What makes a brand image powerful enough to influence purchasing decisions? How can businesses create a memorable brand that stands out from competitors?
David Ogilvy’s brand image philosophy emphasizes the importance of consistency and distinctiveness in advertising. His approach shows how successful brands maintain their identity over decades while strategically appealing to specific market segments.
Continue reading to explore how Ogilvy’s proven strategies can help build a brand that captures attention and drives long-term success.
David Ogilvy on Brand Image
According to David Ogilvy, brand image is central to a long-term advertising strategy. The best advertisements don’t just persuade consumers that a product is valuable; they also reinforce the brand image. A brand image is the cumulative impression a brand makes in the minds of consumers over years of advertising. Ogilvy argues that, the stronger and more distinct a brand’s image is, the more often consumers will choose to buy it over a competitor.
According to Ogilvy, the key to strengthening brand image is offering consistency over time. The most effective ads magnify and reinforce an existing brand image rather than reinvent it. This is why so many of the world’s biggest brands—such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s—have maintained the same brand image for decades.
Ogilvy points out that when developing a distinct brand image, it’s inevitable that the brand will appeal more to some demographics than others. For instance, a clothing brand that positions itself as cutting-edge may naturally alienate older and more traditional customers. To some extent, this is necessary; trying to make a brand that appeals equally to everyone will result in a brand with no distinctiveness at all—one that gets overlooked.
(Shortform note: In Positioning, Al Ries and Jack Trout argue that tailoring your brand to specific demographics is valuable because it allows you to be a market leader in that niche—as long as you’re the first brand to do it. When you become the leader of a new niche market, your brand becomes synonymous with that niche in the public consciousness, giving you a strong competitive advantage. This means that to have a successful brand, you don’t need to appeal exclusively to one demographic if you can define a different kind of niche market to lead. For instance, you could offer a luxury version of a product that other companies sell at a low price point, or a handheld version of a product that’s typically much larger.)
| A Consistent Brand Image Triggers Memories In How Brands Grow, Byron Sharp slightly disagrees with Ogilvy about how brand image increases sales. Unlike Ogilvy, Sharp believes that consumers don’t make purchasing decisions by considering which brand image appeals to them the most. Instead, consumers tend to buy whichever brand is most memorable and therefore comes to mind first. According to Sharp, the key to building a strong brand image is increasing the likelihood that consumers will think about your brand when making a purchase decision. To accomplish this, Sharp (like Ogilvy) recommends keeping your brand image consistent over time. Specifically, create recognizable brand assets, such as logos, colors, and slogans, and feature them in every ad you produce. These assets act as triggers that bring back positive memories of your brand whenever consumers encounter them. For instance, if your logo is a man with a distinctive mustache, consumers will remember your brand if they see someone in real life with that style of mustache. Overall, this increases the chance that they’ll think of your brand first and choose it when deciding what to buy. |
