Brand Glossary

Brand equity – the commercial value a brand provides to a firm through its effects on the attitudes and behaviours of its stakeholders.

Brand identity – a name, symbol or design that identifies a product, service or entity from others.

Brand image – a set of associations attached to a brand identity in the minds of its stakeholders.

Brand promise – the customer value proposition or benefits communicated by the brand to the customer and/or consumer.

Brand purpose – this answers the question of why a brand exists with respect to the positive difference it aims to make in people’s lives.

Brand valuation – the Net Present Value (NPV) of future cash flows stemming from the brand as an intangible (separable) asset, for example, as estimated in the avoided royalty payments through ownership of a trademark and associated intellectual property (e.g., brand guidelines).

Brand value – the incremental Net Present Value (NPV) of future cash flows stemming from a branded compared an unbranded business and product via its effect on all stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, suppliers, financiers, channel partners, etc.). In simpler terms, what deploying the brand is worth to management, the bottom line, and shareholders.

Branding – the creation of names, symbols, characters, and slogans that (1) help identify a product and (2) create unique positive associations that differentiate it from the competition by (3) creating additional meaning (value) in consumers’ minds.

Consumer – a person or entity that makes use of a good or service.

Culture – the tone and way in which things are done around the organisation.

Customer – a person or entity that purchases goods or services.

Customer-based brand equity – “the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand” (Keller, Journal of Marketing, 1993).

Customer/consumer experience – a customer’s and/or consumer’s holistic perception of their interactions with an organization and its products and services over the duration of their relationship.

Consumer/customer journey – the mapping of the customer experience across all touchpoints (in particular those “moments-that-matter”) between the customer and/or consumer.

Customer value proposition (CVP) – the sum total of benefits which a seller promises a customer will receive in return for the payment or other value-transfer.

Differentiation – relevant associations or the net value of customer perceptions of a brand, product, or service that sets it apart from the competition.

Employee-based brand equity – “the value a brand provides to a firm through its effects on the attitudes and behaviours of its employees” (Tavassoli, Sorescu & Chandy, Journal of Marketing Research, 2014).

Employee branding – the process by which employees learn about, commit to and are are motivated and enabled to deliver the proised brand experience to customers and consumers.

Employee Value Proposition (EVP) – the benefits promised by an organisation in return for the talent, experience and engagement employees bring to the organisation.

Employer brand – the image of an organisation as a great place to work in the minds of potential and current employees.

Experience – the perceptions of an event, episode or encounter that leave an impression.

Intangible asset – a non-physical asset such as a patent, trademark, or goodwill recognized in business combination.

Intangible asset – a non-physical asset such as a patent, trademark, or goodwill recognized in business combination.

Mission statement – a simply written statement of the current business purpose to provide direction and guide decision making: what business are we in, i.e., what do we aim to provide for our customers and other stakeholders?

Net Present Value (NPV) – the future cash receipts associated with an investment, discounted by a specified rate of return.

Positioning – the strategic intent (aim) or design for a differentiated brand image within a specific target audience.

Royalties – rent-like payments made to the legal owner of a brand (or other asset) by those who wish to make use of it, for example, to generate revenue.

Sales funnel – the visual representation, in the form of an inverted funnel or pyramid, of the customer relationship with a brand, product or service ranging from “customer states” such as awareness, to consideration, to trial, to repeat purchase, to adoption (e.g., habit or loyalty), or other sales outcomes such as up-selling and cross-selling.

Trademark – a distinctive mark or feature particularly characteristic of or identified with a person or thing.

Values – these describe your desired culture and can be “who values” that describe the organisation’s character or spirit, often anchored in its heritage; what or “end” values that link to the organisational purpose; and how or “means” values that are a code of behaviour that defines the manner in which the organisation intends to accomplish its aims, the emphasised norms, principles, or common set of beliefs.

Vision statement – based on the organisational purposes, this describes why a business is doing what it is doing and where a well-executed mission will take them. Best done as an inspiring image of a possible and desirable future state, in order to unite and inspire all stakeholders.