Added value
To move from a commodity to a brand, the core offering needs to be augmented with added values. These are the extra functional or emotional benefits that differentiate the organisation’s brand from the core commodity or other competitors’ brands. For example, Rolls-Royce’s added values might include its 24-hour service support (a functional added value) or the confidence it inspires in its customers (an emotional added value).

Our definition of a brand talks about relevant added values. Some organisations have devised added values that are more relevant to their managers than their consumers. We knew a Sales Director from a firm manufacturing kitchen kits who argued that his brand had the added value of quality. When probed about what he meant by ‘quality’, he explained that when the flat packs were dropped from a height of five metres they did not break. The problem is consumers do not consider quality in this way!

Brand values
Values are an important ingredient of a brand because they drive behaviour. Whereas added value is about offering something extra to differentiate a brand from competitors, a brand’s values effectively say ‘This is what we believe in and this is how we think our business should be run’. For example, Rolls-Royce’s brand values are reliability, integrity and innovation. Identifying a set of values that are to characterise a brand helps staff to understand how they should behave and helps customers better appreciate the brand promise.

In the case of services, where the staff are the brand, by understanding their brand’s values staff have a better feel for the types of behaviour they should adopt.

For example, Virgin Atlantic’s values are:

• fun
• value for money
• sense of challenge
• innovation
• quality

By contrast, British Airways’ values encompass:

• safe and secure
• responsible and honest
• innovative
• team spirit
• global and caring

One has only to see the cabin crew on these two airlines to recognise how different clusters of brand values result in different types of staff behaviour.

Brand values offer an opportunity for brand differentiation and attract people whose values match those being projected by their chosen brand. These people are employees who are proud to align themselves with these values, as well as consumers. A brand with a clear set of values is particularly welcomed by some groups of consumers because it enables them to make symbolic, non-verbal statements about themselves. For example, having an account with the Co-operative Bank in the UK, which has a policy of ethical banking, enables customers to portray something about themselves.

Thus values are critically important in brand building. With corporate branding, where the company name is the brand name, there clearly must be similarity between the brand’s and the organisation’s values. With line branding, where the product or service has a different brand name from the organisation, there may be some difference between the brand’s and the organisation’s values.

Protection against brand counterfeiting
It is important to take legal actions to register a brand, so that competitors who develop counterfeit brands can be prosecuted. However, while legal protection is a strong barrier, a more sustainable barrier is from the emotional values of the brand, driven by the culture of the organisation.

To reduce the scope for counterfeiters, the brand team needs to consider investing in registering their trademarks, employing firms to track down copiers and devising more sophisticated packaging and batch-numbering processes. While these will deter counterfeiters, the more creative ones will continue to find ways of circumventing these barriers!

A balance needs to be struck between the distinctiveness of the brand name and the extent to which it describes the goods. The more descriptive the name, the more difficult it is to register. PaperMate launched an erasable ball-point pen, branded Replay, which suggested the rational benefit, yet wasn’t so descriptive that it couldn’t be registered.

To ensure their brand name is not being infringed, some firms employ staff to monitor retail activities. For example, Coca-Cola staff visit outlets, order their brand without identifying themselves, and samples are sent for chemical analysis. If it transpires the outlet was not selling Coca-Cola, it is asked to refrain from such activity or face legal action.

Some firms invest in packaging to deter counterfeiters. For example, Glaxo printed holograms on its packets of the anti-ulcer drug Zantac. In some markets, such as car parts, it is much more difficult to apply such security devices.

Counterfeiters will always try to copy major profitable brands, making use of their value added qualities. Services are obviously far more difficult to copy than products. However it is essential for all major brands, whether service or product, to take positive steps to protect themselves.

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