The notion of brand: a brief note

Brands are usually viewed as "labeled products" (Gunther and kriegbaum-Kling, 2001).  More specifically, a brand has been defined by the American Marketing Association as a "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. Gad (2001) discerns 4 dimensions of a brand, namely, functional, social, mental and spiritual. According to de Chernatony (2008), there are thirteen interpretations of brand:

1. As a logo
2. As legal instrument
3. As company
4. As shorthand
5. As risk reducer
6. As positioning
7. As personality
8. As a cluster of values
9. As vision
10. As adding value
11. As identity
12. As image
13. As relationship

These writings reflect the complexity as well as conceptual richness of the very notion of branding itself. Referring to http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/marketing_brands.html, there are 4 steps in strategic brand management process:

1. Identifying and establishing brand positioning and values
2. Planning and implementing brand marketing programs
3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance
4. Growing and sustaining brand equity

References

1. Gad, T. (2001) 4-D Branding, Prentice-Hall.
2. On Brand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand
3. On brand management: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/brand_management/brand_management.htm
4. de Chernatony, L. (2008) "Brand building" Chapter 16, in Baker, M. and Hart, S.J. (editors) The Marketing Book, Elsevier.
5. Gunther, T. and Kriegbaum-Kling, C. (2001) "Brand Valuation and Control: an empirical study", Schmalenbach Business Review 53, Oct., pp. 263-294.
6. On Strategic Brand Management: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/marketing_brands.html