Building and Communication: Power Strategies for the 21st Century

Research and Markets have announced the addition of the 'Brand Building and Communication: Power Strategies for the 21st Century report to their offering.

(PRWEB) November 29, 2003 --Brands have been with us since ancient times. Perhaps the first unrecorded brand strategy was when a potter put an imprint of his thumb in the wet clay. Or perhaps it was a toolmaker who carved a distinguishing mark into the handle of a blade. Whatever the origin, the practice of identifying the goods (and later, services) with the craftsman who created them gave early consumers a means to distinguish the goods of one maker from those of another. This added another dimension on which buying decisions could be made.

In addition to considering the price, availability, and functional attributes of the pot or the tool, buyers could take into consideration their knowledge of the maker; his reputation for quality, for consistency, for honesty; and his standing in the community. The craftsman soon came to
realize his makers mark" added value to his wares-that it gave him intangible competitive advantages that translated into a greater demand for his products, and that because of it, he could charge more for his marked" product than for one of unknown origin.

Eventually, the rise of merchants, brokers, and other resellers added another dimension to the concept of the brand," making possible the divorce of the maker and the seller. The distribution channel created another level of marketplace sophistication and transformed the two-way relationship between maker and buyer into a threeway association of maker-seller-buyer. The development of brands and the separation of maker, seller, and buyer are what now distinguish the modern marketplace. One cannot exist without the other, and all are mutually dependent.

The emerging marketplace of the 21st century is infinitely more complex than that of the ancient potter or the toolmaker, or even the maker-seller-buyer structure that is in place today. However, the primary function of the brand-that of differentiating one seller or one vendor or one organization from another-remains largely unchanged. The ultimate goal of branding is still to establish a powerful, relevant identity in the minds of customers in order to encourage their initial purchases and nurture an ongoing relationship between the marketer and the end user.

While brands and branding have been with us, in one form or another, since the dawn of commercial enterprise, it is only within the past 20 years or so that manufacturing organizations in North America have shown so much interest and perceived value in their brands. While brands historically have been within the purview of manufacturers, today all levels of distributors, intellectual property holders, value-adding organizations, and the like are attempting to apply branding principles to distinguish themselves from competitors. Thus, brands and branding have taken on broad new meanings in the emerging interactive information age that we are entering.

Never before has so much emphasis been placed on the contributions of the brand in establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage. For the most part, the modern marketplace is characterized by intense price competition between products with few distinguishing features, attributes, or distribution advantages. Or if such competitive product or distribution advantages are developed, because of the transferability of technology, those advantages quickly disappear. Thus, many marketers have seemingly moved beyond tangible advantages to embrace the intangible but powerful advantages that can stem from brands and branding. Thus, the brand becomes the latest focal point of competition, and the one area where an organization can achieve meaningful and sustainable differentiation among target customers and prospects.

A fundamental assumption of this study is that a strong brand is far more than a recognizable name, a memorable mark or logo, or a catchy tag line. In fact, a brand is also more than a distinguishable product with practical physical advantages for the purchaser. While a brand is crafted in part from these basic building blocks, it is the customer who attaches meaning to these visible cues based on his or her own experience and perceptions. Ultimately, it is the customer who determines the true value of the brand. This value is derived from his or her knowledge of the brands functional and emotional attributes; from the associations he or she makes about the product, its category, and its parent organization; and from the interactions that customers have with the brands representatives, such as employees, franchisees, channel customers, and other brand owners and users.

The modern organization is faced with the challenge of finding ways to invest its brand with a rich and vibrant identity that resonates with customers and to align its internal operations, including employees and channels, with the core promises it makes to external customers. In addition, the modern organization must then support those identities and promises throughout the value chain.

STUDY FOCUS

Drawing input from Agora, Inc., leading brand practitioners, and secondary research literature, the study team identified three key areas for research. These areas guided the design of the data collection instruments and were the base from which findings have been developed. A brief description of the three areas is provided below.

Brand Building
- Understanding customers perceptions and images of the brand
- Assessing core and extended brand identities
- Developing relevant brand value propositions
Brand Communication
- Creating a unique brand position and identity
- Communicating the brands identity and promise
- Aligning internal and external communication activities
Measuring Brand Results
- Monitoring changes in customers brand awareness, perceptions, associations,
loyalty, and satisfaction
- Determining appropriate levels of brand support
- Creating approaches for financial measurement of brand equity

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/40876

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