Building a Brand

The term brand derives from the mark made on cattle to signify identification and ownership. At its simplest, a brand is a proper noun and that noun could relate, for example, to a product, service, company, country or other destination, political party, person or sports team. A more complex view of a brand is that it consists of a set of values, some functional and emotional benefits and even the type of customers to whom the brand appeals. Sometimes the essence of the brand can be captured in a slogan. Examples include BMW’s ‘the ultimate driving machine’, and the BBC Horizon programme’s, ‘pure science, sheer drama’. Building strong brands is a key task for marketers. How this is achieved is likely to vary from case to case but there are some general principles.

The brand name

Firstly and, according to some marketers, most importantly of all, is the brand name itself. Brand names can sometimes be abstract, like Kodak, or redolent of the product, such as Swatch, or simply based on the name of the brand owner e.g. Ford.

Being around for a long time and being first

Being around for a long time and being first often helps. Many of today’s top brands were introduced a long time ago. Levi’s were first worn in 1872.

The core promise

The core promise could be the quality of the product, or a unique feature. Often it is a bundle of values and benefits that have become integral to the core product or service. The highly successful Levi’s 501 jeans were associated with a mixture of rebelliousness, originality, freedom and American culture – all this on top of a quality product.

Consistency and contemporaneity

Those brands that have survived a long time have generally kept their core promise consistent over time but have been able to present it in a way that is in tune with changing times.

Effective marketing communications

Effective marketing communications are key to building strong brands. Some brands do this by investing heavily in media advertising campaigns. Others prefer to use different communication channels such as public relations, direct mail campaigns or text messaging. In a world where consumers are bombarded with messages, it is difficult for any one brand to break through.

Organisational culture

Lastly, but very significantly, increasing attention is being paid to the development of an organisational culture and a set of organisational values that support the brand values. Brand owners should consider the need to build genuine corporate social responsibility into their organisation’s values.

CASE STUDY

A. Introduction to the problem.

Top-selling Levi’s jeans have remained almost the same since they were created over 100 years ago. What makes these jeans so popular all over the world? Consider fabric, price, style, quality, fit, durability, etc.

What brand of jeans do you prefer to wear? Why?

If you owned such an old company as Levi Strauss & Co., what managerial decisions would you make to maintain in a stiff competitive market?

B. Scanning for Information

Work in groups of three. Each person should scan one of the three articles on Levi Strauss & Co. and take notes in the appropriate section of the outline after the articles. Then, share information so that everyone in your group has the same data and can fill in the Levi Strauss & Co. Product History outline completely. Then be ready to answer the questions:

• How did the original Mr. Levi Strauss create jeans?

• What new Levi products have succeeded or failed in recent years?

• Why does Levi Strauss and Co. continue to develop new products?

Text A