Benefits of a Strong Brand
A brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, design, or combination thereof); it also represents a relationship to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc. Proper branding can yield higher product sales, and higher sales of products associated with the brand (or brand association). For example, a a customer who loves Pillsbury biscuits (and trusts the brand) is more likely to try other products the company offers, such as chocolate chip cookies.
Some people distinguish the psychological aspect of brand associations (e.g., thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, etc.) that become tied to the brand from the experiential aspect—the sum of all points of contact with the brand, otherwise known as brand experience. Brand experience is a brand's action perceived by a person. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product, service, or company providing them .
Brands
Good branding gives a company several advantages, including establishing a positive reputation and building an image attractive to consumers.
The branding process seeks to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating an impression that a product or service associated with a brand possesses certain qualities or characteristics that set it apart from other (e.g., competitor) products or services. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates the uniqueness of what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace. Orientation of the whole organization towards its brand is called brand orientation. Brand orientation is developed in response to market intelligence. Brand strength analysis describes efforts to determine the strength a brand has compared with its competitors. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management.
Careful brand management seeks to make the product or services appealing and/or relevant to the target audience. Brands should reflect more than mere differential of product cost versus selling price. They should represent the sum of all valuable qualities of a product to the consumer.
A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition. When brand recognition builds to the point of a critical mass of positive sentiment in the marketplace, it is said to have achieved brand franchise. Brand recognition is most successful when a brand is recognized independent of the company's name, but rather through visual signifiers like logos, slogans, and colors. For example, Disney has been successful branding with their particular script font, originally created for Walt Disney's "signature" logo, and which it now uses in the logo for the website GO.com.
Consumers may view branding as an aspect of products or services, as it often serves to denote certain attractive qualities or characteristics. From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services also command higher prices. Where two products resemble each other, but one of the products has no associated branding (such as a generic, store-branded product), people may often select the more expensive branded product on the basis of the quality or reputation of the brand or brand owner. Benefits of good brand recognition include facilitating of new product acceptance, enabling market share penetration by advertising, and resisting price erosion.