Brand, Image & Reputation

Brand, Image&Reputation Corporate Communication Chapter 2 Dr.InasA.Hamid

Brand • David Aaker (1996)described a brand as “a mental box”.

Whithout reading the name of these products you can recognize them , why????????

For a long time Brand was defined as a name, sign, symbol or any other feature that used to identify products or services and to differentiate them from those of competitors. But In the twenty-first-century, the brand is more than a name, sign, symbol or any other feature. WE DO NOT BUY A PRODUCT JUST FOR WHAT THE NAME OR THE FAMOUS SYMBOL IMPLIES, BUT BECAUSE THE BRAND REPRESENTS THE BOND BETWEEN THE BUYER AND THE SELLER.

Brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible and intangibles, symbolized in a trademark, which creates value and influence. Brands create images in the minds of observers by communicating a combination of verbal, visual, and emotional cues that encourage targeted observers to identify.

Marketers must compete at the customer level with brands, branding and brand communication. Branding is an element of the marketing communication mix.

Brands are protected by the law. Brands can be sold, bought, rented, and franchised. The greatest threat to a brand owner is the risk that the product or service that the brand owner has developed becomes the generic equivalent for the product category.

How Brands Are Created? • Brands are created primarily through various forms of communication. • THE COMMUNICATION OF THE BRAND is the total package of benefits, values, ingredients, formal or informal messages that together provide meaning and benefit to the customer or prospect. • The entire organization is involved in the meaning and management of the brand. • Brand communication must be managed in an integrated fashion to provide a consistent view of the brand.

Some key Elements in brand development • Brand messages; are those concepts, ideas, icons, colors, symbols, designed by the organization and sends out to customers or prospects to give meaning to the product or service. (Designed by the organization) • Brand contacts; are more than brand messages. They are all those images or information , personal experiences a customer or prospect might have with the brand in the marketplace. (Formed by the costumers). • So a brand contact can positively reinforce current brand meaning or destroy positive brand meaning, or create brand meaning that can lead to different brand relationship with customers and prospect. • For example McDonald's brand contacts & messages can be:

CorporateIdentity • Corporate identity should express the character of the business. • Corporate identity is planned on the basis of a desired image. • Corporate identity means how the corporate presents its self on the basis of a desired image.

Identity planning • Corporate identity in the last decade has acquired a broader interpretation , including: • Communication Materials: the design of logos, symbols, booklets, news release ,magazine, advertising • Staff appearance, the way they act, and the interior and outside design of the building. • Organizational Personality: values ,mission, vision ,and purpose. • Organizational Behavior: Its polices ,acts decisions • Social responsibility activities :events they sponsors, relations with charities.

Jaguar Vision Our Vision To be Northern California's leading automobile dealer for the products we represent.

Jaguar Mission Our Mission • We are committed to providing distinctive automotive products and exceptional service while treating our customers and employees with unyielding integrity. Our Core Values • We are a team • We respect each other • We encourage self-improvement • We hold high expectations • We embrace change • We enthusiastically value our customer • We support our community

Jaguar

Image planning • Image isa mental or sensual perception of someone or something , based upon all the direct – indirect source of information. • So, Corporate image is the features of the company that stakeholders come to perceive. • Any organization has a current image and a desired image. • The corporate image can have a positive or negative influence on customers when they make purchase decisions. Corporate Image Purchase decisions

Experience may be Direct Indirect Corporate Image • The corporate image is based upon experience of it.

Customer perceptions of the goods or services. Retail outlets where the product is sold. Corporate name and logo. Packages and labels. How the corporate deals with customer. TangibleElements. Customer views of each company's advertisement. Assessment of employees. Intangible Elements Reactions to crisis. Policies , values and beliefs. Locationof company. Media reports. Also, Corporate Image depends on:

Reputation • Reputations are overall assessments of organizations by their stakeholders. • Company's reputation is valuable and it is very important to assess it regularly by using Interviews and surveys . • Consumer preference about which brands to purchase and their opinions within a crisis and potential employees depend on a company's reputation. • Assessing and managing a company's reputation is one of the most important roles of PR department. Reputation Attitude Purchaseattract & retain employees attractiveness of the company attract investors & resources opinion within a crisis

Corporate reputation depends on the effects that identity and images have on the overall evaluation which stakeholders make of companies. Reputation Image Identity

One way to describe reputation is to distinguish levels of analysis to which the notion of “reputation” could be applied:

How do reputation form? • There are three levels of information processing that affect people's impressions of the company :

Experience W-O-M Power of media Although the primary level influences have the greatest effect on individual perceptions, most of the information people absorb comes indirectly from friends and colleagues and through the power of the mass media.

Reputations are specially helpful whenstakeholders need to make decisions and available information is complex, conflicting or incomplete.

Assignment • You are the PR director of ACU university . Your PR plans for building a positive reputation of high quality educational service. How will you do it? Can you think of your targeted audiences that need to be affected?

Brand, Image & Reputation