CONSISTENT repetition and reinforcement is the key to building a successful brand.Coca-Cola, which owns the world’s most valuable brand, has stuck to the same symbolism – built around its buddy bottle – for more than 70 years.
CONSISTENT repetition and reinforcement is the key to building a successful brand.
Coca-Cola, which owns the world’s most valuable brand, has stuck to the same symbolism – built around its buddy bottle – for more than 70 years.
Even the Coca-Cola symbol, with its stylised white wave, is designed to reinforce the buddy bottle image. The wave represents two buddy bottles lying side by side.
Telos proprietor Mike Gleadell said the branding process could be reduced to name, image, symbols and typeface.
“It is critical for a company to keep pushing its mark. You have to be consistent to build the brand,” he said.
“Good branding can actually be quite boring work.”
Mr Gleadell said it was not good practice for companies to modify their brands in the pursuit of fashion.
“Understand who you are and what you are and support your own message,” he said.
“If you look at those big brands that kept true to their marks, many of which were developed in the early part of the past century, well, those marks have come back into fashion.”
Marketforce Advertising strategic planning director Ron Duncan said the core values of a brand should never change, but the “personality” of the brand could.
“In the case of Coke, the brand’s values have remained constant but its personality has changed to suit the times,” he said.
“One of the issues is the human angle of the people dealing with brands. There is always the temptation to fiddle. Another problem is [that] the brand manager will change about every 18 months and with that sort of changeover you can lose the core vision of where the brands came from.”
Mr Duncan said there were infinite ways to build a brand but the most important thing was to understand that a brand was different from a product.
“You need to understand where your business fits into people’s lives and why they value it. Branding is about trying to make things more human,” he said.
“You are building a relationship. A relationship is always in a state of decline unless you keep reinforcing and reinvigorating it.
“You have to surprise but still keep the core promise of the brand going as well.”
Marketforce manages the Scratch & Win brand of instant lottery tickets.
“With that brand, part of its value comes from its spontaneity. It can surprise people a bit,” Mr Duncan said.
“But if you are dealing with an insurance brand, for example, the last thing you want to do is surprise people. With that sort of brand people are looking for surety and heritage.”
Adlink JLS managing director John Carlson said that, to be successful, a brand needed personality.
“The company also needs to give due prominence to the brand’s positioning in all of its communications,” he said.
However, Mr Carlson said he was not a fan of brand-only advertising.
“You need to promote your brand and your products at the same time,” he said.
p Next week: Promoting the brand externally.
Coca-Cola, which owns the world’s most valuable brand, has stuck to the same symbolism – built around its buddy bottle – for more than 70 years.
Even the Coca-Cola symbol, with its stylised white wave, is designed to reinforce the buddy bottle image. The wave represents two buddy bottles lying side by side.
Telos proprietor Mike Gleadell said the branding process could be reduced to name, image, symbols and typeface.
“It is critical for a company to keep pushing its mark. You have to be consistent to build the brand,” he said.
“Good branding can actually be quite boring work.”
Mr Gleadell said it was not good practice for companies to modify their brands in the pursuit of fashion.
“Understand who you are and what you are and support your own message,” he said.
“If you look at those big brands that kept true to their marks, many of which were developed in the early part of the past century, well, those marks have come back into fashion.”
Marketforce Advertising strategic planning director Ron Duncan said the core values of a brand should never change, but the “personality” of the brand could.
“In the case of Coke, the brand’s values have remained constant but its personality has changed to suit the times,” he said.
“One of the issues is the human angle of the people dealing with brands. There is always the temptation to fiddle. Another problem is [that] the brand manager will change about every 18 months and with that sort of changeover you can lose the core vision of where the brands came from.”
Mr Duncan said there were infinite ways to build a brand but the most important thing was to understand that a brand was different from a product.
“You need to understand where your business fits into people’s lives and why they value it. Branding is about trying to make things more human,” he said.
“You are building a relationship. A relationship is always in a state of decline unless you keep reinforcing and reinvigorating it.
“You have to surprise but still keep the core promise of the brand going as well.”
Marketforce manages the Scratch & Win brand of instant lottery tickets.
“With that brand, part of its value comes from its spontaneity. It can surprise people a bit,” Mr Duncan said.
“But if you are dealing with an insurance brand, for example, the last thing you want to do is surprise people. With that sort of brand people are looking for surety and heritage.”
Adlink JLS managing director John Carlson said that, to be successful, a brand needed personality.
“The company also needs to give due prominence to the brand’s positioning in all of its communications,” he said.
However, Mr Carlson said he was not a fan of brand-only advertising.
“You need to promote your brand and your products at the same time,” he said.
p Next week: Promoting the brand externally.
