Brand Strategy – The Difference Between Brand Image And Brand Identity

By Author: Charles Elena
Total Articles: 10
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Tiger Woods, before his infamous fall, was perceived as a champion. He was viewed as a brilliant yet humble sportsman, loving husband and father and the personification of success itself. This was his brand Image – the perception of his brand by the consumer and wider public. It was identical to his brand Identity – how he, or his Team Tiger organisation, wanted the public to view him. Then came the scandals, one after another like a series of waves crashing into an overturned boat. A painful public divorce occurred, and his golf game sank, along with his public profile.

There is now a significant disconnect between Tiger’s preferred brand identity, and his current public brand image. This is the problem that many brand developers around the world have faced at one time or another – how to lift the profile of a struggling brand in the eyes of current and potential customers to a level that satisfies corporate goals and requirements. This has been achieved successfully before. For example McDonalds introduced a line of healthy choice meals to combat allegations that their food had minimal nutritional value.

It ...
... doesn’t matter whether you are talking about a sports star (Tiger Woods), a singer (Britney Spears), chef (Gordon Ramsay), company (BP) or even an idea (Atkins diet), anything that can be perceived has an image that can be judged by others. The trick to branding excellence is to exert control over the image.

Branding Development and Strategy

Tiger has a huge job in front of him to resurrect his public image and golf game. Tiger’s brand strategy must now be to repair a completely damaged product – he must first turn the tide of public opinion before he can work to reclaim his former status. Luckily, most corporate brands aren’t in such an unenviable position. They simply suffer from a lack of recognition, rather than a surfeit of it.

The first place to start would be to analyse exactly what your current situation is.

• Is your brand perceived in a negative light, or does it suffer from a lack of attention?
• What are your competitors doing differently?

Brand Identity

This is the goalpost. How exactly do you want consumers to view your brand? Your brand strategy and objectives will, in turn, stem from your business objectives.

• Are you a niche or mass market brand?
• What is your target demographic?
• What are their common interests, likes and opinions?
• What words would you like them to use when describing your brand?

Brand Image

Now, time to find out realistically how your brand is viewed by your target market. Ask yourself, your consumers and your brand developers a few simple questions.

• How is my brand currently viewed in the marketplace?
• What words would you use to describe my brand?
• Would you recommend my brand to friends?

Branding development

Now that you have the facts, it’s time to review the disconnect – the gap between your ideal scenario (brand identity) and the current realistic situation (brand image). What are the largest gaps? Develop a brand strategy to fill some of those holes. This would be customised depending on the feedback and size of the gap, but some generic questions to ask could be:

• What is your media selection
• What message are you sending?
• Where are you positioned in the market? Ie premium brand, budget brand etc
• What are your competition doing?
• Do you have a consistent visual identity?

Once you have ideas in mind, you can effectively launch a targeted campaign, and will soon see the gap between your brand image and brand identity disappear.

Charles Elena has experience working with some of Australia’s favourite brands – visit our website www.charleselena.com.au or call +613 96635433 to see how we can help lift your brand profile with brand developers.