Brand Identity And Brand Personality 6e4w2c

A person’s identity serves to provide direction, purpose and meaning for that person. Consider how important the following questions are :  What are my core values?  What do I stand for?  How do I want to be perceived?  What personality traits do I want to project?  What are the important relationships in my 

life?

A brand identity similarly provides direction, purpose and meaning for the brand.  It is central to a brand’s strategic vision and the driver of one of four principal dimensions of brand equity : association, which are the heart and soul of the brand  Defn : Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to maintain. These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers from the organisation . 

Brand identity as defined by Aaker is the sum of the brand expressed as a product, organisation, person and symbol.  Brand as product deals with the acceptance of the brand as a product itself. For its price, Nirma is seen as a good product. BMW or Mercedes are basically seen as good products besides being good brands. 

 Brand

as organisation emphasizes that a brand is successful among other things because of the organizational values it upholds.  Marico has brought in a series of successful products because of their commitment to innovation.  Marico has innovative and successful offerings in a w ide variety of products as hairoil (Parachute),edible oil (Saffola, Sweekar) , starch (Revive) and jam (Sil)

 Brand

as person deals with the question “What happens to this brand when it becomes a person?” By implication, Denim talc would be seen as masculine, Sunsilk shampoo as feminine and pepsi as young and vibrant.  Brand as symbol deals with the heritage and what the brand stands for.For e.g. Coke symbolises the American dream.

Brand Identity

Brand as product • • • • • •

Product scope Product attributes Quality/v alue Uses s Country of origin

Brand as organisation •

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Organisation attributes (e.g. innovation, genuine consumer concern, trustworthiness ) Local v/s global

Dimensions of brand identity

Brand as person

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Personality (energetic, rugged) Brand customer relationships (friend, advisor )

Brand as symbol

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Visual imagery and metaphors Brand heritage

Phys iq ue Perso na lity

Re la tio ns hip

C ulture

Self- ima ge Re flectio n

 Kapferer

represents brand identity as a six sided

prism  Physique

is the basis of the brand. The physique of TATA is trust  The physique of Philips is “technology and reliability”  Personality : answers the question :what happens to this brand when it becomes a person?

 Culture:

symbolises the organisation , its country of origin and the value it stands for.  India is known for its traditional remedies which is why Balsara, Dabur and Zandu evoke s good response abroad.  is known for its precision engineering. Some of the world’s most popular car brands are German ( Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW).  Japan is known for consumer electronics ( SONY, PANASONIC SHARP)

 Relationship

is the handshake between the consumer and the organization.  The relationship with Colgate is one of dependability.  The relationship with Saffola edible oil is that of safety  Reflection is the consumer’s perception of what the brand stands for which is why coke’s clientele cuts across age groups. The brand reflects youthful values , which is why young as well as old would like to consume Coke

Self –image is what the consumer thinks of himself.  Mercedes Benz owner is telling himself that since he is one of the elite , he is treating himself to the best car in the world.  A of Surf excel Blue is telling herself that she is conscious of not just price but value as well. That is the self-image of the archetypal housewife.  Thus brand identity according to Kapferer can be expressed as the summation of the above 6 dimensions. 

 Core

identity : value offering : McDonald's provides value as defined by the product, special offers and the buying experience given the price. Food quality : consistently hot, good tasting at any outlet in the world Service : fast, accurate, friendly and hassle free Cleanliness : The operations are always spotless on both sides of the counter : Families and kids are focus , but serves a wide clientele.

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Extended Identity :

convenience: is the most convenient quick service restaurant -it is located close to where people live, work and gather ; features efficient , time-saving service; and serves easy-to eat food. Product scope : fast food, hamburgers, children’s entertainment Subbrands:Big Mac, Egg McMuffin, Happy Meals, Corporate citizenship : ronald McDonald Children “s Charities Brand Personality : Family oriented , all-American , genuine, wholesome , cheerful, fun

 Relationship

: The family/fun associations are inclusive and Mcdonald’s is part of the good times. Logo : Golden Arches Characters: Ronald mcDonald

 Functional

benefits : Good tasting burgers, fries, and drinks that provide value, extras such as playground, prizes, games. Emotional Benefits : kids :- fun via excitement of birthday parties, relationship with Ronald McDonald and other characters and feeling of special family times. Adults:- warmth via link to family events and experiences reinforced by the McDonald’s emotional advertising.

 Brand

personality

Definition:  The set of human characteristics associated with a given brand. Thus it includes such characteristics as gender, age, socioeconomic class as well as such classic human personality traits as warmth, concern and sentimentality.  e.g—Virginia Slims tends to be feminine in comparison to the masculine Marlboro.  Apple is considered young while IBM tends to be seen as older( in part because it has been around longer) 

 Brand

personality like human personality is both distinctive and enduring . Coke is considered authentic and real whereas Pepsi is considered young, spirited and exciting.

 Personality

of Harley Davidson (HD) bikes  There are 3 core values of HD bikes  1)       The dominant value is personal freedom, which includes freedom from confinement (confined in a car or a t home) and freedom from mainstream values and social structures.  The Harley Davidson eagle logo is one symbol of this freedom.

2)       Second value is patriotism and American heritage.  3)       Then third value is being macho , inspired in part by the outlaw bikers in The wild ones , the famed Marlon Brando movie in 1950s.Expressions of manliness are like wearing T-SHIRTS –“Real Men wear Black.  HD bikes are the biggest, heaviest, loudest and thus the most macho motorcycles in the world. There is an abundance of black leather, heavy boots, chrome, and other signals of maleness at Harley Rallies.  The Harley motto—“Live to ride, ride to live” appeals also to non macho potential buyers. 

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The owners of Japanese bikes focuses on functional benefits , whereas the Harley-Davidson owner is much more concerned with emotion and selfexpressive benefits.

 Brand A

Personality Scale—

study was done among 1000 U.S respondents, 60 well known brands and 114 personality traits. Five personality factors emerged the most significant. These 5 explain the differences between the brands.

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1)       Sincerity (Campbell’s, Kodak, Hallmark) Down-to-earth : family oriented, small town, conventional,blue-collar, all-American Honest : Sincere, real, ethical, thoughtful, caring Wholesome : original, genuine, ageless, classic , old-fashioned Cheerful : sentimental, friendly, warm, happy

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2)   excitement (Porsche, Absolut, Benetton) Daring : trendy, exciting, off-beat,, flashy, provocative Spirited: cool, young, lively, outgoing, adventurous Imaginative: unique, humorous, surprising, artistic , fun Up-to-date: independent, contemporary, innovative, aggressive

 3)   

Competence: (Amex, CNN, IBM)  Reliable: hardworking, secure, efficient, trustworthy, careful  Intelligent: technical, corporate, serious  Successful : leader, confident, influential

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4)      Sophistication (Lexus, Mercedes, Revlon) Upper class: glamorous, good-looking, sophisticated Charming: feminine, smooth, sexy, gentle

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5) Ruggedness (Levi’s, Marlboro, Nike) Outdoor: masculine, western, active, athletic Tough: rugged, strong, no-nonsense

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Brand Image

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Represents the essence of all the impressions or imprints about the brand that have been made in the consumer’s mind.

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It includes impressions about its physical features and performances, impressions about the functional benefits from using it, impressions about the kind of people who use it, the emotions and associations aroused by it, the imagery and symbolic meanings it evokes in the consumer’s mind.

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The brand image is indeed the totality of the brand in the perception of the consumer It embraces the brand’s physical and functional aspects and also its symbolic meanings. The brand personality dwells mainly in symbolic aspects.