Brand - Positioning in the people's mind

The importance of an image has become an emotional part of everyone. A brand name represents the image, character and personality of a brand. A brand name should be clear, lucid, easy to remember, distinct from the competition and should not be generic to the category. It should become customer's Top of the mind brand (TOMB). Most successful brand names would satisfy these criterions to quite an extent. Brand loyalty is one thing which has made the branding more popular. As some one rightly said "Brand loyalty is not dead, it's just more like loyalty to a girl/boyfriend than loyalty to a husband/wife".

Some brand names such as Coca-cola by itself does not represent anything until it is positioned with the proper communication and image that represents what it stands for. On the other hand, a brand name like McDonalds represent western origins while a brand name like Honda represent Japanese efficiency, culture and personality. Hence, brand names that are linked to associations of their origins or product will create first impressions to the user. On the other hand, brands like Pepsi on its own may not mean anything until the image and character of the brand is communicated to the market.

Meanwhile, the vast flow of names today makes it harder to differentiate them unless they come out with their own uniqueness. This way, they could come to their special position in everyday life. The image following a particular name is also determined by the role of communication it undergoes; of which the followings are included: its manner, personality, behavior, ethics, values, etc. The importance of brands depends on the true ambitions of the company.

Branding becomes essential in developedeconomies with intense competition / plenty of choice and educated consumers. Indian firms got very used to having a huge and rather captive market at home and thus became uncompetitive on the global stage when the marketwas relatively closed. They just didn't need to go out and get more business. There is also a lot of negative image attached with the 'made in India' tag which restricts the Indian brands making impact on a global scale. Till the late 80s India has been so bothered about domestic sales and image that they did not see the larger canvas. One can see the global trends now and the emergence of Indian MNCs. Kingfisher and TATA are wonderful examples of a brand build up in a highly competitive market.

The increasing spread and domination of international brands has seemed inevitable for at least the last 30 years. All around the world we have witnessed the disappearance of local brands and local variants. But despite this trend, local and regional brands still remain strong. In India, for example, protected for many years by government policy from the invasion of foreign brands, homegrown brands dominate many sectors - Tata automobiles and Titan watches, to name but a few. In the end people want both global and local brands - brands that make them feel part of wider international community and brands that root them in their home culture.