Decoding Branding in the New Era

Branding Principles

I just completed my Branding course at HKU MBA last week, and here are some fundamental Branding Principles I learned from Dr.Royce and his book Decoding Branding.

· Brands will continue to thrive and remain the future driver for Sustainable growth.

· A brand is unique because of its brand DNA.

· The brand experience at every touchpoint can reinforce or diminish a brand’s promise.

· The brand exists because it has a role to play; therefore, a brand has to be Distinctive, Consistent, and Relevant.

· Your brand is the sum total of all the meanings that all your possible audiences carry around about you in their heads and their hearts.

· Branding applies to a product, organization, country, and individual.

· In the digital and interactive world, branding is a collective experience; everyone can play a part that will either reinforce or diminish the brand experience and its reputation.

· The brand is built through what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.

· A brand is more likely to succeed if it can serve customers better than its competitors.

· A brand can only blame itself for any customer defection, for being good is no longer good enough.

· Brands can stretch their life cycle by keeping abreast of the latest market and consumer trends or introducing new variants guided by their brand DNA.

· A sustainable brand understands and can meet changing consumer expectations by offering the most appealing and up-to-date merchandise and experience according to “customer lifestyle.

· In a digital age where consumers have abundant choices, a brand cannot remain merely a concept, and it must offer tangible value to the people it serves, or it will be easily replaced.

· Consumers today welcome brands that are dynamic and multi-dimensional by being luxurious, cute, classic, and modern at the same time.

· Brand engagement is about sending out an invitation to the target audience or arousing their curiosity so that they will proactively search for the brand themselves based on personal needs and interests. Therefore, a brand must be searchable online and present the right level of information that is adequately organized both in terms of depth and breadth, making it accessible to any searcher.

· It is critical to ensure that the brand is adequately understood and embraced by the team whose task is to promote it to the outside world. If they are not convinced about the brand’s values, there is no way they can convince others.

· Brand-building should always start from within the corporation, which is why the most critical decision a corporation has to make is to hire the right people.

· Branding is not about making but delivering the promise.

· A brand can extend to any new form of brand manifestation as long as it retains its core brand values.

· Regardless of its age, a brand will start to an age when it loses its relevance to the users.

· A brand with a long history can also be modern and cutting-edge. There is no tradeoff between heritage and innovation.

· A brand expression can change, but brand DNA remains.

· Every consumer has a mental repertoire of brands for different categories, also known as a “consideration set.”

· Disruptive brands can transform a market and redefine an industry because they are trendsetters.

· A brand has the first to enter this league to be considered.

· In the digital and interactive world, branding is a collective experience; everyone can play a part that will either reinforce or diminish the brand experience and its reputation.

· Users will regularly appraise their relationships with different brands, and there is no obligation for them to stick to the same brand for any category.

· Then, it has to emerge as the preferred choice by presenting consumers with a compelling and unrivaled argument, which usually consists of rational and emotional reasons. A brand can be low-cost but not low-end.

· A product becomes a BRAND when it has PERSONALITY.

· Consumer Insight is the understanding of what really matters to the consumers

· Branding provides rational reasons for consumers to behave irrationally.

· If you do not actively manage your brand and guide people on how to appreciate it, you are leaving it to the audience to define your brand

· Real impact created by “unreal” idol

· The brand personality can de be derived from “smaller” things in life that resonate with people or “bigger” issues that appeal to our common belief

· People look at the VALUE, not the PRICE of brands.