Brand association

By Julia

As brands get recognized, they also get associated in different aspects. Brands can be associated with qualities, people attitudes and expressions. In the worst case brand are associated with something negative, such as sweat shops, but in the most favorable case a brand is associated with something positive.  Brand associations are the images and thoughts you get when you think about the brand. On the other hand, brand associations can appear when you see something or hear something and which brings you back to the brand. Using a catchy song  or a distinctive character or celebrity in advertising will bring brand associations.

Lane Keller (2008) categorizes brand associations with three different dimensions: the first and strongest association what comes up to your mind of a brand (strength), What you like and don't like about the brand (favorability) and what makes the brand special (uniqueness). Following the example, the three dimensions of Swatch could be: Colorful + low price + extraordinary design!

Nielsen BuzzMetrics’ has created a Brand Association Map (BAM), which is a visual map presenting the key brand dimensions: Competitors, Products, Related Concepts and Brans Attributes. Nielsen can create the map by using conversations online, but we created a map which could be the case for Swatch.

Sources: http://marketingdeviant.com/brand-association/ , Lane Keller, K. 2008. Strategic Brand Management. 3rd Edition. http://www.nielsen-online.com/downloads/us/BAM_US.pdf