Brand Recognition and Brand Loyalty

Brand Recognition in relation to Brand Loyalty Introduction â€Å"Brands are the most valuable intangible asset for companies† claims Bayu Sutikno of the University of Gadjah Mada in Indonesia (2011, p. 319). The world is filled with brands and everyone is trying to portray a message. It is the job of the consumer to decide what brand they prefer and what brand they do not care for. Likewise it is the job of the marketer to persuade the behavior of the 7 billion consumers in the world everyday.Out of that persuasion, marketers create a following of such brands, which results in brand loyalty in the end resulting in profitability for the producers and satisfaction for the consumer. The Design The design of the brand is the first aspect a consumer will recognize. Consumers are trained to look for details in brands and the products produced and consciously, and more often unconsciously, make inferences about a brand and/or product presented (Karjalainen and Snelders, 2010, p. 7). There are two main ideas behind the design of a brand, the values it portrays and the physical layout that is presented.The values portion is most important because it creates connection with the consumer but physical looks can attract new consumers before they can infer said values of a brand. Values can be noticeable as simply as in the brand logo or more difficult what a brand stands for on an emotional level. One example of values represented in the brand slogan is that of Caterpillar, the heavy equipment manufacturer and their newly developed clothing and apparel line. Karjalainen and Snelders, authors of â€Å"Designing Visual Recognition for the Brand,† explain Caterpillar’s slogan, â€Å"Industry leading comfort and performance† (2010, p. ). From their boots to t-shirts to trucks and loaders, they focus on creating comfort for the consumer. For example, in the boots, they add soft insoles and added insulation and then to the equipment, they created soft interiors with noise and dust preventative measures (2010, p. 6). Just through their slogan, they communicate with people that their brand is going to be the most comfortable and then they back it up by taking measures to incorporate those values into their products. Communication of such values is best done the physical layout and representation of the brand.The Volvo and Nokia case, described by Karjalainen and Snelders, highlights the importance of implicit and explicit features of brands and products. Implicit features are the features that are subtle and not always stand out to the consumer but can have an unconscious effect of delight or disgust. While on the other hand, explicit features are the major features that are visually appealing or unappealing to the consumer. They emphasize the importance that lead products that are going to be the representation of your brand must focus on the features and the features must to tied to the values you aim to achieve (2010, p. ). Tin a Lowrey’s article, â€Å"The Relationship between Script Complexity and Commercial Memorability,† concurs and differs with the same ideas as Karjalainen and Snelders. Lowrey states that if a message is too complex the consumer will not be able to recall all the features and thus most likely forget the product. But if the message is simple then consumers can recall products easier (Lowrey 2006, p. 8). . Also she states that the use of single/limited words then consumer can better associate brands and images (Lowrey 2006, p. 8).The Self Cornwall’s, et al. , article, â€Å"Sponsorship-Linked Marketing: The Role of Articulation in Memory† mentions the role of sponsorship in NASCAR and how they use brands such as â€Å"Texaco† who would be closely associated with racing, but they also use brands such as â€Å"Cheerios,† who has nothing to do with racing cars (2006, p. 312). But through sponsoship, many people see these brands and the imagery cre ates links in the consumers mind. As Corwall, et al. , goes on to explains that it is the role of the marketer to create connections