ABSTRACT
Successful branded organisations, products and services that have developed a currency all of their own fulfil a variety of functions, for consumers and organisations alike. According to de Chernatony and Dall'Olmo Riley, brands fulfil an important variety of legal, identification and personal functions for organisations and consumers alike. From a communications perspective, it is essential therefore to ensure that the values communicated in any integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaign clearly coincide with those of the target audience. An appreciation of the type and characteristics of consumers' relationships with brands is imperative for IMC practitioners when formulating both communication strategy and creative execution. Whilst products are considered to have product life cycles that take them inevitably through the stages of introduction, growth, maturity and then into a state of decline, it has been suggested that, for brands, this might not necessarily be the case.
