A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design or any other feature that allows consumers to identify the goods and services of a business and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
A brand might be one product, a family or range of products or the actual business itself. So, for example, KitKat is an individual product by Nestlé. KitKat Chunky and KitKat Chunky Peanut Butter are also part of the KitKat family. Nestlé is the name of the company which produces KitKats, other confectionery products such as Milky Bar and Smarties, and foods such as breakfast cereals.
Brands are important assets for businesses which have them. They will generate high revenue, promotion and repeat purchase. Sometimes they can be sold at a high price. For example, when Nestlé bought Rowntree for $2.5 billion in 1988 it acquired a number of brands including KitKat and After Eight.
Brand Names are the parts of the brand that can be spoken, such as the name of the product, example, Barbie Doll. A brand Mark is the design or symbol used in the brand, such as the apple used on Apple Macintosh computers. It is possible to protect the TradeMark by copyright. A company might use its Trade Name as a brand, such as Virgin, Disney or Starbucks. In some cases the company name might be as well known as its products or even more well known.
