Brand Placement in Establishing Corporate Identity -A University Example-

With competition becoming ever fiercer, brands must conform to modern marketing and become more influential on consumer perceptions by developing strategies according to the needs and demands of consumers. Hence it is very important to determine how the brand is perceived and placed in the consumer’s mind. Branding is a key issue on the modern agenda. As universities have understood the importance of establishing corporate identity and brand placement, they have joined the race and begun developing social strategies to develop their brand values. These include establishing brand belongingness, advertising and promotions and efforts to make the university stand out among similar ones. Brand placement in the minds of users is attempted through the name, logo, colors, characters and fonts representing the university used on clothing, office material and similar. Brand placement efforts include definitions by consumers of the product or service or attempts to distinguish these from those of competitors. This research deals with a clothing brand representing a university, brand image and product perceptions as well as the brand placement efforts. The scanning method was used in the research. The brand of casual clothing used as an example for brand placement as well as similarly known brands were examined for their product variety, prices and consumer portfolios. Measurement devices were prepared for the brand placement of the apparel designed and produced for the university, and a pilot trial was performed. In the pilot trial, a set of questions was asked to a group of randomly chosen 242 people, consisting of academics, university students and administrative staff. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Findings were given in tables according to status variables. The finding of the research indicate that in brand placing efforts, for the intended consumer the apparel’s fabric, stitching and print/embroidery quality, its price, durability, and practicality as well as the design, color scheme, brand reliability and brand image are important. It was also established that the apparel must reflect the university’s corporate belongingness.