Module 4 Flashcards
Brand elements
sometimes called brand identities, are those trademarkable devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand.
The main brand elements are
brand names, URLs, logos, symbols, characters, spokespeople, slogans, jingles, packages, and signage.
Criteria for Choosing Brand Elements
Memorability Meaningfulness Likeability Transferability Adaptability Protectability
Memorability
Easily recognized
Easily recalled
Meaningfulness
Descriptive
Persuasive
Likeability
Fun and interesting
Rich visual and verbal imagery
Aesthetically pleasing
Transferability
Within and across product categories
Across geographic boundaries and cultures
Adaptability
Flexible
Updatable
Protectability
Legally
Competitively
Marketer’s offensive strategy
and build brand equity
Memorability
Meaningfulness
Likeability
Defensive role for leveraging
and maintaining brand equity
Transferability
Adaptability
Protectability
A necessary condition for building brand equity is
achieving a high level of brand awareness.
Brand elements that promote that goal of achieving a high level of band awareness are inherently
memorable and attention-getting and therefore facilitate recall or recognition in purchase or consumption settings.
Blue Rhino Example
A brand of propane gas cylinders named Blue Rhino featuring a powder-blue animal mascot with a distinctive yellow flame is likely to stick in the minds of consumers.
Brand elements may take on all kinds of meaning, with either descriptive or persuasive content. Two particularly important criteria are how well the brand element conveys the following:
General Information
Specific information
General Information about the nature of the product category:
Does the brand element have descriptive meaning and suggest something about the product category? How likely is it that a consumer could correctly identify the product category for the brand based on any one brand element? Does the brand element seem credible in the product category?
Specific information about particular attributes and benefits of the brand:
Does the brand element have persuasive meaning and suggest something about the particular kind of product, or its key attributes or benefits? Does it suggest something about a product ingredient or the type of person who might use the brand?
The first dimension is an important determinant of
brand awareness and salience; the second, of brand image and positioning.
Likeability Dimentions
Do customers find the brand element aesthetically appealing?
Is it likeable visually, verbally, and in other ways?
Brand elements can be rich in imagery and inherently fun and interesting, even if not always directly related to the product.
Brand Design and Aesthetics
Marketing aesthetics
Aesthetics strategy
Style
Themes
Marketing aesthetics:
the marketing of sensory experiences in corporate or brand output that contributes to the organization’s or brand’s identity.
Aesthetics strategy:
the strategic planning and implementation of identity elements that provide sensory experience and aesthetic gratification to the organization’s multiple constituents.
Style:
a distinctive quality or form, a manner of expression.
Themes:
the content, meaning, and projected image of an identity that provide customers with mental anchors and reference points to put an organization in a wider context and to distinguish its position.
A memorable, meaningful, and likable set of brand elements offers many advantages because
consumers often do not examine much information in making product decisions.
Descriptive and persuasive elements reduce
the burden on marketing communications to build awareness and link brand associations and equity, especially when few other product-related associations exist.
Transferability measures
the extent to which the brand element adds to the brand equity of new products for the brand.
How useful is the brand element for line or category extensions? In general, the less specific the name, the more easily it can be transferred across categories (eg: Amazon, vs Books “R” Us)
(ii) to what extent does the brand element add to brand equity across geographic boundaries and market segments?
To a large extent this depends on the cultural content and linguistic qualities of the brand element (eg: Exxon)
One of the main advantages of non-meaningful names like Exxon is that
they transfer well into other languages.
The more adaptable and flexible the brand element, the easier it is to
update it. For example, logos and characters can be given a new look or a new design to make them appear more modern and relevant.
To what extent is the brand element protectable – both in a legal and
a competitive sense?
Marketers should:
i) Choose brand elements that can be legally protected internationally.
ii) Formally register chosen brand elements with the appropriate legal
bodies.
(iii) Vigorously defend trademarks from unauthorized competitive
infringement.
The brand name is a fundamentally important choice because it often captures
the central theme or key associations of a product in a very compact and economical fashion.
It is an effective shorthand means of communication.
Is it difficult to come up with a brand name?
Ira Bachrach, a well-known branding consultant, notes that although there are 140,000 words in the English vocabulary, the average American recognizes only 20,000; his consulting company, ‘NameLab’, sticks to the 7,000 words that make up the vocabulary of most TV programs and commercials.
Naming Guidelines
BRAND AWARENESS
Simplicity and Ease of Pronounciation and Spelling
Familiarity and Meaningfulness
Differentiated, Distinctive, and Unique
BRAND AWARENESS:
Brand names that are simple and easy to pronounce or spell, familiar and meaning, and different, distinctive, and unusual can obviously improve brand awareness.
Simplicity and Ease of Pronounciation and Spelling
Simplicity reduces the effort consumers have to make to comprehend and process the brand name. Short names often facilitate recall because they are easy to encode and store in memory. (Hyundai, Fruzen Gladje are hard to pronounce and may not be used by consumers). Marketers can shorten longer names to make them easier to recall. Chevy, Bud, Coke, etc.
Familiarity and Meaningfulness
The brand name should be familiar and meaningful so it can tap into existing knowledge structures. It can be concrete or abstract in meaning. To help create strong brand-category link and aid brand recall, the brand name may also suggest the product or service category. Neon, UHaul, etc.
Differentiated, Distinctive, and Unique
Although choosing a simple, easy to pronounce, familiar, and meaningful brand name can improve recallability, to improve brand recognition, on the other hand, brand names should be different, distinctive, and unusual.
Apple, Exxon, WD-40, etc.
BRAND ASSOCIATIONS:
Because the brand name is a compact form of communication, the explicit and implicit meanings consumers extract from it are important. In particular, the brand name can reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that makes up its product positioning.
Besides performance-related considerations, brand names can also communicate more
abstract considerations as do names like Joy dishwashing liquid, Caress soap, and Obsession perfume.
A descriptive brand name makes it easier to link the
reinforced attribute or benefit. Consumers will find it easier to believe that a laundry detergent “adds fresh scent” to clothes if it has a name like “Blossom” than if it’s called something neutral like “Circle”.
Marketers generally devise made-up brand names systematically, basing words on
combinations of morphemes.
A morpheme is
the smallest linguistic unit having meaning. For example, Nissan’s Sentra automobile is a combination of two morphemes suggesting “central” and “sentry”. By constructing carefully chosen morphemes, marketers can construct brand names that actually have some relatively easily inferred or implicit meaning.
Brand Naming Procedures
Define objectives Generate names Screen initial candidates Study candidate names Research the final candidates Select the final name
Define objectives
First define the branding objectives in terms of the six general criteria we noted earlier, and in particular define the ideal meaning the brand should convey.
Generate names
With branding strategy in place, next generate as many names and concepts as possible. Any potential sources of name are valid: company management and employees; existing or potential customers; ad agencies, professional name consultants, and specialized computer-based naming companies.
Screen initial candidates
Screen all the names against the branding objectives and marketing considerations. Identified in step1, as well as applying the test of common sense, to produce a more manageable list.
Study candidate names
Collect more extensive information about each of the final 5 to 10 names. Before spending large amounts of money on consumer research, it is usually advisable to do an extensive international legal search.
Research the final candidates
Next, conduct consumer research to confirm management expectations about the memorability and meaningfulness of the remaining names.
Select the final name
Based on all the information collected from the previous step, management should choose the name that maximizes the firm’s branding and marketing objectives and then formally register it.
URLs (Uniform resource Locators)
specify locations of pages on the Web and are also commonly referred to as domain names. Anyone wishing to own a specific URL must register and pay for the name with a service such as Register.com.
In recent years, as companies clamored for space on the Web, the number of registered URLs has increased dramatically.
Another issue facing companies with regard to URLs is protecting their brands from
unauthorized use in other domain names.
A company can either sue the current owner of the URL for copyright infringement, buy the name from the current owner, or register all conceivable variations of its brand as domain names ahead of time.
Brand recall is critical for URLs because at least initially,
consumers must remember the URL to be able to get to the site.
Many firms adopted names that started with a lowercase e or I and ended in “net”, “system”, or, especially, “com”.
Most of these names became liabilities after the internet bubble burst, forcing firms to revert to more conventional names.
Although the brand name typically is the central element of the brand, __ __ typically also play a critical role in building brand equity and especially brand awareness.
visual elements
Logos have a long history as a means to
indicate origin, ownership, or association.
Logos range from
corporate names or trademarks in a distinctive form, to entirely abstract designs that may be completely unrelated to the word mark, corporate name, or corporate activities.
Examples of brands with strong ‘word marks’ and no accompanying logo separate from the name -
Coca-Cola, Dunhill, and Kit Kat.
Examples of abstract logos include
the Mercedes star, Rolex crown, CBS eye, Nike swoosh, and Olympic rings.
Many logos fall between these two extremes.
Logos and Symbols
Some logos are literal representations of the brand name, enhancing
brand meaning and awareness like Arm and Hammer, American Red Cross, and Apple.
Some logos can be quite __ or pictorial in nature like American Express centurion, the Land o’ Lakes native American, and the Morton Salt girl with umbrella, and Ralph Lauren’s polo player.
concrete
Logos and symbols are often easily recognized and can be a valuable way to
identify products, although consumers may recognize them but be unable to link them to any specific product or brand.
Another branding advantage of logos is their versatility:
Because they are often nonverbal logos transfer well across cultures and over a range of product categories.
Abstract logos offer advantages when the full brand name is
difficult to use for any reason.
National Westminster Bank created a triangular device as a logo because the
name itself was long and cumbersome. The logo also uses the shortened version of the company name, NatWest.
Unlike brand names, logos can be easily __ __ __ to achieve a more contemporary look.
adapted over time
John Deere revamped its deer trademark for the first time in 32 years in 2000, making the animal appear to be
leaping up rather than landing down.
p.p. =
percentage points
% =
difference between scores, expressed as a percentage
The percentages shown on the “Name Only” and “Full Logo” are average top box ratings (“agree strongly”) within a 5-point rating scale on the image contribution attributes, based only on
respondents who are aware of the company or brand.
Characters represent a special type of brand symbol-
one that takes on human or real-life characteristics.
Brand characters typically are introduced through
advertising and can play a central role in ad campaigns and package designs.
Eg: Tony the Tiger, Cap’n Crunch, Maytag Repairman, AFLAC duck, Ronald McDonald, etc.
One of the most powerful characters ever introduced is
Pillsbury’s Jolly Green Giant.
His origin can be traced back to the 1920’s, when the Minnesota Valley Canning Company placed a green giant on the label of a new variety of English peas as a means to circumvent trademark laws that prevented the firm from naming the product “Green Giant”.
Because they are often colorful and rich in imagery, brand characters tend to be
attention getting and quite useful for creating brand awareness.
The human element of brand characters can
enhance likeability and help to create perceptions of the brand as fun and interesting.
Because brand characters do not typically have direct product meaning, they may also be transferred relatively easily across
product categories.
There are some cautions and drawbacks to using brand characters. Brand characters can be so attention getting and well liked that they
dominate other brand elements and actually dampen brand awareness.
Energizer Example
When Ralston Purina introduced its drumming pink bunny that “kept going … and going … and going” in ads for the Eveready Energizer battery, many consumers were so captivated by the character that they paid little attention to the name of the advertised brand. As a result , they mistakenly believed that the ad was for Eveready’s chief competitor, Duracell.
Characters often must be updated over time so that
their image and personality remain relevant to the target market.
Michelin Example
Recently, Michelin launched a newer, slimmer version of the famous tubby Michelin Man (whose real name is Bibendum) to mark his 100th year.
A company press release notes, “ Thinner & smiling, Bibendum will look like the leader he is, with an open and reassuring manner.”
Slogans
are short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information about the brand. They often appear in advertising but can play an important role on packaging and in other aspects of the marketing program.
Slogans are powerful branding devices because, like brand names,
they are an extremely efficient, shorthand means to build brand equity.
Some slogans help to build brand awareness by playing off the
brand name in some way, as in “The Citi Never Sleeps” or “ You Can Do It If You B&Q It.”
Others slogans build brand awareness even more explicitly by
making strong links between the brand and the corresponding product category, like “Lifetime. Television for Women.”
Most important, slogans can help to reinforce
the brand positioning and desired point of difference, as in “Life Takes Visa,” “Staples- That Was Easy”, and “With Samsung It’s Not That Hard to Imagine”.
Slogans often become closely tied to advertising campaigns and serve as
tag lines to summarize the descriptive or persuasive information conveyed in the ads.
DeBeers’ “A Diamond Is Forever” slogan communicates that diamonds bring eternal love and romance and never lose value. Slogans can be more all encompassing and more enduring than just ad tag lines.
Some of the most powerful slogans contribute to __ __ in multiple ways.
brand equity
Slogans can play off the brand name to build both
awareness and image, such as “ Be Certain with Certs” for Certs breath mints; “Maybe She’s Born with It, Maybe It’s Maybelline” for Maybelline cosmetics; or “The Big Q Stands for Quality” for Quaker State motor oil.
Slogans also can contain __ __ and other meanings.
product-related
Champion sportswear slogan, “It Takes a Little More to Make a Champion”.
The slogan could be interpreted in terms of product performance, as meaning that Champion sportswear is made with a little extra care or with extra-special materials, but it could also mean that Champion sportswear is associated with top athletes.
Some slogans become so strongly linked to the brand that it becomes difficult to
introduce new ones. Thus a slogan that becomes so strongly identified with a brand can box it in. .
Or successful slogans can take on
lives of their own and become public catch phrases,
but there can also be a down side to this kind of successful slogan
The slogan can quickly become overexposed and lose specific brand or product meaning
Once a slogan achieves such a high level of recognition and acceptance, it may still contribute to brand equity, but probably as more of a
reminder of the brand.
Consumers are unlikely to consider what the slogan means in a thoughtful way after
seeing or hearing it too many times.
Because slogans are perhaps the __ brand element to change over time, marketers have more flexibility in managing them.
easiest
In changing slogans, however, they must do the following:
Recognize how the slogan is contributing to brand equity, if at all, through enhanced awareness or image.
Decide how much of this equity enhancement, if any, is still needed.
Retain the needed or desired equities still residing in the slogan as much as possible while providing whatever new twists of meaning are necessary to contribute to equity in other ways.
Jingles are
musical messages written around the brand.
Typically composed by professional songwriters, they often have enough catchy hooks and choruses to become almost permanently registered in the minds of listeners- sometimes whether they want them to or not!
We can think of jingles as
extended musical slogans and in that sense classify them as a brand element.
Jingles are perhaps most valuable in
enhancing brand awareness.
Often jingles repeat the brand name in clever and amusing ways that allow consumers
multiple encoding opportunities.
Consumers are also likely to mentally rehearse or repeat
catchy jingles after the ad is over, providing even more encoding opportunities and increasing memorability.
A well-known jingle can serve as an advertising foundation for years.
Packaging is
designing and producing containers or wrappers for a product.
Like other brand elements, packages have a long history.
From the perspective of both the firm and consumers, packaging must achieve a number of objectives:
Identify the brand.
Convey descriptive and persuasive information.
Facilitate product transportation and protection.
Assist at-home storage.
Aid product consumption.
Marketers must choose the aesthetic and functional components of
packaging correctly to achieve marketing objectives and meet consumers’ needs.
Aesthetic considerations govern a
package’s size and shape, material, color, text, and graphics.
Functionally structural design is crucial. For example, innovations over the years have resulted in food packages that are
resealable, tamperproof, and more convenient to use- easy to hold, easy to open, or squeezable.
Often, one of the strongest associations consumers have with a brand is inspired
by
the look of its packaging.
The package can become an important means of
brand recognition and convey or imply information to build or reinforce valuable brand associations.
If you ask consumers what comes to mind when they thinks of Heineken beer a common response is
“green bottle”.
Taking simple toiletries and a handful of other diverse products and packaging them as entertainment has been the key to success for
Blue Q.
Structural packaging innovations can create a
point of difference that permits a higher margin.
New packages can also expand a market and
capture new market segments.
Packaging changes can have __ impact on sales.
immediate
Rice-A-Roni’s sales increased __ in the first year after a packaging revitalization.
20%
Packaging can create strong appeal on the
store shelf and stand out from the clutter, critical when you realize that the average supermarket shopper can be exposed to 20,000 or more products in a shopping visit and may encounter a new brand for the first time on the super market shelf or in the store.
packaging is a particularly cost-effective way to
build brand equity. It is sometimes called the “last five seconds of marketing” as well as “permanent media” or “the last salesman”.
Wal-Mart looks at packaging critically and tests whether consumers understand the brand promise behind the package within
3 seconds and up to 15 feet from the shelf.
Designers often refer to the “shelf impact” of a package-
the visual effect the package has at the point of the purchase when consumers see it in the context of other packages in the category.
Perhaps one of the most important visual design elements for a package is its
color
Packaging color can affect
consumers’ perceptions of the product itself.
For example, the darker the orange shade of the can or bottle, the sweeter consumers believe the drink inside to be.
Although packaging changes can be expensive, they can be cost-effective compared with
other marketing communication costs.
Firms change their packaging for a number of reasons. They may upgrade it to
signal a higher price, or to more effectively sell products through new or shifting distribution channels.
Kendall Oil Example
Kendall Oil redid its package to make it more appealing to do-it-yourselfers when it found more of its sales coming from supermarkets and hardware stores rather than service stations.
reasons for packaging change:
To signal new product innovation (eg: Tide drip-proof spout).
To accommodate significant product line extension (eg: Planter’s nuts,
Weight Watchers foods).
The old package looks outdated.
Perhaps the most common reason for package redesign is that
the old package just looks outdated. Under these circumstances, marketers must not lose the key package equities that have been built up.
Mott’s Example
In 2004, Mott’s redesigned its entire portfolio of apple sauces and juices- about 150 SKUs- to unify the brand and remind consumers of its healthy equity. Because the logo of the 162-year-old brand had 90 percent recognition among consumers, management retained its basic look.
As one Coca-Cola ad executive noted, “ There’s no question the crowded marketplace has inspired companies to
change their boxes more often, and there’s greater use of promotional packages to give the appearance that things are changing”.
Some marketing experts consider packaging important enough to be
the “fifth P” of the marketing mix.
Packaging can play an important role in building brand equity
directly, through points of difference created by functional or aesthetic elements of the packaging or indirectly through the reinforcement of brand awareness and image.
Each brand element can play a different role in building brand equity, so marketers __ __ __ to maximize brand equity.
“mix and match”
The entire set of brand element makes up the
brand identity, the contribution of all brand elements to awareness and image.
The cohesiveness of the brand identity depends on
the extent to which the brand elements are consistent.
Some strong brands have a number of valuable brand elements that
directly reinforce each other.
Brand names characterized by rich, concrete visual imagery often can yield
powerful logos or symbols.
