Brand Image and Brand Salience Concepts - Coursework Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Brand image and brand salience Course: Brand image and brand salience concepts Brand salience is the level at which a brand is noticed or thought about by a customer in a buying situation. Weak brands have little or no salience while strong brands have got high brand salience. If a brand is not thought about at the time of buying, or is unnoticed, then its salience degree is very low. To have high salience means that customers will think about the brand when they ever find themselves in a buying situation. Recalling a brand does not measure up to the same degree as brand salience. Brand salience is what brands come to mind when consumers are in a buying situation. Brand salience can simply be referred to as the memory of a brand and its connection to other significant memory structures (Keller, 2003, p.596). Brand salience has been derived from psychological and memory theory research. Brand salience is the prominence or accessibility of a brand in the memory of the buyer. On the other hand, brand image is the existing view of customers in regard to certain brand. It is a unique association in the mind of target clients. It shows what the brand currently stands for. Brand image is an outstanding bundle of associations that existing the mind of the target customers. It defines a set of beliefs that are held about a certain brand customers. It portrays the perception of the customer about the brand. It is the manner in which a brand is positioned in the market. A brand can be positioned as high quality brand, easily accessible brand, an effective brand, an affordable brand or a durable brand in regard to the position that the company has taken to position the brands (Kotler, 2004). Brand image demonstrate the emotional value attached on a product and not only a mental image. The brand image carries with it the character of the company. Sony can be reputed for producing high quality television sets and it may be believed that all other products from the company are of high quality. Brand image is an accumulation of observation and contact by people who are external to the organization. The brand image carries with it the vision and mission of the company. There is a quality that the customers associate a certain company with. Brand image is considered as the overall impression in the mind of the consumers created from all sources. Consumers end up having certain associations with the brand. It is from these associations that a brand image is formed. The main aspects describing a positive image are: a slogan describing the business of the organization in brief, unique logo reflecting the image of the organization, and a brand identifier which supports the key values (Macdonald & Sharp, 2000, p.5-15). An image is created about a brand in regard to subjective perceptions of associations bundle that the consumers possess about a certain brand. Whereas Toyota is associated with reliability, Volvo is associated with safety. Both brand image and brand salience are very important concepts when it comes to brand management. Brand image and brand salience promotes the appeal that the product has towards the consumers. Contrast between brand image and brand salience While brand salience is how often a brand comes into the mind of the customer when a buying situation, brand image defines how the brand is positioned in the market. It therefore shows how the brand exists in the mind of the consumers. It is the position that the brand occupies in the mind of the consumers. Consequently, the brand image will affect the brand salience of a particular brand. When a brand has a strong image, it will definitely have a high degree of salience within the same context of market. It is important to emphasize the fact of market concept since different brands performs differently in different markets (Kotler, 2004). While in an affluent environment, quality can be an important value or aspect of a product, in a low-income area price is very important when it comes to buying behavior. Therefore, brand salience will vary in the same way as the brand image. Whereas a low-priced product will score highly in a poor neighborhood in terms of brand salience, a high quality product that is highly priced, on the other hand, will score highly in an affluent neighborhood. This will be in terms of brand salience. The respective brands will be remembered in settings which they are highly valued. Brand salience boosts the brand image. Brand salience compliments brand image. Brand image precedes brand salience. A customer has to have some experience with the brand before he or she forms an image about a brand. Brand salience comes about when the brand comes to the mind of the consumer whenever he is in the buying situation. In a buying situation, a customer is often driven by mental cues which are responsible for instigating thoughts surrounding brand consideration sets (Foxall, 2002, p.19-48). Advertising and the experience of customer with a brand leads to brand salience that exists for a certain product. Strong brand image will certainly evoke high degree of brand salience. A weaker brand will definitely have a low degree of brand salience. Importance of consistency in brand image Consistency of experience is the defining attribute of a great brand. Strong brands have to be consistent and live up to their promise. Consistency of a brand increases its credibility and customers or consumers came to trust it. A brand does not have to be the best to be credible. Macdonald’s has perfected consistency in methods in order to be ranked among the best brands in the world. Customers have to be provided with a consistent experience in order to be hooked to the brand. A brand that flip-flops in performance will end up losing the trust and confidence that consumers have in it. Consistency results into a strong brand image that evokes high brand salience. Consistency ensures that a brand does not fall below what is expected of it. A persistent brand image will always leave a lasting positive experience with the customer (Macdonald & Sharp, 2000, p.5-15). Deception cannot last for long. A brand has to be consistently credible and promise what it can deliver. Being true to the qualities possessed by the brand is important to the company. When the brand image is consistent, it can be easily be believed by the target customers. A brand will be believable is it is kept real and consistent. Without brand consistency, a brand is bound to fail. Consistency builds the trust that consumers have in a brand. The message communicated to the customer should not wander away from the core brand proposition. Regardless of how innovative a company is, it should not fall below the promise to the customers. Apple is associated with quality and innovativeness. The brand has been consistent in order to attain this position in the market. The theme communicated during brand communications has to be replicated in the performance of the product and result into customer experience. Inconsistency will lead to customer defecting to competitors’ product. Reliability of the product is proved through consistency (Fan, 2002, p.183-9). A brand image is created through consistency of delivering a certain quality or characteristics of the product. Products performing below expectations or not delivering the quality communicated in advertising leads to a weaker brand. Planning and constructing a brand image for an new product A brand image is developed over a period of time through advertising campaigns having a consistent theme, and it is eventually authenticated via the direct experience of consumers. The panning stage has to begin with identifying a logo and a brand name that best suits the brand. The brand name and logo has to communicate the positive qualities of the brand. Market research has to be done to identity the needs that the new brand will meet. Out of this needs a positive image of the brand can be conjured up. A visual identity of the product has to be created. The development of a brand image commences with a research to identity and develop images that are most powerful and reinforce them using brand communications. A market research has to be done to identity what associations that customers have towards the brand. Some of these associations could be convenience, flexibility, safety, simplicity, or durability. The images and feelings associated with a certain brand influence the purchase decisions. Customers not only buy a commodity, but also the image associations of the commodity like wealth, power, sophistication, and most importantly association and identification with other consumers of the brand (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000, p.1-6). Behavioral scientist Sigmund Freud reckons that the superego and ego controls to a large degree the personality and image that people would like others to have of them. Strong brand images are often evoked, are positive, and stand out among competitive brands. The packaging has to reflect the positive attributes of the brand. After thorough research to identify positive images associated with the brand, the firm or brand manger can embark on brand communication to reinforce the positive images. The brand communication can be carried out through advertising, packaging, customer service, promotion, word-of-mouth and other elements comprising of brand experience. Brand images are determined through asking consumers the first images or words that comes to their mind when a specific brand is mentioned (Temporal, 2011, p.67-8). Attributes that hinder strong brands could be like cost or accessibility. The important thing is to identity the things that make the brand to stand out of the rest. The brand has to be clearly defined and the particular values that it offers. The selling points of the brand have to be identified and emphasized. Analyzing the competitors’ brands against the company’s brand will help in telling the strong points of the brand. The brand promise has to be carried in the message designed for the customers. The company has to take the message to the consumer through intense advertising in order to reinforce the positive attributes of the brand. Any form of promotion or advertising should be used to reach out to the customer. Persistence in promotion of the product through direct marketing, advertising, sales promotion, and other forms of communications is important way of reinforcing the positive images of the brand. When the customer becomes familiar with the brand through experience, he will then rate the brand against her past experiences (Kotler, 2004). A strong brand will have a lasting and permanent experience with the customer and hence evoking repeat purchases. The message that is to be communicated to the consumer has to be clear and consistent. A customer has to form a certain image about the brand when its name is mentioned. The last stage of brand image building is living up to the promise. A company or the brand manager has to ensure consistency is attained in product performance, quality, accessibility, and other positive qualities that have been reinforced through brand communications like advertising and promotion (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000, p.1-6). A brand has to create and meet expectations. If a brand is associated with safety, it should live to that and never fall bellow the expectations of the customers. This is a very important stage in brand image construction. When the brand does not leave to the message conveyed through brand communication, the consumers are disappointed and they may defect to the competitors particularly when there is no consistency on several occasions. A product has to deliver what has been promised through advertising. Customers feel deceived when a brand delivers less than expected (Fan, 2002, p.183-9). The positive attributes associated with the brand should always be persistent. In case of any negative experience, the company should be fast at clarifying the incident and demonstrating that that it was an isolated case that is regrettable. Maintained a positive image about a brand can be achieved only through consistency. If a car is identified as being comfortable, it should always provide this quality. Brand characteristics are responsible for brand image and therefore they should be consistent or made even better. The customer only looks for improvement and not underperformance of the company’s brand. Exaggerations will lead to doubt and over expectations. References Foxall, G 2002, Marketing attitude problem-and how to solve it, Journal of Consumer Behavior, 11 (1): 19-48. Keller, K.L 2003, Brand Synthesis: The multidimensionality of Brand knowledge, Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 595-601. Macdonald, E. & Sharp, B 2000, Brand awareness Effects on consumer decision making for a common, repeat purchase product: A replication, Journal of Business Research, 48 (1): 5-15. Fan, Y 2002, The National Image of Global Brands, Journal of Brand Management, 9 (3): 180-192. Kotler, P 2004, Marketing Management, Pearson: New York. Aaker, D.A. & Joachimsthaler, E 2000, Brand Leadership. The Free Press: New York. pp. 1–6 Temporal, P 2011, Advanced Brand Management: Managing Brands in a Changing World, John Wiley & Sons: London. Read More