BRAND IMAGE AND IDENTITY Brand Essence is something that can be used to describe the brand as a whole. Van Auken (2000) defines brand essence as a two or three word phase, capturing the heart and soul of the brand. According to Upshaw (1995) the essence of a brand includes everything the brand hopes to register with prospect and customers about why it is the preferred choice. The Brand essence model (De Chernatony, 2012: 267) consists of six components see below.
BRAND NAME
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
LOGO/GRAPHIC SYSTEM
BRAND Positioning Strategic Personality
ESSENCE PROMOTION/ MERCHANDISING
SELLING STRATEGIES PRODUCT/SERVICE PERFORMANCE
The brand was introduced in 1972 as French Connection, In 1994 French Connection began branding their clothes “FCUK” (usually written in lowercase). Some found this to be offensive due to the similarity to the word “fuck”. The brand insisted it was an acronym for French Connection United Kingdom. Freeman (2010); states that the launch of the Fcuk slogan turned a thirty year old brand into a cool clothing company. French Connection (2012) state that the brand’s marketing communications “has to be able to stand out from the crowd both the advertising creative and media choices are increasingly important”.
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