STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT

BRANDING
• Differentiating from others
• To build up an image
• To create a perception in the brains of the
customers
• recalled, reinforced, sold & repurchased
• Making your product stronger than the other
 BRAND
• AMA, Brand is “a name, term, sign, symbol or
design or a combination of them, intended to
identify the goods and services of one seller or
group of sellers and to differentiate them from
those of competition.”
• Derived from the word brandr which means
“to burn”
 Functions of Brands
• Manufacturers
– Means of identification to simplify handling of
tracing
– Means of legally protecting unique features
– Signal of quality level to satisfied customers
– Means of endowing products with unique
associations
– Source of competitive advantage
– Source of financial returns
 Functions of Brands
• Consumers
– Identification of source of product
– Assignment of responsibility to product
maker
– Risk-reducer
– Search cost reducer
– Promise, bond or pact with maker of product
– Symbolic device
– Signal of Quality
 Brand Positioning
Brand Positioning
– Brand positioning is all about identifying the
optimal location in our customers’ minds for our
Brand and our competitors
– Proper positioning makes it easier to facilitate
understanding of our Brand
 Proper Positioning
• Proper positioning
– Clarifies what the Brand is all about
– How it is both unique and similar to competitive
brands
– Why customers should purchase and use the
Brand
 WHY CBBE ??

Provides a unique point of view as to what

brand equity is and how it should be built,
measured & managed
 CBBE - Definition

The Differential effect that brand knowledge

has on the consumer response to the
marketing of that brand
 Rationale of
Customer-Based Brand Equity Model

• Basic premise: Power of a brand resides in

the minds of customers
• Challenge is to ensure customers have the
right types of experiences with products &
services and their marketing programs to
create the right brand knowledge structures:
– Thoughts
– Feelings
– Images
– Perceptions
– Attitudes
 Building
Customer-Based Brand Equity

• Building a strong brand involves a series of steps

as part of a “branding ladder”
• A strong brand is also characterized by a logically
constructed set of brand “building blocks.”
– Identifies areas of strength and weakness
– Provides guidance to marketing activities
 Brand knowledge (Keller 1993)

brand recognition
brand
awareness brand recall

brand strength of associations

knowledge
types of brand
brand associations
image
favorability of
associations
uniqueness of
associations
 BUILDING A STRONG BRAND
The four steps of Brand Building
 Brand Identity : Who are you?
 Brand Meaning: What are you?
 Brand Responses: What do I think /feel
about you?
 Brand Relationships: What kind of
association would I like to have with you?
 Salience Dimensions

• Depth of brand awareness

– Ease of recognition & recall
– Strength & clarity of category membership

• Breadth of brand awareness

– Purchase consideration
– Consumption consideration
 Performance Dimensions

• Primary characteristics & supplementary

features
• Product reliability, durability, and
serviceability
• Service effectiveness, efficiency, and
empathy
• Style and design
• Price
 Imagery Dimensions
User profiles
◦ Demographic & psychographic characteristics
◦ Actual or aspirational
◦ Group perceptions -- popularity
Purchase & usage situations
◦ Type of channel, specific stores, ease of purchase
◦ Time (day, week, month, year, etc.), location, and context of
usage
Personality & values
◦ Sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, & ruggedness
History, heritage, & experiences
◦ Nostalgia
◦ Memories
 Judgment Dimensions
• Brand quality
– Value
– Satisfaction
• Brand credibility
– Expertise
– Trustworthiness
– Likability
• Brand consideration
– Relevance
• Brand superiority
– Differentiation
 Feelings Dimensions
• Warmth
• Fun
• Excitement
• Security
• Social approval
• Self-respect
 Resonance Dimensions
• Behavioral loyalty
– Frequency and amount of repeat purchases
• Attitudinal attachment
– Love brand (favorite possessions; “a little pleasure”)
– Proud of brand
• Sense of community
– Kinship
– Affiliation
• Active engagement
– Seek information
– Join club
– Visit web site, chat rooms
 What is Brand Leveraging?
• Brands may be linked to other entities that
have their own knowledge structures in the
minds of the consumers
• Because of these linkages consumers may
assume or infer that some of the associations
that characterize the other entities may also
be true for the brand
• In effect, the brand borrows some brand
knowledge and depending on the associations
some brand equity from other entities

• This indirect approach of building brand equity

is referred to as leveraging secondary
brand knowledge for the brand
 Significance of Brand Leveraging
Brand leveraging may be important
• If the existing brand associations are deficient
in any way
– To create strong, favourable and unique
associations and positive responses that
may otherwise not be present
• To reinforce existing associations in a fresh
and unique way
 Means of Brand Leveraging
By linking the brand to
• Companies
• Countries or geographic areas
• Channels of distribution
• Other brands – Co-branding
• Characters
• Spokespersons
• Events
• Other third party sources
 Advantages of Co-branding
• Borrow needed expertise
• Leverage equity you don’t have
• Reduce cost of product introduction
• Expand brand meaning into related categories
– Broaden meaning
– Increase access points
• Source of additional revenue
 Disadvantages of Co-branding
• Loss of control
– Becoming aligned with another brand in the minds
of consumers
• Risk of brand equity dilution
• Negative feedback effects
• Lack of brand focus and clarity
• Organisational distraction
 Ingredient Branding
• A special case of co-branding
• It contains creating equity for materials,
components or parts that are necessarily
contained within other branded products
• E.g.: Dolby noise reduction, Teflon nonstick
coating, Intel inside
 Advantages of Ingredient
•
Branding
For the supplier of the ingredient
– Greater sales and higher margins through
consumer pull
– Better long term supplier-buyer relationships
– Enhanced revenue through twin streams
• The direct revenue from supplies
• Royalty generated through display of ingredient brand
 Advantages of Ingredient
Branding
• For the manufacturer of the host product
– Enhancing brand equity
– Entry into new product categories, market
segments, distribution channels
– Sharing of some production and development
costs with the supplier of the ingredient brand
 Disadvantages of Ingredient
•
Branding
Suppliers unable to sustain high advertising costs
• Loss of control
• Different objectives between the supplier and host
• Manufacturers’ brand dilution
• Setting the stage for competitive ingredient branding
efforts
– No expenditure on establishing the importance of the ingredient
– Spends only on establishing superiority of the ingredient
 Criteria for Choosing Brand Elements

• Memorability
• Meaningfulness Marketer’s offensive strategy
and build brand equity
• Likability
• Transferability
• Adaptability Defensive role for leveraging
• Protectability and maintaining brand equity

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 Memorability
• Brand elements should inherently be
memorable and attention-getting, and
therefore facilitate recall or recognition.
• For example, a brand of propane gas cylinders
named Blue Rhino featuring a powder-blue
animal mascot with a distinctive yellow flame
is likely to stick in the minds of consumers.

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 Meaningfulness
• Brand elements may take on all kinds of meaning,
with either descriptive or persuasive content.
• Two particularly important criteria
– General information about the nature of the product
category
– Specific information about particular attributes and
benefits of the brand
• The first dimension is an important determinant of
brand awareness and salience; the second, of brand
image and positioning.

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 Likability
• Do customers find the brand element
aesthetically appealing?
• Descriptive and persuasive elements reduce
the burden on marketing communications to
build awareness.

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 Transferability
• How useful is the brand element for line or
category extensions?
• To what extent does the brand element add to
brand equity across geographic boundaries
and market segments?

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 Adaptability
• The more adaptable and flexible the brand
element, the easier it is to update it to
changes in consumer values and opinions.
• For example, logos and characters can be
given a new look or a new design to make
them appear more modern and relevant.

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 Protectability
• Marketers should:
1. Choose brand elements that can be legally
protected internationally.
2. Formally register chosen brand elements with
the appropriate legal bodies.
3. Vigorously defend trademarks from
unauthorized competitive infringement.

4.36
 Strategic Brand Management Process

• Identifying and establishing brand

positioning and values
• Planning and implementing brand
marketing programs
• Measuring and interpreting brand
performance
• Growing and sustaining brand equity
 
I. Identifying & Establishing Brand Positioning
Values
• A clear understanding as to what the brand is to
represent
• How it should be positioned with respect to
competitors: Coffee day & Barista
• The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of
consumers such that the potential benefit to the
firm is maximized.
• Positioning often involves a specification of the
appropriate core brand values and brand mantra
• Core Brand Values
– Set of abstract associations (attributes
and benefits) that characterize a brand
• Brand Mantra
– A short three to five word expression of
the most important aspects of a brand and
its core brand values

HEART & SOUL

 Brand Audit
• Determining or evaluating brand
• Comprehensive examination of a brand ,
involving activities to assess the health
of the brand, uncover its sources of
equity, and suggest ways to improve and
leverage that equity.
• From both the perspective – firm &
customer
II. Planning & Implementing Brand Marketing
Programs

• This knowledge building process will

depend upon three factors:

– Choosing Brand elements

– Integrating the brand into marketing
activities & the support
– Leveraging Secondary Associations
• Choosing Brand Elements
– A Brand element is visual or verbal information
that serves to identify and differentiate a product

– Common brand elements are brand names, logos,

symbols, characters, packaging & slogans
• Criteria for choosing the brand elements
– Memorability
– Relevance
– Likeability
– Transferability
– Flexibility
• Integrating the Brand into Marketing activities
and the supporting marketing program

– Judicious choice of brand elements can make

some contribution to building brand equity, the
primary input comes from the marketing activities
related to the brand
• Leveraging Secondary Associations

– A brand association may be created by linking the brand to

another node or information in memory that conveys meaning
to consumers

– Brand can be linked to company, countries or other geographic

locations (D’damas - Italy) & channels of distribution, co-
branding, characters, spokespeople, sponsorships or awards etc.
 III. Measuring & Interpreting Brand
Performance
• To understand the effects of brand marketing
programs, it is important to measure and
interpret brand performance

– Brand Value Chain – a useful tool to trace the

value creation process for brands to better
understand the financial impact of brand
marketing expenditures & investments
• Profitable brand management requires successfully
designing & implementing a brand equity measurement
system

– A brand equity measurement system is set of research

procedures designed to provide timely, accurate & actionable
information for marketers so that they can make the best
possible tactical decisions in the short run & the best strategic
decisions in the long run
 IV. Growing & Sustaining Brand Equity

• Strong brand positioning can be achieved

through the skillful design & implementation
of marketing programmes

• Challenging is to maintain & expand on that

brand equity
• Defining Brand Strategy
– Brand product matrix
– Brand hierarchy
• Managing Brand Equity over Time
• Managing Brand Equity over Geographic
Boundaries, Cultures & Market Segments