Lecture Logic: The Importance of Branding

By Erica Wenham, Monday 07 January 2013.

Managing The Commercial Communications Process (Week 13)

A new year calls for a new topic in MCCP today; the importance of branding.

Ward et al. (p.88, 1999) define a brand as a “distinctive identity that differentiates a relevant, enduring, and credible promise of value associated with a product, service or organisation and indicates the source of that promise”. The brand’s promise can be based on a variety of things; for example, innovative technology or superior service and customer support. The promise is relevant to the intended customers of the brand, and may differ slightly between consumer groups in order to more exactly meet their needs. The credibility of the brand promise hinges upon persistence and consistency in its deliver; if is achieved, this represents a significant competitive advantage.

The importance of the branded companies depicts not only the products, but the relationship with the customer. Successful brands helps profitability by adding value that essentially entices customers to buy. They also provide a firm base for expansion into anything from product improvement, variants, added services, to international trading. A successful brand helps to protect the organisation against the growing power of intermediaries within the market. They can also help “transform organisations from being faceless bureaucracies to ones that are attractive to work for and deal with” (DeChernatony & McDonald, p.18, 2003).

Ultimately, all relative attributes of the brand will affect its overall strength and this in turn will be reflected in the financial value and success of the brand. The model above reflects numerous dimensions to achieve/measure high quality brand equity/value. As shown below, Ward et al. (1999) demonstrate how the brand pyramid concept can be effectively used in order to build a powerful brand.

The first two levels of the pyramid represent the elements of product competition, rather than that of brand competition. However, if the company can raise it’s offering to encompass level three, emotional rewards can result in competitive advantage. The top two levels of the pyramid represent the stages reached by powerful brands, where the brand is recognised in terms of its personality and values.

The importance of the branding process also relies on business to business (B2B) and consumer decision making processes. These models can found in DeChernatony & McDonald (2003).