Branded identity is a marketing technique where a brand name is associated with a product or service in order to create an identity for that product or service in the minds of customers. Essentially, it relates to customers identifying themselves as belonging to a certain group in order to gain access to a brand’s products or services. In 2017, Google declared that branded identity is no longer a trend, but a ‘structural change’ that people will have to accept and use to their advantage.
Why Businesses Use Branded Identity
There are multiple reasons why businesses might choose to use branded identity, but here are some of the more prominent ones.
To Establish A Connection
People have fewer contacts in their lives than they did in the past. Thanks to the digital revolution, we now have more contacts than ever before, but we’re also more likely to have fewer friends. It’s the same with businesses. As brands get bigger and have more money to spend, they can afford to have a bigger marketing budget and can afford to promote their brands more widely. The internet provides the perfect platform for this because it’s so accessible and customers can research the products and services of a brand before buying from them.
This is why businesses might want to consider branded identity. They can take advantage of the fact that customers know what they’re buying into, whether they’ve heard of the brand or not. By associating a brand with a specific product or service, they’re providing customers with a connection to something they know and trust.
To Generate Positive Association
Let’s say you want to buy shoes online. You visit a store like Nordstrom and they sell a variety of Jordans. One of the brands that Nordstrom offers is the Air Jordan 1 Retro. If you go by the name, you’ll see that this is the model of the Air Jordan 1 shoe that was first released in 1984. You can buy the same exact pair of shoes from Nordstrom for £250 or $300, although it’s likely that they’d be stored and wrapped in plastic to keep them in good condition.
If you Google ‘jordan shoes’, you’ll get multiple results for websites that sell or provide information about the Air Jordan 1. If you type in ‘Air Jordan 1 retro’, you’ll get a similar amount of information with some products available for purchase. If you type in ‘Air Jordan 1′, you’ll get a similar amount of information, but with a few more products listed, indicating that the brand is more widely known.
This is the sort of thing that happens when businesses choose to brand themselves. They are connecting a familiar product or service with a brand that customers will have heard of or seen before. It provides customers with a sense of identity, helping them to connect with a product or service that they know is associated with good quality or trustworthiness.
To Generate Instinctual Recognition
Instinct is another word for ‘gut feeling’. When you have an instinctive connection to something, you know without thinking whether you should buy it or not. For example, let’s say you’re visiting a clothing store with your wife and you see a dress that she finds beautiful. Even if you don’t share her thoughts on the subject, you still have an instinctive reaction to the sight of the dress because it draws you to it. Your brain instantly forms an association between the dress and an unknown brand, which you then recall when you’re asked about the source of the dress.
If customers have an instinctive connection to a brand, they will feel confident enough to purchase that brand without thinking too much about it. Let’s say you have a hunch that this baguette bread is good and you want to taste it. You might consider buying a baguette without having ever tasted one before. You wouldn’t need to research what makes it different from other baguette breads. You just need to know that it is, in fact, good.
This type of shopping is called ‘gut-based shopping’. If you have a hunch about a brand or a product and you go with that instinct, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision. On the other hand, if you don’t have a strong connection to a brand, you might end up buying something that you don’t really need just because it’s on sale.
To Differentiate From Competitors
If you want to purchase shoes online, you might first visit a pair of retailers that sell Jordans. You’ll see multiple models and styles of the same brand, each with its own price range and assortment of sizes. If you scroll down the page, you’ll see that some websites specialise in selling low-cost Jordans while others stock more expensive models. You can tell which websites are the ones that have chosen to specialise in selling low-cost shoes by looking at their pricing.
In this case, specialising in low-cost Jordans is a way for the retailer to differentiate themselves from the competition. It’s an effective technique because customers are more likely to trust a brand that only offers low-cost items. If you suspect that you’re being tricked into buying a fake product, you can always get your money back.
To Generate Brand Loyalty
If you want to purchase shoes online, you might first visit a pair of retailers that sell Jordans. You’ll see multiple models and styles of the same brand, each with its own price range and assortment of sizes. If you scroll down the page, you’ll see that some websites specialise in selling low-cost Jordans while others stock more expensive models. You can tell which websites are the ones that have chosen to specialise in selling low-cost shoes by looking at their assortment of styles, sizes and prices. This is a way for a business to retain customers by appealing to the taste buds of repeat buyers. A business that chooses to specialise in low-cost shoes is likely to have a wide range of options available, which provides customers with a reason to visit the store regularly.
To Establish A Sense Of Community
Community is a group of people or an organisation that interacts and helps each other. If you visit the ‘about’ section of a business’ website, you might see that they have established a sense of community among their customers. You’ll see that some individuals want to share their love for a specific brand or product, while others want to ask questions about the acquisition of a new item. It’s a way for businesses to establish an identity and engage with customers.
In the case of a business that chooses to brand themselves with the name of a deceased person, they are providing customers with a way to express their grief and connect with others who feel similarly. If you visit the ‘community’ section of their website, you’ll see that they are giving customers a way to share their connection to the deceased while also gaining access to helpful information about the deceased.
To Differentiate From Consumers
In the case of a business that chooses to brand themselves with the name of a deceased person, they are providing customers with a way to express their grief and connect with others who feel similarly. If you visit the ‘community’ section of their website, you’ll see that they are giving customers a way to share their connection to the deceased while also gaining access to helpful information about the deceased.
Consumers are people who consume products or services. A business that chooses to brand themselves with the name of a deceased person is providing customers with something that differentiates them from other businesses and helps them to establish a brand connection with customers. It is also, perhaps, a way for the business to establish a sense of community among their customers, in the case that the deceased was well-liked and was connected to something that the business is associated with, like a sports team or a music group.
To conclude, business might choose to brand themselves with the name of a deceased person due to the fact that it provides them with a sense of connection, differentiation from competitors, and helps them to establish a community with their customers. However, this might not be the case, and it’s just a tool that marketers should keep in mind when developing a marketing strategy.