Branding has emerged as one of the most important issues of modern world. In fact, it influences a multitude of spheres, including marketing, society, and even psychology. First, it is worth mentioning that nowadays creating a brand image has become of a paramount importance for the international market in general and for the major companies in specific. Secondly, branding influences the consumers as well: even though the brands are being designed and developed for people, this phenomenon also has a reverse process. For instance, while the brand products need buyers, the consumers need the products with a good brand image. The better the position of a certain brand in the international market, the greatest is the demand for it, and visa versa. Finally, brands are now proved to have a great impact on the psychology and subconsciousness of people. Thus, there is an evident interdependence of the two main components of marketing, the seller and the consumer. Our task is to study this interdependence, its main tendencies, processes and rules.
There are several approaches to defining the brand; however, no universal definition had been yet accepted. Therefore, we should consider several definitions of brand that are used nowadays. One of the simplest paraphrasing of brand is probably given by Keller, states that “technically speaking, whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand”. Kotler defined brand as the name associated with one or more items in the product line that is used to identify the source of character of the items. The American Marketing Association gives another definition of the brand. Namely, they refer to a brand as to “a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.” Taking into consideration the complex nature of brand and its role in today’s society, we cannot state that a logotype or a name is enough to be called a brand.
Brand is associated with products and packaged goods and thinking processes and business strategies of a certain firm; it also denotes both the product manufacturing and service organizations. Thus, judging objectively, we should note that brands also refer to a certain quality of the product or service, its position in the market, its target consumer etc. A successful brand is the one that has a memorable and positive brand image. In contrast to the previously given definition of brand, there is a statement that brand is a sign – therefore external – whose function is to disclose the hidden qualities of the product that are inaccessible to contact. Brands are not simple names; brands are names with individuality.
Nowadays the major challenge for all organizations is creating a powerful and distinctive image for both the product and the company. Thus, the goal for a traditional model is to build up a brand image and frame a tactical element that helps in achieving the short term results. In any case, for a company to be successful at creating a positive brand image it is important to consider the key brand factors, which include:
- Heritage
- Assets and capabilities
- People
- Innovation perceived quality for the customers
- Local and global orientation
- Good company vibes
- The size and performance of the corporate
Working on the mentioned points will enable a company to create a positive brand. This, in turn, will allow differentiating an organization’s products and services from those of others, and increasing the companies’ efficiency in their marketing expenditures and the activities associated with it.
Brand Management and Brand Strategy
Once a brand has been created, it needs a lot of work to be done in order to obtain a proper reputation and leading place in the market. The measures, which are taken in order to promote brand and develop its improvement, are referred to as brand management. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management. Brand management also refers to applying various marketing techniques to a certain brand. Indeed, there is a multitude of techniques that can be used for promoting different kinds of products and services. That is why it can be stated that brand management is strongly related to the brand strategies.
Correspondingly, a brand strategy is the thought of translation of the business strategy for a particular market place. It denotes the way in which the company is delivering its product to the market where it is intended and this, in turn, will influence the target customers in creating an image in their mind about the product. There are various branding strategies. They include:
- hybrid branding, which is integrating two or more brand names and the products correspondingly;
- umbrella (also called “family”) branding, which lies in providing different services and products by one company;
- corporate branding, which is offering one kind of benefit to the customers by different organizations;
- distinct (sometimes referred to as “individual”) branding, which is creating “sub-brands” for different services and products of one organization, and many others.
All these strategies are to be applied in different specific situations. Besides these strategies, there are also others, which can combine several approaches.
The traditional model for brand management, where the team of brand management is in charge of creating and coordinating the program of brand management within an organization. Thus, an important objective behind the building of brand management team is coordination between the manufacturing and sales department, the main task of which is to derive solutions for the problems that are arising out of the sales and market shares. This strategy suggests that the marketing department is the matter of concern in the branding activity. In our opinion, this scheme is rather viable in today’s market, where most of the companies started focusing on the tactical aspect rather than on strategic and visionary aspect.
Another point of view was, the intellectual asset strategy, which is one of the most successful for positive brand image design. To be precise, the intellectual asset strategy should address issues, such as:
- How intellectual assets underpinning the organization’s key differentiating and enabling capabilities are to be managed;
- Whether the organization will seek to generate revenue from its intellectual assets via licensing, and if so, how opportunities are to be realized;
- How the organization will use trademarks to protect, develop and exploit its brand.
We can also analyze the issue of brand management from another point of view. The key feature of brand management is designing its identity. Indeed, developing a unique identity for a brand is the major task of brand management, which is important for the companies as well as for the consumers. The brand identity should coincide with its manager and employee identity. In other words, the workers and the brand should have a single spirit; the values and ideas of a certain brand image should be shared within the circle of people involved in the brand management. Indeed, such correlation between the personnel and the brand can help to create a successful trademark. The homogeneous brand identity leads to development of strong brand, while changing the image of a trademark can be harmful in the long run.
Overall, there are various brand strategies, and the choice of a certain brand strategy has to be motivated by such factors as target consumers’ needs and possibilities, product or service orientation, the current situation in the market, etc. In any case, choosing an appropriate branding strategy is a key to its intensive promotion and prosperity of the company.
Importance of Branding
As it was already mentioned, branding plays an outstanding role in today’s society and economy. To clarify the notion a bit, it is worth saying that branding denotes the process of producing and delivering the brand name of the products and services. Branding is applied to the whole organization’s identity and the products and services as well.
For the various companies, starting with the smallest firms and finishing with world famous monopolies, branding has become the major subject of concern. Today branding is both the aim and the means. It is extremely important for a company to design and maintain their own brand. As Keller has noted, branding guarantees a manufacturer:
- Legal defense of the product’s uniqueness;
- Identification of the product or service with its specific features and qualities;
- Recognition and financial benefits;
- The advantage of competition in the market.
Choosing a suitable branding strategy creates a positive image for the company, which depicts its efficiency and compatibility in the market. One of the most important benefits of branding for organizations is that their production or services correspond to the needs and values of a certain type of customers. With the growth of brand popularity, the cooperation between the company and consumers increases, making the marketing process more prolific for both sides.
Branding is a never-ending process, which needs to be constantly supported by the owners of the companies. As far as the modern economy is rather unstable, branding should be efficiently planned in order to bring financial satisfaction for both the organization and the customers. What is more, the changing environment of the market demands a high compatibility level and ability of a firm to satisfy the needs of different types of consumers. Branding is definitely a factor which helps to realize all the mentioned tasks. The most prospective brand managers are looking for potential opportunities and free places on the market through the increasingly spread process of branding.
On the other hand, besides the importance for the company, branding also conveys essential benefits for the consumers. Specifically, a branded product can guarantee to the customer a certain level of quality, which is stable throughout the years. Moreover, branding is important for the customers because of its definite source and numerous levels of control, which eliminates the risk of not qualitative production selling or dis-satisfactory service providing. Another advantageous feature of branding is that due to its popularity the customers gain not only certain things, but also a positive image created by the brands. The same feature allows consumers finding the things of their level and their style quickly and effectively, with no need to spend time and money on searching for what they need. Furthermore, comparing to the common production, branded one conveys the manufacturer’s responsibility for their production and its quality. Finally, branded products and services give a moral satisfaction to their consumers, as knowing that the surrounding things are of a good quality and well-recognized all over the world makes us feel more chick and comfortable.
However, in order to be objective, we need to take into consideration all the aspects of the studied issue. Thus, we found it important to mention that some authors have noted that branding is not always possible to plan; some unexpected problems can occur. This proves that branding takes some risks. For instance, a brand can take some risks. A strong brand is resilient and can stand some extension, especially if the extension has some degree of separation. As it can be seen from this quotation, creating a brand can only be safe when the owner of a company is sure about his perspectives and tools for brand promotion.
If the brand is not developed enough, it can be consumed by larger corporations, or simply left aside by competing organizations. In order to avoid these risks, it is important to constantly promote a product or service and develop brand awareness. For society, branding can also have some negative consequences. In fact, branding is one of the major reasons of prejudice occurrence. People judge each other and the surrounding by the trademarks, not with some other qualities. This leads to the annihilation of moral values and subjects humanity to support the materialistic concepts.
What is more, branding increases the gaps between the different social groups, suggesting that luxury brands are available only for those who can afford them. This in turn causes social inequity and leads to deprivation of rights of some people. As we can see, branding has a lot of positive features; its importance for both the manufacturers and consumers is hard to overestimate. However, together with the benefits, branding brings some problems like social inequity and risks for companies.
Creating Brand Awareness
Brand awareness denotes the primary and prerequisite dimension of the brand knowledge system in the consciousness of the customer. Basically, brand awareness reflects the ability of consumers to identify a certain brand in different situations among the production of the other manufacturers. In other words, in case of high brand awareness a customer would think of a certain brand in a real buying situation. Brand awareness can also be referred to as a number of associations and images related to a certain trademark.
Brand awareness should be constantly developed in order to make a brand competitive in the conditions of changing modern world and its economy. The activities related to creating brand awareness are aimed at increasing the product’s recognition among consumers. However, there are two approaches to this point.
The first approach is based on developing an ultimately positive image of the product and promoting it by selling this image. This approach is rather successful, as one of the most important tasks of any campaign is making people want something. A nice wrapping is often preferred to an ordinary one, even if it is empty inside. Another approach suggests that a brand can be promoted through permanent good quality. This approach is most appropriate for the long-term relationships between the company and the buyer, and relies on the experience customers have with the product or service.
Concerning this issue, the most important contributing factor to the success of a licensed brand is the quality of the manufacturer, which is why it is absurd for brand owners to limit their options to only the most persistent courtiers. Indeed, the companies, which focus on gaining a good reputation for their brand through working on its quality, are more likely to obtain the preference of a number of customers in the future. This approach is aimed at developing trust and confidence in the customers rather than imaginary feeling of superiority.
Brand awareness is an important factor that facilitates the buying decisions process of the consumers. It is important to organize branding in a way that would enable the consumers to recall the branded product in a certain product category. The only way to achieve this is increasing the awareness among customers. The awareness increases the possibility of being a member of the consideration set of a brand. In order to create brand awareness, the company should first analyze its potential stakeholders. This analysis should include such information that answers the next “3 general questions about stakeholders”:
- Who are they? (this question concerns their attributes)
- What do they want? (this question concerns their ends)
- How are they going to try to get it? (this question concerns their means)
Answering the offered questions will allow an organization study the field of their occupation and organize their activities in accordance with the needs of stakeholders. After all, the success of a certain brand depends on its relationships with consumers. Due to this, analysis of buyers’ behavior has become one of the most important fields in the sphere of marketing. At this point, every detail matters as buyers maximize the utility consisting of deterministic and stochastic components.
Overall, it is necessary for a company to realize the importance of creating brand awareness. The high brand awareness means that the consumers prefer and trust a certain brand more than others, which increases its market share and contributes to its development. In order to increase the brand awareness, numeral tools can be used. One of the most effective techniques for brand awareness development are those of marketing communication mix.
Marketing and Communication Mix
For a successful brand promotion, it is important to choose a proper marketing communication mix strategy. Marketing mix is a set of activities used for brand promotion. These activities are aimed at creating a viable and competitive campaign that can successfully deliver a certain message to the public and, as a result, increase the brand selling rates. In addition, an appropriate marketing and communication mix plays a significant role in building the effective relationships with the customers, stakeholders, and also helps in leveraging these relationships for creating brand equity.
At the level of branding, the marketing outcomes and efforts are considered, and they are essential to the organization’s decisions related to the marketing activity. There is a multitude of approaches to communication mix; different companies may apply the tools of communication mix differently in accordance with their specific situation. Among the promotion activities of marketing communication mix there are:
- advertising
- sales promotion
- personal selling activities
- public relations
- direct marketing
Without a doubt, it is extremely important to choose the appropriate elements of the marketing mix for successful brand promotion. Thus, it is worth analyzing all of the communication mix strategies. Advertising is the promotion of a brand through the mass media and all the possible visual and audio agents, such as big boards, radio messages, and many others. Advertising is considered one of the most powerful tools of communication mix, as it has the greatest impact on customer’s purchasing decision. This tool suggests that customers become a active partners in the economic cycle; therefore, while advertising companies should adopt an appropriate advertising strategy through which the message can be conveyed to the customer correctly.
Another technique, which is sales promotion, can be most fully defined as sales-stimulation achieved through contests, demonstrations, discounts, exhibitions or trade shows, games, giveaways, point-of-sale displays and merchandising, special offers, etc. This technique is also rather effective, as it gives the customers a chance to economize and feel the prerogative of getting the same quality for a lower price. Another aspect included in the marketing communication objective is personal selling. This technique is not aimed at the public in general; this communication strategy is often used with a narrow circle of some specific consumers. Personal selling is most often applied by the owners of small companies, which are serving a limited number of people. Unlike advertising, a personal sales message can be more specifically targeted to individual prospects and easily altered if the desire behavior does not occur. Contrary to personal selling, public relations are aimed at creating a totally positive image of a brand for all its potential users.
Public relations mean managing the flow of information between the company and its stakeholders, partners, consumers, competitors, etc. Public relations are becoming more and more important in the modern market, as it contributes to the brand promotion and positive brand image creation. The last tool of marketing communication mix is direct marketing. This tool is familiar to everyone, as it is based on direct propositions to the consumers, such as brochures, mail messages, television commercials, online stores, etc. This communication mix element is used to develop a campaign through the years, and is thought to be rather effective. However, from your personal experience you can recall the drawbacks of the tool: the consumers rarely take it seriously, calling the mentioned materials of the tool “spam”.
In contrast to the mentioned views on communication mix, there exists a different idea about the essence of branding. Brands are rejuvenated by new products matching new needs, not by advertising. In fact, this opinion is rather critical and should definitely be considered when analyzing the importance of brands in today’s world. Indeed, even though advertising is thought to be one of the most successful tools of communication mix, it can barely work for a long time with the condition of unacceptable quality or uselessness of the product. As a result, it can be stated that one of the main criteria of brand promotion should be the underlying importance of the product for society. Obviously, a well-advertised and promoted space-suit will have less chances to become popular, than a toothpaste, as far as their value for the society in everyday life is different.
In our point of view, marketing communication mix is strongly related to the studying of consumers’ psychology. For instance, the promotion activities are based on the manipulation strategies, which allow influencing the buyer’s consciousness and subconsciousness in order to make them give preference to this or that brand. Thus, successful branding demands knowledge of customers’ psychology in order to influence it properly. There are a number of ways to manipulate people, in specific – buyers. The role of planned events in the marketing communication mix, proving that the buyers’ behavior is rather predictable. Such details as visual signs, audio motivators and other agents, which can subject a person to buy a certain product of a certain brand. Thus, this dissertation is going to be conducted from the point of view on branding as a range of tools for influence on consumers.