In marketing, a brand is the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service. A brand typically includes a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images or symbols. It also encompasses the set of expectations associated with a product or service which typicaly arise in the minds of people. Such people include employees of the brand owner, people involved with distribution, sale or supply of the product or service, and ultimate consumers.
In other contexts the term "brand" may be used where the legal term trademark is more appropriate.
Brand Concepts
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 refered to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people and consists of all the information and expectations associated with a product or service.
Marketers seek to develop or "align" the expectations comprising the brand experience through branding, so that a brand carries the "promise" that a product or service has a certain quality or characteristic which make it special or unique. A brand image may be developed by attributing a "personality" to or associating an "image" with a product or service, whereby the personality or image is "branded" into the consciousness of consumers. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management.
A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition. Where brand recognition builds up to a point where a brand enjoys a mass of positive sentiment in the marketplace, it is said to have achieved brand franchise.
Brand equity measures the total value of the brand to the brand owner, and reflects the extent of brand franchise. The term brand name is often used interchangeably with "brand", although it is more correctly used to specifically denote written or spoken linguistic elements of a brand. In this context a "brand name" constitutes a type of trademark, if the brand name exclusively identifies the brand owner as the commercial source of products or services. A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand name through trademark registration.
The act of associating a product or service with a brand has become part of pop culture. Most products have some kind of brand identity, from common table salt to designer clothes. In non-commercial contexts, the marketing of entities which supply ideas or promises rather than product and services (eg. political parties or religious organizations) may also be known as "branding".
Consumers may look on branding as an important value added aspect of products or services, as it often serves to denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic. From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services also command higher prices. Where two products resemble each other, but one of the products has no associated branding (such as a generic, stored-branded product), people may often select the more expensive branded product on the basis of the quality of the brand or the reputation of the brand owner.
United States
• Apple (computer)
• Boeing (aerospace)
• Coca-Cola (soft drink)
• Ford Motor Company (automobiles)
• Hershey's (chocolate)
• McDonald's (fast food restaurant)
• Microsoft (software)
• The Gap (clothing)
European
• BP (petrol—UK)
• BMW (carmaker—Germany)
• Cadbury (chocolate—UK)
• Ferrari (carmaker—Italy)
• Ikea (furniture—Sweden)
• Lego (toys—Denmark)
• Mercedes-Benz (automobile line—Germany)
• Nestlé (food—Switzerland)
• Nokia (mobile phones—Finland)
• SAP (software—Germany)
• Orangina (soft drink)
• Chanel (luxury apparel—France)
Japanese
• Honda
• Nintendo
• Panasonic
• Sony
Australian
• Qantas (airline)
• Rip Curl (surf/clothing)
• Woolworth's (store chain)
tags: branding, marketing, brandblog, brand blog / brandblog
