Branding

Overview

From functional value to deeper meaning and the goodwill that companies keep with customers.

Presented by:
Larry Vincent,
Professor of the Practice of Marketing

Presented to:
GSBA 509
October 6, 2026

What is a brand?

Brand

A name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

American Marketing Association

A brand is a
blast furnace.

Great brands are grounded in truth
but expressed in possibilities.

Aaker’s equity model

Keller’s equity model

Tangible results

Metric	Emotionally connected	Merely satisfied
Average tenure	5.1 years	3.4 years
Recommendation rate	71%	45%
Annual spend	Up to 2x more	Baseline
Source: Motista, 2018

Designing a brand.

Brand platform

Objectives

Strategy

Become the cannabis reference brand.

Brand promise

Identity

Branding is relationship management.

Brand relationships

Source: Susan Fournier

Brand relationships

Source: Susan Fournier

Brand relationships

Source: Susan Fournier

Brand relationships

Source: Susan Fournier

Relationship analogues

Brand mythology

A personal story

A personal story

A personal story

Cult initiation

Relationships

Culture = Brand

Stress tests

 

Stress tests

Service Profit Chain

Source: Heskett, Sasser, and Schlesinger, 1994

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Mary Schmich

Wear Sunscreen Speech, Chicago Tribune

A strong brand exceeds expectations through experience… but resonates in absence.