Summary

Module 1: Fundamentals of Marketing

Session 4: Introduction to Branding
Branding is the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product or service in the
consumer’s mind through various means. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated
presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers and allows companies to charge a
premium for its products or services.

Introduction and Importance of Branding

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as ‘a name, term, sign, symbol or design intended
to identify the goods and services of one seller, or group of sellers, and to differentiate them from
those of competition’. Branding is important for consumers as it can give them:

How to build a brand

Brand building is a two-fold process which is strongly determined by two activities: creating a brand
image and creating brand awareness. While the brand image reflects the depth of a brand in a
consumer’s mind, brand awareness describes the breadth of a brand and its spread in a certain market.
Building a strong brand is a marathon, rather than a sprint. It is a process that takes significant efforts
and time throughout multiple years. The 4P concept can help significantly in structuring a brand
building initiative. For example, Micromax changed its brand image by first considering their product:
changing from being only a cell phone company to a consumer electronics company by introducing TVs,
laptops, air conditioners, etc. To create brand awareness for this transformation, they also changed
their communication from being a ‘Nothing like anything’ company to a ‘Nuts, Guts and Glory’
company to indicate the transformation.

Brand Equity

In the concept of Brand Equity, you looked at the qualitative aspect of it which essentially comprises of
5 main elements-