BrandDigest

An analysis of “a brand is”

A Brand Is a bundle of values and attributes that define a product or service’s value which is delivered to its customers, and the way of doing business which is the basis of a company’s relationships with its stakeholders

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By Denise Lee Yohn

The folks at BLACKCOFFEE have been inviting folks to complete the thought, “A Brand Is…” 

I was so fascinated to read the range of responses that I decided to take a closer look.  I wanted to see what common themes emerged among people’s definitions of “Brand” and what we could learn from them.

(...)

Here’s what I found:

1.    Some used the historical definition of a brand when branding was used on cattle, or suggested a brand is something which functions like a brand on cattle.

A brand is a label created by a company.—lix
A brand is a mark made by burning with a hot iron to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership—Bill
A brand is a different name for the same product—yo
A brand is a mark made by burning or otherwise, to indicate kind, grade, make, ownership—@SIGEPJEDI
A brand is a logo, a font, a long-standing celebrity spokesperson. It’s a memorable commercial. It’s a quality product with quality ingredients. It’s consistency.—Jocelyn Geboy
A brand is an iron tool heated in the fire and used to indicate ownership of cattle.—Stephen

2.    Some chose simply to say what a brand is not. (...)

3.    Some responses were negative towards brands. (...)

4.    Some people spoke of the financial value of a brand.

A brand is something you pay extra for—Mark
A brand is the difference between a 99¢ cup of coffee $4 venti, foamy, ristretto, doppio expresso con panna cappuccino.—Ken Peters
A brand is your most important asset if you own it or rely on it for income.—Kendall Langston

5.    Many people suggested a brand is “in the eyes of the beholder,” not under the control of the companies or marketers who promote it.

A brand is something companies try to control but often can’t—Jordan
A brand is perception—accidentalthinking
A brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what consumers say it is – and you’d better listen, because they’re vocal.—Ken Peters
A brand is a set of associations the audience has and how they see your business activities—@alexisvandam
A brand is a user generated meaning—Luis Miranda
A brand is the sound of your voice coming out of someone else’s mouth—Bill Gathen
A brand is what people outside a company perceive it to be based on everything they hear, read and see about that company.—Lewis Green
A brand is a recipient built by marketers but filled with people’s thoughts, frustrations, use, likes, dislikes… experience.—Rafael Lizárraga
A brand is perception—@kandacehudspeth
A brand is a collective perception in the minds of consumers—@faris
A brand is whatever I perceive it to be—Arvind
A brand is perception—Kandace
A brand is the sum of audience associations and expectations, both tangible and intangible, that surround your offerings.—@ericbrody
A brand is what everyone else sees—vera
A brand is how you are perceived by others and you get the opportunity to build your brand up – or tear it down with every customer interaction.—Stephen Lynch
A brand is the perception of a product.—David Mitchel
A brand is what they say about you after you have left the room…—Rob Levinson
A brand is everything people believe about your product, real or imagined, true or false.—Roger Dooley – Neuromarketing
A brand is the collective views of the people who care.—David Meerman Scott
A brand is the idea held in the minds of the customers of the experience they’ll have, and in some case what they will become, by purchasing your product.—Steve Farnsworth (@TheRealPRMan)
A brand is your reputation, your legacy. It is how you are perceived by an audience that must find you relevant.—Lida Citroen, LIDA360.com
A brand is how you are perceived by others—Stephen Lynch
A brand is useless without consumers.—Bryant Florez
A brand is what the public believes it is, not what companies say it is.—Jonathan Moore
A brand is what customers buy, not what businesses sell.—David Brier
A brand is all that stuff in the head of people ‘out there’ that you often have very little control over—Jon Howard
A brand is about people’s reactions to an organization’s actions.—Mark Gallagher—Brand Expressionist®, BLACKCOFFEE
A brand is a perception in the minds of others. It’s what they think you are, not what you think you are. It can be an image, a voice, a personality or a product/category, but it boils down to whatever people think when they hear the name.—Janice Dottin
A brand is [mine]—Kevin Gatta

6.    Yet, others responses spoke about a brand as a company’s values and/or corporate culture.

A brand is vision-led culture.—Steve Barnett
A brand is much more than a logo. It should represent the core values of your company, product, or service. A good brand should lead your organization internally, and clearly represent what you stand for to consumers.—D.K. Smith
A brand is your company’s DNA.—Nicho Valadez
A brand is a set of values you agree with.—Michael Ancevic

7.  A lot of people’s responses were about feelings – either saying a brand evokes feelings or that a brand is a feeling itself.

A brand is the feeling I get when I think about a company.—Jon
A brand is my connection to the product.—Missy
A brand is a gut feeling—luke
A brand are the hopes and expectations you have of a product and the company that makes it.—edward boches
A brand is the emotion invoked by a product—Mansi
A brand is a feeling evoked by simply thinking of the brand name.—Greenwala
A brand is an evocation—http://sidere.wordpress.com
A brand is how it makes you feel—Ld
A brand is butterflies or knives in your stomach—David Armano
A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.—Marty Neumeier, Neutron
A brand is a perception and lingering feeling that lives in the minds of your market. It’s based on emotion and defined by the experience people have with your brand.—Carol Chapman
A brand is an emotional short-cut to feeling good.—Anthony
A brand is what captures a consumer’s heart, not just a mind—Heidi Foreman
A brand is a collective emotional response.—Michael Troiano
A brand is something that evokes everything from DESIRE … to HATE.—Stephen Cocca
A brand is an expectation of receiving a feeling by way of an experience.—Tom Asacker

8.    Many people offered up answers describing what a brand does – e.g., generate demand. (...)

9.  Some explained a  brand functions like a memory tool.

A brand is something people remember.—EV
A brand is what you would want another person to remember first thing in the morning and think of just before he or she goes to bed.—Strategic Growth Advisors
A brand is the scar left behind on a person’s brain.—Zach K.
A brand is a concept seared into the mind.—Mark
A brand is like knowing exactly what to reach for when you cut your finger.—Jordan Julien
A brand is a product idea/vision that gets burned into consumers’ minds.—RcSim

10.    Others described the differentiating function of a brand.

A brand is what you have when everything else is equal.—Michael
A brand is unmistakable and unique.—@bradleyphoto
A brand is a developed and distinctive concept—-unknown
A brand is all you put on something that is equal to everything else in order to make it different—sg
A brand is a how people identify and differentiate goods and services.—Bobby
A brand is a token of difference.—Minko Dimov, creative director at protobrand
A BRAND IS THE RECOGNITION THAT ADDS SUPER-VALUE TO A PRODUCT THAT COULD DEFINE THE UNIQUENESS IN IT!!—Naveen Kumar
A brand is your face in this world to differentiates you from others—Karl Varley
A brand is a unique and deliverable claim of distinction supported by evidence of performance.—Ro Breehl

11.    A brand is an image or personality to some folks.

A brand is PERSONALITY!—Trish
A brand is the face you put on when you go out in public—Doug Besser
A brand quite simply is your voice, your vibe, your essence. It’s how you’d like to be perceived you in your ideal reality. There are three views: How you see yourself, how others see you and how you really appear. In many instances, companies use the equivalent of plastic surgery, attractive lighting and couture to craft their personae. Standards and guidelines aside, Few rarely “live” the brand, which in itself is a somewhat overused term.—David Weinstein
A brand is like a purpose-led person’s personality.—Harasha Bafana
A Brand is Attitude. It’s what you stand for, illustrate in visuals, sound like, how you act, what you stand for and how you communicate. It’s the sum of all impressions perceived in every brand channels.—Karsten Kjems
Very simple…an IMAGE of what your product/service is conveying to the masses.—Judy
A brand is your first impression—Joel Beukelman
A brand is what people see when they look at you and your product—Aaron Irizarry
A brand is more than a logo or a website. It’s a complete personality. One that drives the focus of the audience and engages them on a personal level.—Troy

12.    It’s an identity to others.

A brand is who you are.—John Turmelle
A brand is…expressing your own identity.—Kim Brown Irvis
A brand is establishing your sense of identity—MIke B
A brand is a part of someone’s identity—Mark Begin

13.  And a story or drama to still others.

A brand is a fairy tale.—@issamheddad
A brand is a story in which the author and the audience are both in control.—@mattquint
A brand is story or association in the mind of consumer.—Ritu Sinha
A brand is performance art.—Mike Wagner, CEO White Rabbit Group
A brand is part theater, part magic, part inspiration and whole-hearted passion. The stage is the mind of your audience. Let the production begin.—David Brier, Chief Gravity Defyer
A brand is a story told in the marketplace. Customers are telling your story with or without your help. Align the right brand message to the right channel of the consumer’s social grid to provide a multi-touch experience.—Matthew Kruchko, Applied Storytelling

14.    Some responses spoke of a brand as a promise.

A brand is a promise—@brennahanly
A brand is why I keep coming back, when that brand keeps its’ promise.—Dave Bradley
A brand is a promise, not something that happens when you spend mountains of money advertising.—Restaurant Marketing
A brand is delivering on a promise – perhaps inspired and initiated by a Company – but driven & actualized by the customer.—Robert Collins
A brand is a promise which when kept creates preference—Justin Basini (although not my defnition but I love it)
A brand is promise delivered to your customers.—Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO, Kodak
A brand is a promise fulfilled—Lauren Hughes
A brand is a promise of performance in the mind of the consumer.—Jack Birch
A brand is the equilibrium between people’s emotion and a company’s product, service; in short, a brand is the value a company promises to its clients—Colin
Some thought a brand is more of a relationship.
A brand is meaning & relationships—Juanjo
A brand is a mutual friend.—farfariya
A brand is a relationship driven by the customer experience—Fred Page
A brand is a relationship.—Dave Bradley
A brand is a long term profitable bond between an offering and a customer. This relationship must be based on economic, experiential & emotional value. Backed up by operational excellence & consistently monitored, measured and improved.—Marcus Osborne, Malaysia
A brand is a connection between the company and it’s customers—Stephan Lenting
A brand is a proxy for a relationship.—Ben Kunz
A brand is an experience to be shared with others or kept to ourselves. A brand is the personal interaction we have with a product, service or person. A brand is as fragile or as strong as friendship. If it breaks its promise, the relationship may be in jeopardy.—Kneale Mann

16.    And some offered that a brand is an experience.

A brand is what i experience when i get in touch with its products and with it communications efforts—maria
A brand is something you trust because it gives you lifestyle experience—http://scratchvertise.blogspot.com/
A brand is a customer experience — including perceptions, like, dislike or apathy — of a product or service.—jeff
A brand is the reaction one has to a company, product or service based on the sum total of experiences, directly or indirectly, said person has had with company, product or service.—Joel Mier
A brand is the entire experience a consumer has with every touch-point of your brand, the emotional connection they have with it and the interaction itself represents the opportunity for a brand to transact an experience with the consumer that will not only deliver the delight they expect but also provide them with unexpected value and satisfaction that is unique unto your brand alone.—John Walsh – FlyLite
A brand is a summary of thousands of touchpoints.—Tyrale
A brand is the aggregate of all the tangible and intangible interactions one can have with it.—John Schneider
A brand is the emotions, feelings, and thoughts generated from the experience of a place, idea, or product.—Seth Hosko
A brand is an experience that is shared between customers.—Kneale Mann

17.    Some responses didn’t fall into one of the above groupings – either because they spanned multiple themes, or because they introduced a different thought. (...)

18.    And some offered up definitions similar to mine:

(...)

My response:
A Brand Is… a bundle of values and attributes that define:
•  a product or service’s value which is delivered to its customers, and
•  the way of doing business which is the basis of a company’s relationships with its stakeholders

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This is only an excerpt from Denise Lee Yohn's original post.

Read more here.

Published on Brand As Business Bites (TM), on Sept. 6th, 2009

BruTwestival

Be sure to be there ... !

True Marketing Doesn't Just Sell the Story

If CMOs are truly to be growth champions for their corporations, they can't simply rely on traditional marketing and brand-building techniques.

To Achieve Top-Line Growth, CMOs Must Design New Businesses

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by Robert C. Wolcott

In nearly a decade of research, my colleagues and I have found that established companies increasingly are successfully building new businesses on a repeated basis, a process we call corporate entrepreneurship. Marketing -- true marketing, not just selling the story but helping create it -- must play a central role. True marketing is about understanding current and potential customers better than anyone else, translating those insights into powerful new offerings and experiences, and creating ever more effective and efficient paths to market.

In other words, marketers must design new businesses, rather than just launch new products.

Business design is the essence of marketing. It is also the most vital component for successful, game-changing innovation. Apple understands this. It doesn't just create new products. Marketing prowess played a much greater role in the iPod and iPhone's success than technology, and I don't just mean great ad campaigns. With the iPod, Apple showed it understood better than competitors what customers would demand. It created an exceptional (and legal!) music-downloading experience and built the marketplace infrastructure, such as iTunes and Apple retail locations.

Our research shows that innovation can apply to any aspect of how a company does business. While that's not surprising, what should be most impressive to marketing professionals is the range of factors marketing organizations can affect when it comes to creating new businesses.

Obviously one of the most commonly thought of types of innovation is a breakthrough new product or service. P&G's Crest SpinBrush was introduced in 2001 and became the world's best-selling electric toothbrush by 2002 based on its ease of use, portability and affordability. New products and services are still fundamental.

But there are other, perhaps more subtle and equally powerful ways companies can create new value. Starbucks, of course, convinced Americans to pay $4 for coffee, and it didn't invent anything, at least not in terms of technology. Its innovation was about an exceptional customer experience, for which customers paid a premium. It was a whole new mission that changed American culture.

Here are types of innovation where marketing should play a central role:

1. Customer experience
   Customer-experience innovation isn't limited to consumer companies. If you have customers, you have a customer experience, whether you know it or not. Global cement behemoth Cemex created a satellite GPS dispatch system to radically enhance its responsiveness to customer orders, taking the industry standard from more than 24 hours down to 30 minutes in many markets.
2. Customers
   Customer innovation involves discovering new customer segments and/or uncovering unmet or unarticulated needs. Virgin Mobile became a successful late entrant into the U.S. cellular market by focusing on the underserved segment of Americans under 30. Within three years of its launch, it had attracted more than 4 million subscribers in very competitive markets.
3. Value capture
   Value-capture innovation involves discovering new revenue streams, innovative pricing mechanisms and new ways to get paid by customers or partners. Google's paid search and Allstate's accident-forgiveness feature on auto-insurance policies are innovative ways in which companies have captured value in unique ways. (Allstate charges more for the original policy, while consumers no longer feel victimized when accidents send their rates skyward.)
4. Presence
   Presence innovation creates new distribution channels or innovative points of presence. Health clinics in Walmarts and pop-up retail stores are current examples of innovating presence.
5. Networking
   Networking innovation entails the enhancement of intelligence, flexibility or effectiveness through technology-supported networking. McDonald's Moms' Quality Correspondents community offers selected mothers the opportunity to communicate with the fast-food giant and each other both online and in person.
6. Brand
   Brand innovation leverages or extends the brand in creative ways. Virgin is probably the most-recognized example.

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Robert C. Wolcott is the founder and executive director of the Kellogg Innovation Network at the Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches innovation management and strategy. His book, with Michael J. Lippitz, "Grow From Within: Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation" (McGraw-Hill), will be available this fall.

This is only an excerpt. Read Robert C. Wolcott's full article here.

Published in Advertising Age / CMOStrategy : September 02, 2009