What 3 different types of brand assets differentiate your brand from your competitors?

Brand assets with most marketing potential

We no longer beat around the bush: sounds, symbols and characters generally score highest on the benchmark. That is, consumers recognize companies the most based on these brand assets. The higher you score on "sound," for example, the more consumers think of you when they hear it, and only you, not a competitor.

So these three types of brand assets hold the most marketing potential. The most potential to grow into a distinctive brand asset: a Distinctive Brand Asset. Have you already developed one of these three types of assets for your brand?

Sounds

Sounds evoke strong feelings in people. Do you know the Grolsch commercials? Then you've probably noticed the opening "pop" of the beer bottles. This sound is also recognizable in movie theaters; it even became a habit to wait until it got quiet and dark before people let out the chugging bottle. Apart from the behavior associated with this sound, Grolsch has made this sound completely its own, in fact, no other brand knows this 'plopping' of a beer bottle (except perhaps Coca-Cola with the sound of the can, pouring and the song 'Always Coca-Colaaaa').

But for a distinctive sound, think also of "yeah, yeah, jippie jippie yeah" from HORNBACH or the whistling fragment from HEMA. These are audio logos produced specifically for these brands. When people hear this they immediately associate the sound with the brand, feel a strong sense of it and often even tend to produce the sound along with it.

So there is much to gain in sonic branding for your brand.

Pictorial marks (pictorial marks)

The Erasmus Bridge began as a symbol and grew to become the logo of Rotterdam. This is just one example, but in this way many symbols can develop into a pictorial mark. A pictorial mark is a logo without a brand name, also called a pictorial mark.

You can then compare the Erasmus Bridge to Amsterdam's XXX symbol. This symbol was created by the city coat of arms of Amsterdam. This coat of arms consists of two lions holding a shield, an imperial crown above the shield and at the very bottom a ribbon with the motto of arms.

The white Triple XXX - on a black and red background - grew to become the flag of Amsterdam. And this simplistic yet impactful symbol can now be found everywhere in the city: on bollards, buildings, the sidewalk, banners and even bicycles.

Symbols can be very basic, and this makes them easy to translate into all kinds of communication. Do you already have a recognizable symbol?

Characters

Mickey Mouse is a great example of a "character" that has evolved into a logo. Characters are living or animated individuals, caricatures or mascots that represent a brand. Often it is a likeable character that people feel a connection with. Think Billie from Bol.com, Ronald McDonald from McDonald's or the puppy from Page toilet paper.

But surely the most famous characters are those of M&M's. Those (red and yellow) first appeared in 1954. In January 2022, M&M's restyled its characters (red, yellow, brown, green, blue and orange) to give them a look appropriate to today's times (one of the M&M's even got sneakers instead of heels because this female stereotype would no longer fit the current zeitgeist).

Getting back to Mickey Mouse, this mouse is part of the Disney brand. Disney has its own logo but Mickey Mouse has become so famous over the years that it can be used as a stand-alone symbol as a logo for Disney. Disney can even advertise with just Mickey Mouse's ears. Disneyland Paris' palace outline has a similar effect. A certain emotion and attachment to the brand will then be immediately evoked in every consumer.

Characters touch people's hearts and are therefore strong brand assets; a specific color or font, for example, absolutely cannot compete with that. Does your brand already have a character?

This is how you develop your sound, logo or character

Perhaps you now have an idea of the best types of brand assets to develop in order to stand out as a brand, but how do you go about doing this strategically? In our white paper, our experts give you all the tips and tricks you need.

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