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CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING

BRAND ELEMENTS

Group Members:

Sikandar Ali Syed

Syedah Ume Haani

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CHOOSING BRAND ELEMENTS TO BUILD BRAND

EQUITY

Brand elements, sometimes called brand identities, are those

trademarkable devices that serve to identify and differentiate the

brand. The main brand elements are brand names, URLs, logos,

symbols, characters, spokespeople, slogans, ingles, packages, and

signage. !ndependent o f the decisions made abo"t the prod"ct and

ho# it is marketed, brand elements can be chosen in a manner to

b"ild as m"ch brand e$"ity as possible. That is, according to the

c"stomer%based brand e$"ity model, brand elements can be chosen

to enhance brand a#areness& facilitate the formation of strong,

favorable, and "ni$"e brand associations& or elicits positive brand

"dgments and feelings. The test of the brand%b"ilding ability of brand

elements is #hat cons"mers #o"ld think or feel abo"t the prod"ct i f

they only kne# abo"t its brand name, associated logo, and other

characteristics. A brand element that provides a positive contrib"tionto brand e$"ity, for e'ample, #o"ld be one for #hich cons"mers

ass"med or inferred certain val"ed associations or responses.

CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING BRAND ELEMENTS

!n general, there are si' criteria in choosing brand elements (as #ell

as more specific choice considerations in each case)*

+.emorability

-.eaningf"lness

.Likability

/.Transferability

0.Adaptability1.2rotectability

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The first three criteria memorability, meaningf"lness, and likeability

can be characteri3ed as 4brand b"ilding5 in nat"re and concern ho#

brand e$"ity can be b"ilt thro"gh the "dicio"s choice of a brand

element. The latter three, ho#ever, are more 4defensive5 in nat"re

and are concerned #ith ho# the brand e$"ity contained in a brand

element can be leveraged and preserved in the face of different

opport"nities and constraints. The follo#ing sections briefly consider

each of these general criteria.

Memorabii!"

A necessary condition for b"ilding brand e$"ity is achieving a high

level of brand a#areness to#ard that goal, brand elements can be

chosen that are inherently memorable and therefore facilitate recall

or recognition in p"rchase or cons"mption settings.

!n other #ords, the intrinsic nat"re of certain names, symbol, logos

and the like their semantic content, vis"al properties, and so on may

make them more attention getting and easy to remember and

therefore contrib"te to brand e$"ity. 6or e'ample, naming a brand

of propane gas cylinders 7Bl"e Rhino7 and reinforcing it #ith a

po#der%bl"e mascot #ith a distinctive yello# flame is likely to stick

in the minds of cons"mer.

Mea#i#$%u#ess

Besides choosing brand elements to b"ild a#areness, brand elements

can also be chosen #hose inherent meaning enhances the formation

of brand associations. Brand elements may take on all kinds of

meaning, varying in descriptive, as #ell as pers"asive, content. 6or

e'ample brand names co"ld be based on people, places, animals or

birds, or other things or obects. T#o partic"larly important

dimensions or aspects of the meaning of a brand element are the

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e'tent to #hich it conveys the follo#ing*

Ge#era i#%orma!io# abou! !&e #a!ure o% !&e pro'u(! (a!e$or")

!n terms of descriptive meaning, to #hat e'tent does the brand

element s"ggest something abo"t the prod"ct category8 Ho# likely

#o"ld it be that a cons"mer co"ld correctly identify the corresponding

prod"ct category or categories for the brand based on any one

partic"lar brand element8 !n a related $"estion, does the brand

element seem credible in the prod"ct category8 !n other #ords, is the

content of a brand element consistent #ith #hat cons"mers #o"ld

e'pect to see from a brand in that prod"ct category8

Spe(i%i( i#%orma!io# abou! par!i(uar a!!ribu!es a#' be#e%i!s o%

!&e bra#')

!n terms of pers"asive meaning, to #hat e'tent does the brand

element s"ggest something abo"t the partic"lar kind of prod"ct

that the brand #o"ld likely be, for e'ample, in terms of key

attrib"tes or benefits8 9oes it s"ggest something abo"t a prod"ct

ingredient or the type of person #ho might "se the brand8

Li*abii!"

The associations s"ggested by a brand element may not al#ays berelated to the prod"ct. Th"s, brand elements can be chosen that are

rich in vis"al and verbal imagery and inherently f"n and interesting.

!ndependent of its memorability and meaningf"lness, ho#

aesthetically appealing do cons"mers find the brand element8 !s it

inherently likable, vis"ally, verbally, and in other #ays8 !n other

#ords, in dependent of the partic"lar prod"ct or service, ho# m"ch

#o"ld cons"mers like the brand element8

!n terms of these first three criteria, a memorable, meaningf"l, and

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likable set of brand elements offers many advantages. Beca"se

cons"mers often do not e'amine m"ch information in making prod"ct

decisions, it is often desirable that brand elements be easily recogni3ed

and recalled and inherently descriptive and pers"asive. oreover,

memorable or meaningf"l brand names, logos, symbols, and so on

red"ce the b"rden on marketing comm"nications to b"ild a#areness

and link brand associations.

The different associations that arise from the likability and appeal of

the brand elements also may play a critical role in the e$"ity of a

brand, especially #hen fe# other prod"ct%related associations e'ist.:ften, the less concrete the possible prod"ct benefits are, the more

important is the creative potential of the brand name and other

brand elements to capt"re intangible characteristics of a brand.

Tra#s%erabii!"

The fo"rth general criterion concerns the transferability of the brand

element%in both a prod"ct category and geographic sense. 6irst to

#hat e'tent can the brand element add to the brand e$"ity of ne#

prod"cts sharing the brand elements introd"ced either #ithin the

prod"ct class or across prod"ct classes8 !n other #ords, ho# "sef"l is

the brand element for line or category e'tensions8 !n general, the less

specific the name, the more easily it can be transferred across

categories. 6or e'ample, Ama3on connotes a massive So"th American

river and therefore as a brand can be appropriate for a variety of

different types of prod"cts, #hereas Toys5R5Us obvio"sly does not

permit the same fle'ibility.

Second, to #hat e'tent does the brand element add to brand e$"ity

across geographic bo"ndaries and market segments8 To a large

e'tent this depends on the c"lt"ral content and ling"istic $"alities of

the brand element. 6or e'ample, one of the main advantages of non

meaningf"l names (e.g., ;''on) is that they translate #ell into other

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lang"age since they have no inherent meaning. The mistakes that

even top companies have made in translating their brand names,

slogans, and packages into other lang"ages and c"lt"res over the

years have become legendary.