This document provides information on how to build a strong brand identity from scratch. It discusses defining a brand's core identity through leadership brand types, identity elaboration, proof points, role models, positioning, and associations. It also covers selecting target markets through various segmentation approaches. Additional topics include points of difference/parity, overcoming negative perceptions, developing a brand mantra, and conducting brand audits. The overall message is that thoroughly understanding these brand identity and positioning fundamentals is key to creating a distinctive brand that resonates with customers.

1. Create a Brand

2. Build a Brand…From
SCRATCH

5. A Brand
DESIGN BRIEF

8. Now YOU Try It

10. A Brand’s
CORE IDENTITY…

11. Leadership Brand
● Joe Plummer led DMB&B customer survey
about brand leaders in 23 categories.
● Perceived to be leaders because of trust
and the perceived quality they deliver.
● NOT the highest market share in a
product category (though many had that.)

12. Leadership Brand
● Different brand categories identified:
Power brands: own a central category benefit
(Crest, healthy teeth)
Identity brands: help you express who you are
(Levi’s, Urban hip)
Explorer brands: Where do you want to go
today? Microsoft
Icon brands: Disney childhood magic

14. Brand
IDENTITY
ELABORATION

16. ● A company must be willing to support the
brand’s identity with resources/funding.
● Brand identity must be consistent with
company culture/reputation.
● A promise to customers and a commitment
made by the organization.
● Building the brand must be an organizational
strategic imperative.
● PROOF POINTS: programs, initiatives, assets
already in place that support the brand’s core
identity and help communicate what it means.
Building a Core Brand Identity

17. Customer concern PROOF
POINTS:
● Reputation for excellent customer service.
● Well-known return policy.
● Employee compensation program that rewards
excellent customer care.
● A culture and policy that rewards employee
creative solutions to customer issues.
Nordstrom Core Brand Identity

18. Brand
ROLE MODELS

19. INTERNAL EXTERNAL
Programs, stories, events,
employees that perfectly
represent the brand identity.
Other well-respected brands from
diverse industries.
Famous leaders, politicians,
celebrities, teachers, veterans.
Brand Role Models

20. Brand
POSITIONING

21. …is at the heart of the
marketing strategy. It is
the “act of designing the
company’s offer and image
so that it occupies a
distinct and valued place in
the target customer’s
minds.”
Brand Positioning

22. The 4D positioning rule:
Desirable by customers,
distinctive from the
competition, deliverable by the
company, and durable over
time. A good brand position
will incorporate all 4 elements.
The 4D Brand Rule
http://brand.blogs.com/mantra/2007/04/succinct_positi.html

23. What’s A Target Market

24. ● A market is the set of all actual and potential
buyers who have sufficient interest in, income for,
and access to your products/services.
● Market segmentation divides your market into
distinct groups of homogenous consumers who all
have similar needs and consumer behavior, and
thus require similar marketing mixes.
● Segmentation bases for B2C & B2B markets:
● Behavioral
● Demographic
● Psychographic
● Geographic
● Technographic
Target Markets

25. Behavioral Segmentation

26. Psychographic Segmentation

27. ● Activities of the target segment
● Interests…
● Opinions…
● Attitudes…
● Values…
Psychographic Segmentation

28. ● Segmentation bases for B2C & B2B markets:
● Nature of good
● Buying condition
● Demographic
● Descriptive or consumer-based are related to
what kind of person or organization the customer
is.
● Behavioral or product-oriented are related to
how the customer thinks of or uses the brand,
product, or service. Behavioral segmentation bases
are often most valuable in understanding branding
issues, because they have clearer strategic
implications.
Target Markets

29. ● Conversion model of segmentation measures the
strength of the psychological commitment between
brands and consumers, and consumers’ openness
to change.
● The model segments users into 4 groups based on
strength of their commitment to brands:
● Convertible: On threshold of change; highly likely to
switch brands.
● Shallow: Not ready to switch but may be considering
alternatives.
● Average: Comfortable with their choice; unlikely to
switch.
● Entrenched: Staunchly loyal; unlikely to change in the
foreseeable future.
Conversion Model

30. ● The model also classifies non-users of brands
into four (4) other groups based on their
willingness to try the brand (LOW to HIGH):
● Strongly Unavailable: Strongly prefer their current
brand.
● Weakly Unavailable: Prefer their current brand,
but not strongly.
● Ambivalent: As attracted to the “other” brand as to
their own brand.
● Available: Prefer the “other” brand but have not yet
switched.
Conversion Model

31. I Coulda Had a
V-8!

36. ● Identifiability: Can we easily identify the
segment?
● Size: Is there adequate sales potential in the
segment?
● Accessibility: Are specialized distribution
outlets and communications media available to
reach the segment?
● Responsiveness: How favorably will the
segment respond to a tailored marketing
program?
Criteria Guiding Segmentation

37. ● By choosing a target segment, you select your
competition.
● Competition also exists in channels of
distribution.
● Competitive analysis is critical on such metrics
as resources, capabilities, and the likely
intentions of your competitors.
Nature of Competition

38. ● Attributes or benefits that consumers strongly
associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and
believe that they could not find to the same
extent with a competitive brand.
● Similar to USP.
● Consumer brand choices often depend on the
perceived uniqueness of brand associations.
● May rely on performance attributes
●Think about CARS!!!
Points of Difference

40. ● Relevance: every customer has to find the
point of difference (POD) to be personally
relevant and important.
● Distinctiveness: The target consumer must
find the POD distinctive and superior.
● Believability: A brand must offer a compelling
and credible reason for choosing it over the
other options.
Desirability Criteria

41. What “FRESH
NEW KICKS” Fit
YOUR
Desirability
Criteria?

43. Why Did
You Choose…
EXERCISE

44. ● Feasibility: Can the firm actually create the
POD?
● Communicability: Can you create the brand
association with the customer based on the
consumers’ perceptions of the brand?
● Sustainability: Is your brand’s positioning
preemptive, defensible, and difficult to attack?
Deliverability Criteria

45. ● NOT necessarily unique to the brand but may in
fact be shared with other brands.
● TWO types:
● Category: Represent necessary but not necessarily
sufficient conditions for brand choice They exist at
the generic level and are expected.
● Competitive: Those associations designed to
negate competitors points of difference. If a brand
can “break even” in those areas where its
competitors are trying to find an advantage and
achieve advantages elsewhere, the brand should be
able to perform well.
Points of Parity

46. ?
?
?
?
?

47. ● To achieve a point of parity, a brand requires a
sufficient number of consumers who believe
that the product is good enough on that
dimension.
● The Consumer zone / range of tolerance or
acceptance with POPs.
● Points of parity are EASIER to achieve than
points of difference.
Points of Parity vs. Difference

49. ● The first step is to determine your
product/service category membership.
● Which products or sets of products does the
brand compete with?
● You MUST convey a brand’s category
membership in three (3) ways:
● Communicate category benefits.
● Compare to exemplars (products that exemplify the
category.)
● Rely on the product descriptor.
Competitive Frame of Reference

50. ● Separate the attributes: Launch two or more
different marketing campaigns, each dedicated to
promoting a different brand attribute/benefit.
● Leverage equity of another entity: Borrow or
leverage the equity of well liked/well known
celebrities to lend credibility to negatively
correlated benefits. A brand can link itself to a
person, another brand, or an event.
● Redefine the relationship: Convince consumers
that the relationship between attributes and
benefits are positive.
Overcoming Negative POP & POD

53. Core Brand
Associations

54. General Electric

55. Time Warner

56. ● All of the associations (attributes and benefits)
that characterize the 5-10 most important
attributes or dimensions of a brand.
● Can serve as the basis of brand positioning in
terms of creating POP & POD.
● Ask consumers to create detailed mental map
of the brand
● Ex. “When you think of this brand what comes to
mind?”
Core Brand Associations

57. Flavor Variety
Potato Flavor
Not greasy
Salty
Crunchy

58. Core Brand Associations

59. ● An articulation of the “heart and soul” of the
brand.
● A 3-5 word phrase that captures the brand’s
spirit / essence.
Brand Mantra

61. Strong Brand
Mantras

62. Authentic
Athletic
Performance
???

64. Fun
Family
Entertainment
???

66. Caring Shared
???

68. It’s a Journey,
Not a Destination
???

71. Rewarding Everyday
Moments
???

73. Think...
FOOTWEAR

75. ● Brand audit: A comprehensive examination of the
brand, to discover its sources of brand equity.
● Marketing audit: comprehensive, systematic,
independent periodic examination of an
organization’s marketing environment, objectives,
strategies, and activities.
● Brand inventory: current comprehensive view of
how all the products and services sold by a
company are marketed & branded.
● Brand exploratory: Research conducted to
understand what consumers think and feel about
the brand and its corresponding product category.
Key Terms

76. RESOURCES