The Power Of Industrial Brands
CHAPTER 3
BRANDS, BRAND VALUES, AND BRAND IMAGE
What is a brand?
It is not an oversight that we have arrived in chapter 3 before defining a brand. The discussion has not been inhibited by the lack of a definition and some thoughts will be beginning to settle down. There will also be some questions. Is a brand just a name? Is a brand the name plus any symbolism which is associated with it? What are the links between the brand, the product and the company? David A Aaker, in his book Managing Brand Equity1states: "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 the source of the product, and protects both the customer and the producer from competitors who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical." David Aaker does not link the brand just to a product but extends the term to cover the source of the product that is the company itself. The definition also makes it clear that a brand is a mark, a name or symbol, which differentiates companies, one from the other. The brand aims to sear this mark of differentiation in the mind
1
David A Aaker, Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, 1991
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Chapter 3 – Brands, Brand Values, And Brand Image
just as the original branding iron burned a mark onto the hide of cattle as indelible proof of ownership. Whereas a product simply performs a task for the user, a brand gives a value over and beyond the product's functional purpose; in some sense it does make the product seem better. The functional benefits of an industrial brand are easy to identify. How do the products perform? What does they do to satisfy intrinsic needs? What are the non-functional benefits of the brand which are more difficult to recognise in...