E-COMMERCE

MODULE III

LECTURE-IV

BRANDING ON WEB ARVIND BANGER

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEI

ARVIND BANGER 1

Branding

‘an identifiable product or service augmented in

such a way that the buyer or user perceives

relevant unique added values which match their

needs most closely. Furthermore, its success

results from being able to sustain these added

values in the face of competition’.

Leslie de Chernatony and Malcolm McDonald in their classic 1992 book, Creating Powerful

Brands, define a brand as

Branding Brand

◦ Typically defined as a name, logo or symbol that helps

one identify a company’s products or services

◦ Customers’ experience can be considered part of its

brand

Brand equity

◦ Includes the value of tangible and intangible items,

such as a brand and its monetary value over time,

customer perceptions and customer loyalty to a

company and its products or services

Internet-only businesses must develop a brand that

customers trust and value

Brand uniformity will increase brand recognition

Branding

The Internet makes it difficult to protect a brand from

misuse

◦ Rumors and customer dissatisfaction can spread

quickly

◦ It is not difficult for people to use other companies’

logos on their sites or products illegally

Companies can attempt to protect their brands

◦ Hiring people to surf the Web and look for news,

rumors and other instances of brand abuse

◦ Brand monitoring activities can be outsourced to

companies such as eWatch and NetCurrents

What is Brand Identity?

• A promise that gets kept consistently

• Defines your organization

• It creates a personality and a life for your

products/services

• A unique and consistent look, feel, tone and

voice for all communications

• Conveys-at a-glance the distinctive attributes

of your organization

• Over time, it builds awareness of and an

attitude towards your organization

What is Brand Identity?

• Strengthens the impact of all messages

• Paves the way for new customer relationships

• Provides employees with a greater sense of

commitment

• It’s essential to your success in the

marketplace

• No business is too small and no product too

generic to develop a brand identity

Aaker and Joachimsthaler –

brand equity

Brand awareness.

Perceived quality.

Brand associations.

Brand loyalty.

How can these be enhanced online for the B2C Company?

Traditional measures of brand equity and online measures of brand equity

Branding-Identity

8 Principles for choosing a brand name

◦ Short

◦ Simple

◦ Suggestive of the category

◦ Unique

◦ Illiterative

◦ Speakable

◦ Shocking

◦ Personalized

Key Brand Elements • Brand Name-name, tagline, logo

• Brand Position-description of your organization

• Brand Promise-The single most important thing your organization promises to deliver every time

• Brand Personality-what you want your brand to be known for (fun, serious,magical,forceful,imaginative, etc.)

• Brand Tone-edgy, humorous, conservative, subtle

• Brand Story-Your organizational history and how it adds value to the brand, highlights how your products and services grew from that background and how your methodology impacts what you offer

• Brand Associations-colors, taglines, images, fonts, uniforms, signage, equipment, etc.

Brand Building

Branding Steps

Step One

• Learn marketing objectives and strategy

• Prioritize projects

• Audit existing and competitive materials and

strategies

• Interviews/focus group

• Write creative brief and define messages

• Create timelines and budgets

Branding Steps (continued)

Step Two

• Develop concepts/taglines/site

architecture

• Start visual research

• Present initial creative approaches

Branding Steps (continued)

Step Three

• Develop outline and copy points per

selected concept

• Develop media strategy

• Explore layout options

• Begin creating visual materials

(photos/illustrations)

Branding Steps (continued)

Step Four

• Write full copy draft

• Revise and write final copy as per client

comments

• Start layouts

Branding Steps (continued)

Step Five

• Create and present full layout and/or e-design

Step Six

• Develop final electronic files for print, or coding for web

• Final execution and management of products (website launch, launch media campaign, exhibit built, print pieces to printer, ads placed, press releases sent, etc.)

Keys to building successful

brands

Find the right advertising/branding agency

Top management must be committed to this effort

Assign one point person to work with the agency

Do not make decisions by committee

Keep brand consistent internally and externally

Don’t rush the process-make sure you have enough time budgeted

Give the brand time to work

Create a brand style guide and give to every employee

Refresh/update brand after a few years

What a good brand does

Strengthens employees loyalty

Attracts clients/customers

Keeps current relationships strong

Builds confidence

Builds feelings of security and trust

Creates a memorable, positive experience

Time to create!

Now that you have solid messaging, it’s time to create.

Consistency is the #1 rule

Repetition, repetition, repetition

Did you know it takes 7-9 times of being exposed to your company name for a potential client to remember it?

We get exposed to over 4000 messages a day. How can you break through that clutter?

Creating and Maintaining Brands

on the Web

Elements of branding include:

◦ Differentiation: How is our product unique?

◦ Relevance: How does our product fit into our

customers’ lives?

◦ Perceived value: What is value of our product

to a potential customer?

Emotional Branding vs. Rational

Branding Emotional branding is the norm; let’s make customers feel

good about our product, themselves as users of our product, or others affective paths to persuasion

◦ Coca Cola video game ad (1st QTR)

Rational branding relies on the cognitive appeal of the specific service offered, not purely on a broad emotional appeal

◦ Toyota Tundra truck ad (1st QTR)

Brand Leveraging is done to extend the image or value of a successful brand to other product offerings

◦ Sprint Broadband ad (2nd QTR)

◦ Nationwide Insurance ad (3rd QTR)

END OF LECTURE