Branding

Branding - A promotional methods that involves the creation of an identity for the business that distinguishes that firm and it's products from other firms.

Corporate branding - attaches a perception and promise to the goods and services associated with that brand e.g. quality, customer service, corporate culture.

Branding can add value to a product allowing firms to charge higher prices.

Ultimately leads to brand loyalty whereby customers will continue to buy products from that firm.

Organisations spend enormous amounts of time and money branding their company and products.

Brand recognition come in many forms including:

• Celebrity endorsement
• Font
• Shape
• Character
• Colour
• Jingle
• Logo
• Image
• Slogan
• Strapline

Branding is traditional in business associated with giving a unique recognisable characteristic to a product or corporate image e.g. Toblerone's unique shape or Heinz's shade of green.
This is CORPORATE BRANDING

Other types of branding include:

• PERSONAL - When a person brands themselves e.g. a sports personality or pop star.

• GEOGRAPHICAL - When a region, city or country creates a brand that epitomises the people and the lifestyle of that country, often used for tourism.

BENEFITS OF A STRONG BRAND

Brand loyalty exists when customers keep returning to buy a recognised brand.
• Added value
• Ability to charge premium prices
• Reduced price elasticity of demand (PED)

WAYS TO BUILD A BRAND

1) UNIQUE SELLING POINT (USP)

"Creating a feature or characteristic within a brand that makes it stand out"

▪Logo or brand name e.g. Superdry
▪Different ingredient e.g. Super Jam is sweetened by natural grape juice not sugar.
▪Product feature e.g. Ford's heated front windows

2) ADVERTISING

"Creating awareness of and desire for a brand communicating a clear brand message"

▪ Use of humour e.g. compare the meerkat
▪Lifestyle/aspiration e.g. it's not just food, it's M&S food
▪Persuasive language e.g. BA the world's favourite airline.

3) SPONSORSHIP
Associating a brand name with an event to raise its profile in the public eye, a business pays to sponsor or an event in return for visual coverage of the brand e.g. around a stadium, on literature, on sports kits etc.

4) THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Use of targeted news feeds e.g. Facebook news feeds based on searches on other Web pages
▪ Viral marketing e.g. Evian rollerblading babies.