Brand - A unique and identifiable symbol, association, name or trademark which seeks to differentiate competing products or services. The brand gives rise to expectations in the consumer of the experience they will have of the product or service.
Brand architecture - The overall relationship between corporate brands, product brands, sub-brands or complementary brands.
Brand associations - The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that customers have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand essence, values and positioning.
Brand attributes - Functional or emotional associations that are assigned to a brand by its customers and prospective customers. Brand attributes can be either negative or positive and have varying degrees of relevance and importance to different customer segments.
Brand awareness - A common measure of the effectiveness of marketing communications. Unaided awareness is spontaneous; aided or prompted awareness is when a name is recognised among others that are listed or identified.
Brand character - The character of a brand is the answer to the question: 'What would your brand behave like if it were a person?' Character definitions usually revolve around personality traits - for example, outgoing or shy, curious or complacent, easy-going or irritable.
Brand commitment - The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to repurchase or reuse in the future.
Brand DNA - A term often used to refer to the collective and fundamental components of a brand - such as attributes, character, benefits, differentiation and credibility.
Brand essence - The core characteristic that defines a brand. The brand's promise expressed in the simplest, most single-minded terms. The most powerful brand essences are rooted in fundamental customer needs. Brand essence is really about the primary customer experience and should be a resonant organising principle for a brand, not just a set of buzzwords or slogans.
Brand experience - The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc are easily controlled by the business. Some, like journalistic comment and word of mouth, are less easily controlled.
Brand identity - A brand's unique system of iconography, images, messages or symbols that convey its essence. Not to be confused with the brand itself. Identity is to a brand like clothes are to the man - you can change your suit, but it's a lot harder to change your personality.
Brand image - A unique set of impressions that represent what the brand stands for. For brand 'users' this is based on personal experience of the product or service concerned (informed impressions) and how well this meets expectations; for 'non-users' it is based almost entirely upon uninformed impressions, attitudes and beliefs.
Brand personality - Brand image or identity expressed in terms of human characteristics. It is the attribution of human personality traits (seriousness, warmth, humour, imagination) to a brand as a way to achieve differentiation.
Brand pollution - A term often applied to the general 'noise' and 'clutter' created by intrusive, uninvited and unappreciated marketing communication activity.
Brand positioning - The 'space' a brand is perceived to occupy in the hearts and minds of consumers. It is the distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment so that its target market can tell it apart from others. Positioning involves the careful manipulation of every element of the marketing mix.
Brand relevance - Degree to which a brand has meaning to its customers.
Brand resonance - The quality of a brand that makes it more relevant to customers. Resonance relies on the ability of the brand to connect with our deeply held, fundamental human beliefs and our search for meaningful experiences.
Brandscape - The total experiential reach and engagement of a brand. A term that encompasses all those who touch and interact with the brand including customers, suppliers, employees, competitors, re-sellers, distributors, partners, etc.
Brand strategy - The plan to build a brand that delivers against a clear set of business objectives which can be evaluated by clearly defined results and metrics.
Experience economy - The creation of brand experience strategies that engage customers in an inherently personal way - using goods as props, and services as the stage.
Experience design - A holistic, multi-disciplinary and multi-sensory way of bringing to life the essence of a brand, product or service.
Internal branding - The role of employees in brand definition and promotion. It is the practice of linking corporate brand to culture and values, thereby creating a platform from which to communicate to employees the brand vision and mission. Internal branding helps improve credibility and strengthens the bonds of trust between leaders and employees.
Personal branding - A personal identity which stimulates precise, meaningful perceptions in its audience about the values and qualities which that person stands for.