Wisdom Without Waiting: What is a brand?
Part I
© John L. Mariotti 2000
One of my clients is aggressively developing a global presence. At a recent meeting, someone blurted out, "what is a brand"? What a silly question-or was it? Everybody knows what a brand is--don't they? The answer, like the tag line for recent Hertz' ad campaign is "not exactly!"
A brand is a simplified, "shorthand" description of a package of value upon which consumers and prospective purchasers can rely to be consistently the same (or better) over long periods of time and distinguishes a product or service form competitive offerings. A brand is a trusted promise of quality, service and value, established over time and proven by the test of repeated use and satisfaction.
However we define it, a brand is an increasingly important asset of a company. Often the brand has a familiar logo as its icon. When you see this logo (Nike's swoosh), you think of the brand and its entire package of value promises. At least that is the way it is supposed to work! Manufacturing is rapidly spreading around the globe, seeking the lowest cost, highest quality source. The owner of a brand has a franchise upon which it can sell goods made almost anywhere.
The questioner might have also asked, "Where do brands come from"? Branding came into widespread use only in the past century, but "brands" based on the reputation of craftsmen have existed for centuries. Artisans marked their work with a symbol--their unique brand. As retailing grew and spread, brands became the manufacturer's way of marking their goods with a symbol of their reputation.
After World War II, the consuming public was hungry for goods that had been unavailable because resources were devoted to the war. Many of today's great brands grew up in this era, as did strategies and knowledge about brand management. The "AIDA" model arose from this post-war era. First, build Awareness of a brand; then create or find consumer Interest in the brand; build a Desire to purchase the brand to fulfill some real or imagined need; finally incite the consumer to take Action--buy the brand.
Marketers discovered that awareness also had another powerful by-product--it led to loyalty, but only after trial purchases, and then repeat purchases. This AIDA model was the paradigm of choice for decades--until the world changed so radically that it was no longer sufficient.
Then came the four P's: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. Combine these in the right mixture and brand success was yours. This approach worked so well, that it withstood the test of time for decades more. Once again, this model is not wrong, just not sufficient for a new era of marketing and branding.
Note: This material is based on my new book "Smart Things to Know About Brands and Branding" Capstone, UK, 1999.
