Brand Image – The consumers' perception of the brand: it's character, qualities or shortcomings

To remember what brand image means use the following mnemonic:

When she branded the cow, she left great images (brand image), God knows what the customers would think.

Brand image is the perception of a brand in the minds of consumers. It is influenced by a variety of factors, including the brand’s name, logo, advertising, and customer experience. A strong brand image is a valuable asset for a business. It can help attract new customers, build loyalty among existing customers and command a premium price for product or services.

There a few key things that businesses can do to create a strong brand image, such as:

• Be consistent: The brand image should be consistent across all touchpoints, from the company’s website to it advertising to its customer service.
• Be authentic: The brand image should be true to the company’s values and mission.
• Be relevant: The brand image should be relevant to the target audience.
• Be memorable: The brand image should be memorable and easy to recall.
  
  

An example of a company with a strong brand image is Apple. Built up over many years, Apple’s brand image represents its sleek, stylish products and high perceived quality. Apple makes use of innovative, high budget marketing campaigns which reflects the products they release. The result of this is a near cult-like devotion to their products shown by some users and long lines to buy the products when they are released.

An example of a company that has received widespread negative publicity that has contributed to tarnishing brand image is the Range Rover car brand. Despite a high price tag and advertising that accentuates its luxury branding, Range Rovers have a poor reputation amongst industry reviewers and car enthusiasts alike for their reliability. Consistently ranking towards the very bottom of reliability surveys for years this has done terrible damage to their overall reputation amongst many potential buyers. This example shows how essential it is for brands to build their reputation from the ground up. Customer experience will take precedence over any marketing material, and word of mouth is incredibly powerful in forming consumer perceptions.