Perception Of Destination Branding Measures

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Destination branding is a continuing process to create unique tourist Experiences and build a sustained image that emotionally bonds with the host community stakeholders and resonates with its targeted

markets.

Destination branding is about packaging and marketing a set of images to promote a particular destination.

There are however consequences that extend beyond

marketing… the brand vision can become an instrument for

transforming the place and social engineering local cultures.

(Professor Can Seng Ooi, Copenhagen Business

School, Denmark).

Destination branding is defined as: selecting a consistent element mix to identify and distinguish it through positive image building (Cai Liping 2002), i.e. how consumers perceive the destination in their

minds. Destination branding conveys the promise of a memorable travel experience that is uniquely associated with the destination; it also serves to consolidate and reinforce the recollection of pleasurable

memories of the destination experience (Goeldner, Ritchie, and Mac- Intosh 2000; Kaplanidou and Vogt 2003).

The desire to become a recognizable destination presents a marketingchallenge (Kotler, Bowen, and Makens 2006). For marketers, branding is perhaps the most powerful marketing weapon available

to contemporary destination marketers confronted by tourists wh are increasingly seeking lifestyle fulfilment and experience rather than srecognizing differentiation in the more tangible elements of the destination

product, such as accommodation and attractions (Morgan, Pritchard, and Pride 2004). A successful destination brand needs to convey the expectations, or promise, of a memorable travel experience that is distinctively associated with that destination (Ritchie and Crouch 2003; Blain, Levy, and Ritchie 2005; Knapp and Sherwin 2005).

Benefits of Branding

According to Kotler, brands’ benefits, are two-fold; they serve as a ‘major tool to create product/services differentiation,’ and they represent a promise of value from a consumer’s viewpoint (Kotler and Gartner

2002). Clarke (2000) has identified six benefits of branding related to

tourism destination products:

1 as tourism is typically high involvement, branding helps to reduce

the choice,

2 branding helps in reducing the impact of intangibility,

3 branding conveys consistency across multiple outlets and through

time,

4 branding can reduce the risk factor attached to decision making

about holidays.

5 branding facilitates precise segmentation,

6 branding helps to provide a focus for the integration of producer

effort, helping people to work towards the same outcome.

Brand Image

A country’s image results from its geography, history, proclamations,

art and music, famous citizens, and other features. The entertainment

industry and the media play a particularly important role in shaping

people’s perceptions of places, especially those viewed negatively

(Simonin 2008). This image can be seen as the sum of beliefs and impressions

people hold about places. Images represent a simplification

of a large number of associations and pieces of information connected

with a place, they are a product of the mind trying to process and pick

out essential information from huge amounts of data about a place

(Kotler, Heider, and Rein 1993). The image is a reflection, sometimes

distorted, of its fundamental being, a measure of its health, and a miri

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ror to its soul. It speaks to the way a country exists in people’s minds

and hearts as well as to the position it occupies in relations to other

countries (Simonin 2008).

Destination image has a key role for tourism marketers. Several researchers

(e. g. Mayo and Jarvis 1981; Woodside and Lysonski 1989)

have illustrated that destination image and tourists’ purchase decisions

are positively correlated; this is an important issue in an individual’s

travel purchase related decision making, since the individual traveller’s

(dis)satisfaction with a travel purchase depends on a comparison of

his/her expectation about the destination or a previously held destination

image, and on his/her perceived performance of the destination

(LaPage and Cormier 1977), it is an important determinant (Ritchie

and Couch 2003).

Brand Equity

Brand equity is the value of a brand based on the extent to which

it has a high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, strong

brand associations, and other assets such as patents, trademarks, and

channel relationships (Kotler and Armstrong 2001). It stems from the

greater confidence that consumers place in a brand than they do in

its competitors. This confidence translates into consumer’s loyalty and

their willingness to pay a premium price for the brand.

Brand equity includes many dimensions such as performance, social

image, value, trustworthiness, and identifications (Lassar, Mittal, and

Sharma 1995). For the marketer, the brand is a value; the brand name of

the product marketed by them should lead to attaining brand equity.

For the consumer, a brand which accumulates benefits means benefits

in the sense of utility and service. A brand is said to have equity when

the consumers prefer to buy a branded one instead of an unbranded

commodity.When consumers are able to recall the brand name and its

attributes for the long period (Krishnakumar 2009), they react more

(less) favourably to an element of the marketing mix for the brand

than they do to the same marketing mix element when it is attributed

to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service

(Keller 1993).

From this point of view, brand equity is the extension of brand

loyalty and brand knowledge (Krishnakumar 2009).

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[274]

S. Bakri Hassan, M. Soliman Abdel Hamid, and H. Al Bohairy

Brand Identity

Brand identity is a part of the brand’s overall equity, the total perception

of a brand in the marketplace, driven mostly by its positioning

and personality (Upshaw 1995). Brand identity clearly specifies what

the brand aspires to stand for and has multiple roles:

1 It is a set of associations that the brand strategist seeks to create

and maintain.

2 It represents a vision of how a particular brand should be perceived

by its target public (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2000).

3 Upon its projection the brand identity should help establish a

relationship between a particular brand and its clientele by generating

a value proposition potentially either involving benefits

or providing credibility, which endorses the brand in question.

Aaker (1996) has developed a comprehensive brand identity planning

model. At the heart of this model is a four-fold perspective on

the concept of a brand. To help ensure that a firm’s brand identity has

texture and depth, Aaker, 1996 advises brand strategists to consider the

brand as:

1 a product;

2 an organization;

3 a person; and

4 a symbol.

Each perspective is distinct. The purpose of this system is to help

brand strategists consider different brand elements and patterns that

can help clarify, enrich, and differentiate an identity. A more detailed

identity will also help guide implementation decisions (Yoo, Donthu,

and Lee 2000). The most important thing to keep in mind about a

brand identity is that it lives entirely in the mind of the beholder. An

identity is not what marketers create, but what consumers perceive as

what has been created (Upshaw 1995).

Brand Positioning

The brand positioning task consists of three steps:

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1 Identifying a set of possible competitive advantages upon which

to build a position.

2 Selecting the right competitive advantage.

3 Effectively communicating and delivering the chosen position to

a carefully selected target market (Morgan, Pritchard, and Pride

2004).

Marketers focus on differentiation branding through relationships

and emotional appeals rather than through discernible, tangible benefits

(Westwood et al. 1999), as it is clear that the most difficult task

facing any destination is the quest for true differentiation. To create

a fair, rounded and attractive picture of a country in people’s minds,

a balance must be maintained between the different images (Anholt

2002).

Brand positioning is what a brand stands for in the mind of consumers

and prospects relative to its competition in terms of benefits

and promises (Upshaw 1995). Brand positioning is a very important

stage which involves the establishment of a fit between the supply and

the demand perspectives on the destination attributes (Ndlovu 2009).

Promotional mix plays an important role in positioning a destination.

In order to promote tourism experiences, marketers have to think

beyond traditional advertising techniques. As well as communicating

the obvious, in marketing campaigns they need to bring brands to life

by dazzling consumer senses, touching their hearts and stimulating

their minds (Widdis 2001).

THEORY AND DEFINITION OF DESTINATION

BRANDING

Our literature review focused on deriving a definition for destination branding that was based on the underlying theory of branding and that provided a definition that was moreholistic than simple logo development. Given current perceptions and practices, as revealed in our exploratoryResearch, this required that a definition of destination branding

be derived from a disparate collection of branding theory

and other concepts found in the marketing literature.

Our examination of the literature on classical branding

found that the writings of David Aaker and his colleagues

provided the greatest insight into both the classical theory

and effective practice of branding. Indeed, Aaker’s definition

of branding (1991) is one of the most widely accepted.

He asserts that the primary role of a brand is

to identify [italics added] the goods or services of either

one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate

[italics added] those goods or services from those

of competitors. (p. 7)

D. Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) provide a most useful

supporting theoretical framework for this definition.

Their theory of brand equity postulates that the value of a

brand is derived from four main factors: brand awareness,

perceived quality of the brand, brand associations and brand

loyalty.

Similarly, Nielsen (1995), Biel (1997), Sebastiao (1999),

and L. Berry (2000) describe the characteristics of strong

brands as having consistent advertising and reinforcing a differentiated

brand message.

Another conceptual framework that more directly relates

to destination branding has been enunciated by Hankinson

(2004). His proposed framework is built around the concept

of brand networks in which place branding performs four

main functions (see Figure 1). These are (1) brands as communicators,

where brands "represent a mark of ownership,

and a means of product differentiation manifested in legally

protected names, logos, and trademarks"; (2) brands as perceptual

entities, "which appeal to the consumer senses, reasons,

and emotions; (3) "brands as value enhancers," which

has led to the concept of brand equity; and (4) "brands as

relationships," where the brand is construed as having a personality

which enables it to form a relationship with the

consumer (pp. 110–111).

Hankinson’s (2004) general model of the place brand

(Figure 1) postulates place as "relational brand networks" (p.

114) in which the place brand is represented by a core brand

and four categories of brand relationships (consumer relationships,

primary service relationships, brand infrastructure

relationships, and media relationships) that enhance the

brand reality and the brand experience.

Further to the foregoing, branding provides numerous

additional functions for both buyers and sellers (see Figure

2). Since brands ultimately serve as "symbol(s) around

which relationships are built" (p. 54) (Berthon, Hulbert, and

Pitt 1999), it follows that logo design can be considered a key

component of branding. While the brand symbol may

encompass a distinguishing name, logo, trademark, or package

design, logos often become a central brand image representation

of products, services, or destinations.

For tourism destinations, we strongly support the idea

that the concept of the visitor experience (identified as a critical

tourism concept by Ryan [2002]) needs to be incorporated

into the process of branding (L. Berry 2000; Pine and

Gilmore 1999). Research has demonstrated that although

visitors purchase individual tourism services, the entire visitor

experience is what is effectively being bought (Otto and

Ritchie 1996). In an attempt to incorporate the importance of

the symbolic representation of the brand, we note further that

Ritchie and Ritchie (1998) have defined a "destination

brand" as

a name, symbol, logo, word mark or other graphic

that both identifies and differentiates the destination;

furthermore, it conveys the promise of a memorable

travel experience that is uniquely associated with the

destination; it also serves to consolidate and reinforce

the recollection of pleasurable memories of the destination

experience. (P. 103; italics added)

As seen, this definition addresses D. Aaker’s (1990) core

branding concepts (identification and differentiation) while

drawing from of the concept of experiences marketing (e.g.,

Pine and Gilmore 1999; Schmitt and Simonson 1997).

The promise of a brand is just as important, if not more

so, for destinations than it is for other service organizations.

Although the promise is not necessarily a guarantee, it

extends a degree of comfort to visitors, as they can more fully

and accurately anticipate their imminent or upcoming vacation

experience. As with other service organizations, if the

promise cannot be delivered, the visitor is dissatisfied.

Admittedly, the term promise may be somewhat too strong a

term for DMOs as it implies a guarantee for a very complex

entity. Such a complex experience is difficult to guarantee

every time, given the variable nature of tourism products and

the fact that all its elements are not under the control, or even

the direct influence, of the DMO. This lack of DMO control

over the entire visitor experience may contribute to the

underdevelopment of destination identities and lead to the

perception by the general public that destinations are not

brands (Morgan, Pritchard, and Piggott 2002).

The definition of branding adopted for this research combines

the previously discussed branding concepts with the

concepts of destination image (Morgan and Pritchard 1999) destination

choice. According to Echtner and Ritchie (1991),

destination image is defined as "not only the perceptions of

individual destination attributes but also the holistic impression

made by the destination" (p. 8). Destination image has

been shown to be a significant factor in determining visitor

choice (Lee, O’Leary, and Hong 2002). So as the competition

for tourists and their spending dollars continues to

increase, it follows that a definition of destination branding

should include the concepts of destination image and

competitiveness.

We emphasize at this point that from a theoretical perspective,

the above definition essentially reflects the seller’s

point of view (see Figure 2). Figure 2 also conveys that theory

dictates that we must understand a brand from the

buyer’s perspective (Woodside 1982), in which the brand

reduces search costs as well as reduces perceived and

psychological risk. Specifically, effective destination branding

provides visitors with an assurance of quality experiences,

reduces visitor search costs, and offers a way for destinations

to establish a unique selling proposition.

A tourism destination brand is ..

… a PROMISE

It establishes the kind of experience that the visitor can expect from the destination.

vDestination Branding Phases

The Tanzania Tourism destination Branding will involve five (5) phases:

1.Image investigation, analysis and strategic recommendations

2.Brand identity development

3.Brand design

4.Brand launch and communication

5.Brand management

LITERATURE REVIEW

Most definitions of a brand have been based on that proposed by Aaker (1991, p.7):

… a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or

package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller

or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods from those of

competitors.

A brand is however, more than the presentation of such symbols in consumer promotions.

Aaker proposed a brand be viewed from both the supply and demand perspectives. One way

to do this is through understanding of the distinction between the concepts of brand identity

and brand image. The former is the self-image desired by the marketers, while that latter is the

actual image held by consumers. As shown in Figure 1, brand positioning elements such as

the name, symbol and slogan, are used by the marketer to cut through the noise of competing

and substitute products to stimulate an induced destination image that matches the brand

identity (see Pike, 2004, p. 112). One way to analyse the level of congruence of brand image

with brand identity is CBBE.

Figure 1

Brand identity, brand position and brand image

CAUTHE 2008 Conference

Where The Bloody Hell Are We?

5

Source: Pike (2004, p. 112)

Aaker (1991) defined brand equity as assets and liabilities that add or detract value to a firm

and/or its companies. High levels of brand equity can result in increased sales, price

premiums, customer loyalty, (Aaker, 1991), lower costs (Keller, 1993), and purchase intent

(Cobb-Walgren, Beal & Donthu, 1995). Commonly, measurement of brand equity is by way

of an intangible balance sheet asset net-present-value, with key dependent variables including

future financial performance (see Kim, Kim & An, 2003) and market share (see Mackay,

2001)."The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products."Tom Peters says, "Branding is ultimately about nothing more and nothing less than heart. It's about passion… what you care about. It's about what's inside you, your team, your division, your company.

A brand is the sum of all the associations, feelings, attitudes and perceptions that people have related to the tangible and intangible characteristics of a company, product or service. 

The 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 sellers. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item, a family of items, or all items of that seller. If used for the firm as a whole, the preferred term is trade name."

Brand is a known identity of a company in terms of what products and services they offer but also the essence of what the company stands for in terms of service and other emotional, non tangible consumer concerns. To brand something is when a company or person makes descriptive and evocative communications, subtle and overt statements that describe what the company stands for. For example, is the brand the most economical, does it stands for superior service, is it an environmental responsible provider of x,y,z service or product. Each communication is deliberate in evoking emotion in the receiver to leave him/her with an essence of what the company or person stands for. Donna Antonucci

Branding is the art of aligning what you want people to think about your company with what people actually do think about your company. And vice-versa. Jay Baer - Convince & Convert. Author with Amber Naslund of The Now Revolution

A brand is the essence of one's own unique story. This is as true for personal branding as it is for business branding. The key, though, is reaching down and pulling out the authentic, unique "you". Otherwise, your brand will just be a facade. The power of a strong logo in brand identity is that a simple visual can instantaneously communicate a brand and what it is about. Some large brands are able to do this by symbol only, without words, that is the Holy Grail that brands dream about. This seems to represent the very essence of communication at its most primitive roots. Few can pull it off. Logos are vitally important, but are just one component of what creates a strong brand. Logos should support the broader brand strategy that supports an even bigger brand story. Paul Biedermann - re:DESIGN

A brand is a reason to choose. Cheryl Burgess - Blue Focus Marketing

A brand symbol as "anything that leaves a mental picture of the brand's identity. Leo Burnett

Branding is more than a name and symbol. A brand is created and influenced by people, visuals, culture, style, perception, words, messages, PR, opinions, news media and especially social media. Like when a child is born and given a name, a brand needs nurturing, support, development and continuous care in order to thrive and grow. Some brands have a life cycle and grow old like people. Some brands are timeless and never die, are "born again" or reinvented, while some brands live a short but powerful life and have an iconic legacy.  Lisa Buyer - The Buyer Group

Branding is the encapsulation of a company's mission statement, objectives, and corporate soul as expressed through the corporate voice and aesthetic. Margie Clayman

Brands are shorthand marketing messages that create emotional bonds with consumers. Brands are composed of intangible elements related to its specific promise, personality, and positioning and tangible components having identifiable representation including logos, graphics, colors and sounds. A brand creates perceived value for consumers through its personality in a way that makes it stand out from other similar products. Its story is intricately intertwined with the public's perception and consistently provides consumers with a secure sense that they know what they're paying for. In a world where every individual is also a media entity, your consumers own your brand (as it always was).  Heidi Cohen - Riverside Marketing Strategies

Branding, to me, is the identity of a product or service. It's the name, the logo, the design, or a combination of those that people use to identify, and differentiate, what they're about to buy. A good brand should deliver a clear message, provide credibility, connect with customers emotionally, motivate the buyer, and create user loyalty. Gini Dietrich - Spin Sucks

Branding is the sub-total of all the "experiences" your customers have with your business. For successful branding you need to understand the principles of Ivan Pavlov as my brother Jeffrey and I discussed in our Waiting For Your Cat to Bark. For branding to work you must have:

Consistency. Pavlov never offered food without ringing the bell and never rang the bell without offering food.

Frequency. The bell rang several times a day, day after day.

Anchoring. Pavlov tied the experiment to something about which the dog was emotional. Frequency and consistency create branding only when the message is associated with an emotional anchor. This is the most difficult and essential element to get correct.

However, keep in mind Pavlov had an easier time because he chose dogs which are much better at following a leader, today's customers are more cat like and not as easily persuaded or motivated. Bryan Eisenberg - Author of Waiting for Your Cat to Bark

In today's social, customer-controlled world, marketers may be spending their money to build a brand. But they don't own it. In their influential book, Groundswell, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff state "your brand is whatever your customers say it is…" As a marketer, this means that, while a brand is the emotional relationship between the consumer and the product, you must engage with consumers and build positive brand associations. The deeper the relationship, the more brand equity exists. Neil Feinstein - True North

Branding can be divided into old and new.

Old Branding.  Advertisers shouting carefully pedicured messages at consumers who don't want to hear it.

New Branding. Advertisers [1] humbly listening to what consumers tell others the brand is and back up with real action (like repeat purchases) and [2] incorporating appropriate innovations so their products continue to earn consumers' loyalty and word of mouth.

Dr. Augustine Fou - Marketing Science Consulting Group, Inc.

 

Brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization. Branding is about shaping that perception. Ashley Friedlein - Econsultancy

Branding is an ongoing process of looking at your company's past and present…and then creating a cohesive personality for the company and its products going forward. We do SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis and go through all the benefits (real and emotional) that the product or service fulfills for its customers. We review the key factors that spurred growth, pricing, corporate culture, key players, and we figure out "who you are", by key players, the president, customer service. Then we create the brand voice first. It's a wonderful process. Lois Geller - Lois Geller Marketing Group

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it's a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn't pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer. Seth Godin - Author of Linchpin

Brand is the image people have of your company or product. It's who people think you are. Or quoting Ze Frank, it's the "emotional aftertaste" that comes after an experience (even a second-hand one) with a product, service or company.  (Also, it's the mark left after a red-hot iron is applied to a steer's hindquarters.) Ann Handley - MarketingProfs, Author with C.C. Chapman of Content Rules

Attention is a scarce resource. Branding is the experience marketers create to win that attention. Jeffrey Harmon - Orabrush

Branding is the representation of your organization as a personality. Branding is who you are that differentiates you. Dave Kerpen - Likeable Media, Author of Likeable Social Media

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competitor. Phillip Kotler - Author of Marketing Management

That old "a brand is a promise" saw holds true, but only partially true. Rebecca Lieb, author of The Truth About Search Engine Optimization

Don Zahorsky is an old cattle breeder in my neighborhood. He's been in the business of registered Angus cattle for decades, even back when my dad was a kid. Ride around in the pasture with Don, and he can tell you the parentage of every animal. "What's that tag number? 0282? That's another Dominator son. His mother is a real good cow. Her father was the grand champion … " He has invested his life in breeding the best registered Angus cattle he possibly can. He's bought bulls back from people, because he didn't like the way they performed. He's never thought once about business brands, about emotional experiences, about logos. But he does care a lot about his reputation and the service he provides his buyers. He brands his bulls with a DZ on the right hip. Everyone around here knows that brand. They know Don. They know that brand means a good bull. Here's the lesson: It's not the brand that makes the bull valuable. It's Don's reputation that makes the bull valuable. The brand is just a way of showing it. Becky McCray - Small Business Survival

A brand is the meaningful perception of a product, a service or even yourself -either good, bad or indifferent -- that marketers want people to believe based on what they think they hear, see, smell, taste and generally sense from others around them. Josh Moritz

A brand is "The intangible sum of a product's attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it's advertised." David Ogilvy, Author of On Advertising

Branding is the defined personality of a product, service, company, organization or individual. Many folks confuse "having a logo" for an ongoing branding process, but in fact a good logo is an extension of a defined identity for a venture in the same way that a flag or national anthem may represent a country. A well designed brand personality can be seen in everything from customer service to the actual products a company may offer. Another misconception about brands is that they should reflect a quality; and that may be true in a brand that's about quality (think of a Chanel logo which communicates the idea of luxury) but on the other hand if a local dollar store even has a designed logo that may in fact work against the goals of their brand as they may seem overpriced. Like an artist finding his or her voice the goal of a branding process should be to always frame in a concise way what makes your endeavor unique; and then apply that message to each medium. Michael Pinto - Very Memorable Design (Disclaimer: I use Michael for my branding.)

"A brand is a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a prospect." Al Ries - Author of Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind

"Branding" is what lazy and ineffective marketing people do to occupy their time and look busy. David Meerman Scott - Bestselling author of Real-Time Marketing and PR

Successful branding is what you do, not what you say or show. Successful branding  requires your delivering consistently positive experiences for your constituents. It comes from keeping your promises to them, from earning their trust that your brand will do its best at every point of contact to deliver on what they want and expect from you. This trust leads to their choosing your brand again. Successful brands never take their constituents for granted. They never forget that most important to constituents are what's in it for them, that constituents are distracted, and you must earn their attention. (Constituents include, depending on your product or service: customers, consumers, suppliers, employees, partners, allies, investors, funders, donors, analysts, critics, unions, regulators, the media, voters, etc.) The logo and theme line are not the brand. The logo symbolizes the brand. The theme line, if it's any good, uniquely and memorably expresses the brand promise. (Most theme lines fail to do that.) Jim Siegel - HealthCare Chaplaincy

"General advertising is Cyrano. He comes under your window and sings; people get used to it and ignore it. But if Roxane responds, there's a relationship. We move the brand relationship up a notch. Advertising becomes a dialogue that becomes an invitation to a relationship."  Lester Wunderman, Author of Being Direct

"A brand is essentially a container for a customer's complete experience with the product or ssscompany." Sergio Zyman, Author of The End of Advertising As We Know ItIdeally, a good brand serves to enhance a sound infrastructure with a solid reputation. Branding is not a magic wand; it cannot provide a quick fix to a company's problems or compensate for any shortcomings. Branding will help very little if your internal operations and cultural personality are opposite what you are trying to convey to the outside audience. Your internal brand personality is just as important as the external message. The average customer is not going to purchase a product or service without feeling comfortable with the company offering it.

 

Consumers have become alert to the "fluff" in advertising. They are also on the lookout for companies that outright lie. When-not if - the public finds out it has been deceived, the company in question will have to deal with a backlash-and the damage may very well be permanent. The best way to maintain good public relations during the brand building process is to run an ethical business. Public relations involve sharing information with the public, and that creates problems when you have something to hide. So…make sure you're not running your brand in a way that requires you to keep secrets from any of your publics-customers, employees, shareholders, and so on.

 

No matter how persuasive your ad campaign or how hard-working your sales staff may be, neither can move an inferior product, coupled by a poor image, off the shelves. If a company does not does not live up to consumer expectations, negative word-of-mouth will eventually be its undoing. An eye-catching logo that represents an uninspired company or a substandard product will be quickly sniffed out by savvy buyers. In this case, branding can work to drive customers away.

 

On the other hand, you cannot sell to people who do not know you exist…

(i) Cost

If you wish to create and maintain a strong brand presence, it can involve a lot of design and marketing costs. A strong brand is memorable, but people still need to be exposed to it, this often requires a lot of advertising and PR over a long period of time, which can be very costly.

There are also costs involved with the creating of a brand image or logo (Paying for a designer, printing new letterheads/business cards etc.), and although most of these are only one off costs, they are still relatively large for most small businesses.

The exposure of your brand can be left to word of mouth, this will save you money, but will also greatly slow down the exposure your brand receives. 

(ii) Impersonal

One of the main problems with many branded businesses is that they lose their personal image. The ability to deal on a personal basis with customers is one of the biggest advantages small business have, and poorly designed branding could give customers the impression that your business is losing its personal touch. 

(iii) Fixed Image

Every brand has a certain image to potential customers, and part of that image is about what products or services you sell. If you are known for selling just one product, and you want to sell another product, will you be able to do so effectively ? If you sell computers, would your brand name be suitable for selling vacuum cleaners? If your brand is focused too strongly on one product, it can limit your ability to sell other products. 

(iv) Timescale

The process of creating a brand will usually take a long period of time. As well as creating a brand and updating your signs and equipment (e.g. Stationary, vehicles etc…), you need to expose it to your potential customers. It is commonly shown that people need to see an advert at least three times before they absorb it, which means you will need to advertise and promote the brand for a considerable amount of time before it will become well known.