Brands and Branding 12.1.21
Introduction
What is a brand?
oThe personality of the organisation
oOrganisational perspective: a brand is something that allows an organisation to
distinguish its product and services form its competitors
oBrands first appeared in Ancient Civilisations
Organisational perspective:
– “…intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and
differentiate them from those of competition” (American Marketing Association, 1960).
– Full personality of the organisation – interface between organisation and its audiences
(Davis, 2009).
– “A living business asset, brought to life across all touch points, which, if properly
managed, creates identification, differentiation and value” (Hales, 2011)
Consumer perspective:
– Brands reside in consumers’ minds!
– “. the aura of beliefs and expectations about a product (or service) which makes it
relevant and distinctive.
– It stretches beyond the physical and into the psychological and is extremely powerful”
(Smith, 1998).
– “Branding is not something done to consumers, but rather something they do things with”
(de Chernatony & Dall’Olmo Riley, 1998)
– Consumers co-create brand meaning with organisations
Branding
oBrands speak to consumers but also for them
oWe purchase from brands whose values correspond to our own values
oOrganisations communicate a brand identify, consumers interpret this
oIt is important to remember that consumers’ perceived differences between brands in
given category is key to successful branding
oBrands represent the personality of a company (David 2009)
oThis means that there is a need for strategic communications to create and communicate a
consistent brand message
oThe answer to any organisational misconceptions of branding is brand valuation which
leads to economic recognition of branding so it can drive its own agenda for investments
made on rigorous KPI’s that embrace the demand for ROI
oA brand’s financial value: a financial representation of the revenue generated thanks to
the superior demand the organisation creates for its products or services through the
strength of its brand.
