The Ultimate Guide to Brand Associations Welcome to Latana’s Ultimate Guide to Brand Associations! If you’ve downloaded this guide, it’s either because you have no idea what brand associations are and you’re ready to learn — or you know that they are, but you’re not 100% sure what to do with them. Well, regardless of what group you fit into, this guide is for you. Of course, we’ll start with the basics — the what and the why — and then move on to complex topics: the how. We’ll tackle how to identify your brand associations, plus, how to nurture positive associations. After that, we discuss how to get started with tracking your brand associations — and provide three options to choose from. Finally, we move on to an in-depth case study on Amazon Kindle — where we use our own brand tracking data to take a look at some real brand associations — and close out with three tips to help you make the most of your brand associations data. Now, if any of this has piqued your interest, then we suggest you jump right in. Happy reading! Table of Contents Introduction to Brand Associations What Are Brand Associations? How To Identify Your Brand Associations How Positive Brand Associations Are Created` /, Brand VoicL G, Visual Desige ', Brand Personality How To Track Your Brand Associations 3 Methods To Track Brand Associations` /, DIY Survey@ G, Social Listening Tool@ ', Brand Tracking Software How To Use Brand Associations To Get Ahead Case Study: Amazon Kindle Tips for Success` /, Don’t Ignore the Negative@ G, Don’t Go OverboarC ', Remember to Zoom In Conclusion What’s Next? C h a p t e r 1 C h a p t e r 2 C h a p t e r 3 Introduction to Brand Associations C h a p t e r 1 Introduction to Brand Associations C h a p t e r 1 Brand awareness, aka understanding how well consumers recognize your brand when prompted by a name of a logo, is important. After all, if consumers aren’t aware of your brand, how can they have any further thoughts about it? Essentially, brand awareness is the building block on which all further brand key performance indicators (KPI) are built. But while brand awareness refers to a consumers’ recall abilities, brand associations go far beyond that. As a mid-lower-funnel KPI, brand associations help you understand the perceptions surrounding your brand — and that of competitors. Everything from your website to your marketing campaigns to your product itself should be designed to define and reinforce your brand’s identity. Be it innovative, accessible, cutting-edge, or exclusive — your brand should showcase its identity at every touchpoint. Yet, it can be quite challenging to discern whether or not your brand identity translates into positive consumer perceptions of your brand. That’s where tracking brand associations comes in. To discover what traits and characteristics consumers equate with your brand, brand association delves even further into consumer sentiment than traditional KPIs like brand awareness or consideration. Ultimately, brand associations provide invaluable insights into consumer perception — which are key to informing an intelligent, data-driven marketing strategy. Brand associations are exactly what they sound like — characteristics and traits that consumers associate with your brand. They’re essentially what helps consumers differentiate one brand from another. For example, what comes to mind when you think about Apple? Do words like sleek, innovative, or high-end make sense? Well, these are real-life brand associations — specific traits that you, a consumer, have tied to a particular brand thanks to exposure and experience. What Are Brand Associations? Sleek Innovative High-end Not es Now, most brands will have a list of certain traits that, ideally, they would like consumers to identify with their brand. And they usually are characteristics that underscore a brand’s values, goals, and identity. For example, if your brand is a vocal supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, you’d hope that one of your brand associations would be “inclusive”. Or, if you’re a brand that prides itself on your efficient, error- free delivery processes, you’d like consumers to associate “seamless delivery” with your brand. Essentially, brand associations are something that your company earns through a variety of avenues — such as consumer experiences, product & service quality, social media presence, and more. But, one of the most influential factors to building brand associations comes from your brand’s marketing materials — and the combination of unique auditory, visual, and tactile cues used in said materials. Based on these cues, you encourage consumers to draw conclusions about the traits and qualities that your brand possesses. And with enough time and exposure to brand touchpoints, these qualities will (hopefully) become solidified in consumers’ minds — thus, influencing their perception of your brand. Look — we hate to be the ones to break it to you, but every company in the world is at risk of developing negative brand associations. You’ll never please every customer, which means you need to be on the lookout for any negative associations. If left unchecked, they can do a great deal of damage to your reputation. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of your brand associations — that way, you’re able to ensure that they align with your brand’s core values, message, and identity. At the end of the day, in order to fully understand your brand positioning and improve the connection with your target audience, you need to be completely aware and in control of all your brand associations — even including the ones you don’t want to encourage. So, now that we understand what brand associations are, let’s discuss how you can identify them for your own company. However, not every brand association linked to your brand will be positive — and smart brands know that it’s not only about fostering and encouraging positive associations but also about identifying and mitigating negative associations. In many ways, your brand values and goals are just other versions of your ideal brand associations. For example, let’s say one of your main brand goals is as follows: To be a leader in our market and prioritize innovation at all touchpoints. With this goal in mind, it would make sense for one of your ideal brand associations to be “innovative”. Your goal is to become a leader in your market and push the envelope? You’ll want consumers to view your company as “innovative”. Values Mission Goals When it comes to identifying your brand associations, the best place to start is with your brand values, mission, and goals — as, in an ideal world, they should all support one another. How To Identify Your Brand Associations 01 02 03 Or, let’s say one of your brand values is: To ensure that your technology is accessible to consumers from all walks of life. Based on this brand value, a logical brand association would be “accessible” or perhaps “affordable”. After all, if you design your tech to be readily available to more than just one audience, you’ll likely be perceived as “accessible”. Now, the process of identifying your ideal brand associations isn’t too complicated — but it does require a sit-down conversation, some keen editing, and final approval from key stakeholders. But, once you’ve identified your ideal brand associations and they’ve been co-signed by the powers that be, you’re ready to get to work. So, let’s discuss a few important factors when it comes to creating positive brand associations. In many ways, brand associations go hand-in-hand with brand understanding. After all, if consumers don’t understand what it is your brand does — which industry you operate in and the kinds of products/services you provide — how can they form proper brand associations? As we’re all aware by now, brand associations hold a great deal of value for companies. Why? Because they allow brand managers to understand exactly how their target audience views them. And the sign of a successfully-executed brand strategy? A company’s ideal brand associations match up with consumers’ reported brand associations. So what elements go into the creation of positive brand associations? Let’s take a look. How Positive Brand Associations Are Created Brand Voice 1. First, let’s discuss brand voice. When it comes to building positive brand associations, you need to be very intentional about the language you use — as well as your tone of voice, diction, and syntax. Language plays a huge role in shaping our experiences as consumers. After all, you wouldn’t use super casual, trendy language if you were trying to sell luxury jewelry to high-end clients, would you? Didn’t think so. Thus, the language you use in all brand communication should fit with and support the brand associations you’re looking to build. For example, let’s say you’re a brand selling skateboards that are looking to connect with Gen Z and foster the following brand associations: chill, fun, and cool. To be successful you should try and use language and tone of voice that resonates with this audience. Keep it casual, use trendy abbreviations, and go for a fun, laid-back vibe — it will help you connect with skateboard-loving Gen Zers and help them form positive brand associations. PRO TIP One of the best ways to ensure your brand voice remains consistent throughout all forms of brand communication is to create a Brand Styleguide. With a Brand Styleguide on hand, you have an easily accessible single source of truth — which can and should be used by everyone who creates content seen by consumers. From your content marketing managers to your UX developers — if you have a hand in creating content, you need to have a firm grasp of your company’s brand voice. BRAND STYLEGUIDE Visual Design 2. The second element that you need to focus on when building positive brand associations is your visual design and identity. From your logo to your brand colors to your brand font — the visual aspects of your brand are critical when it comes to defining your brand identity. They’re also powerful tools for fostering the right brand associations with consumers. G Most importantly, the visual elements of your brand identity can and should be present at every brand touchpoint you have. From OOH billboards to your website to your downloadable content — consistent visual design can be used to reinforce certain brand qualities across all platforms. For example, let’s say you're the brand manager of a small company that sells boutique chocolate boxes, called Sokola. You’re looking to foster the following brand associations: exclusive, high-quality, and luxurious. One of the most effective ways to foster these brand associations is through your visual design. Perhaps you choose a formal, cursive font for your brand name and logo? Or maybe you go with a more neutral palette for your brand colors — something that feels high-end and chic. Your visual design and the aesthetic choices you make can do wonders for your brand associations. Example Visual design of Debauve & Gallais c a s e s t u d y Consider the visual design of French chocolate manufacturer Debauve and Gallais’ special Le Livre box of pralines and ganaches. Created to celebrate the brand’s 200th anniversary, the box is sleek, refined, and oozes luxury. The typeface used is formal and classic, the color blue is regal, and the golden logo hints at the brand’s historic royal connections. Why it worked Through visual design alone, Debauve and Gallais is able to foster important and lasting brand associations, with consumers affiliating the brand with luxury and exclusivity for centuries. Brand Personality 3. On a surface level, this final element can look a bit like brand voice. But we promise, it is different — and equally important. According to HubSpot, brand personality is defined as the set of human characteristics consumers attribute to brands — aka, “how you’d describe a brand if it were a person.” Brand personality is created through a combination of a company’s messaging, visuals, values, and more. The brand voice is a huge part of brand personality — which is why they’re often conflated. But brand personality is a much more intangible concept. In the words of HubSpot’s Caroline Forsey, a brand’s personality is what lets you know that — should you have to meet a brand out for dinner — Nike “would be too energetic”, Apple would be “sophisticated and a little pretentious”, and Trader Joe’s would be “unique, earthy, and a little playful”. Now, if you’re thinking the same thing we are, these descriptions of brand personalities sound an awful lot like brand associations — and that’s because they go hand-in-hand in consumers’ minds. Therefore, if your goal is to build certain brand associations with your target audiences, then you need to create a brand personality that fits seamlessly. For example, let’s say you’re the brand manager of a mid-sized company that botanical mixers & alcoholic beverages, called Botanica. Your ideal brand associations are: In order to get consumers to associate these traits with your brand — along with defining your brand voice and creating the right visual designs — you need to construct a brand personality that fits. In her article, “Dimensions of Personality” for the Journal of Marketing Research, Jennifer L. Aaker outlines five dimensions of brand personality that companies can use as jumping-off points: Alternative Chic Premium Competence Sincerity Sophistication Ruggedness Excitement Example Based on the brand associations you want to cultivate for Botanica, you choose to focus on sincerity and sophistication — and, thus, flesh out your brand personality going forward. At all brand touchpoints, Botanica will exude authenticity, wholesomeness, urbanity, and tastefulness. It will be seen in the brand’s logo, colors, tone of voice, partnerships, social media presence, and more. It will also direct the way in which Bontanica employees interact with consumers — from responding to tweets to conversing via customer support chat. While brand personality includes aspects of brand voice and visual design, in the end, it’s a larger concept — and one that cannot be overlooked if you want to cultivate the right brand associations. Wholesomeness Tastefulness Authenticity Urbanity So, let’s sum up what we’ve learned so far about brand associations: Identify your ideal brand associations. Gather data on consumers’ opinions about your brand associations. Adjust accordingly to double down on positive associations and mitigate negative ones. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 To illustrate this process, let’s take a look at another example: Let’s pretend you’re the new brand manager of a mid-sized company that sells refurbished bikes, called Refurbikes. Recently, you were asked by the CMO to “take a look into brand associations” — however, you have no historical brand association data to work with. So, what do you do? You take a deep dive into your brand values, goals, and KPIs — pulling out the most important information — and define your ideal brand associations. Example