We were driving for a short vacation of 2-3 days during a weekend. The children in the car were talking about their school friends. While talking, they were describing their friends. By talking about their peculiar habits, appearance, etc. they were forming a personality in their mind. For example, when a child comes to play cricket, he runs after the ball even if the ball has gone out of boundary. If someone says something to a child; he takes the ball and sits in the middle of the field. One child walks very slow even if there is an urgency, etc. We also experience such things in our daily life. Sometimes if you don’t remember a person while talking, you start describe him like who has a roaring or loud voice, is tall or short, always wears a safari, always uses certain words in every statement and immediately the face of that person comes before us. Such unique sayings or habits define a person’s personality through which he is always recalled and difficult to forget for a long time.
This same principle applies to the brand and we know it as ‘brand properties’. There is a term call USP (Unique Selling Proposition), which defines uniqueness in product or service while property outlines a brand. Recall is a term in marketing, and such properties are a boon to the brand. Such properties of the brand can be its shape, colour, song / jingle, mascot, music, celebrity, etc. Such properties at times becomes so famous that as soon as we see or hear about it, you will immediately remember that brand. Sometimes if we see a person wearing flashy or colorful clothes, immediately we recall the actor Govinda, if someone takes off his shirt, say Salman Khan, spread your arms wide so that Shah Rukh Khan is remembered immediately, Amitabh Bachchan’s dance style, Rajesh Khanna’s hairstyles, speaking of our current Prime Minister’s “Mitron” and his Modi jacket. So, whenever we see or hear such things that we immediately relate to such a personality and remember them.
Creating a brand property can be a very successful marketing strategy. Making this is an art & science both. It is difficult to say that it will be successful because it all depends on how the consumer adopts it. As mentioned above all these things relate to the brand. You remember all these things when you think of a brand and you remember the brand when you hear, read or see something related to the property of the brand. Thus, they complement each other.
Above we saw examples of personal brand property. Now let’s look at examples of product or service brands; Vodafone ZooZoos and pug. Today, wherever we see the breed of this dog, we will immediately remember the Vodafone brand and if we talk about Vodafone, this dog will be remembered. The tune of Airtel, boinggg sound of Bingo chips, signature tune of Titan and Britannia, bugle of IPL. If we talk about the old brand ads; the song of Vico Vajradanti; Jab me chota ladka tha of Bajaj Bulb; Tandurasti ki raksha of Lifebuoy, Air India Mascot, the owner of MDH masala and above all the Amul Girl.
These are the properties of all the brands that they have built for a long time so that the brand can be recalled. In other words, they have created this “space” for them.
Agile & innovative Marketing Head and the company will use such properties to systematically promote their brand. Many jingles also become collar tunes. There are times when just showing such properties, brand gets recalled and promoted.
When such properties are created, it is also necessary to check them from time to time and tweak it if need be. Amul uses their Amul Girl smartly in their campaign and develops communication with current topic. The Maharaja of Air India has also been seen in different incarnations. The shape of the product also plays an important role. Juice, we have always seen in Pet Bottle or Tetra Pack but the Paper Bot brand has created a different shape that people have adopted and that shape can be said to be Paper Boat today. So even if any other brand brings this shape, recall will be of Paper Boat. The brand establishes the value of the brand in an interesting way along with the property recall. We can also call these properties iconic because they are unique in their own right. The term is often used in the language of marketing but any brand that uses such properties strategically has succeeded in establishing the brand.
Change is also needed over time and there is a danger that the consumer may not be able to recall my brand if I make a change. But over time, when one decides to make some changes in brand’s design, packaging, slogans, or other elements; one has to keep a good balance. Older properties that have been established should be used to communicate with new ones so that the problem of brand recall does not arise. Then the new property can be gradually strengthened and the old property can be gradually turned out.
Brand Property is an asset of a brand that can be in any form and has two main functions – One, is that it sets your brand apart from your competitors so that people like and remember it. Second, it gives the brand consistency and rationality in its marketing mix over the long term.
As mentioned above, brand properties take time to build and establish. It can’t happen overnight. And if you build such a property and leave it, it will be a waste of time and money. So, the right solution is to keep tweaking it over time, adding innovation that will make the brand stronger.
So, create a brand property through which the consumer can engage with your brand. In today’s competitive world such properties are essential for a brand that sets them apart.
You will give your consumer immediate benefits like adequate reward points, discounts, etc. but in the long run the consumer will immediately remember and love your brand when they see, hear or read something that has been created as your property.
Some parts of this article are excerpts from the book “BRAND BANSHE, BUSINESS VADHASHE”, written by Sameer Joshi, Founding Partner – Sam & Andy.