Branding 101: What does it mean?
Branding is not just translating your website into different languages and creating a bunch of video advertisements for the market. It is a continuous series of activities undertaken by the marketing team to help create an association between your organisation’s product and potential customers.
Essentially, all things that help connect a product or company with certain feelings is known as branding.
If you aspire to learn more about branding, marketing, advertising, and sales, consider enrolling for credible marketing certification courses. The integrated marketing strategy IIM Lucknow certification is considered to be the best course for sales and marketing. The LIVE & interactive pedagogy, the eminent faculty available to deliver lectures, the 24*7 cloud campus of Talentedge, the comprehensive modules, and the 360-degree knowledge of the domain are all contributing factors that make this course the best in its class.
More on that later, let’s delve deeper into the concept of branding and see when and where it began.
When and where did it Begin?
In the olden days, branding referred to ownership of something. The most well-known example of this was cows, who were often marked with numbers of symbols, so their ownership was clear.
Throughout the decades and multiple revolutions, the concept transitioned into a way to stand out from competitors and grow. For instance, brands like Ford Motors, Channel, and Coca-Cola were founded between 1880-1910. It was easy for them to stand out as no one was offering anything like what they were.
Now times have changed. Brands realise that they have to keep up with the changing times. Rebranding and targeted campaigns have led to customers wanting more—innovation, society, and technology and the three main factors that fuel where branding is going.
Who knows where branding will be in the next 100 years. Maybe we’ll be a branding on our new home, MARS, who knows?
How Do Brands Get Recognised?
Every brand has a face, a voice, an aroma, a unique packaging, a tagline or slogan, or something that helps customers distinguish them from the rest. This distinction is what bring in addition to the brand in terms of recognition. Let’s see how customers recognise brands.
By Face
Celebrities or mascots that represent brands are the first things people associate with when it comes to branding. It humanises the brand and allows people to remember it.
For instance, Flipkart used children dressed as adults to entice their audience. Then there are some other examples like:-
- Duracell and the Pink Bunny
- Malboro and the Cowboy – Darrell
- Amul and the Amul Girl
- Vodafone and the ZooZoos
These are some of the faces that people recognise immediately and associate with such brands. Other brands leverage the face of a celebrity rather than a cartoon character, for instance:-
- Michael Jordon for Nike
- Aishwarya Rai Bacchan for L’oreal
- Kareena Kapoor Khan for Head & Shoulders
- Robert Downey Jr. for OnePlus
The influence of a cartoon character over a celebrity is that associations are unlikely to change. In fact, some experts even say that branding disasters resulted in brands firing their faces. Moreover, people may like or dislike a celebrity. However, with a mascot, their point of view remains unbiased.
Aspiring to learn about such branding and marketing strategies? Consider enrolling for credible marketing certification courses. One such accredited online program you can rely on is the integrated marketing strategy IIM Lucknow certification. Offered on the Talentedge platform, this course not only helps you understand what branding is and brand communication is but also what are the most successful brands communicating and how. This will enable you to devise an out-of-the-box and robust branding strategy, one that can sit well with your organisation’s potential customers.
By Sound / Voice / Tone
Besides cartoon characters and celebrities, some brands have adopted a unique voice, sound, or tone. These can be actual voices, such as the Hyundai that uses the voice of Shahrukh Khan. Or the tones used in print media advertising, which became even more important since the rise of social media.
Coke and Pepsi
Another differentiating factor that helps people recognise brands is sound. Both Coke and Pepsi use great sound effects to entice their audience.
Coke uses the ice being dropped into a glass, and then Coke is poured over it. On the other hand, Pepsi uses random performers such as musicians and dancers to showcase the party in a Pepsi bottle.
Unilever’s Magnum
Another brand that is leveraging sound as the distinguishing factor for branding is Unilever’s Magnum. The ice cream gained instant recognition from the cracking as the model bites into the chocolate coating.
Tiffany and Old Spice
Tone, another contributing factor to branding, is used by famous brands to sophisticate their social media presence. For instance, Tiffany mixes product images with thoughtful commentary to display the elegant and cool sophistication of its presence. Old Spice, on the other hand, with its latest “man your man could smell like” campaign, moved to a more irreverent and fun tone that appeals to younger men.
By Packaging
Colour, shape, and logo are important elements that help people recognise brands. Pringles, Toblerone chocolate, and Coke have distinctive packs. For instance, the “Share a Coke” campaign’s success can be witnessed as they changed the packing to include the most popular names of people.
If you strive to learn in-depth about leveraging these elements to curate your organisation’s unique branding campaign, consider enrolling for credible marketing certification courses online. These courses can not only help you understand the meaning and process of branding and marketing but also the difference between sales management and marketing management, allowing you to curate different campaigns for different causes.
Bottom Line
Branding has become ever more challenging with the explosion of new products every day. Therefore, to stand out, you need more elements to identify your brand’s image and personality.
One such course that can help achieve this is the integrated marketing strategy IIM Lucknow certification—offered in collaboration with Talentedge; this course provides exposure to different stimulators that can be used to help people connect with a brand.
Consider enrolling in the integrated marketing strategy IIM Lucknow certification TODAY for a well-rounded education in this domain!