How important is brand resonance? And why does it matter?
Brand resonance is the emotional connection between a consumer and a brand or product. The stronger the emotional bond, the higher the likelihood of purchase. Brands that resonate emotionally connect with consumers on a deeper level. They create a strong emotional response within their audience. Brands that don’t resonate emotionally are less likely to be successful.
Brand Resonance: a definition
How well does your brand connect with consumers? How deep and emotional is that connection?
Why do certain brands enjoy the cult-like status, with consumers tattooing the brand’s logo on their skin?
The Resonance model is measured through different levels of the relationship between target consumers and a brand:
- Brand Identification: The first step is to ensure that the brand gets identified with the customers, creates awareness about the product, and establishes an association concerning its usage and the segment for which the product exists.
- Brand Establishment: To create a complete understanding of the brand in the mind of customers so that it starts becoming memorable.
- Brand Response: Once the association has been built with the customers, it is time to elicit the responses, which means evoking the customers’ feelings towards the brand.
- Brand Relationship: The last and final step is to turn the responses into a strong relationship between the brand and the customer.
While many criticize Resonance as a hollow measure because it does not take into consideration transactions of commercial nature between the brand and the customers, there is a large body of research that supports the notion that Brand Resonance is an essential catalyst for customers’ re-purchase, so it does also affect the commercial nature of the brand.
How do we build and manage Resonance? We use the Keller’s Brand Resonance Pyramid, which is often confused with the Brand Pyramid used as a positioning model.
Brand Resonance Pyramid
The brand resonance model is an equity pyramid, modeling from brand awareness to brand loyalty. It has three levels: Awareness, Attitude & Behavior, and Loyalty. At the top level, some brands have achieved brand resonance. They are the ones who have built their brand identity, and they have become the reference point for all other brands. This is the highest level because it is the most difficult to get to. This pyramid developed by Keller is also known as the customer-based brand equity framework.
The Brand Resonance Pyramid helps us understand how people perceive brands and their products. It is a visual representation of how consumers decide to purchase a product or service.
- Brand Salience: Marketers should create awareness about their product and make sure that they create an association between the product and the brand.
- Brand Performance: At the brand level, the marketers evaluate the way the product performs and how effectively it satisfies the needs of the customers
- Brand Imagery: This part deals with the customer’s psychological needs associated with the product.
- Brand Judgments: Consumers judge brands by combining various performance factors and the images associated with these brands.
- Brand Feelings: What customers feel for the product or how they’re emotionally attached to the product. Consumers can develop feelings towards brands regarding fun, safety, self-esteem, social acceptance, etc.
- Brand Resonance underlines the psychological bond between the customer and the brand. This is the highest pyramid level, which every company strives to reach. The focus here is on building a solid relationship with the customer by ensuring repeat purchases and creating brand loyalty through consistent communication.
Brand Resonance Example
A brand resonance example would be the case where a consumer has a solid emotional connection with a brand. However, qualitatively we can conclude our own experience as advisors and compare the Resonance Pyramid for Nike, Adidas, and New Balance.
| Dimension | Nike | Adidas | New Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Salience |
|
|
|
| Brand Performance | Top-notch sports/ athlete associations | Pro Athlete and Fashion Icons | Cool Design |
| Brand Imagery | Dominance, authenticity, innovation, winning, and performance | Performance with style | Style (but what about performance?!?) |
| Brand Judgements | Ruthless at any cost | With Style | Cool, but not for sports |
| Brand Feeling | Self-esteem | Social Acceptance | Social Acceptance |
| Brand Resonance | Lovemark | Lovemark | Respected, not loved |
In conclusion
Brand resonance is one of the most critical aspects of brand building. A brand can connect emotionally with consumers. The way brands communicate with consumers has changed dramatically over the last decade as now brands and consumers talk to each other more than ever.
Brand resonance is essential because it helps target audiences elevate one brand among the many competitors by establishing a more robust, more profound connection with them. It is helpful in managing Positive brand equity.
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