What is Brand

What is brand?

“A name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or service of one seller or group of seller and to differentiate them from those of competitors”

[Adapted from Kotlar]

What is difference between the brand and product?

Ø A products sits on retailers’ shelves; a brand exist in consumers’ mind

Ø A product can quickly be outdated; a brand is timeless

Ø A product can be copied by competitors; a brand is unique

A product become brand when the physical product is augmented by something else- image, symbol, perception, feelings etc

From the marketers’ perspective, a brand is a promise

From the consumers’ perspective, it is the set of associations, perceptions and expectations existing in his or her mind

Without brand meanings there is no brand. Brands are 1^st and foremost a bundle of meanings. A brand remains always a cluster of meanings. Indeed, those meanings need to be constantly renewed, modified, furnish and when necessary rotated.

Brands flourish on the strength of relationship. Quit often people do not buy just one brand in a given category but swap among a list of brand. Brand –consumer relationship can be summarized by “what consumer looks for and expects from the brand”.

Brands are about relationships, then, and relationships are about trust.

By: Yatin Somani