Terms
Definitions
Brand Elements
or Brand Identity
Definition: Trademark devices that serve to identity and differentiate a
brand; these include:
-Brand Name
-URL
-Logo
-Symbols
-Characters
-Spokespeople
-Slogans
-Jingles
-Packages
-Signage
Note: Cohesiveness amongst elements will create greater brand
equity
Criteria for
Choosing Brand
Elements
1. Memorable: easily recognized or recalled
2. Meaningful: Descriptive or persuasive
3. Likeable: Fun, interesting or rich in verbal and visual imagery,
aesthetically pleasing
4. Transferable: Within and across categories or across cultures and
geographic boundaries
5. Adaptable: Flexible and Up-dateable over time (as needed)
6. Protectable: Legally or competitively
Brand Naming
Guidelines
1. Simple and easy to pronounce and spell
2. Familiar and meaningful
3. Differentiated, distinctive and unique
Brand names & URLs
- enhances brand recall and recognition
- reinforce any type of association, though sometimes indirectly
- evoke verbal imagery
- limited transferability
- difficult to adapt
- good protect ability, with limits
The Naming
Procedure
1. Define objective: whats it meant to say
2. Generate name: Gather all suggestions
3. Screen initial candidates: Chuck out anything rude, taken or
unsuitable
4. Study candidate names: Quick legal and cultural and language
screening
5. Research final candidates: Market research
6. Select final name: from research and register this
Crucial Naming
Mistakes
1. Using cliches: Innovation or Solution - heavily overused and now
meaningless
2. Names from the Dictionary: scarce and cause linguistic issues
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Brand Elements:
Characters
Spokesperson
Pro: Grab attention; No personal issues; Can be updated as need be;
Can be transferred across categories; Can be more personable to
audience; Can explain otherwise difficult or boring product attributes;
Cons: Too static character losses interest; Issues with character e.g.
the human voice example; Can outgrow the brand and overshadow
this
-
Brand Elements:
Logos & Symbols
useful for brand recognition
good at evoking brand personality
generates likable human qualities
limited transferability
adaptable through redesign
excellent protectability
Logos (branding) have a history as identifying origin and association
like in family crests and horses.
Logos can be (stylised) name, trademarks or abstract designs.
Examples of only text logos incl.: Coca-Cola, Dunhill and Kit Kat
Example of abstract logos incl.: Mercedes star, Nike swoosh and
Olympic rings. These are also called SYMBOLS.
Pro.: Logos and symbols are easily recognised and can communicate a
message/ be symbolic and can be more easily adapted over time than
names.
Con.: of abstract logo is that consumer's need associated marketing
to explain the logos meaning.
-
Brand Elements:
Slogans
(straight for) Initials: easier to trademark but no meaning
Using "New", "Extra" or "Plus": again meaningless due to overuse.
License-plate shorthand: too hard to figure out names
Too many names in one brand: confusing
Friend's suggestions: doesn't relate to the company's strategy
useful for brand recognition
can reinforce almost any association, though sometimes indirectly
can provoke visual appeal
excellent transferability
adaptable through redesign
excellent protectability
Short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information
about the brand. Often appear in advertising, on packaging and other
marketing comms. They are useful "hooks" and can efficiently build
brand equity. They serve as tag-lines to summarise and remind of
persuasive messages conveyed in advertising marketing campaigns.
Designing Slogans: Incl. product related messages and build both
awareness and image for brand equity.
Example: Master Card's "Priceless"
Cons: Overuse means it looses meaning.
- enhance brand recall and recognition
explicitly convey any type of meaning
evoke verbal imagery
limited transferability
adaptable
excellent protectability
Brand Elements:
When Changing
Slogans
1. Recognize how the slogan is contributing to brand equity (if at all)
through enhanced awareness or image.
2. Decide how much of the enhancement (if any) is still needed.
3. Retain needed or desired equities still residing in the slogan as
much as possible while providing whatever new twists or meaning are
necessary to contribute to equity in other ways.
Note: Sometimes modifying existing slogan is more fruitful than a new
one.
Brand Elements:
Jingles
Musical messages register in the listeners mind (in some cases
permanently), very important in the first half of the 20th century as
advertising was often over radio.
Pro: Enhance brand awareness through multiple encoding
opportunities.
Con: Not nearly as transferable as other brand elements due to their
musical nature.
Example: Kit Kat's " Give me a Break" or Intel's "In-tel In-side"
Brand Elements:
Packaging
Packaging is the activity of designing and producing containers or
wrappers for a product.
Objectives:
-Identify the brand
- Convey descriptive and persuasive information
- Facilitate product transportation and protection
- Assist in at-home storage
- Aid product consumption
Marketers must choose: aesthetic and functional components and
meet consumer's needs e.g. squeezable, resealable or tamperproof
AKA "the 5th P"
Brand Elements:
Packaging
Benefits
Appealing packaging can make the difference at the POINT OF
PURCHASE.
Consumer's strongest association is of the look of products packaging
and therefore can build or reinforce brand associations.
Packaging innovation can be a POD and permit higher margins. New
packaging can expand a market and capture new market segments.
Example: Think Heineken, think green bottle
Brand Elements:
Packaging at
Point-of-Purchase
Note:
-shopper is exposed to 20,000+ products in a 30min shop
-may make unplanned purchases
-packaging can be temporary competitive edge
-shelf can be customers first encounter with product/brand
-packaging is a cost-efficient way to build brand equity
AKA "last 5 seconds of marketing" or "permanent media"
Also note: Given enough shelf space manufacturers create a billboard
effect raising prominence and impact.
Brand Elements:
Packaging - When
to make changes
- To signal a higher price
- When a significant product line extension would benefit from a
common look
- To accompany a new product innovation to signal change to the
consumer
- When the old package just looks outdated
Psychology of
Packaging
Cornell University's Brian Wansink has discovered that packaging can
affect consumption perceptions, as well as the purchase decision.
1. Packaging can influence taste - soy nutrition bar example
2. Larger packages make people believe they get better value for
money, especially tall thin packages
3. People pour and consume 18-32% more of a product if it's in a
double-size package because it suggests higher consumption norms.
MBA students and old popcorn example.
4. Packaging influences how you use a product - 2x as many people
learned a new product use from packaging than from TV, because
they reach someone already favourable to the brand.
Packaging
summary
- useful for brand recognition
- can convey almost any type of association, explicitly
- can combine visual and verbal appeal
- good transferability
- typically can be redesigned
- low protectability; can be copied
Mixing and
Matching
Brand identity = the contribution of all brand elements to brand
awareness and image.
If all brand elements are consistent with each other, the brand
identity is cohesive.
Each brand element plays a different role in creating brand equity, so
marketers must mix and match for the best effect.
e.g. meaningful brand names that are visually represented through
logos are easier to remember with, than without reinforcement.
Other elements promote recognition, but not recall.
