Research :What is a brand?

An identifying symbol, words, or mark that distinguishes a product or company from its competitors. Usually brands are registered (trademarked) with a regulatory authority and so cannot be used freely by other parties. For many products and companies, branding is an essential part of marketing. 


 For example, Coca Cola is the name of a brand make by a particular company. The word branding began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity — it affects the personality of a product, company or service. It is defined by a perception, good or bad, that your customers or prospects have about you.

(1) Family brand names:

A family brand name is used for all products. By building customer trust and loyalty to the family brand name, all products that use the brand can benefit.

Good examples include brands in the food industry, including Kellogg’s, Heinz and Del Monte. Of course, the use of a family brand can also create problems if one of the products gets bad publicity or is a failure in a market. This can damage the reputation of a whole range of brands.

(2) Individual brand names:

An individual brand name does not identify a brand with a particular company.

For example, take the case of Heinz. Heinz is a leading global food manufacturer with a very strong family brand. However, it also operates many well-known individual brand names. Examples include Farleys (baby food), Linda MacCartney Foods (vegetarian meals) and Weight Watcher’s Foods (diet/slimming meals and supplements)

(3) Combination brand names:

A combination brand name brings together a family brand name and an individual brand name. The idea here is to provide some association for the product with a strong family brand name but maintaining some distinctiveness so that customers know what they are getting.

Examples of combination brand names include Microsoft XP and Microsoft Office in personal computing software and Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Pet Foods.

A good brand name should:

• Evoke positive associations
• Be easy to pronounce and remember
• Suggest product benefits
• Be distinctive
• Use numerals when emphasising technological features
• Not infringe existing registered brand names