The Marketer's Handbook: Reassessing Marketing Techniques for Modern Business



BRANDS

Application: Revenue Generating, Value Creation, Communication

The Concept

A brand is an entity that engenders an emotional response from a group of human beings so that they pay more than they probably should for the purely rational components on offer. It is a changing, multi-faceted entity which creates a variety of impressions in the minds of different human beings through many different stimuli. It causes people to buy again and again, often at an inflated price, creating valuable equity. It forms a bond between a group of human beings and a supplier, creating value from their propensity (supported by findings in experiments by behavioural economists; see behavioural aspects of marketing) to stick with what is familiar.

It is beyond dispute that a carefully designed image rests in the memory of buyers and helps them to choose products and services. Numerous firms have proved that, by managing that image carefully, a product or a service will appeal time and time again to a group of interested buyers. It becomes a familiar part of their life, giving them consistent benefits in their day-to-day activities and reducing the risk of purchase. As a result, they will pay a premium for the offer and develop a loyalty towards it. Over time, they become fond of these entities and, if they think about it, regard them as part of the landscape of their life. What starts ...