What Is Brand Culture?

Brand culture (brand culture) is a combination of unique beliefs, values, rituals, norms and traditions associated with this brand, which are jointly owned by the owner, purchaser, user or yearning of a brand. ^[1]

Brand Culture

(Glossary)

Having brand loyalty can win customer loyalty, win a stable market, greatly strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises, and provide a strong guarantee for the successful implementation of brand strategy.

The core of brand culture is cultural connotation, specifically its profound value and emotional connotations, that is, the spiritual symbols such as the values, lifestyle attitudes, aesthetic tastes, personality cultivation, fashion tastes, and emotional appeals that the brand condenses. . The shaping of brand culture can create more perfect levels of satisfaction, spiritual comfort, and spiritual trust in consumers by creating a perfect state of unification of the material utility of the product and the spirit of the brand. Form a potential cultural identity and emotional attachment. In the eyes of consumers, the brand they love is a symbol of a commodity. In addition to representing the quality, performance and unique market positioning of the product, it also represents their own values, personality, taste, style, lifestyle and consumption pattern. ; The product they are buying is not just a simple item, but a distinctive experience and a specific prop for self-realization and self-worth; It is the pursuit of psychological benefits of cultural value that brands can bring and the release of personal emotions. Therefore, they form a strong sense of trust and dependence on their favorite brands, blending many beautiful associations and long-lasting memories. Their choice and loyalty to the brand is not based on direct product benefits, but on the profound cultural connotation of the brand. And spiritually, what maintains their long-term connection with the brand is the unique brand image and emotional factors. Such customers are difficult to undergo "brand conversion". There is no doubt that they are high-quality, highly profitable loyal customers and an inexhaustible source of corporate wealth.

A brand is like a high-flying banner. Brand culture represents a value, a taste, a style, a fashion, a lifestyle. Its unique charm lies in that it not only provides customers with a certain utility. And help customers to find the belonging of the soul, release the dreams of life, and realize their pursuit. Excellent brand culture is a highly refined national cultural spirit and a common sublimation of human good values. It condenses the essence of the development of the civilization of the times, permeates praises for family, friendship, love and true affection, and advocates healthy and uplifting Life credo. An excellent brand culture can be endless and enduring, lead the trend of the era, change the lifestyle of millions of people, and even shape the values of generations. An excellent brand culture can transcend nationalities, transcend national boundaries, and transcend consciousness with its unique personality and style, so that the brand can be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and attract people from all over the world to yearn for and consume together.

Excellent brand culture can give brands a strong vitality and extraordinary expansion capabilities, making full use of the brand's reputation and popularity to carry out

With the progress of society and the improvement of material living standards, the public's demand for culture is also increasing. Consumer as a

Creating an appropriate culture for the brand

There are two criteria for whether a branding culture is appropriate. The first is that this culture should be tailored to product characteristics. Products have their own characteristics, such as in which scenarios they are used and what benefits the product can bring to consumers. Pebecca (toothpaste brand) promotes "the morning of the world starts with Pebecca"; Nestlé always conveys a kindness and care. Brand culture must match product characteristics,

The concept of management can be said to be endless, and brand culture is one of the more talked about concepts in the industry. Brand culture and corporate culture both have "culture", but aren't they both the same?

Culture is a common belief, values and behaviors formed by a society and a group, and has three elements: spirit, carrier and group. There are three major cultural circles in the world, Confucian cultural circle, Christian cultural circle and Islamic cultural circle. The three major cultural circles have a long history, with a population of more than 1 billion, and their impact is profound. Christian culture emphasizes that God is love, justification by faith, obedience to the Word of God, and relying on the Lord Jesus to live out the glory of God in work, study and life. High professional ethics and professionalism are inseparable from traditional culture. Islam means "peace and obedience". Only by living and working according to the will of Allah can you ascend to the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, the people in these countries are very religious and religious, which has also led to the economic comparison of most of these countries. Lagging and conservative in thought.

In addition, culture requires a carrier. For example, many festivals such as the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are representative of Confucian family and family culture. Many customs and rituals, such as marriage, funeral, marriage, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, also reflect the spiritual connotation of culture. Many stories, allusions, fables and heroes also reflect and inherit the culture from different levels. Yue Fei represents the loyalty to the country and Guan Yu represents the loyalty. The third element of culture is the group. Without the group, culture cannot naturally be formed. Moreover, this group can form a unique national culture by ethnic group (Han, Hui, Manchu, etc.), and it can also be formed by region (South, North, Northwest). Regional culture, these are subcultures under Chinese culture. The combination of these spirits, customs, rituals and groups constitutes Chinese culture from the deep to the surface.

Corporate culture and brand culture are inseparable from culture. Their form, content and culture are closely related. Does the shaping of corporate culture also fall into three levels: core philosophy (spirit), system and behavior (carrier), and cultural groups (different) Functional department)? Does the brand culture also include brand spirit,

Different characteristics

Corporate culture is the sum of the values, beliefs and behaviors that are formed by companies to abide by together. The focus is on the shaping of corporate values, corporate concepts and behaviors. It is the guiding ideology of corporate production and development. Brand culture is centered on the shaping and promotion of brand personality and spirit, so that the brand has cultural characteristics and humanistic connotations. The focus is to make these consumers agree with the spirit embodied by the brand through various strategies and activities, and then form a loyal brand consumption group.

What are the cultural characteristics of a brand? To understand this concept, you first need to understand what culture is. Similarly, the brand's cultural characteristics also have these three elements. Not only must it have a spiritual connotation, but also it must be integrated from various aspects such as marketing planning, promotional activities, advertising, and customer relationships, so that consumers can experience the brand s Spirit, personality and cultural connotation, but also must have cultural carriers such as allusions, stories, rituals, and characters to spread, such as Coca-Cola's birth legend, Lenovo's entrepreneurial story, Haier's smashing refrigerator, sending refrigerator and other stories, so that brand culture fresh Live and vivid, form a brand consumer group with loyalty, and form a brand culture connected by brand.

Brand culture must rely on popular culture and consumer psychological characteristics in order to form its own cultural group. Different industries may perform differently. For example, commercial cars, aimed at business people, basically reflect the style, temperament and unyielding spirit of a successful person.

Different role

The corporate culture is internal, mainly to clarify the guiding principles for the survival and development of the enterprise, and to form a set of systems and normative systems with values and ideas at the core to improve corporate management, but an excellent corporate culture not only It is helpful for business management and has

Once the brand culture is formed, it will have a huge impact on the management and operation of the brand. It is conducive to the optimal combination of various resource elements, improve the management efficiency of the brand, enhance the competitiveness of the brand, and make the brand full of vitality and vitality. Specifically, brand culture has the following functions.

Guide function

The function of brand culture is guided by two aspects. On the one hand, within the enterprise, the brand culture reflects the common values of employees and defines the goals pursued by the company. Therefore, it has a strong appeal and can guide employees to work hard to achieve the company's goals, so that the company can obtain Healthy development; on the other hand, outside the company, the values, aesthetics, and consumption concepts advocated by brand culture can guide consumers and guide consumers to a track that is consistent with their own opinions, thereby improving Consumer follow-up to the brand.

Cohesive function

There are two aspects of the cohesive function of brand culture. On the one hand, within the enterprise, the brand culture is like a powerful adhesive that closely connects all employees from all aspects and at all levels so that they can work together to achieve the goals and ideals of the enterprise. In this way, the brand culture becomes the cohesion of team spirit building. On the other hand, outside the enterprise, the functional attributes, interest cognition, value proposition, and aesthetic characteristics represented by the brand will have a magnetic effect on the vast number of consumers, making the brand attract consumers like a magnet, thereby greatly improving consumers' brand awareness. Loyalty. At the same time, users of other brands may also be attracted to become followers of the brand.

Incentive function

To a certain extent, material incentives will have a diminishing marginal phenomenon, while spiritual incentives are stronger and more durable. Once an excellent brand culture is formed, a good working atmosphere will be formed within the enterprise. It can stimulate employees' sense of honor, responsibility, and enterprising, so that employees and the company can breathe and share the same fate, and work hard for the development of the company. For consumers, brand values, benefit attributes, and emotional attributes can create consumer perceptions, enrich consumer associations, stimulate their consumer desires, and generate purchasing motivation. Therefore, brand culture can transform spiritual wealth into material wealth and bring high profits to the company.

Constraint function

The restrictive function of brand culture works through regulations and ethics. On the one hand, in the process of production and operation, enterprises must regulate all employees through strict rules and regulations, so that they work in accordance with certain procedures and rules in order to achieve corporate goals. This constraint is rigid and external. On the other hand, the restrictive role of corporate culture is to restrict the words and deeds of employees through the intangible factors such as ethics, spirit, ideas, and traditions, and to individualize the behavior of individuals. This constraint is soft and inherent. Compared with regulations, this soft constraint has a more lasting effect.

Radiation function

Brand culture cannot be copied, but once formed, it will not only play a role within the enterprise, but also through image shaping,

Brand cultural marketing refers to the name, noun, logo or design or combination of products or services that are beneficial to identify a seller or a sales group and distinguish them from competing products or services, and The sum of interests, cognitive emotions, attributes, cultural traditions, or personality image values they represent.

Brand cultural marketing is the extension and expansion of product cultural marketing, which includes the trust and protection of the entire society for brands. The brand-name effect is closely related to the behavior of enterprises in creating brand-name products and producing brand-name products. Brand culture marketing is the process of using the culture to create and design a brand, and using the brand culture to enhance the brand.

Brand culture is the core content of cultural marketing and the logical necessity of the development of marketing theory. Brand culture refers to the accumulation of cultural characteristics in the brand and all cultural phenomena in brand management activities, as well as the sum of values such as the perception of interests, emotional belonging, and personality image. It can enhance brand premium capabilities, market competitiveness and brand loyalty. The implementation of brand cultural marketing requires designing the name and logo of the brand, emphasizing the national connotation of the brand culture, carrying out a unique cultural positioning of the brand and shaping the brand culture of personality. The main functions of brand culture marketing are:

1. Enhance brand premium capabilities

If a brand's product becomes a high expected value because of the square shape of the customer, so that the customer can buy it at a higher price, it can be considered that the brand has a strong product premium ability. When consumers choose branded products, they will form different psychological expected values for different branded products. Only when the psychologically expected value (benefit) is greater than the price (cost) of purchasing the product will consumers buy the product. Brand value is equal to expected value minus costs. Expected values include functional value, added value, and cultural value; costs include money costs, energy costs, physical costs, and time costs. Can be expressed by the formula:

Brand value = Expected value-Cost

Expected value = functional value × x% + added value × y% + cultural value × z%

Cost = money cost + energy cost + physical cost + time cost

x: Proportion of functional value in expectations

y: the proportion of added value in the forecast

z: The proportion of cultural value in the expectations Among them: x + y + z = 100%

In this equation, assuming constant costs, brand value depends on the values of X, Y, and z. In the new era with "emotional consumption" as the basic feature, consumers do not pay special attention to the functional value of the brand. They focus on the satisfaction of spiritual needs. In the consumption, the pursuit of personality, taste and cultural taste is even more, the value of z is getting larger and larger. Although there is no precise definition of the value of z, through an in-depth analysis of the premium capabilities of China's mobile phone brands, it is known that about x = 30%, y = 10%, and z = 60%. Bigger.

Assuming the expected value remains the same, the smaller the cost, the greater the value of the product. In the case of asymmetric information, consumers have to pay currency costs, physical costs, energy costs and time costs in order to purchase a product. A brand is a carrier of information, including the basic information of the manufacturer, the quality information of the product, the value information of the product, and personalized information such as culture, emotion, and status. Branding as a commitment to quality can reduce the cost consumers pay for shopping. When the brand saves consumers' energy costs, physical costs, and time costs more than the increase in monetary costs (prices), it is still a cost reduction for consumers. In the era of brand consumption, brand culture means an increase in expected value and a reduction in shopping costs, which in turn increases brand value. The increase in brand value makes the price elasticity of demand for products smaller, making consumers less sensitive to price changes, and increasing product The price provides space. Consumers are willing to pay higher prices for a culturally rich brand. A study found that 72% of customers indicated that they would pay 20% more for the brand of their choice than the suboptimal brand they compete with; 50% said they would pay 25%; 40% would pay Up to 30%. Coca-Cola enthusiasts are willing to pay 50% more than competing brands; users of Tide and Heinz will pay 100% more; users of Volvo will pay 40% more. Therefore, while brand culture has increased the brand's premium capabilities, it has also avoided price wars and improved the level of competition in the entire industry.

2. Enhance brand competitiveness

Brand competitiveness does not equal product competitiveness, and lower prices and higher quality do not equal strong brand competitiveness. In the mid-1990s, there was a declaration in the Chinese market that "challenge" foreign products: "equal quality is better than price, the price is the lowest; equivalent price is better than the quality, the quality is the highest." We are not on a competitive level. Therefore, people did not come to fight, and the "challenger" showed a kind of "Don Quixote" ridiculous like a big windmill.

Brand awareness can be expanded through price wars, but lacks reputation. So far, few companies have enhanced brand image and reputation through price wars. High-quality products do not necessarily enhance brand competitiveness. Because product quality is divided into technical quality and cognitive quality. The so-called technical quality refers to the technical standards that should be followed in the product design process, including both national or international standards and industry standards. Technical quality as the intrinsic quality of the product is the minimum requirement for product quality level. Products below the technical quality requirement have no competitive strength and even do not have the qualification to enter the market. Cognitive quality (PerceivedQuality) is also called consumer cognitive quality, which refers to the consumer's psychological response or subjective evaluation of product functional characteristics and its suitability. Cognitive quality is different from technical quality. Technical quality, as a scientifically identifiable standard, is objective; cognitive quality is the subjective response of consumers to the technical or objective quality of a product. The basis of the formation of consumer cognitive quality is the technical quality of the product, but it is not the same as the technical quality. Due to subjective factors, sometimes the technical quality of the two products can be exactly the same, but consumers' perceptions of the two products may be different. For example, although Toyota's Lexus and Toyota's Camry have the same engine in the US market (1998), Lexus's list price is more than $ 10,000 higher than that of Camry. Only the quality perceived by consumers can be transformed into brand competitiveness. In marketing practice, many companies only value the quality of technology, and ignore the status of consumer recognition and acceptance, resulting in the product losing market competitive advantage. Cheap (low price) can increase popularity, but not reputation; Wumart (quality) can increase reputation, but it does not necessarily bring loyalty. Cheap and cheap plus culture equals brand loyalty. Popularity, reputation, and loyalty are the triple realms of brand culture and effective ways to improve brand competitiveness.

3 Enhance brand loyalty

Oliver (1997) believes that loyalty is the inherent tendency and obligation of consumers to continue to purchase their favorite products or services in the future without being affected by changes in the external environment and marketing activities that can cause switching behavior. Dick and Basu (1994) argue that true consumer loyalty only occurs when repeat purchases are accompanied by a higher attitude. Gremlen & Brown divides loyalty into three elements: behavioral loyalty, cognitive loyalty and affective loyalty. Behavioral loyalty refers to the actual purchase behavior exhibited by consumers; cognitive loyalty refers to the behavioral performance of consumers' intention to purchase again in the future; emotional loyalty is defined as the consumer's attitude to the producer or consumer. Seines (1993) pointed out that consumer loyalty is mainly reflected in the possibility of future purchases, the continuation of services, the possibility of changing brands, and positive word-of-mouth publicity. Kotler (1991) points out that repeated purchases reflected in consumer loyalty can help companies build a competitive advantage.

In short, consumer loyalty has two meanings. On the one hand, it refers to consumers' subjective evaluation of product and service holdings, the degree of inertia and emotional dependence, and psychological neglect, distortion and exclusion of other competitive products or services. On the other hand, it refers to the frequency and consequences of consumers' purchases. Consumer loyalty means repeated purchases by consumers, word-of-mouth communication, and recommended purchases, which means a strong sense of identity and belonging to the company.

The customer is the food and clothing parent of the company. Research shows that an unsatisfied customer will tell at least 11 people about their unpleasant shopping experience, and among these 11 people, each person will tell an average of 5 others. In other words, an unsatisfied customer may lead to the loss of 67 customers. Research on customer service points out that the cost of developing an existing customer (advertising and product sales) is 4-6 times the cost of retaining an existing customer. American marketing experts believe that if a company can reduce its customer churn rate by 5%, its profit margin can increase by 25% to 85%. Therefore, cultivating customer loyalty and reducing customer churn are important issues that enterprises cannot ignore.

Factors affecting customers' purchases include:

(1) Suitable products that can meet the basic needs of customers;

(2) Appropriate price, which can give customers a satisfactory psychological price;

(3) The appropriate time and place can facilitate the purchase of customers;

(4) Perfect services can make customers get additional satisfaction;

(5) Brand culture can make customers feel spiritually happy.

With the intensification of market competition, products, prices, locations and services tend to be homogeneous. Due to homogeneity, consumers can hardly distinguish between these products, and of course it is easy to change their own preferences for purchasing products. In this case, only those product brands that satisfy both the basic needs and the highest needs of customers can cultivate customer loyalty.

Interest-aware marketing strategy;

Emotional attribute marketing strategy;

cultural traditional marketing strategy;

Personalized pictographic marketing strategy.

The future belongs to brands, especially global brands. The economy of the richest countries in the world is built on brands, not on goods. We know that consumers have three levels of branding:

The first level, thinking of a general, such as McDonald's, seeing it as an M, began to think of a brand general.

What kind of performance comes to mind second;

The third level is its subconscious. This subconscious is not everyone can tell you;

The process of building a brand in professional terms is:

1. How to understand the value of a brand?

2. How exactly is your brand positioned in the minds of consumers?

3. What is the best way to communicate with consumers?

4. How to impress consumers?