By Brian H Meredith
From the NZBusiness Magazine
"Marketing Maestro" Archive.
First published May 2003
What is a Brand? I like what Suzanne Hogan, at U.S. based Consulting firm Lippincott & Margulies has to say.....
“The dictionary definition of "brand" is of little help. One dictionary carries three separate and distinct meanings: The first is "a trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or manufacturer." An accurate description as far as it goes, but it captures neither the full weight nor the subtle nuances of brand identity or what it means to position a brand in the marketplace. And it clearly ignores the strong emotional connections that people have with their brands.
Definition two is even further off the mark: "A sign of disgrace or notoriety." Definition three misses by a country mile: "A mark burned into the flesh of criminals, or on the hides of animals."
But in its own way, albeit somewhat roundabout, the dictionary makes a significant point: Defining a brand, like defining the term "brand," is absolutely essential. If you fail to define your brand, or if you define it improperly, you can wind up with something that more closely fits definitions two and three. The incident with a photographer that shifted the value of the Dennis Rodman "brand" provides an example of this.
For our purposes, we can define "brand" as the sum of all available information about a product, service or company”
Suzanne’a definition is only half right.
But there is a missing half to her articulation. That half talks about the effect of “all available information” on the personality or character of the Brand in the minds of any given stakeholder group.
Any individual or group of individuals (and in this I include groups of individuals who comprise any organisation, large or small) enjoy (or suffer from) a distinct personality or character in the perceptions of any other individual. The drivers that create, perpetuate or change those perceived personalities are pieces of information or “behaviours”.
Think about the Mercedes brand. If you were to describe the personality of the Mercedes Brand, the basis on which you would do that would be the sum of all behaviours to which you have ever been exposed by Mercedes
You will have been exposed to tens of thousands of pieces of information about Mercedes over time. Your perception of the Brand may be good, bad or indifferent. It may be based on good or poor quality information. Whatever the background to your receipt & storage of this information, the perception that you will have developed will, to you, be real.
Critical to the Mercedes brand's success is its ability to make all the various factors (behaviours) align-to "make sense" when subconsciously associated and brought together to form the big picture of the brand.
Having established that, we can see that any business that is going to achieve long term relationships with its stakeholder groups is going to need to understand that it can either leave the dissemination of these pieces of information to chance (wherein it will surely, eventually, fail) or carefully craft what it wishes its’ perceived personality to be and then set out to create it.
All that remains is for it to meticulously develop plans to ensure that the pieces of information that it communicates are, by their nature, content and style, appropriate to the development and nurturing of that chosen personality.
Disney is a great example. Suzanne Hogan once again: “I think I can safely
say that virtually everyone in the developed nations of the world is crystal clear about what the
Disney brand stands for: imagination, wholesomeness, fun”
Does your business, product or service have a clearly articulated perceived personality that has been developed by you?
Can you distil its complexities into three, key words that truly capture the essence of who you are or want to be seen as being?
Have you ever asked your customers, staff or any other stakeholder group what they perceive that Brand personality to be? And considered whether it matches what you would wish it to be?
If you have, great – may you live long & prosper.
If you have not, you are risking the future of your business.
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