Brand design - brand and trademark strategy for automotive products

Brand and trademark strategy

Brand and trademark are important components of the overall concept of formal products. The role is indispensable to both marketers and consumers. Understand the meaning and role of brands and trademarks, and master the principles and methods of formulating and implementing brand (trademark) strategies, which will help optimize product portfolios.

(1) The concept of brand and trademark

Brands and trademarks are business names and logos used to identify different types and quality products of different producers and operators. However, in the marketing practice of enterprises, brands and trademarks are not completely equivalent. A trademark refers to a brand protected by law and is part of the brand.

1. The concept of brand

A brand is a business name and its name used to identify the products or services of a producer and operator and to distinguish them from those of competitors. A logo is usually composed of text, marks, symbols, patterns, colors and other elements. Brand is a collective concept, which includes two basic parts: brand name and brand mark. Brand name refers to the part of the brand that can be called with words, such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, etc.; brand mark refers to the part of the brand that can be recognized and easy to remember but cannot be called with words. It usually consists of symbols, patterns, colors and other elements. For example, the brand mark of Audi is four connected circles, and the brand mark of Mercedes-Benz is a steering wheel.

Brand, in essence, represents the seller's commitment to its product features, benefits and services. A long-established brand is a guarantee of high quality.

Not only that, the brand is also a very complex system of elements. These elements include:

Attributes. The most basic meaning of a brand is to represent specific product attributes. For example, a well-known car brand is a symbol of product attributes such as good reputation, high value, nobility and durability. l

Benefits. Brands also embody specific interests. When customers purchase specific brand products, their brand attributes must be transformed into specific interests for users or consumers. For example, famous brands can provide users or consumers with psychological satisfaction. l

Value. Brands embody the values ??of producers and operators, which can be recognized by certain consumer groups. For example, well-known brands represent the core values ??of an enterprise. l

Culture. Brands also contain specific cultural heritage, such as corporate culture, national culture and even national culture. l

Personality. Brand is to allow consumers to distinguish this kind of product from that kind of product. Each brand has its own personality. l

User or consumer group. Each brand actually represents a certain consumer group, playing the role of "birds of a feather flock together and people flock together". l

In real life, marketers often only focus on the attributes of the brand and ignore other elements of the brand, such as focusing only on the function of the product. Once a product with better functions appears, the brand value that the company has worked so hard to build will be lost. will be completely lost. In fact, value, culture and personality are the most lasting meanings of a brand. With these connotations, even if products with better functions appear, the original brand value will still exist. As long as the company improves its products in a timely manner, its marketing will not be affected. Excessive losses. As the president of Coca-Cola said, even if the Coca-Cola Company collapses overnight, as long as the brand does not collapse, the company will also revive overnight.

2. The nature of the brand

The nature of the brand can be reflected through its function and value. First of all, brands play an important role both for marketers and consumers. For marketers, brands are conducive to promoting product sales and establishing corporate image. With the help of brands, consumers understand the product attributes of a certain brand, remember the brand and its corresponding products, and also remember the company, which is helpful for the company to establish a stable user group and cultivate users' brand loyalty. Because of this, companies will cherish their brands, constrain bad business behaviors, and use the intangible power of brands to support their new product sales and continuously optimize their product mix. Brands also facilitate the marketing management of enterprises. For example, advertising and contract signing can simplify procedures, and giving different brands to products sold to different target markets is conducive to strengthening the marketing of target markets. Therefore, creating and developing a brand so that it can be marketed across the country and even the world is an important goal that entrepreneurs dream of.

For consumers, brands help them choose and differentiate products, form their own brand preferences, and safeguard consumer rights.

Secondly, brand is also an intangible asset of a company and an important part of its intellectual property rights. Its value is reflected in the value beyond the goods or services themselves, that is, in the additional benefits provided to consumers. The more such additional benefits, the greater the brand's appeal to consumers, and the higher the brand value. . Not only that, as long as the brand is used properly and managed well, the brand value will not depreciate during use, but may increase in value. This is where it is different from tangible assets.

3. The concept of trademark

Trademark is a specialized legal term, which refers to a brand that has been registered in accordance with the law by the government trademark management department and the enterprise has obtained exclusive rights. Therefore, the relationship between trademark and brand is very close, but there are also obvious differences in the conceptual extension of the two.

First of all, trademark is a legal concept and is protected by law. No one may use a registered trademark without the permission of the owner of the registered trademark. Otherwise, counterfeiting, copying and maliciously registering other people's trademarks are infringements and are not allowed by law. Therefore, trademarks can prevent others from counterfeiting and maintain fair competition. Brand is a market concept that needs market acceptance and consumer recognition. If the brand is in crisis and consumers' confidence in the brand decreases, the brand value will be reduced.

Secondly, a trademark is a sign and symbol part of a brand that is easily recognized by consumers. A trademark is an integral part of a brand; a brand is not only an easily distinguishable name and symbol, but also a multi-element component. A comprehensive symbol needs to be given its image, personality and life. Building a brand not only requires a good brand name and logo, but also requires a lot of work in terms of brand personality, brand identity, brand positioning, brand communication, and brand management.

Third, trademarks are always valuable regardless of whether they are used or not. Because at least in the process of trademark application, registration, maintenance and management, companies have already spent a certain amount of money on trademarks; and a brand has no value if it is not used, because the value of a brand is the performance of a specific brand of product or service in the market. for evaluation. Therefore, the property rights or usage rights of trademarks can be transferred and bought and sold. Those well-known trademarks usually have high value and are important assets for enterprises. Opinion polls by some foreign survey organizations show that among the top ten famous trademarks in the world, there are two automobile trademarks, namely "Mercedes-Benz" (ranked third) and "Toyota" (ranked seventh).

The exclusive right to use a trademark is established after the trademark is approved by the government’s trademark management department (Intellectual Property Management Bureau). Currently, there are two ways to identify trademark rights internationally. One adopts the first-to-register principle. Such as China, Germany, France and other civil law countries; the other adopts the first-to-use principle, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and other common law countries. However, the recognition of well-known trademarks generally adopts the principle that registration rights trump priority applications. For example, if a brand is recognized as a well-known trademark by a national trademark management agency, even if the trademark has not applied for registration in other countries or regions, it must still be subject to trademark protection (the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property), so the exclusive right of a well-known trademark It automatically crosses national borders.

(2) Brand and Trademark Strategy

Brand and Trademark Strategy covers a wide range of contents, and only three aspects will be introduced here:

1. Brand design strategy

There are three types of brands and trademarks: manufacturer's brand (also called national brand), intermediary brand (also called private brand) and service mark. At present, there are only manufacturer brands in my country's automobile market. The brands of automobile products do not change from the factory to the hands of users. However, some car dealerships have their own service marks, which are mainly used to distinguish the company from other dealerships and establish its business image, such as authentic supply, strong strength, etc. Service marks, like a company's "factory logo" and a school's "school logo", are also intellectual property rights and cannot be counterfeited or infringed.

Brand design includes the design of the brand name and the design of the brand mark, which should generally follow the following principles and requirements:

Simple and eye-catching, easy to remember and read; l

Cleverly conceived, hinting at attributes; l

Rich in connotation and deep affection; l

Avoiding similarity and transcending time and space.

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In addition to considering whether to use a single brand or multiple brands when designing brand names, companies must also comply with relevant legal regulations. For example, my country prohibits the use of names of leaders, national flags, national emblems and other words, The pattern will be used as a trademark, otherwise it will not be registered. Domestic and foreign automobile companies generally use the following methods for brand design of their products:

(1) Use place names as brand names. Most enterprises in our country use famous brand names in the city where the production enterprise is located, such as "Beijing", "Shenyang", "Tianjin", etc. Some companies also use the names of scenic spots near the company's location as brand names, such as "Yellow River", "Yan'an" and "Tatra" in the Czech Republic (Tatra is the largest mountain in the Czech Republic).

(2) Use the characteristics of the times or political color as the brand name. Such as my country's FAW Group Corporation's "Liberation", Dongfeng Motor Corporation's "Dongfeng", Chongqing Automobile Manufacturing Plant's "Hongyan", etc.

(3) Use the factory history as the brand name. For example, Shanghai Heavy Duty Truck Factory is named after "Transportation", and the names of automobile products in military, aerospace and other departments are also mostly related to the history of the factory.

(4) Use a person’s name as the brand name. Such as "Mercedes", "Fukuchi", "Chrysler", "Mazda (Mazda)", etc.

(5) Create a brand name based on product features. This kind of naming is common among special vehicles and special-purpose vehicles, which are named with symbols or meanings. For example, Wuhan Refrigeration Machinery Factory uses "Penguin" as its brand name, which reminds people of the coldness of Antarctica and also implies that the vehicle has good refrigeration effect.

(6) Named after product serialization. For example, Fiat's Lanqi Company, and the cars of the American Universal Combine Harvester Company are named after "Freight Star", "Fleet Star", "Economic Star", "Transportation Star", "Polaris", etc. People think that products have a sense of series, which is conducive to expanding brand reputation.

(7) Named after social class and its items. For example, "Emperor", "President", "Palace", "Monarch", "Prince", "Duke", "Citizen", "Muscovite", etc. are all named after social classes. "Crown", "Corolla", "Royal" "Horse" and so on are all named after items belonging to the nobility.

(8) Named after sports events. For example, Toyota's "Sprinter" and Volkswagen's "Water Polo", etc.

(9) Named after myths, fables, protagonists of works or literary arts, such as "Dina", "Blue Bird", "Romeo", "Goblin", "Ghost", "Overture", "Samba", "Folk Song", "Quintet", etc.

(10) Named after animals and plants, such as "Puma", "Falcon", "Pony", etc.

(11) For good luck. For example, the British Leyland Company and the American General Company named their cars with "Double Six" and "Ninety Eight" respectively.

(12) Named with eye-catching nouns, such as Volkswagen. "New Design" of the UK, "Elf" and "Essence" of the British ./012, "Forever" of Mitsubishi, etc.

(13) Named with good wishes, such as "Santana" named after a building in California, USA. Valley’s cyclone name, I hope its cars will be as popular around the world as a whirlwind.

In short, car brand names can be said to be diverse, but they all have one common feature, which is to help the product in the target market. Establish a good image. Brand design must integrate science and artistry. The creativity must be novel, give people a sense of beauty, and be in line with folk customs. Especially when exporting products, it is necessary to study the brand of export products, otherwise it will be difficult to succeed. For example, the export brand of my country's Dongfeng Motor Company is "Wind God". "Dongfeng" cannot be literally translated, because most countries regard "west wind" as auspicious. The east wind in the UK is the cold wind blowing from northern Europe, which is equivalent to the west wind in my country, or even North wind. Another example is that when General Motors exported a car to Mexico, which uses Spanish, it named it "Chevrolet Nova". The car's sales were extremely poor because "Nova" has the same pronunciation as "cannot move". , just imagine who would buy such a car that cannot move? The "Etesel" car launched by Ford is also similar to a cough medicine, and its sales are not good. The company's abbreviation is printed on its cars, and its business has always been good. However, since the AIDS epidemic, the company's business has plummeted because its abbreviation is exactly the same as the abbreviation of the name of AIDS.

2. Brand. Positioning strategy

Consumer preferences are ever-changing, and different regions and industries have different views and evaluations of brands.

Therefore, the key to building a brand is to determine an image in the minds of consumers, that is, brand positioning. There are many ways to position a brand, including positioning systems dominated by consumer types. There are positioning systems that are dominated by market shape and porosity, there are positioning systems that are dominated by the content or quality performance of technology in products, and there are also positioning systems that are reflected by different prices. But the most basic brand positioning is based on the competitive advantage it hopes to be attractive to target customers.

Brand positioning marketing generally has three steps:

The first step is to identify potential competitive advantages. There are two basic types of competitive advantage, cost advantage and product differentiation. The former is to set lower prices than competitors under the same conditions, and the latter is to provide more distinctive products that can meet the specific needs of customers. American scholar Porter proposed using the value chain method to determine potential competitive advantages. The specific content is: through the value chain, corporate strategies are decomposed into interconnected activities. Among them, item . is the main activity, including purchase, production, delivery, sales and after-sales service. The other/

items are auxiliary activities, including all inputs required for the main activities, technology development, human resources management and daily general operating and management expenses. The costs and operating conditions of each activity are analyzed in detail and compared with competitors to ultimately determine competitive advantages.

The second step is to accurately select competitive advantages. On the basis of value chain analysis, abandon those activities with small advantages and too high costs, and expand in areas with greater advantages.

The third step is to accurately spread the concept of corporate positioning to the market. Once you have chosen your competitive advantage, you need to communicate it through advertising. Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation once suffered a complete defeat in the U.S. car market, and even the throne of the country's number one export car king was taken away by Nissan. To this end, Toyota has formulated a strategy to fully improve the "halo car". Launched the "Halo" brand luxury sedan targeting the middle class and entered the competitive ranks. The performance of the new car is greatly improved, but due to the poor reputation of the first-generation halo car, people generally lack confidence in halo cars. Therefore, after new cars are put on the market, sales are still poor. In order to reverse people's impression that "halo cars are not sturdy", the company spared no effort and spent tens of millions of yen to launch a protracted propaganda and psychological war throughout Japan and even the world. Beginning with the commercial "Tiger of the Sea - Halo", commercial television broadcasts have successively appeared in destructive experimental films such as "Aerospace - Halo", "Oil Barrel - Halo", "Cliff Roller - Halo". In "Aerospace - Halo", there is such a thrilling scene: the high-speed halo car took off into the air in an instant, flew about 20 meters in the air, and continued to drive at high speed after landing. Toyota's investment in a series of commercials and other means have made consumers take a new look at the "Halo", naturally forming a market positioning that is completely different from before. This also established Toyota's industry position.

3. Brand extension strategy

When a company decides to use its own brand, the choice it faces is whether to use different brands for its various products or to use a unified brand. , how to leverage the reputation of an already successful brand to launch improved or new products, etc. These are issues that must be considered in brand extension strategies. The basic brand application strategies are:

(1) Unified brand strategy. The advantage of using the same brand for all products of an enterprise is that it saves the trouble of naming when launching new products and saves a lot of advertising costs; if the brand already has a good reputation, it can be easily used to launch new products. product. But the failure of any one product will cost the entire brand. Therefore, companies using a single brand must strictly control the quality of all products.

(2) Individual brand strategy. That is, the company uses different brands for various products. The biggest advantage of this strategy is that it can separate the success or failure of individual products from the reputation of the company, so that the failure of individual products will not damage the image of the entire company. But this requires separate advertising for each brand, which costs a lot of money.

(3) The strategy of using the company name and individual brands together. Before each brand name, it is preceded by the name of the company. The name of the company indicates the origin of the product, and the name of the brand indicates the characteristics of the product. The advantage of this strategy is that it can not only use the corporate reputation to launch new products and save advertising costs, but also enable the brand to maintain its relative independence.

All large automobile companies in the world use this strategy, such as Toyota and General Motors.

(3) Internet domain name strategy

As the name of an Internet organization and the identity of the owner of a web page on the Internet, a domain name can not only convey a lot of important information (such as organization attributes) , business characteristics, etc.), and also has trademark attributes. This is because the domain name belongs to the registrant. If a company's trademark is registered first by another company in a different industry, the company may permanently lose the domain name that is consistent with its own trademark name. However, the scope of dissemination and use of domain names extends to the entire society. When a domain name is used for a long time, people will have special feelings and memories about it. Once an enterprise has a domain name, it means that the enterprise has its own house number on the Internet and has a key to the online world to seize business opportunities. Because of this, many companies register well-known trademarks as domain names. Since the domain name system is the most important resource in the world and can better realize information dissemination, this determines that it has huge commercial value.