Brands much more than just logos or names. They are the culmination of a users total experience with the product...over many years. That experience is made of a multitude of good neutral and had encounters such as the way a product performs, an advertising message, a press report, a telephone call or a rapport with a sales asistant, CIM (2007).
The origins of branding in business terms lies with the need for groups and individuals to have an identity that was easily recognisable by others. This started as a military application but soon spread to guilds and master craftsmen who made especially good products. This continued with manufacturers who could provide consistent quality goods who, realised that they could attract more customers and charge higher prices if they could "badge" their products making them easily recognisable. With the expansion of world trade, brands became a necessity as a mark of quality and assurance.
Modern concepts of branding developed alongside marketing as a managerial process although some of today's best known brand names existed as companies before the branding concept as we now know it became the established norm. Today a strong brand brings with it a wealth of quality, value and high performance cues and can even bean intrinsic part of its customers lifestyles; branding is now a strategy used to differentiate products and companies, and to build economic value for both the consumer and the
brand owner.
With the growth of branding has come a change in emphasis within organisations. Companies used to be centred on the production of goods or services. The emphasis was very much on quality and efficiency. The importance of marketinghaslong been well accepted in most organisations and customersatisfaction is now seen as being at the heart of success rather than excellence in production or selling-largely as a result of increased competition making it harder to attract and keep customers.
Now brands are denoted by their unique names, logos, packaging and associated images. This makes up their brand identity. That identity is designed to represent the brands values and to signal them to potential customers. An appreciation of those values then helps the customers to form a brand image in their minds.