Designing Brand Tactics

 BRAND TACTICS

 Definition: Translate the brand strategy into a set of actionable decisions that define the key brand elements and the way the company will create a distinct brand image in the minds of its target customers. Key aspects of managing brand tactics 

1. Brand Design 

2. Brand Communication

1. Brand Design Articulates the elements that embody the brand. 

• Involves 2 components: 

- Brand Identifiers Brand elements that are created for identifying the brand and differentiation it from the competition. 

- Brand Referents Brand elements whose value the company aims to leverage by associating them with its brand name.

BRAND NAME 

• Fanciful Do not have any particular meaning and serve as a trademark. 

• Arbitrary Unrelated to the company’s business and don’t describe a significant ingredient, quality, or characteristic of the company’s products or services.

• Suggestive Imagination/thought to determine the nature of the products and services associated with the brand. 

• Descriptive Depict the product category or the key benefit. 

• Generic Refer to associated products and services.

BRAND LOGO 

Definition: A sign compromising a unique combination of letters, fonts, shapes, colors or symbols that aim to visually identify the brand.

• Wordmark A distinctive text-only typographic representation of the brand name. 

• Letterform Mark Only a single letter (first letter of the company) with unique typographical.

• Pictorial A pictorial representation of the brand. 

• Abstract An image that has no inherent meaning. 

• Emblem Complex representation that includes different brand logo components; features the name of the brand.

• Typography Create own trademarked fonts. 

• Color Associated their brands with a particular color. 

• Symbols Visually represent a particular aspect of the brand name.

BRAND MOTTO 

Definition: Articulating the brand’s positioning to its target customers. 

• Imperative : A call for action. 

• Descriptive: A key benefit of the products and services associated with the brand. 

• Declarative : A general statement that typically doesn’t contain a specific brand promise

BRAND CHARACTER 

Definition: A fictional personality that embodies the essence of the brand. 

Add a deeper meaning to the brand and express more complex values, ideas, and emotions.

BRAND SOUNDMARK Uses sound to uniquely identify a particular brand. 

Functions: Helps increase brand recognition, establish emotional connection with a brand, enhance the brand meaning and foster brand engagement. 

• Tune; simple and easily remembered melody. 

• Music; a wordless melody designed to complement a brand’s identity. 

• Jingle; a melody comprising words and vocalization.

KEY PRINCIPLES IN DESIGNING BRAND IDENTIFIERS 

• Memorable Easy to recognize and recall. 

• Unique Differentiate the company’s offering from the competition. 

• Protectable Defendable against unauthorized use and legal claims. 

• Strategic Aligned with the overarching brand strategy such that the meaning implied by brand identifiers is aligned with the essence of the brand. 

• Communicable Compatible with the different types of media.

BRAND REFERENTS 

Function: To create a set of meaningful associations in people’s minds; exist independently from the company. 

• Needs Promote the link between the customers’ need and its brand as a means to fulfill this need. 

• Benefits Associate its brands with a particular benefit of the offering as a means of fulfilling this need. 

• Experiences Including feelings, emotions, and senses.

• Concepts Refer to more abstract ideas, concepts, and thoughts. 

• Objects Represent a particular aspect of the image. 

• Products and Services Referencing a particular product or service. 

• Brands Use other brands as referents for different reasons.

BRAND COMMUNICATION 

Relates the brand design – identifiers and referents – to target customers in order to build the desired brand image in their minds. 

Two aspects of brand communication: 

• Brand Media

 • Creative execution

BRAND MEDIA 

1. Outbound Media Brand communication initiated by the company. 

• Advertising Communication in which the company develops the message and absorbs media costs; cost of air time and print space. 

• Public Relations Communication by third parties that are not directly controlled by the company. 

• Social Media Brand communication through social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), enabling companies to share brand-related content with their current and potential customers.

• Direct Marketing To inform customers about the company’s brand and elicit a direct responses from them. 

• Personal Selling Direct interaction with a company representative. 

• Event Sponsorship Backing events and activities of interest to the brand. 

• Product Placement Securing the rights to embed within a particular form of entertainment. 

• Product-Based Communication Embedded in the product itself in the form of brand related product labels, signs, and packaging.

2. Inbound Media 

Brand-related communication initiated by the public rather than the company. 

• Online Search Customers actively seeking brand-related information across different formats. 

• Personal Interaction Allowing customers with questions about the company’s offering to interact directly with the representatives. 

• Phone Communication 

• Live Chat Enables 

• Mail & Email

KEY PRINCIPLES OF MANAGING BRAND COMMUNICATION 

• Strategic Focus Prioritize strategy over entertainment to achieve the company’s branding goals. 

• Consistency Aligned across different media formats. 

• Synergy Maximize the joint impact of individual messages across different media formats so that their impact is compounded.