2.2.1 Then: Branding

The central concern of brand building literature experienced a dramatic shift in the last decade. Branding and the role of brands, as traditionally understood, were subject to constant review and redefinition. A traditional definition of a brand was: “the name, associated with one or more items in the product line, that is used to identify the source of character of the item(s) ” (Kotler 2000, p. 396). The American Marketing Association (AMA) definition of a brand is “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors ” (p. 404). Within this view, as Keller (2003a) says, “technically speaking, then, whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand ” (p. 3). He recognizes, however, that brands today are much more than that. As can be seen, according to these definitions brands had a simple and clear function as identifiers. Before the shift in focus towards brands and the brand building process, brands were just another step in the whole process of marketing to sell products. “For a long time, the brand has been treated in an off-hand fashion as a part of the product ” (Urde 1999, p. 119). Kotler (2000) mentions branding as “a major issue in product strategy ” (p. 404). As the brand was only part of the product, the communication strategy worked towards exposing the brand and creating brand image. Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) mention that within the traditional branding model the goal was to build brand image; a tactical element that drives short-term results. Kapferer (1997) mentioned that “the brand is a sign-therefore external- whose function is to disclose the hidden qualities of the product which are inaccessible to contact ” (p. 28). The brand served to identify