Zimbabwean companies have been hitting the limelight in recent times with announcements of corporate re-branding exercises. At the top of this list of companies are banks. The Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) changed its corporate colours, Zimbank changed its name to ZB Bank, while telecommunications giant, Net One also went through a re branding exercise.

Only last week, Michael Hogg, Young and Rubicam, one of the top public relations consultancies in the country completed its rebranding exercise, changing its name to Imago Young and Rubicam.

For many a layman, re-branding seems to involve the change of corporate colours, name change or in a nutshell, the change of the company's image. However the question of the benefit of such an exercise still boggles the minds of many.

For those in the know, millions of dollars have been and are being spent in these exercises. This includes money spent on for example, hiring agents for strategic planning, handymen for refurbishing of buildings, redesigning of staff uniforms, redesigning offices and media publicity.
But what really is the benefit of re-branding, or before we even get there, what is a brand, how do you measure its value and how do you manage it.

What is a Brand?
The Dictionary of Business and Management defines a brand as "a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors."

Signs and symbols are part of what a brand is, but to us this is a very incomplete definition. Walter Landor, one of the greats of the advertising industry, said: "simply put, a brand is a promise. By identifying and authenticating a product or service it delivers a pledge of satisfaction and quality."

In his book, 'Building Strong Brands' David Aaker suggests that the brand is a 'mental box' and gives a definition of brand equity as: "a set of assets (or liabilities) linked to a brand's name and symbol that adds to (or subtracts from) the value provided by a product or service…".
This is an important point, brands are not necessarily positive!

Building from this idea of a 'mental box' a more poetic definition might be: "A brand is the most valuable real-estate in the world, a corner of the consumer's mind".
These are all great definitions, but the best could be this: "A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer".

Why is it best? Well, first of all it is easy to remember, which is always useful! But it is also best because it works to remind us of some key points:
1.This definition makes it absolutely clear that a brand is very different from a product or service. A brand is intangible and exists in the mind of the consumer.
2.This definition helps us understand the idea of brand loyalty and the 'loyalty ladder'. Different people have different perceptions of a product or service, which places them at different points on the loyalty ladder.
3.This definition helps us to understand how advertising works. Advertising has to sell, and it achieves this by positively influencing people's perceptions of the product or service.

Brand Valuation: The Seven Components of Brand Strength
The Inter brand model of brand strength - part of their valuation methodology - is a useful framework to consider the performance of your own brand. Reflect on these seven points and you should get a better sense of the strength of your own brand, as well as some ideas on how to move forward…

The seven components of brand strength in the Interbrand valuation model are:
Market: 10% of brand strength. Brands in markets where consumer preferences are more enduring would score higher. So for example, a food brand or detergent brand would score higher than a perfume or clothing brand, because these latter categories are more susceptible to the swings of consumer preference.

Stability: 15% of brand strength. Long established brands in any market would normally score higher, because of the depth of loyalty they command. So for example: Rolls Royce would score higher than Lexus.

Leadership: 25% of brand strength. A market leader is more valuable: being a dominant force and having strong market share matters. So for example on this score it is likely that the Coca-Cola brand would out-perform Pepsi on a global basis.

Profit trend: 10% of brand strength. The long-term profit trend of the brand is an important measure of its ability to remain contemporary and relevant to consumers, according to Interbrand.

Support: 10% of brand strength. Brands which receive consistent investment and focused support usually have a much stronger franchise, but the quality of this support is as important as the quantity.

Geographic spread: 25% of brand strength. Brands that have proven international acceptance and appeal are inherently stronger than regional brands or national brands, as they are less susceptible to competitive attack and therefore are more stable assets.

Protection: 5% of brand strength. Securing full protection for the brand under international trademark and copyright law is the final component of brand strength in the Interbrand model.
This model is not perfect, for example several of the components have a built in preference for older brands and so may not give adequate recognition to the value of newer brands such as Amazon or Starbucks.
However, it is certainly useful to reflect on the seven components, and for your own brands ask yourself, How do my brands currently perform? And does the model suggest any ways in which I could strengthen my brand?

The Basics of Brand Management
Brand management is about effectively managing stakeholder perceptions to maximize the value to your business. For many people 'brand management' is a relatively new way of thinking, and like anything new it can seem difficult to apply. In this month's Shared Learning we lay out the 5 steps to effective brand management…

Step 1: Identify your brand stakeholders: BE INCLUSIVE
Don't just think of customers. There are many other groups involved in your brand. Your list of stakeholders may include: employees, business partners, distributors, investors, even yourself - as well as customers.
Make sure you have identified all the groups of stakeholders in your brand before you do anything else.

Step 2: Understand where you are now: BE HONEST
It is essential to understand how your brand is currently perceived by your stakeholders. Remember: the brand is not what exists in your brochures or your website. Your brand is what exists in the minds of your stakeholders: it is these perceptions that will determine your business success or failure. Take time to understand your current brand: it exists in the minds of your stakeholders.

Step 3: Study competitor and market trends: BE THOROUGH
How you should position your brand for the future will be affected by a combination of three factors: where you are now, where your competitors are now, and the trends that will impact on your market. Understanding all three provides a sound basis for the future. When considering your market be careful to identify trends that will have a significant impact on your market over the coming years, not just the short-term fads.
Understand your competitor brands (how customers think of them) and your market trends.

Step 4: Define where you wish to be: BE REALISTIC AND FOCUSED
A strong brand needs to be distinctive from its competitors and motivating to its customers.
Ask yourself: What are our brand strengths? (or could be our strengths) How will this be distinctive from our competitors? Why will this be motivating to our consumers? Will these strengths become more important in the market over time, or less important? Your answers should be realistic and focused. It will help if you get a 'reality check' by sharing the answers with some of your key stakeholder groups. Check to make sure the answers are believable. Craft the answers to these questions into a statement of your desired brand.

Step 5: Agree what you have to say and do: BE COMMITTED
To build the desired brand in the mind of your stakeholders is perhaps the greatest challenge. It requires constant review of what you say and what you do - and how they live up to the brand you are trying to build. Begin the process now by listing out the kinds of behavior that will build your desired brand.

Be as specific as possible. 'Role-play' the contact that you have with stakeholders. What will you need to say and do, on an ongoing basis, to build your desired brand.
These five steps are the essentials of good brand management. Work on them now - and into the future - to create enduring value for your business.

Public Relations
When you mention 'public relations' most people think about certain channels of communication: particularly editorial publicity, sponsorships and 'launch events' for new products. This is not surprising, as this is the way many PR firms think and act as well. However, this is not the best way of thinking about PR. Take a look at the definition by the Institute of Public Relations:
 
"Public Relations practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics."

Public relations is not limited to certain media, and it is not focused on promoting products. Public relations can and should use any media, including TV and print advertising, to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics."

It is important to think about PR in this way, because for many consumers it is becoming increasingly important to know about the company behind the products. People have growing ethical, social and environmental concerns and they want to be reassured that the companies they are doing business with share their values and concerns.

Many companies are not addressing these issues effectively and they are losing competitive advantage, because their thinking about public relations is limited to editorial publicity. Don't fall into this trap. Ask yourself: Do I understand my customer's ethical, social and environmental concerns, and how they impact on my category? Am I making good use of public relations, as a tool for maintaining goodwill and mutual understanding, using any and all media?

Back to business home>>