The power of branding: Revisiting an “old friend”

Abstract

Branding is a key strategic tool used to create awareness, reputation and build the organisation’s image. Marketers consider brands as carriers of values, and the development and implementation of branding strategies and programmes have lately expanded to include more than the traditional corporate, product and service domains of branding. In this article we set out to define and briefly discuss the nature of branding and indicate how brands are used to define the product to the customer. One of the major challenges facing South African business and marketing executives in the new millennium is to create world-class brands that will put South African brands on the national and international map.