page director: Brian D. Butler

contributors:  if you are interested in contributing see here

see also Marketing

Why brand?  

1.  Brands reduce risk for the consumer (no one will laugh at you for serving them a Heineken for example).

2.  Brands simplify the decision making process (see our discussion about "owning the consumers mind" below)

3.  To sell your product /service at a premium  (see our discussion on value proposition). 

People are willing to pay more for branded goods. 

Why?

• trust (in the quality of the product)
• reputation, status

• feeling of belonging

Example:  The Trump brand on real estate can charge a premium (its not just a building, its a "Trump" building).

How to control the branding of your product:

Each of the elements of the marketing mix have an impact on branding.  For this reason, you should have a separate strategy for each element (a pricing strategy, promotion strategy, placement strategy, and product design strategy.  All of these elements effect the branding.

No such thing as "commodities"

"there are no commodities, only brands":  2nd law of Marketing (after "the customer is always king") 

What is your "Brand Personality"?

Every business owner (employee, customer) should be able to describe the "personality" of your brand in 5 words or less.  If not, then you might have a confusing brand that is not simple enough to be meaningful. 

What do we mean by "personality"?  Imagine that your brand was a person.  What would his / her personality be?  Excitement?  Status symbol?  Reliable?  a legend (like Harley)?  Snobby, aloof? 

If you have a difficult time describing the attributes of your brand, then the chances are that your customers also have the same difficulty, and you need to spend some time thinking about how to make your brand less confusing.

Owning the customers mind-space

Most consumers only have 2 or 3 major brands in their mind for each product category (shoes, cars, radios, internet providers, etc).  The key to branding is to make sure that you are included in that selection list.  If you are not even in the top 2 or 3 that comes directly to their minds, then you have lost.  

For example:  premium coffee?  most people answer Starbucks.  (maybe not McDonald's, even though their new coffee might be higher quality.  But, will McDonald's be able to brand the coffee so you think of them first?  That might take a herculean effort and a ton of cash.  What about "music store"?  Do you immediately think of Starbucks?  Probably not. 

The goal here is to re-focus on the core strength of the brand, look for "umbrella branding" opportunities, but dont confuse the customers by screwing up your "brand personality" by going off in too many different directions.  If you do go off in other directions, make sure you still spend money and advertising to remain strong in the clients minds in your core market.  If not, you may invite competition. 

Finding a cool brand:

Marketplace for unused brands

Marketing & advertising

Launched last month, Texas-based IncSpring is a virtual marketplace

linking graphic designers with businesses interested in pre-designed

but unused corporate logos, brands and corporate identities.

Top Global Brands (from Business Week)

Picking the 100 Best Brands

Here's how Interbrand puts a number on the power of a name

Interactive Table: The 100 Top Brands

Brands: Moving Overseas to Move Upmarket

Consumer goods regarded as workaday in their home countries often gain luxury cachet when launched in a foreign land