What is Brand.. Part 1

Posted by Sarah Mitchell on 27 December 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: Branding, Graphic Design, Advertising, Business Intelligence, Marketing

Who Should Read This Paper?
A brand is an intangible thing promising a tangible result. Because of this, the discussion about brand and branding, while lively, is often not objective. With so much conflicting information in the public arena, how do business owners make educated decisions about their brand?

The aim of this paper is to explore the “brand culture” persistent in business and present it in a clear, objective manner. This paper is suitable for anyone in a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME or SMB) looking to understand the complexities of brand. Additionally, anyone considering investing money in one or more components of a branding exercise will benefit from reading this paper.

Executive Summary
“Brand is not what you say it is. It is what they say it is.” Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap

We live and work in a brand culture. Whether we recognise it or not, our customers and prospects make decisions based on their opinions of your brand. Even if we wanted to, we can’t avoid it. According to Dr. Stephen Downes, postgraduate lecturer in brand management and advertising at RMIT, a brand is a “set of associations in the mind of the customer. Brand lives in the mind.”

Brand damage
Unfortunately, many small and medium-sized businesses make decisions about branding without much consideration for their own products and services. Worse, they often fail to consider their customers and prospective customers. Enthusiastic about an advertising campaign or a slick sign, they fail to consider the overall impact these disparate exercises will have on their business. They are disappointed in an investment that didn’t generate returns. Worse, they are faced with a confused or disgruntled public.

This phenomenon is not limited to the small guy. Consider the massive misstep Kraft made naming their new Vegemite product, iSnack 2.0, and you get an idea how easy it is to do more harm than good.

Brand equity
A good branding strategy will produce a customer base actively participating in the promotion of your business. You will enjoy valuable references and Word of Mouth referrals. Both conditions lead to an improved revenue stream.

Recommendation
Small and medium-sized businesses face adversity on a daily basis. Accustomed to being jacks-of-all-trades, it’s difficult to relinquish control and hard-earned money to something as intangible as branding. Conduct a thoughtful investigation in how a branding exercise will benefit your company. Keep sending a consistent message about your company and adopt a strategy focused on the customer view of your business.

Definitions
For purposes of this discussion, the following glossary of words and terms is provided to ensure a complete understanding of the subject matter.

• B2B – B2B is an acronym for Business to Business, a company that sells and/or services other businesses. Good examples of B2B companies are graphic designers, copywriters, sign makers, printers, and accountants.
  
• Brand – The association a customer has with a company, product, or service is a brand. A brand is nothing more than an image or reputation.
  
• Branding – Branding is the implementation of the brand related to a brand identity. Branding elements include logo, avatar, taglines, slogans, jingles, letterhead, business cards, signage, website, uniforms and anything else that represents a company.
  
• RMIT – Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
  
• SME – An acronym describing a business, SME stands for Small to Medium-sized Enterprise.
  
• SMB – The same thing as SME, Small to Medium-sized Business is more common in Australian usage.
  
• WoM – Word of Mouth is a form of informal reference where a person recommends a business using social media or other traditional ways of communication.
  

Brand Culture
“Smaller companies tend to think branding is something big companies do but branding is not advertising. You do not have to advertise like big companies to brand. Every company has a brand, which is as good as their market presence. It’s how you make people consider you.” Temi Abimbola, senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Central England

In an environment driven by consumerism, we have been conditioned to make decisions based on recognizable brands. When you consider names like Qantas, Vegemite, Blundstone and Uncle Toby’s, specific images appear in your consciousness. A brand can be the name of a product, service or company. A brand can represent one product, Blundstone – work boots, or a collective group of things, Uncle Toby’s – cereal, athletic performance and health.

As scientific data mounts to support the influence of brands and branding on the brain, a deluge of information arguing the necessity of branding has flooded the market. For an owner or manager of an SMB, it can be very confusing to know where to start.

What is a brand?
By nature, brand definition is elusive. One person’s perception of a brand may be different to another. When two products are primarily the same, the company with the most positive brand recognition will excel.

You might not want to think about it or invest money in it but every business, regardless of size or income, has a brand attached to it. Nothing you can do changes this fact because you don’t possess your own brand. According to Dr. Stephen Downes, postgraduate lecturer in brand management and advertising at RMIT, a brand is a “set of associations in the mind of the customer. Brand lives in the mind.”

A brand does two things:

• Defines what you are in the eyes of the public.
  
• Conveys how people feel about your company, product or service.
  

A brand, essentially, is your image or reputation. You can create and influence your brand, to an extent, but each customer will develop their own opinion about your company based on a rich history of experiences and WoM referrals.

What it’s not
Debate rages around brand. A brand is not a logo, a slogan or sign. You can invest money in expensive advertising, develop a slick website or run a radio campaign but if it doesn’t support the things that make you successful, it won’t benefit your business.

In a white paper titled, Give Them Something to Believe In: The Value of Brand Culture, ID Branding said it best:
“Executive leadership must realise that branding is no longer the province of the marketing department. Companies must build a brand culture that is rooted in the heart of the organisation and radiates outward as a natural set of actions based on a common ethos and worldview. This brand culture will not only unite employees in a common purpose and vision, it will also attract consumers and engage them in a deep and meaningful relationship that transcends the traditional marketing goals of brand preference and brand loyalty.”

Expensive
Companies like Qantas have the luxury of million dollar budgets to promote their company but the SMB is often operating on limited resources. With relatively small investments, SMBs making educated decisions about their image will achieve tangible returns. Best of all, these investments can be staggered over time as long as a clear brand strategy is adhered to.

Take the case of STM, an international company based in New South Wales. STM design and wholesale laptop bags aimed at those who are after an alternative to the black, briefcase-style standard. Director and Co-Founder of STM, Adina Jacobs speaks to the economy connected with a healthy brand:

“A strong brand, backed by a quality product, is the basis of a business like ours. Most SMBs don’t have large marketing/advertising budgets and strong brand awareness used in the right way can help you get your product out there without spending a lot of money.”

Optional
With the advent of the internet and a trend for consumers to educate themselves online, external control of the brand is no longer in the hands of the business owner. ID Branding further states:

“In an era where “transparency” is the word of the day, consumers will no longer buy the external brand image we create, but will take it upon themselves to find out what a brand really stands for by probing for their own truth. And if they catch a whiff of contradiction, they will bolt.”

More than ever before, it is vital for business to take an active role in defining their brand to the public.

Why is brand important?
According to Dr. Downes, “We don’t understand how much we rely on brands to make our decisions.” He goes on to say, “The difference the brand makes to the customer’s purchasing decisions can greatly affect the profitability of a SMB.”

His concern is that small businesses, in particular, often make decisions about their brand without much consideration to:

• Products
  
• Services
  
• Customers
  
• Advantages gained in updating or refreshing a brand
  

Why is brand important and how can it contribute to the success of a SMB?

Professional image
The initial step to building a trusted relationship is to make a good impression. How your company presents itself affects its ability to attract new prospects. Creating a professional image is important to establishing your company as a trusted partner. If you lack business cards, let your teenage nephew build your website or use a logo acquired from a public clip art folder, you’re setting an expectation your business doesn’t operate professionally.

Intention to succeed
When business takes itself seriously, so do prospective customers. An investment in your brand will establish your credibility as a serious operator fully committed to the success of your own enterprise. This is especially true of home-based businesses and sole traders. As Peter Crocker counsels on www.flyingsolo.com.au,

“The fact is, rightly or wrongly, perceptions are very powerful. So, as a home-based business people we can either choose to ignore the credibility issue and risk losing business (particularly from risk averse corporate clients), or we can play the ‘serious’ game for the sake of getting through the door.”

Establish integrity
Looking professional and having a desire to succeed are key ingredients to attracting attention to your company. The real test comes when prospective customers scratch beyond the surface to decide if your company is trustworthy. Leading brand strategist Vincent Grimaldi de Puget cautions on www.brandchannel.com,

“A major source of failure in the attempt to build a great brand is the lack of consistency among all the contact-points with the customer. In such a case, the brand message makes a promise on which the organisation does not fully deliver.”

A successful brand accurately represents your products and services and focuses on the customer view of your company.

Director and Co-Founder of STM, Adina Jacobs shares this insight about the influence of corporate integrity on brand:

“For our product, brand is very important, but just as important is the backing behind the brand. People know that the STM brand represents high quality product and that we back our product with high levels of customer service. We make sure that we are easy to deal with, both for our customer (the retailers) and end users (the people buying and using STM bags).”

STM understands, inherently, the importance of supporting a strong brand image with equally strong support and service. The integrity of their operation enhances the brand in the mind of the consumer.

What does brand mean to SMB?
Every company has a brand whether by design or circumstance. A conscious decision to make a positive impact on your brand will differentiate you from your competitors. Consumers are faced with more choices than ever before and a strong brand is a valuable competitive advantage.

Get it right – Brand equity
In his book Branding Insights for Small Business, Rocky Cipriano explains how brands create an emotional bond with customers. To understand the impact of customer loyalty when it comes to brand, consider what cola you drink or which running shoes you prefer. Without even naming a brand, it’s likely you’re thinking about a specific company.

Manufacturers of running shoes, automobiles, and soft drinks enjoy longterm, multigenerational relationships with their customers. SMBs can and often do cultivate the same sort of loyalty. In a world where purchasing choices are many, nothing is more influential than WoM references. With the advent of a global online WoM culture, SMBs have greater reach than ever before.

Brand equity is achieved when the elusive aspects of brand become a tangible benefit to the company. Adina Jacobs speaks further about the STM experience:

“We get a lot of editorial for our product in newspapers and magazines, ranging from new product mentioned, to reviews, to competition give-aways. We very rarely do paid advertising because a) we don’t have budget for it, and b) we feel that if people write about our products because they like them and they like what they do, then that speaks a lot louder than if we pay to splash our logo and picture in a magazine. The strength of our brand backed by a quality product allows us to do that.“

Although you may not aspire to become an international player in your field, even a localised customer reference base equates to monetary success. A successful brand will provide a natural lead generation and lead 8
nurturing campaign leaving SMBs more time to get on with the work at hand.

Get it wrong – Brand damage
Vegemite is an iconic brand rooted in the mind of Australian consciousness. It’s also a terrific example of what can happen when a company fiddles with a successful brand. In his blog for QBrand, www.qbrand.blogspot.com, Dr. Downes explores Kraft’s decision to name their new Vegemite product. The product sold a million jars prior to the fiasco but experienced a strong public backlash to the announcement of iSnack 2.0 as the official name. Sales of the product fell. Not only did the Vegemite brand take a beating, but the parent company, Kraft, lost traction, as well. Dr. Downes says:

“And ugly brand extensions may not cannibalise sales of the parent brand but they sure as hell can damage the image of the parent brand and the reputation of its owner. It's clear that many consumers are feeling a lot less warm and fuzzy about the Vegemite brand and Kraft today than they were last week.”

The iSnack2.0 example demonstrates how easy it is to stray off course. Kraft, obviously, was trying to appeal to modern tastes by adopting the lexicon of technology. It failed miserably and now suffers the consequences. The public mindset of the Vegemite brand is so strong it rejected a contrived attempt to change the image of the product.

Thankfully, most SMBs will never face the sort of complete failure experienced by Kraft. Nor, however, do they have the resources of recovery a multi-national conglomerate commands. The lesson is a valid one. Confuse the customer and pay the price through reduced trade.

Summary
No one is immune to the power of brand. Large corporations with seemingly limitless budgets suffer from brand damage. It is imperative the owners and managers of SMBs participate in building brand equity for their organisation.
Managing a brand does not have to be expensive. Investments in branding can be staggered over time. It is imperative, however, to keep delivering a consistent message.

The single most important aspect to influencing your brand is to maintain an accurate representation of your company. Keep focused on how the customer is viewing your organisation. Brand lives in the mind of the customer.

Understanding the power of brand, both positive and negative, is a key component to success for any business. SMBs who actively manage their brand identity enjoy tangible economic benefits. Conversely, a company allowing their reputation to be tarnished or driven by the competition will experience reduced trade.

About the Author
Sarah Mitchell is the owner of Global Copywriting (www.globalcopywriting.com), a freelance writing company based in Fremantle, Western Australia. She specialises in content marketing and B2B documents. Her specialities include white papers, case studies and blogs. Her experience includes 20 years in the IT business. She has five years direct sales experience and over 10 years writing experience. She has lived and worked on five continents.