As a buyer whenever one goes into a mall or even a small shop, the first thing he/she looks at is

the brand. The purpose of this statement was to show the importance of a brand and its
following characteristics. From among all the characteristics, the one called the “Brand Image”
is the most integral one by far.

Thus we come to the point where we need to unveil the meaning of this particular term and so
bring out the essence of what it stands for. Brand Image is basically the impression in a
customer or consumer’s mind of the brand’s total personality. In simplified nutshell a brand
image is the persona of a brand and so it helps a person to describe it in a way as if it were
hypothetically a living breathing person.

What contribute to building such an image are the placement, promotion, price, quality, and
nature of the product that falls into a certain brand. Thus due to the presence of a brand image,
a customer can very well describe the brand through number of adjectives that are usually used
for humans and other living things, such as: subtle, sophisticated, loud, un-noticeable and
cheap. Commented [M1]: Can u tell me whayt is the topic of this piece
of rubbish u submitted

When a manager is assigned towards building the image of a particular brand, there are many
aspects that a he needs to touch upon. These respective aspects are as following:

 Company Goals
 Consumer Expectations and demands
 Trade groups
 Other groups(labor, environmental and government)

Thus through good communication and constant innovation in thoughts, the brand image can
be brought to great heights. Therefore a good brand image will signify a good chain of
communication between the brand and its potential or actual customers.

Whenever we talk about branding and how it is an integral part of the marketing function of a
company, we need to realize that this particular process is related to the brand image, directly
or indirectly. The name of every product or company is basically what we call a brand, thus we
need to understand that be it whatever business, the brand and its image building is an integral
part of its corporate growth or lifecycle.

Thus here we come on to the particular kind of business that has been touched upon, A Tour
Operator. First of all we need to go on to the grass root level and understand what a tour
operator really is, so as to understand the implementation of the concept, Brand image. A tour
operator is basically a firm or a person who combines tour and travel components together to
create a holiday package. In this era of cut throat competition we see new sorts of businesses
sprouting from all nooks and corners and thus among them is one none other than tour
operators itself.

Now basically we need to understand what a tour operator does. The particular type of
business basically stands as a sort of an agent or a middle man for the different businesses like:

 Airlines
 Hotels
 Amusement parks/ Tourist Resorts

Thus like any such business, for example a car dealer, branding, creating, and maintaining a
personal image can be a powerful tool in helping a travel tourist in having the type of aura that
it wants to have. Therefore let us take a tangent that would help us think about this in the way
that you would think about how to market any product. If you were to market a new car you
may talk about the cars features, such as gas mileage or how any of its features makes it stand
out and be unique in its own way. Secondly you would also figure out who you are trying to
market this car to, for instance, you would not want to market a two-door sports car to large
family of six. Finally, when marketing a car, you will want to tell clients about how will this car,
of your particular brand, would promise and guarantee the uniqueness that will separate this
car from all others like it. Thus the style of marketing and thus building your own brand in a
tour operator’s perspective would be very similar. And thus as seen in real life, all the above
processes that go on in it have ultimately proved to be logically important, thus one would
compulsively and rationally conclude by understanding that even for a tour operator brand
image building is very important and so also having a brand image of its own too would be
important.

This is the 21st century, a time when the world has become a global village, travel has become
one of the norms of the time and so a tour operator has become a necessity of the time. There
are many tour operators functioning in today’s market and thus for one to stand out amongst
this plethora of operators operating one needs to have a brand image that shouts out to its
customers saying, “BUY ME”. Thus for all this to happen, so as for people to actually buy one’s
services, we need to have the best brand images. For that we need to optimize the image in
front of our audience, so as for them to be able to differentiate one tour operator from its
competition and so to improve sales. A well-communicated brand identity can generate a lot of
traffic towards a business which would in turn make a huge difference to the growth and profit
of a business.

Thus this ability of making ones customers aware enough to actually be differentiating between
them and their competition is what we call the competitive advantage achieved from having
the right brand image. This can be seen from the functioning of many tour operators of recent
times like Gerry’s International and Genesis International. They have basically started web as an
important tool for their businesses and built their brand images to a point where a customer
sees them as a reliable, credible, experienced and a customer friendly form of tour operators.

The importance of a brand image has been also proved by one of the researches of one of the
most credible researchers, namely Dean Hambleton. According to his research, the brand
image is the complete impression that a consumer has of a product. It is important because a
brand cannot be created unless it has an acceptable image. It involves the integration and the
entirety of all the attributes and benefits of a product. Image involves the functional and
mental connections that a consumer has with the product. It is important because brand image
creates a how consumer "sees" the product. Image is a critical part of branding a product
because if products are not seen in a good way, they will not be purchased. The subject of
branding can be explained if we think in human terms.

In social media, a brand is a conversation between two friends. To have a friendship with
someone, you must feel comfortable with them. There are many sides to people. There is a
crazy side. There is a serious side. There is a physical side. There is an emotional side. To form a
friendship with someone all four sides, which are separate, have to be integrated with one
another. We decide if the different sides create a comfort zone. We decide if we want a
friendship. It is the same way when a brand is created. We see the different sides of the brand
and we have to decide whether or not we accept it.

In our social media age, branding is critical because there has been an explosion in products.
The only way that consumers will pick one product out of millions is that if a product is
branded. To succeed in social media marketing, a marketer must be well versed in marketing
theory. Sometimes the theory of marketing is very technical. It is hard to understand. To brand,
the social media marketer must understand the theory.

A brand is created through 4 tiers. The tiers are image, identity, positioning, and differentiation.
In the old media system, many marketing practitioners feel that these concepts are the same,
or at least so similar that a marketer can use the terms interchangeably. I feel that in a new,
social media era, the terms are separate in important ways. The scale of social media demands
more intense branding than in old media. The four tiers of branding are separate. They also
integrate with each other. A marketer cannot have one without the other, but each tier also
stands by itself, just as they do when we create our human friendships.

Although we would be deviating from our topic but the best medium through which one could
portray the importance of creating the right brand image is through the comparison of how
Cadillac of 1923 and Acura of 1986 were introduced. Thus we start by emphasizing the
importance of how a brand image is critical to creating a brand because a brand's image makes
a speech to a consumer. Through its image, a brand explains to the world what the brand's
importance is. The first man to understand the importance of brand image was Alfred Sloan,
the CEO of General Motors in 1923.

In 1923, General Motors wanted to become the pre-eminent brand in cars. To do that, GM had
to convey to its customers that its cars are different than Ford's because the people who drive
them are different. The image that GM wanted to convey is that successful people drive
Cadillac. Because Cadillac is part of the GM group, the image that GM was trying to create is
that GM is equivalent with success. If you drive GM, you are a successful person---you must be--
-you drive GM---and GM is successful. Cadillac was used to brand all GM products. Ford let
them do it. Ford had only 1 car, the Model T. Henry Ford thought that expensive cars were
unnecessary and frivolous. He gave the field to GM. He wanted to communicate the image that
a Model T was a practical car---you can have a dependable ride without an exorbitant cost.
Henry Ford didn't realize that the American society had changed. People now defined their
station in life with a car. Sloan realized that Cadillac created a sense of accomplishment for the
entire GM brand. This image is an important reason why GM became the leading brand in 1926.

Times change, and it is important for social media strategists to understand why Honda created
a different brand image of its luxury brand, the Acura, when it introduced the car in 1986.

Cadillac and the other GM brands had been in existence for a long time before 1923. Customers
had a history and a relationship with these brands. The Acura was a new car. It didn't exist prior
to 1986. This meant it had no image that it could communicate to people. Acura had to start
from scratch. Honda felt that Acura had to create its own image. Honda felt that Acura should
have conversations with a new demographic of customers. The customers that would be buying
an Acura, were not the same customers that had been buying Civics, Accords, and Preludes. It
had no concept, such as success, to communicate to the public. Because it is new, Honda did
not want a poor introduction of the Acura to hinder their other brands.

Honda's strategy, in contrast to GM in 1923, is to create a new image for the Acura. Acura
became a new thing. It had separate dealerships, and separate manufacturing factories. In
terms of social media, Honda wanted the Acura to create their own fans, their own friends,
their own following.

By relying on a new network the Acura became very successful. Because it created a proper
imaging campaign the Acura has gone on to become the largest selling luxury car in the
American market. In a social media era, we must understand some things in creating a brand
image.
The image is created in the mind of the customer. Image is something that is received from the
brand and interpreted by the customer.

The prospect positions the image in relation to other products, with the help of marketer.
General Motors was able to define Cadillac as successful and cool in relation to Model T, as old.

The image must also be flexible. This is why Sloan invented annual model changes, to keep
adding buzz to the image. Commented [M2]: R u doing report on auto industry or
hospitality industry

Thus as a conclusion to my report I would want to leave my reader with a particular piece of
information of the key success drivers for a strong brand image. There are 3 tips, we would be
skimming through all three one by one. Thus tip number 1 basically highlights the importance
of having a business name or tagline that tells people what you want them to know and
remember about you. Commented [M3]: What conclusion

This is the beginning of getting your branding across. Putting all of your pieces together in a
concise, clearly understood message so people remember what you want them to remember
about you. Yes, you want them to like, trust and respect you, but more than that, you want
them to know and remember what you can do for them.

If your name, business name or tag line doesn't clearly tell people who you are, what you do,
how you uniquely help, and why they should choose you to spend their time and money with,
then this needs your attention now! Typically, we have only 30 seconds to capture someone's
attention. In those 30 seconds we want to be sure they walk away with what we want them to
remember about us. Basically, what's in it for them?

Here's what you need to know to craft an effective tagline.

 What are the components of your overall marketing message that you want to highlight in
your tagline?
 What do you most want clients to remember about you?
 What distinguishes you from others in your field?
 Make a list of words that you would want associated with your company or service; then
 Using those words, craft a basic tagline you could use for your company or service.
An effective tagline helps you clarify what makes you or your service special and enables you to
sum up your "competitive advantage" in just a few words. Commented [M4]: Personalpronouns I,we. You never used in
academic writing

Tip number 2 tells us about how our Brand Isn't Just a Logo, or the Colors we use, or our
Business Name. It is all of these things, and more, together. Everything must consistently give
the one singular message you want people to remember about you.
A company's logo, colors and the images it uses all serve to support and reinforce the brand
identity. The more you reinforce the features of your brand identity, the more familiar people
will become with it and the more likely they will be to do business with you repeatedly.

To strengthen your brand identity, be sure it is:

 Reflective of your company's promise, message and values. Your identity should be
consistent with, and reinforce, your purpose and your core message to your customers.
 Consistent. Decide on an appropriate design, style, color scheme and tagline and use them
consistently in all of your marketing and advertising materials.
 Used frequently and repeatedly. A brand identity works only if your audience becomes
familiar with it by seeing it over and over again.

Your brand identity can be extremely valuable if done and used effectively. Do everything in
your power to build a strong, well-regarded brand image and just about every aspect of
building your business - especially the marketing piece - will be much easier.

Tip number 3 basically states how Your Brand Identity is, or should be, Unique to You.
That's why people choose you to work with over someone else in the same field. You must
unearth your own brilliance and unique qualities so that you can make them part of your brand Commented [M5]: Do you know what are u writing

identity.

To create a strong brand identity, you must be clear on:

 Values. What are the values of your company? Your values is what helps your clients and
prospective clients relate to you at a deeper, emotional level and creates brand trust and
brand loyalty. Many people choose to spend their money and do business with companies
that reflect the values they hold, or aspire to hold themselves.
Make a list of the values you want your company to reflect and be associated with.

 Core Message. What do you want clients or prospective clients to remember about you?
What do you want them to think when they think about you or your services? Your core
message is where it all comes together. Once you are clear on these things, you can create
a concise summation of what you do, who you work with and what differentiates you.

Develop the core message for your company:

 What is unique about you or your business? What sets you apart from others in your field?
What are your differentiators?
  What are the specific products or services, benefits or features of what you are selling?
 What is the promise you are making to your customers? What's in it for them?
Your core message, including your set of values, is what defines your brand. It's what you want
customers to remember about you. When you have a strong, clear message, you're much
better able to develop a strong connection with your customer base.
These are three key drivers which help to create a strong, memorable image and message for
your business. You need to keep your core message in mind when you're developing your
advertising, website, packaging and marketing materials (such as brochures, business card,
catalog, etc). It must permeate every aspect of what you do and be the foundation of all your
marketing activities.

The message that clients or potential clients get from you about your business is the key to
success. It's imperative that you create the core message you want to send for your business or
service. Without articulating your core message and consistent brand identity, it's impossible to
develop an effective, meaningful marketing program.
REFERENCES:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brand-image.html