The value of brands to organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

The value of brands to organizations - Essay Example establish the aforementioned by elucidating on the value of brands through a definition of the concept, an analysis of the implications of brand equity, a discussion of the benefits of brands and a clarification of the relationship between brands and firms. Brands are firm-owned products which have undergone a process of branding. It is â€Å"the means by which a company aims to differentiate its products from competition and-through marketing-protect its position in the market. profitably over time† (White 1999) It is recognized as â€Å"the sum of ail elements of the marketing mix† (Ambler and Styles 1996). The most commonly accepted definition of brand is 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 or services from those of competitors (Aaker 1991. p. 7). Other relevant brand concepts include brand associations, brand image, brand identity and brand equity. Brand associations are â€Å"anything that connects the customer to the brand.† They include â€Å"user imagery, product attributes, use situations, organizational associations, brand personality, and symbols† (Aaker and Joachimathaler 2000. p. 17). Brand strategies, the set of â€Å"perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory† (Herzog 1963). Brand identity is defined as the totality of the brand associations that the marketer wishes to create or maintain for the brand: Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain, These associations represent that the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers for the organisation members (Aaker, 1996, p. 68) It represents â€Å"what the organization wants the brand to stand for† (Aaker and Joachimathaler 2000. p. 40). Brand identity is thus contrasted to brand image, where brand image is a