Products are made in the factory; brands are created in the mind.

” — Walter Landor

What is a Brand?

Very basically, a brand is a proprietary name for a product, service, or group. (In this book, the

term “group” is used to denote a company, organization, corporation, social cause, issue, or

political group. For the sake of brevity, all branded entities—whether a product, service, or group

that has benefited from any type of branding—will be referred to as a brand.) On a more

multifaceted level, a brand is the sum total of all functional and emotional assets of the product,

service, or group that differentiate it among the competition.

The term brand could be thought of as having three integrated meanings:

• The sum total of all characteristics of the product, service, or group, including its physical

features, its emotional assets, and its cultural and emotional associations;

• The brand identity as applied to a single product or service, an extended family of products or

services, or a group; and

• The ongoing perception by the audience (consumer or public) of the brand

David A Aaker, in his book Managing Brand Equity1states:

"A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as logo, trademark, or package design)

intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to

differentiate those goods or services from those of competitors. A brand thus signals to the

customer the source of the product, and protects both the customer and the producer from

competitors who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical."

David Aaker does not link the brand just to a product but extends the term to cover the source of

the product - that is the company itself. The definition also makes it clear that a brand is a mark,

a name or symbol, which differentiates companies, one from the other. The brand aims to sear

this mark of differentiation in the mind just as the original branding iron burned a mark onto the

hide of cattle as indelible proof of ownership.

Whereas a product simply performs a task for the user, a brand gives a value over and beyond

the product's functional purpose; in some sense it does make the product seem better. The

functional benefits of an industrial brand are easy to identify. How do the products perform?

What does they do to satisfy intrinsic needs? What are the non-functional benefits of the brand

which are more difficult to recognize in industrial products. Loctite is bought for a functional

purpose and the strong brand may give buyers confidence that it performs better than a brand

which is unknown. The feeling of confidence communicated by the brand can be an important

additional benefit to the buyer.

Branding products and branding companies

In industrial markets the company name is often the primary brand. This contrasts with consumer

markets where the emphasis is usually on the product or a limited group of them and it is to these

individual products that brand names are attached. To the man or woman in the street, Unilever

is a vague notion; a large company making soap and other consumer goods. Those who are well

informed may be able to name one or two brands in the Unilever stable. Turn the questions away

from the company to brands such as Persil, Omo, Stork or Lipton's tea and people will have more

to say. This is the face of Unilever that matters to the consumer.

It is easy for consumer companies to brand a range of products and aim them at a special group

of consumers -there are so many of them it makes it worthwhile. Consumers differ in sex, age,

income, where they live, their culture, the size of their families and so on. As there are so many

consumers around, their different requirements are all worth attacking, even though each

segment may have slightly different needs and wants.

Companies making consumer products are able to promote brands to suit the many segments of

their market, perhaps introducing more than one brand to compete in the same segment in order

to keep competitors at bay.

In the UK, Unilever positions Persil detergent at the higher end of the market while Surf is aimed

at the budget conscious.

Industrial markets are much smaller, often with a customer base measured in tens, hundreds and

sometimes thousands; seldom millions. The industrial customer base can also be segmented, not

this time by the age, income or sex of the buyer but by the size of the firm, the use of the

product, the frequency with which it makes a purchase and perhaps its location. Just as consumer

companies aim special products at the segments they recognize, so too industrial companies

target different types of customers. Chemical companies use bulk tankers to supply large users

and sell the same product in small packs through the wholesale network. A supplier of

accounting software for car dealers sells a modified version for hotel management. The glass

bottles sold to pharmaceutical companies are a little different to those sold to food and drink

manufacturers. Industrial companies recognize segmentations of their customers and their

different product requirements as do consumer companies but the small size of these segments

means that they do not justify the promotion of different brands.

For most industrial companies there is scope for only one brand and that is the company name.
Brands have become a vital part of the marketing strategy of any organization, the future of

firms’ lies in branding. Successful brands are like a motivating force containing enough energy

to enlighten distant territories holding colossal appeal for consumers. This is a powerful force

behind branding. This huge accretion of consumer pulling control works beyond brands

conventional borders. Nowadays, the entire progress of branding strategy is altering.

Presently, the brand development management is shifting from line branding to enterprise

branding. This means that the management requires more thrust within the organization

compared to how it has worked earlier. Aaker and Keller (1990) studied the consumer

evaluations on brand attitude formation. Several replication studies have been conducted, since

which led to the opening of new branding horizons. This study is an endeavor to investigate into

the various dimensions leading to a perfect brand success model. Brand awareness, brand

attitude, level of quality and satisfaction levels were the variables measured, to name a few. The

results showed a strong relationship between awareness and attitude, awareness, brand attitude

and usage, quality of the brands and satisfaction from brands.

Characteristics of a brand

Each product, service, or group has functionalities, features, or capabilities, which may or may

not be unique to the product or service category. Also, each product, service, or group—due to

its heritage, parent company, logo, visual identity, advertising, and audience perception—carries

or assumes emotional assets. Emotional (as well as cultural) associations arise in response to the

spirit of the brand identity, the emotional content or spirit of the advertising, and the

communities and celebrities who adopt the brand or support the group as part of their lives.
Hence, a brand is the sum total of all functional and emotional assets that differentiate it among

the competition and distinguish it in the audience’s mind.

The Brand Identity

The brand identity is the visual and verbal articulation of a brand, including all pertinent design

applications, such as logo, business card, letterhead, or packaging. It also usually includes a

tagline and web site. Brand identity can also be called corporate identity or visual identity. A

brand identity is a program that integrates every visual and verbal element of a company’s

graphic design, including typography, color, imagery, and its application to print, digital media,

environmental graphics, and any other conventional or unconventional media. It is a master plan

that coordinates every aspect of graphic design material in order to attain and sustain an

identifiable image and status in a multinational marketplace of brands. Every hugely successful

brand has maintained a loyal individual base due, in large part, to its clearly defined brand

identity and the brand experiences it builds. Through a very carefully planned strategic brand

identity that is memorable, consistent, and distinctive, companies such as The Coca-Cola

Company (Figure 1-1), Sony, The Walt Disney Company, 3M, Honda, and FedEx (Figure 1-2)

have been able to maintain consumer loyalty and positive consumer perception. A consistent

brand identity presents a memorable public face, such as the identity for United AirlinesSM

(Figure 1-3).

A brand identity usually consists of the following integrated components:

• Brand name • Packaging • Logo • Web site• Letterhead • Any other application • Business card

pertinent to a particular brand.

The brand identity is applied to a single product, service, or group carrying the name brand.

Brand extension is applied to a new product, service, or group with a different benefit or feature

that is related to the existing brand (and extends the range of the existing brand); the target

audience may be different.

Perception of the Brand

The audience is whoever is on the receiving end of a brand experience, brand advertising, or

social causecommunication—whether it is a large number of people or an individual. A target

audience is a specific group of people or consumers targeted for any brand application or

experience, whether it’s a brand identity, traditional or unconventional advertising, public service

advertising, or entire brand experience. The scope of an audience can be:

• Global

• International

• National

• Regional

• Local

What people think of a brand is what counts. A brand is what it actually is—plus the user’s

perception and beliefs about the brand. An individual’s perception of a brand, in most part, is

based on the brand identity and the advertising, which constitutes the brand’s public image and

the brand promise. When an individual finds a brand identity engaging, that person is more likely

to patronize the brand. For example, if you find the brand identity for United Airlines attractive

or you find the advertising appealing, you’re much more likely to fly United. Also, the action or
response of a large audience— of a large number of people—can very well influence the

response of an individual to a brand. For example, if everyone (the collective audience) in a

person’s “community” likes to drink bottled water, such as Evian®, it will positively influence

that individual toward Evian There are other contributing factors to brand perception, such as the

communities or celebrities who “adopt” the brand, but the brand promise is the functional and

emotional advantage and value pledged to the user. Due to the nature of the cumulative

experiences with a brand, people may perceive the brand as delivering or not delivering on its

brand promise; and if they deem it to be not delivering, they will move on to another brand. The

brand promise has always been an important part of what makes a brand desirable, dating back to

one of the first American brands, the National Biscuit Company’s Uneeda biscuit, where the

consumer was offered an “inner-seal package,” promising sanitary packaging and fresh, crisp

crackers

A brand experience is an individual audience member’s experience as he or she interacts with a

brand—every time he or she interacts with that brand. Every interaction a person has with a

brand contributes to his or her overall perception of the brand. It is either a positive, negative, or

neutral experience. In a consumer society, where we all come into contact with advertising (in

print, on radio and television, and online), with visual identity applications (such as logos,

packaging design, and corporate communications), and with branded environments (in stores,

malls, zoos, museums, and in public spaces), each visual communication application builds our

perception of a brand and is an individual experience that contributes to the overall brand

experience. A program of comprehensive, consonant, strategic, unified, integrated, and

imaginative solutions for a brand, including every graphic design and advertising application for
that brand, results in consonant brand experiences for the audience. Focus must be on how

individuals experience the brand (of the product, service, or group) as each interacts with it. It

entails understanding how to weave a common thread or voice—seeming like one voice, across

all of an individual’s experiences with that brand—to integrate the common language into all

experiences with the brand. It includes brand harmonization—the coordination or harmonization

of all the elements of a brand identity throughout all experiences.

A power brand identifies a company, product or service and has high awareness and recall with

customers and is associated with a very successful global company’s

Advantages of Power Brands:

• Improved perceptions of product performance

• Greater loyalty

• Less vulnerability to competitive marketing actions

• Less vulnerability to crises

• Larger margins

• More inelastic consumer response

• Greater trade cooperation

• Increased marketing communications effectiveness

• Possible licensing opportunities

Assessing Brand Power

Brand Weight: The influence or dominance that a brand has over its category or market (more

than just market share)

Brand Length: The stretch or extension that the brand has achieved in the past or is likely to

achieve in the future (especially outside its original category

Brand Breadth: The breadth of franchise that the brand has achieved both in terms of age spread,

consumer types and international appeal

Brand Depth: The degree of commitment that the brand has achieved among its customer base

and beyond. The proximity, the intimacy and the loyalty felt for the brand

A Power brand allows Consumers to clearly identify and specify products which genuinely offer

added value.

• Deep respect for the way products fit into consumer’s lives = “core” of success

Consumer Relationship = Loyalty

• Social Changes in their favor

Power brands are not just cash cows. They are brands whose position in food culture and shrewd

management have, together, allowed otherwise dated brands to remain contemporary and to

continue to drive profit growth. Most leaders in the industry define power brands purely on the

basis ofscale, usually in excess of $1B in annual sales. We want to introduce to you a more

future-leaning definition, one based on selecting for a proven track record of above-average

market growth.

Today, the challenge of building a power brand is greater than ever:

• Increased media fragmentation makes it ever more difficult to reach consumers. Forty years

ago, a well-placed network-television ad campaign could reach a large majority of consumers.

Today, with the Internet, social network-ing and hundreds of cable-TV channels, marketers need
to address multiple platforms to spread the word. • The number of brands is proliferating.

According to the Harvard Business Review, 30,000 new consumer products launch each year—

and 60% to 90% of them fail. The sheer number of introductions means increased competition

for consumer mindshare, access to the distribution channel and marketing dollars. The process of

branding is evolving. A company’s ability to produce a power brand will depend on it adapting

to the two main trends currently driving success: globalization and technological innovation. Is

all the effort worthwhile. Yes. Research has found that brand-centered companies that employ a

powerful mixture of brand management, foresight and innovation outperform both the stock

market indexes and competitors.

Strategies for building power brands:

• Forge an emotional connection between the individual consumer and the brand. Consider

Apple’s iconic labeling of its products with the letter i as in iPod, iPad, iPhone and iTunes. The

individual is at the core of each of these products, and by append-ing the product to the letter i,

Apple suggests the user’s ability to custom-ize the product. With this branding, Apple provides

an intuitive, virtual scaffolding on which each customer can sculpt his own experience and shape

the product according to his interests and needs. Individualization is at the core of Apple’s latest

product, the iPad. Busi-nessmen may use the iPad to track the markets, teachers may download

classic novels onto iBooks, while music fans may explore the latest indie rock groups through

the iTunes store. In this way, each iPad is unique to each user. This customizability is one of the

reasons behind Apple customers’ devotion to the brand

. • Engage consumers and fans via charismatic and active corporate leaders. CEOs are stepping

out of the corner offices to engage with consumers. Steve Jobs was arguably as integral to Apple

as its iconic trademark label (see Figure 3, page 3). Richard Branson, the British business

magnate known as the face of his Virgin-branded companies, donned a spacesuit to promote

Virgin Galactic, a yet-to-fly airline which will offer suborbital space flights (see Figure 4) and a

wedding dress for the ribbon- cutting at a Virgin Brides store.

• Embrace new technologies and digital media. Young people today are more connected and

more informed than past generations. Studies show that these next-generation consumers divide

their attention simultaneously between 5.6 media channels—texting, watching TV, etc.—while

adults top out at about 1.8 (see Figure 5, page 4). Power brands are adapting to multitasking

consumers by incorporating social media in their consumer relations models and design-ing

interactive apps for smartphones and tablets.

• Use a nontraditional approach in building a long-term relationship with consumers. Creating

brand value is similar to building a long-lasting friendship. Companies can demonstrate a

commitment to the same issues that excite their customers and organize events or humanitarian

efforts through which customers can engage with the brand. For example, Coca-Cola’s “5 BY

20” initiative is aimed at empowering 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2020 by “providing

access to financing and financial services, business and life-skills training, and mentors and

networks—all designed to help women overcome bar-riers to growing their businesses and

incomes.” Through such programs, Coke has transformed the purchase of a mere beverage into

an act of social change. In this sense, consumers are in-creasingly allying themselves with the

brand instead of simply buying it, says futurist Faith Popcorn. Companies looking to build their

brand value may find that the most profitable enterprise is not increased investment in television
advertising but in sustainability—defined as long-term responsible management of resources—

and other social initia-tives. Sustainability is especially im-portant in building brand loyalty with

younger consumers. Take Intel, for example, which ranks in the top 20 most sustainable corpora-

tions2 in the world according to Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media, research, and

financial products company. The chipmaker’s Intel Teach program has trained over 10 million

teachers in 70 countries to integrate technology into their lessons to promote problem solving,

critical thinking and collaboration among students. In fact, in many countries, Intel Teach is the

primary information and communications technology-training program for educators, and is

recognized by various governments as essential. In Jordan, for example, teachers must complete

the Intel Teach program to be eligible for a promotion and a 15% pay increase.3 By empowering

current and future generations through its initiatives, Intel is essentially securing a stable, self-

supporting customer base with increased earnings potential.

From the very start of their business, Bill Gates and Paul Allen had a vision of putting their

software into every

PC on every desk and on this strategy they built the Microsoft brand. Few entrepreneurs are so

focused in their business thinking and only rarely do companies pursue such a clear cut strategy

around which the brand can be built.

Most people who set up in business lack the clarity of foresight of Gates and Allen. For the more

typical entrepreneur it is a question of finding business wherever possible. This could take a

fledgling company down a number of paths, some which turn out to be strengths and become a

core of the business, others which prove to be diversions and are subsequently abandoned.

During this early period, both management and customers may be unclear as to what the
company stands for and where it is going. The brand identity of the company will initially be

vague and only emerges over time.

Branding then is linked to a wider concept; overall business strategy and only when this is

defined can the brand values be developed. The link between branding and business strategy also

means that brand issues may need re-thinking as the basis of the business changes. Many

successful companies are following a quite different path to their original strategy.

BIS began life as a market research company, specializing in the print and paper industries, but a

diversion into computing induced the company to leave market research behind and turn to

software, emerging twenty years later as one of the largest suppliers of software to banks and

financial institutions. BSA was originally a manufacturer of armaments and was able to use this

manufacturing expertise to take it into the manufacture of bicycles. From pedal bikes it moved

into motor bikes where it failed to keep up with the Japanese so that today, all that is left of the

BSA manufacturing name is a plant making powder metal parts. Northern Dairies, a milk

delivery company, grew into Northern Foods, one of the largest food manufacturers in the UK

making cakes, curries and pizzas for supermarket chains. The original businesses of BIS, BSA

and Northern Foods have changed over time and the branding has to be re-thought accordingly.

Companies cannot always foresee the directions of these changes which are partially directed by

luck and opportunity. Management must be constantly looking at their brand to see to what

extent it remains in tune with the current customer base

Brand Power advantages:

• Enhancing a company’s ability to command premium pricing. An increas- ed emphasis on

price, often involving the heavy use of price promotions, has resulted in a growing number of
com-modity-like products. Leading brands can command relatively high margins by way of

premium pricing, as well as reduced reliance on promotions. The power of brands to command

superior pricing is well illustrated by what has come to be called the “Chivas Regal effect.”

Chivas was a struggling brand of scotch whisky when, in the early 1990s, the owners dra-

matically raised prices above those of competitors, at which point sales took off, transforming

Chivas Regal into a premium brand. Price clearly became the quality cue for this brand as the

product itself was unchanged. More recently, Grey Goose redefined the vodka market and fueled

the super-premium boom with the ca-chet of its French provenance, distinctive frosted-glass

bottle and wooden case, all of which helped justify a premium price.

Heightening consumer awareness of the brand. Once familiar with a brand, consumers tend to

show loyalty to it, mak-ing it difficult for a competing product to succeed. This explains why

Wrigley’s has remained the dominant chewing gum for decades. As markets are inundated with

new products, each trying to differenti-ate itself, consumers become paralyzed by what

psychologist Barry Schwartz calls the “paradox of choice”.4 A case in point is the “jam study.”

In this study,5 Sheena Iyengar, a business professor at Columbia University, set up a booth in a

California gourmet market offering shop-pers samples of jam. For several hours at a time, she

would offer samples from a selection of 24 jams and then switch to a smaller, six-jam palate. On

average, customers sampled two jams, regardless of the number of offerings. Even though fewer

customers stopped at the smaller than at the larger display, 30% of those sampling from the

smaller assortment made purchases as compared with 3% who sampled the larger assortment

(see Figure 6, page 4). The takeaway from Iyengar’s study is that a consumer’s decision to

purchase an item can be affected by the number of choices presented. There are other factors,
too, including the information about the product or prior knowledge of the choices. When

confronted with seemingly endless options, consumers will generally opt for the brand with

which they are familiar. This means that brands with greater consumer awareness are more likely

to end up in shoppers’ carts. When faced with an aisle of soft drinks, the consumer’s real choice

is not between Coke, Pepsi and a myriad of small or private-label brands, but between Coke and

Pepsi.

• Extending the brand to new prod-ucts. Because brand-building can be time consuming and

costly, companies with already powerful marques have the op-portunity to grow via brand

extensions. A new product will likely be more effective if the brand is familiar. In 2003, when

Kellogg extended its cereal brands into breakfast bars, the company ramped up production to

nearly 4 million bars within just two months (see Figure 7).

• Leveraging the distribution chan-nel. The forces that serve to make brands powerful are self-

sustaining. For instance, a leading brand is likely to enjoy superior product placement or

preferred shelf space in retail outlets.

• Identifying growth opportunities in the developing markets. Standards of living are rising

rapidly in develop-ing economies. As a result, consumers in these markets have increasing

amounts of disposable income, which they often spend on branded products because of their

perceived quality. That’s not to say, however, that there is a global market for a uniform product.

On the contrary, varying regional tastes and cultural considerations explain why, for example,

the McDon-ald’s menu in India is centered around chicken and vegetable sandwiches such as the
Chicken Maharaja-Mac and the McSpicy Paneer instead of the Big Mac or Angus Chipotle BBQ

Bacon Burger.

The benefits of a strong brand image

High levels of brand awareness and a positive image increase the probability of a product being

chosen and decrease the vulnerability to competitive forces. Here are nine specific benefits

which a company will obtain from a strong brand image.

1. Premium prices can be obtained. A brand with a positive image will command larger margins

and be less susceptible to competitive forces. There will be less pressure to sell at low prices or

offer discounts.

2. The product will be demanded. A brand which people think is a good will be asked for

specifically. People will search out a brand they really want.

3. Competitive brands will be rejected. A strong brand will act as a barrier to people switching to

competitors products. A brand is a defense which is permanently erected.

4. Communications will be more readily accepted. Positive feelings about a product will result in

people being able to accept new claims on its performance and they will warm them up so that

they can be more easily persuaded to buy more.

5. The brand can be built on. A brand which is well known and well regarded becomes a

platform for adding new products as some aspects of the positive imagery will cross over and

help in the launch of new products.

6. Customer satisfaction will be improved. A positive image will give customers enhanced

satisfaction when they use the product. They will feel more confident about buying it.
7. The product will be pulled through the distribution network. A brand which people ask for can

more easily be sold into wholesalers and distributors who are extremely responsive to what their

customer want.

8. Licensing opportunities can be opened up. A strong brand may support joint venture deals or

allow the brand to be licensed for use in new applications or in other countries.

9. The company will be worth more when it is sold. A company with a good brand name will

obtain a higher premium for the goodwill, if and when it is sold.Not only are there considerable

benefits for industrial companies in building strong brands, there are serious penalties for those

who do not. The alternative is to rely on price cutting, discounts and cost-reduction programmes.

Customers will find no reason to buy other than on strongly functional factors which, no doubt,

they can find to profusion in any number of suppliers.

The benefits to the customer of branding

We should not close this chapter with the impression that the gains from strong branding are all

on the part of the supplier and at the expense of the customer. The customer too obtains benefits.

There are three important reasons why customers benefit from products and services with strong

brands:

1 A strong brand is a summary of all the values associated with it. Making industrial buying

decisions is complicated by the need to weigh up all the details of a product's performance, its

price, the delivery, the guarantee etc. A brand with a strong image is a synthesis to the buyer of

everything that a supplier stands for and offers.

2 A strong brand makes customers feel confident in their choice. People shop at Marks &

Spencer often without comparing products from elsewhere because they trust the brand. Strong

industrial branding gives customers the same comforts.

3 A strong brand makes customers feel more satisfied with their purchase. The quality

perceptions translate to a `feel good factor' which makes customers happier than if the product

had come from an unknown supplier. In the end successful marketing is about convincing

customers that they will sleep easier and worry less by using a strongly branded product.

Principles guiding global brands:

Interbrand, (Lessons Learned from Global Brands, 2006), after studying successful world brands,

has elaborated a set of principles:

• Recognition: powerful brands enjoy recognition among consumers. These brands lead the

industry they are part of (for example, BMW is associated with performance in engineering and

design and its owner with a person that has reached a certain financial and professional status).

• Consistency: the strongest brands reach a high level of consistency. McDonald’s is a very good

example of a brand which has promoted a global common message. However, this company has

known how to adapt to each region’s specificity. Thus, in France, McDonald’s restaurants are

designed like cafes (the chairs are not made of plastic and are not attached to the floor), while the

menu is adapted to the local culture.

• Emotion: a brand that does not trigger emotions is not a real brand. A brand must be a symbol,

a promise in which people can believe and desire to connect with. In this way, companies are
winning loyal clients. In order to reach this goal, brands are using different customers’ culture,

values and aspirations. For example, Nike addressed the athletes in people without taking into

account people’s capacity to become sportsmen. Therefore, it has enriched the target market for

its products.

• Uniqueness: powerful brands stand for great ideas. Through uniqueness, a brand may become

both an internal and international leader. Brands use all means of communication to make

themselves known on international markets. Apple used creative marketing to address customers,

yet, at the same time, was careful that its employees assimilate the “innovation” concept. The

company became one of the most recognized in the technology field we all use on a daily basis.

It has occupied this position due to its knowledge of clients’ emotions and habits.

• Adaptability: a global brand must respect the needs, tastes and desires of people all around the

globe. HSBC has known how to do it and succeeded in selling its financial services as it was

aware of patterns and practices in each country. In this way, it has managed to win a competitive

advantage both locally and globally.

• Management: Strong brands’ success depends on the importance given to the brand by the

company’s top management. The leader must always articulate the brand and make public the

company’s strategy. This represents a step ahead and assures us that the brand will constitute a

significant aspect for the organizational culture. There are several characteristics of management

applied by global brands. Some of them are:

- Intuition: top brands infer consumer’s desires. After we discover what clients want, we must

make sure that they correctly perceive the brand created. It is important to set the brand’s general

lines. However, they might obstruct innovation and diminish the brand’s relevance. Brands are
dynamic, they change and those who manage them must always adapt to the new. In the case of

global brands, the messages transmitted are differently felt by the public.

- Team work: global brands demand a global management team. This regional and international

organization is meant to maintain the brand’s leadership. Companies that have a greatly

diversified brand portfolio prefer having a separate brand manager for each brand. International

managers carry out performance analysis and have the authority to use resources in order to

implement decisions to improve it. The management team at international level presents reports

concerning the activity of the company’s executive director, and ideally, the director gets

involved in decisions connected to the brand. The management team at international level takes

care of improving the brand’s image. This team is often a council that may include company

representatives and business partners.

- Investments: intangible assets include most of the company’s value. These assets require

investments and a proactive management. Successful companies, as well as managers, support

the idea that important amounts of money must be spent for communication.

- Measuring systems: in order to support a brand for a long time, a measuring of that brand must

be made. Measuring does not only help to develop the brand and to emphasize the best ways of

creating it, but also assists the management team in monitoring brand consistency at global scale.

This measuring entails general opinions (preferences, loyalty, recommendations), brand image

characteristics, perception of services/products and brand value. Through measuring we become

aware of the brand’s value. These informations can accelerate the decision process and protect

against competition.

Relevant aspects for building a brand

For the customer, the brand means value. We live in a world where we do not know what is real

and what is not. If we succeed in making our customers become aware of the brand’s quality and

consequently back up that brand, then we will make it in the business world. Experts consider

that building a strong brand involves keeping in mind the following aspects:

• Relevance for the market: the brand must focus on aspects important for the target customers.

• Consistency in behavior: consumers must count on the fact that every time they use a

company’s products/services they will have the same feeling. This is the only way to win

customers’ loyalty: through dedication and consistency.

• Building relationships: a brand does not represent a logo or an advertising strategy. The brand’s

power comes from the relationship the organization establishes with the clients. The tighter this

relationship will be, the better the business will be, while clients will recommend the product to

their friends or to other business partners.

• Consumers must be rewarded for their loyalty: consumer’s loyalty represents the brand’s

foundation. If the organization has a stable and close relationship with the target pubic, then it

has both a powerful brand and business.

• Reputation does not have a price: the only way for a company to succeed in business is to build

a good reputation and a brand to support it. Reputation is the business card of a firm’s

connections, of the people it works with and of the public in general.