Branding Audit

Branding

A brand is a product or service whose dimensions differentiate it from other products or services designed to satisfy the same needs (Kotler & Keller, 2015). The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as "a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors" (AMA, 2017). Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers—either individuals or organizations—to assign responsibility for its performance to a particular manufacturer or distributor (Kotler & Keller, 2015).

Branding is a basic marketing decision in which a company uses a name, logo, symbol, decision, phrase, or a combination of these to identify its products and services and differentiate them from those of the competition. A brand name is any design, word, sound, color, or shape, or combination of these that differentiates the company’s products and services. Brand names may be spoken such as Aflac, or unspoken, such as Apple’s logo. A trade name is a legal commercial name under which a company conducts its business, like PepsiCo (Kerin & Hatley, 2017, p. 303).  

A trademark shows that a company has legally registered is trade name or brand name, and that it has its exclusive use, thus preventing other companies from using it. Good trademarks such as Cartier, Armani, or Gucci help sell these companies’ products. Counterfeit products, therefore, become an issue, as they basically steal sales from original company, and tarnish its reputation (and brands) by purveying poor quality products (Kerin & Hatley, 2017, p. 303).  

Brands typically serve three main functions for the customer (Johansson, 2009), though the application of these roles varies based on whether they relate to a hedonic or utilitarian product:

· a guide to evaluating the product or service

· an icon, with emotional impact that affirms affinity and self-perception

· a social statement, offering recognition among peers (conspicuous consumption)

Why are brands important? Imitative targeting of new product development makes product differentiation difficult to sustain. Consumers learn that quality and features are comparable across competitors, and the end result is that the only sustainable competitive advantage is in the brand (Johansson, 2009).

We have seen how important brands are, and how they can be a company’s most precious asset. However, marketing can also render a brand name generic (i.e., it becomes a household name for any equivalent product).  Consider Google, Aspirin, Kleenex, and Band-Aid. Is this a good or bad thing? How can the company that owns the brand differentiate its product in its marketing message?  For example, does Johnson & Johnson need to reestablish Band-Aid as the brand, and not the product? A point to ponder!

Resources