GIFT UNIVERSITY

BRAND AUDIT
TERM PROJECT FOR BRAND MANAGEMENT

COURSE CONVENER NADEEM MUSTAFA MBA Marketing (UK)

Email: nmustafa@gift.edu.pk The details of how to conduct brand audit are discussed in Keller, Pages 126 131. Please read those pages carefully. The requirements of this term project are, however, slightly different. A brand audit has three parts. The first is the brand inventory, which is a brand specific situation analysis and a description of all the marketing input into brand management. The second is the brand exploratory, which is a detailed description of consumer perception of the brand. The third part is the analysis. The analysis is a reaction to the first two parts, essentially what can be learned by comparing what management has planned, hoped for, and done with what consumers feel believe, and do. The specific of a brand audit will vary, but the following general approach is recommended for this project which can be used to guide you work and to organize your report. BRAND INVENTORY What are the objectives for the brand and how has brand management been conducted to achieve those objectives? Some situation issues 1. Situation Analysis Brief History of Organization and selected brand (1-2 pages only). Value Chain Analysis (Identify strengths and weaknesses) Environmental Scanning: PEST Analysis (Demographic Analysis) Market Analysis How large is the market for the product in question? Is it growing, shrinking, or static? What is the market share of the product? What are the major factors influencing the level of demand of this product (critical success factors)? Can the market be broken down into segments? If so what are the most useful bases for segmentation? At what stage in the product life cycle is the market? Is demand consistent over time or does it fluctuate in response to random or cyclical factors? Competitors Analysis Who are the competitive brands? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is the basis of competition? (price, quality, economy, service, delivery, real of perceived differentiation, etc.) How long has each competitor been active in the market?

What is the segmentation & targeting strategy of competitors? What is the differentiation and positioning strategy of each competitor? Where is the competition vulnerable? What is the current and projected market share of the competitors? Analyze the strength of current and potential competition through Porters Five Forces Model. SWOT Analysis (for the selected brand and key competitors) Strengths & Weaknesses: Organization History, Value Chain Analysis, SWOT checklist. Opportunities & Threats: PEST Analysis, Market Analysis, Competitors Analysis.

3. Analyze Buyer Behavior Who initiates the buying process? What events or factors stimulate the need to purchase? What criteria are used to evaluate alternative products? What criteria are most important and will they change over time? Who makes the final buying decision? Who implements the actual purchase transaction? Who uses the product once the purchase has been made? How the product is used, evaluated and discarded? 4. Review of Market Segmentation Strategy What is the current strategy, aggregation or segmentation? What is the basis of market segmentation? (Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic) Which segment(s) has/have been selected as the target market? Positioning Strategy What is the intended positioning of your brand? What are the all desirable associations which the marketers intend to create in the minds of the target customers? Which associations are intended to be strong, valuable and unique? What are the intended POPs and PODs? Brand Elements & Structure What brand elements (name, logos, slogans, packaging, characters, etc.) have been used and what image do they project?

Are they memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable, protectable What is the brand structure? (Family, corporate, umbrella, etc.)

Product Strategy What products bear the brand name? What are the services which accompany those products? What are the nature and qualities of these products? What are the key attributes of the branded products (primary characteristics, secondary features, durability, serviceability, style & design, etc.)? Pricing Strategy What is the pricing strategy (penetration, skimming, EDLP, Value Pricing, competitive pricing, etc.)? List price, price discounts and allowances? What does the price signal about the brand? Distribution Strategy What are the current distribution channels? What is the distribution strategy (exclusive, selective or extensive)? What do the distribution outlets signal about the brand? Quality of design and interior Quality of sales persons at distribution outlets Services offered at distribution outlets, etc. Communication Strategy How has the brand message been communicated? o What is the message strategy? o What is the creative strategy? Which communication mix has been used? What are the prominent brand themes in communications? What are the qualities and image of the media and media vehicles? What media schedule has been used? Have spokespeople been used? If so, what are their characteristics? What events have been sponsored by the brands? How is the brand associated with other brands? What are the characteristics of brands associated with our brands? Sources: Interviews with company personnel, distributors & retailers.

Company documents. Business publications, trade journals. Expert opinions. Tangible marketing products, ads, observations of distribution, promotion, etc. and your expert analysis of them. Websites

BRAND EXPLORATORY The brand exploratory is research activity directed to understand what consumers think and feel about the brand and its corresponding product category to identify sources of brand equity. What consumers think of the brand by means of the brand exploratory, particularly in terms of brand awareness and the strength, favourability, and uniqueness of brand associations? The research activity includes both qualitative and quantitative research. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Qualitative research is carried out to measure brand awareness (i.e., recognition and recall), and develop a mental map of all possible associations in the consumers minds about the brand. Brand recall is the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, the purchase or consumption situation, or some other type of probe as a cue. Brand recognition reflects the ability of the consumers to confirm prior exposure. A variety of qualitative research techniques can be applied to gather the desired information. However for the purpose of this project, indepth interviews with 50 target customers should be conducted. What is the awareness level? (Recall & Recognition? Depth & Breadth) All associations prevailing in the consumers minds about the brand?

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Quantitative research is used to assess the image of the brand in the minds of the consumers. Particularly to determine the following: Awareness Recognition and Recall, Depth & breadth of brand awareness (all brand elements)

Strength of Associations Strength, favorability and uniqueness of brand associations in consumers minds o What are the associations about brand elements (name, logo, sing, symbol, slogan, etc.) in the consumers minds? Hush Puppies is a symbol of softness and comfort strongly agree strongly disagree o What are the consumers perceptions about product Hush Puppies are the worlds most comfortable shoes- strongly agree strongly disagree Primary characteristics: gives the best clothes wash strongly agree strongly disagree Secondary features: gives beautiful fragrance to the clothes strongly agree strongly disagree Product reliability: gives similar wash every time durability & serviceability, service effectiveness, efficiency & empathy, style and design) o What are the consumers perceptions about price, distribution and promotion? What is the image of users of the brand? o Honda CD 70 is mostly used by youngsters o Surf excel is mostly used by educated women What is the perceived purchase and usage situation? o Surf Excel is mostly used for machine wash o Surf Excel is used for hand wash o Surf Excel is used for all types of washing o Surf Excel is used for clothes used for outdoor What is the perceived brand image/personality? o Surf Excel is an honest brand o I trust the claims made by Surf Excel What are consumer judgments about the quality, credibility, and superiority of the brand? What are the customers feelings, preferences and attitudes towards the brand? o I feel proud for using Surf Excel o I feel happy to use Surf excel What are consumer perceptions about company producing the brand? o Unilever produces high quality products o Unilever is the leading company producing consumer goods Loyalty (purchase intension, repeat purchase), attachment and engagement (favorable word of mouth) of consumers with the brand. o Buying a new SIM next time I shall Definitely buy jazz

 Most probably buy jazz Probably will not buy jazz Certainly will not buy jazz o If I do not find this brand I shall Go to the next shop till the time I find it Buy an alternate brand Favorability Which of the following properties are important for a washing powder o Cleaning ability very important to least imp o Not to damage the clothes o Preserve the colors I buy washing powder because o Of its ability to remove strains o It does not damage the clothes The most important ability of washing powder is? ___________________ Rank the following properties of washing powder in order of importance o Stain removing o Preserve natural colors o Does not damage cloth o Has low price I buy Surf Excel because o Cleaning ability strongly agree strongly disagree o Not to damage the clothes o Preserve the colors I do not buy Surf Excel because o Cleaning ability strongly agree strongly disagree o Not to damage the clothes o Preserve the colors Uniqueness Surf excel is best in removing stains from the clothes strongly agree strongly disagree GUIDELIENS FOR RESEARCH & SAMPLE SIZE Your guideline is to conduct the research in the same way as the firm should, in so far as is practical. One aspect that is relaxed is sample size. Aim for a minimum sample of 50 for qualitative phase and 100 for quantitative phase. This sample size is far less than practical but probably large enough to get meaningful results. A second relaxation is data analysis. There is no need for fancy statistical tests. Frequencies, comparisons of scale means, dispersion and correlations should cover everything. Note that you should make efforts to use a representative sample. Asking your

fellow students questions may be OK for an ISP but not for baby foods. ANALYSIS Conduct an overall image analysis of the brand. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the brand. What is the desired positioning of the brand? What are the desired POPs & PODs? Which of these desired POPs and PODs are intended to be strong, favorable and unique? How does our desired positioning compare with competitors, and close substitutes? Is our intended positioning valuable and unique? How has the brand management been conducted to create the desired POPs & PODs? Are the brand elements consistent? Do they convey the desire associations? How has the planning and execution of the marketing program supported or hampered the creation and/or strengthening of desired brand associations? How have the other activities of the company/brand created secondary associations? Does the brand have desired brand awareness (i.e., recognition & recall depth and breadth)? Are consumers responding as management expected/hoped? Identify the important successes and failures. Discuss. Do consumers have a clear image of the brand? What are the all associations prevalent in consumers minds about the brand? Which of these associations are strong, favorable and unique? How does the established image in consumers minds compare with the desired positioning of the brand? How do these existing POPs and PODs compare with the desired positioning of the band? What is the brand management gap? How can this gap be bridged i.e., what are the recommended plans and strategies for eliminating the brand management gap. FORMAL REQUIREMENTS

1. First progress report is due at the beginning of class session in week 2. This should include the names of team members, top 3 brands that you are interested in and a tentative project schedule. 2. Second progress report is due at the beginning of class session in week 5. This report should include your brand inventory analysis and questionnaire for qualitative research. 3. Third progress report is due at the beginning of class session in week 9. This report should include the first part of brand exploratory analysis i.e., the results of qualitative research and questionnaire for quantitative research. 4. Final report of your brand audit is due at the beginning of class session in week 13. You may of course turn in your reports early. 5. You will make a brief (30 minutes), but formal, presentation of your brand audit to the class. You are also required to invite representatives of your brands firm to this presentation. Oral presentations will be scheduled immediately after the Final Exam. Brand Inventory PTCL is all set to redefine the established boundaries of the telecommunication market and is shifting the productivity frontier to new heights. Today, for millions of people, PTCL demand instant access to new products and ideas. More importantly PTCL wants them for their better living standards with increased values in this ever-shrinking globe.PTCL is setting free the spirit of innovation. PTCL is going to be customers first choice in the future as well, just as it has been over the past six decades. For clear communication the first choice of business circles is PTCL telephone for local, nationwide and international calling. Today businesses can have 10-100 lines with modern day services to meet their needs. Now you get options like Caller-ID, call-forwarding, call-waiting, Call Barring, to name a few. We provide all carrier services, right from inter-connects and telehousing to DPLC and IPLC connectivity. Our interconnect services are provided from our 3200 exchange locations that connect your carriers networks domestically, in addition to providing IPLC bandwidths to connect you internationally through our four international gateways and SEA-ME-WE3, SEA-ME-WE4 and IMEWE submarine cables Furthermore to provide connectivity to operators in the extreme remote areas of the country, PTCL launched its state of the art satellite service (Skylink).

PTCL satellite service (Skylink) is provided using the Intelsat Satellite System, an undisputed leader in satellite communications. PTCL customers can now provide uninterrupted services to their clients without undertaking large scale investment in infrastructure or developing expertise in their own network. PTCL White Label Services are focused on speed and simplicity at minimal capex. This will enable our customer to offer their own branded WLL, DSL etc to customers nationally, together with an array of key support services. PTCL EVO 3G Wireless Broadband is Pakistans fastest wireless internet which offers its customers superior 3G internet experience. EVO Wireless Broadband is enabling the wireless broadband revolution in Pakistan with flexibility to roam freely like never before. PTCL EVO has revolutionized the way people connect to the internet by offering true mobility. PTCL EVO gives its customers the advantage of nationwide roaming with seamless internet connectivity across Pakistan. Evo coverage is in over 250 cities, whereas EVO customers can also enjoy CDMA1X data rates of up to 153.6 Kbps at more than 1000 destinations across Pakistan. PTCL Introduced EVO 3G Nitro in Pakistan - The Worlds first & most cutting-edge EV-DO Rev.B commercial network. PTCL is the first operator in the world to commercially launch EV-DO Rev.B products, which offer blazing fast speeds of up to 9.3 MBPS. EVO 3G Nitro is all set to meet the next-generations need for ultimate speed & superior performance. It is the next step in Evolution of the Wireless Broadband Revolution! Whether it is streaming High Definition video or music, conducting a video conference while simultaneously browsing the Internet or uploading multimedia content, in the Nitro Universe, everything happens at the speed of light. PTCL introduced Pakistans First 3G Enabled Smartphone Android Tablet3G EVO Tab. Powered by Google Android Froyo 2.2 OS, EVO Tab is a 7 capacitive multi gestures touch screen tablet packed with features of both a tablet and a GSM phone that lets you surf, talk, tweet & do a lot more simultaneously on-the-go in more than 250cities nationwide Say Hello to the Future with Pakistans first 3G enabled Android Smartphone; Evo Droid--a GSM Smartphone that keeps you connected to your world without being tied to a Wi-Fi connection

or the worry of being stuck with a slow mobile data connection. With Evo Droid, Get ready to experience the magic of 3G right on your cell phone. PTCL has introduced pocket-sized Evo 3.1 mbps & Nitro 9.3 mbps 3G Wi-Fi Clouds that enable its customers to create instant 3G Wi-Fi hotspot. Users can connect up to 5 Wi-Fi gadgets simultaneously, use these as external storage device via the provided Micro SD Card slot, and also use these to charge other devices. Both the Clouds have a super-charged built-in battery that lasts up to 12 hours. Introducing Pakistans first 3G USB modem with built-in Wi-Fi hotspot - EVO Wingle is all out & about! The most talked about futuristic Wi-Fi tool that lets you effortlessly connect multiple WiFi gadgets simultaneously at Hyper Speeds of up to 9.3 Mbps* in over 200 cities, and auto switch over to Evo 3.1 Mbps speeds in over 250 cities. It lets you connect n share effortlessly through any external USB power adapter. Vision To be the leading Information and Communication Technology Service Provider in the region by achieving customer satisfaction and maximizing shareholders' value'. The future is unfolding around us. In times to come, we will be the link that allows global communication. We are striving towards mobilizing the world for the future. By becoming partners in innovation, we are ready to shape a future that offers telecom services that bring us closer. Mission To achieve our vision by having: An organizational environment that fosters professionalism, motivation and quality An environment that is cost effective and quality conscious Services that are based on the most optimum technology "Quality" and "Time" conscious customer service Sustained growth in earnings and profitability Core Values Professional Integrity

Customer Satisfaction Teamwork Company Loyalty