Brand Name - 1

A strong brand name is one of a company's greatest assets. It enables the company to earn above average return by creating a loyal consumer who protects the firm from competition.

A brand name is part reputation, part familiarity - not to mention the unquantifiable / psychological thrills that a consumer gets when he or she purchases something that bears his or her favourite brand name. The concept of the brand name first arose with the advent of advertising and mass media in the 1930s and further compounded by the advent of the 40-hour work week, which allowed consumers more time to enjoy the things that they bought. It is not a coincidence that Disney was founded during this time - as people were working too much to watch cartoons prior to the 1930s and as its major asset was its brand name. (To, 2005)

American Marketing Association (A.M.A.) defined the brand name as: “The brand name is that part of a brand that can be spoken. It includes letters, numbers, or words. The term trademark covers all forms of brand (brand name, brand mark, etc.), but brand name is the form most often meant when trademark is used.”

A brand name performs many key functions, according to Palumbo and Herbig (2000):

 It identifies the product or service and allows the customer to specify, reject or recommend.

 It communicates messages to the consumer. Information provided could include statements regarding their users’ style, modernity or wealth.

 It functions as a piece of legal property in which the owner can invest and through laws is protected from competitor trespass.

A study about the effect of brand names on consumers’ choices about brands shows that a real brand name for a product has a powerful effect on the product’s total consumer appeal, contributing 55% of its share of choice nearly (Gibson et al., 2005).