BRAND LOOKS

 Brand Symbol

Brand symbol to some extent, helps to define brand looks, which in turn influence or form part of brand association(s) Brand symbol includes two aspects of a brand—brand character and brand logo

Brand Symbol is a visual entity and includes Brand Character and Brand Logo. Both are elements of brand identity Brand Symbols lead to

• Awareness of brand, e.g. the Doughboy for Pillsbury, the Captain for Captain Cook, the devil for ONIDA, Gattu for Asian Paints, the rabbit for Energizer, and the penguin for Kelvinator.

• Brand associations, e.g. lightning for Rin, jet fighter for Jet mosquito repellants, rose for Breeze, lime for Cinthol Fresh, and mangoes for Frooti.

• Likeability and positive feelings, e.g. McDonald’s (Ronald's) smile, and Amul girl.

• Stronger memories for the brand, e.g. Jolly Green Giant which is present on all packs of Green Giant products, and Amul girl.

Brand Symbols can be created across 10 concepts in order to add value to brands

1. Non-living characters, e.g. Jolly Green Giant, Doughboy for Pillsbury, Captain Cook, strongman for MRF tyres, lady Milkmaid, two men for Citibank, cricketer batsman for MILO.

2. Animal, e.g. tiger for Tiger Biscuits, tortoise for Tortoise Coils, dog for HMV, camel for Camel cigarettes, robin bird for Robin Blue, crocodile for Lacoste, black cat for Eveready, and penguin for Kelvinator.

3. Nature, e.g. coconut tree(s) in Parachute, apple in Apple Computers, lightning in Rin, rising sun for Aditya Birla group, rose in Breeze, butterfly for HPCL, sunrays in Sunlight detergents, lime in Cinthol Fresh soap, and mangoes in Frooti.

4. Pack. E.g. bottle for Coke.

5. Things, e.g. wheel for Wheel detergents and cup for Nescafe, dagger for Dettol, and tooth for Pepsodent.

6. People, e.g. mother with sleeping child for Good Knight, a range of faces for Fair Glow, a girl wearing a frock for Nirma, and babies for Farex.

7. Geometric shapes, e.g. Maruti, Power, HP, BPCL, Whirlpool, Castrol, Ceat, Britannia, and Carrier.

8. Scenes, e.g. Marlboro country, and Liril waterfall, Mountains in Kailash Jeevan.

9. Monuments, e.g. Taj Mahal for Taj tea, Red Fort for Lal Quila rice, and Charminar for Charminar cigarettes.

10. Logo, e.g. Pepsi (more on logos in next section). When none of the above exist for a brand, its logo is the only symbol.

Brand Symbol could also be a combination of more than one of the above options, e.g.:

• wheel and lime for Wheel detergent, and

• tooth and dial for Pepsodent.

It could be born at two points of time in the life of a brand—

• born along with the brand, e.g. Doughboy and Pillsbury were born together in India. Same was for Captain Cook and Captain Cook salt.

• born after the birth of the brand, e.g. devil of ONIDA, iodine superman for Kissan Annapoorna salt, and genie for Rasna.

For a brand symbol to establish itself in the minds, it has to be made an integral part of the brand's:

• advertising, and

• packaging.

Brand Character

Marketers develop living or non-living characters, and add personality and meaning to it in the context of brand develop­ment. These characters are called Brand Symbols.

Some Advice

It is advised that a Brand Character should:

e  Be unique, e.g. Doughboy. The product has a difficult brand name for Indians, Pillsbury but an easy-into-mind symbol. The devil of ONIDA is also an appropriate case in point. The strong metallic dressed man of Godrej Puf (remember it?) was also unique.

e Have distinct colours, e.g. McDonald's has yellow and red, Doughboy is white. Green Giant is green, and Captain Cook is white.

e Have close associations with the brand, e.g. Green Giant. It connotes guardian of the cultivation fields, leading to high perceived quality of the products and the products being natural and nutritious.

e Not have strong associations with a particular product category, else, brand extension could become difficult, e.g. Captain Cook has associations, yet it has a tremendous flexibility for extension. Extension was done from salt to atta to spices. In future it can be easily extended to noodles, cereals, ready-to-make food products, and edible oils. The symbol, through the name, covers all products used for cooking. A cook cooks, so it may be difficult to extend it to ready-to-eat food products. What say you? Actually no. It can be presented as something specially cooked by Captain Cook—like a chef. Qualitative research helps a lot in gaining such understanding.

e Have a name for better identity, e.g. the devil of ONIDA did not have a name but the Captain for Captain Cook has a name. The Asian Paints' boy is named Gattu, but few know that, though most recognize him.

e Not be changed. Moreover, any type of change should be handled with care, like name change as discussed later.

e Have standardized features and traits, e.g. smile on McDonald's face, the hair styling, frock, and ribbon of the Amul girl, and the dress and standing posture of Green Giant.

e Evoke a feeling, e.g. 'smile' by McDonald's, 'in command* by Captain Cook, 'humour' by Charlie Chaplin look-alike used for Cherry Blossom and 'security' by Green Giant.

Usually, marketers present their brand character in a static manner. Captain Cook does not walk, and McDonald's sits However, to create likeability among consumers, their interactivity (i.e. not static) could be exploited. Doughboy plays a role in the ads of Pillsbury. Internationally, the movements and action of Doughboy have been defined. Its 'belly poke and giggle' was used in the launch ad of Pillsbury atta in India. Apart from making the character loveable, this action is supposed to connote softness of the chapati made from the product. When the Doughboy interacts with the housewife playfully with humour, it is projecting the interaction with the brand of the housewife. The brand's pack or logo cannot do this. It would look very odd. Another case in point is the interaction of the Amul girl on all the outdoor hoardings of the brand.

It has been observed that 80 per cent of consumers' learning  happens through their eyes. It is easier to link in memory visual elements (e.g. Brand Character) rather than words (e.g. Brand f Names). Hence, it is for the marketer to decide/plan to exploit the opportunity provided by a Brand Character, in the process of creating learning about the brand. Obviously, a character is of no use if it is not linked in memory to a brand name, and advertising has to do this job.

Due to certain reasons, marketers in India divorce their; brand character quite often, e.g. devil by ONIDA, cartoon characters by Jumpin, Charlie Chaplin lookalike by Cherry Blossom, and genie by Rasna. On the contrary, most MNCs live with it. Maybe, building a brand character is not understood well and is done in a hurry. Besides, when developed, the personality of the brand character is not structured with a long-term perspective. One company that has used it continuously is Asian Paints. Remember Gattu? Air India's Maharaja and the Amul girl are also there to stay

 

Brand Logo

In order to make a word in. a page standout, we highlight it, underline it, or circle it. This increases its noticeability. It gives an identity to the word. Similarly, for a brand name to stand out, marketers use shapes and colours. This we see on packs, and across communication media. This combination of shape and colour is called Brand Logo. Note that the brand name may or may not form a part of it, e.g. Coca-Cola is in the logo, but Pepsi is not.

Brand Logo has everything visual about it. Moreover, as 80 per cent of consumer learning happens through the eyes, brand logo plays an important role in aiding consumers learn about the brand.

Ask anyone to close his eyes and describe what visuals come to their mind on hearing a brand name. For Colgate, the responses would include red and white colour, for Parachute blue colour, for Coke red and white colour, for Pepsi red and blue colour, for Gold Flake golden and red colour, for Tiger biscuits red colour, for Lifebuoy red colour, and for Liril green colour. Most brands have some colour associations, mostly those in its logo. The colour of the pack could also be in memory.

The Brand Logo stays in the mind with colour distinctiveness.  It is the visual signature of the brand. It is a long-term property of a brand and needs to be handled cautiously. Each brand has a logo, though the elements of the logo vary across brands. In India, there is no consistency in terms of what constitutes a logo.

 

Elements Of Brand Logo

 A brand logo consists of five distinct elements:

Colour

This is a necessary condition as the brand name also is in colour, and the latter is a necessary condition for a brand logo. If the logo has a geometric shape, that also has colour(s)— both inside as well as along the outline of the shape.

Geometric shape

This is a desired entity but not a necessary element as per observations made across a hundred brand logos. It is not specific to any product category or when the brand was born or whether the marketer is an MNC. The geometric shape includes non-copy visuals like Maruti, Whirlpool, Star TV, Gold Flake, Four Square, Maggi, Nestle, Carrier, and Britannia have.

Font

All copy matter, including the brand name, has a specific font, e.g. Coca-Cola is always written in a particular manner.

Slogan

Brand slogan in the brand logo is a rare observation. One such example is Britannia: Eat Healthy Think Better.

Brand name

This is a necessary element of each logo, e.g. Castrol in Castrol logo, Pillsbury in the Pillsbury logo, Camlin in the Camlin logo, and HP in the HPCL logo. The name in the logo may be either in full or in an abbreviated form. It is expected that it would be in a standard colour. However, many examples of good brands exist whose names have different colours (up to four at the same time), e.g. Cinthol and Lux.

Brand Name

Brand looks constitute two aspects of a brand—brand symbol and brand name.

A rose by any other name would not smell as sweet. This summarizes a key trait of human psychology. Moreover, consumers are humans after all. In addition, brands interact with and exist for customers. A brand name summarizes various relevant and irrelevant aspects, as well as copy, audio and visual aspects of a product, which a human being can sense. It provides an identity beyond doubt. Moreover, identity differentiates. Since branding is a concept that exists to create identifiable differentiation, the brand name becomes a key marketing tool.

Any brand name is a source of value to the company. It carries symbolic meaning at times, for the customer and anyone it interacts with. A Benetton T-shirt without the brand name / brand slogan printed on it would be a mere commodity.

A brand name lives in the memory. To keep itself alive it needs to interact with the consumers over time. Moreover, in a crowded marketplace, memory is affected by the content of the crowd. Hence, a name has to stand out in both absolute as well as relative terms. When Godrej launched Limelite toilet soap in the mid-1980s, the name gained instant popularity. However, how many of those who knew it then can recall it now in 2000? It is this concept of human memory of name (and its 'associations) which, if present, provides rationale for brand [extensions. Yo Frooti follows Frooti after about fourteen years. Dettol shaving, Dettol plaster, and Dettol talc follow Dettol antiseptic liquid after decades.

Vicks cough drops followed Vicks VapoRub. Santoor talc followed Santoor soap. Nirma Bath followed Nirma detergent. Good Knight coils and Good Knight liquidator followed Good Knight mats. All these happened because of the strength of the respective proper nouns—the brand names. If it had not been for these names, many of these products would have seen the light of the day.

Marketers do, at times, change pack design, formulation, variant range, positioning, price, and distribution set-up. However, one aspect that does not change through these changes is the 'Brand Name'.

The key marketing concepts of positioning, loyalty, and imagery are centered around the brand name. Therefore, without a brand name, these concepts cannot exist. Brand name planning is thus an unavoidable, logical and creative process.

It is in the light of the above that one needs to understand 'brand name' across a wide spectrum. Broadly a brand name is:

• the basic core indicator of the brand,

• the basis for awareness,

• the basis for communication effects,

• the basis for sales measurement, and

• more permanent than most other aspects of marketing plans.

Given below are examples of what a brand name can do: 

• It helps create association(s) in the mind that act as descriptors, as to what it is and what it does. Xerox is a fitting example.

• It provides entry barrier in its category once it gets established. Some appropriate examples are Burnol, Surf, and Dettol.

• Through time and use, it becomes a valuable asset. Tata and Godrej are good examples. 

It has been observed, what a brand name is all about could vary over a time continuum. It is the effect of what the brand does, what its competitor does, how customers change, how technology changes, how customer interactivity changes, etc. Time has a great role to play in giving form to a name in the minds of the consumers. The same could be by design or by default. Some elements are avoidable and some unavoidable.

Think about Surf before Ariel was launched. Now think about Surf and Ariel after Tide was introduced. Also, think about Robin Blue after Ujala was launched. Does your mind notice the changes?

Types Of Brand Name

A Marketer needs to understand that some 'general traits' of a brand name are:

- acceptable

- easy to recognize

- easy to pronounce

- easy to memorize / recall

in concerned language(s) among the target customers. Besides, a brand name should be available to use, registrable and protectable (by law) in the concerned market(s). It is not necessary that it should create any associations or have any meaning. However, if it cues associations, the same should not be negative and inappropriate in any manner for the minds that matter.

Apart from the general traits mentioned above, there could he 'specific traits'. These could help communicate so as to position the brand. Some examples are Carefree, Band-Aid, Impulse, and Mangola. The more descriptive the name, the more it communicates immediately.

In terms of generating associations brand names can he grouped into three types of names, viz.,

(i) 'Descriptive' brand name: A descriptive brand name such as Handy Plast is simple and direct.

(ii) 'Suggestive' brand name: Suggestive brand names like KamaSutra and Denim often communicate some appropriate message about the product concerned in a subtle manner.

(iii) 'Free standing' brand name: A free standing name like K.odak conveys less or no information immediately to the consumer. In order to make it descriptive/suggestive, marketing investment is required. Further, no brand name can survive without any association (refer the chapter on Brand Associa­tions) in the marketplace.

 

Marketers use different logic to decide on the type of name to be used.

Some more examples of the three types of brand names are exhibited on a descriptive continuum.

Kodak was a pure invention. It was a collection of letters which was short, memorable and strong, both graphically and visually. Yet, it had no core of meaning' whatsoever. It was a freestanding name at birth.

Visa was a suggestive name. It had associations of travel and crossing boundaries. Another suggestive name is Sunsilk. It connotes softness and is associated with outdoors. It draws attention to silkiness. It gets its strength from relevant images and associations. Band-Aid is a descriptive name that needs no explanation.

Descriptive	Suggestive	Free Standing
Close-Up Glucovita Glucon C Band-Aid Ganga Babool Doordarshan Frooti Hommade Fair &. Lovely Ujala	Flora Whisper Surf Pepsi Visa Digene Limca Tropicana Jumpin Thums Up Crush Sunsilk Pampers	Fiji Kodak Xerox

 

 

Name Change

Let us ponder about a real-life case in the context of brand names. Britannia Industries introduced Zip Sip in 1999—a range of milk-based beverages in TetraPak, Due to strategic reasons they changed the name to Milkman in 2000. Think about this. Arrive at the pros and cons. Visualize the impact on associations and imagery. Think about advertising / creative concepts that can be built around the respective names and all this with the product being the same You might or might not share the viewpoints) of Britannia. However, logical points exist to argue for either case.                                           

This was an example of near complete change in the brand name. Some other examples of name changes are listed below:

• Max Touch became Orange in 2000.                |

• Tata Nihar became Nihar after HLL purchased it.    

•  Binaca became Cibaca through an international acquisitior by Ciba Geigy.

• Teenopol became Ranipol.                         

• Jyoti appliances became Jaipan appliances.           ,

• Annapoorna became Kissan Annapoorna.          

• Lehar Pepsi became Pepsi.                          :

• Glaxo became Glindia and again Glaxo and now GSK.             

• Sakura became Konika.                          

• Ariel Supersoaker became Gain Supersoaker.

         

When the main part of the name in a multi-word brand name remains the same, the disturbance of the change is less and can be well managed. But if the main word or the complete name changes, all can be lost overnight by the marketing) organization. Such a situation needs to be handled on a war footing. A case in point to indicate a complete name change it described below:

This brand was well known with heavy advertising. It was active in the context of consumer publicity and was a member of the impulse purchase category. Due to international plans the name, say ABC, had to change to, say PQR. A complete' change with no resemblance in the names. The brand ABC had strong competition and it was not the market leader. The company's sales and distribution was dependent on it only. Any significant consumer shift could have had a drastic impact on distribution economics and hence its strength. The company decided to change the name to ABC PQR. The new pack was developed and a new ad developed to announce the name change with close-up shots of the pack for a good time duration. The audio in the ad stressed—ABC now becomes ABC PQR. Slowly as time progressed, ABC became smaller on the pack compared to PQR. And ultimately the word ABC vanished from the pack. During the time period people were conditioned by the marketer and did not notice the gradual change happen. Moreover, even if they realized by default, they did not feel uncomfortable as they new it was earlier ABC only.

Interestingly, most people had started calling the brand PQR in isolation or along with ABC. We all know human beings resist change of things they are used to and are comfortable with. In addition, to make the change, one has to manage it with the least disturbance. Moreover, phasing it over time and that too having the new with the old together, is just a great tactical idea. The brand was Ruffles which became Ruffles Lays, which then became Lays. What say you!

Well, not all follow such steps, e.g. Max Touch became Orange in 2000 in one shot. At the time of change, they had over five lakh customers in Mumbai. Unlike Ruffles which was dependent on multiple purchases by consumers unknown to the company, Max Touch had subscribers whose whereabouts were known to the company While Max Touch | customers were in Mumbai, Ruffles' consumers were present across India. There was a possibility that past consumers of Ruffles could indulge in brand switching in subsequent purchase occasions. The same was highly unlikely in the case of Max Touch customers. In a way, they were tied up to the brand/service for a reasonable time period. Given this backdrop, it was easier for Max Touch to go for an immediate switchover and make known the same to all its customers in I no time. Now, if Ruffles would have been a mobile telephone service and Max Touch a brand of wafers, both might have, followed different approaches to their name change.

 

Name Extension

The concept of extension is based on existing associations being put to use for incremental business results. A strong association can help the communication task. Therefore, in an appropriate case of brand extension, the name provides the following:

• Brand associations, e.g. Dettol plaster for minor cuts and wounds.

• Quality associations, e.g., Godrej washing machines.

• Better probability of trial, e.g., introduction of Captain Cool atta after establishment of Captain Cook salt.

• Reinforcing associations of the mother brand, e.g., good Knight after being extended to liquidators and coils from the initial product form of mats.

 

More line extensions are done for a brand, the less focused it becomes. Moreover 'brand position' being a singular focused concept gets affected. A good international example in this context is: Chevrolet was once the No.1 car brand. Now it is fast, big, truck, etc. Now it is many things.

Wild line extensions are widely used by consumer durable brands. Sub branding is attempted, but often does not have great success. This makes the dealer more powerful. When a brand has nothing specific about it, it is easier for a dealer to highlight aspects about another brand and thus differentiate the brand asked for as a weaker brand. This does affect the brand finally bought. It affects price premium of the brand.

ONIDA has been in the colour television business for long now. In 1999, the company launched a 14-inch CTV with a coloured outer front body A range of colours was made available. This was prompted through TV advertisement. The ad did not say or show ONIDA. It said, 'Candy'. The company brought in a larger CTV in 2000 with the same proposition. 'Candy' developed its own image independent of ONIDA. What would have been the effect if it would have been named ONIDA CANDY instead? Give a thought to it yourself.

To handle wide presence of a brand, a wider 'position concept' needs to be created. Further, it is advised that the same should not be tangible. Britannia has done it well—'Eat Healthy. Think Better.' This comfortably holds for milk, ghee, butter, cheese, and biscuits. Before the change the company was only having biscuits. It would have competitors in each of these product lines. All can be tackled through the psychological position of Britannia. The options of attack available for its competitors are the following:

• Psychological position: In this case differentiation of a competitor is less likely to happen vis-a-vis Britannia.

• Rational position: This could lead to differentiation. However, Britannia can nullify it through modifications of its current offerings or introduction of new variants.

Ref: Prof H. Kombrabail's Notes