driven by the brand association composition of the image. According to Keller
(2002), favourable, unique and strong associations are assumed to provide a
positive brand image which will create a bias in the mind of consumers,
thereby increasing the brand equity.
A widely accepted view is that brand image represents customers’
perceptions of a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer
memory. Herzog (1963) and Keller (1993) argued that these associations could
originate from customers’ direct experience or from information obtained on a
market offering or due to the impact a pre-existing associations which an
organisation had on the consumer. Brand image is, therefore, the mental
picture or perception of a brand or a branded product or service, and includes
symbolic meanings that consumers associate with the specific attributes of a
product or service (Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990; Padgett and Allen, 1997; Aperia
and Back, 2004).
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Pitta and Katsanis also stated that a unique, favourable and strong brand
image allows the brand to be easily differentiated and positioned in the
consumer’s mind, thereby adding to the possibility of increased brand equity.
Conclusively, brand image can be said to be the brand association or
consumers’ perception about a particular brand as a result of their association
with the brand.
Brand image is something an organisation cannot afford to ignore, if it
wants to carve a niche for itself in the long run. In order to successfully hold
the brand image, a company must ensure to preserve the values of legitimacy,
distinctiveness, relevancy and consistency. A strong brand has its long- term
gain. Hence, branding is an art of making a product marketable. To grow into
a sky identity, a brand should incorporate the following fundamental blocks
like Legitimacy, Relevancy, Distinctiveness and Consistency.
Brand Trust
Trust
is the most critical component in building and maintaining a
strong, emotionally driven and enduring brand. However, in a world of
promotion-driven-marketing tactics, many brand owners forget that building
trust is the only thing holding the relationship with the customer together.
Most marketers in business create demand and sell more stuff. They are
rewarded for their skill and ability to help organizations sell. For most
customers, selling is not a very trustworthy practice. Nobody likes to be sold,
but people surely do love to buy. More than ever, customers buy from the
brands they trust. At the beginning of any relationship, trust is the most
difficult component to establish. There are two kinds of people–those who
begin a relationship with little trust, which needs to be earned over time, and
those who begin with trust freely given, but is forever taken away on the first
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sign of behaviour deemed untrustworthy. Either way, trust must be established
or there will be no relationship. Relationships with trusted brands are built and
maintained in this same fashion. People naturally will measure, with great care
