 A person’s identity serves to provide

direction, purpose and meaning for that

person. Consider how important the
following questions are :
 What are my core values?
 What do I stand for?
 How do I want to be perceived?
 What personality traits do I want to
project?
 What are the important relationships in my
life?
 A brand identity similarly provides direction, purpose
and meaning for the brand.
 It is central to a brand’s strategic vision and the
driver of one of four principal dimensions of brand
equity : association, which are the heart and soul of
the brand
 Defn : Brand identity is a unique set of brand
associations that the brand strategist aspires to
maintain.
These associations represent what the brand stands
for and imply a promise to customers from the
organisation members.
 Brand identity as defined by Aaker is the sum of
the brand expressed as a product, organisation,
person and symbol.
 Brand as product deals with the acceptance of
the brand as a product itself. For its price, Nirma
is seen as a good product. BMW or Mercedes are
basically seen as good products besides being
good brands.
 Brand as organisation emphasizes that a brand
is successful among other things because of the
organizational values it upholds.
 Marico has brought in a series of successful
products because of their commitment to
innovation.
 Marico has innovative and successful offerings in
a w ide variety of products as hairoil
(Parachute),edible oil (Saffola, Sweekar) , starch
(Revive) and jam (Sil)
 Brand as person deals with the question “What
happens to this brand when it becomes a
person?” By implication, Denim talc would be
seen as masculine, Sunsilk shampoo as feminine
and pepsi as young and vibrant.
 Brand as symbol deals with the heritage and
what the brand stands for.For e.g. Coke
symbolises the American dream.
 Brand Identity

Brand as Brand as person

Brand as Brand as
organisation
product symbol

• Personality
• Product • Organisation
(energetic,
scope attributes (e.g. • Visual
rugged)
• Product innovation, imagery
• Brand
attributes genuine and
customer
• Quality/v consumer
relationships metaphors
alue concern, • Brand
(friend,
• Uses trustworthiness
advisor ) heritage
• Users )
• Country • Local v/s
of origin global

Dimensions of brand identity

 Phys iq ue
Perso na lity

C ulture
Re la tio ns hip

Self- ima ge
Re flectio n
 Kapferer represents brand identity as a six sided
prism

 Physique is the basis of the brand. The physique

of TATA is trust
 The physique of Philips is “technology and
reliability”
 Personality : answers the question :what
happens to this brand when it becomes a person?
 Culture: symbolises the organisation , its country
of origin and the value it stands for.
 India is known for its traditional remedies which
is why Balsara, Dabur and Zandu evoke s good
response abroad.
 Germany is known for its precision engineering.
Some of the world’s most popular car brands are
German ( Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW).
 Japan is known for consumer electronics ( SONY,
PANASONIC SHARP)
 Relationship is the handshake between the
consumer and the organization.
 The relationship with Colgate is one of
dependability.
 The relationship with Saffola edible oil is that of
safety
 Reflection is the consumer’s perception of what
the brand stands for which is why coke’s
clientele cuts across age groups. The brand
reflects youthful values , which is why young as
well as old would like to consume Coke
 Self –image is what the consumer thinks of himself.
 Mercedes Benz owner is telling himself that since he is one of
the elite , he is treating himself to the best car in the world.
 A user of Surf excel Blue is telling herself that she is conscious
of not just price but value as well. That is the self-image of the
archetypal housewife.
 Thus brand identity according to Kapferer can be expressed as
the summation of the above 6 dimensions.
 Core identity :
value offering : McDonald's provides
value as defined by the product, special offers
and the buying experience given the price.
Food quality :
consistently hot, good tasting at any outlet in
the world
Service : fast, accurate, friendly and hassle
free Cleanliness : The operations are always
spotless on both sides of the counter
User : Families and kids are
focus , but serves a wide clientele.
 Extended Identity :
convenience: is the most convenient quick service
restaurant -it is located close to where people live, work
and gather ; features efficient , time-saving service; and
serves easy-to eat food.
Product scope : fast food, hamburgers, children’s
entertainment
Subbrands:Big Mac, Egg McMuffin, Happy Meals,
Corporate citizenship : ronald McDonald Children “s
Charities
Brand Personality : Family oriented , all-American ,
genuine, wholesome , cheerful, fun
 Relationship: The family/fun associations are
inclusive and Mcdonald’s is part of the good
times. Logo : Golden Arches
Characters: Ronald
mcDonald
 Functional benefits : Good tasting burgers,
fries, and drinks that provide value, extras
such as playground, prizes, games.
Emotional
Benefits :
kids :- fun via excitement of birthday parties,
relationship with Ronald McDonald and other
characters and feeling of special family times.
Adults:- warmth via link to family
events and experiences reinforced by the
McDonald’s emotional advertising.
 Brand personality

 Definition:
 The set of human characteristics associated
with a given brand. Thus it includes such
characteristics as gender, age, socioeconomic
class as well as such classic human personality
traits as warmth, concern and sentimentality.
 e.g—Virginia Slims tends to be feminine in
comparison to the masculine Marlboro.
 Apple is considered young while IBM tends
to be seen as older( in part because it has been
around longer)
 Brand personality like human personality is both
distinctive and enduring . Coke is considered
authentic and real whereas Pepsi is considered
young, spirited and exciting.

 Personality of Harley Davidson (HD) bikes

 There are 3 core values of HD bikes
 1)       The dominant value is personal freedom,
which includes freedom from confinement
(confined in a car or a t home) and freedom from
mainstream values and social structures.
 The Harley Davidson eagle logo is one symbol of
this freedom.
 2)       Second value is patriotism and American
heritage.
 3)       Then third value is being macho , inspired in
part by the outlaw bikers in The wild ones , the
famed Marlon Brando movie in 1950s.Expressions of
manliness are like wearing T-SHIRTS –“Real Men wear
Black.
 HD bikes are the biggest, heaviest, loudest and thus
the most macho motorcycles in the world. There is an
abundance of black leather, heavy boots, chrome,
and other signals of maleness at Harley Rallies.
 The Harley motto—“Live to ride, ride to live” appeals
also to non macho potential buyers.
 The owners of Japanese bikes focuses on functional
benefits , whereas the Harley-Davidson owner is
much more concerned with emotion and self-
expressive benefits.

 Brand Personality Scale—

A study was done among 1000 U.S respondents, 60

well known brands and 114 personality traits. Five
personality factors emerged the most significant.
These 5 explain the differences between the brands.
 1)       Sincerity (Campbell’s, Kodak, Hallmark)
 Down-to-earth : family oriented, small town,
conventional,blue-collar, all-American
 Honest : Sincere, real, ethical, thoughtful,
caring
 Wholesome : original, genuine, ageless, classic ,
old-fashioned
 Cheerful : sentimental, friendly, warm, happy
 2)   excitement (Porsche, Absolut, Benetton)
 Daring : trendy, exciting, off-beat,, flashy,
provocative
 Spirited: cool, young, lively, outgoing,
adventurous
 Imaginative: unique, humorous, surprising,
artistic , fun
 Up-to-date: independent, contemporary,
innovative, aggressive
 3)   Competence: (Amex, CNN, IBM)
 Reliable: hardworking, secure, efficient,
trustworthy, careful
 Intelligent: technical, corporate, serious

 Successful : leader, confident, influential

 4)      Sophistication (Lexus, Mercedes, Revlon)

 Upper class: glamorous, good-looking, sophisticated
 Charming: feminine, smooth, sexy, gentle
 5) Ruggedness (Levi’s, Marlboro, Nike)
 Outdoor: masculine, western, active, athletic
 Tough: rugged, strong, no-nonsense

 Brand Image

 Represents the essence of all the impressions or

imprints about the brand that have been made in
the consumer’s mind.
 It includes
 impressions about its physical features and performances,
 impressions about the functional benefits from using it,
 impressions about the kind of people who use it,
 the emotions and associations aroused by it,
 the imagery and symbolic meanings it evokes in the
consumer’s mind.
 The brand image is indeed the totality of the brand in the
perception of the consumer
 It embraces the brand’s physical and functional aspects
and also its symbolic meanings.
 The brand personality dwells mainly in symbolic aspects.