Here are some examples of successful branding.

I want to strengthen my branding with a trademark I designed myself!
To do so, I want to know about other companies’ branding success stories!

In order to win customers branding strategy is indispensable. Here are some examples of successful branding for each company.

Branding means to create a common image among consumers for a certain product or service.

In the future, branding strategies will receive more attention.
In this context, how can we ensure the success of our branding strategy?

This article provides examples of successful corporate branding.

Purpose of branding

Why do so many different companies focus on branding? It is because successful branding can have the following positive effects

1. differentiation from competitors is possible
2. long-term sales can be secured due to the client’s loyalty
3. higher profit margins due to the value of the brand itself
4. Increased name recognition and corporate procurement ability

Conversely, if your branding is not well done, you will not be able to differentiate yourself from your competitors. As a result, you will be caught in a price war.

We must continue to gather information for our branding strategy in order to continue to attract new customers and increase our market share. And we must avoid branding failures.

There are several steps that must be taken to ensure successful branding.

(1) Understand the strengths of your company and clarify the target user group.
It is difficult to grasp the strengths of a company by itself.
By utilizing SNS, etc., soliciting the real voices of users regarding your company, and using methods such as SWOT analysis, you can investigate and learn about your company’s strengths. By thoroughly researching your company’s current strengths and weaknesses and discovering your company’s challenges, you can better define your target user base.

(2) Consider “What image do you want users to have of your brand?
Carefully consider the worldview of the brand you want to offer to users.

(3) Promote your brand on TV and other media
Once you have considered your idea, actually put it into copy, design, etc., and promote it through advertisements. The more you advertise, the more users will become aware of your brand.

Examples of successful branding

Let’s take a look at each of these cases of successful branding. The content is summarized with examples of things we see in our daily lives.

Case 1: Mishima Shokuhin’s “Yukari” furikake　(ゆかり®)

One of Mishima Shokuhin’s signature products is “Yukari” furikake(ゆかり®).
At the time Mishima Shokuhin introduced “Yukari” to the market, furikake was mostly made from animal products such as fish. Therefore, the appeal of “Yukari”, which is made from non-animal ingredients, was not well received at first.
However, when “Yukari” was adopted for school lunches, it became a hit with children, and many parents who heard about it bought it.

After “Yukari” became famous, Mishima Shokuhin actively communicated that “Yukari” was a registered trademark and that the high quality demanded by Mishima Shokuhin was guaranteed in order to avoid “Yukari” becoming a generic name. In order to guarantee the quality of “Yukari,” the company developed a new variety of red perilla, the raw material, in-house. By developing and cultivating a new variety, we succeeded in preventing the transformation of the taste and aroma of red perilla due to natural hybridization.
As a result of maintaining the quality expected by customers, Mishima Shokuhin’s “Yukari” continues to attract fans to the extent that the name “Yukari” is now synonymous with red shiso sprinkles.

By delivering quality products to consumers, Mishima Shokuhin may have instilled the value of its own brand in consumers.

You can see why customers continue to choose “Yukari” even though we do not advertise “Yukari” on our cm and video websites.

Case 2:Starbucks®

Starbucks, which operates stores around the world, has been providing consumers with a “third place” in order to realize its corporate philosophy. Starbucks has always aimed to create and provide a third place as a place and space where people can spend time comfortably. As a result, the company has built a solid brand position even more than 20 years after its entry into the Japanese market.

Starbucks is known for its proactive inner branding (a company’s efforts to ensure that employees involved in its services understand the value and philosophy of the corporate brand). The company’s unique approach to inner branding includes having all employees carry a “mission card” with the Starbucks mission and logo.

One of the reasons the Starbucks brand has become widely recognized by consumers is the strengthening of inner branding. First, Starbucks shared its corporate philosophy with its employees. Then, Starbucks put the corporate philosophy into practice with people outside the company through the sale of coffee. As a result, the company remains as popular as ever. This is an example of how Starbucks has succeeded in making consumers aware of its image as a “comfortable space.”

Importance of Branding

Branding, unlike marketing, is an important activity that explores consumer needs from the “consumer’s perspective. Without proper branding, marketing strategies cannot set the right direction.

The two companies’ products are so well known by name that we see them in our daily lives. They’re also supported by a wide range of people.
I’m sure the success of the two companies’ branding is due to their unique corporate efforts, but what are some of the relevant characteristics of the two cases?

There are many reasons for this, for example, the target users were properly set up, etc. What Case 1 and Case 2 have in common is that they created and used a trademark as a symbol. I think it is also significant that the company’s brand image was communicated to people and the world through the trademark.

Branding and Trademarks

Trademarks are now a means for businesses to communicate their established brand image to consumers. By communicating the brand image more effectively to consumers through a trademark, the concept and values of the company are more widely known to consumers.
Trademarks are also useful not only to consumers, but also to employees within a company. Trademarks are also useful for sharing information within the company about the policies the company is pursuing.

In Examples 1 and 2 presented in the previous section, both companies are using their trademarks. The above examples illustrate how a company communicates its values to consumers and employees through its trademarks as part of its corporate branding.

Certainly, there seems to be a limit to verbal communication alone in order for everyone in the organization to understand the company’s vision. Also, in order to share a consistent vision with customers outside the organization, it may be easier to communicate it through a logo or other design rather than by explanation.

While there are many ways to brand, it is essential to share the brand image with those to whom the branding is directed, both internally and externally. In this sense, trademarks are an important part of a branding strategy.

Trademarks can be a hot topic, like when that shape of the “きのこの山®” candy was registered as a three-dimensional trademark! I would consider the use of trademarks as part of branding, and I might consider applying for a trademark once.

If you are interested in applying for a trademark, please feel free to contact us!

As mentioned above, this article explained branding and presented examples of successful branding.

A logo or naming that reflects a company’s values and brand image is the face of the company. Creating a trademark is important for branding and for building trust in your brand. Even if you have created a trademark, it is also important as part of your branding strategy to change it every time you change the services you offer.

Once you have done so, you may wish to search for trademarks for which you may be able to file a trademark application.