Tokyo And Blackberry

Brand image - consumer perceptions of a brand which is measured as the brand associations held in consumers’ memory.

 A brand is unlikely to have one brand image, but one or two may predominate.

 The feelings and images associated with a brand are powerful purchase influencers through brand recognition, recall and brand identity.

 Brand image has 2 dimensions: functional and symbolic.

The impression in the consumers' mind of a brand's total personality (real and imaginary qualities and shortcomings). Brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme, and is authenticated through the consumers' direct experience. The key in brand image research is to identify or develop the most powerful images and reinforce them through subsequent brand communications.

Difference between brand image and brand identity - An image is how brands are perceived, and an identity is how brands aspire to be perceived.

Brand image building through integrated marketing communications such as advertising, PR, design, packaging, and distribution.

Brand Equity - A measure of the beliefs, images and core associations consumers have about particular brands

Brand equity is a brand asset that is built over time, through advertising and other marketing communications.

Developing Brand Personality

Another key to building brand strength is developing a unique brand personality. Brand personality is generally understood as the distinguishing characteristics of the brand, what some call the persona of the brand. Just like people, all brands have a personality to some degree. In certain cases, its highly emotional and vibrant; in other cases, its understated or barely noticeable. Because brand personality is intangible and exists in an emotional realm, it is often underrated by marketers. That can be a significant oversight.

A recognizable and well-defined brand personality is a key part of a successful brand's

appeal. Often, it's what breaks the tie in the purchase-decision process when all the

rational merits of two competitive products are deemed equal.

Personality is often used interchangeably with terms like brand tone, manner, or character.

Generally, it's expressed in personal or character terms - trustworthy, energetic, assertive,

unpretentious, arrogant, friendly, helpful, and so on. As brands become more familiar to

customers, they tend to take on these human qualities and characteristics, for better or

worse.

In addition, personality will come through even if you don’t intend for it to. Since it

can be the best place to create some lasting differentiation, it pays to develop a well

thought-out brand personality description as part of the brand-development strategy.

Personality comes from many cues around the brand experience.

Packaging, for example, that constantly changes or lacks a quality appearance sets

certain, but unhelpful, expectations about the character of the brand. On the flip side,

packaging can, and should, help communicate and support positive personality aspects of

the brand.

The level of responsiveness of customer service also affects brand personality to a significant degree.

Ultimately, nearly every interaction with a customer or prospect shapes the brand personality.

Brand identity - unique set of functional and mental associations the brand aspires to create or maintain.

Brand image - what currently resides in the minds of consumers.

Brand positioning - process, by which companies try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for their brand.

Brand equity - values that can make profits, increase market share and enhance organisation performance.

Microsoft – The Brand Story

Bill Gates is the culture that created the basis for differentiation and value within the Microsoft Company brand. As a branded business, Microsoft has used Gates’ reputation as a meaningful way to create a unique brand offering while meeting the needs of its consumers.

By most consumer standards’, Bill Gates is the epitome of an entrepreneur. Gates earned a SAT score of 1590 out of 1600 and as a Harvard drop-out; Gates had a desire for computers and business ownership. Therefore, Microsoft began its journey to become an innovator of technology for everyday living. And Bill Gates, with his entrepreneur spirit and philanthropic desires, continued to be the brand’s spokesperson.

The brand image of Microsoft can be described as constant innovation. Development of fresh software keeps Microsoft ahead in a rapidly changing technological world. The personal brand image of Bill Gates as the richest person in the world with miles of print media coverage and years of visual media time bolsters the brand strength of the company persuasively (Dvorak, 2008).

The software giant is very aggressive with brand promotion. Microsoft spends nearly $1 billion on ads in the USA alone, (Dvorak, 2008).

However, according to the Trosclair article, Microsoft’s brand value increased only by 1% and slipped into third place, being outranked by IBM. So what contributed to this decline in rankings? Answer: Bill Gates, the epicenter of the Microsoft brand, retired; a new software launch of Vista faired unsuccessful with consumer satisfaction; and a sour business deal with Yahoo left the consumer with a negative impression on Microsoft’s ability to compete with mega-star, Google, (Trosclair, 2008).

The Microsoft Company brand can be defined as a larger bundle of trademark and associated intellectual property. This larger definition of a brand includes intangible products and

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