The brand, as it is used today, started thouthands of years ago as a signature or manufacturer's seal associated with a product, rather than with a marketing function. And this was modified as the brand was promoted through posters, advertisements, leaflets, brochures, advertising, etc. Then came radio, cinema, TV... and marketing. One of the main factors that generated this need for brand development was the increasingly competitive markets. A more forceful presentation was demanded, greater memory in the public, visual, emotional and even sentimental impact. The brand became a sign that differentiated products from their competitors, in addition to certifying their origin.
These concepts of provenance and differentiation are part of the main functions of brands, provenance is necessary not only from a branding point of view but also for legal reasons. Regarding differentiation, it should be taken into account that people's minds create realities, Jack Trout Ries, in his book "The 22 immutable laws of marketing" said that "Marketing is not a battle of products, it is a battle of perceptions". The selective perception mechanism leads people to see what they need and want. Because of these neurological processes in the brain, people only see what confirms their opinions or what they want to see. This is why advertisements are most effective in times of need to buy.
Mental images of brands
Analyzing brands and their relationship to people, brands are part of the material environment, through the real things that make up the physical world, but they are also part of the individual, through the perceptions and experiences that make up the mental world. Memory synthesizes all this into so-called mental images.
Stimuli can come from both the physical world (such as the perception of the product) and the imaginary world (such as desires or needs). There is always a pre-image that we make of a new brand, and it can be inhibiting or stimulating for the purchase. But once this first impression has been overcome, what will decide future purchases will no longer be simply the effect of perceptions: there is now a direct experience with the product. And if this experience has been satisfactory on a rational, functional or emotional level, brand loyalty is generated.
According to Martín Dávila, perception is a psychological factor, a process by which a person interprets and evaluates the stimuli captured by the senses to create a mental image of the world around them. Thus, the same object can be perceived differently by two people. This is because perception is a particular activity, i.e. people expose themselves to the sources of information to identify, avoiding what they dislike and converting the stimuli received into something that is in line with their ideas. Therefore, only those stimuli that confirm their ideas and beliefs are retained, easily forgetting those that contradict them. This process of selection, organization, and integration of sensory stimuli consists of different stages. This process is automatic, but it is necessary to understand it in order to understand the impact that brand elements have on buyers:
Exposure to information.
The attention is given.
The understanding or interpretation of the message.
Retention of information in memory.
When the individual moves from the physical dimension of the brand to its psychological dimension of perceptions and experiences, then it becomes an imaginary image, a full reference that is incorporated into the personal memory and influences the preferences and decisions that have to do with the brand. Below is a graph that shows how the physical and imaginary worlds of brands are composed, and the interaction of the different elements that interact and generate the mental images of brands.
The physical world consists of products, logos and all visual components. From this inclusion of products as the subject matter of the brand in the brand system, a whole new perspective opens up. Perceptions give way to that other, higher level of knowledge: experiences. And these give access to a deeper and more involving psychological level: emotions. Let us remember that emotions are not of the order of perception, but of experience. This loss of weight of the function generates a paradigm shift: emotions belong to the realm of experience, not perception.
Branding, differentiation and customer loyalty can protect a company against the emergence of low-price competitors. And these strengths are not created by companies, but by the people who come into contact with them. According to Alberto Wilensky, in his book "Business Policy" the natural bridges are the tangible indicators and the brand. The tangible indicators go from the functional or physical product to the imaginary product, and the brand links the imaginary product with the physical product. The brand is the bridge between the product and its image, and the brand gives meaning to the product.
A product without an image is nothing more than a product, without notoriety or meaning. The purchase decision is made on the basis of variables that are directly comparable with the competition, such as the Product and the Price. This situation changes if the Product is not anonymous, if the brand "rings a bell", if the brand is recognized, if the brand is appreciated or if there has been a previous purchase experience (with the product or the brand).
All products have an image of themselves that may or may not coincide with the physical product, and from a positioning point of view, the perfect product is one in which there is a coincidence between the two. If they do not coincide, it is essential to build, through marketing actions, symbolic bridges that unite these two aspects.
Image and branding
The following concepts will be developed: image and brand, although they can be used as synonyms, the image is a projection of the brand, and for this reason, the brand precedes its image. The brand is a linguistic sign and a visual sign, this double sign arises on the one hand, from the need to designate it, verbalize it, write it and internalize it; and at the same time it becomes a visual sign (with logos, symbols, colours) due to the need to be constantly shown through different supports, and because the visual memory is stronger than the auditory memory, and for this reason the name needs to be seen. The need to name is linked to the need to see. To refer to something you need a name, and if you don't have one, it doesn't exist.
Analyzing this concept in greater depth, and given a lack of awareness of the brand, it functions as a sign that is visibly different from the product that it "brands". If brand awareness exists, it is integrated into the Product. According to Joan Costa: The brand begins with the name: it is a verbal sign. It is a sign that designates: it gives a name and points at the same time. It serves to name, to refer to the product through the brand. The name is transformed into a visual sign, through design, into a logo. The function of signs is to signify, the logo signifies a product, a brand, or a company.
From the above explanation, the following diagram shows how the brand of a company or a product is the result of the action of "branding". Its system of meanings involves the interactions between four manifestations of the brand sign: linguistic, scriptural, iconic, and chromatic.
The evolution of the brand
The brand image as a sign evolves over time from a sign to a symbol. It begins as an expression of the functional and becomes a symbol with a profound expression of the emotional. This happens because brands are not born as brands but as products, and in this evolution, they acquire autonomy with respect to the product. In any case, it should be clarified that despite this evolution, brands always function as a sign and a symbol: from the point of view of a sign, they physically "mark" and identify the products with their names; and from the point of view of a symbol, they connect with the user through all the messages that make up the brand discourse.
Brand evolution
This development of the symbolic part of brands, both through visual expressions and advertising actions, generates an autonomy of the brand with respect to the product. The main function of this is differentiation and the development of competitive advantages, and it is achieved by considering the interactions of the different dimensions of brands (Adapted from: Costa, Joan. "La imagen de marca"):
Material Pole: The products, objects and the physics of services, as well as the places where they are sold and provided.
Symbolic pole: Of the messages broadcast: visual, audiovisual, massive, selective.
Communication pole: Individuals' perceptions, reactions, decisions and interpretations.
Experiential pole: Consumption, products, places, services and people; perception of quality and emotions.
Brands must create a system that engages their target audience by creating an environment that takes into account the particularities of each world. "For consumers, brand identity is tangible and even consumable. The image itself is a product of the brand's distinctive identity: a mental synthesis based on values. The image is what persists in the public's synthetic memory, incites our preferences and stimulates purchasing decisions" (Joan Costa).
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