12 Apr 2018

 Professor Charles Taylor says creativity is important in advertising and branding in order to influence all.

“It is very important for a brand to have some element of creativity in it so that it influences everyone, and therefore it should be something unique and special,” said Prof. Taylor during the official campus visit to Limkokwing University of Creative Technology recently.

Prof. Taylor, who is from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in the United States, specialises in marketing and advertising. He highlighted that a brand was used because it helped gain in-depth understanding of consumer perceptions of attitudes towards the brand.

A brand, he added, also contributed to a differentiating identity as it differentiated brands which were similar in product attributes.

 He said it also guided the communication effort and created brand equity. He noted that Limkokwing university was such a brand, saying it imparted knowledge to students so that they could be able to fit well in the market in the 21^st century.

Prof. Taylor also emphasised that brand names captured the central theme or key associations of a product in a compact and economical fashion.

Furthermore, he said naming the brand helped customers remember it, identify what was offered and positioned it as a solution for a customer’s need or want. “Naming brands should be fun, appealing, short, adaptable, easy to pronounce and it should connote something positive above the product,” he said.

 On the other hand, head of academics, Mr Motlhalefi Modiagane said branding was important and encouraged students to do outstanding work and have unique brands, which would in turn differentiate them from their competitors. ENDS