Marketing Management, 16th Edition

The Role of Brands

Brands identify the maker of a product and allow consumers to assign responsibility for its performance to that maker or distributor. Brands perform a number of functions for both consumers and firms.

Brands’ Role for Consumers

A brand is a promise the firm makes to the consumer. It is a means to set consumers’ expectations and reduce their risk. In return for customer loyalty, the firm promises that its products or services will reliably deliver a predictably positive experience and set of desirable benefits. A brand may even be “predictably unpredictable” if that is what consumers expect, but the key is that it fulfills or exceeds customer expectations in satisfying their needs and wants.

Consumers may evaluate the identical ...