Branding: Core Concepts and Web Context
Branding: Core Idea
- Branding links specific, concise associations to a product or service.
- Achieved by consistently communicating these associations over time to the general marketplace.
- Purpose: burrow into the market psyche and create a sense of shared experience.
- Core idea: a consistent premise repeated over time (Adamson, 2004).
Why branding overcomes product sameness
- Most products/services are standardized; objective differentiation is hard.
- If rational distinctions fail, branding differentiates on an emotional basis.
- Branding is built over years by product quality, reputation, and customer relations.
- Examples of enduring brand images: Crest, Jell‑O, Campbell's Soup.
- Result: easier to promote to targeted publics.
How branding selects audiences
- Branding targets publics with affinity for the brand image.
- Examples: Michelob Ultra (low carbs/calories beer); Gillette Mach3 (close shave).
Public relations and branding on the Web
- Digital marketing changes how people shop; brands become more powerful as filters for information.
- Brand as an assurance of trust and a promise of highest quality and service.
- Online information overload increases the importance of brand filtering.
- A. T. Kearney (1999): brands will become more powerful with digital media; brands act as filters for consumers.
- Dave Mallon (GMA): networked communities seek intensive product information; information flows both ways; brands can leverage this to gather and disseminate information.