Branding

Editor's Notes

• #2: How do crisis communication and brand identity tie together? Essentially, all a brand has is its name. A public backlash or negative press can permanently tarnish a brands’ name. It is imperative that problems be handled in an appropriate manner. If issues arise and they are handled poorly, years, even hundreds of years work can be destroyed. Consumers are quick to forget normal experiences but remember and tell others about problems or a bad experience within a company.
• #4: The American Alphabet by Heidi Cody A- All B- Bubblicious C- Campbells D- Dreft E- Eggo F-Fritos G- Gatorade H- Hebrew Franks I- Ice J-Jello K – Koolaid L-Lysol M- m&ms N – Nilla Wafers O- Oreo P – Pez Q- Qtip R – Reeses S- Starburst T-Tide U – Uncle Ben V- V-8 W- Wisk X- X-tra Y- York Z - Zest
• #5: A brand is a unique characteristic that sets a product or service apart from all other service or products in that category. This uniqueness allows a customer to purchase a commodity in a vast sea of sameness. A brand is also an expectation, it represents some form of shared quality amongst all products with its name. It represents top of the line, average or economy. People trust brands and dismiss others because of previous quality. If the previous performance of a brand was low, the guarantee upon purchasing becomes rather weak. Branding is not simply the consumer’s awareness of a name. Branding is the creation of an emotional and lasting impact with a customer. It is the fundamental attribute of a product, service or organization. If a customer has a strong emotional tie to a brand, they will go through hell to purchase more of their products. They will tell their friends about the product, brag about it, and encourage others to purchase it. Brands are also stories. These stories are specific to each individual, the Hitachi Plasma used to watch the big game, the tax service that got them a $3,000 dollar return, the diet food that actually works. People’s lives revolve around objects, and a good object has a place in their life.
• #6: Companies believe they can leverage completely incongruent line extensions with the brands name. People create realms of acceptance in their minds for Brands. When brands stray outside these perceptions they often fail miserably. For example, Jack Daniels has attempted to get into the Charcoal market, clear whiskey market and wine cooler marker, all of which have not faired well. By line extending themselves to other categories, Jack Daniels is attempting to persuade people who may already have an emotional tie to a given brand. A consumer may love Kingsford charcoal, and may love Jack Daniels whiskey, however in their minds they are two separate entities – there is a line that should not be crossed. Once a brand has a certain perception in the minds of consumer it is fairly hard to change. If the Gap were to suddenly covert to a high end electronics chain, would their consumer base still shop there? Most likely not. Chances are those consumers already have a brand loyalty to an electronics store and the GAP would fall apart. It is possible to change the emotional tie to products with enough time and money, but it may be just as easy to launch an entirely new brand. (As the GAP did for its “lower” end clothing line with Old Navy, and for its “higher” end clothing line with Banana Republic) They didn’t do the GAP 2, or the GAP: High End, because differentiating their lines was important. And it has proven to be extremely successful. Brands are not consumer addictions. People can and will leave a product if given the opportunity. Just because a product may be superior does not guarantee customer loyalty. If a company neglects their base, it provides an opportunity for other brands to steal from them. Quite often people will choose a given brand in a taste test for example. Miller and Pepsi products both consistently rank higher in blind taste tests than competitors Bud and Coke. Yet Coke and Budweiser dominate their market place. People often have a deep rooted connection to their preferred products… “That’s what my dad drank” “We only drank Bud in college.” These reminders of feelings and emotions can make it almost impossible for one brand to become a new favorite. It can take years of persuasion to finally remove a customer from their original brand of choice. Jingles, colors and logos will help with consumers ability to recall brands. However, if a competitor comes along with an even more flashy campaign, a product will lose. Again this is why emotional branding is such an important aspect. Creating customer loyalty requires more than just pizzazz, it requires a story. These elements are extremely important to the perception of a brand,
• #7: There are 5 distinct forms of branding, each of which has some advantages and disadvantages.
• #8: A mega-brand is a brand which places its name upon everything it creates. Asian companies are known for doing this (Sony, Hitachi, LG, Mitsubishi, Toshiba). For example, anything created by Sony, whether it be a personal computer or a plasma TV has Sony’s name on it. There are separate names for differing technologies, but the principle is that all products created by them are imbued with the Sony name prominently in the front. Other examples include Hitachi, Panasonic, And an American example being Most GE products and acquisitions.
• #9: A primary brand is one that has no off-shoots. The brand name is also the company name in this instance, and as such negative publicity or stigma attached to a product offering can be the downfall of an entire company. The inability for a company to distance itself from the name can cause major problems in the event of a crisis. Many fast food restaurants are good examples of this concept. It would be terribly hard for Wendy’s, Burger King or McDonalds to spin off any other restaurant chains using their brand names. As such Primary brands do not have much in the area of line extensions and are fairly limited to domains they currently occupy.
• #10: Sub-brands are those with an overarching name in one product category with differing varieties. Ruffles the potato chip maker has several subbrands branching from their “original” including the baked line, the light line, and various flavors in each.
• #11: House of Brands are quite a bit more complicated. In a house of brands, one company creates individual brand identities - rarely using the original company’s name on the product. Procter and Gamble is the most cited example of this form. Procter & Gamble owns over 300 brands, many of which are household names. In the laundry aisle alone, they own Dreft, Era, Cheer, Bounce, Ivory, Febreze, Tide, Gain, and Downy. A truly remarkable portfolio. The benefit to a House of brands approach is that it offers a nearly unlimited amount of expansion potential. Whenever a new product segment appears, an entirely new product can be created for that area. The downfall is that every new brand must be heavily promoted to establish itself initially
• #12: Branded houses are constrained to one product area. They are capable of producing different lines, but only within a certain realm. For example, HP creates multiple lines of computers, notebooks, pdas and printers. However, they are almost entirely confined to the realm of personal computing. Another example is Levi Strauss Jeans. They create a vast array of different pant sizes, cuts and washes and even some upper body clothing, but are limited to that particular segment of the market. You will never see Levi Strauss coffee or printers, and if you do – they will almost certainly fail miserably.
• #13: There are 5 major ways a brand is established. Advertising, word our mouth, logos, the products packaging and a products name. Each of these contributes greatly to how a brand is perceived. Brand image is synergistic in nature, the image is greater than the sum of the individual pieces.
• #14: Logos Abstract logos such as Nike’s Swoosh are often used by brands, yet most have a horrifically low recollection rate, why is this? The problem is that consumers have to consciously link both the brand name, the abstract symbol and the product all together. This is instead of a 1:1 mental map, and such this approach can create more problems. Without the kind of money Nike has to link symbols to consumers minds it can be difficult to separate the brand name and symbol completely. Organic- Less abstract but still difficult for consumers to remember are organic logos. Retention and recollection rates are only slightly higher with consumers regarding organic logos. Again a considerable effort must generally be placed into a given organic avatar in order for it to register with consumers. Some creative uses can greatly increase recollection rates such as the Aflac duck which boats one of the best recall rates in the logo kingdom. There are of course exceptions to this, where an organic name directly reflects the companies name, such as Apple computers or Greyhound or John Deere Name An overwhelming majority of companies simply use their names as their logos. This is the lowest overall in cost as people simply need to recall the name of the company to recall the brand. These also require the least amount of advertising as only one association needs to be made (Amazon.com is an extremely large online site that deals with books and other merchandise like a large jungle) instead of going from category  abstraction  brand name. I’ll be showing many more logos in the upcoming slides.
• #15: Memorable – Obviously a name has to be memorable in some aspect else the customers will quickly forget the advertising placed into it. Not being able to recall newspaper articles or recommendations of friends can lead to an untold amount of loss revenue and income. Protectable – Some words and phrases cannot be copyrighted or be used as trademarks, without these essential aspects, anyone can use a given name or product, even for a near identical product. As such, names must be unique enough to protect and to keep. Changing a name is rarely an option, it must endure to keep customers coming back Fits with product- Some brands have been able to escape this seemingly important aspect by using excessive amounts of advertising to cause a name to by synonymous with a product. However, a vast majority of businesses place some clue as to what their product is in their name. This again helps to increase recollection and retention rates causing more return business. It should bring about an understanding, people should be able to visualize the product or service in their heads. If a name itself does not provide these essential features, it is relatively imperative that they be given through various mediums. Conjures images.
• #16: What is in a name? Often in the realm of products, whatever is placed into it. Advertising, peers, and personal experiences all can create an emotional attachment to brands. There are five ways Brand names are typically constructed, each with certain pros and cons. Shortness and a sense of strong more consonant dominated words are preferred for brand names. If longer names are used, alliteration becomes a great technique to increase retention. Many names cross the lines between the categories, these are just some examples of those that reside mainly in one.
• #17: Synthetic brand names are those that are created in order to have a stand alone right. These made up words are typically devoid of meaning and significant amounts of money must often be used to create a specific feeling for the brand in the eyes of the consumer. Accenture, a synthetic name created to replace Arthur Anderson Consultings’ name was completely made up by one of the employees. In order for customers to respond, accept and place faith in the new brand, Accenture used a 150 million dollar advertising campaign. The benefit to this type of naming is that because consumers typically do not have any preconceived notions about the brand, any meaning the company whishes to place can be achieved if careful steps are taken. Additionally, portions of names can be used to create a new effect. When Intel created Pentium they took the name from two different areas. Pent from its fifth line or processors and attached the “ium” to make it sound like an element. The result is name which sounds like it belongs on the periodic table. And is unique enough that few other brands sound similar. Other well known examples include prozac and levitra
• #18: Metaphoric names are those that borrow from another object or existing phrase to create their names. Sprint borrows form running, Oracle is a web service that creates “futures” for companys. Greyhound takes the concept of racing dogs into bus transportation
• #19: Descriptive names essentially tell you what you are going to get before ever using a product or stepping into a business. Most of these name are fairly self-explanatory and as such a great amount of power already resides in them. Having intrinsic meaning with a companies name can help alleviate advertising budgets for the entire life of a company.
• #20: Proper names are the least imaginative of the lot. These names are strictly named after certain individuals or are sometimes a synthesis of a few individual's names. Mercedes was the granddaughter of the man who created it. Benz was another proper name start up. Proper names are typically the easiest way to avoid trademark and copyright infringements. These names are generally also devoid of meaning and must have considerable time and money placed into them in order to receive a positive public response. Additionally, popularized names with negative connotations (anything Hitler, Gacy, Dahmer, Fagg) will almost never be used as a public product.
• #21: Acronyms are generally names that were too long for printing, were commonly referred to as by customers by their initials, had low recollection rates, or were purposely done by a company. Federal express for packages was commonly referred to as “fed exing” so they adopted the name.
• #22: Another portion of the brand image is given by word of mouth. Word of mouth marketing is sometimes referred to as viral marketing. It is quickly becoming an answer to increased callousness by consumers. TiVo’s, interactive media and satellite radio are increasingly making it harder and harder for anyone message to stand out in the noise. The beauty of word of mouth is that it costs nearly nothing to produce. And a friends opinion of a service is much more powerful than any of the noise produced by the media today. The stories consumers pass onto one another – both good or bad can shape a brand’s image before a consumer has ever had the opportunity to use a service or item. How many times have you avoided a movie or a restaurant because a friend told you “it sucked” and then passed that same judgment on to others as “I heard that place was terrible.” This same principle works in the branding industry, and positive word of mouth can greatly help consumer loyalty and new customers. Negative word of mouth advertising can destroy a potential sale before it ever has a chance to occur. As such, some companies have begun programs that involve word of mouth Some brands rely upon word of mouth sales entirely, completely avoiding mass media altogether. Monster cables is a multimillion dollar company that uses no mainstream media advertising whatsoever. Most of its promotion comes from electronics stores, trade journals, and industry awards. Many internet companies rely on word of mouth advertising, a popular example is facebook. Completely word-of-mouth for those colleges and high schools it contains, the site has exploded to the 7 th most visited site on the internet in just over 3 years. No-Ad is a company that advertises in its name that it does not advertise. It does fairly well, and although not a multimillion dollar company, still produces decent revenue. The frontline represents the direct interaction customers have with a brands sales, help, or service lines. This in itself is a form of advertising the values of a company. If people have a great experience in person, they are likely to tell others or if a negative experience the same. The best products, advertising and promotions can be decimated by poorly chosen employees, thus it is extremely important to place those who will reflect positively on the front lines.
• #23: Packaging also plays a vital role in the ability for customers to recall a product at the point of purchase. An study done at a university asked students what they were willing to pay for a set of 24k gold 1kt diamond earring from wal-mart, and from tiffany’s. The wal-mart pair averaged $110, the tiffany’s pair fetched prices of near $500. A considerable difference due a little blue box. Color is an essential portion of packaging. A company attempting to stand out often chooses colors that differ greatly from other competitors. Brands attempting to leech off the success of another brand may imitate the more established brand’s colors. Bright colors attract attention, and are easier to remember. Some brands have one upped Tide’s bright orange packaging with neon green or pink bottles. Many of these do stand out more than tide, however Tide’s overall shelf space typically dwarf’s other brands, so one sees a giant sea of orange, and a few scattered islands of other colors. The larger the contrast between a products logo and background, the more visible it is. Having non-contrasting colors on a package makes it easy for consumers to overlook and ignore the brands that blend in.
• #24: Entire majors are devoted to each of these topics and advertising is no exception. These four basic aspects, however, are some the basic skeletal structure behind a brand. New brands must be established in the minds of consumers. Advertising does this by quickly getting word out about a product or service, and not relying on word-of-mouth to accomplish this. Additionally brands may do what is referred to as “kiting.” They place a large amount of money into a given campaign, which is typically large in breadth and short in length, and then ride out the increased awareness for a few months or even years. Once consumer awareness starts to decline, they launch a new campaign, pulling the string tight and reestablishing the brand in consumer’s minds. Advertising also reinforces loyalty amongst current consumers of a product. By showing how their favorite product is still the “coolest,” “most technologically advanced”, “fastest”, or “longest lasting brand in a category”, people will be less inclined to pull away and try competitors Repetition is a key component of branding. Creating a large household penetration of a name is generally a good thing. People rarely remember something they hear a few times throughout the year. In many categories, consumers simply have no preference for a product. They have no brand loyalty or at least no established brand loyalty. Humans tend to remember the last thing they have heard with the most clarity. Thus, the last ad for a particular frozen dinner a consumer saw may make them more likely to purchase it. Sometimes it only takes one time for a customer to try a brand to leave their old love. Other times it may take several detours from a customers original preferred brand or a lifetime of offers and advertisements before a new brand is tried.
• #25: Line extensions can be powerful additions to a brand’s dominance, if used carefully. The main thing a company must decide when making a choice between a new brand, and using an existing brand to leverage the product is this: “Does this make sense with the parent brand’s name attached?” Will consumers except this broadening of horizons or will they see it as outside the realm and completely ignore the product? Keeping the story of a brand alive in the hearts and minds of consumers is important. Riding on one’s previous success does not last forever. With the thousands upon thousands of brands out there competing for the exact same spot in a customer’s wallet, its important to give the consumer a reason to keep coming back. By having them place an emotional stake in your product and integrating it into their lives, a brand becomes more than just a name, it becomes part of the consumer. Additionally, Reminding consumer of a product is necessary, as other brands are viaing for their attention. Even the most loyal consumers can be enticed away from a product with enough prodding, and as such it is imperative that a brand remind its consumers why they need it. Handle any crisis- Any crisis that occurs needs to be handled in such a manner that the brand image is reflected upon positively. Without a positive light, negative publicity can quickly kill and destroy years upon years of brand creation. Silence can be deadly and is rarely a viable option. No answer is often taken as “I have something to hide” Trimming brand extensions, is the cutting off of brands that are weak and show little chance of recovering. It can be a good thing. Rather than dumping millions of dollars of advertising revenue, simply cutting off a brand, as painful as it may be, can often save massive amounts of money. There are some occasions where a massive push can revitalize a brand, but it is generally only temporary, and then more money must be pushed at it. Products can limp on for years like this, causing massive losses. Increase value is covered on the next slide
• #26: Repackaging and remarketing the same product for two different conditions is an example of sub segmentation and a way to increase a product’s value. Sub segmentation allows specific brands and marketing campaigns to be developed that appeal to a smaller more focused audience. This allows more penetration in the areas of interest. Instead of creating a catch all category, companies market a specific attribute of a product to appeal to certain sub segments. The results have been extremely profitable. Benadryl was found to cause sleepiness in those who consumed pills, and often they had a very good night’s sleep. Pfizer realized this and remarketed a double dose as Unisom, a sleep aid Identical in chemical structure ( Diphenhydramine) Pfizer has effectively tapped two completely separate market segments. Following the same trend is Eli Lilly and Company. Originally creating Prozac for depression they found it functioned to reduce extreme menstral related mood swings and cramping. Remarketing it as Sarafem, Eli Lilly enjoys separate revenue streams for the same chemical pill. While testing Wellbutrin on those suffering from depression, GlaxoSmithKline noticed that those smokers on the pill could often lost most of their nictone cravings. Realizing the potential money in a stop smoking aid, GlaxoSmithKline launched the same chemical under Zyban. Both are the chemical bupropion, and Zyban costs a premium. Ironically, some insurers only cover one version of the product, typically Wellbutrin. People are forced to take the Smokers not covered must often take wellbutrin instead of Zyban, yet consistently do not quit as effectively as they do on Zyban. A testament to the placebo effect and what branding can do to the minds of consumers who do not feel they are getting the “real” treatment.
• #27: Poor line extensions can decimate the brand. An example is when a line extension is introduced (Coors Light) to compete with established extensions (Miller, Bud Light.) The typical customer of that extension (Coors Light) is a typical customer of the parent brands (Coors). As such, it cannibalizes its own people. The result is now two brands that share nearly the same consumer base as before, causing extra overhead and lower profits. Changing the quality with a brand’s name on it can quickly undermine how it does. RCA and Oldsmobile were at one point nearly the best brands in their given segments in America. Overtime, corners were cut to keep costs down and as such quality diminished. Oldsmobile vanished and RCA is now one of the least respected makers of televisions. RCA has to sell products near cost where as other manufactures such as Sony can demand a considerable markup and profit for a very similar item. K-mart adapted too slowly as some of its main competitors reinvented and created distinct identities for themselves. Wal-mart undercut them in prices and target went to higher end good. This left k-mart with low quality goods at higher prices. Sears is an example of a company that lost focus. Sears attempts to dabble in everything, from clothing to automotive, to high / low end electronics, to tools. Sears does not have a true identity anymore – due to its attempt to become everything, consumers no longer see it as the first choice in any category. For car care people will go to an automotive place like Pepboys, for electronics to Best Buy, for clothes to any local mall. Being the first in a consumers mind allows higher prices to be charged and generally generates more traffic. Sears growth has slowed to a near halt over the last decade while the market segments they have ventured into have seen phenomenal growth.