Brand Elements

Choosing Brand Elements to Choosing Brand Elements to build Brand Equitybuild Brand Equity

What are Brand Elements?What are Brand Elements?

Brand elements are those trademarkable devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand

Why are brand elements so Why are brand elements so carefully chosen?carefully chosen?

Enhance brand awarenessFacilitate brand associationsElicit positive judgments and feelings

Criteria for choosing brand Criteria for choosing brand elements…elements…

Memorable– Easily recognized– Easily recalled

Meaningful– Descriptive (Product

category)– Persuasive (Attributes and

benefits) Likable

– Fun/interesting– Rich imagery– Aesthetically pleasing

Transferable– Within/across categories (Line

and Brand extensions)– Across geographies/cultures

(Non-meaningful names like Exxon translate well) (Nova)

Adaptable– Flexible– Updatable

Protectable– Legally– Competitively (Should not be

easily copied)

Brand elementsBrand elements

Name

How is this for a name?How is this for a name?

Very popular outlet in Kanpur. Shown in Bunty aur Babli

This?This?

This?This?

Or these names?Or these names?

MTV ‘Bakra’Soul FryMouthshut.comMonster.comCokeFCUK

““Any name can be used….”Any name can be used….”

Provided that there is a consistent effort over time to give meaning to this name….

Kapferer

Savour this….Savour this….

“…. curiously, history teaches that the choice of succesful brand names owes more to intuition, misplaced belief and naivety than to meticulous strategic planning”

(SONY, Volkswagen)

Barrie Blake Coleman “Brand Names &

Product Dynasties”

The Frooti dilemmaThe Frooti dilemma

The Pizza Hut dilemma?The Pizza Hut dilemma?

The Pizza Hut dilemma?The Pizza Hut dilemma?

Brand Brand Naming GuidelinesNaming Guidelines

Brand awareness – Simplicity and ease of pronunciation and

spelling – Familiarity and meaningfulness – Differentiated, distinctive, and

uniqueness

Brand Brand Naming GuidelinesNaming Guidelines

Brand associations– The explicit and implicit meanings

consumers extract from it are important. In particular, the brand name can reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that makes up its product positioning

Brand Brand Naming ProceduresNaming Procedures

Define objectives Generate names Screen initial candidates Study candidate names Research the final candidates Select the final name

Brand elementsBrand elements

Logos & Symbols

Also called Symbols

Characters

Brand elementsBrand elements

Numbers (Maruti 800, Levi’s 501, James Bond 007, Nokia 1100)

Packaging

Brand elementsBrand elements

Sound: Harley Davidson

Brand elementsBrand elements

Sensation: Dettol - ‘burning’ sensation and smell

Slogan (Connecting people, Kuch meetha ho jaye)

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – Domain name e.g. Amazon.com

SpokespeopleJingles

Putting It All Together Putting It All Together

The entire set of brand elements makes up the brand identity, the contribution of all brand elements to awareness and image

The cohesiveness of the brand identity depends on the extent to which the brand elements are consistent

ReadingReading

Strategic Brand Management by Kevin Lane Keller. Chapter 4