Marketing activities came to light a long time ago, before Adam Smith even stated that consumption is the sole and final purpose of production.
The production stage: during the second half of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution reached its splendor. Electricity, rail transport, labor specialization, and mass production led to products being made more efficiently. Products hit the market with increasing consumer demands
The hyperdemand stage: begins in 1920; the growing demand for products subsists and increases. The company understands that products are bought by consumers because they need them.
brand-strategies-and-positioningThe hyper-offer stage: In the early 1970s, it is recognized that even if products are produced effectively or heavily promoted, consumers will not necessarily buy them.
The Marketing Stage: You understand the need to analyze consumer wants and then produce and not just produce and try to change those needs. One enters fully into what could be called the client's monarchy.
Marketing in the 21st century: At the end of the nineties, total quality from the perspective of its perception by the customer, was established together with specialization, personalization and customer service as key elements for the success of the company. It is the marketing of the future, already present today in many markets.
The character that the company gives to the concept of marketing, the level in which the ideologies, values, attitudes, norms of marketing are shared will give rise to the culture or philosophy of marketing in the company.
However, today, the company must also be concerned with influencing the environment in which it operates and not simply adapting to it.
The application of economics, psychology, politics and public relations with the aim of facilitating successful operations in a given market, are today common strategies in companies.
The brand, one of the many assets that make up the set of marketing intangibles, has a high strategic value for any company that wants to perform successfully in highly competitive and changing contexts such as today.
"An unbranded product is not for sale." This phrase is the simplification of a reality and, as such a simplification, it does not take into account nuances or specific situations. But it is based on a real and true fact. It is true that unbranded products are sold; but it is no less true that this only occurs when the consumer has no other choice: if they find branded products for sale together with other unbranded ones, they will choose those first, and will only buy these when the brands are finished or when reasons beyond their will, such as the price, do not allow them to be acquired. So it can be exaggerated but not incorrect to say that a product without a brand is not sold, but what is a brand?
A brand is everything that consumers recognize as such. It is a product that has been covered with such attractive clothing that it makes the product desired, requested, demanded, in preference to other products. Ultimately, the brand is the name, term, symbol or design, or a combination of them, assigned to a product or a service, for which it is directly responsible. This is who should make it known, identify and differentiate from the competition; it must guarantee its quality and ensure its constant improvement.
The brand offers the product, along with its material reality, a psychological reality, an image formed by a precise content, charged with affectivity: security for some, prestige for others, quality… According to this, two main realities are then differentiated.
The Material Reality: that is, the identity of the brand, a concept of issuance (the name, the logo, its graphics, the reality of itself…), through which the issuer tries to differentiate and identify its products to its development in the market.
The Psychological Reality: or, what is the same, the brand image, a concept of reception, consequence of a process of perception and decoding of the receiver (of the set of signs emitted by the brand, through the product, the identity of the company, the container / packaging and the communications of the company) and its personality. This psychological reality is one by which consumers identify and differentiate products.
From this last definition it is understandable that some brands have come to exceed the product they represent, even giving them their name and even defining generic and non-specific products for a given company (as is the case with “aspirin”). The reason why this has happened is, perhaps, because brands are a guarantee and, above all, an emotion. Products are rational but brands are emotional. Therefore, generic advertising can be rational, but brand advertising must appeal to emotion because the brand is only an idea in the minds of buyers. This idea leads us to the following question: "What does this product have that the others do not have?" The answer is that it has added values that make it a brand and that constitute its personality.People choose brands, as well as friends, by affinity. Likewise, consumers are suspicious of unknown brands as they are distrustful of unknown ones in general. Hence the importance of studying the public, finding out their character and way of being and, once these are known, giving the brands we want to make theirs a personality in keeping with that of their potential user.
The brand is fundamentally a promise. Therefore, it is not enough that it meets the needs and expectations of customers. It must also be capable of arousing enthusiasm and creating lasting loyalties. The new mandate of marketing, therefore, is to create a powerful brand, that inspires confidence, and from which emanates a relevant and differentiating promise.
Having a strong name can be, in addition to a valuable asset, the most effective competitive weapon for a company. And although brands do not have a limited life cycle, poor management can kill them, or cause them to lose value over time. For this reason, every effort that the company strives to achieve the desired positioning in the mind of its target client / s, both its brand / s and the company itself is very important. Positioningit consists in being creative, in creating something that does not already exist in the mind. The fundamental focus of positioning is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate what is already in the mind; reorder connections that already exist. Positioning begins with a "product". That is, an article, a service, a company, an institution or even a person. But the positioning does not refer to the product, but to what is done with the minds of the probable clients or people that you want to influence; this is how the product is located in their minds.
Finally, implementing a certain brand / positioning strategy is a task that takes time and costs a lot of money. But it's worth a try, because enthusiastic and loyal customers ensure the profitability and future of the business. If a company achieves those goals, its brand can be worth millions of dollars.
PRIOR CONSIDERATIONS
As mentioned in the introduction to this paper, consumer behavior is a factor that the company must consider within its marketing plan. In this sense, you should keep in mind that consumer behavior is influenced by three main factors:
- cultural (culture, subculture and social class); social (reference groups, family and functions and condition); personal (age and life cycle stage, occupation, economic circumstances, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept) and, psychological (motivation, perception, learning and beliefs and attitudes).
All these factors provide clues to reach the buyer and serve him effectively.
Before planning its marketing, a company needs to identify its target consumers and their decision process. While many purchase decisions involve only one decision maker, others may involve multiple participants who play roles such as the initiator, the influencer, the decision maker, the buyer, and the user. The function of the marketer is to identify the other participants in the purchase, their purchase criteria and their influence on the consumer. The marketing program must be designed to attract and reach the other key participants, as well as the consumer.
The degree of deliberation and the number of participants in the purchase increase with the complexity of the purchase situation. Marketers must make different plans for four types of consumer buying behavior:
- complex buying behavior, behavior (purchase) reduction of uncertainty or disagreement, conduct regular buying, and buying behavior search of variety.
These four types are based on whether the consumer has a high or low participation in the purchase and if the brands show many or few important differences.
In complex purchasing behavior, the consumer goes through a decision process, which consists of recognizing the need, seeking information, evaluating alternatives, purchasing decision and post-purchase behavior. The job of the marketer is to understand consumer behavior in each of its stages and what influences are operating. This understanding allows marketers to develop an efficient and effective marketing program for the target market.
The relationship with the customer is the key to today's marketing. But sometimes, getting your satisfaction is not a guarantee of permanent loyalty. Consequently, the challenge is to achieve "intimacy." This concept is based on the commitment to offer specific solutions to the individual needs of each person. There are two fundamental differences between conventional companies and those that pursue privacy. The former target a massive audience, while the latter treat each customer as if they were the only one, and are committed to forging long-term relationships. To implement this approach to privacy, organizations must listen to what they have to say to those who buy their products or services,Get to know them better and spend a good amount of time developing a special sensitivity to bond with each of them. You also need to ensure that employees receive solid training, providing them with the skills, tools, and techniques to deal with customers. And, finally, reward them based on the service they provide.
Market research no longer has all the answers. To get loyal customers, companies must sharpen their senses and find new ways to conquer them.
It may take a long time, but it's really worth doing. Employees who have frequent contact with customers can be a good source of information.
Entering an industrial sector implies knowing it very well; among other things, see what entry barriers it offers. To overcome these barriers, a penetration strategy is designed based on the matrix of new entries by George Yip and the principles of attack and competitive defense of Al Ries and Jack Trout. Once this is defined, it is decided which Porter's generic strategy will be used: Leadership in cost or differentiation, or Focus (in costs or differentiation, alternatively). Finally, market research is carried out to test the degree of acceptance of the product or service.
MATRIX OF NEW ENTRIES (GEORGE YIP)
George Yip proposes four entry strategies to an industrial sector:
BLITZKRIEG:
It means surprisingly entering a new sector that will render the old one obsolete. Sufficient resources are needed to be able to generate a star business without passing, or passing very quickly, through the unknown quadrant, in terms of the BCG matrix.
Lightning war is an alternative for companies involved in strategies that arise from sharing different types of capabilities. Lightning warfare attempts to minimize the leader's response time to a new strategy.
SIDE ATTACK:
It requires fewer resources than blitzkrieg but increases the risk in terms of the leader's possible response time.
With the lateral attack, an unknown business will be generated.
FRONT ATTACK:
It is the most risky attack since it requires a large amount of resources to be able to overcome the barriers of entry that the leader has put. The strategy used will be similar to that existing in the sector, which makes positioning difficult. But if it is successfully implemented, you will get a "dairy cow" business. The frontal attack is feasible in companies with dynamic competitive advantages that face the wear and tear of attacking the leader in their sector.
MINI-DOUBLE:
It is not a recommended strategy. It implies generating a "dog" business, and not having competitive advantages will not be able to obtain profitability.
ATTACK AND COMPETITIVE DEFENSE
Al Ries and Jack Trout propose four ways related to competitive development within an industrial sector. These authors differentiate the types of attack according to the size or position in the market of the companies:
Defense principles:
- Only the market leader has the option to play defense. The best defensive strategy is to attack himself. Competitive movements should always be blocked.
Principle of direct attack: to be used by companies that occupy the second or third place in a certain sector.
- The main consideration is the strength of the leader. Finding a weakness in the strong point of the leader and attacking him. The attack should be launched towards a front as small as possible: concentrate the attack.
Side Attack Principle:
A good lateral attack should be made towards an area where it cannot be answered.
Surprise is very important.
Continuing the attack is as important as the attack itself.
Side Attack Ways:
Low price:
For it to be a side attack, the price has to be much lower than the competition prices; that way another strategy would be used.
High price:
Detect a high quality and high price niche to offer a product that is perceived as high quality supra-functional.
Distribution:
Changing distribution channels is a good way to implement a side attack.
Product format or size: Try to find free niches by changing the product format.
Technology: With technological innovations, a business can be made obsolete.
Guerilla principles:
- These principles are for small companies, without power or economic position, that cannot compete with the leader. You have to try to find a niche somewhere in the demand to be able to defend it. No matter how successful you are, you should never Act as a leader. Be prepared to go out of business at any time as the leader can absorb the occupied niche.
COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES OF MICHAEL PORTER
Once I analyze the sector where the business is directed and define how I am going to penetrate it, I choose what generic strategy I am going to follow, that is, on which my leadership will be based.
It is not convenient to choose a strategy to position yourself in the middle, that is, not to choose any of the four specific approaches.
Differentiation can take various forms: brand design or image, technology, product attributes, consumer services, sales network, etc. This approach does not ignore costs, but does not assign fundamental importance to them.
Once the company has determined the portion of the market it wants to attack, it begins to devise a way to reach the minds of those people.
WHAT DOES THE POSITIONING CONSIST OF?
It consists in being creative, in creating something that does not already exist in the mind. The fundamental focus of positioning is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate what is already in the mind; reorder connections that already exist.
The positioning begins in a "product". That is, an article, a service, a company, an institution or even a person. But the positioning does not refer to the product, but to what is done with the minds of the probable clients or people that you want to influence; that is, how the product is located in their minds.
Past strategies no longer work in today's market, there are too many products, companies and "noises".
Society is over-communicated, and that is why a new approach to advertising and marketing is necessary. In today's communication world, the only way to stand out is to know how to choose, concentrating on few objectives, practicing segmentation; this is "conquering positions".
In order to understand what a marketing strategy or advertising campaign is facing, you have to take a close look at the main objective of any marketing strategy or advertising campaign: the mind of the consumer.
Our mind, as a defense mechanism against today's volume of communications, reviews and discards much of the information it receives today. In effect, the mind tends to accept only new information that relates to its previous knowledge and experiences and filters out everything else. In a situation like this, it is when the term becomes more relevant: " Positioning: the war for a place in the consumer's mind."
Otra de las razones por las cuales nuestros mensajes se pierden, se debe a la cantidad de medios que se han inventado para satisfacer nuestra necesidad de comunicación. Veamos: TV por aire y cable; radio AM y FM; carteles en la calle y en los ómnibus; periódicos y revistas…Cada día, miles de mensaje publicitarios compiten por lograr un lugar en la mente del cliente, y es así como la mente se convierte en el campo de batalla. Otra razón de que los mensajes se sigan perdiendo, es la cantidad de productos que hemos inventado para atender nuestras necesidades físicas y mentales.
The only defense that the person has in an overcommunicated society and with an impressive and diverse offer of products and services, is an oversimplified mind. Therefore, the only way to reach our oversimplified society is the oversimplified message.: In communication, less is more. To penetrate the mind, you have to simplify the message, leaving ambiguities aside if you want to make a real impression. But the solution to the problem is not to be found within the product or within the mind itself; the solution to the problem is in the mind of the prospective customer. Since only a small part of the message will make its way, we must ignore the sender to focus on the receiver: focus on the way the other person perceives, and not on the reality of the product.
The only answer to the problems of the overcommunicated society is the answer given by the positioning.
The positioning is based on the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstances. The best way to penetrate another's mind is to be the first to arrive. So did Kodak in photography, IBM in computing, Xerox in copiers, Hertz in car rentals, Coca-Cola in soft drinks, General Electric in electrical matters.
It is preferable to be the first before the best, because everyone remembers the first without problems, not the second or the third, despite the fact that the latter had somehow surpassed the first. If a company wants to be successful, it must convince itself of the importance of being the first to penetrate people's minds. In this sense, the way to create loyalty to a brand is by impacting first (before the competition, if any) and then, trying not to give rise to the client moving to another brand, in other words, doing whatever necessary to retain it: listen to it, pamper it.
In short, to succeed in our over-communicated society, every company must create a position in the mind of the prospective customer (the best is to be the first). This position must take into account not only your strengths and weaknesses, but also those of your competitors.
The most difficult way to enter the mind is to do it second; the second does not appear anywhere. If we haven't managed to get into the customer's mind in perspective in the first place, then we have a positioning problem. Anyway, there are certain positioning strategies for those who are not number one.
Positioning Types
Positioning based on Price / Quality
Some companies rely especially on these qualities. Toyota, for example, has positioned itself as the best price / value ratio brand due to its quality. While the Chrysler Neon is positioned as the vehicle with the best price / value ratio for the number of attributes and accessories it has (safety, comfort, power, capacity) and the widest guarantee.
There are also companies that position themselves only with respect to price, either as expensive, Rolex for example, or as cheap, Swatch.
Positioning with respect to use
Another strategy is to relate the product to a certain use or application. Gatorade, has been positioned as the drink used by athletes to rehydrate.
User-oriented positioning
This type of positioning is associated with a class of users. Some companies choose a famous person that consumers want to identify with. This strategy has to do with the characteristics of the product and the target (target market). Revlon, for example with Cindy Crawford. Consumers will feel linked to the brand or product because they feel affinity with the character that represents it.
Positioning for lifestyle
The opinions, interests and attitudes of consumers allow the development of a positioning strategy oriented towards their lifestyle.
Positioning in relation to the competition
There are two reasons why it may be important to position yourself with reference to the competition. The first is that it is much easier to understand something, when we relate it to something else that we already know. Secondly, sometimes it is not so important how important customers think the product is, but rather that they think it is as good as, or better than, a given competitor.
Positioning yourself specifically relative to a certain competitor can be an excellent way to position yourself relative to a particular attribute or feature, especially when it comes to price or quality. In products that are especially difficult to position, such as liqueurs, it is important to refer to a competitor, so that the consumer can have a reference on the type of liquor and flavor to expect.
We can summarize the strategy by saying that you have to find a hole and then fill it. But to find the hole you have to have the ability to think in reverse, to go against the grain.
Position yourself number 2?
Other companies have found that positioning themselves as No. 2 can result in their niche and competitive advantage. Perhaps the best example of this case has Avis, a company in the field of car rental, which positioned itself as the second after Hertz, which reported tremendous success under the premise that “because they were second, they should try harder to the way to serve their clients. ”
One way to position yourself as No. 2 may be to do so as different or inferior to the leader.
In almost all markets, there is a good place for a major No. 2. It is not appropriate to engage in a head-on and head-on fight with the category leader, as the category leader is stronger and is first on the ladder of the consumer's mind. You can go around, jump or pass underneath, but never head-on, because it could be fatal.
Positioning through name
When positioning, the name is one of the key factors, to the point that when someone wants to order a beer, they ask for a Polar, or a soft drink and they ask for a Pepsi. I can remember that when my father asks for an insecticide, he asks for the "Fleet", a brand that disappeared many years ago from the market.
A company that is entering the new market must have a name that immediately allows it to be located on a "ladder" that allows it to be identified with the product it represents. A while ago, when there was not so much competition, any name could work, but nowadays a more direct relationship between the name and the type of products it manufactures is more important to make it easier to remember.
But at other times, the name may limit what the company will do in the future. Take airlines in the United States as an example: There are at least 4 major airlines: United, American, TWA, and Eastern. The latter was the first to showy paint their planes, substantially improve food, standardize flight attendants, and when it comes to investing in advertising, the one with the highest budget. However, their efforts to improve their market share were ineffective because an airline whose name is "Oriente" (or Oriental) cannot be perceived as an airline that travels throughout the United States, since it has a regional name. Of course, consumers will be more likely to travel on an airline that gives the idea of traveling nationwide, rather than one that seems rather local.
REPOSITIONING
Now, it is possible that a product can maintain a certain position for many years, but today, with so many technological innovations, in increasingly competitive global markets, and with such changing economies, it may be necessary to modify that position and perform a repositioning.
For example, Johnson & Johnson did this with one of their originally positioned children's shampoos. When he realized that the children's market was declining, he decided to reposition his product as a familiar one, refreshing its life.
In short, repositioning points to a single key: "Knowing how to change on time" (see Annex No. 1 - a).
POSITIONING AS A LEADER
As long as a company owns the position, there is no point in running ads saying "we are number one." It is much better to enhance the product category to the prospective customer.
Obviously, the one who positions himself first does not do it in relation to his competition, however we must talk about the position of the leader before talking about the competition, since it is he who will set the tone.
Leaders, when they know how to properly manage their leadership, can stay on top for many years. As an example we have Coca-Cola, Motorola, etc. However, not because a brand is the leader of a certain category, it means that they will also be leaders in another category, in fact, some leading companies that have tried this based on their success as a leader in a certain category, have failed. Like Xerox when trying to compete with IBM in the personal computer market, and IBM when trying to compete with Xerox in the area of photocopiers.
Historically, being the leader of a product in a given area or field has generally been the result of an accident rather than something planned.
However, leaders must take into account any development opportunities in their area (the xerography did not correspond to the area of either Kodak or IBM) and develop it before their competition does and it is too late.
Leaders must use their short-term flexibility to ensure a stable long-term future.
Leaders sometimes fall prey to thinking they are infallible. Thus, when someone from the competition presents a new product or some characteristic of it, the tendency is to underestimate progress. The classic mistake a leader makes is believing that the power of the product comes from the power of the organization. And it is the other way around. The power of the organization is a consequence of the power of the product; of the position that the product occupies in the customer's mind (see Annex No. 1 - b).
The leader should hedge against all bets, guard against the unexpected. The leader would have to adopt any new advancement in a product as soon as possible, although he often wakes up when it's too late.
Most leaders cover their competitive moves by introducing another brand. This multi-brand strategy is more of a single position strategy.
Each brand is in a unique position that occupies a place in the public's mind. When times change, when new products come and go, no effort is needed to change position. Rather, a new article is presented that responds to the change in technology and tastes, for example. This is the case of Procter & Gamble, that each main brand of has its own identity: Pampers, Head & Shoulders, etc. in this way, the tactic of multiple brands is, at bottom, a single position strategy.
THE POWER OF NAME
The name is the hook on which the brand hangs on the scale of products that the customer has in mind.
Before, when there were fewer products, when the volume of communication was less, the name was something that was not so important.
Today, what to look for is a name that starts the positioning process, that communicates to the customer the main advantage of the product. Intensive Care Skin Lotion is an example of this.
The first company to penetrate the mind with a new product or a new idea will become famous.
A negative name can be positive if we can deliberately polarize the situation: margarine can be soy butter exposing the advantages over cow's milk, thus showing pride of origin.
An inappropriate name causes a chain reaction that only serves to confirm the initial unfavorable opinion.
The name is the first point of contact between the message and the mind. It is not the goodness or convenience of the name in an aesthetic sense that determines the effectiveness of the message, but the appropriateness or otherwise of the name: Eastern Airlines is less recognized than United Airlines because it has a regional name (which inspires localism) that places it in a different category before the public. Instead, United Airlines gives the feeling of increased coverage of the US sky.
With a good brand name the positioning work will be much easier.
WHAT IS A BRAND?
A brand is a name or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or packaging design) that identifies the goods or services of a certain company.
The brand offers the consumer a guarantee, and allows him to protect himself from competitors who offer products that look identical.
The brand is what consumers buy and goes far beyond the materiality of the product itself.
The brand is notoriety. An unknown brand is a brand with no value; the consumer will prefer those products of well-known brands that guarantee safety and quality. Notoriety is acquired by advertising, necessarily supported by the quality of the product and passing the test of time: the image of the brand must remain in the minds of consumers for an indefinite period.
The brand is a reference value that identifies the product, allowing its comparison with other brands and free choice between them.
The quality that inspires a brand must be directly related to the quality of the product it covers. On the other hand, the brand is an element recognized by consumers, who give certain brands the label of "good" and deny it to others. This title is not awarded indiscriminately but, on the contrary, is based on evidence, one of which, perhaps the most important, is the quality of the product. From then on, the quality of the brand takes on a "life of its own" and becomes separated from the product.
The brand is a signature. It is an important symbol of guarantee and responsibility.
The brand is progress insurance. That is to say, it forces the manufacturer to perfect himself without rest. Thus, the latter must analyze the market, not only in relation to the quality-price ratio compared to the competition, but also to find out the consumer's wishes, his way of being, his character. People choose brands out of affinity with their personality.
The brand must be alive (it is born, it develops, it transforms, it becomes ill and in certain cases, it dies), for what it needs, when necessary, innovation (formal and / or conceptual); new communication codes that build leadership by differentiating it more clearly from the competition for its tangible or intangible values. It is important to remember that brands can have an image of modern or dated. This has little to do with the time of its launch, but rather depends largely on how companies have been able to communicate that they are able to keep up-to-date.
On the other hand, the brand is one of the psychological attributes of a product, along with quality. In this sense, the brand:
This is the great challenge: keeping the old brands alive and getting the new ones to climb positions and not back down in the face of difficulties (see Annex No. 2).
- It allows us to differentiate our product from the competition It facilitates the acquisition of the product It facilitates the repetitive purchase It facilitates the advertising It facilitates the introduction of new products
Qualities of a good brand name
- Must describe the benefits of the product (associable to the product) Must communicate an important quality inherent in the product Must evoke the product. But associating or evoking should not be confused with describing since the brand does not describe the product but distinguishes it, therefore, the name should not make a description of the product, since it would limit the brand in the future against possible modifications or product development.It must be memorable (easy to remember), that is, easy to recognize and remember.It must be consistent with the name of the company and with the products that the company sells.It must be unique, in order to compete (it must be different from the of the competition) It must be brief and simple It must be easy to read and pronounce From the legal aspect,It must be possible to register the name. It must be possible to internationalize, that is, the pronunciation (which includes the memory, the evocation…) is valid for the different countries in which the product is going to be sold. It must be euphonic (sound good) Attunement with the public, both morally and aesthetically.
BRAND IDENTITY
The Brand Identity is the set of assets linked to the name and symbol of the brand incorporating the value provided by a product or service to the company and / or its customers.
The main categories of assets are:
- Brand name recognition Brand loyalty Perceived quality Brand associations
It must be borne in mind that each brand asset creates value in a different way. Therefore, to effectively manage brand value and to make decisions about brand building activities it is important that the marketer (as well as the highest levels of the organization) is sensitive to the ways in which powerful brands create value for both the client and the company (see Annex No. 3).
The brand value is built taking into account four main aspects:
- DIFFERENTIATION, which is the distinctive singularity that the client perceives of the brand. It provides the customer with the basis for their selection. Without differentiation, there would be no customer loyalty, since the value equation would be dominated by the “price” factor rather than “benefit provision”. RELEVANCE, which describes the personal appropriation of the brand (the relative importance that the client assigns to the brand within the set of brands for the same product category). It contributes to solidify the reason for purchase. The more relevant, the higher sales. Differentiation alone is insufficient to achieve brand strength, as it only generates margin opportunities.
In addition, relevance generates opportunity for use (market penetration). For this reason, differentiation must be relevant for the brand to obtain real strength.
- ESTIMA, describes the affection and consideration that the client has towards the brand. It is closely related to perceptions of quality and popularity, which promote use. KNOWLEDGE, is the complete understanding of the product / service behind the brand. Knowledge is the consequence of success in building the brand. It is directly related to the “experience” of the consumer with the product / service of a particular brand, which promotes and facilitates the recognition, memory and image of the brand. The brand image is built on the basis of different types of associations that the client makes with it (bearing in mind that there is always a preference for associations, because some have more strength than others for the client).
The value of the brand is based, to a large extent, on the associations that the client produces with the brand. These associations can include attributes of the product (price, packaging, appearance, imagination for use) and not related to it, a celebrity (as a brand spokesperson, as is the case with Britney Spears, currently, for the cola brand)., Pepsi), functional, experiential or symbolic benefits (as is the case with Mont Blanc brand pens, which symbolize and grant a virtual halo of prestige and distinction to whoever owns it), attitudes.
The associations are conducting the brand identity, ie guide the decision on what the organization wants its brand generates in the mind of the customer. A common mistake is to focus on the attributes of the product and the tangible functional benefits of the brand (neglecting or neglecting the emotional and self-expression benefits of the brand). Therefore, a key factor in building powerful brands is developing and implementing a brand identity.
The brand identity is made up of twelve dimensions that can be organized (for a better understanding) into four perspectives:
- The brand as a product
- Product scope Attributes Quality / value Uses Users Country of origin (Volvo of Sweden inspires safety, among other things)
- Organizational attributes (such as 3M innovation, efficiency
administrative and operational of FedEx, etc.)
- Local vs Global
- The brand as a person
- Brand personality Brand-customer relationships (determine the level of customer loyalty to the brand)
- Visual image / metaphors Brand inheritance
In short, the brand identity is a unique set of associations that the strategist aspires to create or maintain in the mind of the target customer. These associations represent the raison d'être of the brand, implying a promise of the organization to the clients, which involves functional, emotional or self-expression benefits.
Brand Personality
It is a set of human characteristics associated with the name of a brand. It includes characteristics such as sex, age, and socio-economic class, as well as aspects of the human personality such as friendliness, involvement, and sentimentality. For example, Guess is considered sophisticated in contrast to Wrangler's rudeness. Nike is considered athletic while LA Gear tends to be perceived as more fashionable.
The brand's personality, like the human personality, is both distinctive and enduring. On the other hand, the personality of the brand helps the strategist to enrich and deepen the understanding of people's perceptions and attitudes towards a particular brand (this provides information on the relationship of customers with the brand), contributing to an identity of differentiated brand (the brand's personality defines not only the brand, but also the context and experience of the product class, giving the brand a position in the customer's mind), guiding the communication effort and creating value for the brand.
A brand can help a person to express their personality in different ways, such as generating different feelings depending on the brand used for a certain product category. There is also the case of those brands that a person uses as a personal expression, such is the case of brands such as Ferrari that generate a substantial social impact, since the person who drives a car of that brand intends to express his position to others. Socio-economic, his sporty and risky spirit, among other characteristics of the brand with which this individual identifies. Thus, the point can be reached where "the brand becomes part of oneself". That is, the brand becomes an extension or an integral part of oneself. This happens with that graphic designer,Apple user who is always in front of his computer, this is part of him. For the person who ends her physical activity drinking Gatorade, the remineralizing drink is not only an expression of who she is (dedicated athlete), but a part of her lifestyle. In this sense, the potential to create unity with some people is a significant opportunity for a brand. Finally, the organization must keep in mind that the brand's personality must fit with the self-expression needs of the target audience: The brand's personality must be desired and important enough to concern the person who uses it, that is, the A person should feel better due to a certain association with the brand (sophisticated when using Chanel perfume). In this sense,a personality that does not fit your goal will not work.
BRAND NAME CREATION PROCESS
In general, it is most appropriate to use creative techniques such as literary figures of speech, advertising techniques and association-based techniques.
Some of the most applied techniques are:
- Analogy. Based on the idea of similarity, similarity or more or less direct evocation to the product. The analogy is sought by means of questions such as: "What does it look like?", "What does it remember?", "Where did it come from?", "What is it made of?", "What for? does it work? ”, etc. referred to the product and its physical or emotional environment. Strangeness, contrast factors or originality and novelty. It consists of resorting to a suggestive phonetic of the name absolutely apart from its direct, analog or descriptive characters. Evocation. Find a name that suggests emotional or psychological situations, a world of values and positive meanings related to the brand's public. Amplification.It consists of valuing the company, brand or product in a superlative way, by means of evocative names of a certain gigantism. All this with a view to creating an image of high potency and universality. It is applied to products that require these characteristics such as pharmaceuticals, dietetics, food… It is a free mode that brings together different concepts in order to enhance the effect Of the name. Thus, fragments of names, letters, numbers, onomatopoeias… Listing and Matrix are combined .Use tables and matrices based on letters of the alphabet. Assembled in a group, people following some rules, must emit as many ideas as possible related to the study (brand name) in question. All of them will be collected, analyzed and then tabulated, eliminating long, complicated, unpronounceable, banal or inappropriate names, manually or using computer programs. The number is reduced to about three or four, which will be analyzed, depending on the objectives pursued and their possible registration will be verified.
For more precision, refer to Annex No. 4.
BRAND IMAGE
The image is something intangible but it serves for a certain company to communicate its business culture and create a certain brand, logo and corporate identity, which will make it known, admired, consulted, used and taken into account from that moment on by the society to which it is addressed. Without that image or recognition of its products or services, no company would be known today.
Every brand has a certain image, which through its efficient planning and control, can become an effective communication strategy that supports each of its products at all times.
It is not enough to sell services or products, it is necessary to communicate them and fix permanent images of the creative company, that is why it is necessary to create your own identification (the brand), which translates into a unique, homogeneous and global one, allowing it to be distinguished from the rest by means of attributes such as: confidence, personality, effort, wealth, full services, efficiency, solidity, continuous development, technological participation, openness to the outside, social benefit, business management, etc.
In short, this global image is the result of an integrated policy and effective management of all communication procedures, means and opportunities, that is, communication that is based on brand plus corporate identity.
The brand should not be confused (as a sign of a verbal or graphic nature) with the image that is transmitted through advertising and the presentation of products (brand image).
The brand image gives notoriety and guarantees competitiveness to the company and its products. The brand is the center around which this image is generated and developed, which is usually done by accumulating all the manifestations of the company: its way of doing, its way of saying things through its communicational actions (including advertising, its products, its containers / packaging and its actions at the point of sale or merchandising).
The brand image is a consequence of how the brand is perceived. It is a mental representation of the attributes and perceived benefits of the brand. The perception of the brands has to do with the mental processes and the personality of the consumer, since the brain processes the information it receives about the brands, encoding them according to their external values; but each individual, according to their personality, will imprint a character, an interpretation of the communicated reality.
The perception of brands is what gives shape and content to something that is still an abstraction, a mental conception of the characteristics of the product and the symbolic values attributed by advertising and promotion, to achieve consumer preference..
Therefore, the brand image can be defined as a set of perceptions, associations, memories and prejudices that the public processes in their head and whose synthesis is a mental image of the product, through its representation, value for money and of the advantages and satisfactions that they receive or think they can receive from him through his name and publicity.
When the image of a brand is positive, it is adding real value to a product, providing security and consumer confidence. It allows a company to justify a higher than average price, which the consumer gladly pays.
What is really important is not so much the image that the brands convey, but rather their ability to establish their authority and superiority over the competition. Now for a brand to acquire strength it is necessary to associate it with the important values and decisions of human behavior, this will give it a leadership position, since an emotional relationship is achieved that guarantees the credibility and trust of the consumer, which translates into a preference for the brand and repeat purchases.
Brands can have a long life and do not have to depend on the life cycle of the products. A high brand qualification in the minds of consumers can allow it a healthy and long life.
The brand image must be configured around the following values:
- Values related to products: Differentiation, authenticity and credibility. The homogeneity of the products is one of the causes of the failure of a large number of brands that end up being unknown to the public.
Knowing the position that the image of a product or brand occupied in the market is especially important to plan the future communication strategies that the company decides to carry out. Within the product values, there are different possible types of actions to position the product:
1 · According to the characteristics of the product. Price, economy, duration, robustness, etc., are characteristics that can be highlighted to position a product or brand.
2 · According to the benefits or problems that the product solves.
3 · According to its use or occasions of use.
4 · By the class of users. It consists of highlighting the class of people who use the product.
5 · In relation to other products. This leads to comparative advertising. This type of actions can be carried out directly, citing the brands of the competing companies or, more generically, indicating the superiority of the own brand with respect to the rest of the competition, without these being cited express mode.
6 · By decoupling the product class. With this strategy it is intended to unmark the product of the competitors.
- Values related to consumers: Self-complacency, self-satisfaction and self-expression (personal and social). Values related to communication: Notoriety, truthfulness and persuasion. hence the search in advertising for the significant, novel credible and stimulating purchase proposition (argued profit).
The brand is fundamentally a stereotype, an image in the consumer's mind. The aspects of the brand to highlight are:
- His ambivalence. On the one hand, the content of the image is the same for everyone, but the affective tone is different for each subject. Its coherence. The brand image produces a set of attitudes and representations that form a coherent whole, its conscious or unconscious state. In the first case, the image appears in freely expressed opinions or manifest emotions.
To obtain the image that a certain brand has, the consumer and its relation to the following characteristics of the product must be analyzed:
- Consumer experience with the product. Although it is not always related, since the consumer can create brand images without having any personal experience with the product. Inherent quality of the product / Product characteristics. Product functionality.
Following the consumer's point of view, the elements that define the image of a brand are:
- The proximity; that is, the degree of presence of the image of the product in the consumer's mind. The precision of the image since it must have very well defined characteristics. The content of the image or the number of characteristics that the consumer finds in that image. The valuation of those characteristics. The associations; that is, everything that is associated with the image of a certain brand.
It is also important to highlight the psychosocial strength of the brand within the marketing and communication process.
CORPORATE IDENTITY
Just as products increasingly need to differentiate themselves in a market in which technological advances make it more and more difficult, companies, like brands, struggle to achieve strong personalities and the support of the different publics with whom they they relate in order to survive.
Corporate identity is based on the reality of the company itself. Answer the question What are we? Your response must differentiate the company from the rest of the competition and must be transmitted consistently and over time to all its audiences, through any form of communication. Identity is manifested by graphic, verbal, cultural and environmental means and through objective information.
The elements that make up the corporate identity are:
- Verbal name or identity. Identity begins with a proper name, place of social registration of people and place of social registration of companies. The name or company name is the first sign of the existence of the company. It is the only double address, the company uses it to designate itself and, the public, competition, journalists, etc., to refer to it. The logo. It is a designed word, the typographic translation of the legal or brand name. The graphic symbology. They are the iconic signs of the brand, the part that is not pronounced. Sometimes it is associated with the logo forming a whole and the brand turns out to be just a graphic. Chromatic Identity. It is the color of the brand. There are brands that are clearly identified and differentiated by their color (for example, Kodak, with its characteristic yellow color). Cultural identity. Cultural signs define their own mode of global behavior, a way of being and doing of a company before society. It can represent added value for its careful and attentive pre and post sale service.
CORPORATE IMAGE
The technical or functional doing of the company, together with its cultural doing (quality and customer service), plus its different ways of communicating what it is and what it does (corporate advertising, public relations, merchandising, packaging, etc.), plus their own commitment to society and their brand identity shape the corporate image of the company in the minds of their audiences, that is, the imaginary extension of the company's corporate identity.
CONCLUSION
In the past, product lifecycles were much longer, but today they continually change to keep up with what society expects. Every day new products are born, new alternatives and others die. Therefore, the battle in the minds of consumers does not stop.
Change is a constant that, in the short term, causes turmoil, uncertainty and confusion. However, coping with change requires long-term thinking: setting the company's course for the years to come and sticking with it.
Positioning further supported by a powerful brand is the key to a company's success from the product launch. If a company has adopted a position that allows it to successfully navigate the currents of change in the market, simultaneously taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented to it, then it will have been able to answer the question posed at the beginning of this work: “ keep alive the usual brands and get the new ones to climb positions and not back down in the face of difficulties. ” The same should be attempted with the image of a corporation over time.
The secret is to take the initiative before the competition has had a chance to establish itself, and to be sustained by two fundamental principles: an exclusive position and a broad appeal.
Definition taken from the book “Building Powerful Brands”, by David Aaker - Ed. Gestión 2000 - Barcelona 1996.
Definition taken from the book “Building powerful macas”, by David Aaker - Ed. Gestión 2000 - Barcelona 1996.
Download the original file
