type of fat stored in the abdominal region

Visceral fat, also known as organ fat or intra-abdominal fat, is located inside the peritoneal cavity, packed in between internal organs and torso, as opposed to subcutaneous fat, which is found underneath the skin, and intramuscular fat, which is found interspersed in skeletal muscle. Visceral fat is composed of several adipose depots including mesenteric, epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) and perirenal fat. An excess of visceral fat is known as central obesity, the "pot belly" or "beer belly" effect, in which the abdomen protrudes excessively. This body type is also known as "apple shaped", as opposed to "pear shaped", in which fat is deposited on the hips and buttocks.

Abdominal obesity

Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity, is when excessive abdominal fat around the stomach and abdomen has built up to the extent that it is likely to have a negative impact on health. There is a strong correlation between central obesity and cardiovascular disease.[1] Abdominal obesity is not confined only to the elderly and obese subjects.[2] Abdominal obesity has been linked to Alzheimer's disease as well as other metabolic and vascular diseases.[3]

Visceral and central abdominal fat and waist circumference show a strong association with type 2 diabetes.[4]

Researchers first started to focus on abdominal obesity in the 1980s when they realized it had an important connection to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Abdominal obesity was more closely related with metabolic dysfunctions connected with cardiovascular disease than was general obesity. In the late 1980s and early 1990s insightful and powerful imaging techniques were discovered that would further help advance the understanding of the health risks associated with body fat accumulation. Techniques such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging made it possible to categorize mass of adipose tissue located at the abdominal level into intra-abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat.[5]

Central obesity is associated with a statistically higher risk of heart disease, hypertension, insulin resistance, and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (see below).[6] With an increase in the waist to hip ratio and overall waist circumference the risk of death increases as well.[7] Metabolic syndrome is associated with abdominal obesity, blood lipid disorders, inflammation, insulin resistance, full-blown diabetes, and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.[8][9][10][11] It is now generally believed that intra-abdominal fat is the depot that conveys the biggest health risk.[5][12]

Central obesity can be a feature of lipodystrophies, a group of diseases that is either inherited, or due to secondary causes (often protease inhibitors, a group of medications against AIDS). Central obesity is a symptom of Cushing's syndrome[13] and is also common in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Central obesity is associated with glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia. Once dyslipidemia becomes a severe problem, an individual's abdominal cavity would generate elevated free fatty acid flux to the liver. The effect of abdominal adiposity occurs not just in those who are obese, but also affects people who are non-obese and it also contributes to insulin sensitivity.

Recent validation has concluded that total and regional body volume estimates correlate positively and significantly with biomarkers of cardiovascular risk and BVI calculations correlate significantly with all biomarkers of cardio-vascular risk.[14]

Ghroubi et al. (2007) examined whether abdominal circumference is a more reliable indicator than BMI of the presence of knee osteoarthritis in obese patients.[15] They found that it actually appears to be a factor linked with the presence of knee pain as well as osteoarthritis in obese study subjects. Ghroubi et al. (2007) concluded that a high abdominal circumference is associated with great functional repercussion.[15]

There are numerous theories as to the exact cause and mechanism in Type 2 Diabetes. Central obesity is known to predispose individuals for insulin resistance. Abdominal fat is especially active hormonally, secreting a group of hormones called adipokines that may possibly impair glucose tolerance. But adiponectin which is found in lower concentration in obese and diabetic individuals has shown to be beneficial and protective in Type 2 diabetes mellitus.[16][17]

Insulin resistance is a major feature of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (T2DM), and central obesity is correlated with both insulin resistance and T2DM itself.[18][19] Increased adiposity (obesity) raises serum resistin levels,[20][21][22][23] which in turn directly correlate to insulin resistance.[24][25][26][27] Studies have also confirmed a direct correlation between resistin levels and T2DM.[20][28][29][30] And it is waistline adipose tissue (central obesity) which seems to be the foremost type of fat deposits contributing to rising levels of serum resistin.[31][32] Conversely, serum resistin levels have been found to decline with decreased adiposity following medical treatment.[33]

Developing asthma due to abdominal obesity is also a main concern. As a result of breathing at low lung volume, the muscles are tighter and the airway is narrower. It is commonly seen that people who are obese breathe quickly and often, while inhaling small volumes of air.[34] People with obesity are also more likely to be hospitalized for asthma. A study has stated that 75% of patients treated for asthma in the emergency room were either overweight or obese.[35]

Based on studies, it is evident that obesity has a strong association with vascular and metabolic disease which could potentially be linked to Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies have also shown an association between mid-life obesity and dementia, but the relationship between later life obesity and dementia is less clear.[3] A study by Debette et al. (2010) examining over 700 adults found evidence to suggest higher volumes of visceral fat, regardless of overall weight, were associated with smaller brain volumes and increased risk of dementia.[36][37][38] Alzheimer's disease and abdominal obesity has a strong correlation and with metabolic factors added in, the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease was even higher. Based on logistic regression analyses, it was found that obesity was associated with an almost 10-fold increase risk of Alzheimer's disease.[3]

The currently prevalent belief is that the immediate cause of obesity is net energy imbalanceâ€”the organism consumes more usable calories than it expends, wastes, or discards through elimination. Some studies indicate that visceral adiposity, together with lipid dysregulation and decreased insulin sensitivity,[39] is related to the excessive consumption of fructose.[40][41][42] Greater meat consumption has also been positively associated with greater weight gain, and specifically abdominal obesity, even when accounting for calories.[43][44] Other environmental factors, such as maternal smoking, estrogenic compounds in the diet, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be important also.[45] Obesity plays an important role in the impairment of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism shown in high-carbohydrate diets.[46][unreliable source?] It has also been shown that quality protein intake during a 24-hour period and the number of times the essential amino acid threshold of approximately 10 g[47] has been achieved is inversely related to the percentage of central abdominal fat. Quality protein uptake is defined as the ratio of essential amino acids to daily dietary protein.[48]

Visceral fat cells will release their metabolic by-products in the portal circulation, where the blood leads straight to the liver. Thus, the excess of triglycerides and fatty acids created by the visceral fat cells will go into the liver and accumulate there. In the liver, most of it will be stored as fat. This concept is known as 'lipotoxicity'.[49]

Hypercortisolism, such as in Cushing's syndrome, also leads to central obesity. Many prescription drugs, such as dexamethasone and other steroids, can also have side effects resulting in central obesity,[50] especially in the presence of elevated insulin levels.

The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing in western populations, possibly due to a combination of low physical activity and high-calorie diets, and also in developing countries, where it is associated with the urbanization of populations.[2][51]

Waist measurement is more prone to errors than measuring height and weight. It is recommended to use both standards. BMI will illustrate the best estimate of your total body fatness, while waist measurement gives an estimate of visceral fat and risk of obesity-related disease.[52]

A study has shown that alcohol consumption is directly associated with waist circumference and with a higher risk of abdominal obesity in men, but not in women. Excluding energy under-reporters slightly attenuated these associations. After controlling for energy under-reporting, it was observed that increasing alcohol consumption significantly increased the risk of exceeding recommended energy intakes in male participants â€“ but not in the small number of female participants (2.13%) with elevated alcohol consumption, even after establishing a lower number of drinks per day to characterize women as consuming a high quantity of alcohol. Further study is needed to determine whether a significant relationship between alcohol consumption and abdominal obesity exists among women who consume higher amounts of alcohol.[53]

There are various ways of measuring abdominal obesity including:

In those with a BMI under 35, intra-abdominal body fat is related to negative health outcomes independent of total body fat.[58] Intra-abdominal or visceral fat has a particularly strong correlation with cardiovascular disease.[55]

BMI and waist measurements are well recognized ways to characterize obesity. However, waist measurements are not as accurate as BMI measurements. For this reason, it is recommended to use both methods of measurements.[59]

While central obesity can be obvious just by looking at the naked body (see the picture), the severity of central obesity is determined by taking waist and hip measurements. The absolute waist circumference 102 centimetres (40 in) in men and 88 centimetres (35 in) in women) and the waist-hip ratio (>0.9 for men and >0.85 for women)[55] are both used as measures of central obesity. A differential diagnosis includes distinguishing central obesity from ascites and intestinal bloating. In the cohort of 15,000 people participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), waist circumference explained obesity-related health risk better than the body mass index (or BMI) when metabolic syndrome was taken as an outcome measure and this difference was statistically significant. In other words, excessive waist circumference appears to be more of a risk factor for metabolic syndrome than BMI.[60] Another measure of central obesity which has shown superiority to BMI in predicting cardiovascular disease risk is the Index of Central Obesity (waist-to-height ratio - WHtR), where a ratio of >=0.5 (i.e. a waist circumference at least half of the individual's height) is predictive of increased risk.[61] Another diagnosis of obesity is the analysis of intra-abdominal fat having the most risk to one's personal health. The increased amount of fat in this region relates to the higher levels of plasma lipid and lipoproteins as per studies mentioned by Eric Poehlman (1998) review.[5] An increasing acceptance of the importance of central obesity within the medical profession as an indicator of health risk has led to new developments in obesity diagnosis such as the Body Volume Index, which measures central obesity by measuring a person's body shape and their weight distribution. The effect of abdominal adiposity occurs not just in those who are obese, but also affects people who are non-obese and it also contributes to insulin sensitivity

Index of Central Obesity (ICO) is the ratio of waist circumference and height first proposed by a Parikh et al. in 2007[56][62] as a better substitute to the widely used waist circumference in defining metabolic syndrome.[63] The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III suggested cut off of 102 cm (40 in) and 88 cm (35 in) for males and females as a marker of central obesity.[54] The same was used in defining metabolic syndrome.[64] Misra et al. suggested that these cutoffs are not applicable among Indians and the cutoffs be lowered to 90 cm (35 in) and 80 cm (31 in) for males and females.[65] Various race specific cutoffs were suggested by different groups.[citation needed] The International Diabetes Federation defined central obesity based on these various race and gender specific cutoffs.[66] The other limitation of waist circumference is that it can not be applied in children.[dubious – discuss]

Parikh et al. looked at the average heights of various races and suggested that by using ICO various race- and gender-specific cutoffs of waist circumference can be discarded.[63] An ICO cutoff of 0.5 was suggested as a criterion to define central obesity. Parikh et al. further tested a modified definition of metabolic syndrome in which waist circumference was replaced with ICO in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database and found the modified definition to be more specific and sensitive.[63]

This parameter has been used in the study of metabolic syndrome[67][68] and cardiovascular disease.[69]

50% of men and 70% of women in the United States between the ages of 50 and 79 years now exceed the waist circumference threshold for central obesity. [70]

When comparing the body fat of men and women it is seen that men have close to twice the visceral fat as that of pre-menopausal women. [71][72]

Central obesity is positively associated with coronary heart disease risk in women and men. It has been hypothesized that the sex differences in fat distribution may explain the sex difference in coronary heart disease risk.[73]

There are sex-dependent differences in regional fat distribution. In women, estrogen is believed to cause fat to be stored in the buttocks, thighs, and hips.[74] When women reach menopause and the estrogen produced by ovaries declines, fat migrates from their buttocks, hips, and thighs to their belly.[75][76]

Males are more susceptible to upper-body fat accumulation, most likely in the belly, due to sex hormone differences.[77] Abdominal obesity in males is correlated with comparatively low testosterone levels.[78] Testosterone administration significantly increased thigh muscle area, reduced subcutaneous fat deposition at all levels measured, but slightly increased the visceral fat area.[79]

Even with the differences, at any given level of central obesity measured as waist circumference or waist to hip ratio, coronary artery disease rates are identical in men and women.[80]

A permanent routine of exercise, eating healthily, and, during periods of being overweight, consuming the same number or fewer calories than used will prevent and help fight obesity.[81] A single pound of fat yields approximately 3500 calories of energy (32â€‰000 kJ energy per kilogram of fat), and weight loss is achieved by reducing energy intake,[82] or increasing energy expenditure, thus achieving a negative balance. Adjunctive therapies which may be prescribed by a physician are orlistat or sibutramine, although the latter has been associated with increased cardiovascular events and strokes and has been withdrawn from the market in the United States,[83] the UK,[84] the EU,[85] Australia,[86] Canada,[87] Hong Kong,[88] Thailand,[89] Egypt and Mexico.

A 2006 study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism,[90] suggests that combining cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise with resistance training is more effective than cardiovascular training alone in getting rid of abdominal fat. An additional benefit to exercising is that it reduces stress and insulin levels, which reduce the presence of cortisol, a hormone that leads to more belly fat deposits.[91]

Self-motivation by understanding the risks associated with abdominal obesity is widely regarded as being far more important than worries about cosmetics. In addition, understanding the health issues linked with abdominal obesity can help in the self-motivation process of losing the abdominal fat. As mentioned above, abdominal fat is linked with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Specifically it's the deepest layer of belly fat (the fat you cannot see or grab) that poses health risks, as these "visceral" fat cells produce hormones that can affect health (e.g. increased insulin resistance and/or breast cancer risk). The risk increases considering the fact that they are located in the proximity or in between organs in the abdominal cavity. For example, fat next to the liver drains into it, causing a fatty liver, which is a risk factor for insulin resistance, setting the stage for Type 2 diabetes.

In the presence of diabetes mellitus type 2, the physician might instead prescribe metformin and thiazolidinediones (rosiglitazone or pioglitazone) as antidiabetic drugs rather than sulfonylurea derivatives. Thiazolidinediones may cause slight weight gain but decrease "pathologic" abdominal fat (visceral fat), and therefore may be prescribed for diabetics with central obesity.[92] Thiazolidinedione has been associated with heart failure and increased cardiovascular risk; so it has been withdrawn from the market in Europe by EMA in 2010.[93]

Low-fat diets may not be an effective long-term intervention for obesity: as Bacon and Aphramor wrote, "The majority of individuals regain virtually all of the weight that was lost during treatment."[94] The Women's Health Initiative ("the largest and longest randomized, controlled dietary intervention clinical trial"[94]) found that long-term dietary intervention increased the waist circumference of both the intervention group and the control group, though the increase was smaller for the intervention group. The conclusion was that mean weight decreased significantly in the intervention group from baseline to year 1 by 2.2 kg (P<.001) and was 2.2 kg less than the control group change from baseline at year 1. This difference from baseline between control and intervention groups diminished over time, but a significant difference in weight was maintained through year 9, the end of the study.[95]

There is a common misconception that spot exercise (that is, exercising a specific muscle or location of the body) most effectively burns fat at the desired location, but this is not the case. Spot exercise is beneficial for building specific muscles, but it has little effect, if any, on fat in that area of the body, or on the body's distribution of body fat. The same logic applies to sit-ups and belly fat. Sit-ups, crunches and other abdominal exercises are useful in building the abdominal muscles, but they have little effect, if any, on the adipose tissue located there.[96]

Several colloquial terms used to refer to central obesity, and to people who have it, refer to beer drinking. However, there is little scientific evidence that beer drinkers are more prone to central obesity, despite its being known colloquially as "beer belly", "beer gut", or "beer pot". One of the few studies conducted on the subject did not find that beer drinkers are more prone to central obesity than nondrinkers or drinkers of wine or spirits.[97][98] Chronic alcoholism can lead to cirrhosis, symptoms of which include gynecomastia (enlarged breasts) and ascites (abdominal fluid). These symptoms can suggest the appearance of central obesity.

Deposits of excess fat at the sides of one's waistline are commonly referred to as "love handles".

Researchers in Copenhagen examined the relationship between waist circumferences and costs among 31,840 subjects aged 50–64 years of age with different waist circumferences. Their study showed that an increase in just an additional centimetre above normal waistline caused a 1.25% and 2.08% rise in health care costs in women and men respectively. To put this in perspective, a woman with a waistline of 95 cm. and without underlying health problems or co-morbidities can incur economic costs that are 22%, or 397 USD, higher per year than a woman with a normal waist circumference.[99]


what is the meaning of the term brand

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes an organization or product from its rivals in the eyes of the customer.[2][3] Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising. Name brands are sometimes distinguished from generic or store brands.

Brand

The practice of branding is thought to have begun with the ancient Egyptians who were known to have engaged in livestock branding as early as 2,700 BC.[4] Branding was used to differentiate one person’s cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal’s skin with a hot branding iron. If a person would steal the animals, anyone could detect the symbol and deduce the actual owner. However, the term has been extended to mean a strategic personality for a product or company, so that ‘brand’ now suggests the values and promises that a consumer may perceive and buy into. Over time, the practice of branding objects extended to a broader range of packaging and goods offered for sale including oil, wine, cosmetics and fish sauce.

Branding is a set of marketing and communication methods that help to distinguish a company or products from competitors, aiming to create a lasting impression in the minds of customers. The key components that form a brand's toolbox include a brandâ€™s identity, brand communication (such as by logos and trademarks), brand awareness, brand loyalty, and various branding (brand management) strategies.[5] Many companies believe that there is often little to differentiate between several types of products in the 21st century, and therefore branding is one of a few remaining forms of product differentiation.[6]

Brand equity is the measurable totality of a brand's worth and is validated by assessing the effectiveness of these branding components.[7] As markets become increasingly dynamic and fluctuating, brand equity is a marketing technique to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, with side effects like reduced price sensitivity.[5] A brand is in essence a promise to its customers of they can expect from their products, as well as emotional benefits.[5] When a customer is familiar with a brand, or favours it incomparably to its competitors, this is when a corporation has reached a high level of brand equity.[7] Special accounting standards have been devised to assess brand equity. In accounting, a brand defined as an intangible asset, is often the most valuable asset on a corporationâ€™s balance sheet. Brand owners manage their brands carefully to create shareholder value, and brand valuation is an important management technique that ascribes a monetary value to a brand, and allows marketing investment to be managed (e.g.: prioritized across a portfolio of brands) to maximize shareholder value. Although only acquired brands appear on a company's balance sheet, the notion of putting a value on a brand forces marketing leaders to be focused on long term stewardship of the brand and managing for value.

The word ‘brand’ is often used as a metonym referring to the company that is strongly identified with a brand. Marque or make are often used to denote a brand of motor vehicle, which may be distinguished from a car model. A concept brand is a brand that is associated with an abstract concept, like breast cancer awareness or environmentalism, rather than a specific product, service, or business. A commodity brand is a brand associated with a commodity.

The word, brand, derives from the ancient North Scandavian term “brandr” meaning "to burn." It is a reference to the practice of using branding irons to burn a mark into the hides of livestock, and may also refer to the practice of craftsmen engraving brand names into products, tools or personal belongings.[8]

Branding and labelling have a very ancient history. Branding probably began with the practice of branding livestock in order to deter theft. Images of branding oxen and cattle have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, dating to around 2,700 BCE.[9] Over time, purchasers realised that the brand provided information about origin as well as ownership, and could be used as a guide to quality. Branding was adapted for use on other types of goods such as pottery and ceramics. Some form of branding or proto-branding emerged spontaneously and independently throughout Africa, Asia and Europe at different times, depending on local conditions. Seals, which acted as quasi-brands, have been found on early Chinese products of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE); large numbers of seals from the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley (3300â€“1300 BCE) where the local community depended heavily on trade; cylinder seals were introduced in Ur, Mesopotamia in around 3,000 BCE and facilitated the labelling of goods and property; and the use of maker's marks on pottery was commonplace in both ancient Greece and Rome [10] Identity marks, such as stamps on ceramics, were also used in ancient Egypt.[11]

Diana Twede has argued that the "consumer packaging functions of protection, utility and communication have been necessary whenever packages were the object of transactions" (p.Â 107). She has shown that amphoras used in Mediterranean trade between 1500 and 500 BCE exhibited a wide variety of shapes and markings, which consumers used to glean information about the type of goods and the quality. Systematic use of stamped labels dates from around the fourth century BCE. In a largely pre-literate society, the shape of the amphora and its pictorial markings conveyed information about the contents, region of origin and even the identity of the producer which were understood to convey information about product quality.[12] David Wengrow has argued that branding became necessary following the urban revolution in ancient Mesopotamia in the 4th century BCE, when large-scale economies started mass-producing commodities such as alcoholic drinks, cosmetics and textiles. These ancient societies imposed strict forms of quality control over commodities, and also needed to convey value to the consumer through branding. Producers began by attaching simple stone seals to products which, over time, were transformed into clay seals bearing impressed images, often associated with the producer's personal identity thus giving the product a personality.[13] Not all historians agree that these markings are comparable with modern brands or labels, with some suggesting that the early pictorial brands or simple thumbprints used in pottery should be termed proto-brands[14] while other historians argue that the presence of these simple markings does not imply that mature brand management practices were at play.[15]

Numerous scholarly studies have found evidence of branding, packaging and labelling in antiquity.[16][17] Archaeological evidence of potters' stamps has been found across the breadth of the Roman Empire and in ancient Greece. Stamps were used on bricks, pottery, storage containers as well as fine ceramics.[18] Pottery marking was commonplace in ancient Greece by the 6th century BCE. A vase created in around 490 BCE bears the inscription “Sophilos painted me” indicating that the object was both fabricated and painted by a single potter.[19] Branding may have been necessary to support the extensive trade in such pots. For example, 3rd century Gaulish pots, bearing the names of well-known potters and the place of manufacture such as Attianus of Lezoux, Tetturo of Lezoux and Cinnamus of Vichy, have been found as far away as Essex and Hadrian's Wall in England.[20][21][22][23] English potters based at Colchester and Chichester were using stamps on their ceramic wares by the 1st century CE.[24] The use of hallmarks, a type of brand, on precious metals dates to around the 4th century CE. A series of five marks has been found on Byzantine silver dating from this period.[25]

Some of the earliest use of maker's marks, dating to about 1300 BCE, have been found in India.[9] The oldest generic brand, in continuous use in India since the Vedic period (ca. 1100 BCE to 500 BCE), is the herbal paste known as Chyawanprash, consumed for its purported health benefits and attributed to a revered rishi (or seer) named Chyawan.[26] One well-documented early, example of a highly developed brand is that of the White Rabbit brand of sewing needles, from China's Song Dynasty period (960- 1127 CE).[27][28] A copper printing plate used to print posters contained message, which roughly translates as: “Jinan Liu’s Fine Needle Shop: We buy high quality steel rods and make fine quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time.”[29] The plate also includes a trademark in the form of a 'White Rabbit" which signified good luck and was particularly relevant to women, who were the primary purchasers. Details in the image show a white rabbit crushing herbs, and included advice to shoppers to look for the stone white rabbit in front of the maker's shop.[30]

In ancient Rome, a commercial brand or inscription applied to objects offered for sale, was known as a titulus pictus. The inscription typically specified information such as place of origin, destination, type of product and occasionally quality claims or the name of the manufacturer.[31] Roman marks or inscriptions were applied to a very wide variety of goods including, pots, ceramics, amphorae (storage/ shipping containers)[14] and on factory-produced oil lamps.[32] Carbonized loaves of bread, found at Herculaneum, indicate that some bakers stamped their bread with the producer's name.[33] Roman glassmakers branded their works, with Ennion being the most prominent.[34]

One merchant who made good use of the titulus pictus was Umbricius Scauras, a manufacturer of fish sauce (also known as garum) in Pompeii, circa 35 CE. Mosaic patterns in the atrium of his house were decorated with images of amphorae bearing his personal brand and quality claims. The mosaic comprises four different amphora, one at each corner of the atrium, and bearing labels as follows:[35]

Scauras' fish sauce was known to be of very high quality across the Mediterranean and its reputation travelled as far away as modern France.[35] In both Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum, archaeological evidence also points to evidence of branding and labelling in relatively common use across a broad range of goods. Wine jars, for example, were stamped with names, such as "Lassius" and "L. Eumachius;" probably references to the name of the producer.

The use of identity marks on products declined following the fall of the Roman Empire. However, in the Middle Ages with the rise of the merchant's guilds, the use of marks resurfaced and was typically associated with specific types of goods. By the 13th century, the use of maker's marks was evident on a broad range of goods. In 1266, makers' marks on bread became compulsory. [36] The Italians used brands in the form of watermarks on paper in the 13th century.[37] Blind Stamps, hallmarks, and silver-makers' marks, all types of brand, became widely used across Europe during the this period. Hallmarks, although known from the 4th-century, especially in Byzantium,[38] only fell into general use during the Medieval period.[39] Hallmarks for silver and gold were introduced in Britain in 1300.[40]

Some brands, still in existence, date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries' period of mass production. Bass & Company, the British brewery founded in 1777, was a pioneer in international brand marketing. Many years before 1855 Bass applied a red triangle to casks of its Pale Ale. In 1876 their red-triangle brand became the first registered trademark issued by the British government.[41] Tate & Lyle of Lyle's Golden Syrup is recognized by Guinness World Records as Britain's, and the world's, oldest branding and packaging, with its green-and-gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885.[42] Twinings Tea has used the same logo — capitalized font beneath a lion crest — since 1787, making it the world's oldest in continuous use.[43][44]

The widespread use of modern brands is associated with 19th century mass-marketing originating with the advent of packaged goods.[9] Industrialization moved the production of many household items, such as soap, from local communities to centralized factories. When shipping their items, the factories would literally brand their logo or company insignia on the barrels used, effectively using a corporate trademark as a quasi-brand.[46]

Factories established during the Industrial Revolution introduced mass-produced goods and needed to sell their products to a wider market - to customers previously familiar only with locally produced goods. It quickly became apparent that a generic package of soap had difficulty competing with familiar, local products. Packaged-goods manufacturers needed to convince the market that the public could place just as much trust in the non-local product. Gradually, manufacturers began using personal identifiers to differentiate their goods from generic products on the market. Marketers soon realised that brands to which personalities were attached outsold rival brands. By the 1880s, large manufacturers had learned to imbue their brands' identity with personality traits such as youthfulness, fun, sex appeal, luxury or the 'cool' factor. This began the modern practice now known as branding, where the consumers buy the brand instead of the product and rely on the brand name instead of the retailer.

The process of giving a brand "human" characteristics was, at least in part, a response to consumer concerns about mass produced goods. [47] The Quaker Oats Company began using the image of the Quaker man in place of a trademark from the late 1870s, with great success. [48] Pears' soap, Campbell's soup, Coca-Cola, Juicy Fruit chewing gum and Aunt Jemima pancake mix were also among the first products to be "branded" in an effort to increase the consumer's familiarity with the product's merits. Other brands which date from that era, such as Uncle Ben's rice and Kellogg's breakfast cereal, furnish illustrations of the trend.

By the early 1900s, trade press, advertising agencies and advertising experts began producing books and pamphlets exhorting manufacturers to bypass retailers and advertise direct to consumers with strongly branded messages. Around 1900, advertising guru, James Walter Thompson, published a house advertisement explaining trademark advertising. This was an early commercial explanation of what is now recognized as modern branding and the beginnings of brand management. [49] This trend continued to the 1980s, and is now quantified in concepts such as brand value and brand equity. Naomi Klein has described this development as "brand equity mania".[50] In 1988, for example, Philip Morris purchased Kraft for six times what the company was worth on paper. Business analysts have reported that what they really purchased was its brand name.

With the rise of mass media in the early 20th century, companies soon adopted techniques that would allow their messages to stand out; slogans, mascots, and jingles began to appear on radio in the 1920s and early television in the 1930s. Many of the earliest radio drama series were sponsored by soap manufacturers and the genre became known as a soap opera.[51] By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense.[52]

April 2, 1993, or Marlboro Friday, is often considered the death of the brand.[50] Philip Morris, after more than 50 years investment in advertising to build a premium brand image, announced a 20% price cut for of Marlboro cigarettes in order to compete with generic cigarettes. In response to the announcement, advertising expenditure declined and Wall Street stocks nose-dived[50] for a large number of branded companies: Heinz, Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats, PepsiCo, Tide, and Lysol. Some analysts thought the event signalled the beginning of a trend towards "brand blindness" (Klein 13), questioning the power of "brand value," however the fall proved to be short-lived.

Effective branding can result in higher sales of not only one product, but of other products associated with that brand.[citation needed] If a customer loves Pillsbury biscuits and trusts the brand, he or she is more likely to try other products offered by the company - such as chocolate-chip cookies, for example. Brand development, often the task of a design team, takes time to produce.

A brand name is the part of a brand that can be spoken or written and identifies a product, service or company and sets it apart from other comparable products within a category. A brand name may include words, phrases, signs, symbols, designs, or any combination of these elements. For consumers, a brand name is a "memory heuristic"; a convenient way to remember preferred product choices. A brand name is not to be confused with a trademark which refers to the brand name or part of a brand that is legally protected. [53] For example, Coca-Cola not only protects the brand name, Coca-Cola, but also protects the distinctive Spencerian script and the contoured shape of the bottle.

Simply, the brand identity is a set of individual components, such as a name, a design, a set of imagery, a slogan, a vision, etc. which set the brand aside from others.[54][55] In order for a company to exude a strong sense of brand identity, it must have an in-depth understanding of its target market, competitors and the surrounding business environment.[5] Brand identity includes both the core identity and the extended identity.[5] The core identity reflects consistent long-term associations with the brand; whereas the extended identity involves the intricate details of the brand that help generate a constant motif.[5]

According to Kotler et al. (2009), a brand's identity may deliver four levels of meaning:

A brand's attributes are a set of labels with which the corporation wishes to be associated. For example, a brand may showcase its primary attribute as environmental friendliness. However, a brand's attributes alone are not enough to persuade a customer into purchasing the product.[54] These attributes must be communicated through benefits, which are more emotional translations. If a brand's attribute is being environmentally friendly, customers will receive the benefit of feeling that they are helping the environment by associating with the brand. Aside from attributes and benefits, a brand's identity may also involve branding to focus on representing its core set of values.[54] If a company is seen to symbolise specific values, it will, in turn, attract customers who also believe in these values.[citation needed] For example, Nike's brand represents the value of a "just do it" attitude.[citation needed] Thus, this form of brand identification attracts customers who also share this same value. Even more extensive than its perceived values is a brand's personality.[54] Quite literally, one can easily describe a successful brand identity as if it were a person.[54] This form of brand identity has proven to be the most advantageous in maintaining long-lasting relationships with consumers, as it gives them a sense of personal interaction with the brand [56] Collectively, all four forms of brand identification help to deliver a powerful meaning behind what a corporation hopes to accomplish, and to explain why customers should choose one brand over its competitors.[5]

Brand personality refers to “the set of human personality traits that are both applicable to and relevant for brands.” [57] Marketers and consumer researchers often argue that brands can be imbued with human-like characteristics which resonate with potential consumers.[58] Such personality traits can assist marketers to create unique, brands that are differentiated from rival brands. Aaker conceptualised brand personality as consisting of five broad dimensions, namely: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness.[59] Subsequent research studies have suggested that Aaker's dimensions of brand personality are relatively stable across different industries, market segments and over time. Much of the literature on branding suggests that consumers prefer brands with personalities that are congruent with their own.[60][61]

Consumers may distinguish the psychological aspect (brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand) of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is termed the consumer's brand experience. The brand is often intended to create an emotional response and recognition, leading to potential loyalty and repeat purchases. The brand experience is a brand's action perceived by a person.[citation needed] The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product, with a service, or with the companies providing them.[citation needed]

Marketers or product managers responsible for branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique.[citation needed] A brand can therefore become one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace.[clarification needed] The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management. Orientation of an entire organization towards its brand is called brand orientation. Brand orientation develops in response to market intelligence.[citation needed]

Careful brand management seeks to make products or services relevant and meaningful to a target audience. Marketers tend to treat brands as more than the difference between the actual cost of a product and its selling price; rather brands represent the sum of all valuable qualities of a product to the consumer and are often treated as the total investment in brand building activities including marketing communications.[62]

Consumers may look on branding as an aspect of products or services,[citation needed] as it often serves to denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic (see also brand promise). From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services can command higher prices. Where two products resemble each other, but one of the products has no associated branding (such as a generic, store-branded product), potential purchasers may often select the more expensive branded product on the basis of the perceived quality of the brand or on the basis of the reputation of the brand owner.

Brand awareness involves a customers' ability to recall and/or recognize brands, logos and branded advertising. Brands helps customers to understand which brands or products belong to which product or service category. Brands assist customers to understand the constellation of benefits offered by individual brands, and how a given brand within a category is differentiated from competing brands, and thus the brand helps customers understand which brand satisfies their needs. Thus, the brand offers the customer a short-cut to understanding the different product or service offerings that make up a category.

Brand awareness is a key step in the customer's purchase decision process, since some kind of awareness is a precondition to purchasing. That is, customers will not consider a brand if they are not aware of it.[63] Brand awareness is a key component in understanding the effectiveness both of a brand's identity and of its communication methods.[64] Successful brands are those that consistently generate a high level of brand awareness, as this can often[quantify] be the pivotal factor in securing customer transactions.[65] Various forms of brand awareness can be identified. Each form reflects a different stage in a customer's cognitive ability to address the brand in a given circumstance.[7]

Marketers typically identify two distinct types of brand awareness; namely brand recall (also known as unaided recall or occasionally spontaneous recall) and brand recognition (also known as aided brand recall).[66] These types of awareness operate in entirely different ways with important implications for marketing strategy and advertising.

Brand recognition is one of the initial phases of brand awareness and validates whether or not a customer remembers being pre-exposed to the brand.[65] Brand recognition (also known as aided brand recall) refers to consumers' ability to correctly differentiate a brand when they come into contact with it. This does not necessarily require that the consumers identify or recall the brand name. When customers experience brand recognition, they are triggered by either a visual or verbal cue.[7] For example, when looking to satisfy a category need such as toilet paper, the customer would firstly be presented with multiple brands to choose from. Once the customer is visually or verbally faced with a brand, he/she may remember being introduced to the brand before. When given some type of cue, consumers who are able to retrieve the particular memory node that referred to the brand, they exhibit brand recognition.[7] Often, this form of brand awareness assists customers in choosing one brand over another when faced with a low-involvement purchasing decision.[67]

Brand recognition is often the mode of brand awareness that operates in retail shopping environments. When presented with a product at the point-of-sale, or after viewing its visual packaging, consumers are able to recognize the brand and may be able to associate it with attributes or meanings acquired through exposure to promotion or word-of-mouth referrals. [68] In contrast to brand recall, where few consumers are able to spontaneously recall brand names within a given category, when prompted with a brand name, a larger number of consumers are typically able to recognize it.

Brand recognition is most successful when people can elicit recognition without being explicitly exposed to the company's name, but rather through visual signifiers like logos, slogans, and colors.[69] For example, Disney successfully branded its particular script font (originally created for Walt Disney's "signature" logo), which it used in the logo for go.com.

Unlike brand recognition, brand recall (also known as unaided brand recall or spontaneous brand recall "requires that the consumers correctly retrieve the brand from memory".[7] Rather than being given a choice of multiple brands to satisfy a need, consumers are faced with a need first, and then must recall a brand from their memory to satisfy that need. This level of brand awareness is stronger than brand recognition, as the brand must be firmly cemented in the consumer's memory to enable unassisted remembrance.[65] Thus, brand recall is a confirmation that previous branding touchpoints have successfully fermented in the minds of its consumers.[67]

Marketing-mix modeling can help marketing leaders optimize how they spend marketing budgets to maximize the impact on brand awareness or on sales. Managing brands for value creation will often involve applying marketing-mix modeling techniques in conjunction with brand valuation.[citation needed]

Brands typically comprise various elements, such as:[70]

Although brand identity is regarded[by whom?] as the most fundamental asset to a brand's equity, the worth of a brand's identity would become obsolete without ongoing brand communication.[72] Integrated marketing communications (IMC) relates to how a brand transmits a clear consistent message to its stakeholders.[64] Five key components comprise IMC:[54]

The effectiveness of a brand's communication is determined by how accurately the customer perceives the brand's intended message through its IMC. Although IMC is a broad strategic concept, the most crucial brand communication elements are pinpointed[by whom?] to how the brand sends a message and what touch points the brand uses to connect with its customers.[64]

One can analyse the traditional communication model into several consecutive steps:[54]

When a brand communicates a brand identity to a receiver, it runs the risk of the receiver incorrectly interpreting the message. Therefore, a brand should use appropriate communication channels to positively "â€¦affect how the psychological and physical aspects of a brand are perceived" [74]

In order for brands to effectively communicate to customers, marketers must "…consider all touch points, or sources of contact, that a customer has with the brand".[75][page needed] Touch points represent the channel stage in the traditional communication model, where a message travels from the sender to the receiver. Any point where a customer has an interaction with the brand - whether watching a television advertisement, hearing about a brand through word of mouth, or even noticing a branded license plate - defines a touch point. According to Dalen et al. (2010), every touch point has the "…potential to add positive - or suppress negative - associations to the brand's equity" [74] Thus a brand's IMC should cohesively deliver positive messages through appropriate touch points associated with its target market. One methodology involves using sensory stimuli touch points to activate customer emotion.[75] For example, if a brand consistently uses a pleasant smell as a primary touch point, the brand has a much higher chance of creating a positive lasting effect on its customers' senses as well as memory.[56] Another way a brand can ensure that it is utilising the best communication channel, is by focusing on touch points that suit particular areas associated with customer experience.[54] As suggested Figure 2, certain touch points link with a specific stage in customer-brand-involvement. For example, a brand may recognize that advertising touch points are most effective during the pre-purchase experience stage therefore they may target their advertisements to new customers rather than to existing customers. Overall, a brand has the ability to strengthen brand equity by using IMC branding communications through touch points.[75]

Brand communication is important in ensuring brand success in the business world and refers to how businesses transmit their brand messages, characteristics and attributes to their consumers.[76] One method of brand communication which companies can exploit involves electronic word-of mouth (eWOM). EWoM is a relatively new[when?] approach identified[by whom?] to communicate with consumers. One popular method of eWOM involves social networking sites (SNSs) such as Twitter.[77] A study found that consumers classed their relationship with a brand as closer if that brand was active on a specific social media site (Twitter). Research further found that the more consumers "retweeted" and communicated with a brand, the more they trusted the brand. This suggests that a company could look to employ a social-media campaign to gain consumer trust and loyalty as well as in the pursuit of communicating brand messages.

McKee (2014) also looked into brand communication and states that when communicating a brand, a company should look to simplify its message as this will lead to more value being portrayed as well as an increased chance of target consumers recalling and recognizing the brand.[78]

In 2012 Riefler stated that if the company communicating a brand is a global organisation or has future global aims, that company should look to employ a method of communication which is globally appealing to their consumers, and subsequently choose a method of communication with will be internationally understood.[79] One way a company can do this involves choosing a product or service's brand name, as this name will need to be suitable for the marketplace that it aims to enter.[80]

It is important that if a company wishes to develop a global market, the company name will also need to be suitable in different cultures and not cause offense or be misunderstood.[81] It has also been found[by whom?] that when communicating a brand a company needs to be aware that they must not just visually communicate their brand message and should take advantage of portraying their message through multi-sensory information.[82] One article suggests that other senses, apart from vision, need to be targeted when trying to communicate a brand with consumers.[83] For example, a jingle or background music can have a positive effect on brand recognition, purchasing behaviour and brand recall.

Therefore, when looking to communicate a brand with chosen consumers, companies should investigate a channel of communication which is most suitable for their short-term and long-term aims and should choose a method of communication which is most likely to be adhered to[clarification needed] by their chosen consumers.[79] The match-up between the product, the consumer lifestyle, and the endorser is important for effectiveness of brand communication.

The term "brand name" is quite often used interchangeably with "brand", although it is more correctly used to specifically denote written or spoken linguistic elements of any product. In this context a "brand name" constitutes a type of trademark, if the brand name exclusively identifies the brand owner as the commercial source of products or services. A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand name through trademark registration - such trademarks are called "Registered Trademarks"[citation needed]. Advertising spokespersons have also become part of some brands, for example: Mr. Whipple of Charmin toilet tissue and Tony the Tiger of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. Putting a value on a brand by brand valuation or using marketing mix modeling techniques is distinct to valuing a trademark.

Brand names come in many styles.[84] A few include:

The act of associating a product or service with a brand has become part of pop culture. Most products have some kind of brand identity, from common table salt to designer jeans. A brandnomer is a brand name that has colloquially become a generic term for a product or service, such as Band-Aid, Nylon, or Kleenexâ€”which are often used to describe any brand of adhesive bandage; any type of hosiery; or any brand of facial tissue respectively. Xerox, for example, has become synonymous with the word "copy".

A brand line allows the introduction of various subtypes of a product under a common, ideally already established, brand name. Examples would be the individual Kinder Chocolates by Ferrero SA, the subtypes of Coca-Cola, or special editions of popular brands. See also brand extension.

Open Knowledge Foundation created in December 2013 the BSIN (Brand Standard Identification Number). BSIN is universal and is used by the Open Product Data Working Group [85] of the Open Knowledge Foundation to assign a brand to a product. The OKFN Brand repository is critical for the Open Data movement.

The outward expression of a brand – including its name, trademark, communications, and visual appearance – is brand identity.[86] Because the identity is assembled by the brand owner, it reflects how the owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand – and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. This is in contrast to the brand image, which is a customer's mental picture of a brand.[86] The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

Brand identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential consumers. However, over time, a product's brand identity may acquire (evolve), gaining new attributes from consumer perspective but not necessarily from the marketing communications an owner percolates to targeted consumers. Therefore, businesses research consumer's brand associations.

A brand can also be used to attract customers by a company, if the brand of a company is well established and has goodwill. The recognition and perception of a brand is highly influenced by its visual presentation. A brand's visual identity is the overall look of its communications. Effective visual brand identity is achieved by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create distinction, such as specific fonts, colors, and graphic elements. At the core of every brand identity is a brand mark, or logo. In the United States, brand identity and logo design naturally grew out of the Modernist movement in the 1950s and greatly drew on the principles of that movement â€“ simplicity (Mies van der Rohe's principle of "Less is more") and geometric abstraction. These principles can be observed in the work of the pioneers of the practice of visual brand identity design, such as [Lippincott and Margulies], Paul Rand, Chermayeff & Geismar (later Chermayeff, Geismar & Haviv), and Saul Bass. As part of a company's brand identity, a logo should complement the company's message strategy. An effective logo is simple, memorable, and works well in any medium including both online and offline applications.[citation needed]

Color is a particularly important element of visual brand identity and color mapping provides an effective way of ensuring color contributes to differentiation in a visually cluttered marketplace (O'Connor, 2011).[87]

Brand trust is the intrinsic 'believability' that any entity evokes. In the commercial world, the intangible aspect of brand trust impacts the behavior and performance of its business stakeholders in many intriguing ways. It creates the foundation of a strong brand connect with all stakeholders, converting simple awareness to strong commitment. This, in turn, metamorphoses normal people who have an indirect or direct stake in the organization into devoted ambassadors, leading to concomitant advantages like easier acceptability of brand extensions, the perception of premium, and acceptance of temporary quality deficiencies. Brand trust is often used as an important part of developing the portrayal of the business globally. Foreign companies will often use names that are associated with quality, in order to entrust the brand itself. An example would be a Chinese company using a German name.

The Brand Trust Report is a syndicated primary research that has elaborated on this metric of brand trust. It is a result of action, behavior, communication and attitude of an entity, with the most trust results emerging from its action component. Action of the entity is most important in creating trust in all those audiences who directly engage with the brand, the primary experience carrying primary audiences. However, the tools of communications play a vital role in the transferring the trust experience to audiences which have never experienced the brand, the all-important secondary audience.

Brand parity is the perception of the customers that some brands are equivalent.[88] This means that shoppers will purchase within a group of accepted brands rather than choosing one specific brand. When brand parity operates, quality is often not a major concern because consumers believe that only minor quality differences exist.

Branding was meant[by whom?] to make identifying and differentiating a product easier, while also providing the benefit of letting the name sell a second-rate product. Over time, brands came to embrace a performance or benefit promise, for the product, certainly, but eventually also for the company behind the brand.

Today, brands play a much bigger role. Brands have been co-opted[by whom?] as powerful symbols in larger debates about economics, social issues, and politics. The power of brands to communicate a complex message quickly, with emotional impact and with the ability of brands to attract media attention, makes them ideal tools in the hands of activists.[89] Cultural conflict over a brand's meaning has also been shown[by whom?] to influence the diffusion of an innovation.[90]

Often, especially in the industrial sector, it is just the company's name which is promoted (leading to[citation needed] one of the most powerful statements of branding: saying just before the company's downgrading. This approach has not worked as well for General Motors, which recently overhauled how its corporate brand relates to the product brands.[91]) Exactly how the company name relates to product and services names is known as brand architecture. Decisions about company names and product names and their relationship depends on more than a dozen strategic considerations.[92]

In this case, a strong brand name (or company name) is made the vehicle for a range of products (for example, Mercedes-Benz or Black & Decker) or a range of subsidiary brands (such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Flake, or Cadbury Fingers in the UK).

Each brand has a separate name (such as Seven-Up, Kool-Aid, or Nivea Sun (Beiersdorf), which may compete against other brands from the same company (for example, Persil, Omo, Surf, and Lynx are all owned by Unilever).

A challenger brand is a brand in an industry where it is neither the market leader or a niche brand. Challenger brands are categorised by a mindset which sees them have business ambitions beyond conventional resources and an intent to bring change to an industry.

Multiproduct branding strategy is when a company uses one name across all their products in a product class. When the company's trade name is used, multiproduct branding is also known as corporate branding, family branding or umbrella branding. Examples of companies that use corporate branding are Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, and Sony as the company's brand name is identical to their trade name. Other examples of multiproduct branding strategy include Virgin and Church & Dwight. Virgin, a multination conglomerate uses the punk inspired, handwritten red logo with the iconic tick for all its products ranging from airlines, hot air balloons, telecommunication to healthcare. Church & Dwight, a manufacturer of household products displays the Arm & Hammer family brand name for all its products containing baking soda as the main ingredient. Multiproduct branding strategy has many advantages. It capitalises on brand equity as consumers that have a good experience with the product will in turn pass on this positive opinion to supplementary objects in the same product class as they share the same name. Consequently, the multiproduct branding strategy makes product line extension possible.

Product line extension is the procedure of entering a new market segment in its product class by means of using a current brand name. An example of this is the Campbell Soup Company, predominately a producer of canned soups. They utilize a multiproduct branding strategy by way of soup line extensions. They have over 100 soup flavours putting forward varieties such as regular Campbell soup, condensed, chunky, fresh-brewed, organic, and soup on the go. This approach is seen as favourable as it can result in a lower promotion costs and advertising due to the same name being used on all products, therefore increasing the level of brand awareness. Although, line extension has potential negative outcomes with one being that other items in the company's line may be disadvantaged because of the sale of the extension. Line extensions work at their best when they deliver an increase in company revenue by enticing new buyers or by removing sales from competitors.

Subbranding is used by certain multiproduct branding companies. Subbranding merges a corporate, family or umbrella brand with the introduction of a new brand in order to differentiate part of a product line from others in the whole brand system. Subbranding assists to articulate and construct offerings. It can alter a brand's identity as subbranding can modify associations of the parent brand. Examples of successful subbranding can be seen through Gatorade and Porsche. Gatorade, a manufacturer of sport-themed food and beverages effectively introduced Gatorade G2, a low-calorie line of Gatorade drinks. Likewise, Porsche, a specialised automobile manufacturer successfully markets its lower-end line, Porsche Boxster and higher-end line, Porsche Carrera.

Brand extension is the system of employing a current brand name to enter a different product class. Having a strong brand equity allows for brand extension. Nevertheless, brand extension has its disadvantages. There is a risk that too many uses for one brand name can oversaturate the market resulting in a blurred and weak brand for consumers. Examples of brand extension can be seen through Kimberly-Clark and Honda. Kimberly-Clark is a corporation that produces personal and health care products being able to extend the Huggies brand name across a full line of toiletries for toddlers and babies. The success of this brand extension strategy is apparent in the $500 million in annual sales generated globally. Similarly, Honda using their reputable name for automobiles has spread to other products such as motorcycles, power equipment, engines, robots, aircraft, and bikes.

Co-branding is a variation of brand extension. It is where a single product is created from the combining of two brand names of two manufacturers. Co-branding has its advantages as it lets firms enter new product classes and exploit a recognized brand name in that product class. An example of a co-branding success is Whitaker's working with Lewis Road Creamery to create a co-branded beverage called Lewis Road Creamery and Whittaker's Chocolate Milk. This product was a huge success in the New Zealand market with it going viral.

Multibranding strategy is when a company gives each product a distinct name. Multibranding is best used as an approach when each brand in intended for a different market segment. Multibranding is used in an assortment of ways with selected companies grouping their brands based on price-quality segments. Procter & Gamble (P&G), a multinational consumer goods company that offers over 100 brands, each suited for different consumer needs. For instance, Head & Shoulders that helps consumers relieve dandruff in the form of a shampoo, Oral-B which offers inter-dental products, Vicks which offers cough and cold products, and Downy which offers dryer sheets and fabric softeners. Other examples include Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Kellogg's, and Mars.

This approach usually results in higher promotion costs and advertising. This is due to the company being required to generate awareness among consumers and retailers for each new brand name without the benefit of any previous impressions. Multibranding strategy has many advantages. There is no risk that a product failure will affect other products in the line as each brand is unique to each market segment. Although, certain large multiband companies have come across that the cost and difficulty of implementing a multibranding strategy can overshadow the benefits. For example, Unilever, the world's third-largest multination consumer goods company recently streamlined its brands from over 400 brands to centre their attention onto 14 brands with sales of over 1 billion euros. Unilever accomplished this through product deletion and sales to other companies. Other multibrand companies introduce new product brands as a protective measure to respond to competition called fighting brands or fighter brands.

The main purpose of fighting brands is to challenge competitor brands. For example, Qantas, Australia's largest flag carrier airline, introduced Jetstar to go head-to-head against the low-cost carrier, Virgin Australia (formerly known as Virgin Blue). Jetstar is an Australian low-cost airline for budget conscious travellers, but it receives many negative reviews due to this. The launching of Jetstar allowed Qantas to rival Virgin Australia without the criticism being affiliated with Qantas because of the distinct brand name.

Private branding (also known as reseller branding, private labelling, store brands, or own brands) have increased in popularity. Private branding is when a company manufactures products but it is sold under the brand name of a wholesaler or retailer. Private branding is popular because it typically produces high profits for manufacturers and resellers. The pricing of private brand product are usually cheaper compared to competing name brands. Consumers are commonly deterred by these prices as it sets a perception of lower quality and standard but these views are shifting.

In Australia, their leading supermarket chains, both Woolworths and Coles are saturated with store brands (or private labels). For example, in the United States, Paragon Trade Brands, Ralcorp Holdings, and Rayovac are major suppliers of diapers, grocery products, and private label alkaline batteries, correspondingly. Costco, Walmart, RadioShack, Sears, and Kroger are large retailers that have their own brand names. Similarly, Macy's, a mid-range chain of department stores offers a wide catalogue of private brands exclusive to their stores, from brands such as First Impressions which supply newborn and infant clothing, Hotel Collection which supply luxury linens and mattresses, and Tasso Elba which supply European inspired menswear. They use private branding strategy to specifically target consumer markets.

Mixed branding strategy is where a firm markets products under its own name(s) and that of a reseller because the segment attracted to the reseller is different from its own market. For example, Elizabeth Arden, Inc., a major American cosmetics and fragrance company, uses mixed branding strategy. The company sells its Elizabeth Arden brand through department stores and line of skin care products at Walmart with the "skin simple" brand name. Companies such as Whirlpool, Del Monte, and Dial produce private brands of home appliances, pet foods, and soap, correspondingly. Other examples of mixed branding strategy include Michelin, Epson, Microsoft, Gillette, and Toyota. Michelin, one of the largest tire manufacturers allowed Sears, an American retail chain to place their brand name on the tires. Microsoft, a multinational technology company is seriously regarded as a corporate technology brand but it sells its versatile home entertainment hub under the brand Xbox to better align with the new and crazy identity. Gillette catered to females with Gillette for Women which has now become known as Venus. The launch of Venus was conducted in order to fulfil the feminine market of the previously dominating masculine razor industry. Similarly, Toyota, an automobile manufacturer used mixed branding. In the U.S., Toyota was regarded as a valuable car brand being economical, family orientated and known as a vehicle that rarely broke down. But Toyota sought out to fulfil a higher end, expensive market segment, thus they created Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of premium cars.

Attitude branding is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all. Marketing labeled as attitude branding include that of Nike, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Safeway, and Apple Inc.. In the 2000 book No Logo,[50] Naomi Klein describes attitude branding as a "fetish strategy". Schaefer and Kuehlwein analyzed brands such as Apple, Ben & Jerry's or Chanel describing them as 'Ueber-Brands' - brands that are able to gain and retain "meaning beyond the material."[93][94]

A great brand raises the bar – it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters. – Howard Schultz (President, CEO, and Chairman of Starbucks)

Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that contribute to consumer's self-expression and personal identity. Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value are said to be "identity brands". Some of these brands have such a strong identity that they become more or less cultural icons which makes them "iconic brands". Examples are: Apple, Nike, and Harley-Davidson. Many iconic brands include almost ritual-like behaviour in purchasing or consuming the products.

There are four key elements to creating iconic brands (Holt 2004):

Schaefer and Kuehlwein propose the following 'Ueber-Branding' principles. They derived them from studying successful modern Prestige brands and what elevates them above mass competitors and beyond considerations of performance and price (alone) in the minds of consumers:[95]

Recently, a number of companies have successfully pursued "no-brand" strategies by creating packaging that imitates generic brand simplicity. Examples include the Japanese company Muji, which means "No label" in English (from 無印良品 – "Mujirushi Ryohin" – literally, "No brand quality goods"), and the Florida company No-Ad Sunscreen. Although there is a distinct Muji brand, Muji products are not branded. This no-brand strategy means that little is spent on advertisement or classical marketing and Muji's success is attributed to the word-of-mouth, a simple shopping experience and the anti-brand movement.[101][102][103] "No brand" branding may be construed as a type of branding as the product is made conspicuous through the absence of a brand name. "Tapa Amarilla" or "Yellow Cap" in Venezuela during the 1980s is another good example of no-brand strategy. It was simply recognized by the color of the cap of this cleaning products company.

In this case the supplier of a key component, used by a number of suppliers of the end-product, may wish to guarantee its own position by promoting that component as a brand in its own right. The most frequently quoted example is Intel, which positions itself in the PC market with the slogan (and sticker) "Intel Inside".

The existing strong brand name can be used as a vehicle for new or modified products; for example, many fashion and designer companies extended brands into fragrances, shoes and accessories, home textile, home decor, luggage, (sun-) glasses, furniture, hotels, etc.

Mars extended its brand to ice cream, Caterpillar to shoes and watches, Michelin to a restaurant guide, Adidas and Puma to personal hygiene. Dunlop extended its brand from tires to other rubber products such as shoes, golf balls, tennis racquets, and adhesives. Frequently, the product is no different from what else is on the market, except a brand name marking. Brand is product identity.

There is a difference between brand extension and line extension. A line extension is when a current brand name is used to enter a new market segment in the existing product class, with new varieties or flavors or sizes. When Coca-Cola launched "Diet Coke" and "Cherry Coke", they stayed within the originating product category: non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. Procter & Gamble (P&G) did likewise extending its strong lines (such as Fairy Soap) into neighboring products (Fairy Liquid and Fairy Automatic) within the same category, dish washing detergents.

The risk of over-extension is brand dilution where the brand loses its brand associations with a market segment, product area, or quality, price or cachet.[citation needed]

In 'The Better Mousetrap: Brand Invention in a Media Democracy' (2012), author and brand strategist Simon Pont posits that social media brands may be the most evolved version of the brand form, because they focus not on themselves but on their users. In so doing, social media brands are arguably more charismatic, in that consumers are compelled to spend time with them, because the time spent is in the meeting of fundamental human drivers related to belonging and individualism. "We wear our physical brands like badges, to help define us â€“ but we use our digital brands to help express who we are. They allow us to be, to hold a mirror up to ourselves, and it is clear. We like what we see." [104]

Alternatively, in a market that is fragmented amongst a number of brands a supplier can choose deliberately to launch totally new brands in apparent competition with its own existing strong brand (and often with identical product characteristics); simply to soak up some of the share of the market which will in any case go to minor brands. The rationale is that having 3 out of 12 brands in such a market will give a greater overall share than having 1 out of 10 (even if much of the share of these new brands is taken from the existing one). In its most extreme manifestation, a supplier pioneering a new market which it believes will be particularly attractive may choose immediately to launch a second brand in competition with its first, in order to pre-empt others entering the market. This strategy is widely known as multi-brand strategy.

Individual brand names naturally allow greater flexibility by permitting a variety of different products, of differing quality, to be sold without confusing the consumer's perception of what business the company is in or diluting higher quality products.

Procter & Gamble is a leading exponent of this approach to branding, running as many as ten detergent brands in the US market. This also increases the total number of "facings" it receives on supermarket shelves. Sara Lee, on the other hand, uses the approach to keep the very different parts of the business separateâ€”from Sara Lee cakes through Kiwi polishes to L'Eggs pantyhose. In the hotel business, Marriott uses the name Fairfield Inns for its budget chain (and Choice Hotels uses Rodeway for its own cheaper hotels).

Cannibalization is a particular challenge with a multi-brand strategy approach, in which the new brand takes business away from an established one which the organization also owns. This may be acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall. Alternatively, it may be the price the organization is willing to pay for shifting its position in the market; the new product being one stage in this process.

Private label brands, also called own brands, or store brands have become popular. Where the retailer has a particularly strong identity (such as Marks & Spencer in the UK clothing sector) this "own brand" may be able to compete against even the strongest brand leaders, and may outperform those products that are not otherwise strongly branded.

Designer Private Labels

A relatively recent innovation in retailing is the introduction of designer private labels. Designer-private labels involve a collaborative contract between a well-known fashion designer and a retailer. Both retailer and designer collaborate to design goods with popular appeal pitched at price points that fit the consumerâ€™s budget. For retail outlets, these types of collaborations give them greater control over the design process as well as access to exclusive store brands that can potentially drive store traffic.

In Australia, for example, the department store, Myer, now offers a range of exclusive designer private labels including Jayson Brundson, Karen Walker, Leona Edmiston, Wayne Cooper, Fleur Wood and ‘L’ for Lisa Ho.[105] Another up-market department store, David Jones, currently offers ‘Collette’ for leading Australian designer, Collette Dinnigan, and has recently announced its intention to extend the number of exclusive designer brands.[106] Target has teamed up with Danii Minogue to produce her “Petites’ range.[107] Specsavers has joined up with Sydney designer, Alex Perry to create an exclusive range of spectacle frames while Big W stocks frames designed by Peter Morrissey.

With the development of brand, Branding is no longer limited to a product or service.[108] There are kinds of branding that treat individuals and organizations as the products to be branded. Most NGOs and non-profit organizations carry their brand as a fundraising tool. The purpose of most NGOs is leave social impact so their brand become associated with specific social life matters. Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, World Wildlife Fund and AIESEC are among the most recognized brands around the world.[109] NGOs and non-profit organizations moved beyond using their brands for fundraising to express their internal identity and to clarify their social goals and long-term aims. Organizational brands have well determined brand guidelines and logo variables.[110]

These are brands that are created by "the public" for the business, which is opposite to the traditional method where the business create a brand.

Many businesses have started to use elements of personalisation in their branding strategies, offering the client or consumer the ability to choose from various brand options or have direct control over the brand. Examples of this include the #ShareACoke campaign by Coca-Cola[citation needed] which printed people's names and place names on their bottles encouraging people. AirBNB has created the facility for users to create their own symbol for the software to replace the brand's mark known as The BÃ©lo.[111]

Nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to place branding). Some approaches applied, such as an increasing importance on the symbolic value of products, have led countries to emphasise their distinctive characteristics. The branding and image of a nation-state "and the successful transference of this image to its exports â€“ is just as important as what they actually produce and sell."

Destination branding is the work of cities, states, and other localities to promote to themselves. This work is designed to promote the location to tourists and drive additional revenues into a tax base. These activities are often undertaken by governments, but can also result from the work of community associations. The Destination Marketing Association International is the industry leading organization.

A doppelgänger brand image or "DBI" is a disparaging image or story about a brand that it circulated in popular culture. DBI targets tend to be widely known and recognizable brands. The purpose of DBIs is to undermine the positive brand meanings the brand owners are trying to instill through their marketing activities.[112]

The term stems from the combination of the German words doppel (double) and gÃ¤nger (walker).

DoppelgÃ¤nger brands are typically created by individuals or groups to express criticism of a brand and its perceived values, through a form of parody, and are typically unflattering in nature.

Due to the ability of DoppelgÃ¤nger brands to rapidly propagate virally through digital media channels, they can represent a real threat to the equity of the target brand. Sometimes the target organization is forced to address the root concern or to re-position the brand in a way that defuses the criticism.

Examples include:

In the 2006 article "Emotional Branding and the Strategic Value of the Doppelgänger Brand Image", Thompson, Rindfleisch, and Arsel suggest that a doppelgänger brand image can be a benefit to a brand if taken as an early warning sign that the brand is losing emotional authenticity with its market.[112]


how many bella italia restaurants are there in the uk

Bella Italia (formerly known as Bella Pasta) is a chain of over 90 restaurants offering dishes inspired by Italian cuisine in the United Kingdom.[1] The chain is part of the Casual Dining Group, who also own Café Rouge and Las Iguanas.

Bella Italia

Bella Italia started life as two small restaurant chains - Pastificio and Pizzaland - which were part of the Grand Metropolitan group.[2]

In 1990, Michael Guthrie (former Chairman of Mecca Leisure Group) formed BrightReasons and bought the Pizzaland and Pastificio chains from Grand Metropolitan for Â£20m in February 1991, rebranding Pastificio to Bella Pasta in the process.[3]

In February 1993, BrightReasons purchased 43 Pizza Piazza and Prima Pasta restaurants from Rank Organisation for Â£20.25m,[4] bringing their total number of restaurants to 165.

In May 1994, BrightReasons started preparing for a stock market flotation, and the group was expected to be valued at between £70m-£100m.[5] This was subsequently announced in September,[6] however, in November 1994, the planned flotation was postponed.[7]

In November 1996, BrightReasons was put up for sale[8] after suffering a particularly tough trading period in 1995.[9]

In December 2002, the Bella Pasta chain was rebranded as Bella Italia and the first fully branded restaurant opened in Leeds.

In September 2012, Bella Italia joined the Nectar loyalty card reward scheme as a redemption partner.[10]

In September 2013, Bella Italia began a partnership with the Gourmet Society, offering their members discounts on production of a Gourmet Society restaurant discount card.

The menu combines pizza and pasta, which is their main product, with a range of grill and speciality dishes.[11][12][13] The food is complemented by some Italian wines - many from smaller producers - beers and soft drinks.[12][14]

In 2009 the company was found to be threatening to dismiss waiting staff who do not get customers to pay tips on credit cards rather than in cash. Credit card tips were used by the company to subsidise wages (which are usually the legal minimum) whereas cash tips go directly to waiting staff.[15] In line with changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect on 1 October 2009, Tragus Ltd reviewed and updated its policies to ensure that all tips, after a 10% deduction for administrative and other costs paid by credit or debit card, are now distributed through the payroll system to restaurant staff. All restaurant employees are paid tips in addition to the National Minimum Wage.[16]

In November 2015 the chain received the worst rating of all restaurants surveyed in an assessment of the sustainability of its seafood.[17]

In June 2012, Bella Italia began officially supporting The Children's Society by donating some of the profit from a selected dish on the menu to the charity.[18]

In 2013, Bella Italia officially partnered with Comic Relief, the British charity founded in 1985 that aims to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people."[19]