Categorizing brands: Evolutionary processes underpinned by two key dimensions

Brands are powerful assets which are best resourced by appreciating their characteristics. They are often viewed as an input process by marketers, rather than taking heed of consumers and considered as an output process. An eight stage brand evolutionary model is presented, moving from an input to an output perspective. It is argued that the assets underpinning these different brand types can be compressed into functional and representational dimensions, enabling brands to be categorized on a two dimensional matrix. Empirical consumer research into these two dimensions is presented, focusing on toothpaste and high interest savings accounts brands. Positioning maps are developed and implications for brand management considered.