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CHAPTER 4: CHOOSING BRAND ELEMENTS TO BUILD EQUITY
1. Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
1. Identify the different types of brand elements.
2. List the general criteria for choosing brand elements.
3. Describe key tactics in choosing different brand elements.
4. Explain the rationale for “mixing and matching” brand elements.
5. Highlight some of the legal issues surrounding brand elements.
2. List of Contents: Chapter 4 Choosing Brand Elements to build Equity
1. Brand Elements
2. Criteria for Choosing Brand Elements
Memorability
Meaningfulness
Likability
Transferability
Adaptability
Protectability
3. Options and Tactics for Brand Elements
3.1 Brand Names
3.1.1 Brand Naming Guidelines
3.1.2 Brand Naming Procedures
3.2 URLs
3.3 Logos and Symbols
3.4 Characters
3.5 Slogans
3.5.1 Classic Slogans: Example from Bangladesh
3.6 Jingles
3.7 Packaging
4. Putting It All Together
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3. Description of Contents:
1. Brand Elements
Brand elements, sometimes called brand identities, are those trademarkable devices that serve to
identify and differentiate the brand. Such as, names, logos, URL, slogans, jingles, characters etc.
Brand knowledge structures depend on the initial choices for the brand elements, the supporting
marketing program and the manner by which the brand is integrated into it and other associations
indirectly transferred to the brand by linking it to some other entities.
2. Criteria for Choosing Brand Elements: In general there are six criteria in choosing brand
elements.
The first three criteria- M, M and L can be charecterized as ' brand building' in nature and
concern how brand equity can be build through the judicious choice of a brand element.
The latter three criteria- T, A and P are more 'defensive' in nature and are concerned with how
the brand equity contained in a brand element can be leveraged and preserved in the face of
different opportunities and constraints.
2.1 Memorability
Brand elements should inherently be memorable and attention-getting, and therefore
facilitate recall or recognition.
For example, a brand of propane gas cylinders named Blue Rhino featuring a powder-
blue animal mascot with a distinctive yellow flame is likely to stick in the minds of
consumers.
2.2 Meaningfulness
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Brand elements may take on all kinds of meaning, with either descriptive or persuasive
content.
Two particularly important criteria
General information about the nature of the product category
Specific information about particular attributes and benefits of the brand
The first dimension is an important determinant of brand awareness and salience; the
second, of brand image and positioning.
2.3 Likability
Do customers find the brand element aesthetically appealing?
Descriptive and persuasive elements reduce the burden on marketing communications to
build awareness.
2.4 Transferability
How useful is the brand element for line or category extensions?
To what extent does the brand element add to brand equity across geographic boundaries
and market segments?
2.5 Adaptability
The more adaptable and flexible the brand element, the easier it is to update it to changes
in consumer values and opinions.
For example, logos and characters can be given a new look or a new design to make them
appear more modern and relevant.
2.6 Protectability
Marketers should:
1. Choose brand elements that can be legally protected internationally.
2. Formally register chosen brand elements with the appropriate legal bodies.
3. Vigorously defend trademarks from unauthorized competitive infringement.
3. Options and Tactics for Brand Elements
A variety of brand elements can be chosen that inherently enhance brand awareness or facilitate
the formation of strong, favorable, and unique brand associations.
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Brand names
URLs
Logos and symbols
Characters
Slogans
Packaging
3.1 Brand Names
Like any brand element, brand names must be chosen with the six general criteria of
memorability, meaningfulness, likability, transferability, adaptability, and protectability in mind.
3.1.1 Brand Naming Guidelines
Brand awareness
o Simplicity and ease of pronunciation and spelling
o Familiarity and meaningfulness
o Differentiated, distinctive, and uniqueness
Brand associations:
The explicit and implicit meanings consumers extract from it are important. In particular,
the brand name can reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that makes up
its product positioning.
3.1.2 Brand Naming Procedures
Define objectives
Generate names
Screen initial candidates
Study candidate names
Research the final candidates
Select the final name
Potential Sources of Brand Names:
- Company Management
- Employees
-Ad. Agencies
- Professional name consultants
- Specialized computer-based naming companies
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3.2 URLs
URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) specify locations of pages on the web and are also
commonly referred to as domain names.
A company can sue the current owner of the URL for copyright infringement, buy the
name from the current owner, or register all conceivable variations of its brand as domain
names ahead of time.
3.3 Logos and Symbols
Play a critical role in building brand equity and especially brand awareness.
Logos range from corporate names or trademarks (word marks with text only) written in
a distinctive form, to entirely abstract designs that may be completely unrelated to the
word mark, corporate name, or corporate activities.
3.4 Characters
A special type of brand symbol—one that takes on human or real-life characteristics.
Some are animated like Pillsbury’s Poppin’ Fresh Doughboy, Peter Pan peanut butter’s
character, and numerous cereal characters such as Tony the Tiger, Cap’n Crunch, and
Snap, Crackle & Pop.
Others are live-action figures like Juan Valdez (Colombian coffee), the Maytag
repairman, and Ronald McDonald, Budweiser frogs, and the AFLAC duck.
3.5 Slogans
Slogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information about
the brand.
Slogans are powerful branding devices because, like brand names, they are an extremely
efficient, shorthand means to build brand equity.
3.5.1 Classic Slogans: Example from Bangladesh
“Daag Theke Bhalo Kichu” (Surf Excell)
“Jibon Bachate, Jibo Shajate” (Square)
“Ektu Fresh Bhabun” (Meril)
“Shohojei Shu-shaad” (Radhuni Masala)
“Durotto Jotoi Hok, Kache Thakun” (Grameen Phone)
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3.6 Jingles
Jingles are musical messages written around the brand. Typically composed by
professional songwriters, they often have enough catchy hooks and choruses to become
almost permanently registered in the minds of listeners—sometimes whether they want
them to or not!
Jingles are perhaps most valuable in enhancing brand awareness.
3.7 Packaging
From the perspective of both the firm and consumers, packaging must achieve a number
of objectives:
Identify the brand
Convey descriptive and persuasive information
Facilitate product transportation and protection
Assist at-home storage
Aid product consumption
Packaging Can Influence Taste
Our sense of taste and touch is very suggestible, and what we see on a package can lead us to
taste what we think we are going to taste.
Packaging Can Influence Value
Long after we have bought a product, a package can still lead us to believe we bought it
because it was a good value.
Packaging Can Influence Consumption
Studies of 48 different types of foods and personal care products have shown that people pour
and consume between 18% and 32% more of a product as the size of the container doubles.
Packaging Can Influence How a Person Uses a Product
One strategy to increase use of mature products has been to encourage people to use the brand in
new situations, like soup for breakfast, or new uses, like baking soda as a refrigerator deodorizer.
An analysis of 26 products and 402 consumers showed that twice as many people learned about
the new use from the package than from television ads.
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4. Putting It All Together
The entire set of brand elements makes up the brand identity, the contribution of all brand
elements to awareness and image.
The cohesiveness of the brand identity depends on the extent to which the brand elements
are consistent.
Case
Case 4.1: Redesigned Sunscreen Label Conveys Brand Essence
Launched in 2009 by Nova Covington and her husband, scientist Paul Halter, the “Goddess
Garden” Organics’ line of sheer, mineral-based sunscreens for children and adults, provides safe
and powerful skin protection, without the use of synthetic chemicals. Appealing to consumers
looking for an alternative to chemical-based sunscreens, the brand soon developed a loyal
consumer following. But in 2014, Goddess Garden recognized that most consumers were not
familiar with the company’s brand name.
“Our packaging was a little kitschy, but it was very memorable,” says Covington. Unfortunately,
the name of our company was buried. People who knew our products could find us on shelf, but
we ended up having brand recognition challenges because they couldn’t remember the name of
our company.” Hearing of the success of their neighbor, New Belgium Brewing, in redesigning
their beer packaging to address this very issue, Goddess Garden contacted the New Belgium’s
designer, Hatch Design, to simplify its packaging graphics to emphasize the brand and its
benefits.
Cluttered label leads to confusion
As necessity is the mother of invention, the catalyst for the development of the Goddess Garden
line was Covington’s need to find non-allergenic skincare products for her daughter, who was
sensitive to virtually all synthetic chemicals. “I started looking at products and realizing there are
a lot of unknown ingredients,” she says. “That was kind of the big ‘wow’ factor. There were
some natural sunscreens available, but they weren’t usable—they were really whitening.”
As she explains, chemical and mineral sunscreens work very differently. Whereas chemical
products are absorbed into the skin and go right into the bloodstream, mineral sunscreens sit on
top of the skin. Mineral sunscreens are also biodegradable, “washing off and settling right back
into the earth,” she says. “Chemical sunscreens wash off and go into our water supply. The
molecules are so tiny; they can’t be processed out of the water supply through water treatment
plants, so they end up in our ocean, creating a lot of damage to coral reefs.”
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With Goddess Garden’s original packaging, many of these benefits were called out on the
packaging, but in such a way that it resulted in a jumble of information and graphics. “It was nice
and bright on the shelf, but it ended up being cluttered, and the essence of the brand was lost,”
says Covington. Consumers familiar with the products tended to shop them by graphic elements
such as the green swoosh at the top and bottom of the package, and the ladybug icon (on the
kids’ version). In addition to making the brand name more prominent, Hatch’s goal with the
redesign was to ensure that the hierarchy of information on the label was clear, while retaining
some of the graphic elements that made the product recognizable.
Simplicity conveys brand essence
While the packaging redesign encompassed all of Goddess Garden’s products—which include
those for sports and everyday activities as well as products for babies, kids, and adults—the
packaging structures were kept intact. Package formats for the 18-SKU line include inverted
tubes, aluminum cans, and spray bottles.
According to Covington, its tubes “are the only recyclable tubes on the shelf in the natural
grocery channel.” The polypropylene packages are converted by Viva Healthcare Packaging
([Link]), which applies in-mold labels made of PP, and a PP cap, resulting in
a completely recyclable package. The continuous-spray aluminum cans are propelled by air and
use an aluminum bag inside the can, making them fully recyclable as well.
In regard to the label graphics, Hatch preserved some of the former packaging’s popular
elements, including the green color, with some tweaking; part of the swoosh; the ladybug icon;
and a hummingbird graphic that was originally part of the logo.
Clearing the clutter, the new design uses an updated brand mark with an “approachable” lower-
case font—the Martha Stewart font—rendered in black against the clear, white top of the
package. An organizational graphic holding device, in the shape of a scalloped-edge tag in white,
communicates product information such as SPF and ingredients, and includes Goddess Garden’s
established icons.
The hummingbird illustration, once miniature in size at the top of the package, is now amplified
and centered on the front panel. A symbol of the female deity presence in many cultures around
the world, the hummingbird was selected as an inspiring and uplifting symbol for the Goddess
Garden line when it was introduced on the packaging in 2009. Says Joel Templin, founder and
Creative Director of Hatch, “We loved the symbolism, the tie back to Goddess Garden, and
wanted to make sure the bird stayed on the new packaging.” The hummingbird image utilizes the
motion of the bird’s flight pattern to create a color banding to help retain the shoppability that
went along with the green swoosh. It also becomes a more iconic part of the brand, and with its
upward and forward motion, emphasizes the optimism of the brand.
Hatch refreshed the green color used for the packaging, and added a deep blue for the new Sport
line. “When we chose the colors, we wanted them to be something that would appeal to both
men and women,” explains Covington. Package labels are printed in six to eight colors, which
are required to achieve the texture and shadowing used for the hummingbird illustration.
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The redesigned packaging for Goddess Garden launched in March 2015, in nearly 6,000 stores in
the U.S. and Canada, including Whole Foods, Target, Wegmans, CVS, Sprouts, and many
natural retailers. Says Covington. “We are so proud of the new Goddess Garden brand packaging
and the way we were able to update it without losing any brand equity. The look also mirrors the
simplicity and clean attributes of the brand.”
Written by: By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor, Packaging World
Source: [Link]
conveys-brand-essence.
Case 4.2: KFC
KFC is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, and there is no doubt that KFC’s
success can be partly attributed to a powerful set of memorable, meaningful, and likable brand
elements. The brand name itself is indicative as to what the brand is offering: Kentucky Fried
Chicken. Originating in the 1950s, KFC’s “finger lickin’ good” slogan has resonated with
families worldwide for over 50 years, along with its distinctive packaging, including the paper
bucket with red and white coloring. KFC’s pioneer, Colonel Harland Sanders, remains a key
character and symbol in KFC’s advertising, packaging, and branding. “The Colonel” is one of
the most recognized, respected, and beloved brand icons to ever exist. Aside from slight changes
to his attire, he continues to remind customers of the tasty, high-quality, fresh chicken with the
11 secret herbs and spices that he began making more than 50 years ago. KFC’s official URL is
[Link], which includes more than 30 international Web sites covering the Americas, Europe,
Asia, and Australia.
Source: [Link]; [Link].
Collected From: “Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand
Equity”, Kevin Lane Keller, 4th Edition, PEARSON
Questions:
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1. “Aarong” is a renowned Lifestyle shop of Bangladesh, which caters local ethnic designs
and crafts. Identify all of its brand elements and assess their ability to contribute to brand
equity according to the choice criteria identified in the chapter.
2. Can you suggest any use of brand characters for any local brand? How will it contribute
to brand equity? Can you relate their effects to the customer-based brand equity model?
3. Mention some other examples of slogans of National and International Brand that make
strong contributions to brand equity? Why? Can you think of any “bad” slogans? Why
do you consider them to be so?
4. Give an example of a Brand that has “too many” brand elements? What are the adverse
effects? Which brand do you think does the best job of “mixing and matching” brand
elements?
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