The impact of the internet on brands

Introduction to branding and internet

The growing popularity of the internet has seen scholars focus on its impact on marketing communication and branding. Branding is the element that distinguishes products with similar attributes and organisations are increasingly wary how changing consumer preferences are likely to affect their branding exercises (Chen, 2001). Despite the peculiarities of the internet, it must be appreciated that elements of the branding process remain essentially the same. The only difference comes in the manner in which communication is done and the need to design communication processes in a manner that allows for an active audience to give their feedback (Aaker and Jacobson, 2001). This is as opposed to the traditional marketing communication media such as televisions where the audience is largely passive. The internet impacts the cost of communication and also influences the communication habits of consumers in the market (Rowling, 2004). It is therefore expected that it would impact branding exercises in one way or another. This paper conducts a critical literature review of four journal articles related to the internet and its impact on branding. It expounds on the basics of branding; the internet and its impact on customer preferences; and the implications for businesses intending to do online branding. General observations from the review and recommendations have also been outlined.

Internet and changing perceptions on brands

As Chernatony and Christodoulides (2004) put it, customer perceptions form an integral part of the branding process. Brand managers must bear in mind the characteristics of customers in terms of their product preferences, communications approach and general lifestyles. The internet has not only affected marketing communications: it has also had a significant impact on the level of sensitivity that the average consumers have to information. Efthymios (2004) observes that today’s customer prefers to be an active receiver of marketing messages with the comprehensiveness of the information received, relevance and its ability to facilitate interaction being the most favourable elements. One of the main elements in the branding process is the fit between the branding approach and consumer characteristics. This makes the changes observed a great source of interest to brand managers around the world. While acknowledging the fact that there has been insufficient research in understanding the psychology of online consumers, Darley, Blankson and Luethge (2010) noted that the internet influences consumers’ approaches to communications and attention to detail. They also recognise the need to make further determinations on the extent to which website quality, clarity and attractiveness of graphic images contribute to the success of the branding process.  

The internet influences the process of information search with the abundance of information being seen as a threat to brands. Chernatony and Christodoulides (2004) illustrate this point by noting that with the growing popularity of the internet, consumers are able to access information on product features as well as prices. This enables them to interrogate the brand promise more attentively and heightens the risk of them making discoveries on products that are contrary to the projected brand image (Efthymios, 2004). The direct implication is that the internet to be seen as a threat to brands. Hitherto the emergence of the internet and e’ commerce, the process of searching for information would often be costly and time consuming. This would prompt consumers to draw from their memory and make decisions based on brand awareness and their affinity to the brand identities. The internet changes one major factor in the consumer decision making process: the search for information (Hahn and Kim, 2009). Consumers can now go through large volumes of information on products with ease and speed. They can shop for products using product tangible attributes such as qualities and pricing and make decisions. This increases their tendency to switch brands especially where products offering similar benefits tend to have different prices (Rowling, 2004).

The sentiments that the internet is a threat to brands are propagated by persons whose belief in online branding is weak (Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). One thing that must be acknowledged is that the size of the audience in the traditional media is shrinking. The emergence of pay television stations and the internet robs the traditional televisions the strategic position it had as a primary source of information and entertainment (Darley, Blankson and Luethge, 2010). This effect is in addition to the fact that the consumer characteristics have been influenced so much by changes in communication technologies that the traditional approaches to branding as fast becoming obsolete (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004). Rowling (2004) further observes that the internet and the resultant information clutter has created an average consumer whose concentration span is greatly reduced and this makes the frequency of communications very critical in the branding process. The consumers have a tendency of gathering more information than is needed for a decision to be made and this prompts an adaptation mechanism in the consumer psychology that gets a consumer to quickly dismiss information (Kotler, 2003). The end result is a short memory span that makes it difficult for consumers to revert back to own memory when doing a comprehensive information search. It is this aspect of the internet that influences the approach to online branding: ways have to be derived to counter the effect of the reduced memory spans (Rowling, 2004).    

The arguments that the internet destroys brand have been proven to be wrong in view of the fact that online brands have been observed to perform reasonably well. A good example is the online giant retailer- eBay which dominates online transactions around the world (Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). Analysts view the increase in the amount of information in the internet as an opportunity for effective branding to be brought in and help companies to gain in the market share (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004). Information clutter is believed to leave the consumer confused and spoilt for choice. With the advances in production technologies, products and services are increasingly reaching an almost equal level of sophistication with the market largely dominated by products that have perfect or near-perfect substitutes (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004: Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). This makes product features less and less important as consumers begin to be indifferent towards the consumption of given products. It is this apparent indifference that creates an opportunity for online branding to take effect.

The brand inspires confidence among consumers who are then inclined to purchase products associated with such brands (Aaker, 1997). The emphasis on the product intangible attributes that tend to reinforce product tangible attributes has been known to do the trick for most companies. For instance, the uniqueness of the taste alone in Coca Cola products is not enough to influence the purchasing decisions of consumers: it is the emphasis on the social nature of the drink and the perception that has been created over time that the drink brings refreshment and joy to the drinker that tends to bring out the desired effect (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004).  The brand brings out the enigmatic property of a product and creates a platform through which a consumer can express themselves through their choice of products to consume (Rowling, 2004). Attributes such as ‘pleasurable’, ‘durable’ and ‘reliable’ help in establishing consumer perceptions about products. They give the consumers the confidence that the products purchased will provide them with the benefits sought. Some brands target lifestyles and are used to project a certain image to the market. For instance, the Mercedes Benz is marketed as a brand for the wealthy and consumers intending to be seen in the same light therefore tend to make this choice irrespective of the amount of information they have on the product characteristics of the brand in question or its competitors (Aaker, 1997). Use of the internet helps in cementing these attributes due to the fact that it can easily identify people who’d want to be associated with a certain lifestyle and bring the message to them in a more personalised manner.

Implications on the branding process         

The process of branding aims at the synchronisation between the brand identity and the brand image. The difference between the two terms can be explained as follows: the brand identity refers to refers to the company’s perception on its qualities benefits and values they wish to project while the brand image refers to how consumers perceive the brand (Gregory, 2003: Kotler, 2006). This therefore implies that a branding process is only considered to be successful when the brand image and the brand identity become identical. The branding process is mainly dominated by marketing communications and this is what largely informs the relationship between the internet and brands.

The internet drastically impacts the communication process in terms of cost, types of messages, content, and the extent to which interaction is permitted (Dobele, Toleman and Beverland, 2005). As has been observed by analysts, the internet has greatly impacted the manner in which people relate to one another. The traditional concepts that required people to interact physically in social events are fast being replaced by the general acceptance of virtual socialisation. The emergence of social sites allows for internet users to keep in touch with one another, share ideas on the goings on around them and even get recommendations on the best products on offer in the market (Thorbjonsen and Supphellen, 2004). The internet also impacts the cost of communication significantly. The cost of marketing over the internet has been observed to be much lower than the cost in some of the traditional media (Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). For instance, advertisements on televisions and dailies are known to be among the most expensive forms of advertisements around the world. With the entry of the internet, marketing communications can be conducted with ease and at significantly lower costs.

Other traditional forms of marketing that have in the past been used to advance branding have been significantly altered by the emergence of the internet. For instance, word of mouth marketing which is known to be among the most effective forms of marketing has taken a new form with the growing popularity of social media (Rowling, 2004). Recommendations among individuals on products tend to be received by a much larger audience and this helps in growing the brand presence in the internet.   Dobele, Toleman and Beverland (2005) further observe that the internet has revolutionised the attitude of consumers towards marketing and branding communication exercises. While the traditional audience of televisions, newsprint and outdoor advertisements tended to be content with being passive participants in the process, the internet has spurred the emergence of a certain desire to be actively involved in the messages being communicated (Dobele, Toleman and Beverland, 2005). This may perhaps be best explained by Rowling (2004) who observes that most users of the internet tend to receive and send messages that are largely personalised. Unlike the mass media where the consumer is conscious that they are just part of the audience, internet users tend to be subconsciously aware that the messages are specifically intended for them and this provides them with the motivation to want to interact with the senders of such messages (Loosley, Richards and Gregory, 2004). This view is further emphasised by Rowling (2004) who notes that online consumers of information tend to be active participants of the communication process and this makes it necessary that companies embrace the use of interactive communication styles in the course of branding.

Viral marketing involves the creation of a message which is then spread across the social media with remarkable speed (Dobele, Toleman and Beverland, 2005). It simulates the movement of computer viruses where a computer can affect an entire network with a virus upon interaction. Viral marketing and other forms of online branding exercises are known to have far reaching implication for brands with companies that embrace online branding being seen to benefit remarkably (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004). This is especially the case with developed economies where the use of the internet is increasingly common with many shoppers opting to embrace online shopping. As has been observed, the uniqueness of the message is a crucial determinant on the extent to which the message can spread.

The internet is also known to help in boosting the effectiveness of the branding process. By providing a platform for interaction, the companies can use their systems to determine the preferences of individual consumers (Rowling, 2004). Such information could be used to provide the consumers identified with relevant information and therefore contribute to the success of the marketing communication and branding processes. The knowledge of the consumers, their preferences, lifestyles and consumption patterns is crucial in assuring the effectiveness of a marketing process (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004). If timely communications are sent to the selected consumers, a brand can easily distinguish itself as reliable and therefore capture the loyalty of the regular recipients of their marketing messages.

Success factors for E’ brands

Whereas it may be true that the internet influences the branding process in many ways, many arguments have been raised in support of the integration of the internet with the traditional media. This is due to the fact that brand images need to be seen fairly frequently before they can be implanted into the memory of consumers. The internet has also been observed to facilitate mainly the digital messages with video messages tending to go largely unnoticed (Chernatony and Christodoulides, 2004). This therefore makes it necessary that the traditional forms of advertisements such as the use of televisions be conducted. EBay whose presence in the internet has remained strong provides a good example of this (Chen, 2001). The company embraces the use of traditional media alongside online branding and this helps in enhancing its presence and visibility. For a brand to be visible, it must be displayed frequently enough to attract attention. E brands should therefore allow for a multiple approach with the use of various communication media in order to remain effective (Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). For instance, an average consumer would want to have the ability to follow up an online inquiry with a phone call and would be disappointed if such channels were unavailable (Rowling, 2004). Consistency should also be assured. Messages should at all times direct the reasoning of the consumers in a certain way. It is this consistency, backed by product characteristics, that conditions the consumer’s mind in the desired manner. Brands must therefore embrace a long term view and seek to reinforce their image through diverse and catchy communications that are intended to bring out a particular message.

Recommendations on the internet and brands

The internet is good for brands and branding for a number of reasons. Firstly, the internet has impacted the field of communication very significantly. It has made it easy for information to be spread without strain while also making the average consumer more informed. Due to the ease with which information can be retrieved from the internet, it is increasingly being viewed as the primary source of information (Darley, Blankson and Luethge, 2010). This means that an average consumer will always some time in the internet on a daily basis hence increasing the size of the audience to be targeted by such endeavours. 

The second reason relates to the new attitudes that have come with internet communication technologies. Consumers increasingly prefer to be an active audience where they can seek clarifications and shed off any doubts they may be having about a product or brand (Rowling, 2004). The internet allows for the establishment of a highly interactive system that facilitates conversations and correspondence between the consumers and company/brand representatives. This helps in developing the ‘personal touch’ which is very instrumental in generating brand loyalty among consumers involved. Openness and timely response to answers helps in generating trust: a key component of successful brands. 

The internet when used together with other information technology systems can help in generating a database that collects information about consumers. It can help in identifying their preferences for products as well as the type of messages that tend to be most effective when used (Rowling, 2004). The information gathered can easily be incorporated into the branding and marketing plans and inform the choice and form of message and therefore help greatly in enhancing the brand. 

Whereas the internet may help in highlighting crucial information on brands and therefore enhance them, it should be appreciated that it also comes with risks. Unlike other publications where legal obligations help in ensuring responsible reporting, the information availed in the internet is often not factually correct (Darley, Blankson and Luethge, 2010). Malicious information can be easily published online and generate negative publicity for the brand with ease. This imposes a duty on brand managers to monitor closely the information posted on them in the internet and take measures to counter any negative reports that may be in circulation. The maintenance of an official website and active participation in other online forums could prove to be helpful (Darley, Blankson and Luethge, 2010). Despite these risks, the internet is more of a blessing than a curse to brands and should be used more actively in the branding process.

Conclusion

The internet is an integral part of the branding process due to the fact that it impacts marketing communications significantly. It reduces the cost of communication drastically and also allows for organisations to capture consumer information. This information is later used for targeted marketing activities and this makes the branding process more successful. The branding process is also impacted by the internet due to the fact that it influences consumer behaviour. The consumers’ approach to communication and information search is increasingly characterised by availability of information and this makes it necessary for brand managers to refine their marketing messages to ensure that they can attract as much attention as possible. The frequency with which the information is repeated is also important with many brand managers tending to display their brand symbols across sections of the internet to enhance visibility. While it may be true that the internet significantly influences the branding process, it must be appreciated that there is need to combine communication media in order to enhance effectiveness. Online branding exercises should be conducted in synergy with the traditional marketing communication channels in order to yield the desired effect. It can therefore be concluded that whereas the internet has changed the manner in which brands are perceived and how the branding process should be conducted; the essentials of branding remain largely the same and online branding can only be effective when conducted in synergy with the traditional marketing communications channels.

References

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Chernatony, L., Christodoulides, G., 2004. Taking the brand promise online: challenges and opportunities, Interactive Marketing, 5(3), pp. 238-251

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