Branding : Creating a definite image of the product

MEANING OF BRANDING

The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers mind, mainly through advertising campaign with a reliable theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated occurrence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

To understand branding, it is important to know what brands are. A brand is the idea or image of a definite product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image. Branding is when the idea or image is marketed, so that it is identifiable by more and more people, and identified with a certain services or products, when there are many other companies offering the same services or products. Advertising professionals work on branding, not only on building brand recognition, but also to build good reputation and a set of standards to which the company should strive to maintain. Branding is an important part of Internet Commerce, as branding allows companies to build their reputations as well as expand beyond to their original products and services, and add to the revenues generated by the original brand.

When working on branding or building a brand, companies that are using web pages and search enginesoptimization has a few details to work out, before being able to build a successful brand. Coordinating area names and brand names are an important part of finding and keeping visitors and clients, as well as branding a new company. Coordination of a area name and brand names leads to identification to the idea or image of a specific product or service, which in turn lets visitors easily discovery the new brand.

Branding is also a way to build an important company asset, which is a good status. Whether a company has no reputation, or a less than stellar reputation, branding can help in changing that. Branding can build an expectation about the company’s service or product, and can encourage the company to maintain that belief or exceed them, bringing better products and services to the market place.

BRANDING CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES

·       CONCEPTS:

·        The Brand Promise is a commitment you make to forecast and customers. It answers the question on every customer's mind: "If I engage in a relationship with you, your product or your company, what can I expect?" The answer to this question must address in big problem, solved or the convincing need fulfilled -- in other words, the primary benefit of your product or service. Companies with the clearest brand promises, have the strongest brands. And the simplest idea is the most powerful one.

·         The Brand Attributes include all the unique ways, you deliver your brand promise. These involve the feature set that describes the customer's experience with the company. Common attributes might include your unique versions of quality, customer service, innovation and flexibility.

·        The Brand Personality describes the human characteristics that people experience when they encounter brand. It has by far the strongest influence on the emotional connection with people feelings toward the

brand. Often a company's brand personality matches the customer's self-perception of their own personality or a personality they aspire to. Common brand personalities include roughness, sophistication, excitement, capability or seriousness.

·        STRATEGIES:

is the process of identifying your brand's most compelling unique attributes and combining them into a unique promise. A strong brand stands out from its category. It's relevant to those who come into contact with it. And it's believable, because it's built on credibility and a compelling truth.

is the process of identifying your brand's most compelling unique attributes and combining them into a unique promise. A strong brand stands out from its category. It's relevant to those who come into contact with it. And it's believable, because it's built on credibility and a compelling truth.

Whether the task at hand is brand creation for a new company, such as a spin-off, or rebranding a global company due to a change in business conditions, we employ a brand strategy process that confirmed and comprehensive. 

Depending on your challenges, we can employ an selection of qualitative and quantitative research strategies and methodologies:

•    Segmentation studies 
•    Brand image assessment
•    Competitive analysis
•    Web site usability
methods that look at the brand from the "outside in" by measuring consumer attitudes, the Strategic Brand Assessment fills another significant need by looking at the brand from the "inside out" using the perspectives of company management, employees, and distribution channels. This tool uncovers underlying business or marketing issues that may be undermining the success of the brand, shows cultural position or the lack thereof, and recommends ways to improve marketing communications in order for the brand to reach its potential. 

Touch point Mapping

 is another valuable research tool that we use to define and illustrate every potential point of contact between brand and its audiences. By outlining brand touch points, you can implement the right practices and processes to ensure that customers and other audiences have again and again positive experiences. 

Brand Architecture

Brand architecture is the hierarchical structure by which brands, products, services and subsidiaries are managed on a relative basis to each other within an organizational entity. For example, is your organization's brand architecture a Branded House, emphasizing the corporate brand, or a House of Brands, with individually branded products or divisions.

Brand architecture also involves the development of classification systems and sometimes a Brand Decision Tree to determine the function and role of Parent Brands (think Procter & Gamble), Endorsed Brands (Stainmaster by Dupont), Ingredient Brands ("Intel inside") and Stand-Alone Brands (did you know the Ritz-Carlton brand belongs to Marriott?). 

RiechesBaird can help you identify the appropriate brand architecture for your organization -- and implement it -- so that the structure and its benefits are clearly defined, accepted and understood. 

Brand Creation

We thrive on the opportunity to create a brand from the ground up. In order to give it life, we identify the organization's core attributes, conduct extensive internal and competitive research, and develop the foundational positioning -- all of which set the stage for the creative process that follows:
•    Naming/Renaming 
•    Brand identity
•    Tagline development 
•    Brand expression (look and feel, visual and verbal elements, sample application.
•    Brand guidelines.

Brand Positioning 
A brand position must be appropriate, believable and defendable to succeed. A strong brand stands for something. The most convincing brands claim the highest ground -- they own a mindset Volvo and safety, Nike and performance. Harley-Davidson, freedom Energizer and longevity. So what's your brand position? Is there one word you can own?

We use brand mapping -- the process of identifying your organization's unique attributes, surveying the reasonable brand positions and analyzing opportunities -- to stake out an area that is unique to your company and convincing to your internal and external audiences. 

Once we have identified, substantiated and detailed your brand pillars, we combine them to express their collective benefit -- your brand position. We identify the brand’s guiding principles and values, and craft an elevator statement so that everyone in your organization can explain the brand and its positioning clearly and consistently. We then define the brand personality to guide its vocabulary and visual expression. 

In any given industry or category, we create brand positions that clearly differentiate our clients' companies from their competition -- and also carry out high growth potential.