There are only 3 kinds of brand...

Which do you have?

Strong brand? Non-brand? or Big brand? 

Strong brands have high levels of emotional connection, advocacy and a clear and resonant Brand Promise.

Non-brands are indeterminate, indistinct and undifferentiated. Non-brands are little more than ‘companies with a badge’. 

Big brands have a big market presence, high levels of general awareness but low emotional connection with their audience. They may be household names but they don’t resonate particularly strongly amongst their target audiences. A big brand may have started life as a strong brand and with growth, acquisition and expansion lost their founding mission and guiding energy (Orange and perhaps now Virgin are examples). They may ‘own the pipes’ - i.e. have a dominant share of infrastructure that gives them distinct competitive advantage (e.g. BT, Ryanair).

When embarking on a journey to evolve a company’s brand and its presence in the marketplace, it helps business and brand owners to understand why this is a vital investment. A good starting point is to make sense of what constitutes a ‘strong brand’. Striving to bring a company to ‘strong brand’ status is the mission behind the Brand Compass, the approach I have developed through many brand development assignments. 

Another good starting point is to reflect on your own relationships (or attitudes) to the brands that inhabit your life, head and heart.

So, what defines a ‘strong brand’?

They influence our feelings and emotional responses

Strong brands pull our heartstrings. All of us can reference brands with which we have an emotional connection. Obvious candidates would be football clubs and fashion brands.

There are even brands out there we may never actually own, touch, or see, but which occupy a place in our hearts and our minds.  The merest mention of a particular name or glimpse of a logo can trigger a change in brain activity, a release of hormones and a perceptual response. For some, the brand Ferrari might be this kind of strong brand.

If you think of the emotions that a national flag can arouse, then you get an idea of what I am talking about.

Strong brands make a promise that extends beyond rational and functional benefits. They conjure up associations and emotional responses or memories. Interestingly, some of these responses may have nothing to do with the actual product or service. These responses 'place' or 'position' the product or service under review in a way that has appeal or aspiration or some kind of positive connotation. I explore this phenomenon in relation to Farrow & Ball paints in the ‘Brands Distilled’ gallery on my website and in the guide.

Strong brands carry meaning

They carry semantic currency that translates into consumer or buyer preference. Strong brands have more vivid meanings than weak brands. Those that are unknown or have vague or non-existent meaning cannot be called brands. They are just names or labels.

Strong brands influence behaviours

Consumer or buyer preference translates into purchase. Strong brands short -circuit time consuming and energy-sapping purchase decisions. For low involvement purchases, they make a decision easy and instantaneous. Strong brands can override reason and logic and overcome rational objections to purchase. 

Another key facet of strong brands is that they usually command higher prices and therefore have the potential to deliver bigger profit margins. Indeed, some strong brands are often notably more expensive, even with known functional shortfalls. Again, this is referenced in Farrow & Ball case.

And there is one other key defining feature. Strong brands do not belong to the marketing department. This subject is worthy of a separate article so watch this space!

Brand Compass - Clear Direction for Building Strong Brands is freely available from my website,  stewartredpath.com