Brand Strategy: Key Concepts and Techniques

Posted on Jan 26, 2025 in Business Management and Marketing

Key Concepts in Branding

  • Rebranding: Not only the evolution of the logo, but a strategic brand decision.
  • Restyling: Modification of the Corporate Visual Identity (CVI) to refresh or update it.
  • Genericide: The trademark becomes a common name (e.g., Tipp-Ex, Kleenex).
  • Private Labels: Same product manufactured by different companies (e.g., Fuet Espetec, Tarradellas).

Brand Name Characteristics

  • Memorable: Easily recognized (e.g., Apple).
  • Meaningful: Descriptive name for the product (e.g., Whole Foods).
  • Likable: Fun and interesting.
  • Transferable: Applicable across product categories (e.g., Calvin Klein).
  • Adaptable: Flexible and updatable (e.g., “El Burger”).
  • Protectable: Possible to register.

Types of Brand Representation

  • Isotype: Symbol only.
  • Logotype: Typographic, as in Vogue.
  • Imagotype: Name and logo, as in Nike.
  • Isologo: Logo with the name, as in Lays.

Slogan vs. Tagline

  • Slogan: A phrase or word that has a promotional character, e.g., “Be water, my friend.”
  • Tagline: Usually associated with the logo, designed to express the brand proposal, e.g., “Just do it.”

Brand Positioning

1. Brand Positioning and Marketing Strategy

The act of designing a company’s offers and image.

2. Main Elements

Who the target consumer is, who the main competitors are, and how the brand’s situation compares with the competition.

3. Segmentation and Targeting

Buyer persona and empathy map (public’s feelings, desires).

4. Positioning

Who the competitors are (positioning maps, differentiation, and positioning strategy).

Perceptual maps: Marketing analysis tools that are used to graphically represent the situation of the company in relation to the competition according to several criteria.

Positioning statement: Company and brand positioning should be summed up in a positioning statement, which should follow the form: “To reach a [segment] and a [need], our brand is a [concept] that [point of difference] because [reason to believe], the way you move.”

5. Defining the Nature of the Brand

It defines the essential part of the brand in 3-5 words that capture the essence or spirit of the brand positioning. Its purpose is to ensure that all employees and external marketing parties understand what the brand most fundamentally represents to consumers so they can adjust their actions accordingly.

Brand Architecture Models

  1. Branded House: Use of a single brand for several product lines (e.g., FedEx).
  2. Endorsed Brands: Different brands/products include the main brand name in their denomination (e.g., Marriott).
  3. House of Brands: Main brand, and out of it comes different brands (e.g., P&G).
  4. Hybrid: A mix of the different brand organizing strategies (e.g., Amazon).

Brand Recognition vs. Brand Recall

Brand recognition: The ability of consumers to identify a brand based on its visual identity (logos, packaging) – e.g., seeing the “M” from McDonald’s.

Brand recall: The ability of consumers to retrieve a brand from memory when given a product category or need – e.g., thinking about McDonald’s when asked about a fast-food restaurant.

Potential quantitative techniques to measure these include:

  • Brand awareness
  • Brand image
  • Brand responses
  • Brand relationship

What is GRI and How Does it Relate to CSR?

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): An international independent organization that provides a standardized framework for sustainability reporting.

It serves as a crucial framework for structuring and reporting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, ensuring that organizations can communicate their sustainability efforts transparently and effectively.