We live in a world where competition is fierce and it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. A strong brand is therefore more important than ever to create a strong impression on consumers and build loyalty and trust.
But what exactly is a brand and how can it help your business stand out from the competition?
What is a brand?
A trademark is a way of identifying a product or service and distinguishing it from other similar products or services. It can be a name, a logo, a color scheme or a combination of these. Brands are used to create a sense of quality, trustworthiness and reliability in consumers and help build loyalty and trust in a brand.
Why are brands important?
- A well-established brand can increase a company’s value as it can give it a competitive advantage and increase its sales.
- Brands can also help create a strong impression on consumers, which can lead to increased demand for products or services.
- A strong brand can be crucial to a company’s success and survival in a competitive market.
So how do you create a strong brand?
- Create a unique identity and communicate it consistently across all marketing channels.
- Understanding consumers’ needs and wants and ensuring that the brand message and image reflect this.
- Use a trade mark register to protect the trade mark against misuse and infringement.
Examples of famous brands and their strategies
- Coca-Cola – One of the world’s most recognizable beverage brands, known for its recognizable logo and red colors. The company has created a strong identity by using the same colors and logo across all its marketing channels, and has managed to build a strong brand by consistently communicating the message “refreshment for everyone”.
- Nike – One of the world’s most famous sports brands, known for its “Just do it” slogan and Swoosh logo. The company has created a strong identity by focusing on motivation and performance, and has managed to build a strong brand by using the same slogan and logo across all its marketing channels.
- Apple – One of the world’s most famous technology brands, known for its innovative products such as the iPhone, iPad and MacBook. The company has created a strong identity by focusing on design and user-friendliness, and has managed to build a strong brand by always being on top of new technologies and trends.
Another interesting example of a multi-brand company is H&M, with a wide range of brands in its portfolio, such as H&M, COS, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories and Arket.
These brands target different audiences and help the company reach out to a wider market. H&M itself is aimed at the masses, while COS is more targeted at a more conscious and quality-conscious audience. Monki is aimed at young adults while Weekday is more targeted at a trend-conscious audience. & Other Stories and Arket have a more premium profile and target a more fashion-conscious audience.
In some cases, it can be difficult to know the difference between the company’s name and its trademarks, especially if the company has a strong brand that is well established and known. This is the case with H&M, where the H&M brand is so strong that it can sometimes be difficult to know that there are more brands under the same company. This can lead to confusion for consumers, but it is important to remember that a company can have multiple brands under the same umbrella and it is important for the company to create a clear communication and understanding of each brand’s unique identity and target audience.
It is also important to remember that a brand and a company are two different things. A brand is an identification and characteristic of a product or service, while a company is an organization that owns and markets the brands. A company can have several trademarks under the same umbrella and a trademark can be owned by several different companies. In a similar way that Norrhavet also builds its strategy around.
What is the difference between a product and a brand?
There is a clear difference between a product and a brand. A product is a physical item or service sold to consumers, or businesses. An example of this could be a hamburger at McDonald’s.
A trademark, on the other hand, is an identification and characteristic of a product or service. An example of this could be the brands Big Mac, McFeast, McChicken and so on. They are all specific products offered by McDonald’s and are identified and distinguished from each other by means of trademarks.
Brands create a sense of quality, trustworthiness and reliability in the minds of consumers (in this case, but can also be companies as a counterpart) and help build loyalty and trust in each product.
Executive summary
Brands are more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and create a strong impression on the target audience. It is important to create a unique identity and communicate it consistently, understand the needs and wants of the target audience, and use a brand registry to protect the brand from misuse and abuse.
There are many examples of well-known brands that have managed to build a strong brand through consistent communication and a strong identity. If you want to know more about brands, building one in combination with strategy and position, contact us at Norrhavet and we will tell you more.
