CORPORATE BRANDINGSamit Sinha, Saturday January 30 2010

Demystifying The World of Brands

A Brand?

First, a Sign of Ownership

Later in the Wild West

Identification Mark

The Evolution of Brands

IdentifierTrademark, sign of origin or source

DifferentiatorUnique attributes

DiscriminatorIndication of superiority on specific dimensions

RelationshipShared meanings & beliefs

The Brand Is At The Heart of Business

AND ITS GREATEST ASSET

Brand’s Financial Value

Market capitalization– (less) debt

= Value of company– (less) replacement cost of tangible assets– (less) cost of intangible assets (know-how, patents,

certifications…)

= Financial value of brand

The Brand Asset

The brand’s real value is in its ability to assure continued future income by

Attracting customersEncouraging repeat transactionsReducing price sensitivityCreating evangelists

Fostering unflinching loyalty

A Strong BrandCreates a common frame of reference for all constituencies(It is not just a name, logo or tag-line)

Product Vs Corporate Brands

Product brandDoesn't rely on association with organization, but with a category

Corporate brandRelies on association with parent organization

Serves as an "umbrella" & transfers brand equity to a range of sub-brandsAlso assists companies in relating to key stakeholders

CORPORATEBRAND

PolicyMakers

Public

Partners

Suppliers

End Users

Customers

Investors

Employees

Multiple Stakeholders

The Brand’s 3 Faces

Must Unite to Singular Identity

Direct StakeholdersInvestors/Banks/FIsEmployeesPartners/Vendors

ENTERPRISEA successfulcommercial

entity

Direct StakeholdersGeneral PublicGovernmentMedia

INSTITUTIONA sociallyrelevant

corporate citizen

Direct StakeholdersCustomersTrade

PRODUCTA seller of

product & serviceofferings

BRANDFACETS

UnifiedIdentity

Brand Image Vs Identity

The brand image can only be controlled by first establishing the brand identity

Brand imageHow the brand is perceived

Brand identityHow we want the brand to be perceived

Experience Matters Most“Everyone experiences far more than he understands – yet it is experience, not understanding, that influences behavior.”

Marshall McLuhan

EXPERIENCES

Environments

Behavior

Product

Service

PROMISES

Media

Literature

Signage

Advertising

Making Experience = Promise

BRANDMANAGEMENT

Defining The Brand Charter

Internal dimensions – organizationalVision Framework

What is the brand’s core ideology and goals?Credibility

What does the brand do best? Can it be leveraged?

External dimensions – category (consumer, competition)Relevance

Whose and what need will the brand fulfill? Differentiation

What will make the brand unique?

The brand spaceBrand essence, architecture & identity

What is the brand’s core (its unchanging self)? Where all can it extend?What will make the brand identifiable?

The Branding Roadmap

INTERNAL DIMENSIONS EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS

THE BRAND’S FOUNDATION

A Meaningful Vision

An inspirational tool for long-term successDefines who we are

Why we exist?What values that guide our actions?

Gives us directionThe destinationThe journey ahead

The Vision Framework

Core ideologyCore purpose + core values

Envisioned futureGoals + vivid description

Purposeful Statements

Purpose of Nike“To experience the emotion of competition, winning and crushing competitors”

Purpose of McKinsey“To help leading corporations and governments be more successful”

Purpose of Disney“To make people happy”

Core Values Illustrations

P&G: Product quality and honest business“When you cannot make pure goods of full weight, go to something else that is honest, even if it is breaking stone”

HP: Respect and concern for the individual“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

Disney: Childlike zeal“No cynicism, creativity, dreams and imagination, fanatical attention to consistency and detail”

Big Hairy Audacious Goals

Quantitative“Become a $ 125 billion company by the year 2000” (Wal-Mart, 1990)

Qualitative“Become the company that most changes the world-wide image of Japanese products as being poor quality” (Sony, early 1950s)“Become the best entertainment company in the world” (Walt Disney)Become the most powerful, the most serviceable, the most far-reaching world financial institution that has ever been” (Citibank)

David Vs. Goliath“Crush Adidas” (Nike, 1960s)

Role model“Become Harvard of the West” (Stanford University)

Simply audacious“…put a man on the moon by the end of the decade…” (JFK, 1962)

Vivid Descriptor

What Gives Us Credibility

Our field of competence or legitimacy

What we do best Checking for demonstrable evidence

Pedigree, track record, technology, something else…?

Relevance

Understanding the different category needs from each stakeholder group

FunctionalSocialPsychological

Seeing the market as composed of different need segments

Segmentation strategyDiscovering relevant need-gaps Identifying best-fit segment

2 Views On Human BehaviorFreud

No fundamental difference between humans and animals

Behavior is deterministic Determined by anterior factors, either inherited or environmental, rather than by free will

Air, water, food, shelter, rest, sex and pain avoidance is all that we really need

People are fundamentally trustworthy, self-protecting, self-governing, and naturally inclined toward growth and love

Cruelty, violence and dishonesty are not typical of human nature, but occur only when people are deprived of their needs

Maslow

Strong Brands Connect With Meta-needs

Truth, goodness, beauty, unity, holism, harmony, aliveness, uniqueness, perfection & necessity, completion, justice, order, simplicity, richness, effortlessness, playfulness, self-sufficiency, meaningfulness…

Framework of Motivations

BELONGINGFEMININE

GROUP

SUCCESSMASCULINE

SELF

SAFETYRISK AVERSEINTROVERT

CHANGERISK TAKINGEXTROVERT

The Archetypes

KING

INNOCENT

DREAMER

MOTHER

JESTER

WISE

HERO

REBEL

FRIEND

MAGICIAN

EXPLORER

LOVER

Differentiation

Our competitive point-of-difference

The unique association that we can usurpUnderstanding the competition

What key associations do they own?

The value proposition must naturally flow from this unique association in the brand’s

Features/AttributesFunctional benefitsPsychological benefitsExpressive codes

The Brand Space & Boundaries

The absolute ESSENCE of the brand

How far can this extend?

Brand Architecture Strategies

Monolithic brandingOne single brand across products and target segments

Product brandingDifferent brands/sub-brands for each product category

Segment brandingDifferent brands/sub-brands for each target segment, within same product category

Product-Segment brandingDifferent brands/sub-brands for each product category and target segment

Family brandingUsing “parent” brand at various levels of endorsement to sub-brands

4 Branding Concepts

FunctionalProduct benefit

Through technical superiority, durability, reliability etc.

ExperientialSensual experience

Building up associations with the 5 senses

SymbolicExpress user personality

Values & status, self-esteem

RelationalEmotional attachment

To impart a sense of familiarity with the brand

What Works Where

MonolithicFunctionalRelational

ProductExperiential

SegmentSymbolic

Product-SegmentSymbolic & Experiential

FamilyMore than two branding concepts in use

Brand Architecture Spectrum

Brand Identity

PersonalityIts implicit character

Reflection

Brand user’s public perception

RelationshipIts role in

people’s lives

Culture

The brand’s core values

Self-image

Brand user’s self-perception

picture of sender

picture of receiver

inte

rnal

exte

rnal

BRAND ESSENCE(The most permanent

part of the brand)

Clarifying Brand IdentityKapferer’s Brand Identity Prism

Physique

Its sensorial associations

• Perfectionist

• Sophisticated

• Dependable

• Name• 3-pointed

star• Premium

• Build quality

• Rich & famous

• Badge of

success• German engineering

• Successful owner

EngineeringPerfection

Mercedes

• Young

• Exciting

• Passionate

• Sporty

• Name

• Propeller

• Premium

• Rich & famous, youthful

• Pleasure Machine

• German performance

• Driver, car lover

The ThrillOf Driving

BMW

Manifesting The BrandOr how the brand expresses itself

Brand’s Sensorial Signatures

Making the brand identity reflect in the sensorial experience

Designing the brandBrand’s visual identity

How the brand looksLogo, colors, graphics…

Also how the brand feels, sounds, tastes & smells

Brand’s Messages

Message tone & contentContextObjectiveTargetPropositionSupportPersonalityKey insight

In all communicationAdvertisingPRDirect

Brand Culture

Critical to internalize the brand values within the organization

“Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the same social environment, which is where it was learned. It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.”

Geert Hofstede

Two Axes Four CulturesS

ocia

bilit

y

Solidarity

Networked Communal

Fragmented Mercenary

High

Low High

Enculturation

To align employees with brand values

Input into HR policiesRecruitment criteriaAppraisalTraining & developmentOther HR initiatives

Creating Brand ChampionsSABOTEURS- Working activelyagainst the idea

CYNICS- Not involvedwith the idea

AGNOSTICS- Interested butnot committed

CHAMPIONS- Storytellerswho spread the idea

Thank You

Questions?