A
brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly
distinguished from other products, services, or concepts so that it
can be easily communicated and usually marketed. A brand name is the
name of the distinctive product, service, or concept. Branding is the
process of creating and disseminating the brand name. Branding can be
applied to the entire corporate identity as well as to individual
product and service names.
Brands are usually
protected from use by others by securing a trademark or service mark
from an authorized agency, usually a government agency. Before
applying for a trademark or service mark, you need to establish that
someone else hasn't already obtained one for your name. Although you
can do the searching yourself, it is common to hire a law firm that
specializes in doing trademark searches and managing the application
process, which, in the United States, takes about a year. Once you've
learned that no one else is using it, you can begin to use your brand
name as a trademark simply by stating it is a trademark (using the "
TM " where it first appears in a publication or Web site). After
you receive the trademark, you can use the registered (?) symbol
after your trademark.
Brands are often expressed
in the form of logos ,
graphic representations of the brand. In computers, a recent example
of widespread brand application was the "Intel Inside"
label provided to manufacturers that use Intel's microchips.
A company's brands and the
public's awareness of them is often used as a factor in evaluating a
company. Corporations sometimes hire market research firms to study
public recognition of brand names as well as attitudes toward the
brands.
Characteristics
of Brands
- Brand identity is an effective form of advertising and marketing.
- Brand identity helps create an image for the public and potential customers.
- Brand identity develops over time due to successful products.
- Brand identity is associated with quality products.
- Branded products are normally trusted by the public and customers.
- It is assumed that branded products have been extensively tried and tested before release.
Brands usually help build up customer loyalty. - Branded products are often used by individuals to help them build their own personal image. People, especially young people, build their desired image through their use and display of branded products.
- Brand identity helps customers distinguish between similar products, manufactured by different companies.
- Brand identity is often associated with innovation.
- Brand identity is usually associated with good design.
- Companies try to emulate and even copy branded products.
- Brands always have a distinctive logo/symbol.
- Brand identity creates and maintains interest in products.
