Branding - what is it?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The mass market is inextricably linked with marketing and advertising technologies that allow brands to more effectively promote their product. Nowadays it is difficult to find a city person who could not name several brands from different areas of the consumer market. Moreover, active buyers will certainly also be able to point out the positive qualities of the products of a particular manufacturer. All this is the result of the use of marketing tools, which are based on branding. This is a whole set of tools and methods that aim to increase the demand for a product of a certain brand. As a rule, this process is carried out by large companies operating in the global consumer market, but there are other areas of application of such technologies that are aimed at building the image of an object for non-commercial purposes.

Branding Overview

A brand is usually understood directly as a manufacturer that produces a particular product. But this is not entirely fair. Such an association, rather, suits the concept of a trademark. In turn, branding is a process during which a certain image of an object is formed in the target audience. One goal is conceived - to introduce precisely a complex of positive properties andproduct characteristics, which allows companies to come out ahead of the competition.

For example, when it comes to cars, marketers in creating a brand rely on such qualities as reliability, safety, comfort and ease of operation. These characteristics should be associated with the buyer with a specific brand. It should also be understood that in the eyes of the consumer himself, branding is a way of recognizing products. Obviously, in the process of choosing a product from a wide range, the buyer must be guided by information about the offer. As a result, it is the emotions and associations formed by branding that come to the fore.

Goals and objectives of branding

In most cases, branding aims to increase sales. This is achieved by increasing interest in products and, most importantly, a favorable image of the brand. Today, more and more products are produced under the same brand. For example, the American company CAT, which specializes in the production of construction equipment, has transferred the rights to use its brand to a little-known British manufacturer of mobile devices. As a result, the CAT phone, associated with high performance and reliability, appeared on the market. But, as already noted, this method of promotion does not always aim at commercial success. In particular, territory branding can be aimed at creating a favorable image among the local population. For this, the same marketing tools can be used as in the consumer market.market.

Stages of creating a brand

The work begins with analytical operations aimed at studying the market and the target audience. If it is planned to develop an existing brand, then its current positions in the segment are studied. This is followed by planning, during which the essential characteristics of the brand are formulated, and a management strategy is also developed. Then specialists form a system of verbal and visual identification, as well as an image.

So, if branding of territories in the resort area is being developed, then such characteristics as environmental friendliness, developed infrastructure, comfortable living, etc. will come first. In order to convey the formulated package of quality properties to the target audience, means promotion. At this stage, marketing communication channels are used, on the basis of which a strong relationship is built between the consumer and the brand.

Branding Technologies

Depending on the market segment and sales conditions, different branding technologies may be used. The universal ones include communication and information means, which are the basis for promoting goods to the masses. There are also more specialized approaches used by marketers. Thus, consumer goods branding technologies usually involve various types of comparisons and positioning. In the first case, products are compared with an outdated product of the past generation or with generalized offers from competitors.

Of coursesuch a comparison should leave an advantage for the promoted brand. As for positioning, it can affect a variety of qualities. For example, positions in terms of price determine whether a product belongs to the budget segment, mid-range, premium, etc. This facilitates the tasks of the consumer in the selection process, as he can easily identify the product and correlate it with his requirements.

Branding principles

Specialists identify two main principles on which the work of marketers in this direction is based. First of all, this is the correspondence of the needs of the market to the offer, which is provided by its participants. The second principle assumes that the quality characteristics of products meet the expectations and requirements of the mass consumer. Actually, branding technologies are developed with a focus on these principles. There are also many opinions according to which the set of initial settings for promotion should not only be based on the needs of the buyer, but also meet the expectations of society as a whole.

Features of Russian branding

The situation in the domestic market demonstrates a noticeable backlog of marketing activities from foreign companies. On the one hand, this has identified almost empty niches in which there are no large Russian brands, but on the other hand, new participants must face quite serious competition in the form of more well-known and advertised foreign brands. In general, the peculiarities of branding in Russia are due to the weakcommunication with the consumer. But this situation is changing, and, despite the dominance of world giants in the market, the domestic manufacturer has its advantages. Firstly, the very fact of the Russian origin of the goods is attractive. Secondly, such products are cheaper.

Modern branding

For the first time, branding technologies in the modern sense were applied back in the 1930s. In the following decades, the concepts of creating images about the product did not change, but the tools for achieving such tasks were improved. Today, the development of branding involves more radical changes. For example, there is a clear segmentation of products, multi-brand, as well as the use of more stringent advertising technologies. According to many experts, in the near future, goods in each segment will become almost unique, that is, the consumer will not have a choice between products of similar quality, but will be able to immediately purchase something that fully meets his requirements.

Conclusion

You can consider branding as a set of marketing tools or a set of advertising tools, but even this will not be enough to explain its nature. Still, branding is a process of developing mental perception. You can use its result for any purpose. After all, it is not for nothing that branding is closely related to such properties as image and reputation. Another thing is that it is in the sphere of commercial interests that it brings the greatest dividends, and thereforeoriginated in a competitive market. The essential methods and principles of creating consumer images are unlikely to change in the near future, but technological approaches in this direction will inevitably develop.