Brand essence

Brand essence is a name, term, symbol or any other unique element of a product that identifies a company's products and sets them apart from the competition

The brand allows manufacturers to distinguish their goods by protecting unique trademarks before copying, but most of all it is a way to distinguish from others. Thanks to its uniqueness, the group of future recipients will remember the logo or name which may lead to this, that the future customer will only buy products from the company. Individual customers expect the goods or services to be original and authentic what they receive from a particular brand. The use of special brand symbols by enterprises makes it much easier to prepare an offer for particular groups of recipients and to distinguish own products from the competition. People attach themselves to a particular brand and buy only the products of it. On the part of the customer, the brand facilitates the decision-making process and guarantees that the product or service is original and repeatable. The customer is not afraid to lose money spent on to purchase products, because the purchase of another brand may not fully meet the expectations of the customer, so the buyer would have to spend more money and waste time.

Brand terms

Brand image strategy a creative advertising strategy that is based on psychological, rather than physical, differentiation; the advertiser attempts to develop am image for a brand by associating in with meaningful symbols

Brand loyalty a pattern of repeat product purchases, accompanied by an underlying positive attitude towards the brand, that is based on the belief that the brand makes products superior to its competition

Brand personality a distinctive image that captures a good's or service's character and benefits

Main brand functions

Each brand has such functions as:

• recognisability - consists in distinguishing a good or service from the products of competitors
• guarantee - ensures originality, authenticity and a defined level of quality
• promotional - attracting attention and inducing to buy the product

Expected brand characteristics

Brand characteristics:

• brand name should be associated positively in every language. It should not be associated with something negative
• the brand name should be short and easy to remember and pronounce
• the way of writing should not be very complicated and complex
• the brand should be well associated

The brand helps manufacturers to maintain a high position in the domestic and/or global market. Thanks to its originality, the customer buying goods in every part of the world lives in the belief that he has made the right choice. The customer of a given brand is also mentally satisfied, because he thinks that the choice he makes is good and provides him with the possibility of warranty, replacement or complaint, which further encourages him to buy.

Brand types

What types of brands can be? There are several types hidden under the word brand, among others:

• Manufacturer's brand (or national brand)-A brand created and owned by the producer of a product or service.
• Private brand (or middleman, retailer, distributar or store brand)-A brand created and owned by a reseller of a product or service.
• Licensed brand-A product or service using a brand name offered by the brand owner to the licensee for an agreed fee or royalty.
• Co-brand-The practice of using the established brand names of two different companies on the same product.

Brand essence — recommended articles

Importance of brand — Components of brand — Market positioning — Competitive strategy — Basic product — Brand — Augmented product — Sales kit — Core product

References

• Kotler P.(red)(2008), Principles of Marketing, Pearson Education, England, p. 528
• M. Tybout A.(red)(2010), Kellogg on Marketing,John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, p. 209
• Solomon M.(red)(2012), Marketing: Real People, Real Choices, Pearson Higher Education,Australia, p.56

Footnotes

Author: Sylwia Szrajber