Branding is an abstract concept that could be defined as the process of creating and managing a brand and consists of achieving many things at once, including positioning, maintenance, remembrance and recognition. In recent years, market conditions, the difficulty of rising and holding, globalization and, in short, fierce competition have made brand management more important, since it is not the same to compete in closed or quasi-closed economies. from a few decades ago, than today, fierce, global and with the internet. Despite this, branding is not a newborn, it is not even the son of the 90's, it appeared with Procter & Gamble from the very appearance of the firm (in the 30's) that has always been oriented to brand management.
One of the most important, if not the most important, assets of any company is its brand. When we think of Coca-Cola or McDonalds, we understand how much a brand is worth
- Question: What is your favorite dish? - Answer: Big Mac with Coca Cola
Why have these products become your favorites? Well, maybe it is due to the branding carried out by the companies that produce them, or perhaps from the first time you tried them, you fell in love.
The brands, the same ones that have left you "marked", influence our tastes, what we eat, what we wear, our way of life, they affect the way we look at products and our purchasing decisions.
Brand spirit. The most recognized brands in the world have in themselves the most important capital of the products and services that they embody; its philosophy, its culture, dreams and illusions
And it is that when a person identifies a brand he is identifying a set of attributes and values that he finds in it, building a brand consists of developing and maintaining those characteristics that in themselves are what provide the identity of the product making it unique. This factor, the distinction, is key in a brand management process, the client must perceive the product differently from the others, different from the competition, even different from the imitators. For example, a regular Coca Cola user will know, at the first sip, that what is in their glass is not Coca Cola when the waiter made a mistake about "cola" when serving. Not only the taste of the drink allowed the consumer to differentiate the product, it was also the values that he associates with that known flavor and the way in which they have been promoted.
Another decisive factor in brand building strategies is segmentation and knowing the need that our product covers in the segment we are targeting. Volvo is a car brand well known for its safety, the company has targeted its products to middle-aged people, married with children, who need a safe vehicle to transport with their family. Volvos buyers are not young singles and adventurers living alone, they are middle-aged, married, with children, who need a safe vehicle… you know the rest. Volvo has done a great job as people recognize in their brand the values that Volvo wants them to identify (safety) and it reaches precisely the market that Volvo wants to attack.
Branding consists of transmitting the power of a brand to products and services, essentially by creating factors that distinguish them from other products and services… Branding creates mental structures and helps consumers organize their knowledge about products and services in a way that that their decision making is easier, and in the process value is generated for the company.
When a brand has been solidly built and positioned, it is very difficult for consumers to forget the values with which they identify it. Brand products can change, Volvo can bring different car lines to market, but they are all identified as 'safe'. Amazon started by selling books online and music, now it can sell almost anything, because people identify it as a big online store and not as a virtual bookstore.
To start the brand management strategy, the following questions should be answered, when answering them we will have the basis of the platform for the strategy of building our brand:
- Do I have something very good to say about my product? Why should my brand exist and what would happen if it did not exist? Who is the brand targeting and why is it targeting them? What values, vision, mission and territory Has the brand? What is the image that I want to reflect with my brand?
What is a brand. «A Brand is a complex symbol. It is the intangible sum of the attributes of a product, its name, packaging and price; its history, reputation and the way it is promoted. A Brand is also defined by the perception of consumers, the people who use it and their own experiences » David Ogilvy
Building a brand is a long-term process, the strategic platform is not enough. Coca Cola and McDonalds took decades to position themselves as brands in the senses and in the minds of consumers, but they did it, even Microsoft took more than a decade, despite the revolutionary nature of their products. Today, with internet companies, achieving the desired position does not take several decades, just a couple of years, well, in that time, companies like Amazon or Facebook have achieved it.
What constitutes a brand. The sum of the personality, presence and performance of a given product or service in the consumer's mind.
Here is an interview in which Kevin Roberts, one of the greatest authorities in the field of advertising worldwide, explains the concept of lovemarks, brands that reach the hearts of people, the ultimate goal of a branding strategy.
Notes
- Kotler and Keller. Marketing direction. Pearson Education, 2012, p.243 Court, Freeling, Leiter and Parsons. If Nike can "just do it" why can't we? In: The McKinsey Quarterly, 1997, No.3
