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23 Elements of a Healthy Brand 2007-02-07 19:10:27 A healthy strong brand has definitely has some other attributes than the best or the biggest. A healthy and a strong brand generates also more results than just bigger sales. A healthy strong brand sustain a product over time through consistency, excellent communication, providing value to its target customers. These and much more.
Here is a checklist of 23 brand health criterias as presented in Peter Cheverton’s excellent book Understanding Brand
s (Creating Success):
is based on a proposition of genuine substance and value to the target customer
communicates a clear and powerful brand definition
communicates a clear "emotional charge'
communicates an attractive and relevant personality
wins, builds and retains customer loyalty
is well known by the target customer
is held in high esteem by the target customer
communicates and evidences a unique match between the company's capabilities and the customer's needs
is a source of competitive advantage
is an investment of incre
Consistency - The Most Important Aspect of Sucessful Branding 2007-02-04 20:29:23 Consistency is considered to be the most important aspect of a succesful branding by branding experts and industry opinion leaders questioned in a an Interbrand’s survey made pubilc late January this year.
The experts cited understanding of Customer/Target frequently. This mirrors the finding in this report that metrics and brand research are key tools. Communication and Creative effectiveness were also frequently mentioned as critical aspects of successful branding.
These open-ended responses provide a useful counterpoint to the other findings in this report. They reflect the classic tenets of branding and marketing, which are focused on knowing the customer, maintaining a consistent brand in the marketplace, and delivering winning content and creative.
study says.
Here is the list of the top 10 aspects of successful branding, as resulted from the study:
Consistency (36.0%)
Understanding of Customer/Target (18.2%)
Message/Communication (14.7%)
Creative/Design/Brand ID (12.8%)
R Read more:Consistency
, Aspect
, Branding
2007 - Interesting Year Start in Brands and Branding 2007-01-16 12:37:54 2007 definitely started with a lot of agitation in some of the big brands courtyard.
I’d start with the Apple Computers who dropped computer from its name. The move is rather normal considering that iPod or iTunes are two of the main products of Apple Inc. and was announced in the same time with the buzzy launching of iPhone. Now, getting to this, cannot help myself not to admire the Apple capacity to create a buzz in the media, no matter that we’re talking about the internet of the classic mass media. The phone they launched is, I admit, a work of art and has a lot of great features but I wouldn’t hurry to name it neither a Blackberry killer, a computer or a smart phone. It’s more like a beautifully designed, big brand sustained swiss knife of mobiles.
(more…)
Read more:Branding
, Start
, Brands
Millward Brown classification of Great Britain's best-known brands in 2006 2007-01-10 10:46:54 Google was the best-known brand in GreatBritain
in 2006, although it only spent EUR 2 million on advertising, a survey carried out by consultancy company Millward Brown
indicates.
2006 was the first year when Google was included in the Millward Brown classification since 1998. The world’s most popular search engine has risen to the first place in the Great Britain
top of brands; the position Google occupied comes counter to the connection Millward Brown usually set between the brands’ advertising expenses and the position in the top. Most of the EUR 2 million Google allocated to advertising last year went to online advertising, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
The second place in the top went to Microsoft, with EUR 59.6 million advertising budget; the next places went to McDonald’s (EUR 48.6 million), Nokia (EUR 26 million, the former first place in 2005) and Tesco. The remaining positions in the top ten went to Coca-Cola, Colgate, Nescaf�, Ford and Vodafo
Google Tops Landor Associates Top Brands of 2006 2007-01-09 15:57:13 Landor Associates
, the world’s leading branding and design consultancy conducted a survey of the most popular brands among consumers, which rates the best and worst brands.
The rankings were compiled from more than 2,000 interviews carried out by a New York design agency, Landor Associates. Its managing director, Allen Adamson, said inclusivity was a critical factor for the year’s successes.
“One thing they’ve all got in common is that they appeal to multiple segments,” he said. “Google
’s become the starting point for the internet experience of almost everyone - be it the chief executive or the head [lavatory] man. At Vegas, you’ve got families with kids sitting next to people who are there to escape from their families.”
(more…)
Read more:Brands
In Case You Missed It - Branding News Roundup 2007-01-09 14:01:44 Since I had a quite long break from brand-blogging I thought I should point out some of the posts I found interesting in the branding blogosphere, just in case you missed them:
Marketing a Strong Nonprofit Brand
Laura Ries has run a list of 7 important things to consider when building a brand for the non-profit organizations:
1. The name
2. The spokesperson
3. The position
4. The enemy
5. PR, PR, PR
6. A signature event
7. Color and logo
What is your (personal) brand worth?
David Sandusky has an interesting list of questions people should ask themselves when they’re evaluating their own personal brands. What about you? What is your personal brand worth? How do people feel when dealing with you? Do they think of you when looking for an expert in your space? Do people hear from you only when you need something like a job; or are you making networking deposits regularly.
More, he has a 4 steps strategy to define and maintain a personal brand:
1. Define yourself
2. Understand your Read more:Branding
Popular Brands May Brand the Brain 2007-01-09 11:20:36 A new study finds that familiar brands evoke faster, more positive responses in the brain than lesser-known brands.
In tests on young adults using real-time functional MRI, the logos of well-known auto and insurance companies “lit up” areas of the brain associated with warm emotions, reward and self-identity.
“Furthermore, strong brands were processed with less effort on the part of the brain,” said Dr. Christine Born, a radiologist at University Hospital, part of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.
In contrast, less-recognized brands triggered more activity in brain regions associated with working memory and negative emotions — suggesting these products were less easy to “process” and accept.
(more…)
Read more:Brand
, Brands
, Brain
Gap To Review Its Brand Strategy 2007-01-09 10:16:25 Gap, the company that helped make khaki beige a fashion statement, is to review its Gap and Old Navy brands after the retailer revealed disappointing sales in December and expected increased pressure in January.Total sales for December were down by 10% on results posted two years ago, at $2.34bn. The company has been in the middle of a two-year rebranding operation but has admitted it has failed and will review its strategy at the two divisions.
Gap has suffered in recent years and each new set of financial results have brought new problems as the San Francisco retailer finds competitors have emulated its essential casual style of T-shirts and khakis and at a cheaper price.
Alternative strategic decision, helped by ongoing speculation in the market, is that Gap Inc. is ever closer to a takeover is being stoked by a news report that the struggling retailer has hired the investment firm Goldman Sachs to consider such offers or other dramatic changes.
A story to follow…
Read more:Brand
, Strategy
Five Management Traits For Global Brands 2006-11-08 15:04:30 Via Brandchannel & Interbrand, an interesting list of five management traits that are employed by leading global brands.
Seek out insights:
Outstanding brands identify customer insights. When these insights are shared across cultures they assist in a brand’s adoption globally.
Integrate local intelligence:
Brand guidelines are tremendous tools for ensuring consistency. However, they have been known to impede innovation and diminish relevance. Brands
are dynamic, never static, so the management of them must integrate new thought. In the case of global brands, to assume that one message can appeal uniformly to all audiences with equal relevance is unrealistic. Well-managed global brands cull local markets for intelligence related to the ‘next big thing’ to ensure local relevance and to counter competitor’s moves.
(more…)
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, Traits
, Global
5 Rules to Establish and Maintain Brand Awareness 2006-11-08 14:36:54 Despite the fact that the hot ways to enhance your brand involve new media, business branding basics are still in style. Brand
ing success will depend on adapting to the rapidly evolving media environment and taking advantage of new opportunities to reach your target audience.
But, there are some branding constants that will remain critical for establishing and maintaining brand awareness with your target audience. Regardless of the medium chosen for distribution, you must: (more…)
Read more:Rules
, Maintain
, Awareness
Defining an Authentic Brands 2007-02-09 16:01:53 In response on Pepita’s comment here is an interesting reading:
Authentic
brands are not about marketing. They are not products. They live inside the company. And they are held and enacted of the people, by the people and for the people!
Just like the Declaration of Independence created the foundation of a nation, so does your brand act as the foundation of your company. Its principles are the framework for thought and action by everyone in the company. Without it there is no consistency, no alignment between what you say and what you do, no synchronicity between who you are inside and the way you present yourself outside.
You may ask—"well isn't that the same as culture?" The answer is yes and no. Authentic brands are in many ways the identity of the company culture. They help that culture become visible. They also embody the values and purpose of the company, giving all these things a face and a voice that can be seen and heard by everyone the company touches. But espec Read more:Brands
More on Brand and Authenticity 2007-02-14 17:25:44 Quite a discussion is taking place on several blogs on the matter of branding and authenticity.
Starting with William Arruda on his excellent Personal Brand
ing blog:
All successful branding is based in authenticity - that is - what's true and genuine and unique about you. Brands are uncovered, not fabricated. The myth that branding is about spin or packaging and image management needs to be replaced by the truth that "you can't be someone you are not.'
More on Bobby Lehew in Your Brand - Authenticity
rules:
I think the field has been covered well, but to state (again) the obvious: branding is not about conveying something you are not but about revealing who you are.
Last, but not least on ThinkingSparks, excellent point raised by Pepita:
Authenticity isn't necessarily good. Nor does it mean good. I think of Al Qaeda, IRA, ETA, the mafia, street gangs etc. They would qualify as an authentic brand
4+1 Key Lessons About Branding 2007-02-15 14:22:28 Mary Foley, author of Bodacious: An AOL Insider Cracks the Code to Outrageous Success for Women, has an interesting list of 5 key lessons she learned about branding while working at AOL:
Every company has a brand. The question is, “Is it working for you?” Creating a brand isn’t just for the big companies; it’s for companies of all sizes.
Your brand must evoke a strong emotion. Customers buy from emotion and back it up with their head.
Your brand isn’t a logo. It’s everything you offer, say, and do.
 Your brand needs constant tweaking. You have to start somewhere. So, you launch your company and brand, see what works, and you keep adjusting. What ultimately matters is what the customer thinks and feels.
Okay, I skipped the 4th point, I’ll let you (ladies) go to the original post and find it.
Read more:Lessons
, Branding
Country Brand Index 2006 2007-02-22 14:45:11 Principles of branding apply in equal measure to countries as they do to corporations. But methods are different. Countries will compete daily with neighbors or block regions for tourism, inward investment and export sales. There's only so much business that can go around. Those countries that start with an unknown or poor reputation will be limited or marginalized. They cannot easily boost their commercial success. Consequently, they will often languish at the bottom |of the ladder of influence. No voice or even worse, they are the butt of jokers at every regional summit.
With toursim as the world’s second largest industry, and countries spending more to promote themselves, their product and their assets, FutureBrand
feels it is time to look at countries in a whole new way - as brands. Since I presented here the 2005 Country
Brand Index
, is time now the 2006 Top 10 (number in brackets are representing last year standings): (more…)
Top Brand Extensions 2007-03-08 15:01:28 Brand
extension is a marketing strategy in which a firm that markets a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name but in a different product category. Brands use this as a strategy to increase and leverage equity.
Product extensions, on the other hand, are versions of the same parent product that serve a segment of the target market and increase the variety of an offering. An example of a product extension is Coke vs. Diet Coke
A successful brand helps a company enter new product categories more easily.
(more…)
9 Responsibilities of a Marketing Department 2007-03-13 13:59:12 Rob Engelman is putting up a list of nine core activities / responsibilities a MarketingDepartment
must handle.
1. Focus on the Customer
2. Monitor the Competition
3. Own the Brand.
4. Find & Direct Outside Vendors.
5. Create New Ideas.
6. Communicate Internally.
7. Manage a Budget.
8. Understand the ROI.
9. Set the Strategy, Plan the Attack, and Execute.
As per the 3rd point in the list Rob is saying:
The perceptions and feelings formed about an organization, its products / services, and its performance is what is known as its “brand.” The Marketing Department is responsible for creating meaningful messages through words, ideas, images, and names that deliver upon the promises / benefits an organization wishes to make with its customers. Furthermore, the Marketing Department is responsible for ensuring that messages and images are delivered consistently, by every member of the organization.
I cannot agree more with the this, with only one point to add. While it&rsq
Approaches to Brand Valuation 2007-07-13 08:12:54 Interesting article on brand valuation on 4hoteliers.com website. First off all the author is corectly placing the brand as a independent category among the intangible assets of a company:
Brand
and relationship intangibles: these include trade names, trademarks and trade symbols, domain names, design rights, trade dress, packaging, copyrights over associated colours, smells, sounds, descriptors, logotypes, advertising visuals, and written copy. In addition, associated goodwill (the general predisposition of individuals to do business with one brand rather than another brand) should be included.
Then the article si focusing on several approaces to brand valuation:
(more…)
UK’s 07/08 Superbrands Top Announced 2007-07-13 07:48:07 Microsoft is the UK’s number one brand for the second year running according to the UK public. Microsoft took pole position beating a resurgent Coca-Cola, which re-entered the top ten following a one-year absence. Google finished third with the BBC and BP making up the public’s top five. Brands falling out of the top ten included Porsche, Marks & Spencer, Heinz and Duracell.
The Top 10 UK brands according to the public looks like this:
1. Microsoft
2. Coca-Cola
3. Google
4. BBC
5. BP
6. British Airways
7. LEGO
8. Guinness
9. Mercedes-Benz
10. Cadbury
Is interesting that the parallel study with media and marketing experts on the independent Superbrands Council disagreed with the public, placing Google in the number one slot. Innovative brand Apple, its sub-brand iPod, car icon Mini and online auctioneers eBay completed the experts’ top five. Only three brands made both top tens, namely Google, the BBC and Coca-Cola. Here is the Expert’s Top 10: (more…)
Seven Branding Secrets 2007-09-20 09:10:46 In today’s competitive business climate it is important to differentiate your brand. A sound investment is defining and communicating what is truly special about your business. Your brand will bring you the success of your business and financial results through loyal and happy customers. Your brand will tell the world why they would be crazy not to do business with you.
Here is an interesting list, Michele Schermerhorn President of Online Business Institute Inc. has put together:
Know Your Customers Better Than You Know Yourself
Understand Your Competitive Environment & Competitors
Define Your Brand Personality
Make A Brand Promise
Define Your Brand Strategy
Identify Your Branding
Game Plan
Be Consistent in Action
Now, the second point is not the most commonly use when setting-up such branding rules lists, but I find it very true and usefull: (more…)
Read more:Seven
, Secrets
Band Branding 2007-10-30 08:50:59 A very interesting article in NY Times, couple of days ago, on how (co) branding and nowadays marketing strategies had changed the way music industry is running its business. It is focused especially on names and bands “whose generation embraced the anti-big-business motto “never trust anyone over 30” in the 1960s, toots the corporate horn” nowadays.
Band branding appears to know no bounds. The Black Crowes market rolling papers, Bon Jovi offers $1,000 signed canvas art prints and Mötley Crüe peddled Mötley Brüe, a carbonated drink. Celebration Cellars, a California winemaker, teamed up with several rockers, including Bon Jovi, Kiss, Madonna and the Rolling Stones, to issue special-edition wines that feature band logos and sell for $100 or more a bottle.
branding lucre rolling in for those who do choose to indulge, some record labels are pressuring artists to share their promotional and merchandising income as a condition of getting record contracts — so-called Read more:Branding
Identity, Message, Presentation - 3 Levels of Branding 2008-02-14 08:54:40 Identity, Message
, and Presentation – this involves a more thoughtful process of seeking to articulate the value, culture, outlook, and goals of the department, now and for the future, and crystallizing this in clear summary statements and messages. In this case, an exercise of “brand-storming” precedes development of messages and presentation element, since those are the outflow of identity definition. Read more:Branding
Entrepreneurial Branding 2008-02-13 08:49:02 When it comes to building a powerhouse brand, the little guys have a huge advantage over the big guys because small businesses and entrepreneurs do not suffer from organizational inertia and usually the vision of the founder of the company is closely linked to the essence of the brand and embedded in the organization.
Entrepreneurs have a chance to build entire businesses based on a powerful brand promise while large companies tend to drift away from the original promise that made them compelling and then they foolishly spend millions to try to "re-brand" which may or may not be possible. Read more:Branding
7 Benefits of Personal Branding 2008-05-20 09:24:47 Corporations out there needs to understand that each and everyone within the business can contribute to the success of there corporate brand and what better way than to allow their staff to build a personal brand inline with the corporate brand. Now what benefits does a personal brand offer?
1) You get to know yourself better.
2) [...] Read more:Benefits
, Personal
, Branding
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