Techniques to increase

brand value
Lecturer: Trương Quang Vinh
 Chapter 6
BRAND POSITIONING
 Illustrate where the brand imagery can be
1 developed from
and how to choose the most successful.

Demonstrate the definition of the brand

2 DNA.

OBJECTIVES Describe the development of the brand

3 proposition and
brand personality.

Summarize the creation and development

4 process for new
brand names.

Outline the process for the creation of

5 logos, trade marks
and corporate identities.
 1

Aesthetic codes
Aesthetic codes are the images and symbolic meanings of a brand that are
derived from all fields of consumer culture.
The list is a starting point of rich areas to mine for symbolic imagery;
additional, relevant areas can also be examined, depending on the product,
service or brand category:
Geography Technology Fashion
Science Sports Religion
Law Societies Monarchy
History Art Philosophy
Education Popular culture Finance
Cuisine Animals Rituals
Language Identity Humour
The symbolic aesthetic codes these represent are generally
universally accepted by consumer groups, and specifically used by
relevant interested target consumers to build and communicate
their identity with themselves and others.
These symbolic aesthetic codes provide a rich source for building
new brand personalities around their corresponding themes and
core brand dimensions.
The following blueprint structures the process of developing new
brand names, identities and experiences expressed through all
media types. The benefit of this approach is:
• The brand DNA is a single source of reference for all branding and marketing
activities, both internal and external.
• This approach makes managing several different external agencies less
complex.
• It reduces the risk of brand dilution.
• It increases the coherence and potency of the brand.
• It ensures greater longevity of this potent brand essence against dynamic
internal and external forces.
• It provides a language for negotiating changes to the brand.
 2

Brand DNA
This is the essence of the brand that summarizes both the internal
and external benefits of the brand across all media types to all
stake-holders. It should be guarded closely: each time a change is
made to the brand DNA it should be done against a risk
assessment.
The first input is the one that expresses the business culture of the
brand, or the preferred business strategy. This can be the
underlying business practice of the category, such as the soft
drinks category, with incredibly low margins and high volumes.
Western societies are based largely on the circulation of goods and
services to generate wealth, employment and social structures.
No longer can businesses afford to remain with a product or
technology driven business plan; the consumer should be at the
core of all business decision making. This means that finding out
what the consumer wants and exceeding those wishes are
imperative if the brand is to enable and enhance consumers’ lives.
The other end of that identity spectrum is the social image that we
all portray to our friends, family, work colleagues and others; this
can be the same as our self-image, but the latter is usually reserved
for our closest companions.
The brand DNA must be a combination of rational and emotional
triggers and benefits, satisfying the heart and mind of the
consumer. Simple work sessions can help to define what those
benefits are and what their priority is, in terms of primary and
secondary brand values.
Rational benefits are those benefits that speak through logical
reasoning to the consumer in a cognitive framework of ideas.
For a retail outlet these could be:
• the brand that offers the widest range of products available;
• the brand that offers the best value for money;
• the brand that has 50 years’ experience in sports retailing;
• the brand that caters for women (men/young/old/students, etc).
For FMCG brands the rational benefits could be:
• the biscuit brand that fills you up;
• the shampoo brand that makes your hair healthier;
• the toothpaste brand that makes your teeth whiter;
• the washing up liquid that kills germs.
For a service brand the rational benefits might be:
• we deliver in 24 hours, worldwide;
• we offer a quiet ride;
• we have a large network;
• we have a fast access time.
Emotional benefits are those that satisfy the heart and soul of the
consumer, beyond the reasoned argument of the rational benefit.
They can build on the rational benefit as an explicit differentiator,
or they can be the immediate attraction that wins over the heart of
the consumer through its pure emotional charge.
Examples of emotional brand benefits might be:
• Tiger Woods-endorsed golf clubs.
• The washing powder for the caring mother.
• The face cream to make you beautiful.
• The sexiest clothing brand.
• The most exclusive car brand.
 3

Brand proposition
This is the succinctly expressed summary of the rational and emotional
benefits of the brand. It should include the target consumers, benefits, the
desired action and the criteria for attaining that brand and those benefits.
The key elements are:
• the promise, clearly stated;
• the relevance and salience to the consumer;
• the believability or proof of claim;
• the range of opportunities and ways to enjoy the promise;
• the summary of the promise;
• the criteria to attaining the promise, either comparative or
factual.
For sporty teenage men in urban areas, brand X is the most
accurate watch available that delivers the superior performance
and precision they need. This enables them to quickly develop
their physical condition and impress their girlfriends and social
friends for a medium price.
 4

Brand personality
The brand personality is the chosen character that best
communicates the brand proposition to the target audience.
The brand personality should be treated very much like a person or
character, as this format is easiest for consumers to understand
and accept.
A brand theme is the conceptual driver that all of the elements of
the brand message can be connected with. Successful brands are
able to develop all types of media and dimensions of the brand to
align with the brand theme; it is the expression of the brand
personality.
Successful brands develop their personality over time; they do not
remain static, because, as Peter York suggests, ‘What happens to
brands is experienced over time, so brands develop a social
history.’ Their brand proposition may remain constant, but its
expression as a personality needs to be updated to remain
contemporary in a changing competitive environment.
The best way to generate a successful brand personality is when all
the elements combine to create a total brand experience. This
means choreographing a performance of brand identity, in a
branded space, with branded service and resulting in a branded
memory.
The key to defining successful brand experiences is to create a
story that will satisfy the consumers’ desires without resorting to
the tired clichés of current market thinking.
 4

Brand name
The brand name is often the most highly visible and long-lasting
connecting element of a brand for the consumer. It should
crystallize the experience of the brand in a single word or phrase
that is transferable around the world and can be protected. It
should form an impenetrable barrier against competitors and
define the position of the business in the mind of the consumer.
1. A brand name identifies the company or product/service as unique
to the customer.
2. A brand name describes the company/product/service or core
emotional brand benefit.
3. A brand name should be easy to pronounce and spell.
4. A brand name should be usable around the world, avoiding cultural
mismatches.
5. A brand name should be protected and used to create a legal barrier
to counterfeiting.
6. A brand name should be an equity that can be traded, regard-less of
tangible company assets.
7. A brand name must ultimately feel good in a subjective sense.
1. Corporate strategic goals.
2. Brand architecture and sub-brands.
3. Legal protection.
4. Innovative product or me-too.
5. Does it feel right?
The brand name should try to fulfil the above criteria but it must
also take into account the long-term objectives for the brand. These
should be carefully considered before launching into naming sessions.
There are many proprietary name generation techniques based on
brainstorming, computer software or pure inspiration.
Once a list of names has been generated, they need to be edited to
produce a final list of 20–25 preferred names. These can then be
analysed, developed and checked against existing copyright and
trade mark lists. Computer databases are usually the easiest way to
do this, although there are specific agencies that can help with this
as well.
It is worth remembering that some of the best brand names break
many or all of the above rules. This highlights the ultimate
subjectivity of a name. It is important throughout the process to
retain names on the list that just feel right or are interesting and
unique.
Brand slogans and straplines are equally part of the corporate
identity and are usually adopted as a sub-text of the brand name.
 5

Brand logos and trade marks

Giles Lury (1998) has suggested
that brand icons fall into three
categories:
1. A brand icon depicts the brand’s
name, eg Jaguar, Penguin books.
2. A brand icon depicts an element
of the product or what it does, eg
Netscape, Mercedes.
3. A brand icon depicts the
character or personality of the
brand, eg Apple, Virgin.
The use of a trademarked logo adds further protection against
counterfeiting and can be used where language or words are not
appropriate
The choice of typeface can generate a series of brand associations
in the mind of the customer. Typefaces are part of the complete
corporate identity, and are often the most frequently seen element,
on everything from letterheads to products and packaging.
There are two basic pairs of divisions within type: serif and sans
serif, upper and lower case.
 6

Corporate identity
Corporate identity is the coordinated design and execution of the
brand names, themes and logos across a whole range of
applications. It is essentially a two-dimensional, one-way
communication, whereas branding is a wider form of relationship
marketing with two-way dialogue, including time-based brand
experiences.
The rules for logo development mirror those for name generation
and are best achieved with the help of a corporate identity
specialist. They will be able to translate the meaning or essence of
your brand into a series of executions that can cover everything,
including the letterhead, packaging, architecture, signage and
vehicles
A corporate identity should reflect the structure of the company
and express this as a visual map. According to Olins (1989),
‘Corporate identity programmes are emerging as major agents of
change. Because of their high visibility and impact they mark out
turning points in a corporation’s life.’ He goes on to suggest there
are three elements to a corporate identity programme:
1. Coherence. Presentation of a coherent structure.
2. Symbolism. Symbolize its ethos and attitudes.
3. Positioning. Differentiate from the competition.
Companies that are visually cluttered with too many variants or
individual executions of their corporate identity are probably
suffering from a lack of coherence and direction. To address this,
companies often have a corporate style guide or corporate identity
manual that specifies the range of permitted variants.