How to define Brands? Basically, brands are more connected with psychology and science brought together as a promise mark rather than a trademark. Products have life cycles. Brands don’t have any lifecycles. Brands are valuable because they convey credibility. Successful marketers strive not just for the product value but ultimately the brand value. Thus, foreffective branding, marketers need to aware about the potential of their brand which can be assessed by the following measures:
Brand Association: Brand association is all about how we perceive a particular brand. For example, Nike has a strong association with shoes, swoosh, just do it, sports, child labor, running etc. On the other hand, Adidas is more associated with soccer, sneaker, German, the idea of “coolness” etc. Hence, marketers should understand about how their brand in being associated or if there is any unwanted association which is harmful for the brand image in the long run.
Brand Recall: Brand Recall refers to how much is the brand talked about. Basically, unaided recall is very important. For example, if an individual is able to recall the brand (Nike) on seeing a right tick, it is an unaided recall.Ultimately, it is the unaided recall that all marketers aspire to achieve for their brand. On the other hand, “an Aidedrecall” refers to recalling a brand when a question is posed. An example of such an aided question is “Do you know of the “Nike” brand? But there is a correlation between awareness and recall .
Brand Strategists and marketers are consistently working on brand logos, taglines to increase the brand awareness and ultimately the unaided recall.
Distribution & visibility: how renowned is the brand? How visible is the brand?Do the consumers want to get associated with the particular brand? Are the distributors and retailers paying well to get associated with the brand? These questions suggest that it’s not just the brand visibility but the perceptions among the distributors and retailers that make a particular brand special. Marketers and brand strategists areflattered when a huge distributor bats their eyelids at their brands and says they would like to stock it. However, a brand strategist needs to decide where they would you like their brand to be seen and how will they achieve their desired perceptions. For example,since Apple has a decent brand potential, distributors would love to stock this brand. However, Apple decided against stocking iphones with every retailer and distributor. Instead, the firm chose to have an exclusive distribution deal with AT&T to provide the iPhone to consumers. The primary aim of this strategy was to create a premium distribution channel that was in tandem with the iphone’s “premium” product proposition.
Brand Performance: In general if we see, brand performance is measured in terms of numbers namely the market share, top-line sales, return on capital. However, the marketers should also assess the potential of brand performance. Additionally, the focus should also be on what has fueled the brand’s performance up until now in order to sustain that leveraging effect in the long run.
Brand Performance can be seen in certain scenarios for example when the company’s performance exceeds the organic growth or when the competitors are just able to somehow survive the market. Additionally, a brand’s performance is also judged by how a particular brand resisted market dynamics. For instance, a product with a strong and positive brand value will be able to perform despite increased competition, technology changes or introduction of substitute products. Again,Apple is a perfect example of a brand that has performed despite changing market dynamics.
Brand Loyalty: Brand loyalty is a result of consumer behavior and is affected by a person’s preferences. Loyal customers will consistently purchase products from their preferred brands, regardless of convenience or price.Thus we can see that the brand strategists are consistently working on their loyalty programs by giving rewards, points, and membership cards. These efforts are directed at increasing the loyalty of consumers towards the brand which in turn increases the brand potential.
Building strong brands isn’t an easy task. Brand Strategists and marketers should consistently measure the potential of their brands and accordingly invent smart moves that will help their brands stay at the top of the game.
