Google

The brand name Google is a connotative play on word for googol, which is the number with the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeroes. The brand name effectively describes Googles main product, which searches massive amounts of information on the World Wide Web and narrows it down to relevant results that a user is seeking. The name is also easy to remember, distinctive, and sounds amusing. Overtime, Google has built a brand that is so often mentioned that various dictionaries have listed the verb googling or googled as a word, referring to users who conduct searches on google.com. With regards to the brand element, its logo is one that is memorable and likable. The logo seems be relaxed, using a warm combination of light blue, green, yellow, and red. Its font is not rigid but symbolizes the fun intention of Google with the laughing e. A logo is not the only representation of a brand. Googles endeavour on its main search page is also reflective of its fun nature. For example, during a specific holiday or the anniversary of a great invention, Google commemorates the occasion by changing its logo to an interactive video or a playable game. The fun nature is further exemplified during April 1st (April Fools Day) when the company usually pulls a prank on its audiences. Internally, the company also has one of the best company cultures that is representative of its outgoing nature. Its offices are often reported by the media for its creative, modern design that is almost equivalent to an adult daycare, with warm colours (yellow, orange, green), playground slides, ping pong tables, funny ornaments, and futuristic furniture. Although the Google brand has a fun attitude, it is not a representation of an adolescent child; it tries to act in a responsible way through its corporate motto: Dont be Evil. Some of the action they have taken to enact their motto includes building sustainable data centres that are energy efficient and leaving the growing Chinese search market due to privacy concerns. Google appeals to the public by taking accountability for their action, which many other large Fortune 500 companies sometimes fail to do. Google has many internet products, including search, news, YouTube, maps, Gmail, while spurning out several new products each year; this implies that it is also innovation oriented. Even with its brand character designs, it demonstrates this. For example, Googles smartphone brand, Android, is a friendly robot, a complex being capable of artificial intelligence. When originally entering the smartphone market, Google wants its Android brand extension to be instilled with the same sense of sophistication and technological innovation as its parent brand. This is increasingly proven successful by the growing market share of Android base phones versus IPhones and

BlackBerries. Phone manufacturers using the Android operating system are providing a strong alternative to Apple, with many critics claiming that Android is now providing technical specifications and features which is on par with Apple. At the same time, they aim to be consumer oriented despite the technological background. For example on its main webpage, it has a prominent search box in the middle of the page and the entire rest of the background is white space; this allows users to direct their attention to the search bar and to quickly find the information they need. Google aims to simplify its products to ensure users of all ages would be able to adapt quickly and effectively. As people continue to spend more time on the internet and their mobile phones, Google is frequently brought to mind. They are the market leader in providing reliable, effective solutions during the information age. This could explain why their brand is so salient, as millions of users depend on their useful products every day. Google has a strong resonance with users as they attempt to position their brand personality as socially responsible, while maintaining a warm, fun attitude and being focused on building reliable, innovative products. Googles biggest competitor is Microsoft. Microsoft competes with search engine of their own, Bing. Bing is similar to Googles search engine as they focused on making the search bar more prominent. Microsofts other products such as maps, video search, email also competes with Googles and is similar in functionality. The features of the products offered by both company is often updated to provide better user experience, but it is not radically changed as users often dislike having to readapt to a product. Hence, the point of parity between Microsoft and Google is focusing on producing products that are useful in enhancing a users everyday life but, most importantly, it should also be simple and easy to use. Where many see Google as a cheery, socially responsible company, people see Microsoft as being more of an aggressive company. Microsoft has been known to wait for an entrant or competitor to develop a new product and then spending large amount of cash flow to develop a better product in order to knockout the smaller competitor who could not afford to develop a similar product. Microsoft has also been known to enact complex licensing deals to earn more money. Google, on the other hand, has a tendency to purchase smaller entrants who pose a potential threat. Microsoft innovates as much as Google does and often develops new features for their software but they tend to have a more corporate feel especially when they have several divisions devoted to business products such as Microsoft Office, server management tools, and database software. Hence, the biggest point of difference between the two companies is the

image of Microsoft being a corporate bully, while Google is a more consumer friendly and socially responsible company.

Nike
The name "Nike" has its origins from the Greek and means "goddess of victory." The logo displayed as the famous swoosh represents the wing of the Greek Goddess. The iconic swoosh is located on many of Nikes sports related equipment and connects with their different campaigns. Their famous slogan Just Do It, which was created in 1988 and is still in effect today, helps invoke a sense of assertiveness and perseverance required in any competitive sport to not make any excuses, second thoughts, and to take the initiative to achieve ones goal. Beside the slogan, Nike uses many marketing communications to convey their message. Some of these include social media, traditional media, company-owned stores, and sponsorship deals. Nike focused on many different messages with a more personalized feel to inspire the audience. For example, one campaign involved Michael Jordan, one of the best players in the National Basketball Association, recounting the numerous failures he had in his entire career before he achieved massive stardom. Another one depicted a game among top soccer athletes who are competing to take the game winning shot, and we are able to see each of the athletes dreams, explaining their motive for wanting to win the game. Nike has more than one brand character but all of them have similar stories, many of which relate to enduring hardships and fighting for ones dreams to attain eventual success. Nike attempts to not only have successful athletes wear their gears, but athletes who are considered by many one of the best in their game. For example, the sponsorship of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The use of the biggest, most successful athletes provides an image that Nike is not only about perseverance and dreams, but also about the end result which professional athletes crave, immense success and winning. Nikes equipment is comparable in quality to its competitors, Adidas, Puma, and Reebok; most of which is mass produced in sweatshops in less fortunate countries. However, Nikes endorsement of top athletes helps add a layer of superiority to their products compared to competitors. Nike resonances with us because they are able to convey a brand about dedication, and combine with the powerful successful stories Nikes target market includes active people who enjoy high quality sports equipment. These consumers are usually young adults to mid-age professional athletes as well as nonprofessional consumers who live an active lifestyle. Adidas celebrities Nike Successful athletes

Differentiation, parity:

Brand elements: memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable, protectable, logo Brand names: descriptive, idiomatic, connotative, etc Feelings: Imagery: Performance: Judgments: How does it attain resonance: Salience (recall): Type of Brand: power brand, explorer brand, icon brand, identity brand Brand Personality: colour and font of Google is fun, Its one of do no evil, creative, innovative. April fools day. Brand Character: The android character is a fun robot with light colours Brand logo: the android logo signifies complexity of technology but innovation to help users with their daily life IMCs used: online advertising, traditional media ads, Video, Social media, etc Example of IMC used to show character and logo Competitors: Big ones to their core businesses are Microsoft Bing, Yahoo! (other ones include Apple (phone), Facebook (social networking), diggs, dropbox, etc) o How do they segment themselves and position themselves versus competitors? o Points of differences and points of parity o Why did you select these brands over your competitors?

IMCs used: online advertising, traditional media ads, Video, Social media, etc Example of IMC used to show character and logo Competitors: Big ones to their core businesses are Microsoft Bing, Yahoo! (other ones include Apple (phone), Facebook (social networking), diggs, dropbox, etc) o How do they segment themselves and position themselves versus competitors? o Points of differences and points of parity o Why did you select these brands over your competitors?

y y y y y y y y

Descriptive (Lean Cuisine, I Cant Believe its not Butter, Liquid Plumber) Idiomatic for cultural insiders (Hob-Nobs, lastminute.com) Connotative (Jaguar, Energizer, Zenith) Surname (McDonalds, Clairborne, Dell) Arbitrary (Apple, Amazon) Blended (PowerBook, Nutrasweet) Constructed (Acura, Lucent, Intel) Invented (Kodak, AOL, Oreo)

Brand culture & pyramid slide 2 Each level (e.g. salience, imagery, performance, judgments) has their own internal description to reach where they are today. Font, Brand Character, etc slide 3 BRAND PERSONALITY and how it develops Slide 4 IMCS slide 4

Brand characters and etc slide 5 Brand reflection Work with Keller s branding sequence resonance, etc Written as a researcher half text, half theory?

found 4 different styles of leadership Power Brands - continual improvements, own a central category benefit

EG. Gillette (closest shave), Crest (whitest teeth), Volvo (safest car) Explorer Brands - tap people s desire to grow and learn, reach potential

EG. Body Shop, Nike ( Just Do It ), Microsoft ( Where do you want to go today? ) Icon Brands - symbolic of some aspect of history, emotional connection

EG. Marlboro (freedom of American West), Disney (childhood magic) McDonald s (kids, family values) Identity Brands - help people express who they are

EG. BMW (successful, white collar) Birkenstock (nature-oriented) Brand positioning is defined as the act of designing the company s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct place in target customer s mind Establishing points of different a brand has over its competitors and alleviating any concerns alleviating concerns are also known as points of parity Brand awareness is strength of brand node, which we can measure as the consumer s ability to identify the brand under different conditions Brand image is consumers perceptions about a brand, as reflected by brand associations held in the consumer memory Brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and make up the brand image e.g.adjectives E.g. apple products are user friendly, educational, fun, graphics, ipod, etc Image can vary and you can use only brand awareness but depending on segmentation or customer favorability, and uniqueness is required

Who are you? (Brand Identity) What are you? (Brand Meaning) What about you? What do I think or feel about you? (Brand responses) What about you and me? What kind of association and how much of a connection would I like to have with you (Brand Relationship)

Brand resonance Brand positioning Brand Salience measures awareness of the brand o For example, how often and how easily the brand is evoked under various situations or circumstances o To what extent is the brand top-of-mind and easily recalled or recognized? o What types of cues or reminders are necessary? o how persuasive is this brand awareness

Basic functions that the brand provides to customers Breadth and Depth of Awareness: depth of brand awareness measures how likely it is for a brand element to come to mind and the ease it does so o A brand we easily recall has a deeper level of brand awareness than the one that we recognize only when we see it o E.g. people think of Tropicana whenever they were deciding which type of beverage to drink Breadth of brand awareness measures the range of purchase and usage situations in which the brand element comes to mind o E.g. Tropicana is not only for breakfast Consumers often make decisions from top-down fashion o E.g. deciding whether to have water or some type of flavored beverage Strategic Implications: o Brands should have depth and breadth of awareness o Breadth is often neglected the key question is whether consumers can recall the brands but where they think of it, when they think of it, and how easily and how often they think of it  E.g. H&R block created a marketing campaign that established themselves as a year-round financial services provider  Sometimes might be harder to change existing brand attitudes than to remind people of their existing attitudes toward a brand in additional consumption settings y E.g. Campbell soup reminded people that soup is not only an appetizer for restaurants

PIJF Brand Performance To create brand loyalty and resonance, marketers must ensure that consumers experiences with the product at least meet if not actually surpass their expectations Brand Performance describes how well the product or service meets customers more functional needs. o How well does the brand rate on objective assessments of quality? o What extent does the brand satisfy utilitarian, aesthetic and economic customer needs and wants in product and service categories? Five important types of attributes and benefits often underlie brand performance as follows: PPSSP o Primary ingredients and supplementary features I,r,e,s,p o Product reliability, durability, and serviceability o Service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy o Style and design o Price Reliability measures the consistency of performance over time and from purchase to purchase Durability is the expected economic life of the product Serviceability is the ease of repairing the product if needed Service effectiveness measures how well the brand satisfies customers service requirements Service efficiency describes the speed and responsiveness of service Service empathy is extent to which service providers are seen as trusting, caring, and having customer interest in mind Product performance is also affected by factors such as speed, accuracy, care of product delivery, installation, promptness, courtesy, and helpfulness of customer service and training, and quality of repair service and time involved Might even be sensory like how the product looks or feels Pricing policy for the brand can create associations about how relatively expensive the brand is and whether it is frequently or substantially discounted o Price is important as it organized products in to price tiers of different brands

Brand Imagery Imagery refers to more intangible aspects of the brand and form experiences directly from their own experience or indirectly through advertising o The intangibles include: UPPH o User profiles o Purchase and usage situations o Personality and values o History, heritage, and experiences Imagery maybe based on a type of person with demographic factors including (GARI):

Gender: e.g. venus razor have feminine associations, while Marlboro cigarettes has masculine association o Age: Pepsi, Powerade, and Fuji have positioned themselves as younger than Coke, Gatorade, and Kodak o Race: Goya foods have strong identification with Hispanic market o Income: polo shirts have been associated with young, affluent, urban professionals Psychographic factors might include attitudes toward life, careers, possessions, social issue, or political institutions o E.g. a person might be seen as more iconoclastic or more traditional and conservative In business to business setting, people might refer to size or type of organization o E.g. timberland as a caring company and Microsoft as an aggressive company Imagery can refer to more than one characteristic e.g. to both time and distribution system Brands may also take on values five dimensions of brand personality is: o Sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness (secsr) o Personality traits might be instilled through product animation techniques, e.g. such as Geico Gecko, Mountain Dew Dudes, and etc o Once brands develop a personality, it is difficult for consumers to accept information they see as inconsistent with the personality User imagery and brand personality is not always in agreement o When performance related attributes are central to consumer decisions, e.g. food products, brand personality and user imagery maybe less closely related o E.g. Perrier s brand personality was sophisticated and stylish, whereas it s actual user imagery was flashy and trendy o when user imagery are important to consumer decisions and brand personality and imagery are more likely to be related (e.g. cars), consumers choose brand personality consistent with their own self-concept  although it can sometimes be on the person s own desired image rather than actual y effect is strong on publicly consumed goods rather than privately o When users are high self-monitors and sensitive to how others see them, they are more likely to choose brands personalities that fit consumption situation Brands may take associations to their past and certain noteworthy events in brand history o E.g. personal experiences and past behaviours with friends, family, or others o History usually involves usually involves more specific, concrete examples  E.g. mountain dew with its rebel myth that shows exciting, vital men who are far from the ideological model of success Can be public and shared by many people o E.g. colour of the product, look of its package, the company or person that makes the product, and country, type of store it is sold, events the brand is a sponsor, and people who endorse the brand o

Brand Judgments

Brand judgments are customers personal opinions about and evaluations of the brand o Consumers do this by putting together all the different brand performance and imagery associations There are four types: (QCCS) Brand Quality: Brand attitudes are consumers overall evaluations of a brand o Brand attitudes generally depend on specific attributes and benefits of the brand o E.g. Sheraton hotels with room comfort, design, and appearance o Most important is related to its perceived quality and to its customer value and satisfaction Brand Credibility: describes the extent to which customers see the brand as credible in terms of three dimensions perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and likability o Is the brand seen as 1) competent, innovative and market leader (brand expertise) o 2) Dependable and keeping customer interests in mind (brand trustworthiness) o 3) Fun, interesting, and worth spending time with (brand likability) Brand Consideration: no matter how highly they regard the brand or how credible it is, they have to give it consideration and deem it relevant otherwise never to embrace it Brand Superiority: extent to which customers view the brand as unique and better than other brands

Brand Feelings Brand Feelings are customers emotional responses and reactions to a brand Transformational advertising is advertising designed to change consumers perceptions during actual usage experience of the product o E.g. Herbal Essence shampoo has been positioned as offering a revitalizing, sensual shampoo experience See page 69 for the ten commandments of emotional branding The following are six important types of brand-building feelings: (WFESSS) o 1.Warmth: brand evokes soothing types of feeling and makes consumers feel a sense of calm and peacefulness o 2. Fun: upbeat types of feelings make consumers feel amused, lighthearted, joyous, playful, cheerful, and so on o 3. Excitement: makes consumers feel energized and that they are experiencing something special  E.g. MTV evokes excitement of being alive or cool o 4. Security: feeling of safety, comfort, and self-assurance  E.g. Allstate insurance o 5. Social Approval: consumers feel that others look favourably on their appearance, behavior, and so on  E.g. mercedez o 6.Self-respect: brand makes consumer feel better about themselves, provides sense of pride, accomplishment, and fulfillment

 E.g. tide laundry detergent The first three types of feelings are experiential immediately and increase level of intensity Next three types are private and enduring, increasing level of gravity nike Company Owned Stores these provide many benefits such as showcasing the brand and all its different product varieties in a manner not easily achieved through normal retail channels. For example Nike may find its products scattered in different departments in department stores and athletic stores, one that may not seem logical to how the brand wants to display its goods. Whereas with their own store they are able to present it how they wish, and show the full depth and breadth of their product lines. It can also be used as a means for testing alternative designs and gauging customer responses. Negatives companies lack the skill, resources, or contacts to operate effectively as a retailer. Another issue is the potential conflict with existing retail channels and distributors. However, companies use it more to bolster their image, and as a way to hedge their bets as retailers continue to push their own brands. (Levis, while JC Penny pushes Arizona brand)