The ultimate recognition when Bill Dedman said -Brand names are well known to business school professors, but only one professor is a brand name herself. Call her Professor Oprah. There can be no greater appreciation when one’s own name becomes a brand in itself and it is accepted globally. Even our fictitious “Gabbar Singh” is a brand representing a certain quality of person, albeit stereotypical.Some brands come out to be very powerful as Sara Blakely puts it, It’s the power of the brand. We’ve never formally advertised. I don’t know if you are familiar with this snippet, Half a circle, full a circle, half a circle A. Half a circle, full a circle, right angle A. We, as kids in the late 60s used this as a brainteaser to confuse our friends, the answer to which was. This is the power of the brand when it becomes a part of everyday life.Look at the truth behind the following:
*How many of us use the term “photocopy”? We mostly use “Xerox”.
*Do we say “search the Net”? No. we say “Google it”.
*Seldom do we say “petroleum jelly”. We always say “Vaseline” which is a trademark of Unilever.
*”Walkman” is a Sony brand. The generic name is “Personal stereo”.
*We say “Ziploc” and not “Zipper storage bag”.There are numerous such examples, many of which would surprise you such as, Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), Bikini (two-piece swimwear), Cellophane (transparent regenerated cellulose sheets), Dry ice (solid form of carbon dioxide), Escalator (moving staircase), Kerosene (combustible hydrocarbon liquid) and Thermos (vacuum flask).What is a brand? As defined in BusinessDictionary.com Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind. Thus brands help harried consumers in crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain benefits and value. Legal name for a brand is trademark and, when it identifies or represents a firm, it is called a brand name.In other words, a brand goes beyond a mere name or a logo or icon. It is a promise to your customers of a certain kind of product or service. A brand combines several elements which include logo, words, type font, design, colors, personality, price, service, etc. You should also look at the attributes of your product/service and incorporate them into your brand. When you think of SONY you immediately get the picture of top quality consumer electronics and BENZ reminds you of best in class German engineering in automobiles.*Your brand is your public identity, what you’re trusted for. And for your brand to endure, it has to be tested, redefined, managed, and expanded as markets evolve. Brands either learn or disappear. Lisa GanskyWhy do you need a brand? Every company needs a brand including startups. With the short attention span of customers in today’s environment, standard advertisements do not register. When you watch TV how many commercials do you view or remember? Maybe, only the radically unconventional ones or those related to well known brands and there too you may not remember the actual advertisement.What goes into the making of a brand? The creation of a brand is a complex and time consuming but extremely crucial activity. Here, let me show you some of the elements and their impact:
*Name: This is not just a word or a set of words. “Apple” or “Idea” is not just a word; they provide a feeling, a promise. In the case of Apple the promise is of quality and exclusivity. In the case of Idea it is technology reaching out to the common masses.
*Logo: This is the visual representation that identifies the brand. The LIC logo of a pair of hands holding a lamp symbolizes to secure/protect the light of life.
*Signature phrase: A very important component for any brand. We all know “The Taste of India” is associated with AMUL (Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd).
*Graphics: The graphical design (shape, color, font, etc.) of the entire brand including the logo. Air India has mascot in the “Maharaja” as well as a logo.The Centaur that has now been replaced by a red colored flying swan with the “Konark Chakra” in orange, placed inside it. The design and color combination on each aircraft also contribute to the brand.
*Shapes: The distinctive radiator grill of the Rolls Royce automobile is never changed across its numerous models.
*Sounds: Tunes and musical notes add to the experience. The chimes of Microsoft Windows, Mozart’s 25th Symphony used for Titan watches.There are other elements such as scent and taste that can also go into making of your brand. Companies have even used the services of linguists to help create their brands.”People need patience. It takes time to build a brand.” Carmen BusquetsAchieving a level where your brand becomes a part of daily jargon can take years and may or may not signify something good for you. For some of these brands the owner companies have completely dominated the market and they continue to reap the benefits. For most, however, the owner company has faded into oblivion while the brand lives on.

Branding likewise regulates longevity. A visitor to your web site may buy a single product, only to never come back, but if you’ve formulated a strong brand based around originality, trust and caliber, that buyer is likely to remember you and come back to your site time and time again. In a lot of ways, constructing a net brand is the most control you’ll ever have in respect to your customer base. With a strong brand, you may cover more ground in less time than even the most far-flung marketing campaign. Individuals have to trust you, and in order to set the wheels in motion; you have to develop an unparalleled brand on a firm platform. It’s probable that you already have a product or service in mind, and without doubt, you’re excited about introducing it to the globe.By producing a brand of your own, you’ll be able to get a greater level of exposure for your line of products, by becoming memorable in the brain of your target buyer base. But it has to go deeper than simply a net personality. You have to combine your net brand with a cohesive business plan that includes prompt buyer support, quality products, a strong sales system and a clear-cut message. You need individuals to associate your brand with favorable influences, and if you do that, your brand will become among your most useful assets. There are a number of ways to begin building your net brand, including:Your domain name will become your key point headquarters, and you need to pick one that really reflects your overall business focus. By integrating keywords that describe your brand or company, you’ll be able to establish a net presence fast, while protecting your brand in the process. When registering your DNS that will directly tie into your net brand, consider the extended possibilities of other domains that may be perceived as associated to your own, and register those too. If you take a good approach to building your internet brand, you’ll wish to do all that you may to protect it, like registering similar domain names and those with alternate extensions (.org, .net, etc)A lot of marketers who begin to develop their net brand neglect this believing that as long as they’ve the top-level domain that centers on their brand, they’re protected. This is anything but real. Consider companies like Apple or Amazon. They both began centering on branding as a way of entry to the market. They both had existing rivals and had to wedge themselves into the market by taking another approach. Branding was in all sense, the major focus of their campaigns and the one thing that basically helped them get their foot into the door. You’re aware of cyber squatters, individuals who purposely register domain names that may potentially infringe on somebody’s brand. A lot of times, these cyber squatters are really able to win their day in court, and go on to retain the domain names in spite of that somebody produced a brand around it. You need to do your part to protect a brand that you intend to spend the time and sweat building. It doesn’t cost a lot of cash to register multiple domain names that bear your brand’s keywords and it will provide you far more control over your brand in the time to come.Naturally, it’s impossible to register all variances of your brand’s association (keywords, etc) but you ought to at the very least consider registering all popular extensions that individuals might assume you control. Depending upon your overall focus, you ought to consider hiring out the production of a unique logo to represent your brand and company. You need to choose one that’s original and includes elements that will be both memorable and professional. Outsource the design to a knowledgeable graphic artist, and be a big part of the development process. Send over your own concepts and thoughts, and work with them to produce an original design that will symbolize your company and brand.This is far and away, one of the simplest ways to produce an ever-lasting impression on your target audience. Consider all the company logos that resonate with you personally. You directly identify a company by its logo and if they’ve done their job at integrating quality within their brand, you’ll likewise associate each future product or service they release as being even as good as their flagship product. Colors may likewise become a part of a brand awareness campaign. From Cokes red to Pepsi’s blue, colors are frequently an easy way of tying an extremely memorable element to your brand.You wish people to consciously associate high quality, exceptional value and fantastic client service to your brand and therefore, each product or service you release in the time to come will be included under your brand’s umbrella. Promos
Your sales copy will directly exemplify your brand, and the tone, voice and total direction you take ought to work toward further building brand recognition and awareness as well as brand recall. With brand awareness, your target audience will merely recognize the brand as yours. It doesn’t imply that your market will prefer your brand, see your brand as favorable or associate value to your brand, merely that they’ll know it. With brand recall, your target audience will be able to tie in your brand immediately, to particular components (industry, keywords, product or service type, and so forth). You have to build both brand awareness and brand recall into each campaign you produce, and your sales page copy and promotions will play a big part in formulating this recognition.This implies that you need to be careful to introduce your brand in a favorable way. You lack to avoid hype filled sales pages, or not being able to accomplish your promises or offers to your buyer base. This ought to go without saying, but it’s among the leading causes of a brand becoming associated with either favorable or damaging associations, and it’s frequently among the most overlooked factors to brand building. Consider how you wish your message to be carried and how you wish your total brand to be perceived, and then produce your promo campaigns so that they represent your brand in the finest way possible. Avoid competing with absurd offers, or feeling as if the only way to earn attention is by going over the top with your campaign contents and ads.Rather, use story telling, construct favorable brand awareness, and back your product’s offer on a strong foundation so that your brand is consistently working to benefit you in the long haul. Remember, constructing a brand is all about longevity, and being able to tap into your target market so that you’re able to systematically build your net empire simply with favorable reinforcement and a reputation for caliber and value.