Build Brand Identity Through Product Branding

Building a product into a brand leader is not easy, but I truly believe that you can improve your branding impression if you follow these 2 rules; Passion & Consistency as well as the 4Ps of Branding that I have developed, PRODUCT PLACEMENT PROMOTION PEOPLE. These 4 Ps will enable you to check the way your brand is interpreted. Each of these very distinct headings has an impact on your brand, and the brand in turn will affect each of these areas. For those of you who have gone through Marketing 101, you will see that the only difference between the 4Ps of Marketing and my 4Ps of Branding, are People, and people affect the brand more than any other area.

Product

Imagine this scenario, its lunchtime, you have decided, after working in your office all morning, that you would like to have an orange for dessert. You drive to the local supermarket, go to the fruit department, and find that there are only 2 oranges left, they both look the same until you pick them up. Thats when you notice that one of them has Sunkist stamped on it. Which one will you buy? Well if you are like 99.999% of the country, you will by the Sunkist orange. Why? Because over the years, Sunkist has promised you an orange that not only looks good, tastes good, but is also good value for money. Now comes the kicker, you see, there is very good chance that you would probably still buy the Sunkist brand, even if you had to pay a penny or so more for it. That is what building a brand leader is all about. At the moment of truth, if all things are equal then there is a good chance that the brand will be the purchase choice, and even command a premium price for the product.

Placement

Next is Placement. In my brand concept overview I have listed Distribution, Location, Stores, Transportation and Plant. Now these are generic headings, and you may well be able to add more that are pertinent to your specific industry. I want you to imagine that all of these areas are like a full-page advertisement for your company. They should all have the communications message that is consistent with the rest of the campaign approach you are now working on. I know that this is somewhat unusual, but every single piece of communication affects the end user or consumer in some way shape or form. You see it really is the logo on the truck, but its also the logo on the drivers shirt, the cleanliness of the truck and the way in which the delivery person interacts with the customer. They should act the way you want them to, the way you want your brand to be enacted. This should all be scripted, leaving nothing to chance or choice! They are your brand image.

Promotion

Promotion is the area that we think of most when discussing brand and brand impression. Promotion covers the vast area of communication. From the very essence of the brand to its image, Advertising, Sales Promotion, Direct Mail, Internet advertising, Public Relations, Marketing, Sales Force, and Point of Sale. There are so many different elements, that it would take a whole series of articles to even get started. However, I would strongly recommend that you remember what I said at the beginning, Consistency should be pervasive throughout all of the components. Sometimes you dont have to have a great design as long as you are consistent with the creative and the message.

People

As I mentioned earlier, People are the one area that makes my 4Ps of Branding different from the 4Ps of Marketing. People are involved in every step of the production of your product or service, and people are the Brand. Your employees, Dealers or Distributors, End Users, Vendors, Friends and honestly the Rest of the World. Every employee represents the brand, the people in the Accounting Department, Shipping, Research, Legal, Shop Floor, Marketing, and on throughout the company. Its not just the Sales Department! Think about this - your accounting department calls someone in your clients accounting department on a regular basis. Maybe its to chase money, to clear up a billed consignment that perhaps got lost. But this is also a chance for your accounting person to get a little closer and find out how your company is doing with them, the customer. This is a great opportunity to get inside information.

How are we doing? Why do you think our competition is getting the lion share of the business? How can we do a better job for your company? And many other questions that you would like answered, I would go so far as to try to get these two people together, give them the opportunity to get closer, go out to lunch on you. It will pay back dividends in the long run.

There are many more opportunities to make your brand grow, make sure you follow the golden rules, passion, consistency of message and multiple quality impressions, and your brand will be on its way to becoming a brand leader.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Brand Identity, Corporate Identity, and Brand Image
1. Corporate identity.Corporate identity is a companys visual presence, which involves the corporate logo and design strategy...

Corporate Branding
In certain cases the company name itself is used as a family brand name under which varied products of the company are market...

Health Care Branding
Brand decisions are an integral part of product policy in health care. When a marketer opts for branding a health care produc...

Brand Identity, Branding and Brand Image
Brand Identity is a promise. One given from business to customer to expect certain things. Whether that promise involves prod...

Brand Identity Company - Brand Identity Guru
Hiring a brand identity company is very important. In every marketing campaign, your company should have a solid brand identi...

Branding
Product identification is the process of branding products. The branding is an important aspect of product planning. It invol...

Brand Strategy - Brand Value - Brand Identity Guru
Developing brand strategy is extremely critical. The most important asset your company has is its brand. Quite simply, for be...

Brand Strategy - Brand Identity Guru
If you could have the secret recipe and all the manufacturing facilities of Coca Cola but not the Coca Cola brandor have its ...

Brand Image - Brand Identity Guru
Having a brand image is not a have or have not proposition. Everyone has one. The problem is that you might have more than on...

Internet Branding
When talking about Internet branding, positioning is the key. Positioning is the act of fixing the exact locus of the product...

Brand Identity and the CEO
This week I spent a few hours with a highly successful CEO discussing his brand identity questions and concerns. What do the ...

The Promise of Your Brand
Often times, the decision to conduct business rests on how a customer interprets your brand identity and brand promise,-- a s...

Brand Identity Guru - Is Your Brand Vital?
The world is not waiting for youor your product or service. Or your firm. Or your firms message. Theyre getting along just fi...

Brand Identity
Brand Identity is simply the promise a company makes to its customers. It may be purely the function of a product, or it can ...

Why Corporate Identity is a Very Powerful Communication Branding Tools
The world of business is a very competitive one with each executive competing with the other to get the best of sales, profit...

Jan Verhoeff: Brand Your Market
Marketing potential of any product is based on recognition and quality. Name based recognition happens with a variety of prod...

Brand Image - Brand Identity - Brand Strategy - Brand Identity Guru
Consumers perceive and accept many brands within a certain trade group in different ways. By personifying a brand (How would ...

Benefits of Corporate Gift Giving Can Never Be Understated
Why purchase corporate gifts? The benefits of corporate gift giving can never be under-stated! Highly successful businesses u...

Brand Identity: Picture it with Power
Your vision is clear, youve identified your product; now BRAND it! Whats the purpose?Your BRAND identifies your product as b...

Brand Building 101
Building your brand into a brand leader isnt easy. There are 2 areas that can really help you grow your brand, passion and co...