A design, name, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes the product of an organization from its competitors is called a brand. Brands are associated with marketing and Advertising in business. On the other hand, a set of marketing and communication tools the distinguished company or a product from its competition and also creates a long-lasting impression in the minds of the customer is called branding.
There is a lot of different type of Brands depending on their nature. Let us look into the one by one.
Table of Contents
20 Types of Brands in the Market
1) Service brand
This involves adding a value of service to the brand. It is considered more difficult to develop a service brand other in a product brand because the offerings of service brands are intangible. Once developed it is very useful to avoid competition since it is very hard to develop and prove the brand in terms of pricing.
A lot of new online brands have been developed like subscription brands wherein people pay money for access of services or products and these are rapidly challenging the salty and the expectations of technology for both service and product brands. For example, the integral and perceived value of products that come with apps. Southwest Airlines is an example of Service Brand.
Curious about how diverse branding strategies shape market leaders?
Industry Insight: According to Interbrand’s 2022 Best Global Brands report, technology companies dominate the top five positions—Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Samsung—reflecting the significant impact of Innovative Brands on global market dynamics (Interbrand, 2022). This underscores the importance of innovation in brand development, especially in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Case Study: In 2022, Patagonia, an exemplary Activist Brand, announced that it would direct all future profits to combat climate change. This unprecedented move not only reinforced its brand values but also bolstered customer loyalty, demonstrating how aligning with social causes can enhance brand equity (Source: Patagonia Press Release, September 2022).
2) Personal brand
Personal brands are also known as an individual brand and they are defined as the brand which a person has built around himself to promote his or her career opportunities. This is associated with how people market themselves and put out or project themselves in and via media. Personal brand lacks a business model which is necessary to commercialize the strategy.
Example: Celebrities or Sports person are the best example of Personal Brands.
3) Product brand
The perceptions associated with the commodity or good so that it exceeds the functional capability is called a product brand. Product brands are very common in FMCG industries. Tide detergent is an example of Product Brand.
4) Activist brand
This brand is synonymous with the cause of purpose where the alignment defines its uniqueness and the minds of the customers. Examples include body shop it’s his define by its animal cruelty take.
5) NGO or Non-governmental organization
A brand which is dedicated for more than fundraising but rather to drive social missions and which is more into non-profit business is called an NGO. Greenpeace is the classic example of an NGO which works only for promoting the environmental problems.
6) Public brand
A brand which is owned and managed by the government has called public brand. At times even, the government is seen as a public brand in the eyes of normal people.
7) Luxury brand
As the name suggests this is the kind of brand which offers high quality at a higher price. Luxury brands form a niche market for selected customers. It does not engage in reducing the price but rather it is more dedicated to providing premium service to bring our customers. Rolex watches are the perfect example of a luxury brand.
8) Value brand
Unlike luxury brand value brand operates on price and offers basic services for a lower price. The target audience of value brands are the middle and is over the market which forms a volume of the entire market. Since the work on higher volumes, it is necessary that the price their product is lower. Titan is an example of a value brand. Although companies are not started to make two brands to tap every customer and gain more of market share.
9) Innovative brand
These focus only on constantly improving the product by advanced breakthroughs in technology. Innovation as the primary aim and hence these are unique to the market and it sometimes maybe even the first in the market. Apple is known for its innovation in the market and Apple products are considered as innovative products.
10) Organization Brand
The company and entity’s which deliver products and services are called organization brands. They are closely linked with a personal brand of an individual. For example, a particular celebrity association with a particular brand every time and watching that celebrity reminds you of that brand.
11) Group brands
When a small group of branded entities has interconnected brand equity and individual brand as well, it is known as Group Branding. In this, the group, as well as its members, have a brand identity. For example, the Beatles presented up brand in its entirety as well as for all of its members.
12) Geographic brand
It is the idea of many countries to brand the best places they have to the world. These Geographic brands can be countries or States or cities or even buildings or streets. The government of the respective place works extensively to develop these brands and they often attract commerce and economic investments along with tourism and new residents. A perfect example of the geographic brand would be 221B Baker Street in London which is the brand in itself associated with the famous character of Sherlock Holmes.
13) E-Brands
These exist in the virtual world and have a presence over the web. They provide products or services depending on their categories and also the presence maybe intangible the products are very tangible. An example of a brand would be the famous amazon.com.
14) Celebrity brand
Celebrities have been using their famous high profile to promote a product or a range of products which gets all their followers to shift to the particular brand. The endorsements are done by celebrities themselves and at times they may be pleased even in their respective movies. For example, an association of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with UNICEF. While this is an example of a celebrity brand this also forms an example of NGO.
15) Generic brand
A Generic brand is the one that has been used so extensively that it now it is being passed as a common language or as a verb to define the entire category. Example xerox which was initially a machine is not a term used for photocopying. The replacement of a common name by the generic brand itself says about its success in the market. There are very few Generic Types of Brands in the market. Xerox, Jet Ski, Xerox being some of the examples.
16) Employer brand
The success of a company does not depend only on the best staff but also on the ability to retain that staff. Employers need to provide all the functions to the cause of white stuff in order for them to be retained in the organization. A better staff not only adds value but they also grow the organization along with themselves. Google is one of the highest rated employees and employees are found to love their jobs.
17) Disruptive brand
This is the brand which challenges the current and age-old ways of executing things in the market and introduces and supports innovative concepts that substantially challenge and change the market. An innovative brand may or may not be a disruptive brand but more often than not a disruptive brand is an innovative brand.
18) Event Brands
These are associated with conducting events on which they attract customer loyalty. The name of the brand itself attracts a huge amount of population making the event to be successful. The sponsorship for the events is arranged by sponsorships and advertisements from large companies. That is why more often than not these are associated with the brand of an organization. Example NASCAR, Olympics, Superbowl or Ted Talks.
19) Investor brand
These are applied to the brands which are listed publicly and to the functions of investor relation. The main objective of investor brand is to get investments from the public and gain increasing high reputation via CSR. This attracts more investors and increases the share price.
20) Global brand
As the name suggests this brand is based all over the world and is well known and renowned. A global brand who gets a global image for the organization and in the minds of the customer. It is very essential that they have homogenous offerings all over the world. Examples include every multinational brand like Google, Microsoft, Apple, McDonald’s, Starbucks etc.
The above were all the different Types of Brands in the Market. Although there may be overlapping concepts in these Types of Brands, all of them are individual concepts and individual types of brands. Example – HUL is an Organization brand as well as a Global Brand. However, both are different forms of Brands.
Here is a video by Marketing91 on the Types of Brands.
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