fifth discipline
The organizational discipline of systems thinking, used to integrate four other disciplines: personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning | read The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge
first mover
A company or brand that starts a new category | see Disruptive Innovation
focus group
A qualitative research technique in which several people are invited to a research facility to discuss a given subject; a type of research designed to focus later research | see Qualitative Research
frankenbrand
A poorly aligned brand, often resulting from a merger or acquisition; a dysfunctional brand | see Brand Alignment
futurecasting
A technique used to envision future products, industries, competitors, challenges, or opportunities; a combination of forecasting and imagination | read Unstuck, Keith Yamashita and Sandra Spataro, Ph.D.
generic
An unbranded product, service, or experience; a commodity | see Commoditization
generic brand
A misnomer often applied to a commodity product or store brand (since the terms generic and brand are mutually exclusive) | see Store Brand
global brand
A product, service, or company that competes globally (often a misnomer, since most brands, by definition, vary from culture to culture)
guerilla marketing
A marketing program that uses non-traditional channels to sell or advertise products or services | read Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson
halo brand
A brand that lends value to another brand by association, such as a well known master brand and lesser known subbrand
harmonization
The alignment of the elements of a brand across product lines or geographic regions
hawthorne effect
The tendency for research subjects to behave uncharacteristically | see Observer Effect
hollywood model
A system of creative collaboration in which specialists work as a team for the duration of a project | see IMT, Metateam, Virtual Agency
house of brands
A company in which the dominant brand names are those of the products and services the company sells, also called a heterogeneous brand or pluralistic brand; the opposite of branded house
icon
The visual symbol of a brand, usually based on a differentiated market position; a trademark | see Trademark
IMT
An Integrated Marketing Team, comprised of various specialist firms collaborating to build a brand; a metateam or virtual agency | see Hollywood Model, Metateam, Virtual Agency
information architect
A person who designs complex information systems to make them more navigable | read Information Architects, edited by Richard Saul Wurman
information hierarchy
The order of importance of the elements in a brand message
ingredient brand
A brand used as a selling feature in another brand
innovation
A market-changing product, service, experience, or concept; the formal practice of innovation | read The Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley et al.
integrated marketing
A collaborative method for developing consistent messaging across media
intellectual property
Intangible assets protected by patents and copyrights; the legal discipline that specializes in the protection of brand assets, including brand names, trademarks, colors, shapes, sounds, and smells
internal branding
An internal program to spread brand understanding through the use of standards manuals, orientation sessions, workshops, critiques, and online training; brand cultivation
jamming
Building a brand or company through improvisational collaboration | read Jamming, John Kao
junk brand
A brand based on a facade instead of a real value proposition; sometimes called a Potemkin brand | see Value Proposition
leveraging a brand
Borrowing from the credibility of one brand to launch another brand, subbrand, or co-brand; a brand extension | see Co-Branding, Subbrand
line extension
The addition of one or more subbrands to a master brand; the expansion of a brand family | see Master Brand, Subbrand
living brand
A brand that grows, changes, and sustains itself; a healthy brand
logo
An abbreviation of logotype, now applied broadly (if incorrectly) to all trademarks | see Logotype, Trademark
logotype
A distinctive typeface or lettering style used to represent a brand name; a wordmark
look and feel
The sensory experience of a product, environment, or communication
mall intercept
A market research technique in which researchers interview customers in a store or public location; a one-on-one interview | see One-On-One Interview
marketing
The process of developing, promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service | read The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries
marketing aesthetics
The principles of perception used to enhance the feelings or experiences of an audience | read Marketing Aesthetics, Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson
market penetration
The market share of a product, service, or company compared to others in the category
market position
The ranking of a product, service, or company within a category, sometimes calculated as market share multiplied by share of mind | see Positioning
market share
The percentage of total sales in a given category, usually expressed in the number of units sold or the value of units sold | see Market Position
master brand
The dominant brand in a line or across a business, such as Pepperidge Farm or Sony, to which subbrands can be added; a parent brand | see brand architecture, Parent Brand, Subbrand
media
The channels through which brand messages are delivered, such as television, printed publications, direct mail, the Internet, and outdoor posters
media advertising
One-way messages designed to sell, persuade, or create awareness of a brand through public communication channels
meme
An idea that self-reproduces like a virus; a unit of social currency, such as “Where’s the beef?” or “Sweet!” | read The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins
mental model
A conceptual image of an experience, environment, process, or system that provides better understanding or predictive value
message architecture
The formal relationships among brand communications
metateam
A large team made up of smaller specialist teams; an IMT or virtual agency | see Hollywood Model, IMT, Virtual Agency
mission statement
A concise statement of the purpose or aspirations of an organization
morpheme
The smallest unit of language that has meaning, often used by naming specialists to assemble coined words, or neologisms | see Neologism
name brand
A widely recognized product, service, or organization
natural reading sequence
The order in which readers can most easily absorb separate pieces of information
neologism
A coined word or phrase that can serve as a brand name | see Morpheme
new luxury
Goods and services that deliver higher quality or superior performance at a premium price, such as Belvedere Vodka or Callaway Golf Clubs | read Trading Up, Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske
nih syndrome
The tendency of a company, department, employee, or consultant to reject any idea “Not Invented Here”
no-logo movement
A group of activists who see global brands as a form o
f cultural imperialism | read No Logo, Naomi Klein
nomenclature system
A formal structure for naming related products, services, features, or benefits; the naming portion of an organization’s brand architecture | see Brand Architecture
observer effect
A tendency for the presence of the observer to change what is being observed | see Hawthorne Effect
one-on-one interview
A market research technique in which subjects are interviewed one at a time
one-stop shop
A single firm that offers a full range of branding services, as opposed to an IMT | see IMT
opinion leader
A person whose opinion or personality exerts an influence over other members of a group; also called an opinion maker
parallel execution
The process by which creative teams work simultaneously rather than sequentially
parent brand
The main brand in a brand family; a master brand | see Brand Architecture, Master Brand
perception
An impression received through the senses; a building block of customer experience | see Marketing Aesthetics
perceptual map
A diagram of customer perceptions showing the relationships between competing products, service, companies, or brands
permanent media
Environmental brand messages that last for years, such as architecture or signage
permission marketing
The practice of promoting goods or services with anticipated, personal, and relevant messages | read Permission Marketing, Seth Godin
positioning
The process of differentiating a product, service, or company in a customer’s mind to obtain a strategic competitive advantage; the first step in building a brand | read Positioning, Al Ries and Jack Trout
power law
In brand building, the tendency for success to attract more success; a law that explains why the “rich get richer” | see Virtuous Circle
primacy effect
The observation that first impressions tend to be stronger than later impressions, except for last impressions | see Recency Effect
private label
A store-owned product that competes, often at a lower price, with widely distributed products; a store brand as opposed to a name brand | see Name Brand, Store Brand
product placement
A form of paid advertising in which products and trademarks are inserted into non-advertising media such as movies, television programs, music, and public environments
promise
A stated or implied pledge that creates customer expectations and employee responsibilities, such as FedEx’s on-time guarantee
prosumer
A category of products and services that combines professional-level features with consumer-level usability and price
prototype
A model, mockup, or plan used to evaluate or develop a new product, service, environment, communication, or experience
provenance
A historical connection that lends authenticity or credibility to a brand | see Authenticity
pure play
A company with a single line of business; a highly focused brand
qualia
Subjective experiences that determine how each person perceives a brand | see Experience Design
qualitative research
Research designed to provide insight, such as one-on-one interviews and focus groups | see Design Research, Focus Group, One-On-One Interview
quantitative research
Research designed to provide measurement, such as polling and large-scale studies | see Design Research
radical differentiation
A bold position that allows a brand to stand out from market clutter; a zag | see Positioning, Zag
rapid prototyping
A process of producing quick rounds of mockups, models, or concepts in rapid succession, evaluating and reiterating after each round to develop more effective products, services, or experiences | read The Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley et al.
reach
The number of people exposed to an advertising or brand message | see Market Penetration
recency effect
The observation that last impressions tend to be stronger than earlier impressions, including first impressions | see Primacy Effect
reputation
The shared opinion of a product, service, or organization among all the members of its audience | see Audience
sacrifice
The practice of eliminating any product, service, or feature that fails to strengthen a market position or brand
sales cycle
For buyers, the steps in making a purchase (often defined as awareness, consideration, decision, and use); for sellers, the steps in making a sale (often defined as finding and qualifying customers, defining the products or services, and accepting and acknowledging the order)
segment
A group of people who are likely to respond to a given marketing effort in a similar way | see Audience
segmentation
The process of dividing a market into subcategories of people who share similar values and goals
shelf impact
The ability of a product, package, or brand to stand out on a shelf by virtue of its design
signature
The defined visual relationship between a logo-type and a symbol | see Logotype, symbol
silo
A department separated from other departments according to product, service, function, or market; a disparaging term for a non-collaborative department
slogan
A catchphrase, tagline, or rally cry; from the Gaelic “sluagh-ghairm,” meaning “war cry”
social network
A network of people that can be leveraged to spread ideas or messages using viral marketing techniques | see Viral Marketing
sock-puppet marketing
A disparaging term for “fake” brands built on frothy advertising campaigns, such as those of the dot-com era | read The Fall of Advertising, Al Ries and Laura Ries
specialization
The strategy of focusing and deepening a business offering to better compete with larger companies or to better collaborate with other specialists
speech-stream visibility
The quality of a brand name that allows it to be recognized as a proper noun (as opposed to a generic word) in conversation, such as Kodak or Smuckers
stakeholder
Any person or firm with a vested interest in a company or brand, including shareholders, employees, partners, suppliers, customers, and community members
store brand
A private-label product that can be sold at lower prices or higher margins than its widely distributed competitors, sometimes incorrectly called a generic brand; a private-label brand | see Generic Brands, Private Label
strategic DNA
A decision-making code derived from the intertwining of business strategy and brand strategy
strategy
A plan that uses a set of tactics to achieve a business goal, often by out-maneuvering competitors | see Brand Strategy
subbrand
A secondary brand that builds on the associations of a master brand | see Master Brand
sustaining innovation
An incremental improvement to an existing product, service, or business | see Disruptive Innovation
swot
A conceptual tool that analyzes Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
symbol
A sign or trademark designed to represent a brand
tactic
An expedient maneuver used in support of a strategy
tagline
A sentence, phrase, or word used to summarize a market position, such as Mini’s “Let’s motor” and Taco Bell’s “Think outside the bun” | see Positioning, Slogan
target market
The group of
customers a company has decided to serve | see Segmentation
team dynamics
The psychological factors that influence collaboration, including trust, fear, respect, and company politics | read Unstuck, Keith Yamashita and Sandra Spataro, Ph.D.
thought leader
A brand that leads the market in influential ideas, though not necessarily in market share, such as Apple Computer
tipping point
A leverage point in the evolution of a market or society where a small effort can yield a surprisingly large result, not unlike “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” | read The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
touchpoint
Any place where people come in contact with a brand, including product use, packaging, advertising, editorial, movies, store environments, company employees, and casual conversation
trade dress
The colors, shapes, typefaces, page treatments, and other visual properties that create a recognizable “face” for a brand | see Brand Identity
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