Principles of Competitive

Branding
MKTG 6190 - Brand Management
Masters in Marketing Programme Cohort 15
Lecture #4 (27-05-14)
Resourcing the Brand
Choosing brand elements
Six Criteria for Choosing
Brand Elements Brand
Protectable
legally &
competitively
Adaptable
flexible,
updatable
Transferable
within or
across
category or
geographies
Likable
appealing
visual &
verbal
imagery
Meaningful
descriptive,
persuasive
Memorable
easily
recognized
& recalled
Brand
Element
Criteria
Brand Elements
Packaging
Slogan
& Jingles
Character
Logo
& Symbol
Name
(& URL)
Brand
Elements
Choosing the Name
1. Simple and easy to pronounce
2. Easy to remember (familiarity and
meaningfulness)
3. Different, distinctive and unique
4. Must carry soundly across
geographies and cultures (meaning &
translation)
Choosing the Name
(contd)
5. Must not have unintentional double
meaning
6. Must not be too close to existing
names
7. Must not have legal implications
8. Must not have an obvious
contradiction of the positioning
Choosing the Name
(contd)
Descriptive: Literally describes
function
Suggestive: suggestive of a
user benefit
Choosing the Name
(contd)
Compound: Combination of
two or more unrelated words
to produce a unique meaning
Choosing the Name
(contd)
Classical: To connote prestige
or heritage
Arbitrary: No obvious tie-in to
companys business
Fanciful: Coined words with no
obvious meaning
Logos & Symbols
1. Indicates origin, ownership or
association
2. Makes brand easily recognizable
3. Because they are often non-verbal,
they transfer well across cultures and
product categories
4. Can be easily adapted over time to
achieve a more contemporary look
Logos & Symbols
Over time
Performance
Original
Future
The concept of Subliminal Messaging in Brand
Design

Subliminal messages are hidden messages that are embedded in
another medium to act on the consumers subconscious mind.
They make consumer think or want the brand without the
consumer realizing it.

The concept of subliminal message in advertising appeared in
1957 by James Vicary, he placed a briefly flashing hidden
message "Drink Coca Cola - Eat Popcorn in film frame at theatre
in a New Jersey, to increase popcorn sales by some 58% and
Coke sales by some 18%. (Wayne Weiten,2010)
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
The FedEx logo, at first glance appears simple and
straightforward. However, if you look at the white space between
the E and x you can see a right-facing arrow. This hidden
arrow was intended to be a subliminal message to convey speed
and precision
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
Toblerone chocolate originates from Bern in Switzerland, which is
known for its high mountains. Bern is also called The City Of
Bears. Look and find the hidden bear silhouette in the mountain
illustration.
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
The yellow arrow on the amazon logo is more than just a
decorative swoosh. The logo was designed to illustrate the
message that it sells everything from A to Z (the arrow connects
the two letters) and also represents the smile that customers
would experience by shopping on the Amazon.com
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
Black Cat
A seemingly simple logo but look again at it carefully and you will
realize that the two letter Cs are also cats eyes
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
The Tour de France logo actually contains the hidden image of a
cyclist which can be seen in the logo through the letters O U
and R combined with the orange circle representing the front
wheel
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
Speculation about the
subliminal message behind
the newly refreshed logo,
released in 2013, had been
swirling when some people
began to notice a word in the
new image of the red-headed
girl. Can you see it?

Wendy's would later deny that
it purposefully snuck a hidden
message within its new logo.
Hidden Message Logos | Clever Logos
with Hidden Meanings
Characters
1. Extremely effective at bringing out the
brand identity, brand values and essence
2. Can break through marketplace clutter
3. Customers tend to form relationships
quicker when the brand is represented with
a human or other living character
4. Allows for good transferability across
markets and product categories
Characters
Identify the Companies
that these Characters Represent
Slogans & Jingles
1. Slogans and jingles are meant to
immediately convey the brand essence
or mantra in a single phase, tag line
or musical verse
2. Should be consistently used in all
communication
Slogans
1. People centered, future driven
__________
2. We put you first ___________
3. Were the one for you ____________
4. Wise financial thinking for
life___________
5. Looking after Life ___________
6. Where people are people ___________
Packaging
1. Identify the brand, its positioning and
identity
2. Convey descriptive & persuasive
information
3. Facilitate transportation and user
storage
4. Aid product consumption
Packaging
1. Often the strongest associations consumers have about a
product is inspired by its packaging
2. Therefore packaging changes would have a profound effect on
consumers
3. As such, packaging should only be changed in the following
circumstances:
1. To signal to customers that there is a change in the contents
2. To signify a relevant innovation that will highly appeal to the
consumer
3. To signify a line extension or brand extension

4. Caution: do not underestimate how changes in packaging that
you may deem small and insignificant can have a huge effect on
brand perception and consumer confidence.
Critique of Brand
Element Options
Criterion Names Logos &
Symbols
Characters Slogans &
jingles
Packaging
Memorable Enhances
brand recall &
recognition
More useful
for brand
recognition
More useful
for brand
recognition
Enhances brand
recall &
recognition
More useful for
brand
recognition
Meaningful Reinforces
saliency and
exclusivity
Reinforces
saliency and
exclusivity
Reinforces
brand identity
Conveys almost
any mental
associations
Conveys almost
any mental
associations
Likable Excellent
verbal cue
Excellent
visual cue
Excellent
visual & verbal
cue
Reinforce
brand identity
through verbal
imagery
Reinforce brand
identity through
visual imagery
Transferable Limited Excellent Somewhat
limited
Somewhat
limited
Good
Adaptable Difficult Redesign
possible
Redesign
possible
Redesign
possible
Redesign
possible
Protectable Good within
limits
Excellent Excellent Excellent Can be copied
Brand Building Model
Adapted from Building Brands Leslie de
Chernatony - Marketing Business 2001
Conduct Brand Audit (for existing brands)
Vision, Values, Positioning, Identity, Essence
Set Brand Objectives
Audit Brandsphere
Brand Resourcing
Develop an IMC Plan
Brand survey
What do our
targeted
customers think &
feel about our
Brand?
Ideal brand
identity
How should
customers
actually think &
feel about our
brand (Identity vs.
Image Gap)
Set brand
objectives
Transform brand
vision into
concrete,
quantifiable
objectives
Audit Culture
Ensure artifacts,
employee
behavior &
customer service
reflect brand
vision, values etc.
Identify
supportive
or hindering
forces
Create
strategies to
deal with each
brandsphere
member

Align Organizational Culture to Brand
Identify sources
of brand
identity
Create the visible
cues needed to
reveal the brand
vision/identity
Communicate the brand
Identify each touch point and
audiences, then create
comprehensive IMC plan with
performance measures etc.
E
v
a
l
u
a
t
i
o
n

Brand Visioning
1. What stamp or imprint
should your brand have on
the future environment?
2. What will be the Customer
Value Proposition?
3. How will the brand be
positioned?
4. What will be its identity?
5. What will its brand
essence that ties the
positioning and identity
together ?
Align Organizational
Culture to Brand
Its not so much what
customers receive, but rather
how they receive it
As the functional characteristics of
competing brands continue to become
increasingly similar, organizational
culture will become a more important
brand discriminator.

companies are realizing that the process
of branding begins withinfor
what you have within, will ultimately
reflect without..
Set Brand Objectives
Brand
Objective
Performance
Standard
Department/
Employees
Responsible
Audit Brandsphere
External forces can either
support or hamper our
organizations ability to
achieve the brand
objectives. Therefore it is
necessary to develop clear
strategies for each external
Brand Resourcing
Identify sources of
brand identity
Create the visible &
verbal cues needed to
reveal the brand
vision/identity
Develop an IMC Plan
Company
Employees
External
Stakeholders
Internal
Communication
Plan
External
Communication
Plan
Integrated Communication Plan
Critical Touch Points
Develop an IMC Plan
(contd)
Audience
(who)
Message
(What)
Delivery
Mechanism
(How)
Responsible
Party
By when
Study Questions
Select a local brand and identify all its brand elements,
assessing how each element contributes to its brand
equity, in terms of being memorable, meaningful,
likable, transferable, adaptable or protectable.

Select a local brand and identify one of its brand
elements. Explain how this element contributes to its
brand equity according to the Customer-based brand
equity model (CBBE)

Recommend and explain a suitable model of brand
building to a firm that is considering the launch of a new
brand.
Required Reading
Strategic Brand Management - Kevin L. Keller
3
rd
Edition or Later
Chapters 4 & 5

Handout #1: The Concept of Subliminal Messages in
Brand Design by Dr. Faten Farouk Atrees

http://www.branderbull.com/hidden-message-logos-
with-a-side-order-of-clever-and-creative-logo-designs/