Brand Identity & Brand Image

This past week, I met one of my friends who is an entrepreneur. In my view, he has a stable business portfolio (which he always disagrees – guess got to do something with entrepreneurial spirit) and has made a reasonable mark for himself in his field. The fact that he is ever so hungry to achieve more and dissatisfied with where he stands today, seems to be the reason of his success. During our chat, he mentioned that his prospective customers do not view him in a manner as he would want them to view. He feels there is a disconnect between what he feels his business stands for and what his prospective customers feel about it – something amiss between what his brand actually is or stands for and the manner in which consumers interpret it. That made me think if it has it got something to do with brand image and brand identity.

Brand identity, in my view, is a combination of beliefs (emotional), symbols (physical), and associations (experiential) which the brand communicates to its prospects. It is the set of attributes or a combination thereof, which the organization feels will help the brand create a unique place in the minds and hearts of its consumers. It is the organisation’s view of its brand.

Brand image, in my view, is the way the consumers interpret the brand – what they feel about it, how they associate with it and their viewpoints emanating from their interactions with the brand or with those who have interacted with it. It is the consumer’s view of the brand.

All of us use the ubiquitous mirror daily. If we feel that we are not looking appropriate (reflection), we initiate a change in us. At times, we realize, the mirror itself is unclean while we are looking appropriate – so we just wipe the mirror clean.

‘We’ is the brand identity, ‘Mirror’ is akin to a filter through which we interpret our identity and ‘reflection’ is the brand image.

At times, we do all the right things and the right way to develop our brand identity, but may be the mirror is unclean, has a crack running across or is stained. The channels, activities and the messages communicating our brand identity are not working appropriately. Do we need to align and synchronize these to reflect our identity correctly? Try talking in Swahili to somebody who knows only Hindi!

It could also be that the brand identity the organization so zealously intends promoting and preserving, is simply no longer relevant to the consumer- he has moved on and beyond to something more appealing, interesting and spectacular. May be we should change the way we look. Who would want to dress in formal attire when going for a workout at the gym?

May be the signs of disconnect and discomfort between brand image and brand identity are loud and clear but we still insist on changing the consumer behaviour to suit our needs – a difficult proposition in the current context. Organisations, at times, find it difficult to accept the reality and move swiftly to develop appropriate brand identity – may be the investment in creating and promoting the current brand identity is very high and who would take the responsibility of accepting that our radars did not catch the intruding signs of change in consumer behaviour?

So think twice the next time you look at the ubiquitous mirror – the identity and the image.

By : Sumit Singh

Dated: 21 Oct’12