Designing brand equity

Branding strategist and Managing Director of The Group Branding & Design, Ana Kukoc: "Brand equity is a tangible asset of a company – it can be measured, it has a monetary value and can drive bottom line decisions in mergers and acquisitions, therefore it needs to be the responsibility of the chief executive of a company. The marketing department drives communication strategy and the CEO is the custodian of brand strategy."

Brand equity, by definition, is a company's reputation. A company earns brand equity through being consistent in their brand identity promise and delivery.

Explains Kukoc: "Your brand appears in various forms. Each one of those requires separate creative skills, but one strategy. That is why The Group Branding & Design likes to build brands through brand custodianship - because we want to be responsible for translating that brand strategy across all communication channels. We sell ideas that differentiate the brand – the cornerstone of a successful brand strategy."

This kind of thinking requires unconventional brand strategists. "Many traditional agencies understand that marketing spend has shifted from 'loudmouth advertising', ie, TV, to be more tactical and personalised – hence the trend of big ad agencies accumulating these facilities to keep the client's marketing budget all in-house. They are acquiring specialised units as a result, but the management of the brand is assigned to client service who are traditionally above-the-line people. In theory it is a good idea, from a client's point-of-view, to have all activities under one roof. But in practice, in order to co-ordinate all those activities for maximum benefit to the brand, you need someone who is rooted in brand strategy rather than communication strategy," says Kukoc.

"The Group has identified this opportunity to differentiate our services and offer clients brand building solutions. The key is that we are unbiased in our recommendations. Our income is not dependent on our supplier network, but rather on our intellectual and creative capacity," Kukoc explains.

The Group has developed a proprietary tool, "brand interface", that audits the brand across every point of interaction between the brand and the consumer. It identifies opportunities to build brand identity continuously, making the management of a brand economical, consistent and effective.

Says Kukoc: "It is our challenge to develop a unique positioning and to communicate it across the brand interface." The audit model assesses:

• Is the brand differentiated enough?
  
• Is it applied consistently? Areas of application include: design of logos, iconography, imagery and typography; to experiential design; and architecture, urban design and interior design; to 3D form design of products, packaging, livery, signage and merchandising displays.

The overall objective of this exercise is to design a brand identity that works across all of these areas, so that the brand is instantly recognised. The effect of instant recognition is that more time is spent on consuming the brand message. In order to do this holistically for clients, The Group Branding & Design has this month, launched a three-dimensional division which is responsible for environmental, retail and form design, headed up by The Group Environmental Design Director, eminent architect Michael Hinze.

The Group Branding & Design offer brand strategy, design development and implementation of brand identity. The Group is continually adding to core team skills with a portfolio of credentials to deliver impactful and excellent branding and design services to clients in Southern Africa.