Introduction to Branding and has some uses (In the case of McDonald (value

- A brand is a set of symbols, words, marks, for money, always hot, good tasting, consistent across
perceptions and images that represent a company, the world, fast service in a clean environment).
product or service. While many people think of a brand However a brand is much more and has its own
as only a logo, tag line or an audio jingle, a brand is personality (e.g. McDonalds has Family Oriented,
actually much larger. A brand is the core value or genuine, wholesome, cheerful, fun personality), its
promise of what will be delivered to or experienced by emotional benefits (Kids fun , Feeling of special family
the customer. It creates associations and expectations times, Link to family events and experiences reinforced
amongst customers for products made by a company. by emotional advertising), its symbols (logo with
Golden Arches, and its character Ronald McDonald)
A brand allows buyers to distinguish itself from its and relationship with the customer.
competitor. Brands develop over time by: Since the brand needs so many elements all of
● Advertising in various media which needed to work in harmony together in addition
● Customer‘s real-life experiences of using a product to the product creating a rand needs many decisions.
or service Thus branding decisions are an important part of
● Word of mouth recommendations from friends, ensuring a successful product management.
family members or colleagues
● Interactions with a company and its Branding Decisions
representatives Depending on the type of company launching
a new product the company may or may not have an
A Brand once developed can be used to existing brand. Let us take the example of a new
launch several products – HewlettPackard has now company being setup – they would have no existing
developed into a strong brand offering a very wide brand while if we take HewlettPackard they have a
range of printers, scanners faxes, photocopiers etc. very strong brand which they can use to launch a
Marketers work hard to create a brand identity product. Having said that a strong brand also has its
as it helps in making advertising and brand limitations – so let us say that Hewlett-Packard wants
development consistent over a period of time. Just like to launch a new solar panel (since green energy is
a person‘s identity helps to identity and understand much a part of the future) it will find it difficult to use
the person by answering questions like what his values its existing brand since this brand is very strongly
are, what he stands for, what is his purpose, what associated with the IT sector.
does he want to be known for, etc – similarly the
brand identity also provides a direction about the
direction, meaning and purpose of the brand. It helps
us identify what it stands for, what are its core values,
and what associations it wants to convey.
Brand identity is a unique set of brand
associations that a brand manager would like to create
and maintain in the customers mind. These
associations convey to the brands customers the
company‘s promise and reinforce what the brand
stands for.
Here we must understand that though the
product is one of the most visible parts of the brand
and it is easy for people to refer to it as the brand –
the product is only a part of the brand. The brand
stands for much more than the product in terms of its
personality, its emotional benefits, customer
associations etc.
A product is at the centre of the brand and
has its attributes, conforms to certain quality norms