Establishing and Building aBrand in
a Crowded Market © Gordon Graham 2007

Brands run deep: “Mythological symbols
touch andexhilarate centers of life beyond thereach of vocabularies and coercion.”- Joseph Campbell, Masks of God, Vol. 4

What is a brand?Multiple definitions.
Multipleperspectives. Multiple roles.

What is a brand? “.
. . the promise, the big idea, andthe expectations that reside inside thehead of each customer’s mind about a product, service, or company . . .the brand is shorthand. It stands for something.” - Alina Wheeler (2006)

What is a brand? “.
. . a set of mental associations,held by the consumer, which add tothe perceived value of a product or service.” - Kevin Lane Keller (1998)

What is a brand?“ .
. . a brand is a concept . . . a brand shapes and reflects our quest for meaning.”“ - Bobby J. Calder (2005)“ . . . a brand is a meaning system.”“ - Patrick Hanlon (2006)

Definitions will emphasize what a
brandis (physical appearance) or what it does (role).

What do brands do? They
remind us of a past product/serviceexperience. They communicate how we seeourselves. Brands are fantasy. Escapism. A brand is often just an umbilical cord to a world elsewhere.

Brands represent the world as
it ought to be not how it is. Romanticism. Brandsrepresent values and ideals. They simplify our day.

Brands help satisfy a need
to belong tosomething larger than ourselves. At the same time, they help us express our individuality.Thanks to Rob Walker (2008) for this.

Hugh MacLeod, Gapingvoid.com

Brands . . are ..
.. . MAGIC MAKING

But . . . hugely
successful brands can alsoBrands amount as the result of an emerge simply to as much as 80% of a firm’s assets. awesome product - Economist (2008) .

So let’s not take this
branding thing too Brands amount to as muchmediocrefar. Branding is no substitute for as 80% oflack of product innovation. products or a a firm’s assets. - Economist (2008)

You can only fool people
for a while.

Country of Origin & Stereotypes:Chinese
brands. Now we’re talking values, trust and the relative attractiveness of cultures.

What is culture?“. . .
the sum of a set of shared values.” - Bradley Hall (2008) “ . . . inherited ethical habit.” - Francis Fukuyama (1995)

Individualism + Low Trust in
China Small firms. Family run at core. Fragmented industries. Destructive, subsidized competition.Little cooperation. Few transnational firms. Short-term thinking. Emergent Strategy.

On to theBRAND ®Building >
> >

What will this presentation cover?1.
Why firms should establish a brand.2. The steps in establishing a new brand.3. A short list of recommended branding books.

1. Why establish a brand?

Consumers face a dizzying array
of choices.

Products drift towards commoditization.

A brand differentiates theproduct from
similar offerings.

A brand reduces the need
to compete on price alone.

The goal of a brand
is to establish amonopoly position for a non-coreproduct attribute in the mind of an individual.

Identity Image{PR/Advertising} {Reality} The Firm
Staff & Customers

Who controls a brand’s Firm
meaning?Market Length of Time Brand Engages Market

2. Steps in establishing a
new brand.

I: Establish the meaning of
the brand “The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope.” - Laura and Al Ries, The Origin of Brands

A good way to do
this is by asking:What’s the brand’s Point of View?

BroadScope CVS: general drug store
products CVS: general drug store products Body Shop: bodyNarrow New BrandScope A hair care store?

Point of View? Who is
the Enemy?

Beauty doesn’t have to beat
the expense of animals’ welfare.

Dig deep for a position
within anexisting category - or create a new category or, better yet, a new product!

“Healthy” or “organic” are no
longer brand positions or differentiators. These are nowcategories. Dig deeper if you want to differentiate.

Your brand needs to .
. . Stand forsomething

Categories diverge not converge General
Motors Models in 1955: 25 General Motors Models in 2005: 325Source: The Machine That Changed the World (1990)

Brands and their Owners Range
Rover: Indian French’s Mustard: BritishGlenmorangie Scotch: French Trader Joe’s: German

Diffuse OwnershipBrands are often part
owned by sovereign funds and private equity groups from various countries.

Some points to remember: Brands
cannot stretch very farCustomers buy brands not companies Brand decisions are strategic

You can build a brand
portfolio organically

Or through acquisition

II: NameChoose a name that’s:
unique short easy to say easy to spell . . .

if possible, the name should
suggestthe product category:Captain Morgan RumLunesta Sleeping pillsSamsonite Strong luggage

Alternatively, you cancreate meaning around
a meaningless word.This is what Starbucks did with its brand.

III: Physical Elements of the
Brand: Choose a logo or name mark Choose a colour(s) Choose a tagline

Final thought: . . .
we all think everyone else’sshopping quirks are weird and irrational - but that our own make perfect sense. Rob Walker, New York Times Magazine (2009)

The Origin of Brands, Al
and Laura RiesBrand Meaning, Mark BateyDesigning Brand Identity: A complete guideto creating, building and sustaining strongbrands, Alina WheelerBrand Leadership, David Aacker andEric JoachimsthalerThe New Strategic Brand Management:Creating and sustaining brand equity longterm, Jean-Noel Kapferer

I’m very interested in business
trainingand course design for e-learning Feel free to get in touch! Thanks! Gordon@westportwire.com © Gordon Graham 2007