Thursday, November 13, 2008

Branding... cows?

1. The chapter mentions terms such as products, packaging, labeling, and brand building. All of these have intimate design aspects, and are influenced by design in their own respective way. Products must be designed before they can be marketed so the relationship present here is obvious. A package also must be designed, not only so that it is attractive, but also that it is functional. This brings in two types of design, visceral and behavioral, along with the idea of marketing. Labeling is along the same lines as the previous two, the label must be designed in a way that it is marketable, and as for brand building, the design of the product is essential in this form of marketing. Without a good design, brand icons like Target and Apple would never exist. These brand icons are a complete necessity in brand building and this therefore makes design a necessity also.

2. When considering branding and marketing one notices that a good brand, that people will want to return to, is the result of good marketing. The same holds true when considering experiences and products. A good product, that people will want to buy again, is often the result of a good experience with it the first time. Brands and products are very similar, and they are both influenced by good marketing, and good experience. In fact, you could switch them and say that good marketing will cause people to buy a product, and a good experience will cause the brand to succeed. Although marketing is slightly less effective with returning customers, it still gets the initial sale. The experience is what keeps people coming back for more.

3. K’s brand is emphasized by its marketing. This school markets itself as a diverse, worldly, and academically prestigious school. They do this with tough acceptance rates, a diverse student body, and a study abroad program that has many participants. K reinforces their brand through alumni. This school produces successful and happy people, is a message that all colleges send, and they all reinforce it through alumni. A wealthy alum that is quite content and is proud of his degree from K will reinforce the idea that the school does just what it says.

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