Brand Notion
Brand notion can provide great profits to establishments if it is coordinated accurately, though it is a process hard to build up (Karabıyık, 2008, p. 2). It is obvious that a powerful brand means a higher market share, higher sales and profit. The basic point in order to reach the targeted benefits is to create a strong brand (Uztuğ, 2003, p. 21).
Brand is a sign put on the products by the establishment exposed put in order for the particular services to be recognized during advertising (Meral, 2011, p. 51). American Marketing Association (2014) defines the brand as name, symbol, term, sign, figure or combination of these used for describing products or services and to be recognized among rivals.
Born in 20th century, brand notion which appeared as a result of mass production in packaging the products such as rice, flour, soap sold in bulk by local shops. In the second half of the 1900’s, businesses began to announce their new inventions in mass markets through advertisements. These advertising efforts made the individuals recognize the brand as a new notion as well as offering them a new lifestyle. Thereafter, individuals began to recognize the products with their brands while meeting their needs. The products sold in local shops created their brand image through celebrities’ typecastings in order to put forth their differences (Naomi, 2002, p. 29). Brand has begun to have a role for both the producers and the consumers. While the brand plays significant roles for determining the source of product, evaluating the responsibility of producers, risk&cost minimization and the relationship between consumer and producer from the point of consumer, it also plays a part as a means of tracing, picking up and protecting the originality of products, a quality indicator for satisfied costumer, a tool for presenting the product and a source for financial returns from the point of producer (Keller, 2008, p. 7).
When it is considered as a point that affects the elements of brand marketing mix, it can be seen that brand management process is a much bigger component of activities that include the process of improving new product and service as well. Designing a new product or service, improving and creating a brand is a very important process that provides firms to keep afloat. Accordingly, the process has to be managed effectively in order to gain and keep the customer (Selvi, 2007, p. 83).
Image Notion
Image notion can be defined as personal judgements created as mental description of individual’s general impression, emotion, belief and the knowledge about an object or destination (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999, p. 870). In a simpler expression, image is the knowledge, impression, prejudice or opinion of a person or a group about a place or a product (Tolungüç, 1999, p. 62).
The experiences people had in the past, their education, psychological states at that moment and the cultures in which they live cause an object, an event or a person to be evaluated and perceived in a different way. Within this framework, image is evaluated as the reflection of something real in a person’s mind. The reflection that cannot be controlled completely, can be estimated and it is possible to generalize this estimation. For this reason, producers spend a considerable effort to control the image (Yıldız, 2002, p. 7).