Managing Brand YOU: Seven Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self

GLOSSARY OF BRANDING TERMS

HERE IS A QUICK-PASS GLOSSARY of the terms that

are used most frequently by branding professionals, and that are

used in this book. After all, if you are to become a successful Brand

YOU manager, you need to understand these terms.

Brand Attributes represent the associations that are attached to

a brand. They could represent physical or emotional associations.

Different individuals may see different brand attributes in a prod-

uct or a service or a personal brand for that matter. Attribute rel-

evancy is often in the eyes of the beholder.

Brand Audit is the MRI or CT Scan or X-Ray or “Lab Work” of

the branding world. It represents the complete diagnostic, analy-

sis, and evaluation of a brand from top to bottom. From logo,

symbol, colors, positioning, target audiences, relevancy, message,

awareness, satisfaction, scores, and more . . . it is the activity asso-

ciated with a brand taking stock in itself so it can ultimately im-

prove and enhance its effectiveness.

Brand Awareness (also called brand recall) is the measure of famil-

iarity customers have with a brand. Aided brand awareness is when

customers are given hints about a brand to help them recall the

brand. In the case of personal branding, imagine yourself at a party.

You see someone across the crowded room, but can’t remember

his name. When you ask a companion for help, she says “You re-

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Glossary of Branding Terms

member John, don’t you? He’s the guy who used to be on the

school board and lives in the same cul de sac as the Smiths.”

That’s an example of aided brand awareness. Without assistance,

you wouldn’t recall John. Unaided brand awareness simply means

that customers recognize a brand without assistance and without

hints. And so, even a 3-year-old child who doesn’t read can recog-

nize the “golden arches” of McDonald’s from a distance! That is

an example of how a brand symbol conveys the brand. In the case

of personal branding, unaided brand awareness is said to be “top

of the mind.” Don’t ever forget that it’s better to be remembered

than to be recalled.

Brand Benefit is the positive effect a brand delivers and provides.

Brand benefits may be functional, as with a vehicle that you can

drive from home to school and back. These are basic benefits that

are easily copied by competitors. However, emotional benefits of a

brand could include how you feel when you drive your vehicle. If

you are proud of your car and it reflects your personality, this bonds

you to the brand better than do functional benefits. For personal

branding, think about your closest friend. He is a brand who pro-

vides you the benefits of love, compassion, understanding, compan-

ionship, counsel, and so on. Those are all brand benefits that

represent a value to the end user.

Brand Equity represents the assets linked to a brand, which add up

to the perceived value provided by that brand. In terms of personal

branding, we hope that our personal brand equity includes assets

such as reliability, trustworthiness, integrity, honesty, great sense of

humor, kindness, empathy, sympathy, character, and competency.

Equities are transferable to other parts of our life and should be

treated as personal strengths. They are positive features or skills

you have developed over the years. Needless to say, just as financial

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