Brand identity: an exploratory study of the brand identity concept as a strategic brand management tool

Abstract

As the twentieth century draws to a close marketers are faced with an increasingly complicated environment in which they must succeed. The proliferation of competitors and media, escalation of media costs, the increase in the relative power of retailers, fragmentation of markets and media, and increasingly sophisticated consumers all mediate this success. The idea that a brand should have a comprehensive 'identity' that should form the basis of branding and indeed marketing strategy has been presented by a number of authors as a means by which marketers may cope with these increased pressures. Yet while Brand Identity is increasingly considered an important concept in brand management there has been no substantive research in this area. As a consequence there is little consensus as to the definition or composition of the concept, and as such brand identity remains a rather ill defined topic confined primarily to the professional literature. In order to begin to till this gap, this research has endeavored to provide an exploratory study of brand identity in order to identify the underlying constructs by which the concept should be operationalised and to present these together as a framework for brand management. A multiple-case approach involving in-depth studies of the brand development process at two organisations and two advertising agencies has been employed to meet these aims. The result of this research is the Brand Identity Framework. This model is comprised of four layers. At the centre is the Core Identity, which provides the deepest, most enduring definition of the brand. This core is augmented by the Extended Identity which is comprised of six further constructs organised into three groups: those that represent the brand, brand attributes and brand personality; those that represent the consumer, consumer identification and self-concept; and those that build the relationship between these two parties, consumer benefits and self-image congruity. The third layer of the framework depicts a number of Brand Identity Drivers (visual identifiers, the unique selling proposition, value proposition, and positioning) which translate the brand's identity into operational statements and form the basis for communications programs. Finally, the framework's final layer represents the elements of the Communications Mix.