The Marketing Book 5th Edition

Brand building 373

is then explained, showing how a more
integrated approach to branding can be
enacted.

Spectrum of brand interpretations

A review of the literature and interviews with
leading-edge consultants advising clients about
their brands showed a variety of interpretations
about brands (de Chernatony and Dall’Olmo
Riley, 1998). Table 15.1 shows the variety of
interpretations encountered which will be
considered.

Brand as a logo

One of the more established definitions of a
brand was proposed by the American Market-
ing Association (AMA) in 1960. This stresses
the importance of the brand’s logo and visual
signifiers primarily as a basis for differentiation
purposes, i.e.

A name, term sign, symbol or design, or a

combination of them, intended to identify the

goods or services of one seller or group of

sellers and to differentiate them from those of

competitors.

The unique shape of Coca-Cola’s bottle, the

distinctive ‘golden arch’ of McDonald’s, the blue

and white roundel of BMW, and the spectrum

coloured, part-eaten apple of the Apple Mack-

intosh are notable examples of brands instantly

identifiable through their logos.

While this interpretation represents an

important ingredient of brand building, it

should not be the primary emphasis. Brand

differentiation is more than making a brand

distinctive. At its most basic, it is finding an

attribute important to customers then seeking

to sustain this unique characteristic in a profit-

able manner. Developing the logo for the brand

should be done strategically, rather than tac-

tically. In other words, the vision for what the

brand is to become should drive ideas about

the core essence of the brand, which should

then be used as the brief for designers. Whether

the colour or the type of font is appropriate can

then be judged against how these will help the

brand on its journey.

Brand as legal instrument

One of the simpler interpretations of a brand is

that of ensuring a legally enforceable statement

of ownership. Branding represents an invest-

ment and thus organizations seek legal owner-

ship of title, as protection against imitators. As

part of its brand strategy, Absolut Vodka

stresses the importance of continually monitor-

ing competitors’ brand activity, to quickly stop

any firm adopting the name or bottle design.

Effective trademark registration offers some

legal protection (e.g. Blackett, 1998), but ‘look-

alike’ own labels in retailing exemplify the

problem of being over-reliant on legislation as a

barrier against competitors (e.g. Lomax et al.,

1999). Kapferer (1995) devised an innovative

procedure to help evaluate the extent to which

a competitor had infringed a brand’s equity.

Consumers are invited to sit in front of a PC

Table 15.1 Different

interpretations of ‘Brand’

Logo

Legal instrument

Company

Shorthand

Risk reducer

Positioning

Personality

Cluster of values

Vision

Adding value

Identity

Image

Relationship