Brands are incredibly powerful. They serve as a mental shortcut for consumers. Brands convey an incredible amount of information from price level to quality to other brand "truths." Valuable brands have achieved a significant positive initial recognition among the company's target markets. They evoke an emotion from consumers. For instance, everyone knows exactly what the Mercedes-Benz brand means - luxury, cars, foreign made, class, sophistication, aspiration, etc. The simple mark conveys so much to all of us because most people have a need for transportation or more specifically, a car.
But, brands don't have to be so widely known to be valuable. Take the example of Specialized. For those people who aren't interested in cycling, they might not know of this brand. But, for cyclists and cycling enthusiasts, Specialized has a very recognizable brand that conveys high performance, quality, fit, function and many other characteristics that people look for in cycling equipment. So, in this case, while all people might not be aware of Specialized, the appropriate target market(s) are and that makes this brand valuable.
Brands have to strike a cord and are so much more than just a logo. They are the essence of what a company or product wants to be and communicate to customers. Companies communicate brands through a variety of platforms including PR, font choice, style of copy, look and feel of the overall marketing strategy. Brands are valuable because they are a symbol of trust and are a mental shortcut for consumers.
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