An identifying symbol, words, or mark that distinguishes a product or company from its competitors.

Usually brands are registered (trademarked) with a regulatory authority and so cannot be used freely by other parties. For many products and companies, branding is an essential part of marketing.

Marketing theory suggests that there are three main types of brand name: (1) Family brand names: A family brand name is used for all products. By building customer trust and loyalty to the family brand name, all products that use the brand can benefit. Good examples include brands in the food industry, including Kelloggs, Heinz and Del Monte. Of course, the use of a family brand can also create problems if one of the products gets bad publicity or is a failure in a market. This can damage the reputation of a whole range of brands. (2) Individual brand names: An individual brand name does not identify a brand with a particular company. For example, take the case of Heinz. Heinz is a leading global food manufacturer with a very strong family brand. However, it also operates many well-known individual brand names. Examples include Farleys (baby food), Linda MacCartney Foods (vegetarian meals) and Weight Watchers Foods (diet/slimming meals and supplements). Why does Heinz use individual brand names when it has such a strong family brand name? There are several reasons why a brand needs a separate identity unrelated to the family brand name: The product may be competing in a new market segment where failure could harm the main family brand name The family brand name may be positioned inappropriately for the target market segment. For example the family brand name might be positioned as an upmarket brand for affluent consumers. The brand may have been acquired; in other words it has already established itself as a leading brand in the market segment. The fact that it has been acquired by a company with a strong family brand name does not mean that the acquired brand has to be changed. (3) Combination brand names: A combination brand name brings together a family brand name and an individual brand name. The idea here is to provide some association for the product with a strong family brand name but maintaining some distinctiveness so that customers know what they are getting. Examples of combination brand names include Microsoft XP and Microsoft Office in personal computing software and Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Pet Foods. What are the features of a good brand name?

Brand names should be chosen carefully since the name conveys a lot of information to a customer. The following list contains considerations that should be made before making a final choice of brand name: A good brand name should: Evoke positive Be easy to pronounce Suggest product Be Use numerals when emphasising Not infringe existing registered brand names associations remember benefits distinctive features

and technological

What is a brand? One definition of a brand is as follows: A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, that is intended to identify the goods and services of one business or group of businesses and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Interbrand - a leading branding consultancy - define a brand in this way: A mixture of tangible and intangible attributes symbolised in a trademark, which, if properly managed, creates influence and generates value. Three other important terms relating to brands should be defined at this stage: Brand equity Brand equity refers to the value of a brand. Brand equity is based on the extent to which the brand has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality and strong product associations. Brand equity also includes other intangible assets such as patents, trademarks and channel relationships. Brand image Brand image refers to the set of beliefs that customers hold about a particular brand. These are important to develop well since a negative brand image can be very difficult to shake off. Brand extension Brand extension refers to the use of a successful brand name to launch a new or modified product in a new market. Virgin is perhaps the best example of how brand extension can be applied into quite diverse and distinct markets. Brands and products Brands are rarely developed in isolation. They normally fall within a business product line or product group.

A product line is a group of brands that are closely related in terms of their functions and the benefits they provide. A good example would be the range of desktop and laptop computers manufactured by Dell. A product mix relates to the total set of brands marketed by a business. A product mix could, therefore, contain several or many product lines. The width of the product mix can be measured by the number of product lines that a business offers. For a good example, visit the web site of Hewlett-Packard (HP). HP has a broad product mix that covers many segments of the personal and business computing market. How many separate product lines can you spot from their web site? Managing brands is a key part of the product strategy of any business, particularly those operating in highly competitive consumer markets.

Product
The most common brand is that associated with a tangible product, such as a car or drink. This can be very specific or may indicate a range of products. In any case, there is always a unifying element that is the 'brand' being referred to in the given case. Individual product Product brands can be very specific, indicating a single product, such as classic Coca-Cola. It can also include particular physical forms, such as Coca-cola in a traditional bottle or a can. Product range Product brands can also be associated with a range, such as the Mercedes S-class cars or all varieties of Colgate toothpaste.

Service
As companies move from manufacturing products to delivering complete solutions and intangible services, the brand is about the 'service'. Service brands are about what is done, when it is done, who does it, etc. It is much more variable than products brands, where variation can be eliminated on the production line. Even in companies such as McDonald's where the service has been standardized down to the eye contact and smile, variation still occurs. Consistency can be a problem in service: we expect some variation, and the same smile every time can turn into an annoyance as we feel we are being manipulated. Service brands need a lot more understanding than product brands.

Organization
Organizations are brands, whether it is a company that delivers products and services or some other group. Thus Greenpeace, Mercedes and the US Senate are all defined organizations and each have qualities associated with them that constitute the brand. In once sense, the brand of the organization is created as the sum of its products and services. After all, this is all we can see and experience of the organization. Looking at it another way, the flow also goes the other way: the intent of the

managers of the organization permeates downwards into the products and the services which project a common element of that intent.

Person
The person brand is focused on one or a few individuals, where the branding is associated with personality. Individual A pure individual brand is based on one person, such as celebrity actor or singer. The brand can be their natural person or a carefully crafted projection. Politicians work had to project a brand that is attractive to their electorate (and also work hard to keep their skeletons firmly in the cupboard). In a similar way, rock stars who want to appear cool also are playing to a stereotype. Group Not much higher in detail than an individual is the brand of a group. In particular when this is a small group and the individuals are known, the group brand and the individual brand overlap, for example in the way that the brand of a pop group and the brand of its known members are strongly connected. Organizations can also be linked closely with the brand of an individual, for example Virgin is closely linked with Richard Branson.

Event
Events have brands too, whether they are rock concerts, the Olympics, a spacerocket launch or a town-hall dance. Event brands are strongly connected with the experience of the people attending, for example with musical pleasure or amazement at human feats. Product, service and other brands realize the power of event brands and seek to have their brands associated with the event brands. Thus sponsorship of events is now big business as one brand tries to get leverage from the essence of the event, such as excitement and danger of car racing.

Geography
Areas of the world also have essential qualities that are seen as characterizations, and hence also have brand. These areas can range from countries to state to cities to streets and buildings. Those who govern or represent these geographies will work hard to develop the brand. Cities, for example, may have de-facto brands of being dangerous or safe, cultural or bland, which will be used by potential tourists in their decisions to visit and by companies in their decisions on where to set up places of employment.

Introduction

to

brands

Take a look at the list below that shows the worlds top 10 brands in 2002 (as measured by value): {Rank Brand Value ($ billions)} 1 2 Coca-Cola Microsoft ($69.6) ($64.1)

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Source:

Interbrand;

IBM GE Intel Nokia Disney McDonalds Marlboro Mercedes JP

Morgan

Chase,

($51.2) ($41.3) ($30.9) ($30.0) ($29.3) ($26.4) ($24.2) ($21.0) 2002

Why do companies such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM and Disney seem to achieve global marketing success so easily? Why does it seem such an effort for others? Why do we, as consumers, feel loyal to such brands that the mere sight of their logo has us reaching into our pockets to buy their products? The meaning of brands Brands are a means of differentiating a companys products and services from those of its competitors. There is plenty of evidence to prove that customers will pay a substantial price premium for a good brand and remain loyal to that brand. It is important, therefore, to understand what brands are and why they are important. Macdonald sums this up nicely in the following quote emphasising the importance of brands: it is not factories that make profits, but relationships with customers, and it is company and brand names which secure those relationships Businesses that invest in and sustain leading brands prosper whereas those that fail are left to fight for the lower profits available in commodity markets.