Which of the following is a name Term sign symbol design or a combination of these that identifies that make or seller of a product or service?

 “Brand” is one of those words that is widely used but unevenly understood. The first definition of “brand” is the name given to a product or service from a specific source.  Used in this sense, “brand” is similar to the current meaning of the word “trademark.”

More than a century ago, cattle ranchers used branding irons  – unique symbol to indicate which animals were theirs. With the rise of packaged goods in the 19th century, producers put their mark on a widening array of products—cough drops, flour, sugar, beer—to indicate their source. The term brand has wider meaning and it used to describe a name, symbol or logo for company or product. Brand name came to identify the products from its competitor products but of course branding could also can be used to disguise a law quality product as one of higher quality product.

In the first sense of the word, then, a brand is simply the non-generic name for a product that tells us the source of the product.There are many different definition of brand such as:

A brand is “ a name, term, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, which is intended to signify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors” as described by Philip Kotler in his classic marketing textbook (1984,p.482). A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services from those of competitors. A brand thus signals to the customer and the producer from competitors who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical (Aaker, 1991). Brands provide the basis upon which customers can identify and bond with a product or service or a group of products or services (Weilbacher, 1995).

A suceessful brand is an identifiable product, service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant, unique added values which match their needs most closely (Chernatonv and McDonald, 1998).

From the customer’s point of view, a brand can be defined as a the total accumulation of all his/her experiences, and is built at all points of contact with the customer (Kapferer, 2004). According to Keller (2003a), consumer brand – knowledge can be defined in terms of the personal meaning about a brand stored in consumer memory, that is all descriptive and evaluative brand – related information. Different sources and levels of knowledge such as awareness, attributes, benefits, images, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and experiences get linked to a brand and its understanding by the customer.Nowdays, Brand is not a by product, an ad-campaign, a logo, a spokesperson or a slogan. It is the differentiating identity and the most important reason for customers, employees, stake holders to do the business with you. In a real sense it’s firms most important asset. Five factors below in details will help to clear up about brand:

• The brand promise: a brand is a promise to consumers.
• The brand perceptions: Brands are built by customers, not by companies
• The brand expectations: Base on your brand promise, consumers develop expectation for your brand
• The band persona: rather than asking “what is brand?” a better question might be “ who is brand?”. Every brand has a persona. Think of your brand as a person. Brand persona is one that customers will evaluate and judge before they do business with you.
• The brand elements: Your brand is represented by the intangible elements described above as well as tangible elements such as your brand logo, messaging, packaging, and so on. All of these elements must work together to consistently communicate your brand promise, shape brand perceptions, meet brand expectations, and define your brand persona.

Defining a brand for the product is a huge process of business self-discovery. Defining a brand can be difficult, time consuming and uncomfortable. But it is very useful that defining brand, because it leads to long journey for the product.

Brand image

A brand image is how the consumers perceive the brand (Aaker 1996). Aaker explains that brand image is a set of associations which might not even reflect the objective reality.

Arnold (1998,94) says that brand image refers to the way in which certaingroups decode all of the signals resonating from the product or service.

Today’s generation is quite impressionable and hence in order to enhance their personality, or to meet social standards, they gravitate towards branded products that are creating a stir in the market. This brand image is simply an impression or an imprint of the brand developed over a period of time in the consumer’s mindset.

The brand image is very important, as it is an accumulation of beliefs and views about that particular brand. The character and value of the brand is portrayed by its image, as it is the main component in the scheme of things. Brand image is developed over time through brand communication such as packaging,  advertising, promotion, customer service, word of mouth and other aspects of the brand experience.

 Brand Identity

Brand identity was mentioned for the first time in Europe by Kapferer in 1986. It is the outward expression of the brand including its name, trademark, communications and visual appearance. The brand’s identity is its fundamental means of consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand’s differentiation from competitors.

Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain. These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers from the organization members. Thus, Brand identity should establish a relationship between the brand and the customer by generating a value proposition involving functional, emotional or self-expressive benefits.

Brand identity provides direction, purpose and meaning for the brand. It is a set of associations just like brand image (Aaker 1996, 68). The difference between brand image and brand identity is that brand image is formed in the minds of customers/consumers but brand identity is assembled by the brand owner.

Table 1: The difference between brand identity and brand image

Brand identity consists of two layers; core identity and extended identity (Brand identiy – A brand building concept 2010). Brand identity includes both the core identity and the extended identity. The core identity reflects consistent long-term associations with the brand; whereas the extended identity involves the intricate details of the brand that help generate a constant motif.

The core identity represents the timeless essence of a brand .It is central to both the meaning and success of the brand. It indicates the reasons why the brand as been brought into existence. It contains the associations that are most likely to remain constant as the brand travels to new markets and products. The elements of the core identity remain more resistant to change than the elements of the extended identity. Thus the core identity is timeless while the brand position or the communication strategies might change. It is generally the first word that people behind the brand may utter when asked what the brand stands for:

• Lux – Beauty bar for young women
• Dettol – Antiseptic, protection
• Johnson&Johnson – Trust and quality a baby needs

The extended brand identity includes elements that provide texture and completeness. The core identity usually does not possess enough detail to perform all of the functions of a brand identity. In particular, a brand identity should help a company decide which program or communication is effective and which be damaging or off the target. Even a well-thought-out and on-target core identity may ultimately be too ambiguous or incomplete for this task. A brand personality does not often become a part of the core identity. However it can be exactly the right vehicle to add the needed texture and completeness by being a part of the extended identity. It provides the strategist with the opportunity to add full detail to complete the picture.

Brand identity consists of twelve dimensions organized around four perspectives:

• Brand as a product: Brand as a product deals with the brand associations attached to a product or service. It is closely linked to brand choice decisions and the experiences consumers have of its use. The core element is to recognize the product category the brand belongs to. The key idea is to connect the brand to the specific product group so that it is the first one the consumers recall when thinking of the group. The attributes that are related to brand as a product are quality, purpose of use, types of users and the origin of the product or service. (Aaker 1996, 78-82).
• Brand as an organization: concentrates less on the product or service itself but primarily on attributes of the organization. These attributes (for example innovation and quality) are created by the people, culture, values and programs of the company and are more resistant to competitive claims. This is because it is easy to copy a product and product features but duplicating an organization with unique people, values, and programs is almost impossible (Aaker 1996, 82-83).
• Brand as a person: Brand-as-person perspective suggests a brand identity that is richer and more interesting than one based on product attributes. Like a person, a brand can be perceived as being upscale, competent, impressive, trustworthy, fun, active, humorous, casual, formal, youthful or intellectual.
• Brand as a symbol: A strong symbol can provide cohesion and structure to an identity and make it much easy to gain recognition and recall. Its presence can be a key ingredient of brand development and its absence can be substantial handicap. Elevating symbols to the status of being part of the brand identity reflects their potential power. Each strong visual image captures much of its respective brand’s identity because between the symbol and the identity elements have been built up over time. It just takes a glance to be reminded of the brand.

Which of the following is a name Term sign symbol design or a combination of these that identifies the seller of a product or service?

What is a term symbol design or combination of these that identifies the product?

Which of these is a name Term symbol design or combination of that identifies a seller's products and differentiates them from competitors products?

Is a name Term sign symbol or design or a combination of them which is intended to identify the goods or services of one seller to other competitors?