What is a brand?
The Oxford Dictionaries online defines a brand as:
“A type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name”
But a brand is so much more than that.
For starters, a brand doesn’t have to be a manufactured product: it can be a company, a service, a TV programme or even a person. Think Unilever, Natwest Online Banking, X-Factor, Posh ‘n’ Becks.
And it’s definitely not just a clever name or appealing logo. In fact, marketing scholars often describe a brand as having multiple layers. At the heart of this is the core benefit to customers – that’s what it delivers, not what it is. Put in the famous words of Professor Theodore Levitt:
“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”
Once you’ve identified your brand’s core benefit, you can build value through differentiation. This encompasses everything from the product/service/person itself to its packaging, design, features, associated services, reputation, add-ons, price, quality and emotional connotations.
But remember your brand value lies in the customers’ mind – it’s how they perceive your brand that’s important, not how you think they should perceive it. One way to ensure they have positive brand associations is to be consistent and build trust.
While each communication channel you use may require a different tone, the key messages and overall look and feel should remain the same. No point having a quirky advert, only to direct customers to a run-of-the-mill website, or promise quality and deliver faulty goods – customers will lose faith and you may lose sales.
Agencies can play a part in helping you build your brand effectively by offering third party insight and experience. And the more information you can give your agency, the better. At BDB, we work hard to understand our clients’ businesses, markets and customers to successfully position their brand and translate its values across a wide range of media.
