Bridging the Brand’s Values

There is danger that, when guarding the consistency of their brand’s core values over time, managers become too focused on considering their brand in terms of its individual’s values. Whilst this is an important part of brand analysis, it should be recognized that brands are holistic entities whereby the individual values are integrated into a whole whose strength comes from interlinking parts. Managers therefore need to consider how their brand’s component values are synergistically integrated to form a more powerful whole. A branding consultancy, Brand Positioning Services, has developed a technique which enables managers to appreciate how bridging between these parts makes the brand stronger and enables it to attain the optimal positioning.

Brand Positioning Services conceptualize the brand as being composed of three components. The functional component characterizes what the product or service does. The psychological component describes which of the user’s motivational, situational or role needs the product or service meets and the evaluative component considers how the brand can be judged. The brand as the figure shows, can then be considered as the integration of these three components.

The Integrated Brand Consumers do not consider any of these three components in isolation. When a brand of soft drink is described as being functionally full of energy, consumers’ perceptions of the brand may evoke thoughts of a healthy lifestyle. Thus the functiona1 component of the brand is assessed within the perspective of its psychological associations. For an integrated brand both the functional and psychological components need to work together. When this is the case they are regarded as bridged and a single word should describe the benefit both these components satisfy.

When developing a brand of toothpaste, there are many functional needs it could satisfy, such as the desire for white teeth or to fight bacteria. Colgate Palmolive decided that their brand, Colgate Toothpaste, would focus on fighting bacteria, thereby reducing likelihood of problems such as cavities, plaque, tartar and bad breath. Psychologically, some consumers are worried by the prospect of regular visits to dentists and the social embarrassment of bad breath. Analysis indicated that Colgate Toothpaste could be positioned in terms of protection, since this word bridged the functional and psychological needs, leading to an integrated brand. Likewise Comfort Fabric conditioner is about softness, which bridges the functional and psychological components.

Several competing brands may be able to meet consumers’ needs in a particular category. To give the firm’s brand a lead over competition managers need to suggest to consumers how to judge competing brands and encourage evaluation along a dimension their brand excels on. This is the third component of the brand, the evaluator. It was decided that Colgate Toothpaste should be about trusted protection and that Comfort Fabric Conditioner should about loving softness.

A unique two-word statement for each brand – the evaluator plus the bridged need – not only defines the brand’s positioning but also enables managers to consider their brand as a holistic entity. While it is laudable to understand the core values constituting essence of the brand so that they can be protected over time, these need to be integrated to produce a holistic brand. The procedure that Brand Positioning Services have developed is a helpful way of getting managers to think beyond the component parts to arrive at integrated whole.

Since a brand is the totality of thoughts, feelings and sensations evoked in consumers’ minds, resources can only be effectively employed once an audit has been taken of the dimensions that define it in the consumer’s mind. To appreciate this planned use of resources, it is therefore necessary to consider the dimensions that consume use to assess brands.