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When you have to create a
brand name, thousands of
ideas can be explored as there are innumerable
alternatives. But when it comes to the selection
of colors, the choice is comparatively limited, and some of them may
be inappropriate for one reason or the other. In such a situation, the
normal tendency is to choose colors similar to those being commonly used by
the industry or by other brands in the product category. And this is where
a classic mistake of branding is done. The basic underlying principle
of branding is that you have to differentiate your brand from those of
your competitors. To understand this more clearly, let us explore further
through a practical example.
Electrotherm (India) Limited is a multidivisional ISO 9001:2000
certified company. It has a division, known as Electrotherm
Renewable Division. The first product of this division is a solar water heater;
and R&D is in process for other products related to wind energy, etc. This
division was in plans to come up with a new brand of solar water
heater. They had done all the home work. The brand name had been decided
as "Electra" and the logo was ready too! But the color scheme was in
question, and the entire brand identity had to be reviewed again. This is not a
good practice, as the time and effort required on the part of a brand
management agency to rectify it, could sometimes exceed that taken for
the original creation.
What color might the company have selected initially? Yes, you
have guessed it right - "green"; and this
is the classic mistake. You would say, what is the problem in selecting
the color green? It is very logical because the
division is working on renewable energy, which is otherwise
identified as `green' energy, and hence the choice of color is
quite logical and meaningful. True, very true, but branding
requires focusing on consumer perception, rather
than on logic. |
