COVER SHEET

FEGC02, Marketing Strategies

ASSIGNMENT Individual Essay – Module 3 Marketing Communications

TITLE OF WORK Brand Identity – Advertising

LAST DATE OF SUBMISSION Oct 27 by 11:59 p.m.

NAME OF STUDENT/STUDENTS:
Family name First name Personal ID-number/T-number

BALLE Julien 19990723-T493

__________________ __________________ _______________________
__________________ __________________ _______________________
___________________ __________________ _______________________

Name of teacher: Kaisa Koskela-Huotari

Name of administrator: Frania Johansson
Brand Identity

In an ever more competition-driven economic world, a brand identity that stands out has become
mandatory to firm’s survival. Commonly perceived as a composite of features such as brand names,
colors, symbols or slogans that make a brand recognizable, this essay therefore attempts to explain
what the three key aspects of a strong brand identity are (Pickton & Broderick, 2005).

The first key aspect that makes up brand identity is the design element (Pickton & Broderick, 2005, as
cited in Egan, 2020, p.87). Indeed, design elements such as graphic features stimulate the recognition
and remembrance of a specific brand. For instance, the McDonalds’ “golden arches” and the Nike
“swoosh” are deeply embedded in consumers’ mind since decades (Egan, 2020, p.87). Furthermore,
Whan Park et al. (2013, p.180) demonstrated that “positive effects of design elements on customer
loyalty derive mainly from supporting customer self-identity rather than enabling brand
identification”, thus representing a brand’s functional benefits by providing aesthetic appeal. One
possible interpretation is that brand design elements that are distinctive however not expressing the
brand's symbolic and functional benefits often fail to build on their own potential.

According to Pickton and Broderick (2005, as cited in Egan, 2020, p.87), the second key aspect to a
strong brand identity is the statement, which refers to “how the brand is promoted through copy style
and slogans” (Egan, 2020, p.87). Indeed, one possible example of iconic advertising slogan is Debeers’
slogan “a diamond is forever”, focusing on the belief that diamonds represent love, commitment, and
marriage. However, Magnini et al. (2013, p.168) carried out a study whose results suggest that a brand
statement has a larger leverage on the purchase intent of “less favorable attitudes consumers than
others”. Therefore, a brand statement should target consumers who might have less favorable attitude
toward the associated act and is more effective in sectors in which consumer sentiment is low.

Last but not least, application is the third key aspect of a comprehensive brand identity (Pickton and
Broderick, 2005, as cited in Egan, 2020, p.87). Referring to corporate advertising, stationary, signage
or livery, the application is the attention given to these other aspects of branding which preserves a
company’s positioning. Focusing on corporate advertising, Spangardt (2016, p.95) showed how the
latter has a significant impact on “consumer attitudes toward company products, and that this effect
could be influenced by product involvement”. Barclays bank is a possible example of application
referring to corporate advertising. Indeed, it has implemented a strategy of associating itself with the
Premier League English football tournament by becoming a major sponsor which enabled developing
the bank awareness worldwide.

In a nutshell, brand identity shapes the well-being of a company as its audience associates the brand
identity with the products or services the firm provides. As this essay explained, design elements,
statements and application are key factors of a successful brand identity. Nowadays, brands strive hard
to include their corporate social responsibility program in their brand identity as climate change and
inequality jeopardize our daily lives.

501 words

References

Pickton, D. and Broderick, A. (2005) Integrated Marketing Communications, 2 nd edn. Harlow:

Financial Times/Prentice Hall.

Egan, J. (2020), Marketing Communications, 3rd edn, New York: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 180-185

Whan Park, C., Andreas, B.E., Gratiana P., Whan Park, J. (2013), The role of brand logos in firm
performance, Journal of Business Research, Volume 66, Issue 2, pp. 87-97

Magnini, V. P., Karande, K., Singal, M., Kim, D. (2013), The effect of brand popularity statements on
consumers’ purchase intentions: The role of instrumental attitudes toward the act, International
Journal of Hospitality Management, Volume 34, pp. 160-168

Spangardt, B. (2016) Impact of Corporate Advertising on Consumers, Attitudes toward Products,

Business and Management Studies, Redfame publishing, Volume 2(1), pp. 95-103
Advertising

Already present in ancient civilizations, advertising may be described as a “paid-for, non-personal

form of mass communication from an identified source, used to communicate information and
influence consumer behaviour” (Egan, 2020, p.183). Therefore, this essay attempts to explain what the
two main theories of advertising are and how its effectiveness can be measured.

The first main theory of advertising is the strong theory, which deems advertising having the power to
inform, persuade and sell (Egan, 2020, p.184). Within this perspective, advertising drives
consumption. A popular model supporting this theory is Colley’s (1961) “DAGMAR” model, which
develops the objectives of an advertising campaign. Generally, all strong theory models imply that for
advertising to be successful it must guide consumers usually from one stage (e.g. non-awareness) to
another (e.g. awareness) and so on until the ultimate goal (the sale) is reached. However, the strong
theory has been harshly criticized by many scholars. Indeed, according to Nevett (1982), “advertising
begins by taking our money and ends by depriving us of our freedom”. Although not driving an
immediate sale, advertising is seen to be most valuable in long-term brand building.

The weak theory is the second main theory of advertising, considering advertising’s power as being
much more benign and acting more as a reminder of a particular brand rather than a tool of persuasion
(Egan, 2020, p.185). One possible explanation is that although advertising allows a high control over
the form of a message, it nevertheless experiences a low credibility provided a missing brand trust. In
their “ATR” model, Ehrenberg and Goodhardt (1979) suggested that “the bulk of buying experience
is rooted in past experience”, where advertising only reinforces the decision made without driving
consumption. Advertising in the weak theory is similar to the strong one as it improves knowledge
(Egan, 2020, p.191). However, it differs since the weak theory supports existing buyers in their pattern
of repeat pattern without considering new consumers.

Theories explain how advertising should be performed. However, they don’t measure its effectiveness
in practice. When it comes to the strong theory of advertising, recall surveys have become the most
widely used measures (Egan, 2020, p.192). Regarding weak theory models, measurement is carried
out mainly by recognition surveys that “looks for a positive response to one or more of a selection of
products presented to the interviewee” (Egan, 2020, p.192). These two measurement systems are
nevertheless flawed, as brand awareness recall or recognition is not directly associated with sales.
According to Bartholomew (2018), advertisers are nowadays “leveraging new technologies to track
personal habits and target consumers with individualized advertising” aligned with existing
preferences and past sales thanks to new data-driven and effective measurement systems.

In a nutshell, advertising has been a concern of companies for many centuries, which led to the
establishment of two major theories. As old advertising measurement systems are flawed, data-driven
systems took over. Nevertheless, the use of personal data to foster advertising effectiveness is much
debated, as many people deem it an invasion of their privacy.

499 words

References

Egan, J. (2020), Marketing Communications, 3rd edn, New York: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 183-205

Colley, R. (1961), Defining Goals for Measured Advertising Results, London: Association of National
Advertisers

Nevett, T.R. (1982), Advertising in Britain: A History, London: Heinemann

Ehrenberg, A. S. C., & Goodhardt, G. J. (1979), The Switching Constant, Management Science, 25(7),
pp. 703–705.

Bartholomew, M. (2018), The transformation of the Super Bowl ad experience’, The Conversation