Unit B7:       Branding a Product

Level: 1

Unit type: Sector (Business)

Guided learning hours: 40

Unit in brief

Learners will produce a brand logo and a strapline for a product for a target market.

Unit introduction

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small. An effective brand gives a product a big advantage in a market that has many similar products. What exactly does branding mean and how can you successfully brand a product? Branding is all about the name, strapline and logo, which is a picture to help customers (target market) recognise the products. Think about Coca-Cola® as a brand. When you see the word Coca-Cola, even without actually reading the word, you know it is them because of the style of writing in the logo and the colour. Branding tells the target market what they can expect from the products and services, and it makes the products stand out from competitors’ products. Businesses use branding on their websites,

on packaging and in advertising.

In this unit, you will look at well-known brands and what makes them successful in terms of colour and style. You will then be given a product to brand by creating a logo and strapline.

The transferable and sector skills you develop in this unit can enable you to progress to further learning. They will also support you in completing the core skills units in Group A of the qualification.

Learning aims

In this unit you will:

A  Create a brand logo and strapline for a product for a target market

B  Present a brand logo and strapline for a product to an audience.

Unit summary

There are opportunities to develop functional skills in this unit:

Unit content

Knowledge and sector skills

Definitions of branding, logo and strapline

• A brand is a distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or a combination of them that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market.
• A logo is a recognisable and distinctive graphic design, stylised name, unique symbol, or other device for identifying an organisation.
• A strapline is a short, easily remembered phrase used by an organisation so that people will recognise it or its products.
• Reason for branding: ‘big idea’ that lies at the heart of the business, the values that the product portrays.
• The features of the brand that makes the product stand out, what the brand offers, what makes the brand different.
• Importance/significance of branding: effective branding, uniqueness, character and promise.

Consideration of target market when creating a logo and strapline for a product

• Appealing to the target market by capturing their attention through images, colour, words and font.
• Target market characteristics in terms of race, age, disability and environment.
• Target market wants, needs and expectations to help decide on a suitable and effective logo and strapline.
• Templates and brand standards for promoting the product brand to target markets.

Consideration of design when creating a logo and strapline for a product

• Captivating strapline using expressive language.
• Features of a logo: colour, shape, design make it stand out from competitors and specific to the target market, e.g. for toys for children the logo should have bright colours and a design that will attract children.

Presenting a brand to an audience

• Presenting a brand using presentation software and speaker notes.
• Organising the slides for the presentation in a logical order to illustrate what has been considered in its development.

Transferable skills

• Finding out: about a product (including existing similar products and branding) and about target market needs and wants.
• Communication: factors considered and features used in a presentation to an audience as well as the use of expressive language to create a captivating strapline.

Assessment criteria