A brand is an image

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

For a long time the brand personality has been accepted as a part of the branding (Plum- mer, 1985).

Much of the work in the area of brand personality is based on translated theories of human personality and using similar measures of personality attributes and factors

A brand has value for consumers and for the company alike, it starts in the mind of the consumer, who focuses more on the symbolic over functional values, thus creating a personality for the brand strengthen the symbolic functions.

2.2.2. A brand is an image in the mind of the consumer

"Products are created in the factory. Brands are created in the mind". (Walter Landor, founder, Landor Associates) (Wheeler 2003)

A brand is much more than a name or a symbol, it is an image in the mind of the consumer.

Some definitions focus on the identification and separation function of the brand. For example the Dictionary of Business and Management defines a brand as: "a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors. Another definition from he American Marketing Association defines a brand as A name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other seller's .

But recently academics consider a brand more as an image in the mind of the consumer, which is everything associated with the brand including the physical, functional, psycho- logical as well as experiential aspects. Brand is the image that consumers have in mind (Aaker, 1991). A brand 'emerges' when a company interacts and builds a relationship with the customer. By interacting with the brand, a consumer form some perceptions of the brand. It is built in the consumer's mind, where he or she gathers up all the knowledge regarding the company, its products and /or services, . Thus, "A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer." Colin Bates, BuildingBrands.com. It is also the unique characteristics that have been developed all the time in order to differentiate actual products from the competitors (Murphy, 1990). “A brand is the sum total of all functional and emotional assets that differentiate it among the competition and distinguish it in the audience's mind.” (Landa 2006)

The definition that a brand is the totality of perceptions in the mind of the consumer is more realistic because.........A brand is thus a product or service that adds dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products or services designed to satisfy the same need. . . .the definition of the brand as the totality of perceptions in the mind of the consumer is the best, and leads to the connections with brand personality and self-image and self expression.in this dissertation the brand is defined as an image in the consumers mind.

2.2.3. value of brand for company and consumer

A brand has value for the comapny and benefits for the consumers

According to Jean-Noel Kapferer (1992) , brands perform several functions that add value to the comapny and give benefits to consumers:

• Identification - To be clearly seen, to make sense of the offer, to quickly identify sought after products
• Practicality - To save time and energy through identical repurchasing and loyalty
• Guarantee - To be sure of finding the same quality no matter where or when you buy the product or service
• Optimisation - To be sure of buying the best product in the category, the best per- former for a particular purpose
• Characterisation - To have confirmation of your self-image or the image that you present to others
• Continuity - Satisfaction brought about through familiarity and intimacy with the brand that you have been consuming for years
• Hedonistic - Satisfaction linked to the attractiveness of the brand, to its logo, to its communication
• Ethical - Satisfaction linked to the responsible behaviour of the brand in its rela- tionship with society

These different advantages help consumers and producers alike.for the consumer,a brand acts as an easy way to differentiate and decide between products in the same category.The ability to convey large amounts of information with one brand name or one logo is what makes branding such a powerful marketing tool.it is an important information source and creates a number of buyer benefits (Kotler, 1997). Here, the brand acts as a source of information, giving the consumer the possibility to assign different identities to different products (Low & Fullerton 1994).

For a company, a brand creates value, it can increase revenues,...According to Blackwell, Miniare and Engel (2006), a brand can be viewed as the greatest intangible asset of any company. Brands make up for a big chunk of a firm's revenues today and make sales predictable (Riekhof, 2001). Studies showed that consumers pay a far higher price for a product or service of a well-known brand they trust than for a comparable offer from a less well-know brand (Aaker; 1996)

In recent year there is a new movement against branding, in the forefront is (Klein et al.; 2001) in her book no logo,even the negative side of brand, the brand is still an impor- tant tool for marketers, or similarly, as the difference between the value of the branded product to the consumer and the value of the product without that branding (McQueen, 1991).As such, brand-building is about creating value through the provision of a compel- ling and consistent customer experience that satisfies customers and keeps them coming back. Combining both parties, producers and customers, branding generally brings ad- vantages to both. Whichever standpoint we take, customers are always a fundamental entity in branding decisions (Kapferer, 2001)

Conclusions

The two faces of brand personality therefore are input, that is, what we want consumers to think and feel, and out-take, what consumers actually do think and feel.The personality is how the brand is perceived in the eye of the consumer, which presents the fact that a brand has a relationship to its consumer and thus offers possibilities for interpersonal exchanges. These two perspectives on brand personality can be expressed in two forms. The first is the brand per- sonality statement, that is. our com- munication goals for the brand which have been in use at Y&R for many years as an important part of creative strategy. And the other is the brand personality profiles, which are con- sumer perceptions of the brand. plummer 1985

Brand personality has two other ad- vantages to those interested in build- ing brands: one is that while features can change, and today's advantage can become tomorrow's liability, brand personality, if it taps more en- during values, has a far better chance of continuing longevity.A second advantage is that brand personality encourages more active processing on the part of the con- sumer, suggesting that he or she can interpret a brand's image in a manner that is more personally meaningful biel1992

by creating a brand personality, marketing managers make it possible for the consumer to interact with the brand and have a relationship.

2.3.2. consumer purchase decision

Brands are very important; they are the link between the company and their costumers.Consumer purchasing decision is influenced by 4 factors: cultural, social, personal and psychological, KotlerArmstrong2007 described each element as folows:

• Cultural characteristics: Cultural factors have an important influence on consumer purchasing behaviour such as Sub-culture,
• Social class, A consumer's behaviour is also influenced by social factors, such as the consumer's small groups, family, and social roles and status
• Psychological characteristics: A person's buying choices are also influenced by four major psychological factors - motivation, perception, learning, and beliefs and attitudes.
• Personal characteristics: personal characteristics such as the buyer's age and life- cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, life style, and personality and self- concept. Are important influences in purchasing decision making.

The personal characteristics are big influence on the consumer purchase decision, there are 5 major personal factors:

• Age and life cycle: consumers buy products in different cycle of their life. young people have different patterns of purchase than much older people.
• Occupation: a person's occupation affects the goods and services bought. Example. consumers working in a major bank buy different products than buyers working in a factory.
• Economic situation: a person's economic situation will greatly affect product choice.Based how much the consumers can afford to buy.Lifestyle: Life style is a person's pattern of living as expressed in his or activities, interests, and opinions.
• Personality and self-concept: each person's distinct personality will influence his or buying behaviour, the self-concept with the brand is another important factor.

The consumers tend to use the brand as a way to facilitate their purchasing decision, the image of the brand has all the criteria value ,quality reliability trust.