Brand concept

Jean Noel Kapferer

This article details Jean Noel Kapferer's model of the 'brand concept'. In particular, he argues that brands can represent a wide number of different things: product (defined by name); benefit (product attributes and benefits); product category (its basic variant represents its category); domain expertise (a sign of know-how in a certain domain); origin (country, region); style (its taste and design); personality (a set of character traits); ideology or culture (a system of shared values); low price (the cheap alternative in its category); luxury (the brand represents exceptional quality in its category).

Brand concept

Jean Noel Kapferer

Knowledge in our memory consists of concepts abstracted from reality, based on the characteristics that similar entities have in common. These concepts make it possible to relate new perceptions to earlier experience, and they are determined by both superficial characteristics and 'deeper essences.'

A brand concept is an abstract representation of the brand's superficial characteristics and its most defining meanings. We distinguish ten prototypical brand concepts, though more are of course possible:

  1. Brand equals product:The brand relates to only one product or service, and is the name of the thing. Because of this narrow...

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