2. What is brand association
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Brand association is anything which is deep seated in customer’s mind
about the brand.
Brand should be associated with something positive so that the customers
relate your brand to being positive.
Brand associations are the attributes of brand which come into consumers
mind when the brand is talked about.
Brand association can also be defined as the degree to which a specific
product/service is recognized within it’s product/service class/category.
3. Formation of brand association
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Brand associations are formed on the following basis:
Customers contact with the organization and it’s employees
Advertisements
Publicity
Price at which the brand is sold
Celebrity/big entity association
Quality of the product
Products and schemes offered by competitors
Product class/category to which the brand belongs
POP ( Point of purchase) displays
4. Types of Brand Associations
Qualitative e.g. it feels good after having a Pepsi.
Quantitative e.g. a little Axion is enough to clean a large number of utensils
Absolute e.g.Wheel detergent removes stains on clothes.
Relative e.g. Nirma does not provide whiteness like Rin does
Negative e.g. Nirma powder fades coloured clothes.
Positive e.g. Frooti has a good taste
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Generic e.g. any drink in a Tetra Pak is a Frooti
5. Steps to build Brand associations
Competitors : Some brands have used specific competitor in a subtle manner
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to create a reference point for generating association.
Examples are Motrin twelve hour red mat (versus normal eight-hour blue mat-
Good night)
Just talking of the benefit would not have as much intensity as it has when
used against a strong brand.
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Celebrity Personality : Brands are increasingly using it
EG : Sachin Tendulkar for Visa, Pepsi, Gillette, and Boost, Overuse has led
to a feeling of ‘me too’ in the cola market.
Aamir Khan is used for Coke, Salman Khan Thums Up,
• Brand association should help a brand to stand out and thus revitalize it.
Celebrity advertising are most likely to be effective for:
Lifestyle products such as premium watches, and brand garments as in such
cases the need is intangible imagery.
The concept of celebrity is ‘intangible imagery’.
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Place of Origin
Certain places have some speciality and these can be converted into focused
Brand association
EG :
Darjeeling/Assam are known for great quality tea. Some such international
examples are as below:
France - Fashion, Perfume, Champagne Russia - Vodka
Italy - Shoes, Leather goods
The only fear with this is that these could change over long-time
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Use Of Product/Service
Some examples are:
Any-Time Money (for banking services)
Monsoon time is soup time (ad for Maggie soup in 2000)
For making ice quickly (Whirlpool refrigerator in 2000)
These usage occasions provide association opportunities
Promoted by specific brands are actually opportunities for almost all brands in
the concerned category.
9. Brand image
The impression in the consumers' mind of a brand's total personality
Brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with a
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consistent theme, and is authenticated through the consumers' direct
experience.
It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target
customers.
It signifies what the brand presently stands for.
It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand.
10. Company image v/s Brand image
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Brand image : The image of a service which is formed in the customer’s
mind
Company image : the valued customers, potential customers, other group of
people connect with an organization
Different levels of company image are :
Corporate : the image people generally have of an organization
Local : linked to corporate image but can develop its own image
11. Importance of brand image
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Image communication expectations
Image is a filter influencing perception of the performance of the firm
Image is a function of expectations & experience
It has an internal impact on employees