Manag., July-2018 – Q78
- Option : C
- Explanation : Brand Imagery
The main type of brand meaning is brand imagery. Brand imagery depends on the extrinsic properties of the product or service, including the ways in which the brand attempts to meet customers’ psychological or social needs. It is the way people think about a brand abstractly, rather than what they think the brand actually does. Thus, imagery refers to more intangible aspects of the brand, and consumers can form imagery associations directly from their own experience or indirectly through advertising or by some other source of information, such as word of mouth. Many kinds of intangibles can be linked to a brand, but four main ones are:
1. User profiles
2. Purchase and usage situations
3. Personality and values
4. History, heritage, and experiences
For example, take a brand with rich brand imagery, such as Nivea skin cream in Europe. Some of its intangible associations include: family/shared experiences/maternal; multipurpose; classic/timeless; and childhood memories.
One set of brand imagery associations is about the type of person or organization who uses the brand. This imagery may result in customers’ mental image of actual users or more aspirational, idealized users. Consumers may base associations of a typical or idealized brand user on descriptive demographic factors or more abstract psychographic factors. Demographic factors might include the following:
> Gender: Venus razors and Secret deodorant have “feminine” associations, whereas Marlboro cigarettes and Right Guard deodorant have more “masculine” associations.
> Age. Pepsi Cola, Powerade energy sports drink, and Fuji film have positioned themselves as younger than Coke, Gatorade, and Kodak, respectively.
> Race: Goya foods and the Univision television network have a strong identification with the Hispanic market.
> Income: Sperry Topsider shoes, Polo shirts, and BMW automobiles have been associated with yuppies—young, affluent, urban professionals.
Psychographic factors might include attitudes toward life, careers, possessions, social issues, or political institutions; for example, a brand user might be seen as iconoclastic or as more traditional and conservative.
