The essence of the marketing process is building a brand in the minds of consumers. But what, you may ask, is a brand?
A brand is nothing more than a word in the mind, albeit a special kind of word. A brand name is a noun, a proper noun, which, like all proper nouns is usually spelled with a capital letter.
Any proper noun can be a brand. But what makes a brand powerful is the effectiveness of branding... a company's ability to create a mood, thought, feeling, and definition for that brand such that the mere mention of the brand name connotates a greater meaning. The power of a brand lies in its ability to influence purchasing behavior.
A brand is an expectation of certain benefits between a company and it's customers. A brand exists within the mind of the customer, and can be affected positively or negatively by intentional and unintentional messages from the company, but it cannot be arbitrarily changed, improved or "managed" without the participation of the customer.
A truly effective branding campaign can so impact a consumer that the brand "becomes" the product.... Kleenex is now synonymous with tissue, Coke with cola, Xerox with copies. A branding campaign can be so effective that the brand name itself is no longer necessary. Marlboro billboards usually have simply a picture of the Marlboro man. No slogan. No product name. Just the man. And yet, we all know exactly what product is being advertised.
Branding and brand names are important because they give the consumer a frame of reference when making purchasing decisions. People will buy brands they recognize, regardless of whether or not they know or believe the claims, simply because there is comfort in that which is known.
The most powerful brands of all are those that create a need in the consumer's mind that was not there before. Look at bottled water. American tap water is clean and drinkable, yet Evian is worth millions today. A 1.5 liter bottle of Evian sells for 20% more per liter than Budweiser, 40% more than Borden's milk, and 80% more than Coca-Cola. That's the power of a brand.
