Key Criteria for Brand Meaning
Thus, a number of different types of associations related to performance and
imagery may become linked to the brand. Regardless of the type involved, the
brand associations that make up the brand image and meaning can be character-
ized and profiled according to three important dimensions:
Strength—How strongly is the brand identified with a brand association?
Favorability—How important or valuable is the brand association to
customers?
Uniqueness—How distinctively is the brand identified with the brand
association?
Successful results in these three dimensions produce the most positive brand
responses, the underpinning of intense and active brand loyalty. To create brand
equity, it is important that the brand have strong, favorable, and unique brand
associations, in that order. In other words, it does not matter how unique a brand
association is unless customers evaluate the association favorably, and it does not
matter how desirable a brand association is unless it is sufficiently strong so that
customers actually recall it and link it to the brand. At the same time, it should be
recognized that not all strong associations are favorable and not all favorable associ-
ations are unique.
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Creating strong, favorable, and unique associations is a real challenge for mar-
keters, but it is essential to build customer-based brand equity. Strong brands typi-
cally have firmly established strong, favorable, and unique brand associations with
consumers—for example, Volvo and Michelin (safety), Intel (performance and
compatibility), Marlboro (western imagery), Coke (Americana and refreshment),
Disney (fun, magical, family entertainment), Nike (innovative products and peak
athletic performance), BMW (styling and driving performance), and so on.