What makes a brand?

On Friday we were lucky enough to have guest lecturer Joe Baker come in and spend a couple of hours with us, the basis of the lecture was to talk about what makes a brand. It was so helpful to have Joe talking to us about the industry which he has and works in today.

The main points that he mentioned were:
Logo- Levi, individual
Ownership- No other brands or name similar.. Apple Mac/ Mackintosh rain coats
Colour- Heinz, teal colour is identifyed with Heinz, stands out on the shelf
Graphic Style- Font, Coca Cola is very recognisable just be the font
Shape- Cars: Audi, BMW- what defines it?
Smell- Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbucks. Tailoring for the customers needs
Touch- Materials used, quality,
Taste- Food, better quality?
Sound
Location- Where is it on the high street?
Association
Look- Dyson, different, innovative design
Uniqueness- What makes it stand out?

We were also asked to look at brand which we feel represents itself well, I chose to look at Levi Strauss & Co. The key brand characteristic's which stood out for me were:

Levi Logo- Recognisable, red square is it's identity:

Vintage Clothing- Rise in popularity, accessible in vintage stores such as COW, or online on sites such as eBay.
International Brand- Recognised in many countries, Founded 1853, with 16200 staff employed worldwide in 470 stores.
Eco Friendly- promotion of Levis being eco friendly is huge, 'Wash Cold, Line Dry', they also have launched the Water Less range which is extremely environmentally friendly.

Accessible/Interactive- Online store which has a section called curve ID, which lets you try on jeans interactively and find the 'perfect' fit without having to go into a store.
Online Store- Expanding this point e-commerce, well designed website.
Strong Advertising- Go Forth campaign, TV ads and magazine ads

Collaborations- Levi have recently teamed up with Nike to create a skateboarding range
Durable- Renown for their quality and value

I'm pleased that I picked up on several of the same/similar points which Joe has identified, I've realised that I I am able to analyse and recognise good points about the brand and which maintain and show that they can deliver to their consumers. Looking at faults of a brand and instances where they have not performed as well definitely increases my knowledge on analysing key characteristics of brands.

First SWOT Analysis

Last week our group completed a SWOT analysis on the brand Maybelline, we will be working very closely with this brand over the next couple of months and decided to find out what basic information we already had. To our surprise we had various points which we thought we could analyse to kick start the research on what it represents and it's products.

signature brand identity

Strengths
It's reliable
It is in all retailers- Superdrug, Boots
International
Catchy Slogan: 'maybe she's born with it, maybe it's maybelline'
Strong advertising and celeb endorsement with catwalk models
Established
Offers on products

Weaknesses
Brand positioning
It has so much competition- Rimmel, Borjouis, L'Oreal
Doesn't stand out
Lack of advertising at the correct market?
Packaging- Mascaras pre-packaged. Consumers then can't touch the products
Lack of retail presence
No consumer experience
Confusion as to who it is marketed at
E Commerce, Online presence?

Opportunities
Make it accessible
Stand out: re brand packaging
Blogging, testers and online market
Engage teenage girls
Lowering price to suit target audience?
Focus on a signature product
Skincare range to stretch out to new audiences
Free gifts?

Threats
Environmentally friendly?
Not having a strong online presence
The danger of not doing anything to resolve it's issues

Next stages for us to continue research: Look to America, is it successful there? Compare sales.