Glossary of Brand Terminology
Brand
A “Claim of Distinction” supported by compelling evidence that the claim is credible – what differentiates your product or service (can also be an organization’s ideas, an entertainer’s drawing power, etc.) from competitors; what makes your product or service more valuable to the consumer and influences the “right” selection decision by the consumer; what keeps customers coming back for more.
Brand Development
The process that translates a Business Strategy into a Brand Strategy – that identifies your Claim of Distinction and the compelling evidence that makes your claim credible as the foundation for influencing consumers to select your product or service instead of another.
Brand Discovery
The process of unearthing a brand’s distinction. We call our process, refined over 20+ years of use, “Turning the Telescope.” Some Brand Establishment members have given their own brand name to the process, but the process is the same.
Brand Positioning
Understanding the competitive marketplace and favorably positioning your brand, based on the discovery process, in a way that will be perceived as unique or “better” than competitors, so they choose you – a position, you can “own” – telling prospective customers who you are and what you're about in a way that they will “get it” clearly and quickly – often summed up in a brief and memorable Positioning Brand Statement that conveys the brand's Claim of Distinction and creates a flag to rally around – like Loreal’s “I'm worth it.” Or Motel 6's folksy, “We'll leave the light on for you.” Or an icon like the Polo pony and rider. Or sometimes a character like Maytag’s “loneliest repairman."
Brand Essence
Distilling all the characteristics of the brand into a simple, – usually100 words or less – that everyone can understand.
Brand Equity
The intangible Brand Value developed over time by an effective Brand Strategy that translates into fair market value in excess of book value.
Brand Franchise
Building a market position, a niche that can create long-term Brand Equity.
Brand Identity
How the brand can be recognized – e.g., a distinctive logo or sound (Intel's distinctive few tones on co-branded TV and radio commercials or the TV show Law and Order’s distinctive “Thunk”).
Branding
The tactical application of the brand’s unique Claim of Distinction to all marketing materials like ads, collateral, web site and communications materials to all publics – internal and external – to influence behavior – to “sell” or, as Sergio Zyman so eloquently puts it, “to sell more stuff to more people more often for more money.”
Brand Expression.
All the ways the brand is communicated – ads, commercials, brochures, web sites, word-of-mouth, etc.
Brand Personality
The style, the “flavor,” the “feel” that is communicated to evoke an emotional response and influence consumer perceptions about the brand – from iPod’s “Celebrate music” TV spots to deBeers’ romancing of diamonds to Volkswagen’s irreverent appeals to independence. These personality traits are often referred to as a brand’s Archetype.
Brand Extension
A new product or service that has a relationship to the brand, but targets a different market or provides a different benefit that that will “extend” the reach of the brand’s business strategy.
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