Branding is done to gain customer loyalty and preference by appealing to the rational and emotional influences on consumer behavior.

Brand Character is the integration or fusion of all the key product attributes, as well as the intangible aspects of the brand. It is what the brand truly is, or is designed to become – whether or not the marketplace currently perceives it completely and accurately.

Brand Character is multifaceted. For Lilly, it includes:

• Product Position
• Predominance
  • Function
  • Differentiators
  • Source of Authority
• Personality
• Brand Essence
• Mandatory Brand Elements

The Brand Character is the foundation upon which creative campaigns and/or all marketing programs are built; it ensures cognitive consistency across markets.

Examples of differentiators are:

• Intangible Attributes
  • Transformative
  • Innovative
• Tangible Attributes
  • Unique mode of action
  • Distinct delivery system
  • Distinct packaging
  • Unique approach of the sale force
  • Distinctive advertising style
• Brand Elements
  • Logo
  • Color
  • Payoff line or tagline

The fewer differentiators needed to uniquely identify the Brand, the better. The idea is to have a few differentiators that are rational or emotional. Ideally, a differentiator is both.

The consistent use of Brand Elements in all marketing programs helps communicate the Brand Character to the marketplace. The brand name, logo, slogan, jingle, and packaging style are all examples of Brand Elements. Desirable Brand Elements should be as many of the following characteristics as possible:

• Meaningful (ie, effectively enable customers to understand the
  meaning of the Brand – e.g., the Brand's Character)
• Memorable
• Protectable (i.e., legally registrable)
• Adaptable (i.e., can be updated to maintain/enhance
  memorability, meaningfulness, etc)
• Transferable (i.e., cross-culturally; and/or within and across
  product categories)

Five categories (of brand assets/liabilities) that, when linked to a brand name and symbol, either add to or subtract from the value provided by a product name or service to its customers:

• Brand awareness(2)
• Brand associations(4)
• Perceived brand quality
• Brand loyalty(5)
• Other brand qualities

1. Brand knowledge: The knowledge acquired by the consumer; divided into Brand awareness and Brand Image
2. Brand awareness: The strength of the consumer’s memory of the brand under different conditions. For example: recognition (prior experience of the brand); or recall (ability to locate the brand on cue such as product category).
3. Brand image: All associations held in relation to the brand. These can be described and/or evaluated in terms of:
     a. Types of associations
     b. Favorability of association
     c. Strength of association
     d. Uniqueness of association (Kevin Keller)
   Associations/ perceptions actually held in the marketplace – for example: in the minds of the customers, etc. The difference between “brand image” and “brand character” is that “brand character” is what the Product Team wants the Brand to be/become – or what the brand “truly is.” While the “brand image” is how the brand is actually perceived in the marketplace.
4. Brand associations: Thoughts and feelings held by people in connection with a brand – often part of an associative network memory.
5. Brand loyalty: Customers’ affinity, attachment, identification with the brand; and ultimately, their preferential selection/purchase/use of the brand (i.e. predominant or exclusive selection/purchase/use of the brand in terms of frequency, volume, etc.)
   (David Aaker)

The Brand Essence is a single thought that captures the “soul” of the brand. A good Brand Essence does not merely string a set of phrases from the Product Position, Predominance, or Brand Personality into a sentence, since this would provide little value. Instead, it should capture much of what the brand stands for. A Brand Essence statement should be only one word – or at most two words. The Brand Essence should have several characteristics. It should:

• Resonate with customers
• Drive the marketing programs
• Be ownable
• Provide differentiation from competitors that will persist through time
• Be compelling enough to energize and inspire the employees and partners of the organization.

Strong Brand Essence statements usually have multiple interpretations that make them more effective. For Nike® the Brand Essence might be "excelling," which could encompass such diverse components of the Nike® Brand Character as: technology, top athletes, aggressive personalities, the track shoe heritage, and sub-brands like Air Jordan®, as well as customers who strive to excel.
Nike® and Air Jordan® are registered trademarks of Nike, Inc.

The Brand Essence should not be confused with a tagline. The role of a tagline is to communicate the Product Position to the external audience. It may change over time, and it may vary according to geographical market segment or product. The Brand Essence, however, should be the same at all times (or at least for a very long time) and should be relevant across markets and products.

The Brand Personality should create another point of differentiation from the competition. The Personality of the brand should be based on the unmet emotional needs and the personality traits of the Patient Segment(s) for which the brand is developed as defined by the Product Position.

A Customer Value Proposition describes the needs of the patient segment as perceived and used by therapeutic decision makers to select appropriate therapies for that Patient Segment.

We must define what role we want the Brand to play to satisfy unmet needs in the market. One way to understand Function is to imagine that your Brand just "died" and you are writing the eulogy. What would be said in the eulogy about the Brand? What did the Brand mean and to whom? Function is not only about the rational facts of what the drug will do. An example of Function would be, "This brand is the catalyst for a fundamental change in the way we treat ABC disease."

The Global Product Branding Process combines both rational and emotional dimensions to create a Brand Character. The starting place for the Global Product Branding Process is the determination of the Product Position. Thereafter, the Predominance and Personality, Brand Essence, and Mandatory Brand Elements are progressively defined and developed.

Marketing programs express and/or communicate the Product Position and Brand Character to the target audience. Some elements of the Brand Character may not be part of the Marketing Programs because, although important, they do not differentiate. It could be that the brand may not be ready to deliver on a promise, or the audience may not be ready to accept a particular message. As the delivery of grander elements of the Brand Character becomes feasible and believable, the Marketing Programs can become more ambitious.

Of course, each different patient segment will offer its own unique opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses.
Opportunities and threats should be identified prior to identifying strengths and weaknesses. Various tools are used at Lilly to identify opportunities and threats, including:

• Health Care Transaction Model qualitative analysis
• Scenario Planning

Various tools are used at Lilly to identify strengths and weaknesses:

• Identification of critical company capabilities needed to address opportunities and threats
• Competitive Analysis applied to both company capabilities and the product's ability to satisfy the customer Value Propositions of each Patient Segment (sometimes called Market Segment).

Critical Success Factors are identified from the OTSW Analysis. Decisions regarding the Product Position are made based on OTSW Analysis of specific Patient Segments and the Strategic Intent for the brand.

A portion of the market that contains patients who can be defined by common needs as perceived by therapeutic decision makers (most commonly physicians/prescriber) and described or identified by distinctive, observable characteristics.

At Lilly, Patient Segments should be initially defined and evaluated by Program Teams or Global Product Teams. The Global Product Team has the primary responsibility for determining the target Patient Segments for the Product Position and for the brand’s Strategic Intent. Affiliate Marketers then determine how to most effectively compete in those Patient Segments in their local situation.

The ingredients of Predominance are:

• Function
• Source of Authority
• Differentiators

A dictionary definition of “predominance” is: "having superior strength, influence, or authority." This component is essential in the design of a product's brand.

It is important to understand that Predominance is not about a product's scientific performance or the actual way the product itself functions. The product's scientific performance can and will ultimately be replicated by competitors. We strive to build Predominance components that are unable to be replicated – at least in part – due to their emotional connections. This may be the most difficult concept to grasp in successful brand building.

An example of a Product Life Cycle can be:

• Introduction
• Growth
• Maturity
• Decline and/or “Relaunch”

The Product Life Cycle is partly a result of the tendency toward a normal, or “bell curve,” distribution of new product adoption in a population of customers; for example:

• Innovators (~10%)
• Early Adopters (~40%)
• Late Adopters (~40%)
• Laggards (~10%)

The sales curve of few, if any, products will have a perfectly normal distribution. The different stages of the product life cycle may be shorter or longer for different products, depending on a great many factors. Generally, though, sales will rise slowly during the "Introduction" phase, then rapidly during the "Growth" phase. They will level off in the "Maturity" phase, and subsequently decline—unless actions are taken to "Relaunch" or extend the "Maturity" phase.

The life cycle pattern applies not only to products, but also to technologies. In the pharmaceutical industry, "technology" most often means drug class. Pharmaceutical marketers should understand not only where their product is (approximately) in its life cycle, but they should also understand where the class (technology) is in its life cycle.

A clear statement of:

• Where the product should be used (in which Patient Segments the product should be used); and
• Why the product should be used (the specific promise or benefit that should be expected)

The Product Position should represent an advantage over competitor brands and fulfill current communication objectives. A Product Position statement is commonly stated in one of two forms:

• For [description of patient segment(s)], [BRAND X] is a [frame of reference] that has or does [point of difference] because [overwhelming reason to believe]
• [BRAND X] is better than [define competitor] for [define target patient segment(s)] because it [state main benefit] as a result of [evidence]

The Product Position guides the definition of Brand Character. The purpose of a Product Position is to define where the company wants to compete in the market and what the company wants customers to believe the product will satisfy. This should be done in a way that differentiates the product from competitive products in the customers' minds.

The fundamental visual expression of identity configured in one of the acceptable arrangements (see Signature Standards), consisting of:

• Lilly logo
• “Answers That Matter” tagline

The component of the Brand Character that answers such questions as:

• Why should people trust or respect the brand?
• What support, or credentials, does the brand have for its claims?
• What is the source of the brand's power?

In the pharmaceutical field, relevant sources of authority include thought leader advocacy, publication in reputable journals, clinical experience, company reputation, and approval of regulatory bodies.

Generally, a Strategic Intent Statement applies to a period of 7 years for a Global Marketing Plan and 3 years for an Affiliate Marketing Plan. A Strategic Intent Statement should do the following:

• Define what the organization considers “success”
• Serve as a basis for Marketing Objectives
• Be succinct and clear
• Motivate everyone involved in the marketing and support of the product with a positive view of long-term future success
• Represent a “stretch goal” for the organization.

Program or Global Product Teams draft Initial Strategic Intent Statements. Then, Affiliate Marketers apply and adapt them to their local situation, taking into account where the product/brand lies locally in its Product Life Cycle.