MarketingManagement.pdf

188 CHAPTER10 MANAGINGPRODUCTLINES ANDBRANDS

What Is a Brand?

Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their ability to create,

maintain, protect, and enhance brands.

The American Marketing Association defines a brandas a name, term, sign,

symbol, or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or ser-

vices of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of

competitors.

In essence, a brand identifies the seller or maker. Whether it is a name, trade-

mark, logo, or another symbol, a brand is essentially a seller’s promise to deliver a spe-

cific set of features, benefits, and services consistently to the buyers. The best brands

convey a warranty of quality. But a brand is an even more complex symbol.^6 It can con-

vey up to six levels of meaning, as shown in Table 4.1.

The branding challenge is to develop a deep set of positive associations for the

brand. Marketers must decide at which level(s) to anchor the brand’s identity. One

mistake would be to promote only attributes. First, buyers are not as interested in

attributes as they are in benefits. Second, competitors can easily copy attributes. Third,

today’s attributes may become less desirable tomorrow. Ultimately, a brand’s most

enduring meanings are its values, culture, and personality, which define the brand’s

essence. Smart firms therefore craft strategies that do not dilute the brand values and

personality built up over the years.

Meaning Description Example

Attributes A brand brings to mind certain Mercedes suggests expensive,

attributes. well-built, durable, high-prestige

vehicles.

Benefits Attributes must be translated The attribute “durable” could

into functional and emotional translate into the functional

benefits. benefit “I won’t have to buy

another car for several years.”

Values The brand says something about Mercedes stands for high

the producer’s values. performance, safety, and

prestige.

Culture The brand may represent a Mercedes represents German

certain culture. culture: organized, efficient, high

quality.

Personality The brand can project a certain Mercedes may suggest a non-

personality. nonsense boss (person) or a

reigning lion (animal).

User The brand suggests the kind of Mercedes vehicles are more

customer who buys or uses the likely to be bought by 55-year-

product. old top managers than by 20-

year-old store clerks.

Table 4.1 Levels of Brand Meaning