Brand Identity : A Brand

A brand is what can either attract people to you or make people avoid you; people would identify you by the brand you portray. One can communicate their brand through actions and words. “It is essential to understand that wherever we are, in whatever we do, we are all building our brand”.

According to Holt (2004), a brand can be defined as a term, name or a design that distinguishes product or service of one manufacturer from others. Brands are normally utilized in advertising, business and marketing. In accounting terms, brand is an intangible asset which is present within every organization. It is most valuable asset that is outlined in the balance sheet of a company. Brands owners need to effectively manage their brands in order to enhance shareholder value. Brand valuation is an important technique that associates money with a brand. Effective branding often results into high sales volumes of a particular product. A customer who prefers a brand is more likely to choose other products which are offered by the same brand. Brand can be stated as a personality that facilitates identification of a company, product or service. It even encompasses relation with other constituents like customers, partners, investors, staff, etc. Individuals distinguish psychological aspect of a brand from experimental

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), a brand is 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 competition”. However, as Keller highlights, a brand is also “something that has actually created a certain amount of awareness, reputation, prominence, and so on in the marketplace”. Therefore, a brand is an identity created to differentiate itself from the competitors and to be remembered in consumer’s mind.

Successful brands build successful products when the product is one that the consumer desires as opposed to needs. Companies selling these types of products must put additional effort into marketing activities like brand

Since an increasing number of people focus on brand names instead of product, brands become important elements for customers to choose products (Carroll, 2008). When customers trust the brand, the benefits for the manufactures are generated. In the first place, brands can be used by products as the tool to identify and differentiate themselves from various products. Secondly, brands are helpful for companies to build a competitive advantage (Bick, 2009). Therefore, organisations take more attention to branding.

“ “A corporate brand is a product of an organization's corporate strategy, mission, image, and activities. Corporate brands distinguish organizations from their competitors, orient the organization in the minds of customers and employees, and create a perception of what an organization stands for “(Matrix AMC, 2014) CCC will need to establish an organizational branding standard that makes a statement to potential clients of the high standards that they bring to the business.

One brand consultant, from the case, says when times are tough, people are looking are looking for brands they know and the comforts they bring out, not only functionally but also emotionally. On page 233, there is a section about brands. Nowadays branding is so strong that almost anything goes unbranded. The textbook author says consumers view a brand as an important part of a product, and branding can add value to a consumer’s

THE PERCEPTION OF THE BRAND IN THE MINDS OF CONSUMERS. ONE OF THE MAJOR ROLES OF BRAND MANAGEMENT IS TO CREATE POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS IN THE MINDS OF THE TARGET CUSTOMER ‘(OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2016 )

Just like any branding process, the basic understanding of the product is extremely important, as this will allow the differentiation of that product with any potential competitor. Similarly, in term of individual human, the talent, interest, goals, experience and resource can be the parameters for understanding the product itself. Hence, the next section will explore the parameters in the form of bullet points.

Brands are the visual representation of a company, its culture, its people, products and vision. All these put together embody and give life to the brand, assigning and defining certain traits and values to be associated with it. Branding is the representation of those values as conveyed to the universe, whether to its customers, stakeholders or the world at large.

“A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol intended to identify the goods or services of either on seller or group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services from those of competitors” (Aaker 1991).A brand is the most valuable asset for an organization in the current competing world. Every organization is formulating strategies to make its brand popular and significant not only in markets but also in minds of the customers. Brand is the relation of customer with the brand. It is promise which a company makes to the customer about the goods and service they offer (Gregg 2002) Branding involves decisions that establish an identity for a product with the goal of distinguishing it from competitors offerings

A brand is also a kind of promise. It is a set of fundamental principles as understood by anyone who comes into contact with a company. A brand is an organization's "reason for being." It is how that reason is expressed through the various communications to its key audiences, including customers, shareholders, employees, and analysts. A brand should also represent the desired attributes of a company's products, services, and initiatives. Many businesses try but fail to create a successful brand. Here are ten of the most common mistakes:

For just a moment think back to when you received your first pair or Nike’s or that name brand purse you wanted so badly. The feelings of joy and excited were probably unexplainable or perhaps you were more focused on how well you would fit in with your peers. Regardless of where you ended up on the spectrum, it is certain that brands invoke such strong feelings and play a huge role in our daily lives. Defining a brand is no simple task and is an area the marketing professional cannot overlook. Branding is an integral part of marketing and requires differing reinforcement strategies, alternate methods and media to establish a franchise’s image within consumers.

In recent times, branding has played a pivotal role in some brands’ success. This has been made possible through the ability of some marketers to capture the essence and minds of people (consumers), and put the trends and characteristics into the personality of a brand. Customers have always found ways to identify themselves with certain products, and on several occasions, branding campaigns

The establishment of a unique brand is the target of any given business. A successful brand is that which customers can easily relate to, an aspect that enables a brand to be capable of gaining competitiveness in the market. The creation of a brand that a large percentage of customers can relate to and easily identify with translates to a large consumer base. Branding is primarily directed towards creating a positive perception in the minds of the consumers, an aspect that makes the customers to understand what they would expect from a business. The development of a brand by a business is primarily processual, and ensuring that there is an effective strategy in brand development helps ensure the emotional connectivity and appeal of the brand to the customers (Powers, 341-360).