Conceptual Understanding: In order to diffuse products into the marketplace, the identity of a company is typically embodied in a brand. The brand is communicated to the consumer through a value proposition. Designers help to communicate this by: building a strong user experience around the brand identity; determining content design; establishing the tone of message through advertisements; promotion.
Brands
A brand is a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name. The company name of the organisation can also serve as a brand. E.g. Lego, Nestle, Dyson, Apple. The role of the designer varies when taking into account brand image/identity:
depending on the position of the new design within the innovation cycle.
there are many different brands that are appealing to different market segments
thus will use different methods to promote loyalty.
successful branding will promote how customers feel about a product or brand
based on previous positive experience customers will buy well-known brands
branding can promote the company
branding and generate sales – perhaps of other products or product family
Benefits of a strong brand include:
1. Memorability
A brand serves as a convenient container for a reputation and good will. Memorability can come from using and sticking with an unusual colour combination (FedEx's purple and orange), distinctive behaviour. In addition to an effective company name, it helps when companies have material reminders reinforcing the identity of companies they will want to do repeat business with: refrigerator magnets, tote bags, datebooks, coasters, key rings, first aid kits, etc.
2. Loyalty
When people have a positive experience with a memorable brand, they're more likely to buy that product or service again than competing brands. People who closely bond with a brand identity are not only more likely to repurchase what they bought, but also to buy related items of the same brand, to recommend the brand to others and to resist the lure of a competitor's price cut. The brand identity helps to create and to anchor such loyalty.
Consider the volume of smartphone owners who chose apple iphone and other apple related products.
3. Familiarity
Branding has a big effect on non-customers too. Psychologists have shown that familiarity induces liking. Consequently, people who have never done business with a company but have encountered that companies identity sufficient times may become willing to recommend it even when they have no personal knowledge of the products or services. Seeing ads on local buses, having a branded pen on their desk, reading about the company in the news, will make consumers spread the word.
4. Premium image, premium price
Branding can lift what a company sells out of the realm of a commodity, so that instead of dealing with price-shoppers they have buyers eager to pay more for their goods than for those of competitors. Think of some people's willingness to buy the currently "in" brand of bottled water, versus carrying along an unlabelled bottle of the same stuff filled from the office water cooler. The distinctive value inherent in a brand can even lead people to dismiss evidence they would normally use to make buying decisions.
5. Extensions
With a well-established brand, a company can spread the respect they have earned to a related new product, service or location and more easily win acceptance of the newcomer. For example, when Kelloggs introduced Special K apricot, the new product benefited from the positive perceptions of Special K already in place.
6. Greater company equity
Making a company into a brand usually means that they can get more money for the company when they decide to sell it. A Coca-Cola executive once said that if all the company's facilities and inventory vanished all around the world, he could walk into any bank and take out a loan based only on the right to the Coca-Cola name and formula.
7. Lower marketing expenses
Although companies must invest money to create a brand, once a brand is created they can maintain it without having to tell the whole story about the brand every time they market it. For instance, the “I’m loving it” jingle from McDonalds people have heard many times continues to promote the company even when it's played without any words.
8. For consumers, less risk
When consumers feel under pressure to make a wise decision, they tend to choose the brand-name supplier over the no-name one. As the saying goes, "You'll never be fired for buying IBM." By building a brand, companies increase their sales.
Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty is when a person has the tendency to favour one supplier over others for the same product. For example people who just tend to stick with Apple products- not even look at/consider alternative choices.
How To Maintain Brand Loyalty
A) Keep quality high
Depending on the price of your product there is an expectation of a certain level of quality from the marketplace. Stay consistent in the quality of your goods or services. People will go back to what they know they can count on, don’t let them down.
B) Engage your customers
Keep in touch with your target market on a frequent and consistent basis. Let them know about the new and exciting developments within the company and what to expect next, build momentum through communication and let your fans feel involved in the happenings of your company.
C) Solicit feedback from consumers
Stay in touch with your consumer, ask their opinion of your business, did they like their most recent experience with your company, were they satisfied with the customer service, did the product or service meet their expectations? Let them know that you care about their experience and that you are listening to their concerns. Make sure that your client’s know that you
respond to the demands of your consumer. If you want your customer to come back, give them what they want!
D) Give them a reason to come back
Provide incentives for consumers to return to your company instead of the competition. Create programs that reward loyalty to your brand. Consider giving insider access, special status and other non-monetary driven incentives.
E) Stay relevant
Keep a close eye on what your competition is doing and what the current trends are in your industry. If your marketing and communications strategy isn’t relevant to the current market then, your message provides little or no value and falls on deaf ears.
F) Provide Value
How much does the first repeat purchase mean to you, how much do you value the third transaction and is it worth losing the fourth potential deal to a competitor? The answer is that customer loyalty is invaluable and no, you don’t want to lose them to the competition. Create a plan to give a percentage of loyal customers’ cumulative spending back to the consumer in some way. Whether it is through phased in discounts, complimentary shipping, gifts with purchase, or if a bonus service,
always find a way to create added value.
G) Show your appreciation
So often companies forget to say a simple Thank You for your business. Wish your clients Happy Birthday, Happy Holidays and a great New Year. It may sound unnecessary, but trust me from past experience, customers in every industry want to feel that you care about them outside of your business transactions with them.
Can you identify some of the principles above in brands you know and understand?
Starbucks / Pacific Coffee / ESF / Apple / IKEA / Mcdonalds / MTR / Toyota / iTunes
Using the Brand
How brands appeal to different market segments
They identify the traits of specific market segments hence being able to precisely meet the needs of the identified group.
How brands appeal to different market segments
Suitable strategies for market research are important in gaining appropriate information for redesigning products.
When designing a brand it is important to identify the needs and wants of the market segment the product is aiming towards.
A product may require a different brand identity depending on the market segment they are targeting.
On occasion, products will be rebranded for different segments based on:
geographic location – international or local – urban or rural
age – teens, tweens, elderly, etc
gender
culture – National or sub culture
@ 2 min mark he gets a bit angry, you may need to mute the sound
Trademarks and Registered Designs
The difference between a trademark and registered design
Branding forms a product’s identity that is extremely valuable to a product and can help promote sales; therefore, brand image becomes a commodity that needs to be protected as intellectual property. Infringements of trademarks and registered designs is quite commonplace for a wide range of products and some designers use their creativity to attempt to subtly disguise the infringement. Students need to understand the differences between a trademark and a registered design and how they are applied in terms of branding.
™Trademark
A trademark is defined by the oxford dictionary as: ‘A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.’
Trademarks have been formerly used since the 1850’s. A trademark identifies a product or service with a company and is deemed to be the property of that business. Basically should an unauthorised person use the trademark (from another company) they are breaking the law.
If a trademark is used to improve perception / sales for by unauthorised business this is considered trademark infringement
® Registered Design
Applies to industrial or commercial use not artistic works.
‘A design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation which gives a product a unique appearance, and must be new and distinctive.’
The implications for a company of positive and negative publicity on brand image
Positive or negative publicity from one product can have an impact on the whole brand. If one product does badly, consumers may have a bad impression of the brand. This will discourage consumers from purchasing from this brand in the future.
Impact of positive publicity on brand image
Increasing awareness
Through social media the latest news, product releases travels fast to inform consumers and non-consumers.
Increasing sales
If there's positive publicity on a brand then sales would increase as there is consumer acceptance towards their products.
Example:
Dre Beats. They suddenly became popular and one of the reasons why is that it was unique and different to other headphones. Their publicity grew by advertising through the music industry including music artists, sport athletes. They had varieties of target audiences. Also when apple bought Dre Beats sales and publicity increased as well.
Negatives of positive publicity on brand image
Loss of trust
Sometimes advertising is used to pump up businesses’ capabilities and consumers’ expectations. Expectations can be carelessly overblown, revealed as false in the form of bad publicity and lead to loss of trust of the brand.
Effects on sales
Due to bad publicity the sales can decrease within a company as consumers avoid from buying their products.
Damaged brand equity
Brand equity can suffer a long term damage. This is usually when companies must recall their products due to safety or health hazards.
Example:
Not long after the release of the Iphone 6 plus a you-tuber released an Iphone 6 plus bend test and it went viral and this created a huge pressure on apple.
Rise and Falls of Brands
@ 4 min - the fall
@ 3 min - the rise / @8:45 - the fall
@3:10 - The fall
Packaging and Point of Sales
Contribution of packaging to brand identity
Packaging can have a big impact on brand identity. It helps companies to communicate their brand so that is highly recognisable. The final visible packaging to the customer of the product must align with the brand's ethos and support brand identity.
Being highly recognisable allows for products to be easily seen and the point of sale
By communicating/delivering the brands message/company's values and ethos
Point of sale displays to show multiple options/flavours
To provide an identity/icon that is recognised and the consumer ‘buys into’
Point of sale display: One key point to carefully consider is that most products are not sold in single brand retail format. The majority of products are sold by retailers who offer multiple product options within the same category therefore your product is directly competing in the retail store with competitors.
Manufacturers compete for the best sales space this can be enhanced by supplementary product placement and display devices which are point of sale displays.
These devices enhance the visibility of the product and enable to manufacturer to place and display the product in line with product branding and ethos.
Many designers and manufacturers are now creating a fully branded retail experience for consumers that enables them to control the entire retail operation and finely tune the brand experience for consumers.