Brand equity | A set of brand assets that adds or subtracts value to a product. These assets can include brand loyalty, awareness, perceived quality, brand image, and other proprietary brand assets such as the number of trademarks or patents associated with the brand.77,78 Brand equity can also be quantified by comparing the price differential from a branded product with an equivalent non-branded product | The price differential between a pack of Marlboro versus Parliament versus general cigarettes, all manufactured by Philip Morris, results from differences in brand equity between the brands |
Brand image | The current associations consumers make with and the attitudes they hold toward a particular brand14 | Consumers associate Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with ethics and environmentalism, Mercedes automobiles with luxury, and Marlboro cigarettes with masculinity and cowboys |
Brand identity | The associations and attitudes that brand strategists hope to instil or maintain in consumers with respect to their brand. In contrast to current brand image, brand identity represents the ideal future image that brand managers strive to create for their brand.77 Brand identity elements include product scope, attributes, quality, uses, users, country of origin, organisation attributes, local versus global, brand personality, customer—brand relationships, visual image and brand heritage79 | While consumers may currently associate McDonald’s with unhealthy fast foods, McDonald’s brand managers are currently promoting a new identity that highlights healthy options such as salads and bottled water. McDonald’s brand identity is built through a system of commercials, logos, characters (Ronald…), “Mc” named menu items, etc |
Brand positioning | The part of the brand identity and value proposition that is to be actively communicated to the target audience and that demonstrates an advantage over competing brands77,80 | Kool cigarettes are positioned as the strongest menthol cigarette or Apple computers are positioned as more user friendly than PCs |