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The role of brands and branding
Keller (2003) distinguishes between a 'small-b brand' and the industry/practitioner definition of a 'big-B
brand'.
'small-b brand' defined as: name, term, sign, symbol, or design or a combination of them, intended to
identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of
competition
The industry/practitioner definition of a 'big-B brand': it is the amount of awareness, reputation,
prominence etc., which creates the brand.
The strategic role of brands cannot be over estimated.
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They provide the basis for differentiation
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They enable the organization to charge a price premium and act as a barrier to market entry for
potential competitors
Some of known brands (Marlboro & MacDonald’s) associated with social objectives such as
“Friends of the Earth” & “Greenpeace”.
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Customers have various levels of relationships with brands:
1- Interested in the product benefit: which we can think about and can be learned from
advertising
2- Advertising can lead us to assign a personality to the brand.
Example: MacDonald’s successful campaign led many people, children in particular, to assign
the brand personality of the cheerful to the company and its products.
3- The consumers develop emotional bonds with the product/brand. The creation of emotional
bonds through advertising is essential to a positive psychological movement towards the
product/brand and will reduce the potential for switching behavior. Such emotional bonding
with McDonald's could be achieved through the association with children's parties and happy
family gatherings in which McDonald's staff and products play a part.
One question for social marketers is how to use the power of branding for social aims and objectives.
And to what extent is the social marketer’s role to break the emotional bonds we have with
organizations such As MacDonald’s or to build bonds with social marketing brands?
Figure 4.9 Levels of relationships with brands
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