Trigger 4

Bran identity & image

(PBL session 5, closing trigger 4. 24.9.2014)


“Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

In the same way, a brand is the result of an unbroken series of consistent gestures, encompassing both what it does and how it does it. (C. Phillips & J. Hopelain. 2012)


Brand identity
  
Brand identity is a set of strategic associations that the brand creates and tries to maintains. The identity explains how the brand supports the organisation's overall missions and objectives and what is the promise to the customers.

For the first time, brand identity as a concept was mentioned and specified by J. Kapferer in 1986. According to Kapferer the brand identity allows the brand to express why it is recognisable or different from the other brands. He divides it into six dimensions; physique, relationship, reflection, personality, culture and self image. (L. Kobsch. 2012) 


 

L. Kobsch. Heineken prism. 2012

Brand image 

Brand image on the other hand is the customers' perception of the brand whereas the identity was the organisation's. The image is a set of beliefs and images that reflects how a customer sees the brand. It's the expectations and experiences of the brand. A brand image is not created, and it cannot be, but it is automatically formed by the customers in their minds. It includes the appeal of the product/service, ease of use, functionality, fame and overall value.  (Management Study Guide. 2013)

vs.

Management Study Guide

Brand mantras (K. Keller)

Nike: Authentic Athletic Performance
Disney: Fun Family Entertainment
Ritz-Carlton: Ladies & Gentlemen Serving Ladies & Gentlemen
BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine



Rebranding 

"Don’t change just for change’s sake, but keep your brand fresh. Your business depends on it."

Unless there's a very good reason, the brand should think twice before changing a well-known identity system. The main challenge with rebranding is trying to maintain familiarity and consistency so that the customers remember the brand. On the other hand brand updates can be crucial in order to keep the brand relevant to the consumers. 

Long-term, if the target audience changes, the markets evolve or the products and services change, it may the be the time for rebranding.

Changing a brand identity is risky because it has the potential to reduce brand recognition, recall and key associations, and because it could cause customer dissatisfaction. For example, Gap changed its logo back to the original one after so much consumer dissatisfaction with the new logo. Many other brands such as Kodak, Starbucks and Xerox changed their identities to some consumer push-back at first but in the end, people adapted to the new identities.  

Brand Strategy Insider, Starbucks. 2011

Rebooting your brand 

by M. Mcneilly (2013)

1. Tie the update to real change
 - Strongest brand updates are the ones that communicate the real change in the brand's strategy and experience

2. Nail the "right time"
 - Timing is everything. A possible need for update "if consumer feedback is inconsistent with your brand vision and aspiration."

3. Build on brand equities on your own - in customers' minds
 - Keep the attributes and graphic elements which resonates most strongly with consumers and which the brand still deliver well. Then think how to do them in a fresher way. 

4. Less is really more
 - Simplify. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" (Leonardo da Vinci)

5. Don't try to be trendy 
 - Think ahead

6.Provide an "Easter egg"
 - Hidden meaning in the design, only if it's meaningful

7. Test it in context
 - Something might look great on a white paper but work totally different on a bilboard or at the side of a van

8. Be able to explain it
 - Give a reason to the rebranding

9. Judge success by how it supports your objectives long-term
 - Stand firm and think long-term

Sources 

Daye, D. Business Strategy Insider, New Starbucks logo: a bad idea? 6.1.2011. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Kobsch, L. Forget milk, got beer?, Kapferer's brand identity prism. 23.11.2012. Accessed: 23.9.2014 

Lamson, G. Creative Market, Designing a brand identity. 23.7.2013. Accessed: 17.9.2014 2. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/brand-image.htm

Larsen, Brand identity: When should you refresh? 2014. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Management Study Guide, Brand identity vs brand image. 2013. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Management Study Guide, Brand image. 2013. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Mcneilly, M. Fastcompany, Time to reboot your brand? 4.10.2014. Accessed 23.9.2014

Philips, C. & Hopelain, J. Brand Strategy Insider, Brand identity defined. 15.8.2012. Accessed: 17.9.2014    





VanAuken, B. Branding Strategy Insider, The risk of brand identity change. 11.1.2012. Accessed: 17.9.2012