When we think of a brand, dozens of names surely come to mind. But a brand is not “a name”. Brand is a concept, it is a set of elements that include, in addition to the name, a term, a sign, a symbol, a design, or a combination of any of them that identifies products and services of a company and differentiates them from competitors. This is how the American Marketing Association (AMA) defines “brand”. As you can see, we could say that a brand is a set of values. They are the values that the consumer can associate with a specific product or company.
These values are what differentiate a brand from the competition. In other words, we position it in our mind compared to other brands in the same category. Let's take a classic example, Coca Cola. What would we refer to if we think of Coca Cola? Those distinctive white cursive letters on a red background are associated with happiness, joy, festivity, togetherness, and tradition. That is the “Coca Cola” brand. So, Coca Cola is a set of values that are associated with it.
I already mentioned that a brand is a set of values attributed to a name. But what we must think about when positioning brands is that attributing values is subjective. Each person has different values and values are difficult to measure and those that can be measured will be perceived differently by each consumer. Hence, the values are subjective because they are perceived values.
This does not mean that we all attribute different values to each brand. But if a brand is perceived very differently by different consumers with the same profile, it is an alert.
A problem of communication, positioning, branding... It has not been able to convey well what its proposed values are. That is, the values with which the company wants to be identified and differentiated from the competition. Because companies propose values for their brands. But that does not mean that the values proposed by the brand coincide with the values perceived by consumers. If they do not coincide there is a "gap" between the proposed values and the perceived values.
Brands can match their proposed values with perceived values. This is precisely one of the great tasks of marketing. And that is a daily task that must be constantly monitored. Because perceived values change. Over time, or even suddenly in the face of an unexpected event.
We must remember that perceived values can change. It is when we say that “that brand has changed”. You may have intentionally changed the proposed values (your value proposition). Or maybe not: the product has not changed. That the competition, the market… or we have changed. In that case, paradoxically, the brand will have changed for not having changed. For not having evolved... or because the one who has changed is us.
At Strategic Minds we know everything that a brand implies, its identity and the values it builds. Our experienced team provides our clients with the necessary strategies to forge solid brands, helping consumers to remember not only a logo, but also the needs and benefits that the brand satisfies.
We invite you to analyze each point that is expose through this blog and take the necessary action before you see your brand die. If you understand that your brand or offer does not match, we can help your brand take a turn towards transformation.