Successful brand personality development does not automatically translate
into the desired brand image, however. Brand image as mentioned earlier is
based on the abstract form that people attach to a brand. It is the consumer’s
interpretation of the brand personality. This is achieved mainly through the
brand message communications (pictures, images, colours, symbols and so
on) or through direct contact with the brand (products, customer services and
so on). Consumers sometimes misunderstand or misinterpret brand personal-
ities as a result of an unclear message portrayal on the part of the luxury
brand. Luxury brands ought to avoid this common error at all costs.
The brand personality and brand image must be reflected in all the
elements of the overall corporate strategy such as product development and
product naming as a part of its differentiating strategy. To sustain a brand
identity that is unique and resistant to change, a brand must determine its core
attributes that make it different from others and promote these as the tools that
will enhance its ability to be recognized by its target market.
Finally, the golden rules of brand identity creation are:
1 Clarity in personality choice and image projection to the public.
2 Consistency in maintaining the chosen personality and image.
3 Constancy and relevance in the marketplace over time.
Brand awareness
This answers the question: ‘Who knows you?’
Brand awareness is when the brand goes public. Awareness constitutes a high
level of knowledge and consciousness of a brand in its market to the extent
of recognition and recollection among consumers. This means that the brand
is in the subconscious of the consumers and easily remembered whenever
they come across products or communications of the same category. In other
words, the target audience are able to pull the brand name and its associations
from their memory unconsciously.
Brand awareness comprises of two elements: brand recognitionand brand
recall. Recognizing a brand involves remembering the brand and its associa-
tions when exposed to that brand or a similar brand (for example, through
print advertisement). This is usually less challenging to achieve as recogni-
tion could be developed in the early stages of the brand awareness creation
through publicity and advertisements.
Recalling a brand from memory occurs when consumers relate a brand
directly to its goods category without prior exposure to or direct interaction
with the brand. This means that the brand has attained a powerful level of
visibility and it has been imprinted in the memories of consumers as the most
recallable brand in its category. For example, the luxury brand Gucci has high
brand awareness among both male and female luxury consumers and Gucci
chapter 5 113the art of creating and managing luxury fashion brands