1-what is brand? a brand is a

8/14/2019 1-What is Brand? a Brand is A

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1-What is Brand?

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of them intended to identify thegoods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from thoseof competition. For example, Coke, Nestle and Microsoft are well renowned brands. Intechnical speaking whenever a marketer creates a name logo symbol he or she has created

a brand.

2-Why do Brands matters?

Brands really matter for both consumer and manufacturer.From consumers point of view:

Identification of source of productAssignment of responsibility to product makerRisk reducerSearch cost reducerPromise, bond, or pact with maker of product

Symbolic deviceSignal of quality

Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers to assignresponsibility to a particular manufacturer. From an economic perspective, brands allowconsumers to lower search costs for products both internally and externally.

Consumers offer their trust and loyalty with the implicit understanding that the brandwill behave in certain ways and provide them utility through consistent productperformance and appropriate pricing, promotion, and distribution programs and actions.Brands can serve as symbolic devices, allowing consumers to project their self-image.

Certain brads are associated with being used by certain types of people and thus reflectdifferent values or traits. Researched have classified products and their associatedattributes into three major categories: search goods, experience goods and credencegoods. There is difficulty in assessing and interpreting product attributes and benefits sowith experience and credence goods, brands may be particularly important signals ofquality. Brands can reduce the risk in product decisions. These risks involve functional,physical, financial, social psychological and time risk.

From manufacturers point of view:

Means of identification to simplify handlingMeans of legally protecting unique featuresSignal of quality level to satisfied customersMeans of endowing products with unique associationsSource of competitive advantage


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Source of financial returns Brands help manufacturers to organize inventory andaccounting records. A brand also offers the firm legal protection for unique features ofthe product. A brand can retain intellectual property rights, giving legal title to the brandowner. Brands can signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easilychoose the product again. This brand loyalty provides predictability and security of

demand for the firm and creates barriers of entry that make it difficult for other firms toenter the market. The annual list of the worlds most valuable brands, published byInterbrand and Business Week, indicates that the market value of companies oftenconsists largely of brand equity. Research by McKinsey & Company, a global consultingfirm, in 2000 suggested that strong, well-leveraged brands produce higher returns toshareholders than weaker, narrower brands. Taken together, this means that brandsseriously impact shareholder value, which ultimately makes branding a CEOresponsibility.

Companies sometimes want to reduce the number of brands that they market. Thisprocess is known as "Brand rationalization." Some companies tend to create more brands

and product variations within a brand than economies of scale would indicate.Sometimes, they will create a specific service or product brand for each market that theytarget. In the case of product branding, this may be to gain retail shelf space (and reducethe amount of shelf space allocated to competing brands). A company may decide torationalize their portfolio of brands from time to time to gain production and marketingefficiency, or to rationalize a brand portfolio as part of corporate restructuring.

3-What are the strongest Brands?

A list of top twenty strongest brands is as follows

2005 Brand Value($million)

1 Coca-Cola U.S 67,525

2 Microsoft U.S 59,941

3 IBM U.S 53,376

4 GE U.S 46,996

5 Intel U.S 35,588

6 Nokia Finland 26,452

7 Disney U.S 26,441

8 Mc Donald U.S 26,014

9 Toyota Japan 24,837


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10 Marlboro U.S 21,189

11 Mercedes-Benz Germany 20,006

12 Citi U.S 19,967

13 Hewlett Packard U.S 18,866

14 American Express U.S 18,559

15 Gillette U.S 17,534

16 BMW Germany 17,126

17 Cisco U.S 16,592

18 Louis Vuitton France 16,077

19 Honda Japan 15,788

20 Samsung S. Korea 14,956

Customer Based Brand Equity

Customer based brand equity model is that the power of a brand lies in what customershave learned, felt, seen, and heard about the brand as a result of their experience overtime. Customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect that brandknowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand. There are three keyingredients of this definition:(1) differential effect,(2) brand knowledge,(3) consumer response to marketing.

Brand Equity as a Bridge

The power of a brand lies in the minds of consumers and what they have experiencedand learned about the brand over time. Consumer knowledge drives the differences thatmanifest themselves in terms of brand equity. This realization has important managerialimplications. According to this view, brand equity provides marketers with a vitalstrategic bridge from their past to their future. Brand equity can provide marketers with ameans to interpret their past marketing performance and design their future marketingprograms.


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Building a strong Brand

There are four steps of building a strong brand. These are as follows:

1. Ensure identification of the brand with customers and as association of the brand incustomers minds with a specific product class or customer need.2. Firmly establish the totality of brand meaning in the minds of customers bystrategically linking a host of tangible and intangible brand associations with certainproperties.3. Elicit the proper customer responses to this brand identification and brand meaning.4. Convert brand response to create an intense, active loyalty relationship betweencustomers and the brand.

These steps represent fundamental questions that customers can ask about brands as

follow:1. Who are you? (Brand identity)2. What are you? (Brand meaning)3. What about you? (Brand responses)4. What about you and me? (Brand relationship)

Brand Building Blocks

To provide some structure, it is useful to think of sequentially establishing six brandbuilding blocks with customers. These brand building blocks can be assembled in termsof a brand pyramid. Each brand building block will be examined in the following section.

Brand Salience

Achieving the right brand identity involves creating brand salience with customers. Itrelates to the aspects of the awareness of the brand, for example how often and easily thebrand is evoked under various situations? Brand awareness refers to customers ability torecall and recognize the brand, as reflected by their ability to identify the brand underdifferent conditions.

Brand Performance

Designing and delivering a product that fully satisfies consumer needs and wants is aprerequisite for successful marketing. To create brand loyalty and resonance consumerexperience with the product must at least meet. Brand performance relates to the ways inwhich the product or service attempts to meet customers more functional needs.Customers can view the performance of products or services in a broad manner.Reliability refers to the consistency of performance over time and from purchase topurchase. Durability refers to the expected economic life of the product. Serviceabilityrefers to the ease of servicing the product. Performance may also depend on sensoryaspects such as how a product looks and feels.


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Brand Imagery

Brand imagery deals with the extrinsic properties of the product including the ways inwhich the brand attempt to meet customer psychological needs. Brand imagery is howpeople think about a brand abstractly rather than what they think the brand actually does.Thus imagery refers to more intangible aspects of the brand.

Brand Judgments

Brand judgments focus on customers personal opinions and evaluation with regard tothe brand. To create a strong brand four types of brand judgments summary are particularimportant: Quality, Credibility, Consideration and Superiority.

Brand Feelings

Brand feelings are customers emotional responses and reaction with respect to brand.Brand feelings also relate to the social currency evoked by the brand. The following aresix important types of brand-building feelings1. Warmth: The brand makes consumers feel a sense of calm.

2. Fun: The brand makes consumers feel amused, playful, and cheerful and so on.3. Excitement: The brand makes consumers feel energetic and feel that they areexperiencing with something special.4. Security: The brand produces a feeling of safety.5. Self-respect: The brand makes consumers feel better about themselves.6. Social approval: The brand results in consumers having positive feeling about thereactions of others.

Brand Resonance

Brand resonance refers to the nature of the relationship and the extent to which customersfeel that they are in sync with the brand. Brand resonance can be broken down into fourcategories

Behavioral LoyaltyAttitudinal AttachmentSense of CommunityActive Engagement

The fist dimension is behavioral loyalty in terms of repeat purchase. How often docustomers purchase a brand and how much do they purchase? Behavioral loyalty isnecessary but not sufficient for resonance to occur. To create resonance, there are alsoneeds to be a strong personal attachment. Customers should go beyond having a positiveattitude to viewing the brand as being something special. Creating greater loyalty requiresdeeper attitudinal attachment, which can be generated by developing marketing programsand products and services that fully satisfy consumer needs. Identification with a brandcommunity may reflect an important social phenomenon whereby customers feelaffiliation with other people associated with the brand. Strong attitudinal attachment orsocial identity or both are typically necessary, however, for active engagement with thebrand to occur.


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Identifying and Establishing Brand Positioning

Brand positioning is defined as the act of designing the companys offer and image sothat it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers minds. Positioning isall about identifying the optimal location of a brand and its competitors in the minds of

consumers to maximize potential benefit to the firm. According to customer based brandequity model, deciding on a positioning requires determining a frame of reference byidentifying the target market and the nature of competition and the ideal points-of-parityand points-of-difference brand association.

Target Market

A market is the set of all actual and potential buyers who have sufficient motivation,ability and opportunity to buy a product. Market segmentation involves dividing themarket into distinct groups of homogeneous consumers who have similar needs andconsumer behavior and thus require similar market mixes. All companies never target allof its segments. There is a criterion under which segments are targeted.

Identifiably: Can segment identification be easily determined?Size: Is there adequate sales potential in the segment?Accessibility: Are specialized distribution outlets and communication media available

to reach the segment?Responsiveness: How favorably will the segment respond to a tailored marketing

program? From manufacturer perspective the model segments users of a brand is dividedinto four groups based on strength of commitment from low to high, as follows:1. Convertible: High likely to switch brands2. Shallow: Not ready to switch, but may be considering alternatives3. Average: Comfortable with their choice; unlikely to switch in the future4. Entrenched: Highly loyal; unlikely to change in the foreseeable future

From customer perspective the model also classifies nonusers of a brand into four groupsbased on their openness to trying the brand from low to high, as follows:1. Strongly unavailable: Strongly prefer their current brand2. Weakly unavailable: Preference lies with their current brand, although not strongly3. Ambivalent: As attracted to the other brand as to their current choice.4. Available: Prefer the other brand but have not yet switched

Points of Parity

Points of parity are those associations that consumers view as being necessary to be alegitimate and credible offering within a certain product category. A point of parity iseasier to achieve than points of difference. For example there is a minimal differencebetween Surf excel and Ariel washing powder.


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Points of Difference

Points of difference are attributes that consumers strongly associate with a brandpositively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with acompetitive brand. For example when Telenor launch first time easy load it created pointsof difference at that time. Points of difference may involve performance attributes. Many

top brands attempt to create a point of difference on overall superior quality.

Defining and Establishing Brand Values

Core Brand Values

Core brand values are those set of attributes that characterize the five to ten mostimportant aspects of a brand. Core brand values can serve as the basis of brandpositioning in terms of how they relate to points of parity and points of difference. Corebrand values can be identified through structured process. The first step is to create adetailed mental map of the brand. A mental map accurately portrays in detail all salientbrand associations and responses for a particular target market. Mental maps must reflect

the reality of how the brand is actually perceived by consumers in terms of their beliefs,attitudes, opinions, feelings, images and experiences.

Brand Mantras

A brand mantra is highly related to handing concepts such as brand essence used byothers. A brand mantra is an articulation of the heart and soul of the brand. Their purposeis to ensure that all employees within the organization and all external marketing partnersunderstand what the brand most fundamentally is to represent with consumers so thatthey can adjust their actions accordingly.Brand mantras are powerful devices. They can provide guidance what ad campaigns torun, where and how the brand should be sold and so on. Brand mantras can be brokendown into three terms brand functions, descriptive modifier and emotional modifier. Thebrand functions describe the nature of the product. The descriptive modifier is a way tocircumscribe the business functions term to further clarify its nature. Finally emotionalmodifier provides another qualifier in terms of how the brand delivers these benefits. Forexample Nike brand function is performance, descriptive modifier is athletic andemotional modifier is authentic.

Criteria for Choosing Brand ElementsThere are six criteria in choosing brand elements which are as follows:

MemorabilityMeaningfulnessLikeabilityTransferabilityAdaptabilityProtect ability


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MemorabilityA necessary condition for building brand equity is achieving a high level of brandawareness. There are certain names, symbols, logos and visual properties that make abrand more attention getting and easy to remember and thus contribute to brand equity. Inother words brand name should be such which is easily recalled and recognized.

MeaningfulnessBrand elements can also be chosen whose inherent meaning enhances the formation ofbrand associations. Two particularly important dimension of the meaning of a brandelement are the extent to which it conveys the following: General information about thenature of the product category In terms of descriptive meaning, to what extent does thebrand element suggest something about the product category? Specific information aboutparticular attributes and benefits of the brand in terms of persuasive meaning, to whatextent does the brand element suggest something about the products

Likeability

Brand elements can be chosen that are rich in visual and verbal imagery and inherentlyfun and interesting. In terms of first three criteria, a memorable, meaningful, and likableset of brand elements offers many advantages. Because consumers often do not examinemuch information in making product decisions, it is often desirable that brand elementsbe easily recognized and recalled and inherently descriptive and persuasive.

TransferabilityIt is the fourth general criterion concerns the transferability of the brand element in botha product category and geographic sense. First, to what extent can the brand element adto the brand equity of new products sharing the brand elements introduced either withinthe product class. Second to what extent does the brand element add to brand equityacross geographic boundaries and market segments?

AdaptabilityIt is the fifth general criterion concerns the adaptability of the brand element. Due tochanges in customer values and opinions brand elements often must be updated overtime. The more adaptable and flexible the brand element, the easier it is to update it.

Protect abilityThe final criterion concerns the Protect ability of the brand element both in legal andcompetitive sense. Because suspicious persons ask sometimes detail about the productbefore purchase. So manufacturers must legally protect their products by registered theirpatents.Five Bs from the Customer Perspective:1. Basic: There are some basic things which are required by customers.2. Background: Customers have background when they are going to purchase.3. Beauty: Packaging should be such that attract customers.4. Belief: Customer should be belief on the brand.5. Benefit: Customers purchase those things which give them benefit.


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Five Bs from Brand Manager Perspective:1. Brave: He should be bold in respect of taking initiatives.2. Brilliant: He should be adept in designing better brand strategies.3. Backing: Company should support him in sensitive situations.

4. Bridge: He is a person that creates a link between customers and company and worksas a bridge.5. Beneficial: He should provide benefit to his company in which he is working.

Options and Tactics for Brand ElementsA good brand name should

Be protected (or at least protect able) under trademark lawBe easy to pronounceBe easy to remember

Be easy to recognizeBe easy to translate into all languages in the markets where the brand will be usedAttract attentionSuggest product benefits (e.g.: Easy-Off) or suggest usage (note the tradeoff withstrong trademark protection)Suggest the company or product imageDistinguish the product's positioning relative to the competition.Be super attractive

Stand out among a group of other brands < like that one compared to the others

Brand NamesThe brand name is fundamentally very much important. It can be a key to success in themarket. Sometimes brand name becomes so closely tied to the product in the minds of theconsumers, however, it is very much difficult that brand element for marketers tosubsequently change. Consequently brand names are often systematically researchedbefore being chosen

Brand AwarenessBrand awareness improved the extent to which brand names are chosen that are simpleand easy to pronounce. To enhance brand recall, it is desirable for the brand name to besimple and easy to pronounce. Pronunciation also affects the willingness of consumers toorder the brand orally. Ideally, the brand name should have a clear, understandable andunambiguous pronunciation and meaning. The way a brand is pronounced can affect itsmeaning.

Brand AssociationIt is necessary for the brand to have broader meaning to consumers than just the productcategory it is in. Because the brand name is a compact form of communication, theexplicit and implicit meaning that consumers extract from the name can be critical. The


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brand name may be chosen to reinforce an important attribute or benefit association thatmakes up its product positioning. For example Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo wasalso able to transport its gentleness association to a more adult audience when theywere forced to reposition in the 1970s when the birth rate declined.URLs

URL stands for universal resource locator. It is also commonly referred to as domainnames. URL must register and pay for the name with a service such as Register.com. Themajor issue today facing most of the companies with regard to URLs is protection of theirbrands from unauthorized use in domain names. For example Nike not approve of itsname appearing in the URL of a fictitious fan sitewww.nikerules.com

Logos and SymbolsThere are many types of logos ranging from corporate names written in a distinctiveform. For example the strong word marks include Coca-Cola, Dunhill, and Kit-Kat.There are some abstract logos which may be completely unrelated to the word mark.

These are called non-word mark logos. The non-word marks logos are also often calledsymbols. Some logos are literal representations of the brand name, enhancing brandawareness such as Apple logos and American Red Cross.

CharactersBrand characters typically are introduced through advertising and can play a central rolein these and subsequent ad campaigns. Brand characters come in many different forms.Some brand characters are animated where as others are live-action figures. Consequentlybrand characters can be quite useful for creating brand awareness. Characters often mustbe updated over time so that their image and personality remains relevant to the targetmarket.

SlogansSlogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive information about the brand.

Slogans often appear in advertising but can play an important role on packaging and inother aspects of the marketing programs. Slogans can play off the brand name in a way tobuild both awareness and image. Some slogans become so strongly linked to the brandthat it becomes difficult to subsequently introduce new ones. For example the slogan ofHaleeb milk is the thickest milk.

Product StrategyThe product itself is at the heart of brand equity because it is the primary influence onwhat consumers experience with a brand, what they hear about a brand from others, andwhat the firms can tell customers about the brand in their communications. To createbrand loyalty, consumers experiences with the product must at least meet once.Perceived quality has been defined as customers perception of the overall quality of aproduct to relevant alternatives and with respect to its intended purpose. There are somegeneral dimensions of product quality which are as follows:


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Performance: Levels at which the primary characteristics of the product operate.Features: Secondary elements of a product that complement the primary characteristics.Conformance quality: Degree to which the product meets specifications and is absent of

defects.Reliability: Consistency of performance over time and from purchase to purchase.

Durability: Expected economic life of the productServiceability: Ease of servicing the productStyle and design: Appearance or feel of quality Total quality management reflecting the

importance of product quality. In total quality management all employees of theorganization work in coordination in order to improve the quality of both the organizationand the product.

Total Quality Management Tenets1. Quality must be perceived by customers.2. Quality must be reflected in every company activity.3. Quality requires total employee commitment.

4. Quality requires high quality partners.5. Quality improvement sometimes requires quantum leaps.6. Quality does not always does not always cost more.7. Quality is necessary but may not be sufficient.8. A quality drive cannot save a poor product.

Relationship MarketingRelationship marketing attempts to provide a more holistic, personalized brandexperience to create stronger consumer ties. Relationship marketing is based on thepremise that current customers are the key to long term brand success. The importance ofcustomer retention can be seen by some of the benefits it provides:

Acquire new customers can cost five times more than the costs involved in satisfyingand retaining current customers.

The average company loses ten percent of its customers each year.A five percent reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by twenty

five percent to eighty five percent, depending on the industry.The customer profit rate tends to increase over the life of the retained customer.

Loyalty ProgramsLoyalty programs have become one popular means by which marketers can createstronger ties to customers. There are some tips for building effective loyalty programsfollow:

Know your audienceChange is goodListen to your best customersEngage people


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Pricing StrategyThe pricing strategy can dictate how consumers categorize the price of the brand andhow firm set that price. Consumers may infer the quality of a product on the basis of itsprice. Many marketers have adopted value-based pricing strategies attempting to sell theright product at the right price to better meet consumer wishes. From a branding

perspective, it is important to understand all price perceptions that consumers have for abrand.Setting Prices to Build Brand EquityThere are many different approaches to setting prices that depend on a number ofconsiderations. Many firms now are employing a value-pricing approach to set pricesand an everyday-low pricing approach to determine their discount pricing policy overtime.Value PricingThe objective of value pricing is to uncover the right blend of product quality, productcosts, and product prices that fully satisfies the needs and wants of consumers and theprofit targets of the firm. Several firms have been successfully by adopting a value-

pricing strategy. For instance, Wal-Marts slogan we sell for less describes the pricingstrategy that has allowed them to become the worlds largest retailer. In general, aneffective value-pricing strategy should strike the proper balance among the following:

Product design and deliveryProduct costsProduct prices

Product Design and DeliveryThe first key is the proper design and delivery of the product. Product value can beenhanced through many types of well-conceived and executed marketing programs. Thevalue pricing point out that the concept does not mean selling the product at lowerprices. Consumers are willing to pay premium when they perceive added value inproducts and services. Some companies actually have been able to increase prices insome cases by introducing new products. For instance when Gillette introduced theMach III, it priced the cartridges at a fifty percent premium over its then-priciest blade,despite the prevailing deflationary climate. The price increase did not deter customers,and Gillette reached its highest market share, seventy one percent in 1962.

Product CostsThe secondary key to a successful value-pricing strategy is to lower costs as much aspossible. Meeting cost targets invariably requires additional cost savings throughproductivity gains, outsourcing, material substitution, product reformulations, andprocess changes and so on. For example, by investing in efficient manufacturingtechnology, Sara Lee was able to maintain adequate margins for years on its L eggswomens hosiery with minimal price increases. The combination of low prices and the


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strong Leggs brand image resulted in an almost fifty percent market share. At the sametime, cost reductions cannot sacrifice quality.

Product PricesThe price suggested by estimating perceived value can often be used as a starting point

in determining actual marketplace prices, adjusting by cost and competitiveconsiderations as necessary. For example, General Motors Cadillac division has usedtarget pricing to arrive at the price of its luxury cars. GM marketers determined theoptimal price based on assumptions about the consumer and then figured out how tomake the car at the right cost to ensure the necessary profit.

Channel StrategyThe manner by which a product is sold can have a profound impact on the resultingequity and ultimate sales success of a brand. Marketing channels are sets ofinterdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or serviceavailable for use.

Channel DesignA number of possible channel types and arrangements exist. Broadly, they can beclassified into direct and indirect channels. Direct channels involve selling throughpersonal contacts from the company to prospective customers by mail, phone, electronicmeans, in-person visits, and so forth. Indirect channels involve selling through thirdparty intermediaries such as agents, wholesales and retailers.

Indirect ChannelsIndirect channels consist of a number of different types of intermediaries. Retailers tendto have the most visible and direct contact with customers and therefore have the greatestopportunity to affect brand equity.

Push and Pull StrategiesWhen manufacturers regain some of their lost power by creating strong brand throughsome of the brand building tactics, for example, by selling innovative and uniqueproducts at properly priced and advertised that consumers demand for it. In this wayconsumer may ask retailers to stock and promote manufacturers products. By devotingmarketing efforts to the end consumer, a manufacturer is said to employee a pullstrategy. On the other side when marketers devote their selling efforts to the channelmembers by providing direct incentives for stock to them and sell products to the endcustomer. This approach is called push strategy. In pull strategy marketers useadvertisement and sales promotion but in push strategy they use trade discounts andpersonal selling.

Direct ChannelsTo gain control over the selling process and build stronger relationships with customers,some manufacturers are introducing their own retail outlets, as well as selling theirproduct directly to customers through various means. These channels can take many


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forms. The most extensive form involves company-owned stores. Hallmark, Goodyearand others have sold their own products in their own stores for years.

Overview of Marketing Communication OptionsMarketing communication options includes the following:

Media advertisingDirect response advertisingOnline advertisingPlace advertisingPoint of purchase advertisingConsumer promotionsEvent marketing and sponsorshipPublicity and public relationsPersonal selling

Media AdvertisingAdvertising is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goodsor services by an identified sponsor. Media advertising includes TV, radio, newspaperand magazines. From brand equity perspective television advertising demonstrateproduct attributes and consumer benefits. There are some benefits and drawbacks of TV,radio, newspaper and magazines which are as under:

Medium Advantages DisadvantagesTelevision Mass coverage, Low selectivity,

Short messagelife, High

absolute cost andclutter

High reach, High prestige,And attention getting

Radio Local coverage, Low cost,High frequency, flexibleAnd low production cost

Audio only, Clutter,Fleeting message and

low attention getting deviceNewspaper High coverage, Low cost,

Short lead time for placing ads,Timely and can be used for coupons

Short life, Clutter, Lowattention getting


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capabilities, and poorreproduction quality

Magazines Segmentation potential, Quality Long lead time for adreproduction andHigh information content

Placement, visual onlyand lack of flexibility

Direct Response AdvertisingDirect response advertising establish relationship with consumers and it helps to explainto consumers new developments with their brands as well as allow consumers to providefeedback to marketers as to their likes and dislikes. Direct marketing is often seeing as akey component of relationship marketing. To implement an effective direct marketingprogram, three critical ingredients are (1) developing an up-to-date and informative listof current and potential future customers, (2) putting forth the right offer in the rightmanner, and (3) tracking the effectiveness of the marketing program. Database

marketing helps firms to retain existing customers than to attract new ones. Directresponse advertising includes, mail, telephone, broadcast media, print media, computerrelated and media related.

Online AdvertisingMarketers can also promote their products through online advertising by developingtheir own websites. Websites are low cost and contain much information about products.It should be family friendly. Websites must be updated frequently and offer as muchcustomized information as possible, especially for existing customers.

Place AdvertisingPlace advertising also called out of home advertising that captures advertising outsidetraditional media. Place advertising includes, billboards and posters, product placementand movies, airlines. Billboards are very effective means for advertising. It is showingup everywhere. Many marketers pay fee for their product placement in televisionprograms. Product place can be combined with special promotions to publicize a brandsentertainment tie-ins.

Point of Purchase AdvertisingIn-store advertising includes ads on shopping carts, cart straps, aisles, or shelves, as wellas promotion options such as in-store demonstrations, live sampling and instant couponmachines.

Consumer PromotionsConsumer promotions are designed to change the choices, quantity and consumersproduct purchases. Consumer promotion includes samples, coupons, premiums, refundsand rebates, contests and sweepstakes, bonus packs and price-offs. Sampling is seen as ameans of creating strong relevant brand associations.


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Event Marketing and SponsorshipEvent marketing refers to public sponsorship of events. Event sponsorship provides adifferent kind of communication option for marketers. Marketers report a number ofreasons whey they sponsor events

To identify with a particular target marketTo increase awareness of the companyTo create consumer perceptions of key brand image associationsTo enhance corporate image dimensionsTo create experiences and evoke feelingsTo express commitment to the communityTo entertain key clientsTo permit merchandising opportunities

Public Relations and PublicityPublic relations and publicity relate to a variety of programs and are designed to

promote a companys image and its products. Publicity refers to non-personalcommunications such as press releases, media interviews, press conferences, featurearticles, newsletters, photographs, films and tapes. Public relations may also involvesuch things as annual reports, fund-raising and membership drives, lobbying, specialevent management, and public affairs. There are three steps for designing an ad. It isalso known as 3M:

1. Model: A person who works as an ambassador of a product and convey its benefits totarget consumers.2. Message: The objective of an ad which a company is intended to deliver to targetcustomers.3. Masses: The target customers/market for whom an ad is designed.

Developing Integrated Marketing Communication Programs

Matching Communication OptionsThere are many ways to create integrated marketing communication programs. Inassessing the collective impact of an IMC program, the goal is to create the mosteffective and efficient communication program possible. Toward that goal, six relevantcriteria can be identified:1. Coverage2. Contribution3. Commonality


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4. Complementary5. Versatility6. Cost

Coverage

Coverage relates to the proportion of the audience that is reached by eachcommunication option employed, as well as how much overlap exists amongcommunication options. The unique aspect of coverage relates to the inherentcommunication ability of a marketing communication option, as suggested by the secondcriterion. To what extent that there is some overlap in communication options.

ContributionContribution relates to the inherent ability of a marketing communication to create thedesired response and communication effects from consumer in the absence of exposureto any other communication option. In other words, contribution relates to the maineffects of marketing communication option on the target audience.

CommonalityMarketing communication program should be coordinated to create a consistent andcohesive brand image in which brand association share content and meaning.Commonality means each and every communication option which a marketers useshould convey a common associations about the product.

ComplementaryComplementary relates to the extent to which different associations and linkages areemphasized across communication options. For instance, research shows that promotioncan be more effective when combined with advertising.

VersatilityVersatility refers to the extent that a marketing communication option is robust andeffective for different groups of consumers. There are two types of versatility:communication and consumer. The ability of a marketing communication to work at twolevels effectively communicating to consumers who have or have not seen othercommunications is critically important.

CostFinally evaluating the each communication option is also very much critical for amarketer. The cost of each communication option varies in the market. Now the problemis which communication option should be chosen and which is best. Communicationoptions vary in terms of their breadth and depth of coverage. To select onecommunication option the marketer has to trade off the other.

The Brand Value ChainThe brand value chain is a structured approach to assessing the sources and outcomes ofbrand equity and the manner by which marketing activities create brand value. The brand


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value chain recognizes that numerous individuals within an organization can potentiallyaffect brand equity and must be cognizant of relevant branding effects.

Value StagesBrand value creation begins with marketing activity by the firm that influences

customers in a way affecting how the brand performs in the marketplace and thus how itis valued by the financial community.

Marketing Program InvestmentIn brand value chain marketer invest in a shape of by introducing new product, meanswhich he use to communicate, trade and employees to make the product best so that itcan be differentiated from others.

Program MultiplierThe ability of marketing program to affect the customer mindset will depend on thequality of that program investment. Four particularly important factors are as follows:

1. Clarity: Do consumers properly interpret and evaluate the meaning conveyed by brandmarketing?2. Relevance: Do consumers feel that the brand is one that should receive seriousconsideration?3. Distinctiveness: How unique is the marketing program from those offered bycompetitors?4. Consistency: How consistent and well integrated is the marketing program? Do allaspects of the marketing program combine to create the biggest impact with customers?

Customer MindsetThere are five dimensions that have emerged to highlight the CBBE model asparticularly important measure of the customer mindset:1. Brand awareness: The extent and ease with which customers recall and recognize thebrand and can identify the products and services with which it is associated.2. Brand association: The strength, favorability and uniqueness of perceived attributesand benefits for the brand.3. Brand attitudes: Overall evaluations of the brand in terms of its quality and thesatisfaction it generates.

4. Brand attachment: How loyal the customer feels toward the brand. A strong form ofattachment, adherence, refers to the consumers resistance to change and the ability of abrand to withstand bad news.5. Brand activity: The extent to which customers use the brand, talk to others about thebrand, and seek out brand information, promotions and events.

Customer MultiplierThe extent to which value created in the minds of customers affects market performancedepends on various contextual factors external to the customer. Three such factors are asfollows:


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1. Competitive superiority: How effective are the quantity and quality of the marketinginvestment of other competing brands.2. Channel and other intermediary support: How much brand reinforcement and sellingeffort is being put forth by various marketing partners.3. Customer size and profile: How many and what types of customers are attracted to the

brand.

Market MultiplierThe extent to which the value engendered by the market performance of a brand ismanifested in shareholder value depends on various contextual factors external to thebrand itself. These factors are as follows:

Marketing dynamics: What are the dynamics of the financial markets as a whole?Growth potential: What are the growth potential for the brand and the industry in

which it operates?Risk profile: what is the risk profile for the brand? How vulnerable is the brand likely

to be to those facilitating and inhibiting factors?Brand contribution: How important is the brand as part of the firms brand portfolioand all the brands it has?

Shareholder ValueBased on all available current and forecasted information about a brand as well as manyother considerations, the financial marketplace then formulates opinions and makesvarious assessments that have direct financial implications for the brand value. Threeparticularly important indicators are the stock price, the price earnings multiple, andoverall market capitalization for the firm.Designing Brand Tracking StudiesTracking studies involve collection of information from customers on a routine basisover time. Tracking studies are a means of applying the brand value chain to understandwhere, how much, and in what ways brand value is being created, thus offeringinvaluable information about how well a positioning has been achieved. Tracking studiesplay an important function for managers to facilitate their day to day decision making.Tracking studies provide valuable diagnostic insights into the collective effects of a hostof marketing activities on the customer mindset, marketing outcomes, and perhaps evenshareholder value.

What to TrackThis section provides some general guidelines for tracking. The tracking study isnecessary to customize tracking surveys to address the specific issues faced by the brand.

Product Brand TrackingTracking an individual branded product involves measuring brand awareness and imagefor the particular brand. Awareness measures should move from more general to morespecific questions. A range o more general to more specific measures be employed inbrand tracking surveys to measure brand image, especially in terms of specificperceptions and evaluations. It is also important to measure all association that may


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distinguish competing brands. Brand associations should include all potential sources ofbrand equity. At the same time it is also important to track more general, higher leveljudgments, feelings, and other outcome related measures.

When and Where to Track

Tracking studies in general depends upon the frequency of product purchase and onconsumer behavior and marketing activity in the product category. One useful trackingapproach for monitoring brand associations involves continuous tracking studies inwhich information is collected on continuous basis over time. When the brand has morestable associations, tracking can be conducted on a less frequent basis.

How to Interpret Tracking StudiesTracking measures must be reliable and sensitive as possible. One problem with manytraditional measures is that they do not change much over time. In this way they reflectthe fact. Marketers must identify the real value drivers for a brand that is, those tangibleand intangible points of difference that influence and determine consumers product and

brand choices.

Establishing a Brand Equity Management SystemA brand equity management system is a set of organizational processes designed toimprove the understanding and use of the brand equity concept within a firm. Threemajor steps an organization should take to implement a brand equity managementsystem: creating brand equity charters, assembling brand equity reports, and definingbrand equity responsibilities.

Brand Equity CharterThe brand equity charter provides relevant guidelines to marketing managers within thecompany as well as key marketing partners outside the company. This document shoulddo the following:

Define the firms view of the brand equity concept and explain why it is importantDescribe the scope of key brands in terms of associated products and the manner by

which they have branded and marketed.Specify what the actual and desired equity is for brand at all relevant levels of the

brand hierarchy at both the corporate level and at the individual product level.

Explain how brand equity is measured in terms of the tracking study and the resultingbrand equity report.

Suggest how brand equity should be managed in terms of some general strategicguidelines.

Specify the proper treatment of the brand in terms of trademark usage, packaging andcommunication.

Outline how marketing programs should be devised in terms of some specific tacticalguidelines.


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Brand equity charter may not change from year to year. As new products are introduced,brand programs are changed, and other marketing initiatives take place.Brand Equity ReportsBrand equity report is distributed to management on a regular basis. The brand equityreport should provide descriptive information as to what is happening with a brand as

well as diagnostic why it is happening. One section of the report should summarizeconsumers perceptions of key attributes, preferences and reported behavior as revealedby the tracking study. Another section of the report should include more descriptivemarket level information such as the following:

Product shipments and movement through channels of distributionRelevant cost breakdownsPrice and discount schedules where appropriateSales and market share information broken down by relevant factors.Profit assessments

Brand equity is an intangible asset that depends on associations made by the consumer.There are at least three perspectives from which to view brand equity

Financial - One way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that abrand commands over a generic product. For example, if consumers are willing to pay$100 more for a branded television over the same unbranded television, this premiumprovides important information about the value of the brand. However, expenses such aspromotional costs must be taken into account when using this method to measure brandequity.

Brand extensions - A successful brand can be used as a platform to launch relatedproducts. The benefits of brand extensions are the leveraging of existing brandawareness thus reducing advertising expenditures, and a lower risk from the perspectiveof the consumer. Furthermore, appropriate brand extensions can enhance the core brand.However, the value of brand extensions is more difficult to quantify than are directfinancial measures of brand equity.

Consumer-based - A strong brand increases the consumer's attitude strength toward theproduct associated with the brand. Attitude strength is built by experience with aproduct. This importance of actual experience by the customer implies that trial samplesare more effective than advertising in the early stages of building a strong brand. Theconsumer's awareness and associations lead to perceived quality, inferred attributes, andeventually, brand loyalty

Brand Equity ResponsibilitiesTo develop a brand equity management system that will maximize long term brandequity organizational responsibilities and process with respect to the brand must beclearly defined. This section considers internal issues related to assigning responsibilitiesand duties for properly managing brand equity. There must be a chief brand officer inevery organization who reports directly to the chief executive officer of the company and


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who protect the brand the way it looks and feels. The chief brand officer recognizes thatthe brand is the sum total of everything a company does. He should not only help tobuild the brand but also plans, anticipates, researches, probes, listens, and informs.

Comparative Methods

Comparative methods involve experiments that examine consumer attitudes andbehaviors toward a brand directly estimate the benefits arising from having a high levelof awareness and strong, favorable, and unique brand associations. There are two typesof comparative methods.

Brand-based Comparative ApproachMarketing-based Comparative Approach

Brand-based Comparative ApproachBrand-based comparative approaches examine consumer response based on changes inbrand identification. These measurement approaches typically employ experiments in

which one group of consumers responds to questions about the product in its marketingprogram when it is attributed to the brand and other groups respond to question askedabout the same brand. Comparing the responses of the two groups provide some usefulinsights into the equity of the brand. Consumer responses may be based on beliefs,attitudes, intentions, and actual behavior.

Marketing-based Comparative ApproachMarketing-based comparative approaches hold the brand fixed and examine consumerresponse based on changes in the marketing program. Marketing-based comparativeapproaches can be applied in other ways. Consumer responds to different advertisingstrategies and executions.

Holistic MethodsHolistic methods attempt to place an overall value on the brand in either abstract utilityterm. Thus holistic methods attempt to net out various considerations to determine theunique contribution of the brand. The residual approach attempts to examine the value ofthe brand by subtracting consumers preferences for the brand based on physical productattributes alone from their overall brand preferences. The valuation approach attempts toplace a financial value on brand equity for accounting purposes, mergers andacquisitions.

The Brand Product MatrixThe brand product matrix is a geographical representation of all the brands and productssold by the firm. The rows of the matrix represent brand product relationships andcapture the brand extension strategy of the firm in terms of the number and nature ofproducts sold under the firms brands. A brand line consists of all products original aswell as line and category extensions sold under a particular brand. The columns of thematrix represent product brand relationships and capture the brand portfolio strategy interms of the number and nature o brands to be marketed in each category. The brand


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portfolio is the set of all brands and brand lines that a particular firm offers for sale tobuyers in a particular category.

Breadth of a Branding StrategyThe breadth of a branding strategy concerns the number and nature of different products

linked to the brands sold by a firm. There are some steps which can be used to measureinclude aggregate market factors, category factors, and environmental factors.

Aggregate Market FactorsAggregate market factors include the market size, market growth, stage in product lifecycle, sales cycle, seasonality and profits.

Category FactorsCategory factor is considered attractive if it is the case that the threat of new entrants islow due to the barriers of entry from economies of scale, bargaining power of buyers islow e.g. when the product bought is a small percentage of buyers costs, current category

rivalry is low when there are few competitors in fast growing markets and few closeproduct substitutes exist in the eyes of consumers and the market is operating at nearcapacity.

Environmental FactorsExternal forces unrelated to the products customers and competitors that affectmarketing strategies. A host of technological, political, economic, regulatory, and socialfactors will affect the future prospects of a category and should be forecasted.

Depth of a Branding StrategyThe depth of a branding strategy concerns the number and nature of different brandsmarketed in the product class sold by a firm. For example Procter & Gamble is widelyrecognized as popularizing the practice. P&G became proponents of multiple brandsafter recognizing that introducing its new detergent brand as an alternative to its alreadysuccessful tide detergent resulted in higher combined product category sales.

Brand HierarchyA brand hierarchy is a means of summarizing the branding strategy by displaying thenumber and nature of common and distinctive brand elements across the firms products.A brand hierarchy is a useful means of graphically portraying a firms branding strategy.The highest level of the hierarchy technically always involves one brand the corporatebrand. For some firms the corporate brand is virtually the only brand used e.g. as withGeneral Motors and Hewlett-Packard. At the next lower level, a family brand is definedas a brand that is used in more than one product category but is not necessarily the nameof the company itself. An individual brand is defined as a brand that has been restrictedto essentially one product category, although it may be used for several different producttypes within the category. For example General Motor is a corporate brand, underGeneral Motor Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and GMC are familybrands. Under these brands there are an individual brands like Alero, regal, cutlass, sunfire etc. Corporate brand equity is the differential response by consumers, customers,


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employees, other firms or any relevant constituency to the words, actions,communications, products or services provided by an identified corporate brand entity.

Corporate ImageCorporate image plays very much important role in any brand strategy. There are some

important corporate image associations which are as follows:

Common Product Attributes, BenefitsA high quality corporate image association involves the creation of consumerperceptions that a company makes products of the highest quality. A number of differentorganizations rate products and companies on the basis of quality. An innovativecorporate image association involves the creation of consumer perceptions of a companyas developing new and unique marketing programs, especially with respect to productintroductions. Being innovative is seen in part as being modern and up to date investingin research and developing employing the most advanced manufacturing capabilities andintroducing the newest product features. Perceived innovativeness is also a key

competitive weapon and priority for firms in other countries.

People and RelationshipsCorporate image associations may reflect characteristics of the employees of thecompany. Thus a customer focused corporate image association involves the creation ofconsumer perceptions of a company as being responsive to and caring about itscustomers. A company seen as customer focused is likely to be described as listening tocustomers and having their best interests in mind.

Values and ProgramsCorporate image associations may reflect values and programs of the company that donot always directly relate to the products they sell. Firms can run corporate image adcampaign as a means to describe to consumers, employees, and others the philosophyand actions of the company with respect to organizational, social and political issues.

Corporate Credibility

Corporate credibility depends upon three factors:

1. Corporate expertise: The extent to which a company is seen as able to competentlymake and sell its products or services.2. Corporate trustworthiness: The extent to which a company is seen as motivated to behonest, dependable and sensitive to customer needs.


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3. Corporate likeability: The extent to which a company is seen as likable, attractive,prestigious, dynamic and so forth.

Designing a Branding StrategyBefore designing a branding strategy if a firm does not identify its weaknesses in the

research, might be it has negative effect on customers. When a firms product cannotsatisfy the needs of the consumers they never purchase it again and as a result they havenegative relationship with the product and in future might be they never purchase of anyproduct of that company on the basis of previous experience.

Combining Brand Elements from Different Levels

If multiple brand elements from different levels of the brand hierarchy are combined tobrand new products, it is necessary to decide how much emphasis should be given toeach brand element. For example if a sub-brand strategy is adopted, how muchprominence should individual brands be given at the expense of the corporate brand?

There are many different ways to connect a brand element to multiple products. Theprinciple of commonality states that the more common brand elements shared byproducts, the stronger the linkages between the products. The simplest way to linkproducts is to use the brand element as is across the different products involved. Forexample, a common prefix of a brand name may be adapted to different products.Hewlett-Packard capitalized on its highly successful Laser Jet computer printers tointroduce a number of new products using the Jet prefix, for example, the DeskJet,Paint Jet, Think Jet, and Office Jet printers.

Corporate Image Campaigns

To maximize the probability of success, however, the objective of a corporate imagecampaigns must be clearly defined and results must be carefully measured against theseobjectives. A number of different objectives are possible in a corporate brand campaigns.

Build awareness of the company and the nature of its businessCreate favorable attitude and perception of company credibilityLink beliefs that can be leveraged by product specific marketingMake a favorable impression on the financial communityMotivate present employees and attract better recruitsInfluence public opinion on issues.

New Products and Brand ExtensionsFor any company new products and brand extensions are vital and play very muchimportant role in the growth of the company. It entirely depends on the situation and thetime where they should be induction of a new brand or to extent the existing brand. Whena company introduces a new product, it has three main choices as to how to brand it: 1. Itcan develop a new brand, individually chosen for the new product. 2. It can apply, insome way, one of its existing brands. 3. It can use a combination of a new brand with anexisting brand.


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Managing Multiple Brands

Different companies have opted for different brand strategies for multiple products.These strategies are:

Single brand identity- a separate brand for each product. For example, in laundrydetergents Procter & Gamble offers uniquely positioned brands such as Tide, Cheer,Bold, etc.

Umbrella- all products under the same brand. For example, Sony offers many differentproduct categories under its brand.

Multi-brand categories- Different brands for different product categories. CampbellSoup Company uses Campbell's for soups, Pepperidge Farm for baked goods, and V8 forjuices.

Family of names- Different brands having a common name stem. Nestle uses Nescafe,Nesquik, and Nestea for beverages.

A brand extension is when a firm uses an established brand name to introduce a newproduct. An existing brand that gives birth to a brand extension is referred to as the parentbrand. There are seven general strategies for establishing a category extension:1. Introduce the same product in a different for. For example, Haleeb Dairy Queen2. Introduce products that contain the brands distinctive taste, ingredient, or component.For example, Cornetto Ice Cream3. Introduce companion products for the brand. For example, McDonald offers free Pepsiwith its fast food.4. Introduce product that relevant to the customer franchise of the brand. For example,Mobilink Black berry.5. Introduce products that capitalize on the firms perceived expertise. For example, SonyTV.

6. Introduce products that reflect the brands distinctive benefit, attribute. For example,Safeguard.7. Introduce products that capitalize on the distinctive image or prestige of the brand. Forexample, Coca Cola

Advantages of Brand Extensions


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There are different advantages of brand extension for a company. Some of them are asfollows:

What is a brand extension?Its simply a manner of leveraging the success and popularity of an existing brand name

to support the launch of a new product. For example,Nike started out selling shoes and later extended the brand into different types of shoes(i.e., line extensions) and different product categories like clothing (i.e., categoryextensions). As a businessperson and marketer, its important to understand the reasonswhy extending your brand can help your company.Kellogg on Branding includes a great chapter about brand extensions from which Iextracted the following top 5 reasons to extend brand:1) Brand extensions can reduce the costs and risks associated with launching a newproduct. Since the brand name is already known and (hopefully) popular, using thatbrand name on a new product (particularly when its in the same line as the originalproduct) immediately communicates the same level of awareness and perception.

2) Brand extensions typically garner more shelf space than unknown new product brands.Simply stated, retailers are more likely to stock a new product with a known brand nameon it. Again, its less risky, and a familiar brand comes with ready-made awareness andperceptions.3) Brand extensions may require a lower advertising investment. Consumers are alreadyaware of the brand name, so advertising to create brand awareness and recognition is notnecessary. Instead, advertising dollars can be invested in more targeted messaging.4) Brand extensions can boost the parent brand by creating increased interest in the brandas a whole and possibly growing the brands customer base across the board.5) Brand extensions reduce a companys dependency on one product which couldbecome less popular in the future.

Facilitate New Product Acceptance

Improve brand imageReduce risk perceived by customersIncrease the probability of gaining distribution and trialIncrease efficiency of promotional expendituresReduce cost of introductory and follow up marketing programsAvoid cost of developing a new brandAllow for packaging and labeling efficienciesPermit consumer variety seeking

Provide Feedback Benefits to the Parent Brand and Company

Clarify brand meaningEnhance the parent brand imageBring new customers into brand franchise and increase market coverageRevitalize the brandPermit subsequent extensions


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Disadvantages of Brand Extensions

Can confuse customersCan encounter retailer resistance

Can fail and hurt parent brand imageCan succeed but cannibalize sales of parent brandCan succeed but diminish identification with any one categoryCan succeed but hurt the image of parent brandCan dilute brand meaningCan cause the company to forgo the chance to develop a new brand.

Evaluating Brand Extension Opportunities

1. Define actual and desired consumer knowledge about the brand.2. Identify possible extension of brand on the basis of parent brand associations and

overall similarity.3. Evaluate the potential of extension brand to create equity according to the three factormodel:

Salience of parent brand associationsFavorability of inferred extension associationsUniqueness of inferred extension associations

4. Evaluate extension feedback effects according to the four factor model:How compelling the extension evidence isHow relevant the extension evidence isHow consistent the extension evidence isHow strong the extension evidence is

5. Consider possible competitive advantages as perceived by consumers and possiblereactions initiated by consumers.6. Design marketing campaign to launch extension7. Evaluate extension success and effects on parent brand equity

1-what is brand? a brand is a

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