A Brand is often used to refer to a sign, symbol, name, term or design or a combination of them which helps individuals identify and differential a product or service of any organization from those of their competitors.
In this sense it has a similar meaning as to a trademark. But brand can also be many more things.
Elements of a Brand
Any brand is normally made up of following four elements:
Brand Core:
This is normally the base need fulfilled by the brand. This is also the very reason customers buy the product or service associated with the brand. For example – an automotive lube oil which customers buy to fulfill their need for smooth running of their vehicles.
Brand Formality:
This is mainly related to the presentation of a brand which includes its name, product/service form, distribution and packaging. Taking our earlier example of automotive lube oil things like whether the lube oil comes in a bottle/can/pouch or its make available at only garages or petrol pumps etc creates an extended image of the brand in the mind of customers thus formally introducing the brand to them.
Brand Augmentation:
This mainly represents benefits or associations related with a product/service. These are the aspects which differentiate the brand from other similar product/services. In our example of automotive lube oil the benefit can be the long durability of lube oil and associations can be if it’s made by Shell then it must be high tech or if it’s made by Hindustan Petroleum (HP) which is a local player and hence a familiar name.
Brand Super Augmentation:
Brand super augmentation deals with things which may not be directly related to the core of the brand but still perceived to be an extension of the brand. For example – a large scale plantation drive by Shell in deforested areas can be associated with Shell’s products/services.
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