Essay 1

What components of a brand are vital in establishing its success and how do these affect consumers?

Keller (as cited by Kapferer, 1997) defined a brand as ‘a set of mental associations, held by the customer, which add to the perceived value of a product or service.’ Branding is not just design, but rather the process involved in affecting the consumer’s perceptions of the brand, how he thinks and feels about the company - in other words creating a brand image. The image must be positive in order for the company to succeed. Branding aims to instil and reinforce the image’s presence in the consumer's lives, to encourage their ongoing interaction with the brand. Brands need specific requirements in order to succeed. Successful brands have clear, well established personalities and internal values.

‘A brand personality is all the human characteristics associated with a specific brand.’ (Lury, 2001). Personality is used as a tool to help create differentiation between brands, in a similar way to how we see humans as individuals. 2 brands with very similar products can appeal to different audiences if their respective personalities vary. As well as this, brand personality helps to create brand appeal. Consumers will be more likely to engage with the brand if it reflects their own characteristics, or characteristics they wish to possess. Alternatively, ‘an appropriate brand personality is not necessarily one which consumers like. Sometimes it can be more important that consumers reflect or trust it.’ (Southgate, 1995).

The personality shapes the way the brand is communicated and can help define a solid corporate identity. The corporate identity of a brand is the way in which the brand is presented, and this encompasses a logo, websites and advertisements.

Advertising is highly influential in the growth and success of a brand, as well as a powerful means of establishing the brand personality. By reflecting the personality in the way the advert is structured and presented, the consumer attributes these characteristics to the brand.  The consumer may have never heard of the brand before in which case the advertisements are creating awareness. On the other hand the viewer of the advert may have indeed have heard of the brand, in which case the ad is used to build brand preference. The company does this by using adverts as persuasive tools, in order to encourage the consumer to purchase their product. Methods such as repetition or creating an emotional resonance with the consumer instill in their minds that they need to buy this product as it will improve their life or solve an existing problem they already face. Alternatively the advert can be used to assure people they have made a good choice in buying the brand. These categories can be defined as ‘informative, persuasive and reminder advertising’ (Dutka and Colley, 1995).

Arguably though, the most important component of any corporate identity is a logo. ‘A good and successful corporate identity cannot be created without a well crafted logo. This is the foundation of any brand.’ (Apeloig and Kelly, 2004). A logo is often the first impression a consumer will get of the company, and it must effectively and concisely communicate the brand’s personality and meaning. Creating a solid personality and conveying this through the logo helps in this by increasing brand awareness.

A perfect example of a successful corporate identity is one of the biggest companies in the world. The sportswear brand Nike is internationally recognised instantly by its logo - the ‘swoosh’ or tick. The clean and fresh logo stands the test of time and is unlikely to go out of style. The logo has positive connotations - the tick almost encourages people to buy the brand, by instilling that their products are right for the consumer - and the dynamic appearance symbolizes the sportswear basis of the brand.

To summarise, a logo is a visual expression of a brand personality and crucial as ‘55 percent of the impression we make on others is determined by what they see’ (Mehrabian, 1972). However, a company with an outstanding logo is nothing if the brand has no internal values. As Michael Bierut says, ‘Symbols [logos] are empty vessels and the meaning is poured into them’ (Vox, 2015). All brands have and represent certain values and these values are key in distancing a brand from the vast wealth of other brands competing against them.

The core values attributed to a brand are based on the company’s beliefs about their business and help to guide their approach to not only marketing their brand, but the manner in which they conduct business and handle customer relations. Michael Willmore believes that ‘brands that embrace and encourage core values that have a citizenship component’ will gain a strategic advantage over brands that do not. (Willmott, 2001). In essence, Brand values are the “how” of the business. By creating strong brand values, others are attracted towards the brand and this helps to create real ongoing relationships. These relationships can develop in strength if the values are steadfast, and this in turn creates brand loyalty – the consumer now has a relationship with the brand as they share the same values. They are more likely to keep buying the brand as they trust it more.

Brands are complex and multi faceted and many aspects of them need to satisfy the wants or needs of consumers in order to be successful. A brand with an appealing personality, strong design, solid core values is more likely to attract and keep consumers, therefore establishing its success.

Bibliography

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