2.3 MARKETING APPLICATIONS BRANDS A bit of history The word "brand" dates back to the days when placed marks on their sheep to identify them from the property of other shepherds by placing a hot iron against the sheep to burn a unique mark on them. The term "brandr" (to burn) became "brand". shepherds 1 Definition A brand is a name or a symbol that uniquely identifies a seller's goods or services on the market. The logo is part of the brand and can be considered a sort of signature, because it is essential to make people recognise the product. It can be made up of just one word or of a group of words or letters. The image of a brand is not just a question of what it looks like, though, because it is also associated with quality and/or . The brand name can, therefore, be protected with a trademark. reliability 2 Trademark vs brand A trademark is the registered name which legally represents a company; it can include any combination of words, packaging, name, signatures, sounds or colour schemes that identify the company, its products or services and which must be protected because it is unique and specific to that company. On the other hand, a brand name represents a product but also the business – and therefore its reputation – in public. 3 What's in a brand? Brands consist of a number of elements. They include: : what makes the company immediately recognisable; identity : advertising and goals that work together to make an impression on the target; image : it's linked to something emotional. People don’t like companies, so companies try to look like human beings, trying to look exciting, new and unique; personality : it is represented by the feelings a brand is able to convey; character : it is embodied in the core mission, values, beliefs, and the style of the founder and the management team; culture : it is the outcome of identity and differs from image because it is built up over time and is not simply a perception at a given point of time. reputation These elements, taken together, determine the value of a brand in the marketplace. The measurement of how a consumer is of a particular brand is called . aware brand awareness 4 MORE When branding sheep became widespread, a rancher, Samuel Maverick decided there was no need to ‘brand’ his sheep because everyone else did. Thus, the term “ ” came into the lexicon. 1 maverick MORE The brand name Kleenex, for example, has become so important it has entered everyday language to mean a tissue. 2 MORE All trademarks are brands, but not all brands are trademarks. 3 MORE If a brand is not trademarked, other people can use it without fear of any penalty. If the brand is registered, unauthorised use is illegal. 4