awareness. Correct communication and effective media
channels can help build a strong brand and helps increase brand recall.
• Personalise the Brand: Brand building can be effective is a customer feels
connected to it. Hence giving a personal touch to the customer, through innovation
and customization can help building a stronger perception in the mind of the
customer.
• Evaluate the Brand: It is important that a company keeps on monitoring and
reviewing the performance of its products, services and brands. Hence evaluation &
review of a brand is an essential element of brand building.
What Is Brand Identity?
Brand identity is the visible elements of a brand, such as color, design, and logo, that
identify and distinguish the brand in consumers' minds. Brand identity is distinct
from brand image. The former corresponds to the intent behind the branding and the way
a company does the following—all to cultivate a certain image in consumers' minds:

 Chooses its name

 Designs its logo
 Uses colors, shapes, and other visual elements in its products and promotions
 Crafts the language in its advertisements
 Trains employees to interact with customers

Brand image is the actual result of these efforts, successful or unsuccessful.

brand identity in many ways is the visual (symbol or illustration) aspect of a brand. Think of
the Nike 'swoosh' or Apple's apple—those are two instances where the identity of a brand
is connected with a symbol or visual aspect. Building brand identity must have a strong
visual image to link the brand. A brand identity is compiled of various branding elements.
When you put them together, the identity in many ways is the mascot of your brand. It is
how a company expresses and describes itself from the images on its marketing materials,
the colors that represent the brand, and how a company markets itself on social media.
A strong brand identity strengthens a company's popularity and presence in a competitive
market.

Brand identity is the visible elements of a brand, such as color, design, and logo that
identify and distinguish the brand in consumers' minds.

Consistent marketing and messaging lead to consistent brand identity and, therefore,
consistent sales.

Building a positive brand image can bring in consistent sales and make product roll-outs
more successful. Building a positive, cohesive brand image requires analyzing the company
and its market, and determining the company's goals, customers, and message. Social
media is a powerful driver of brand awareness.

What Is Brand Personality?

The term brand personality refers to a set of human characteristics that are attributed to
a brand name. An effective brand increases its brand equity by having a consistent set of
traits that a specific consumer segment enjoys. This personality is a qualitative value-add
that a brand gains in addition to its functional benefits.

A brand personality is something to which the consumer can relate. If the consumer
becomes a regular customer, they may start to identify parts of their own personality with
the brand personality.
Brand association 
Brand association is a mental connection a customer makes between your brand and a
concept, image, emotion, experience, person, interest, or activity. This association can be
immediately positive or negative and it heavily influences purchase decisions.
Brand associations are important because they help customers recall your brand right
away. They combine to make up your overall brand identity and you want to create them
in as many meaningful ways as you can. Usually, the words associated with your brand
help people make the connections to your product or category without needing to
explicitly tell your audience what it is you do or sell.