BRAND IDENTITY AND IMAGE
Brand Identity
A company’s brand
identity is how that business wants to be perceived by consumers. The
components of the brand, (name, logo, tone, tagline, style) are created by
the business in an attempt to reflect the value the company is trying to bring
to the market and to appeal to the customers in the market where the company
sells its goods. Brand identity is separate from brand image.
Brand Image
Brand image is the
current view of the customers about a brand, it is a set of beliefs held about
a specific brand and the manner in which it is positioned in the market. In short, it is nothing but the consumers’
perception about the product and the overall impression in them mind that is
formed from all sources. Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a
mental image. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on
these associations, they form brand image. It signifies what the brand
presently stands for.
EXAMPLE: Volvo is associated with safety. Toyota is associated with
reliability. BMW is associated with performance.
BREAKING DOWN “Brand Identity”
Most miscommunication in
daily life can be chalked up to a mismatch between intent and perception:
you think you said one thing, the person you talked to thought you said
something else. Companies often have the same problem.
In the context of
business and branding, a company’s brand identity is what they’re intending to
say about who they are – what their product or service is, it’s
quality, and utility – while the brand image is how that is all perceived by
the public. The challenge any company faces when trying to build a brand is to
make sure that their identity matches their image as closely as possible. A
negative gap between brand identity and brand image means a company is out of
touch with market sentiment, which can make offering services or products more
difficult and can even result in a loss of value on the company’s profitability.
Building Brand Identity
The steps any single
company needs to take in order to build a strong, cohesive, and internally
consistent brand identity will vary, but a few points would likely come up in
every search.
Any company would need
to take a look at who they are, what they’re doing, and the nature of the
market that they’re working in. Doing a full SWOT analysis, a look at the
company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, is a proven way to
help managers understand where they are, to better determine where they would
like to end up and how to get there.
A company would then
need to determine what their key business goals are, who they’re
trying to reach, what kind of personality they want to exhibit, and what
message they want to be communicating to their market.
Building a brand
identity is a multi-disciplinary effort, because it can consist of everything
from a company’s name, logo, design, style, the tone of their copy, the shapes
of their products and their social media presence. It’s common for companies to
hire a creative team to handle their branding.
Real World Examples of Brand Identity
That brand identity is
made up of small components and is the foundation on which a company’s most
valuable asset gets built. A well-built brand identity will
effectively communicate a company’s personality and their product value to
potential customers, helping build brand recognition, association, and loyalty.
If you asked a person on
the street what Bose Corporation sells, they’d most likely tell you headphones.
Getting your market to know who you are and what you sell, may seem a simple
task, but it’s critical to gaining an advantage. While awareness can be
critical to the success of a company, it’s important that the awareness is
associated with something positive.
The messages that
companies try and communicate are rarely complicated, but making that message
most effective requires all the small pieces of a company’s brand identity to
work cohesively. Famous brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks, or Apple have
achieved this difficult task. The things that may come to mind when you think
of these brands are, respectively, "refreshing," "fast,"
"morning coffee," or "sleek." Getting that kind of strong
and positive brand association can help bring a company and their
product to the "top of the mind" of their customers.
EXAMPLE: Building brand loyalty can help bring in
consistent sales, and make product roll-outs more successful. An
example of the benefits of brand loyalty could be seen in the introduction of
two new music streaming services in 2015. Both Tidal and Apple Music
were launched in the summer of that year, both offering similar
subscription-based music services. The two services had to make very different
sets of considerations when it came to marketing and rollout of their service because
of the differences in loyalty to the brands. Apple, an established brand with
very loyal customers didn't have to do the same type of celebrity oriented
marketing that Tidal used in order to promote their services. ¨
What makes a good brand identity?
Not every identity
shares all these attributes, but the best ones share most, if not all of them.
- It should be uniquely identifiable to help distinguish it from the competition. Think of how many brand messages you are exposed to each day—for instance on a public transit ride, in a grocery store or surfing the web.
- It should be simple enough to be instantly recognizable. Can you easily picture in your mind’s eye the Apple logo? When we can easily recall and remember an identity, we form positive reactions to it that lead to feelings of comfort and trust.
- It should draw the viewer in with pleasing aesthetics that appeal to the intended audience. While the culmination of a neutral color palette, elegant typography and beautiful photography create a tasteful and sophisticated look for Martha Stewart, this same look is likely not appropriate for an apparel brand aimed at a youth market into extreme sports.
- It should use shape and color to enhance recognition and emotional response. The Nike swoosh creates an image of energy and dynamic power and Coca Cola uses red to suggest energy, life and vitality. It’s hard to imagine either of these identities without their signature shape or color. We would not have the same reaction to them, nor would they be as successful, otherwise.
- It sometimes has a hidden element or meaning that demands attention. Have a careful look at the FedEx logo. The negative space between the capital E and the lower case X form an arrow shape. This portrays forward movement and is ideally suited to a shipping company. We naturally want to try to figure out the meaning of these kinds of identities and the more time we spend with them, the more familiar they become.
- It must be culturally relevant. Certain symbols and colors have very specific meanings to different cultures.
- It will stand the test of time and not date itself quickly. The CN logo is an example of an identity that is timeless in appeal and not be subject to changing trends or fashion.
- It should be easily reproduced across a variety of media, both in print and online, and at a variety of sizes. What is legible on the side of a truck may not work as well when reduced to the size of a favicon in a browser address bar. A well-designed brand identity system is flexible enough to easily accommodate different methods of reproduction and sizes.
Rebranding
Rebranding has two
dimensions that are evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary rebranding defines minor changes in product or brand
positioning while revolutionary reflect
major change in brand’s positioning, usually in the form of design name or logo
(Muzellec and Lambkin , 2006). Rebranding can be proactive or reactive. Proactive rebranding occurs when
companies wants to grasp future opportunities and productive growth while reactive rebranding occurs in reaction
to events (Susan Gunelius, 2013). There are several reasons for rebranding. More
companies are now going for rebranding and the reasons can be merger and acquisition,
new line of business or to attain more competitive advantages. Rebranding makes
a totally new image of the product and old identity is usually forgotten (Goi, 2011).
The key success factor in rebranding is to incorporate the stakeholders to the
process.
Brand Value
In building a brand
identity, companies should think of themselves as creating a key asset. A
company’s brand is usually considered to be one of the most valuable assets on
a company’s balance sheet. Giving a company’s brand a monetary value is among
other things, a metric that can help brand managers better understand their
performance. There are various ways that a monetary value can be placed on a
brand, including the cost it would take to build a similar brand, analyzing
cost of royalties to use brand name, and cash flow of comparative
unbranded businesses.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-identity.asp#ixzz3m5aNOGI6
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-identity.asp#ixzz3m5aNOGI6
7 marketing trends that
will strengthen brand identity
Marketing is about
thinking outside the box, recognizing emerging trends and when relevant,
leveraging new platforms to promote your brand. But these kinds of campaigns
need a solid baseline from which to operate. Here is what it takes to
build a consistent, sustainable and recognizable brand according the new
trends:
1. Consumer expectations are greater than ever, growing at an astonishing rate and show no sign of slowing, yet research would indicate that brands are falling behind. Furthermore, consumers have become used to seeing regular updates from their favorite brands. It’s no longer good enough to tweet once every so often or update your Facebook page only when you have something to promote. People expect you to interact, engage and entertain them and if you don’t succeed they will look for alternative brands.
2. Brand identity is King - the strength of the product is no longer the most important. If you don’t have a solid brand identity consumers are far less likely to engage and certainly less likely to purchase your product or service. Think about the world’s top companies – the Apple’s, the Starbucks’, the Coca Cola’s and the Facebook’s – they all possess a solid brand identity, which is not only recognizable, and consistent but also ‘cool’. Apple put a huge emphasis on the packaging of its products and encouraged customers to share the ‘revealing’ of their new devices. Starbuck’s take-away coffee cups have become something of a fashion statement and recognizing this the marketing department launched a competition whereby drinkers had to share pictures of their coffee cups on Instagram to win free drinks. Brand identity is not something that can be underestimated; in fact it’s probably the most important consideration when developing your marketing strategy.
3. Mobile optimization will be a deal maker or breaker. Building the identity of your brand is number one, but if people find it hard to access your company on the move they will be turned off faster than you can say ‘smartphone’. Not only have people got used to being able to access online content whenever and wherever they wish, but Google has also factored mobility into its new algorithm, meaning that companies without a mobile presence will suffer in terms of search engine ranking as well.
4. Engagement and personal connection is vital. It’s no longer sufficient to send an email blast to ‘Dear customer’ – in fact it’s no longer acceptable to communicate with customers (even if you use their first name) if you are sending anything other than personalized and relevant information. Marketers need to be on the ball when it comes to ways of personalizing communication with customers. Data, consumer trends, online surveys and internal systems can ensure communication is as seamless and relevant as possible.
5. Total integration is the way forward. People are beginning to access data on a number of different devices and as such want to be able to view their favorite brands across multiple-platforms. Not only do consumers want to be able connect with brands via social media, online portals and in person - on smartphones, laptops and tablets across different operating systems – they also want their interaction to be seamless. Total integration across multiple platforms, devices and channels is no longer a bonus but an expectation. To take this one step further, brand identity also comes into play here. All channels, from social media, to the company website from a design, content and communication perspective need to sync with one another for a fully integrated and seamless customer experience.
6. Corporate social responsibility will attract
more long-term customers. We
have talked a lot about branding and accessibility, however one element that
marketers need to be more in-tune with in 2015 and beyond is CSR (corporate
social responsibility). With greater accessibility comes greater accountability
from consumers and therefore brands need to ensure they are promoting a
responsible and considerate culture. Donating a portion of sales to charity,
minimizing environmental impacts, giving back to communities in which they
operate and treating employees fairly while paying a reasonable living wage are
all ways in which companies can gain respect from their customers. Research
also indicates that companies with solid ethical practices have a more engaged
workforce, which in turn leads to better customer service and thus profitability.
7. Content marketing is the new SEO. When it comes to building your brand’s identity the leverage a company blog can have is not to be underestimated. We live in a world where everything is more personal and accessible and thus interviews with CEOs and prominent business figures within the organization are extremely interesting to potential customers. In-depth articles about business best practice, commentary on the latest trends, video content, top ten lists, GIFs and more are also points of interest that will draw consumers to your brand.
http://www.businessreviewusa.com/marketing/4250/7-marketing-trends-that-will-strengthen-brand-identity
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