Essence: the structure and dynamics of the brand

The concept of ‘brand essence’ is relatively well established in marketing circles. It has come to the fore as a way for marketers to better understand their brands and also as a benchmark to evaluate brand activities.

Essence: the structure and dynamics of the brand1

Chris Barnham Chris Barnham Research and Strategy

INTRODUCTION

Several commentators (Grant 2002; Chevalier & Mazzalovo 2004) would agree that the nature of the brand has changed significantly in the last two decades. In the early years of marketing, a brand was simply the name that a manufacturer attached to a product. But, as consumers have become more sophisticated, so the brand has become more of an entity in its own right it has gained a complexity that was hitherto absent. The successful brand is now expected to have a personality...

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