What can we brand?

Some things that can be branded are very obvious while others are not. 

In this lesson, we will learn:

• how to brand commodities 
• what is b2b branding
• what is a high-tech branding
• what is non-profit branding
• how to brand a place (cultural and historical heritage)

A brand is something that exists in the mind of consumers. The key is perceiving differences. These differences can be related to the characteristics or benefits of the product itself (Keller, 2013). Whenever and wherever consumers are deciding between alternatives, brands can play an important decision-making role (Keller, 2013). Marketers can benefit from branding whenever consumers are in a choice situation (Keller, 2013).

Commodities

Commodities are simple products that we use every day. Some usual approaches to branding commodities: Great consistency of product or service (quality control) Superior customization Great responsiveness (order fulfillment, technical support, customer service) Unique merging of products Big range of products and services Ingredient branding Unique packaging Unique distribution Emotional branding Value chain integration Identify your most important / most profitable customers An example is the branding of bottled water. These are some of the ways to do it: Taste/aroma/carbonation, The color Bottle/package, shape/color/functionality, Story Health properties,  Ways to drink, Size, The price, Combining with other products, Distribution Of course, in addition to these ways, there are also purely creative ways for marketers to attract customers.

Source: Pexels

Business to Business branding

Company branding creates a positive image and reputation of the company as a whole (Keller, 2013). Creating positive images of the company leads to higher sales and more profitable relationships with business partners. A strong brand is an assurance to business associates that they should cooperate with that company. A strong brand is also a great competitive advantage in the market. Some of the world’s strongest and respected brands belong to business markets, such as ABB, Caterpillar, DuPont, FedEx, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and Siemens (Keller, 2013).

High-Tech Branding

In the technology market, demand and sales are no longer determined solely by innovation. There are more and more similar products, the market is quickly saturated as soon as there is innovation. In order for technology companies to stand out, they have to start branding. Marketing is crucial to the success of high-tech products.

Non-profit Branding

Branding your nonprofit is essentially a visual and written way of communicating who you are and what you do.

It’s a way for you to explain what you’re fighting for, and what approach you’re going to use for your goal.

As this is a fast-growing sector, one of the main things that will make your nonprofit organization different from others is the story. The most important thing is to create a good story in which you will present what you are fighting for and how you are fighting for it.

Branding a place

1. Historical heritage

History and cultural heritage are an integral part of place identity, infrastructure, and landscape (Fan, 2014). Historical heritage is a unique, beautiful, and amazing group of historic buildings and artifacts that can only be found in a certain area.  Some states and places use their history to promote tourist destinations. These are, for example, Egypt and the pyramids, Romania and Dracula, etc. This is not what is crucial for branding but is the basis. Potential visitors are wondering what is the reason for visiting your destination. Historical heritage alone is not enough, it is necessary to create additional value. It is important for visitors to enjoy the journey and explore new things. You should involve tourists in the local life of the place and offer visitors an authentic travel experience. In addition to historical heritage, we have symbolic attributes and advantages, reputation elements, legends, myths, cultural traditions, fancies and prejudices, public tastes, and preferences (Fan, 2014). It is characteristic that it enables them to make economic profit from non-economic benefits. 

Branding through cultural heritage requires exploration of local cultural features of the place, identifying what features are prominent there, and finding ways to explicate and enhance those features (Fan, 2014). Similar to the branding of a commercial product, brand identity in place branding is the first crucial aspect that needs to be attended (Fan, 2014).

1. Symbolic attributes

Symbols of certain places are most often known buildings, statues, events, etc. These symbols are used when promoting places.

The symbol of the city of Paris is the Eiffel Tower, the city of New York is a statue of liberty, but there can be several symbols for one place. An example is London, where the symbol of the city is big ben, the Millennium Wheel, telephone booths, characteristic buses and taxis, and much more.

2. Reputation

According to Haider, Kotler, and Rein (1994), place images are “the sum of beliefs, ideals, and impressions people have toward a certain place” (Place Image and Reputation: Definition, Concepts, Theory, n.d.).

Reputation differs from image in that it is focused on long-term impressions built around numerous images and actions (Place Image and Reputation: Definition, Concepts, Theory, n.d.).

Reputation is affected by various factors:

• emotional (likeability, respect, and trust);
• physical (attractiveness of the place and its infrastructure);
• financial (prices, costs);
• cultural (socio-cultural diversity, history, entertainment);
• social (kindness and sociability, support for good causes).

3. Legends

Legend is a genre of folklore in which human actions or some events believed to have taken place in history are conveyed through a story. Legends are actually really interesting stories that everyone loves to hear and are easy to remember. Based on legends, certain places, cultures, and history can be branded.

For example, we can take one of the most famous places in the world, Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the resting place of the dead rulers of Ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun, the world's most popular pharaoh. The popularity of King Tutankhamun began after the discovery of his almost untouched tomb. A popular legend about the Curse of the Pharaohs was created, where it is believed that anyone who disturbs the tomb of a mummy will be put under a curse.

4. Myths

A myth expresses and confirms society's religious values and norms.

For example, one of the most famous mountains in Serbia for hiking is Rtanj. A mountain that has the shape of a perfect triangle is believed to be actually a pyramid. There are stories that it was built by aliens, but other stories tell us that there is a wizard on it who guards it. Because of all these stories, this mountain is a very attractive destination for all mountaineering enthusiasts.

  6. Cultural tradition

Tradition is the belief or behavior of a certain group of people that is passed down through generations and contains a certain and symbolic meaning related to the past and origin.

Traditions vary greatly from region to region, so it is very interesting for tourists to experience the tradition of the places they visit.

Conclusions

Everything can be branded: people, online products and services, Retailers and Distributors, People and Organizations, Sports, Arts, Ideas and Entertainment.

Here you have the contents of the lesson in PDF: