Does your Brand Stand out?
I mean to ask
Is your brand standing out in the market comprising of hundreds of them?
Like for example:
What would come to your mind when you think about a luxury car?
The first thing that will come to your mind is mind-blowing speed and incredible performance based on that you start thinking of Mercedes, BMW or Audi cars, Right?
That is true essence of brand identity. Big brands have developed innovative and unique ideas that have worked effectively to reach out to their customers.
The story of a successful brand identity is based on people’s interests and preferences. But, in the absence of a significant and transparent identity, a brand will never be able to stand tall in this highly competitive market.
To understand this concept better, you should learn about the Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism.
What is Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism?
If you are on your way to develop a brand identity then you have to know about Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism. In 1996, Jean-Noel Kapferer, the professor of marketing strategy at a popular management school in France, had introduced the Brand Identity Prism in his book, “Strategic Brand Management”.
The professor had highlighted six key elements that are considered as very effective tools for building brand identity. If you are trying to develop your brand’s identity, you must know that it is your customers’ experience with your brand and its history that determine the way your customers’ think about your brand. Moreover, customers will attentively look for some clues about what your brand is mostly known for.
However, the clues represented within Kapferer’s six section of prism are:
Physique
Personality
Culture
Relationship
Reflection
Self-image
In his book, Kapferer mentioned that these features would only come in effect when a brand will communicate with consumers. According to the professor, a brand will be considered strong if it is capable of incorporating all features into an effective effort to avail a concise, transparent and appealing brand identity. In this article, we will cast light into those six aspects introduced by Kapferer.
The brand identity prism therefore applies human traits to a brand to recognize what consumers actually think of the brand. The brand identity prism, as the name suggests comes in the form a prism with 6 different traits at each end of the prism.
L'oreal brand identity has transformed over the years, but primarily it has remained as a Women skincare brand. The external and internal indicators of Brand Identity have been modified many times. Its packaging, trademark, products etc have undergone many changes over time but the distinct identity of L'oreal has been maintained. We also see a consistency in brand positioning for L'oreal as a Women oriented brand. Its tagline “Because you are worth it” exemplifies that essence. L'oreal brand identity using Kapferer’s Identity prism is as follows
Today the ground rules of Marketing are changing.
We are in an era where everything is rapidly evolving and adapting itself. Social media, content marketing, the younger generation, second screening, thought-leadership and the demographic shift are just some of the many things that are challenging brands to think differently.
Today creating & sustaining a Customer trust & loyalty for a brand is more difficult than ever. For example in today’s market where we have ‘n’ number or mobile phone companies only the few selected classes stick to the brands while the majority of masses use and select a different mobile phone company each time they purchase a new phone.
Building relationships with consumers has never been more challenging, with so much competition for their attention. Today whether we pick up the newspaper or surf through the internet there is a constant barrage of ads that flash before our eyes.
Being an on-trend, relevant, inspiring, purposeful, innovative and community-centric brand – these are the things that will make people pause, listen and pay attention.
Just grasping attention is not enough today.
Customers want to identify with a brand they can grow with, that earns their trust and makes them feel valued. People want to evolve with a brand whose products and services help give their business or life meaning and significance.
When it comes to branding whether if you are starting up or an established business owner or an entrepreneur there are a few Branding strategies that must not be ignored
First let’s see what Branding strategies are
By definition, brand strategy is a long-term plan for the development of a successful brand in order to achieve specific goals.
The biggest misconception about brand strategy is that one’s Brand is not their product; logo, website or its name brand is much more than that.
It’s the stuff that feels intangible i.e. the stuff unable to be touched or having physical appearance. Those are the feelings of the customers for any powerhouse brand than towards a mediocre brand.
So to help you rein in what many marketers consider more of an art and less of a science, we've broken down few essential components of a comprehensive brand strategy that will help keep your company around for ages.
The Components for a Comprehensive Branding Strategy are:
Purpose
Consistency
Emotion
Flexibility
Employee Involvement
Loyalty
Competitive awareness
These are the important but basic branding strategies which are followed by all!
When in today’s market condition what is required is standing out from the crowd as said in Forbes one needs to stop doing what everyone else is doing and be creative about how your brand engages with consumers.
Establish an Identity That is Easily Relatable Identity branding is an integral part of business. After all, you have to make sure that you can market yourself properly. A brand identity is most powerful when it evolves and its value proposition. The value proposition strengthens its alignment with the changing lifestyle demands of its audience.
For example Big Bazaar India’s leading supermarket having over 200 stores across India. Their value proposition which helps their audience connects to them is ‘Great Savings Every day!’ In today’s world each penny saved counts which helps its customers relate to and it the way of the brand to convey that the products they offer are offering them with a ‘Bonus’ savings each time they shop.
Have any of you ever noticed, Brands Influence one’s lifestyle and their state of mind. The Brand formed or in making need to recognize that making new customers or developing existing customer’s relationships requires ability to educate, communicates & inspire what entirely your Brand represents and what it stands for.
Today the customer’s expectations are not just from what the Brand delivers, they are also keen in how is its delivery.
Hence here the need for the strategic marketing approach i.e. Content marketing focused to attract a clearly defined audience arises
Once your Brand is formed you need to leverage it properly.
Consumers have been found to be loyal to specific brands when they innovate their offered products. However Innovation might seem to be an obvious strategy, yet many companies fail or rather fall short of their efforts. The innovative products offered must when the consumers are ready.
Like for example Blackberry phones which ruled the market once for the segment of business phones today are wiped out from the market due to their lack of innovation. I personally have used Blackberry phones when I last purchased one of the phones purely due to the loyalty for the band next I had to hear stuff like ‘Company hi band ho gayi hai’ and much more when I went to purchase further accessories
Lastly much like leaders must lead with a Legacy-driven mindset, so should their brands. As you develop your brand, what is the legacy that you are mindfully attempting to leave behind?
The most successful brands never fall victim to an identity crisis. They know who they are and the responsibility they have to those whom they are serving. Their innovations are consistently delivered, genuine and true. They are focused on what matters most to their consumer and on continuously making the experience better.
Each one of these brand strategies is equally important and they build upon one another to create and sustain the ultimate customer experience.
Sure, you probably sell a similar product or service as many other companies, but you're in business because your brand is unique. By harping on every move your competitor makes, you lose that differentiation.
What other components do you focus on when building out a brand strategy? Let us know in the comments section below.
