Strong brand helps How important is a brand? Why is it so important? XO Heineken beer has captured a firm position in the world and currently tops the charts of the world's most exported heer brands. That strong position is attributable to the high and consistent quality of the product, to a strong distribution netrwork and sales organisation. All of this is combined with the strength and image of the brand. The brand is the mark put on an object to distinguish it from another or to indicate that it be longs in a certain category. These diction ary definitions explain only a fraction of the real story. Little has been written about the product and its brand, but plenty has been said. Many people claim that a good brand gives strength to a product. Others believe that a good product creates a successful brand. Alfred H. Heineken, the departing Chairman of the Heineken N.V Board of Directors, sees the choice of a suc cessful brand name as stemming mainly from the instinct of the person who named it. pathetic ring to it. As a business you're lucky to have such a brand name. We see that wherever we brew Heineken beer. That brand name simply goes down well everywhere.' Associations A good brand name is worth its weight in gold. Most of the big and famil iar brands like Heineken are long-es tablished. This is not so surprising, as creating a branded product is a lengthy process in which indispensable ele ments include advertising, promotions, packaging, sponsoring and free public ity. Brand names are not usually mean- pathetic ring to it. As a business you're lucky to have such a brand name. We see that wherever we brew Heineken beer. That brand name simply goes down well everywhere.' Those associations originate from all the impressions that a person has gained about the brand during his lifetime. Because of the situation in which he encountered it, the people he saw consuming it, and above all through advertising as well. The associations are usually not bounded by time. They can 'stick' in a consumer's mind for many dozens of years, sometimes even for a whole lifetime. Human beings are very quickly capable of 'translating' ob servations into thoughts and emotions. The sight of a brand logo and a brand name evokes these associations instan taneously. Brand symbol, brand name and other visual attributes, such as a characteristic colour, instantly give rise to an associative reaction. Kodak has yellow as its house colour, Heineken has green. Mr. Heineken about the colour: 'Green on the label suggests security Green is safe.' 'Suppose that you were to feed the question into a computer, ask it to search for a name for your beer. It prob ably wouldn't come up with Heineken. But this has proved an ideal name for beer. It sounds German, it has three syl lables and that fits in with beer. It's the diminutive for Hein, which gives it a friendly sound. In short, it has a sym- THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN

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World of Heineken | 1989 | | pagina 10