The frameworks above act as a template to guide the brand planning through a focus aimed upon a long term planning cycle. Brands are not produced overnight. They require years, and often decades of dedicated strategy, to position them firmly in their marketplace. That positioning has to do with an interpretation in the mind of the end user or consumer, and even a wider public, that the products assembled under its label, will continue a tradition for delivering the essence of performance as promised through time.
Brand planning is designed to compliment synergies in strategy via continuation of a quality and reputation that crosses geographic borders and language barriers. And whilst the technologies and innovations introduced may alter a products ability to reach deeper into the segments targeted, it must still service each segment within character.
Some brands over the decades have become icons of a reputation beyond their application or use. They are revered as symbols of influence, power or wealth through their ownership or in the interpretation of an association. As a result, forgeries, clones or copies are often produced that necessitate actions by the brand to keep the image intact, albeit that the ensemble of products within the stable are not marketed in the geographic sector where such forgeries have appeared. And since branding is to do with corporate identity, intellectual property protecting symbols and logo design require registration world wide to avert such ‘look-a-likes’ damaging the reputation of the brand at large.
Branding Plan Sub Structure Frameworks Elements & Prompt Guides
1. Brand Positioning
The concept of differentiation allows a brand to position itself against any other brands that may be contesting a similar market segment or consumer profile. A brand would ideally have an overall perspective in terms of standards set for the industry and position itself as the best fit against these requirements. The product categories the brand contests and the service levels required to uphold a market position need to be backed by a commitment to perpetuity founded upon history.
For the consumer, brands in future face having to justify their price by matching a unique value with use, or operational practicality, service and quality guarantees, and in establishing a commitment to supply continuity. They will be judged by an ethical compliance with segment sympathies. Brands will also be compared by the awareness they attract regarding stated use, raw materials usage, recycling capability and the perceived quality recognised by a global opinion.
Brand positioning is not necessarily about what is at the top, but what is within the product / service requirement profile that positions it against rivals. The brand’s identity defines what must stay and what is free to change. A brand is not only the property of the holding company but also belongs in the hearts and minds of the greater public, and consumers that through a historic association made it a brand in the first place. In some instances the brand is unable to alter its innermost substance or the different facets of its identity. As a result a brand is locked into what its public dictates positions it through a tacit association or use involvement.
1.1 Attribute Recognition
- Peruse the qualities that are characteristic of the brand category.
- Research your brand’s awareness associated with these qualities.
- Determine that a match is easily distinguishable by the segment.
- Merge these qualities to the visual identity afforded to your brand.
- Reinforce brand identity promotionally with attribute recognition.
1.2 Distinctive Appeal
- Determine a quality that is unique to your brand, i.e., durability.
- Test the segment’s confirmation of this attribute via research.
- Ensure the ‘product’ has capability to uphold an attribute’s pace.
- Match these attributes to long term brand / vision reinforcements.
- Develop promotional strategies in support of attributes exposed.
1.3 Positioning Mapping
- Map out the brand’s situation in relation to other brand offerings.
- Qualify the characteristics that determine recognition and appeal.
- Determine that customer perceptions reflect a distinctive appeal.
- Consolidate the market positioning against the measured qualities.
- Develop long term strategies to reinforce your brand’s positioning.