The Importance of Building Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is one of the ways to measure marketing effectiveness through the ability of potential buyers or consumers to recognize and remember a particular brand. In this regard, it can include names, images, logos, and certain slogans used by marketers to promote their products. Brand awareness is becoming an important factor in a strong brand (other factors are relevant differentiation). Past research has shown that brand awareness has a high correlation with the intensity of the purchase, market share and other important brand equity and business matrix. It is undeniable that the more consumers remember your product, the greater the intensity of the purchases they would do.
According to Aaker, brand awareness is defined into three levels, as follows:
- Brand recognition
Recognition reflects familiarity and linking acquired from past exposure. Recognition is the lowest level of brand awareness. Remembering as such, one brand among others is a manner of aided recall.
- Brand recall
Brand recall is the recollection of the brand. Recall reflects the awareness of a brand when it comes to mind as soon as its product class is mentioned. In the brand recall, consumers have a manner of unaided recall.
- Top of Mind
It is the highest awareness level, the brand dominates the mind of the consumers and pops up as first whenever applicable. In this level, they have an unaided recall to recognize a specific product brand.
A strong identity requires a strong icon, a tagline that emphasizes the brand promise and functional identity systems. Once you have a strong consumer base, it is important for your brand to remain on the top of mind of the consumers. This is crucial that they remember your brand when they are ready to re-purchase. To get to the top of mind level, of course, it takes special promotional strategies to instill a strong brand message. To gain the brand awareness and maintain it, you should be able to uphold the brand promise of your products and deliver it consistently in every interaction with the consumers.