BRAND MATTERS

BRAND PERCEPTION

The perception of branding has changed dramatically over the past decade. Mention working with brands ten years ago and the majority of people would assume you were talking about Fast Moving Consumer Goods or Sports wear. The word 'brand' has gained phenomenal widespread use and popularity - and now even Reality TV celebrities declare themselves brands.

A brand represents the heart and soul of an organisation and is the sum total of its reputation (past), experience (present) and expectation (future). This definition applies to a  product, service or organisation.

The brand lives in the hearts and minds of those who believe in it. Its integrity is constantly put to the test through the experiences of consumers and the actions of employees. The popularity of online social networks places brands under ever-stronger scrutiny. 

Reputations can easily be broken and a brand cannot rest on its laurels. To achieve sustainability it must constantly innovate to remain relevant to the consumer.
Branding is part of the human condition. Since the dawn of civilization we have been painting our bodies and tattooing our skin to communicate that we are different and belong to a distinct society or group. We have left giant marks on the landscape and placed symbols on our dwellings to signify our ideology.

The origins of the word ‘brand’ can be traced back to the eighth century and the North-Germanic language of Old Norse. In its original form ‘brandr’ translates as ‘firebrand’ or ‘to burn’. The word was first used in a commercial sense when cattle owners began using heated irons to burn identifying marks in the hides of their livestock. This method of identification developed into a sophisticated variety of symbols in North America. In the contemporary sense a brand leaves an impression on our consciousness. 

You can only be new once and that postnatal moment is shrinking as the internet eats up infant brands, providing them with instant exposure and quickly digests them. In the world of music, a band would once have had time to mature and be forgiven ‘the difficult second album’ as they grow and find their feet. There is a cultural impatience that demands gratification and status reward and is not willing to watch the ugly duckling grow into a beautiful swan like the heritage celebrating advertisement for Audi’s A5. The challenges are harder for new brands to sustain a long life. 

With the accessibility of social media tools and the democratization of the web, the internet has made it possible for everyone to express themselves on a global scale and create their own brand. To become a strong brand and stand for something, it is essential to be consistent in behaviour, guided by values, have a long term vision and a relevant proposition. A strong brand knows how it makes the world a better place.

BRAND VALUE

The majority of businesses in the UK have no idea what their brands are worth. The Intellectual Property Office conducted an Awareness Survey in 2006. It revealed that over 96 per cent of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) had never assessed how much their intellectual property was worth.

Establishing a brand’s value is necessary for:

- brand investment decisions

- marketing budget allocation

- communication of brand worth

- putting a brand on the balance sheet*

- establishing a brand’s value for mergers and acquisitions

- securing finance – some companies put their brand up as collateral.
* UK companies are only allowed to place acquired brands on their balance sheet, but internally generated brands are not allowed at present.

According to The Intellectual Property Office, most UK businesses’ intangible assets are ‘the single-most valuable asset class and typically represent well over 50 per cent of corporate value’.

BRAND LOYALTY

Brands connect with people, culturally, economically and emotionally. A strong brand will earn devoted customer loyalty. The rap band Run DMC declared their love for their favourite brand of training shoes with the rap song  ‘My Adidas’.   Can you imagine loving a brand so much that you would tattoo its logo onto your skin? Harley-Davidson owners are so loyal to their favourite motorcycle brand that they make it a lifestyle. Harley Davidson tattoo’s are among some of the most popular design subjects in this medium.

Loyalty can help to build a brand’s reputation through word of mouth. Loyal customers become the brand’s best advertisement and their enthusiasm can influence the behaviour of friends and associates. Fans of the Apple computer brand travel great distances to attend the opening of new stores. The store opening becomes a social occasion for other brand fans to meet and share their enthusiasm for the brand.

EMPLOYER BRAND

In a service-based business, it is the staff who are tested to realise the brand promise. It is the employees who represent the brand to customers. Happy staff are essential for a brand that depends on good customer service. A strong employer brand is essential to attract, develop and retain, engaged employees. It is built on shared values that deliver benefits in employee satisfaction, productivity and performance.

We all hope to have an employer on our CV that we are proud of and know will open doors of opportunity, much like the alumni of celebrated Universities and Colleges.

 
BRAND STANDARDS

The world’s first valuation standard was release in 2010. The standard ISO 10668 was developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) with input from the British Standards Institution (BSI) in the UK. The standard specifies the requirement for procedures and methods of monetary brand value measurement. There are 14 participating countries including: Germany, Australia, China, France, Japan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Spain and the United Kingdom.

The three main methods of brand valuation, endorsed by the new standard ISO/DIS 10668 are:

Income approach : Measures the future income which the brand may generate and the costs of generating that income over the economic life of the brand.

Market approach : Measures the value of the brand based on what other purchasers in the market have paid for similar assets.

Cost approach: Measures the value of the brand based on the cost invested in it.

GLOBAL BRAND 

Marathon, Ulay and Opal fruits, were all victims of globalisation. Marathon became Snickers, Oil of Ulay changed name to Oil of Olay and Opal Fruits went supernova and became Starburst. This makes sense as a streamlined global marketing initiative but there remains a residual of nostalgic affection and emotional connection to the original names. A global campaign requires vigilant quality control and consistency in the brand experience across different cultures. A reputation-damaging incident on one side of the globe will have far reaching consequences to the brands integrity around the world. There is now an audible muttering of disapproval to the widespread standardisation of the high street where each town feels identical with the familiar roll call of retail brands offering a generic experience. The challenge for brands is to offer the essence of an experience without sterilizing the environment.

Lenovo is a global best selling PC manufacturer and was founded in Beijing in 1984. The brand was originally called Legend but rebranded in 2004 to Lenovo (derived by combining ‘Le’ for Legend and ‘Nova’ for new). The Chinese version of the name translates as ‘connected thinking’ or ‘creativity’. By 2011 the company was the worlds second biggest PC seller. In 2005, Lenovo aquired IBM’s personal computer business and successfully markets the ThinkPad and IdeaPad brands. The Chinese company’s globalization strategy was to aquire an internationally familiar brand ‘ThinkPad’. The ThinkPad is not just a global success but has been authorized for astronauts. It is the only notebook computer brand to have been certified for use by the International Space Station.

Author:  Paul Hitchens -  Create the Perfect Brand