Types of Brands : individual products, ranges, services, organizations, individuals

Types of Brands

Brand Types: individual products, ranges, services, organizations, individuals, groups, events, places, private labels, media, and e-brands.

Types of Brands

The different types of brands include: individual products, product ranges, services, organizations, persons, individuals, groups, events, geographic places, private label brands, media, and e-brands.

The most common type of brand is a tangible, individual product, such as a car or drink. This can be very specific, such as the Kleenex brand of tissues or can comprise a wide range of products.

Product brands can also be associated with a range, such as the Mercedes S-class cars or all varieties of Colgate toothpaste.

A service is another type of brand as companies move from manufacturing products to delivering complete solutions and intangible services. Service brands are characterized by the need to maintain a consistently high level of service delivery. This category comprises the following:

• Classic service brands (such as airlines, hotels, car rentals, and banks).
• Pure service providers (such as member associations).
• Professional service brands (such as advisors of all kinds – accountancy, management consultancy).
• Agents (such as travel agents and estate agents).
• Retail brands (such as supermarkets, fashion stores, and restaurants).

Another type of brand is an organization. This can be a company that delivers products and services. Mercedes and the US Senate are all defined organizations and each have qualities associated with them that constitute their brand. Organizations can also be linked closely with the brand of an individual. For example, the U.S. Democratic party is closely linked with President Barack Obama.

A person can also be considered a brand. It can be comprised of one, as in the case of Oprah Winfrey, or a few individuals, where the branding is associated with different personalities, such as with the American Democratic Party.

Not much higher in detail than an individual is the brand of a group. In particular, when this is a small group and the individuals are known, the group brand and the individual brand overlap. For example, the OWN brand of the Oprah Winfrey Network and the brand of its known members (Oprah and her team) are strongly connected.

OWN Group Brand: The OWN group brand is linked to Oprah Winfrey.

Events have brands too, whether they are rock concerts, the Olympics, a space-rocket launch, or a town-hall dance. Event brands are strongly connected with the experience of the people attending. Product, service and other brands realize the power of event brands and seek to have their brands associated with the event brands. Thus, sponsorship of events is now a thriving big business as one brand tries to get leverage from the essence of the event, such as the excitement and danger of car racing.

Places or areas of the world also have essential qualities that are seen as characterizations and hence also have a brand. These areas can range from countries to states to cities to streets to buildings. Those who govern or represent these geographies will work hard to develop the brand. Cities, for example, may have de facto brands of being dangerous or safe, cultural or bland, which will be used by potential tourists in their decisions to visit and by companies in their decisions on where to set up business.

CNN : CNN is an example of a media brand.

Private label brands, also called own brands, or store brands, exist among retailers that possess a particularly strong identity (such as Save-A-Lot).

Media brands include newspapers, magazines, and television channels such as CNN.

Amazon.com: Amazon.com is an e-brand that delivers services online. Consumers are able to buy and sell products on its website.

The primary activity of e-brands is to deliver physical products or services, as in the case of Amazon.com. These online brands focus on delivering a service or experience in the virtual environment.