Marketing communication: principles and practice

a slogan
:
‘The Theatre of Dreams’
•
an identity
:
the club crest and players’ strips, especially the red and 
white ‘uniform’
•
a logo
:
the distinctive red club crest
•
a company
:
the ‘Manchester United’ corporate brand
•
a source of information
:
supporting the club means the best of British
•
a means of identification
:
the club crest and bright red and white team strip
•
an advertising image
:
a successful football team
•
an added extra
:
the brand is seen as guaranteeing success and ambition
•
a person
:
currently David Beckham, but all players as person-
alities, including Alex Ferguson
•
an image
:
successful, powerful, skilful, glamour, and a history 
•
a product
:
originally football as entertainment, competition, 
sport, success and winning, power, and patriotism, 
now also many products and increasing reputation
•
a service
:
the website?
(See www.manutd.com and http://glorymanutd.cjb.net)

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?
1 If Professor Ehrenberg is right, that mostly advertising is a means for
brand publicity, how would the widespread adoption of the concept of
saliency impact on the global advertising industry?
2 How would you characterize the brand personalities of Virgin Atlantic,
EuroDisney, Nestlé, and British Airways?
3 Brands enable consumers to communicate something about themselves.
Explain how this might work.
4 Try to explain human cognition processes using Vickers’ idea of an
appreciative system. In what ways does this help in understanding the
product brand from the cognitive and communication perspectives?
5 Advertising transforms a product into a mirror of its consumer. Explain
this in terms of branding.
6 Brands may be based on the following:
euphemism; metaphor; analogy; totem; fetish; metonym; substitute;
catalyst; icon; synecdoche; symbol; corollary; syllogism.
Find a dictionary definition of each term that makes sense of branding.
7 Try this game. Write a list of ten familiar products. Ask your colleagues
to name spontaneously a brand for each, including the manufacturer and
a main provider. Why are these names so prominent?
8 If there were no brands, how would your life be affected?
9 Think of some people who are prominent in your life. List what you think
might be their favourite brands. On what basis can you/do you make
such judgements?
10 I have elsewhere suggested that a brand is a form of trope. Go back to
your English lessons and work out what I might mean by this (why not
send your answer to me by e-mail?).