Branding involves giving a distinct name and/or mark to a product for its easy identification in the market. It intends to highlight something unique about the product viz., quality, specialty, utility etc. At the same time, a brand name should be easy to recall for the customers.
According to W.J. Stanton, M.J. Etzel and B.J. Walker “Brand is comprehensive term encompassing other narrow terms. A brand is name and/or mark intended to identify the product of one seller or group of seller’s and differentiate the product from competing products”.
Learn about:- 1. Concept of Branding 2. Definitions of Branding 3. Types 4. Selecting a Brand 5. Importance 6. Functions 7. Branding Decisions 8. Brand Equity 9. Brand Image 10. Trade Marks and Brand Names 11. Branding Strategy 12. Brand Building Strategies 13. Advantages and Disadvantages.
Branding : Meaning, Definitions, Importance, Functions, Advantages, Disadvantages and Brand Image
Contents:
- Meaning of Branding
- Definitions of Branding
- Types of Brands
- Selecting a Brand
- Importance of Branding
- Functions of Branding
- Branding Decisions
- Brand Equity
- Brand Image
- Trade Marks and Brand Names
- Branding Strategy
- Brand Building Strategies
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Branding
Branding – Meaning and Concept
Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It seeks to increase the product’s perceived value to the customer and thereby increase brand franchise and brand equity. Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that the level of quality people have come to expect from a brand will continue with present and future purchases of the same product.
This may increase sales by making a comparison with competing products more favorable. It may also enable the manufacturer to charge more for the product. The value of the brand is determined by the amount of profit it generates for the manufacturer. This results from a combination of increased sales and increased price.
The annual list of the world’s most valuable brands, published by Interbrand and Business Week, indicates that the market value of companies often consists largely of brand equity.
Research by McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm, in 2000 suggested that strong, well-leveraged brands produce higher returns to shareholders than weaker, narrower brands. Taken together, this means that brands seriously impact shareholder value, which ultimately makes branding a CEO responsibility.
Branding originated as the act of using a heated tool to mark livestock as property, and to mark criminals, either as a public warning or a sign of disgrace. The practice of branding humans began before recorded history and ended in western culture as a form of punishment in the late 1800s.
The act of branding has since evolved from its early uses, so that it now connotes the science of “burning” qualities and attributes into the minds of consumers, in order to yield emotional relationships and loyalties.
Historically, a brand was any visible mark created for identification. Today, a brand includes any identifiable or subconscious characteristic, including the many qualities and emotions contained in a consumer’s relationship with an entity, be it a company, product, service or individual. Therefore, the term “branding” is now synonymous with relationship-building.
Contrary to popular belief, a brand is not a mark, logo, or trademark. Marks, logos and trademarks may be the most easily identifiable attributes of brands, but these signifiers act as simple visual links that embody the complex emotional attributes contained in any relationship between entities and their consumers – the brand is the relationship, and the visual cue — be it a mark, logo, or trademark — that works to represent, evoke and enhance the relationship.
Brands have become the most valuable and protected assets of corporations, because they enable the introduction of new commodities while concurrently maintaining or strengthening relationships with consumers.
Emerging branding practices include the use of MRI — magnetic resonant imaging, or brain scan — technology, and digital surveillance. MRI technology informs and prioritizes brand development and accurately predicts consumer behavior, and digital surveillance technology targets consumers based on interest profiles.
Some marketers distinguish the psychological aspect of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes refer