Technical terms branding

Branding
Originally, branding referred to the property marking of livestock. Today, the term describes
all activities involved in the development of a brand with the aim to set one’s own product
apart from the bulk of similar ones and to enable distinct association with a specific brand.

Corporate brand
Brand that refers to the company as a whole and which - unlike the product brand which is
primarily focused on the customer – is aimed at all contact groups of the company.

Corporate design (CD)
Creative transformation of corporate identity stressing the multisensory unity of a company’s
image.

Corporate identity (CI)
Intrinsic self-concept of a company, clearly distinguishable from competitors (complete external
and internal profile of a company) and – based on existing company culture – expressed
in appearance (corporate design), communication channels (corporate communication) and
attitude of all members of staff (corporate behaviour).

Brand
Comprises one or several of the following brand elements: name, concept, emblem, symbol
and/or design. A brand (formerly: trademark) aims to identify the performance of one or
several suppliers and to distinguish it from competitors’ offers.

Brand elements (brand components)
Design parameters employed in the marking of a performance include visual, acoustic, olfactory,
haptic and gustatory signals.

Brand identity
All characteristics of a brand which permanently distinguish it from other brands.

Brand image
Perception of a brand represented in the brain as brand associations.

Brand equity/brand value
Value of a brand ”in the consumers’ mind” compared to an non-brand, yet objectively similar
item. In financial terms, brand equity/brand value refers to the cash value of future payment
surplus generated by the brand. In terms of behavioural theory, it refers to the result of different
consumer reactions to marketing methods of a brand versus a fictional brand evoked
by specific concepts of the brand which are stored in the brain.