A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, that is intended to identify the goods and services of one organization, business or group of businesses and differentiate them from those competitors. Brands are around us every day. Just think of the names of businesses on signs on your route to the office. There are gas station signs. Grocery store signs. And don’t forget the most important early-morning brand—Starbucks.
Yesterday, Promotional Consultant Today kicked off a three-part brand series by defining seven types of brands. Today, we share seven more brand types.
1. Activist brand – Also known as a purpose brand, this represents such entities as the Susan G. Komen Foundation or LiveStrong. The brand is synonymous with a cause or purpose to the point where that alignment defines its distinctiveness in the minds of consumers.
2. Place brand – Also known as destination or city brands. This is the brand that a region or city builds around itself in order to associate its location with ideas rather than facilities. Viva Las Vegas. The Big Apple. You get the picture. A destination brand is often used to attract tourists, investors, businesses and residents. A critical success factor is getting both citizens and service providers on board, since they, in effect, become responsible for the experiences delivered.
3. Nation brand – Whereas place brands are about specific areas, nation brands relate, as per their name, to the perceptions and reputations of countries.
4. Ethical brand – This type of brand denotes the quality that consumers look for in terms of reassurance that the brands they choose are responsible. Perhaps the most well known of these is the brand called Fair Trade—a certification that supports producers in developing countries to achieve better trading conditions and promote sustainable farming.
5. Celebrity brand – This is how the famous commercialize their high profile using combinations of social media-delivered content, appearances, products and gossip/notoriety to retain interest and followers. Can you say Kardashian? The business model for this has evolved from appearances in ads and now takes a range of forms: licensing, endorsements, brand ambassador roles, and increasingly brand association through placement (think red carpet).
6. Ingredient brand – This type of component brand adds to the value of another brand because of what it brings. Well-known examples include Intel, Gore-Tex and Teflon. Compared with OEM offerings in manufacturing, where components are white labeled and simply form part of the supply chain, ingredient brands are the featured elements that add to the overall value proposition. A key reason for this is that they market themselves to consumers as elements to look for and consider when purchasing.
7. Global brand – These brands are easily recognized and widely dispersed. They epitomize “household names.” Their business model is based on familiarity, availability and stability—although the consistency that once characterized their offerings, and ruled their operating models, is increasingly under threat as they find themselves making changes, subtle and otherwise, to meet the cultural tastes and expectations of people in different regions. McDonald’s and Coca-Cola face these challenges.
Did you know there were so many types of brands? Well, we’re not done yet. Read PCT tomorrow as we wrap up our series on brand types.
Source: For more than 20 years Mark Di Somma has helped senior decision makers, brand owners and brand agencies define, articulate and elevate the value of their brands. A thought leader in the discipline of brand strategy, his expertise lies in helping brands address and resolve complex business and marketing issues to become even more competitive.