Brand Definitions
BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) James Collins & Jerry Poras
If you don’t have one of these… go away you are wasting time. Also expressed as ‘If you aren’t living on the edge you are taking up too much space.’ Go ahead… ‘leap and the net will appear.’
What we do know that none of the definitions that follow will make a whit of difference unless you are committed to your dream. If you don’t have a BHAG…get one!
Brand
A set of expectations associated with a product. T Scott Gross
Branding
Any act, positive or negative, that creates an expectation is an act of branding. The intended result should be a “unique promise of value that results in a collection of positive perceptions which causes an expectation in the mind of the consumer” Jack Sims
Brand Attributes
Emotional associations made by the consumer and assigned to a brand… the perception of a brand by an individual consumer
Brand Audit
An examination of all consumer touch points which relate to a brand.
Brand Awareness
The percentage of target customers or targeted market prospects that recall a brand either aided or unaided. Realization by a consumer of the existence and availability of a particular product! Brand awareness is a measure of marketing effectiveness by the targeted category. Unaided awareness is spontaneous acknowledgement; aided awareness is when the brand is recognized among others that are identified.
Brand Commitment Statement
We believe that Mission Statements don’t work, they are self serving. What works is a ‘Brand Commitment Statement”. Which is just that, what is your brand committed to doing or becoming. Every employee should not only be able to quote it, but understand that the brand or they cannot achieve their objectives unless they live by it!
Brand Congruence
A relative measure of how well each brand element and touch point fits the statement of brand identity as recognized by the purchasing target audience.
Brand Equity
The value - both tangible and intangible that a brand adds to the corporation, product or service.
Brand Essence
The core characteristic of a brand.
Brand Expansion
Any increase in the target market.
Brand Extension
The application of a brand beyond its initial product offering, sometimes called a line extension.
Brand Identity
A unique set of associations, often graphic, that the brand aspires to create or maintain. These associations represent what the brand should stand for.
Brand Image
A unique set of physical or graphic associations in the minds of target customers representing the brand.
Brand Loyalty
Resistance to changing brands
Brand Guardian
An individual in charge of all brand communications (especially graphics) to insure consistency in image, colors and overall brand impression to the target audience.
Brand Management
The process of managing a brand to protect and grow long-term brand equity.
Brand Personality
Brand image expressed in terms of human characteristics.
Brand Positioning
The intended or desired image of the brand that sets it apart from the competition in a meaningful way. Often takes the form of a tagline i.e.: Nike – Just do it
Brand Power
A measure of brand dominance in a product category.
Brand Relevance
The alignment of a brand - its attributes, identity and personality with the primary needs/wants of its target audience.
Brand Preference
A measure of the attractiveness of the brand usually expressed as a percentage of customers who would choose your brand over the competition given similar offers.
Brand Slogan/Tagline
A memorable phrase used in media and intended to convey the USP as a benefit to the consumer.
Brand Strategy
The big picture plan to build market share through brand awareness. Brand strategy always includes expected impact on the competition.
Brand Value
The monetary premium that results from having customers who are committed to go out of their way and or pay a premium price for it.
Brand Value Proposition
The benefits delivered by the brand that provide perceived value to the customer: and provides the rationale for the purchase decision
Customer Eyes:
The art and science of thinking like a customer. The act of shaping product as a result of thinking like a customer.
CRM - Customers Really Matter Jack Sims.
The act of putting customers ahead of the sale resulting in long term customer loyalty and positive word of mouth. May involve ranking customers in an order, such as by sales or any other determining factor. Then communicating to the customers in a sliding scale of monetary, advertising or personal contact.
Drift
Marketing efforts that extend beyond the micromarket and are wasted
Logo
A unique and identifiable symbol which serves to trigger a mental association with a brand.
MicroBrand
A little brand, often a personal or local brand, that sits on top of a larger (national, regional, etc.)brand and is often the more powerful of the two.
MicroMarket
The tightly defined, highly focused market for your product. For example: cabinetmakers in the southeastern US who use or are likely to use Brazilian hardwood veneers. Defining the MicroMarket enables you to deliver your marketing message precisely on target.
Not recommended by Sims or Gross… see brand commitment statement
Overspray
Marketing efforts that produce benefits as a by-product of otherwise targeted marketing..
Positively Outrageous Service
A WOW on a random basis more formally defined as:
Random and unexpected
Out of proportion to the circumstance
Highly involves the customer
Creates compelling, positive word of mouth
Service Naturals
The estimated 15% of the population that thrives on high customer contact and who are likely to deliver great customer service without prompting.
Service Possibles
The estimated 70% of the population likely to deliver great customer service only when circumstances are just right and when leadership presents a positive example.
Service Impossibles
The estimated 15% of the population that cannot tolerate high customer contact.
Touch point
Any and every opportunity for shaping a brand.
*USP
Unique Service Proposition… that which sets you apart from your competition. T Scott Gross.
*Vision Statement
Not recommended by Sims or Gross… see brand commitment statement