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Product Portfolio

DEFINITION of 'Product Portfolio'


The collection of different items a company sells. Within the product portfolio, each item
typically makes different contributions to the companys bottom line. Some products cost more
to produce, some are increasing their market share (or losing market share) at a faster rate, some
bring in more revenue and some have greater marketing expenses.

BREAKING DOWN 'Product Portfolio'


Managing a product portfolio entails analyzing consumer behavior to determine how to expand
with new products and how to improve profitability by removing underperforming or moneylosing products. A broader product portfolio offers consumers more choices and gives a company
more opportunities to capture consumers with different needs and tastes.
For example, Coca-Colas product portfolio consists of regular, low- and no-calorie beverages
including sodas (e.g., Coca-Cola and Coke Zero), energy drinks, still and sparkling waters (e.g.,
Dasani), juices and juice drinks, sports drinks (e.g., vitaminwater) and bottled teas.
A key decision for any company with a product portfolio, as opposed to a single product, is how
to allocate investment to each product based on its market share and its market growth rate.
Based on their performance in these two areas, the items in a product portfolio can be divided
into four categories:

High-growth, high market-share products (stars)

Low-growth, high market-share products (cash cows)

Low-growth, low market-share products (pets or dogs)

High-growth, low market-share products (question marks)

Each requires a different strategy and level of investment. For example, companies will invest
more in high-growth products, even though this might mean minimizing profits in the short term,
in the hopes that these products will become cash cows, which generate more cash for a lower
level of investment compared to other products in the portfolio. Companies might also decide to
sell their dogs/pets, which dont generate a profit beyond the investment required to maintain
them.
Boston Matrix and Product Portfolios

A business with a range of products has a portfolio of products. However, owning a product
portfolio poses a problem for a business. It must decide how to allocate investment (e.g. in
product development, promotion) across the portfolio.

A portfolio of products can be analysed using the Boston Group Consulting Matrix. This
categorises the products into one of four different areas, based on:

Market share does the product being sold have a low or high market share?

Market growth are the numbers of potential customers in the market growing or not

How the Boston Matrix is Constructed


The Boston Matrix makes a series of key assumptions:

Market share can be gained by investment in marketing

Market share gains will always generate cash surpluses

Cash surpluses will be generated when the product is in the maturity stage of the life
cycle

The best opportunity to build a dominant market position is during the growth phase

How does the Boston Matrix work? The four categories can be described as follows:

Stars are high growth products competing in markets where they are strong compared
with the competition. Often Stars need heavy investment to sustain growth. Eventually
growth will slow and, assuming they keep their market share, Stars will become Cash
Cows

Cash cows are low-growth products with a high market share. These are mature,
successful products with relatively little need for investment. They need to be managed
for continued profit - so that they continue to generate the strong cash flows that the
company needs for its Stars

Question marks are products with low market share operating in high growth markets.
This suggests that they have potential, but may need substantial investment to grow
market share at the expense of larger competitors. Management have to think hard about
Question Marks" - which ones should they invest in? Which ones should they allow to
fail or shrink?

Unsurprisingly, the term dogs" refers to products that have a low market share in
unattractive, low-growth markets. Dogs may generate enough cash to break-even, but
they are rarely, if ever, worth investing in. Dogs are usually sold or closed.

Ideally a business would prefer products in all categories (apart from Dogs!) to give it a balanced
portfolio of products.

The main values of using the Boston Matrix include:

A useful tool for analysing product portfolio decisions

But it is only a snapshot of the current position

Has little or no predictive value

Does not take account of environmental factors

There are flaws which flow from the assumptions on which the matrix is based

However, the model can be criticised in several ways:

Market growth is an inadequate measure of a market's attractiveness

Market share is an adequate measure of a products ability to generate cash

The focus on market share and market growth ignores issues such as developing a
sustainable competitive

advantages

The product life cycle varies

New Product Launch Strategy


A successful new product launch takes research, planning and a skilled and
knowledgeable marketing team. The product must fulfill consumer needs and
provide an emotional connection through its promise and brand. Businesses often
make the mistake of presenting new products to consumers without adequate
research or strategic planning. Todays savvy consumers demand products that
satisfy them on many levels including quality, price, status and function. Prepare a
new product launch strategy for the best chance of success with your new product.

Purpose
The primary purpose of a product launch is business growth. Businesses must master the concept
and process of a product launch to enable growth through successfully introducing new products
into the market. Product launches build sales and revenue through expansion of customer base.
By introducing new products, a business can target previously untapped customer markets. The
resulting growth allows businesses to hire additional sales and support staff.

Stages
A product launch strategy defines several stages of the launch including development, internal
testing, external testing, objective and goal setting, positioning, excitement building and event
timing. The design team must develop a product that fits a customer need and works to fulfill this
need reliably. The objective and goal-setting stage involves setting sales and revenue goals for
the launch event for a set future date.
The marketing team positions the product relative to the competition and begins marketing
tactics designed to build excitement. The launch event must take place at the ideal time for sales
maximization. For example, swimming accessories should have a spring or early summer launch
date, and new-technology snowboards should have fall or early winter launches.

Post Event
A comprehensive new product launch strategy provides a plan for maintaining the momentum
gained during the pre-launch activities and launch event. This plan may consist of post-launch
promotional campaigns and customer incentives, as well as informational vignettes about the
history of the products development, challenges overcome along the way and lessons learned.

People often enjoy reading about the details of new product development and the anecdotes can
gain consumer trust and loyalty.

Considerations
Consider if adding the product to the current line-up will augment brand equity or detract from it.
Brand equity is an intangible asset governed by consumer perception of the overall company
brand. Introducing products that do not align with business objectives and vision may detract
from brand equity, causing customers to back off from the brand entirely. Make certain new
products offer value in conjunction with current products or keep with the product theme.

Pitfalls
A poorly planned product launch may not have sales force support or adequate customer
awareness to succeed. Avoid building false excitement in consumers about a poor quality
product. This causes customers to lose trust and confidence in the business as a whole. A failure
to maintain initial momentum can result in an unrecoverable decrease in product sales and
positive brand influence.
10 Steps For Successfully Launching A New Product Or Service

Launching a new product or service isnt what is used to be. In the "good old days," you could
hire a PR agency to craft a press release and set up a press tour. Before the big launch date, you
would hit the road and meet with reporters from all the important press outlets. Then on launch
day, you could sit back and watch the articles roll in. In those days, reporters might even spend a
few days fact-checking and talking to customers before filing their stories.
For good or bad, those days are gone. Today, the pace of news is limited only by the speed of
light. The new media landscape incorporates far fewer major outlets; rather, it is made up of a
smaller number of slimmed-down publications and an inordinate number of specialist bloggers.
Getting "ink" might be easier, but paradoxically, getting attention has become extremely difficult.
And the attention you do get is forgotten within minutes as the unceasing flow of even "newer
news" pushes your announcement out of the collective mind share.
New tactics are required to get the notice you deserve. So here are some steps for a successful
launch in these fickle times:
1. Start early. Dont expect reporters to write about you when you want. Get a head start
and begin preparing long before you plan to launch. A rolling launch is a great way to
keep the conversation going. Start your outreach activities 6-8 weeks before the official
launch date and then keep the news going up to, and beyond the official launch date.
The steps below describe how to do this.
2. Make the product or service available to important influencers as a first step.
Influencers can be friendly customers, prospects, or even bloggers who have an sizable
online presence. Encourage these people to use your product or service and then write

review articles or posts. These folks are also great resources to talk to analysts about
your offering pre-launch.
3. Brief industry analysts during this early phase as well. Scheduling calls with these
folks takes time so do this early. Invest the time to write compelling briefing requests.
These guys are busy, so you will want to make sure your meeting request clearly states
why it is worth their time to hear about your offering.
4. Seed the social space with "leaks." Target people who are naturally eager to learn
about your offering. For example, coming soon tweets and leaked photos of your
product create an aura of intrigue that builds interest. Apple is a master of this
technique.
5. Dont expect a "big bang" release unless your product or service is truly
revolutionary or if you are Microsoft or Apple. Unless you have a massive launch event
planned, the official launch date should only signify the day your product is actually
available.
6. Keep the release rolling. You dont know when reporters will have time to write, so
give them some opportunity to write about the offering after the official launch date.
Continue to produce fresh news like announcements concerning novel uses of the
product, customer stories, details about how the offering provides return on investment
(ROI) to customers, etc.
7. Do something unusual during the release cycle. Some examples include creating a
funny video, doing a stunt centered around an industry event, publishing a survey that
supports the value of your product, or creating an interesting infographic that describes
the need for your product. As an example, for a recent product launch, I created a mock
public service announcement (PSA) website that warned of the dangers of using our
new mobile product while walking. The irony created an enormous buzz around the
launch and even led to a huge spike in free product downloads. You can check it out
here.
8. Get partners involved. Channel and marketing partners who have a financial stake in
the success of the launch are natural allies. The more people that are talking about the
release, the better chances it will get pickup.
9. Make it easy for people to learn more about your product with free trials,
downloads, product videos, and demos.
10. Ignore the elements of the launch that do not drive business. Unless your offering
appeals to a mass consumer audience, dont focus on the number of Facebook likes and
Twitter followers you collect. Rather, use these social channels for more meaningful
engagement. See who is talking about your offering online and then make contact with
them. See how these folks can help you further promote your offering within their
social circles.

Top Challenges for Product Management


in 2015
Weve recently been conducting research into the top priorities of product
management leaders. During our November 19 webcast Priorities for Product
Management Leaders for 2015 well discuss these priorities and approaches that
product management leaders can employ to address challenges. However, we also
wanted to share some of the high-level results here, as they provide good insight
into areas that product management leaders will be focused on in 2015.

From a list of the top product


management challenges over the next 12 months, product management leaders most frequently
selected the following five challenges:
1. Focusing less on incremental enhancements and more on new innovation
2. Improving the overall product lifecycle management framework/process
3. Portfolio management, including investment allocation and sunsetting
4. Getting consistency across the entire product management organization (e.g.
activities, deliverables)
5. Defining roles and responsibilities for product managers and related functions

What do all of these challenges have in common? They all relate to the operations of the product
management function. Notice that items that relate to areas outside of the product organization
like improving alignment with sales and aligning key stakeholders on the process to use to
approve new products are not on this list.
The good news is that these top challenges are generally addressable within the product
management function itself and do not require major transformation across the entire
organization. Frameworks like the SiriusDecisions Product Marketing and Management (PMM)
Model can help drive consistency of activities and deliverables across the product management
organization, define roles and responsibilities, and focus product management on customerdriven innovation. Our webcast on November 19 will cover other research and best practices that
product management leaders can employ to address these issues.

What are the Challenges of Product


Management and Marketing?
Definition

Product Management, as defined rightly or wrongly defined by Wikipedia is an


organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, and
production, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle.
Usually, this process will be undertaken by a product managers sometimes called inbound with
a focus on the product planning, development and validation and then outbound product
marketing managers launching the product and ongoing or sustaining marketing.
In very simple terms, product managers (PM) listen to the market, keeping focus on buyers
and users to conceptualize their existing and future needs. Internally, they work to develop the
business case and secure resources, collaborate with engineering to ensure the solution being
built meets market needs, and then in the role of product marketing manager (PMM) works with
marketing and sales by providing them the things they need to get their job done successfully.
Status of Education and Training of PM and PMMs

Degree granting programs in product management are few. One is the University of Wisconsin,
whose product management program was funded by the founder and supporter of product
management, the former president and founder of Intuit, Scott Cook. University of California at
Berkeley offers an executive program. Less than a half dozen other private organizations offer
some kind of training to the over 1.x million product managers in the world (according to one
LinkedIn search for people PM or PMM in their title).

As a result there are very few formal ways to create product managers and product marketing
managers. Most have come from other roles like marketing, engineering, sales, or customer
service. While learning and doing product management and product marketing is challenging, it
also means that there are wonderful opportunities for PMs and PMMs to define the future of the
profession.
According to a recent survey published by the 280 Group survey, 75% of companies said that the
executives at their company did not have a good understanding of what Product Management is
thus setting up yet another challenge.
As PM and PMM is still evolving so also are the tools they need to do their job.
We have interviewed more than a dozen product managers with various levels of experience and
have found seven major challenges within which the right tools might help product managers and
product marketing managers do their jobs better, faster and with higher success than today.
Process / Methodology : The first major challenge is the process. Roughly 40% of new products
fail in the market. There is debate whether an even greater percentage fails, with some estimates
like from Garner product failure is seen as high as 80%.
Details notwithstanding, whether 40% or 80%, failure is a significant possibility for any new or
existing product. Process doesnt ensure success, but can help reduce the failure rate
through checks and balances. This means that process maturity is key.
Many organizations have developed custom process standards based on their past mistakes. This
is because industry standards are still being developed. However, similar to the Product
Management Institute (PMI) organization, the Association of International Product Management
and Marketing (AIPMM) has taken steps to define a standard product management process.
But that is only recently. PMIs book of knowledge came out over 45 years ago. AIPMMs just a
year or so ago and their Prodbok has an independent chapter on Agilesorta bolted on. And
little mention of the digital transformation currently sweeping the business world.
There are other process frameworks from organizations like Spice Catalyst, 280 Group,
Pragmatic Marketing, BrainMates, PDMA, BlackBlot, PivotalPM, SiriusDecision, and Adaptive
Marketing. Each has a different process coming from the background and experiences of their
founders. As a result, organizations have to give serious thought about which process might or
might not work for them.
But the lack of a process results in the words of one of our clients creating a culture of blame
for the products failure.

Personal Assets (information on personal computer) : Most of the product managers today are
using Office tools like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Email. Organizations use these tools to
capture information before it is consolidated if ever. Other artifacts like competitive analysis,
vendor analysis, cost analysis are also stored on personal desktops. Collaborative tools like
Wikis, Share point, Google Docs are being used by few people. Given the amount of travel
product managers do, organizations have bigger concerns about the risk of having important
information in a decentralized location. There are risks of data loss, critical human resources
going on emergency leave, or human error. Organizations need to take measures to make these
assets that form the knowledge base of the product are available, created, and easily accessible
by those who need it at the right time. And is the right, current and up to date asset.
Unstructured data: If it is left to individual intelligence on how information is organized,
artefact structure can become very complicated. Product managers who are personally organized
try to create their own structure, while others within the organization have their own standards
and conventions. Given the fact the information is distributed in various ways, either they will
end up wasting good amount of time to keep the information structured or letting an
unstructured format take precedent and wasting time looking for information including finding
the most up to date information.
Collaboration: There are many options teams can use day to day to work together. Chat, Phone,
Video call (Skype/Hangout), and Webex/GoTomeeting are all popular. On top of these tools,
teams often have their own collaboration platform, which means that collaboration in the chat,
phone, etc spaces are not stored in the collaboration platform. This problem is not limited to only
product management but sometimes within the the entire organization. The level of
interconnectedness of any stakeholder is proportional to how serious the issue will be for a team.
Without close and timely collaboration between all the stakeholders the odds of product failure
increase.
Communication: Email is still the number one tool used to communicate. There has been
studies on the side effects of overusing email. Despite the many issues, organizations rely on this
tool given that stakeholders are accustomed to it. Email is sometimes used as action tracker
system a task it was generally not designed to accomplish. Many individuals prepare their todo list from emails.
Visibility: How many product management, directors, and VPs have visibility on what their
team members are working on without their personal efforts? How much visibility do product
managers get on product development and go to market activities? Many are perhaps working on
quarterly deliverables with monthly reviews. For example, PMs that create market research with
errors may only be captured in when being reviewed. These product managers, as a result, lose
an opportunity to seek the input of their team. As a result, strategic decisions might sit in wait

mode while these reviews happen. Since business dynamics are so fast, more visibility and
transparency are necessary to make it easy for organizations to adapt to rapid change.
Lack of Authority: Influence is the key to overcome this challenge. But what else can product
managers do to enforce a viable work product. RASCI documents the concept initiation stage,
and makes cross functional teams clear on roles and responsibilities. It might have to be revised
as when required. But many do not use this technique. Maintaining a structured way of working
and being proactive forces cross functional team members to respect the workflow their product
manager needs, and avoids counterproductive political issues.

Brand Management - Meaning and


Important Concepts
Brand management begins with having a thorough knowledge of the term brand. It
includes developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it. It means defining the
brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. Brand management is nothing but an art
of creating and sustaining the brand. Branding makes customers committed to your business. A
strong brand differentiates your products from the competitors. It gives a quality image to your
business.
Brand management includes managing the tangible and intangible characteristics of
brand. In case of product brands, the tangibles include the product itself, price, packaging, etc.
While in case of service brands, the tangibles include the customers experience. The intangibles
include emotional connections with the product / service.
Branding is assembling of various marketing mix medium into a whole so as to give you an
identity. It is nothing but capturing your customers mind with your brand name. It gives an
image of an experienced, huge and reliable business.
It is all about capturing the niche market for your product / service and about creating a
confidence in the current and prospective customers minds that you are the unique solution to
their problem.
The aim of branding is to convey brand message vividly, create customer loyalty, persuade the
buyer for the product, and establish an emotional connectivity with the customers. Branding
forms customer perceptions about the product. It should raise customer expectations about the
product. The primary aim of branding is to create differentiation.
Strong brands reduce customers perceived monetary, social and safety risks in buying
goods/services. The customers can better imagine the intangible goods with the help of brand
name. Strong brand organizations have a high market share. The brand should be given good

support so that it can sustain itself in long run. It is essential to manage all brands and build
brand equity over a period of time. Here comes importance and usefulness of brand management.
Brand management helps in building a corporate image. A brand manager has to oversee overall
brand performance. A successful brand can only be created if the brand management system is
competent.

21Different Types Of Brand


We often talk about brand as if it is one thing. Its not of course in fact, the meaning and the
use of the term differs, quite markedly, depending on the context. By my reckoning, brand is
categorized in at least 18 different ways. (So much for the single minded proposition!). In no
particular order:
1. Personal brand Otherwise known as individual brand. The brand a person builds around
themselves, normally to enhance their career opportunities. Often associated with how people
portray and market themselves via media. The jurys out on whether this should be called a form
of brand because whilst it may be a way to add value, it often lacks a business model to
commercialize the strategy.
2. Product brand Elevating the perceptions of commodities/goods so that they are associated
with ideas and emotions that exceed functional capability. Consumer packaged goods brands
(CPG), otherwise known as fast moving consumer goods brands (FMCG), are a specific
application.
3. Service brand Similar to product brands, but involves adding perceived value to services.
More difficult in some ways than developing a product brand, because the offering itself is less
tangible. Useful in areas like professional services. Enables marketers to avoid competing skill
vs skill (which is hard to prove and often devolves to a price argument) by associating their
brand with emotions. New online models, such as subscription brands, where people pay small
amounts for ongoing access to products/services, are rapidly changing the loyalty and technology
expectations for both product and service brands for example, increasingly products come with
apps that are integral to the experience and the perceived value.
4. Corporate brand Otherwise known as the organizational brand. David Aaker puts it very
well: The corporate brand defines the firm that will deliver and stand behind the offering that
the customer will buy and use. The reassurance that provides for customers comes from the fact
that a corporate brand will potentially have a rich heritage, assets and capabilities, people,
values and priorities, a local or global frame of reference, citizenship programs, and a
performance record.

5. Investor brand Normally applied to publicly listed brands and to the investor relations
function. Positions the listed entity as an investment and as a performance stock, blending
financials and strategy with aspects such as value proposition, purpose and, increasingly, wider
reputation via CSR. As Mike Tisdall will tell you, done well, a strong investor brand delivers
share price resilience and an informed understanding of value.
6. NGO (Non Governmental Organization) or Non Profit brand An area of transition, as
the sector shifts gear looking for value models beyond just fundraising to drive social missions.
Not accepted by some in the non profit community because its seen as selling out. Necessary in
my view because of the sheer volume of competition for the philanthropic dollar. This paper is
worth reading.
7. Public brand Otherwise known as government branding. Contentious. Many, including
myself, would argue that you cant brand something that doesnt have consumer choice and a
competitive model attached to it. Thats not to say that you cant use the disciplines and
methodologies of brand strategy to add to stakeholders understanding and trust of government
entities. Thats why I talk about the need for public entities to develop trustmarks rather than
brands. Jill Caldwell takes this idea of how we consider and discuss infrastructure further and
says we now have private-sector brands that are so much a part of our lives that we assume their
presence in much the same way as we assume public services. Caldwell refers to brands like
Google and Facebook as embedded brands.
8. Activist brand Also known as a purpose brand. The brand is synonymous with a cause or
purpose to the point where that alignment defines its distinctiveness in the minds of consumers.
Classic examples: Body Shop, which has been heavily defined by its anti-animal-cruelty stance;
and Benetton, which confronts bigotry and global issues with a vehemence that has made it both
hated and admired.
9. Place brand Also known as destination or city brands. This is the brand that a region or city
builds around itself in order to associate its location with ideas rather than facilities. Often used
to attract tourists, investors, businesses and residents. Recognizes that these groups all have
significant choices as to where they choose to locate. A critical success factor is getting both
citizens and service providers on board, since they in effect become responsible for the
experiences delivered. Most famous example is probably What happens in Vegas stays in
Vegas. Other place brand examples here.
10. Nation brand Whereas place brands are about specific areas, nation brands relate, as per
their name, to the perceptions and reputations of countries. Simon Anholt is a pioneer in this
area. Some good models comparing nation and place branding here.

11. Ethical brand Used in two ways. The first is as a description of how brands work,
specifically the practices they use and the commitments they demonstrate in areas such as worker
safety, CSR and more i.e. a brand is ethical or it is not?. Secondly, denotes the quality marques
that consumers look for in terms of reassurance that the brands they choose are responsible.
Perhaps the most successful and well known example of such a brand is Fairtrade. These types of
ethical brands are often run by NGOs e.g. WWFs Global Forest and Trade Network.
12. Celebrity brand How the famous commercialize their high profile using combinations of
social media delivered content, appearances, products and gossip/notoriety to retain interest and
followers. The business model for this has evolved from appearances in ads and now takes a
range of forms: licensing; endorsements; brand ambassador roles; and increasingly brand
association through placement (think red carpet).
13. Ingredient brand The component brand that adds to the value of another brand because of
what it brings. Well known examples include Intel, Gore-Tex and Teflon. Compared with OEM
offerings in manufacturing, where componentry is white label and simply forms part of the
supply chain, ingredient brands are the featured elements that add to the overall value
proposition. A key reason for this is that they market themselves to consumers as elements to
look for and consider when purchasing. In this interesting piece, Jason Cieslak wonders though
whether the days of the ingredient brand are drawing to a close. His reasons? Increased
fragmentation in the manufacturing sector, lack of space as devices shrink, stronger need for
integration and lack of interest amongst consumers in what goes into what they buy.
14. Global brand The behemoths. These brands are easily recognized and widely dispersed.
They epitomize household names. Their business model is based on familiarity, availability
and stability although the consistency that once characterized their offerings, and ruled their
operating models, is increasingly under threat as they find themselves making changes, subtle
and otherwise, to meet the cultural tastes and expectations of people in different regions.
15. Challenger brand The change makers, the brands that are determined to upset the
dominant player. While these brands tend to face off against the incumbents and to do so in
specific markets, Being a challenger is not about a state of market; being number two or three or
four doesnt in itself make you a challenger, says Adam Morgan of Eat Big Fish. It is a
brand, and a group of people behind that brand, whose business ambitions exceed its
conventional marketing resources, and needs to change the category decision making criteria in
its favor to close the implications of that gap.
16. Generic brand The brand you become when you lose distinctiveness. Takes three forms.
The first is specific to healthcare and alludes to those brands that have fallen out of patent
protection and now face competition from a raft of same-ingredient imitators known as generics.
The second form of generic brand is the brand where the name has become ubiquitous and in so

doing has passed into common language as a verb Google, Xerox, Sellotape. The third form is
the unbranded, unlabelled product that has a functional description for a name but no brand value
at all. This last form is the ultimate in commoditization.
17. Luxury brand Prestige brands that deliver social status and endorsement to the consumer.
Luxury brands must negotiate the fine line between exclusivity and reality. They do this through
quality, association and story. These brands have perfected the delivery of image and aspiration
to their markets, yet they remain vulnerable to shifts in perception and consumer confidence and
they are under increasing pressure from affordable luxury brands. Coach for example struggled
with revenues in 2014 because of declining sales growth in China and Japan, two of the worlds
key luxury markets.
18. Cult brand The brands that revolve around communities of fierce advocates. Like the
challenger brands, these brands often pick fights with enemies that can range from other
companies to ideas, but pure-play cult brands take their cues from their own passions and
obsessions rather than the market or their rivals. They tend to have followers rather than
customers, set the rules and ask people to comply and, if they market at all, do so in ways where
people come to them rather than the other way around.
19. Clean slate brand The pop-ups of brand. Fast moving, unproven, even unknown brands
that dont rely on the heritage and history that are so much a part of mainstream brand strategy.
These brands feed consumers wish for the new and the timely. Read more about them here.
20. Private brand Otherwise known as private label. Traditionally, these are value-based,
OEM-sourced retail offerings that seek to under-cut the asking price of name brands. They focus
on price. There is significant potential though in my view for these brands to become more
valuable and to play a more significant role at the affordable premium end of the market. For
that to happen, private brands will need to broaden their appeal and loyalty through a wider
range of consideration factors.
21. Employer brand The ability of a company to attract high quality staff in much-touted
competitive markets. Often tied to an Employee Value Proposition. Focuses on the recruiting
process though it is sometimes expanded to include the development of a healthy and productive
culture. Sadly, given the process obsession of too many HR staff and the lack of interest from a
lot of marketing people to venture into people-issues, this tends to be a brand in name rather than
a brand by nature. Great potential but, given the very low satisfaction rates across corporate
cultures globally, a lot more work is needed to realize the full potential of this idea.
Its no wonder, on review, that so many people outside marketing struggle to understand what a
brand is. And we havent even talked about brand in reference to structure (brand architecture

models such as endorsed brands, house of brands and power brands) or the different types of
brand audiences (B2B, B2C, B2T, B2G, H2H).
A brand can of course function across a number of these roles simultaneously a product brand
can be a challenger brand or a global brand, for example. That in itself is an important reminder
that we often encounter the same brand in different ways in different contexts and the criteria
for whether a brand is successful or not can shift markedly depending on which categorization is
being applied.
The challenge for marketers given these dissipated meanings of brand is to somehow ensure that
the emotions that a brand generates are valuable, relevant and differentiated in each context in
which it is judged while, at the same time, aligning with the brand strategy overall. I dont see
much evidence of that yet.

Types of Brands
The different types of brands include: individual products, product ranges, services,
organizations, persons, individuals, groups, events, geographic places, private label brands,
media, and e-brands.
The most common type of brand is a tangible, individual product, such as a car or drink. This can
be very specific, such as the Kleenex brand of tissues or can comprise a wide range of products.
Product brands can also be associated with a range, such as the Mercedes S-class cars or all
varieties of Colgate toothpaste.
A service is another type of brand as companies move from manufacturing products to delivering
complete solutions and intangible services. Service brands are characterized by the need to
maintain a consistently high level of service delivery. This category comprises the following:

Classic service brands (such as airlines, hotels, car rentals, and banks).

Pure service providers (such as member associations).

Professional service brands (such as advisors of all kinds accountancy,


management consultancy).

Agents (such as travel agents and estate agents).

Retail brands (such as supermarkets, fashion stores, and restaurants).

Another type of brand is an organization. This can be a company that delivers products and
services. Mercedes and the US Senate are all defined organizations and each have qualities
associated with them that constitute their brand. Organizations can also be linked closely with the
brand of an individual. For example, the U.S. Democratic party is closely linked with President
Barack Obama.
A person can also be considered a brand. It can be comprised of one, as in the case of Oprah
Winfrey, or a few individuals, where the branding is associated with different personalities, such
as with the American Democratic Party.
Not much higher in detail than an individual is the brand of a group. In particular, when this is a
small group and the individuals are known, the group brand and the individual brand overlap.
For example, the OWN brand of the Oprah Winfrey Network and the brand of its known
members (Oprah and her team) are strongly connected.

OWN group brand


The OWN group brand is closely linked to Oprah Winfrey herself.

Events have brands too, whether they are rock concerts, the Olympics, a space-rocket launch, or
a town-hall dance. Event brands are strongly connected with the experience of the people
attending. Product, service and other brands realize the power of event brands and seek to have
their brands associated with the event brands. Thus, sponsorship of events is now a thriving big
business as one brand tries to get leverage from the essence of the event, such as the excitement
and danger of car racing.
Places or areas of the world also have essential qualities that are seen as characterizations and
hence also have a brand. These areas can range from countries to states to cities to streets to
buildings. Those who govern or represent these geographies will work hard to develop the brand.
Cities, for example, may have de facto brands of being dangerous or safe, cultural or bland,
which will be used by potential tourists in their decisions to visit and by companies in their
decisions on where to set up business.
Private label brands, also called own brands, or store brands, exist among retailers that possess a
particularly strong identity (such as Save-A-Lot).
Media brands include newspapers, magazines, and television channels such as CNN .

CNN Brand logo


CNN is an example of a media brand.

The primary activity of e-brands is to deliver physical products or services, as in the case of
Amazon.com . These online brands focus on delivering a service or experience in the virtual
environment.

Amazon.com e-brand
Amazon.com is an e-brand that delivers services online, enabling consumers to buy and sell
products on its website.

Strategic Brand Management - Meaning and


its importance
The other day I over-heard a conversation generally referred as cooler moment. John was in
conversation with Terry around lunch time. John said he was hungry but had to take a quick meal
as he was expecting to run a business call. Terry gave alternative of burger as quick and easy
meal, to which John said McDonalds. Above conversation could be part of anyones life and
but very important to understand Strategic Brand Management. Here in the conversation need or
want is for a quick meal, available generic product Burger and brand choice McDonalds.
What made McDonalds pop up in Johns mind as a choice for quick meal burger? Answer to
this question lies within framework of strategic brand management. We will explore each word
Strategic, Brand and Management and come up to conclusion where in Johns answer is
understood.
Brand does not carry a definite and absolute definition but it is relative. Some observers would
term products or services characteristics, which differentiate it from competitors as brand, where

as some would consider standing of ones product or services in market as brand. In all these,
value of product or service for what it stands and attributes which identifies them can be
considered as brand.
Branding or Brand is considered important not only for companies but they carry equal
importance for customers or consumers also. From consumer or customer point of view, brand
becomes important for various reason let us explore some of them. Brand for a customer will
indicate commitment towards quality from sellers there by reducing time spent in coming to a
purchase decision. Brand for companies will indicate a sort of benchmark in quality as well as
customer expectation, a point of differentiation from competitors and a steady stream of profit.
Normally we associate branding from point of view common mass; and products or service
displayed in malls and supermarket. However there exists another market where branding is
equally important and that is business to business market. This is referred as corporate branding,
which is again a challenge as decision making process for purchase order is way different
compare to individual. Here survival of organization as well as individual will be at stake. The
key lies in developing a brand for corporation where in which other business can be confident of.
Modern globalized, technology driven world has thrown new challenges to branding.
Customers/consumers have more access to information than ever before. Internet has become a
strong tool through which product information proliferate raising expectation bar for companies.
Companies have responded to this challenge by improvising in the way they run their marketing
campaigns, by exploring new avenues to showcase their products. Like for example; sponsorship
of events and teams or association with social cause.
In a given market innumerable products and services are offered by different companies. The
identity developed for this product and services over a period of time, through marketing
strategies, sturdy performance etc is referred to as brand. A stage is reached where brand become
synonymous with product e.g. - coffee-Starbucks, donut-Dunkin Donuts, online retail-Ebay etc.
This process is called strategic brand management.
Strategic Brand Management Process
I've selected this topic, since it's very important to understand the various aspects
in the PROCESS of strategic brand management.
The process of strategic brand management basically involves 4 steps:
1. Identifying and establishing brand positioning.
Brand Positioning is defined as the act of designing the company's offer and
image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target consumer's mind.
Key Concepts:

Points of difference: convinces consumers about the advantages and


differences over the competitors

Mental Map: visual depiction of the various associations linked to the brand
in the minds of the consumers

Core Brand Associations: subset of associations i.e. both benefits and


attributes which best characterize the brand.

Brand Mantra: that is the brand essence or the core brand promise also
known as the Brand DNA.

2.Planning and Implementation of Brand Marketing Programs


Key Concepts:

Choosing Brand Elements: Different brand elements here are logos,


images, packaging, symbols, slogans, etc. Since different elements have
different advantages, marketers prefer to use different subsets and
combinations of these elements.

Integrating the Brand into Marketing Activities and the Support


Marketing Program: Marketing programs and activities make the biggest
contributions and can create strong, favorable, and unique brand associations
in a variety of ways.

Leveraging Secondary Associations: Brands may be linked to certain


source factors such as countries, characters, sporting or cultural events,etc.
In essence, the marketer is borrowing or leveraging some other associations
for the brand to create some associations of the brand's own and them to
improve it's brand equity.

3.Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance


Key Concepts:

Brand Audit: Is assessment of the source of equity of the brand and to


suggest ways to improve and leverage it.

Brand Value chain: Helps to better understand the financial impacts of the
brand marketing investments and expenditures.

Brand Equity Measurement System: Is a set of tools and procedures


using which marketers can take tactical decision in the short and long run.

4. Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity:


Key Concepts:

Defining the brand strategy: Captures the branding relationship between


the various products /services offered by the firm using the tools of brandproduct matrix, brand hierarchy and brand portfolio

Managing Brand Equity over time: Requires taking a long -term view as
well as a short term view of marketing decisions as they will affect the
success of future marketing programs.

Managing Brand Equity over Geographic boundaries, Market


segments and Cultures: Marketers need to take into account international
factors, different types of consumers and the specific knowledge about the
experience and behaviors of the new geographies or market segments when
expanding the brand overseas or into new market segments.

Branding Strategies
A branding strategy helps establish a product within the market and to build a brand that will
grow and mature in a saturated marketplace

Key Points[ edit ]


o

Attitude branding is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is


not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the
product at all.

Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that contribute to the


consumer's self-expression and personal identity.

In "no brand" branding, the product is made conspicuous through the


absence of a brand name.

In derived branding, some suppliers of key components may wish to


guarantee its own position by promoting that component as a brand in
its own right.

Cannibalization is a particular problem of a multi-brands strategy


approach, in which the new brand takes business away from an
established one which the organization also owns. This may be
acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall.

In crowdsourcing branding, brands are created by the people for the


business, which is opposite to the traditional method where the
business creates a brand.

Term[ edit ]

Cannibalization

In marketing strategy, cannibalization refers to a reduction in sales volume, sales revenue,


or market share of one product as a result of the introduction of a new product by the
same producer.
Example[ edit ]
o

Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having


identity value are said to be "identity brands. " Some brands have such
a strong identity that they become "iconic brands" such as Apple, Nike,
and Harley Davidson.

Branding Strategies
A branding strategy helps establish a product within the market and to build a brand that will
grow and mature in a saturated marketplace. Making smart branding decisions up front is crucial
since a company may have to live with the decision for a long time. The following are commonly
used branding strategies:

Company Name
In this case a strong brand name (or company name) is made the vehicle for a range of products
(for example, Mercedez Benz or Black & Decker) or a range of subsidiary brands (such as
Cadbury Dairy Milk or Cadbury Fingers in the United States).

Individual Branding
Each brand has a separate name, putting it into a de facto competition against other brands from
the same company (for example, Kool-Aid and Tang are both owned by Kraft Foods). Individual
brand names naturally allow greater flexibility by permitting a variety of different products, of
differing quality, to be sold without confusing the consumer's perception of what business the
company is in or diluting higher quality products.

Tang
Tang is an individual brand that competes with Kraft's other brand (Kool-Aid).

Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid is an individual brand that competes with Kraft's other brand (Tang).

Attitude Branding and Iconic Brands


This is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the
product or consumption of the product at all. Companies that use attitude branding include: Nike,
Starbucks, The Body Shop, and Apple, Inc. Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that
contribute to the consumer's self-expression and personal identity.
Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value are said to be
"identity brands. " Some brands have such a strong identity that they become "iconic brands"
such as Apple, Nike, and Harley Davidson.

"No-brand" Branding
Recently a number of companies have successfully pursued "no-brand" strategies by creating
packaging that imitates generic brand simplicity. "No brand" branding may be construed as a
type of branding as the product is made conspicuous through the absence of a brand name. "Tapa
Amarilla" or "Yellow Cap" in Venezuela during the 1980s is a prime example of no-brand
strategy. It was simply recognized by the color of the cap of this cleaning products company.

Derived Brands
Some suppliers of key components may wish to guarantee its own position by promoting that
component as a brand in its own right. For example, Intel, positions itself in the PC market with
the slogan (and sticker) "Intel Inside. "

Brand Extension and Brand Dilution


The existing strong brand name can be used as a vehicle for new or modified products. For
example, many fashion and designer companies extended brands into fragrances, shoes and
accessories, furniture, and hotels. Frequently, the product is no different than what is already on
the market, except it has a brand name marking. The risk of over-extension is brand dilution,
which is when the brand loses its brand associations with a market segment, product area, or
quality, price, or cachet.

Multi-brands Strategy
Alternatively, in a very saturated market, a supplier can deliberately launch totally new brands in
apparent competition with its own existing strong brand (and often with identical product
characteristics) to soak up some of the share of the market. The rationale is that having 3 out of
12 brands in such a market will give a greater overall share than having 1 out of 10. Procter &
Gamble is a leading exponent of this philosophy, running as many as ten detergent brands in the
US market. In the hotel business, Marriott uses the name Fairfield Inns for its budget chain.
Cannibalization is a particular problem of a multi-brands strategy approach, in which the new
brand takes business away from an established one which the organization also owns. This may
be acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall.

Private Labels
Also called own brands, or store brands, these have become increasingly popular. Where the
retailer has a particularly strong identity this "own brand" may be able to compete against even
the strongest brand leaders, and may outperform those products that are not otherwise strongly
branded.

Individual and Organizational Brands


These are types of branding that treat individuals and organizations as the products to be
branded. Personal branding treats persons and their careers as brands. Faith branding treats
religious figures and organizations as brands.

Crowdsourcing Branding
These are brands that are created by the people for the business, which is opposite to the
traditional method where the business creates a brand. This type of method minimizes the risk of
brand failure, since the people that might reject the brand in the traditional method are the ones
who are participating in the branding process.

Nation Branding
This is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure, build, and manage the reputation of
countries (closely related to place branding).

7 Components for a Comprehensive Branding Strategy


1) Purpose

"Every brand makes a promise. But in a marketplace in which consumer confidence is low and
budgetary vigilance is high, its not just making a promise that separates one brand from another,
but having a defining purpose," explains Allen Adamson, chairman of the North America region
of brand consulting and design firm Landor Associates.
While understanding what your business promises is necessary when defining your brand
positioning, knowing why you wake up everyday and go to work carries more weight. In other
words, your purpose is more specific, in that it serves as a differentiator between you and your
competitors.
How can you define your business' purpose? According to Business Strategy Insider, purpose
can be viewed in two ways:

Functional: This concept focuses on the evaluations of success in terms of


immediate and commercial reasons -- i.e. the purpose of the business is to
make money.

Intentional: This concept focuses on success as it relates to the ability to


make money and do good in the world.

While making money is important to almost every business, we admire brands that emphasize
their willingness to achieve more than just profitability, like IKEA:
IKEA's vision isn't just to sell furniture, but rather, to "create a better everyday life." This
approach is appealing to potential customers, as it demonstrates their commitment to providing
value beyond the point of sale.
When defining your business' purpose, keep this example in mind. While making money is a
priority, operating under that notion alone does little to set your brand apart from others in your
industry.
Our advice? Dig a little deeper. If you need inspiration, check out this post on inspiring mission
and vision statements.
2) Consistency

The key to consistency is to avoid talking about things that dont relate to or enhance your
brand. Added a new photo to your business' Facebook Page? What does it mean for your
company? Does it align with your message, or was it just something funny that would, quite
frankly, confuse your audience?
In an effort to give your brand a platform to stand on, you need to be sure that all of your
messaging is cohesive. Ultimately, consistency contributes to brand recognition, which fuels
customer loyalty. (No pressure, right?)
To see a great example of consistency, let's look at Coca Cola. As a result of their commitment to
consistency, every element of their marketing works harmoniously together. This has helped
them become one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Even on the surface of their social media accounts, for example, the seamlessness of their
brand is very apparent:
To avoid leaving potential customers struggling to put the disconnected pieces of your business
together, consider the benefits of creating a style guide. A style guide can encompass everything
from the tone of voice you'll use to the color scheme you'll employ to the way you'll position
certain products or services.

By taking the time to define and agree upon these considerations, your brand will benefit as a
whole. Want to learn more about style guides? Check out this article my colleague Austin Knight
published on the web design style guides of big companies like Apple, Google, and Starbucks.
3) Emotion

Customers aren't always rational.


How else do you explain the person who paid thousands of dollars more for a Harley rather than
buying another cheaper, equally well-made bike? There was an emotional voice in there
somewhere, whispering: Buy a Harley.
But why?
Harley Davidson uses emotional branding by creating a community around their brand. They
began HOG -- Harley Owners Group -- to connect their customers with their brand (and each
other).
By provided their customers with an opportunity to feel like they're part of a larger group that's
more tight-knit than just a bunch of motorcycle riders, Harley Davidson is able to position
themselves as an obvious choice for someone looking to purchase a bike.
Why? People have an innate desire to build relationships. Research from psychologists Roy
Baumeister and Mark Leary best describes this need in their "belongingness hypothesis," which
states: "People have a basic psychological need to feel closely connected to others, and that
caring, affectionate bonds from close relationships are a major part of human behavior."
Not to mention, belongingness -- the need for love, affection, and being part of groups -- falls
directly in the middle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which aims to categorize different human
needs.
The lesson to be learned? Find a way to connect to your customers on a deeper, more emotional
level. Do you give them peace of mind? Make them feel like part of the family? Do you make
life easier? Use emotional triggers like these to strengthen your relationship and foster loyalty.
4) Flexibility

In this fast-changing world, marketers must remain flexible to stay relevant. On the plus side,
this frees you to be creative with your campaigns.
You may be thinking, "Wait a minute, how am I supposed to remain consistent while also being
flexible?"

Good question. While consistency aims to set the standard for your brand, flexibility enables you
to make adjustments that build interest and distinguish your approach from that of your
competition.
In other words, "effective identity programs require enough consistency to be identifiable, but
enough variation to keep things fresh and human," explains president of Peopledesign, Kevin
Budelmann.
A great example of this type of strategic balance comes from Old Spice. These days, Old Spice is
one of the best examples of successful marketing across the board. However, up
until recently, wearing Old Spice was pretty much an unspoken requirement for dads
everywhere. Today, they're one of the most popular brands for men of all ages.
Their secret? Flexibility.
Aware that they needed to do something to secure their place in the market, Old Spice teamed up
with Wieden+Kennedy to position their brand for a new customer base.
Between new commercials, a new website, new packaging, and new product names, Old Spice
managed to attract the attention of a new, younger generation by making strategic enhancements
to their already strong brand.
So if your old tactics arent working anymore, dont be afraid to change. Just because it worked
in the past doesn't mean it's working now.
Take the opportunity to engage your followers in fresh, new ways. Are there some out-of-the-box
partnerships your brand can make? Are there attributes about your product you never
highlighted? Use those to connect with new customers and remind your old ones why they love
you.
5) Employee Involvement
As we mentioned before, achieving a sense of consistency is important if you wish
to build brand recognition. And while a style guide can help you achieve a cohesive
digital experience, it's equally important for your employees to be well versed in the
how they should be communicating with customers and representing the brand.

If your brand is playful and bubbly through Twitter engagements, then it wouldn't make sense if
a customer called in and was connected with a grumpy, monotone representative, right?
To avoid this type of mismatched experience, take note of Zappos' approach.

If you've ever been on the line with a customer service representative from Zappos, you know
what I'm talking about. If you haven't, check out this SlideShare which details some of their most
inspiring customer support stories.
Zappos is so committed to ensuring that not only their brand, but all brands, remain consistent
across digital and human interactions that they've dedicated an entire department to the cause
called Zappos Insights.
By holding all Zappos employees to their core values and helping other companies
implement the same approach, Zappos has built a strong reputation for solid,
helpful, and human customer service.
6) Loyalty

If you already have people that love you, your company, and your brand, dont just sit there.
Reward them for that love.
These customers have gone out their way to write about you, to tell their friends about you, and
to act as your brand ambassadors. Cultivating loyalty from these people early on will yield more
returning customers -- and more profit for your business.
Sometimes, just a thank you is all that's needed. Other times, it's better to go above and beyond.
Write them a personalized letter. Sent them some special swag. Ask them to write a review, and
feature them prominently on your website. (Or all of the above!)
When we reached 15,000 customers here at HubSpot, we wanted to say thank you in a big way,
while remaining true to our brand ... so we dropped 15,000 orange ping pong balls from our
fourth floor balcony and spelled out thank you in big metallic balloons
And while it may have seemed a little out of the ordinary to some folks, for those who know our
brand, the gesture made perfect sense.
Loyalty is a critical part of every brand strategy, especially if you're looking to support your sales
organization. At the end of the day, highlighting a positive relationship between you and your
existing customers sets the tone for what potential customers can expect if they choose to do
business with you.
7) Competitive Awareness

Take the competition as a challenge to improve your own strategy and create greater value in
your overall brand. You are in the same business and going after the same customers, right? So
watch what they do.

Do some of their tactics succeed? Do some fail? Tailor your brand positioning based on their
experience to better your company.
A great example of how to improve your brand by learning from your competitors comes from
Pizza Hut:
When a pizza lover posed this question to his Twitter following, Pizza Hut didn't miss a beat.
They playfully responded in minutes, before Domino's had a chance to speak up.
If Domino's is keeping an eye on the competitors, they'll know to act fast the next time a
situation like this arises.

Brand Equity
Brand Equity Defined
The American Marketing Association defines brand equity this way: from a consumer
perspective, brand equity is based on consumer attitudes about positive brand attributes and
favorable consequences of brand use.
Brand equity in the positive form can help a company in many ways. A common benefit that
typically results is the financial benefit, which allows for a company to demand a premium price
for its product. For example, La Coste has such strong brand equity that the premium price is
both accepted and expected by customers. In addition, brand equity provides the ability for
companies to expand product lines, which can increase sales and revenues for the business and in
some cases reduce costs. An example of this benefit can be seen in companies such as Oakley.
Their sunglasses have such positive brand equity that they require little to no awareness,
promotion or discount sales.
The outcome from this is that marketing budgets have more strategic flexibility and require less
investment. A company with positive brand equity finds itself better positioned for success
because customers have special connections and loyalties to its brand. This enables companies to
maneuver through dynamic market challenges better than companies with less equity in their
brands.

Components of Brand Equity


Increased market share is one result of customer brand loyalty and brand equity. There are four
components that provide these results:

Brand Recognition - The brand is widely known and recognized, and


consumers know what it provides in relationship to the competition.

Brand Experience - Consumers have used and experienced the product


enough to build expectation.

Brand Preference - The brand is preferred by consumers, and as a result, they


become returning customers.

Brand Loyalty - The brand and the consumer have an emotional attachment,
and the consumer will go to any length to purchase it.

As consumer loyalty grows there comes a point when no alternative or substitute will satisfy the
customer's needs. The brand remains present on the customer's mind and customer/brand
connection is formed. At this point, it is critical for the company to continue building loyalty
with customers and sustain commitment with consumers.

BREAKING DOWN 'Brand Equity'


The additional money that consumers are willing to spend to buy Coca Cola rather than the store
brand of soda is an example of brand equity.
One situation when brand equity is important is when a company wants to expand its product
line. If the brand's equity is positive, the company can increase the likelihood that customers will
buy its new product by associating the new product with an existing, successful brand. For
example, if Campbell's releases a new soup, it would likely keep it under the same brand name,
rather than inventing a new brand. The positive associations customers already have with
Campbell's would make the new product more enticing than if the soup had an unfamiliar brand
name.

Brand: 5 Main Elements of Brand Equity


Explained
5 Main Elements of Brand Equity are as follows: 1. Awareness, 2. Brand associations, 3.
Perceived quality, 4. Brand loyalty, 5. Proprietary brand assets.
A brand is an intangible asset for an organization. The concept of brand equity originated in
order to measure the financial worth of this significant, yet intangible entity.

Image Courtesy : qandaconsulting.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Brand-Equity.jpg


Brand equity is the value and power of the brand that determines its worth. The brand equity can
be determined by measuring:
i. The price premium that the brand charges over unbranded products
ii. The additional volume of sales generated by the brand as compared to other brands in the
same category and/or segment
iii. The share prices that the company commands in the market (particularly if the brand name is
the same as the corporate name, or customers can easily associate the performance of all the
individual brands of the company with the financial performance of the corporate)
iv. Returns to shareholders
v. The image of the brand on various parameters that are deemed important
vi. The future earnings potential of the brand
vii. Or a combination of the above methods. Some methods of measuring brand equity involve
the formulation of a multiplier by using a combination of the above methods. Such multipliers as
brand strength or brand esteem can be determined by combining several variables to ultimately
arrive at the brand equity.

Brand equity comprises the following elements:


1. Awareness:

Awareness of the brand name among target customers is the first step in the equity building
process. Awareness essentially means that customers know about the existence of the brand and
can also recall what category the brand is in.
The lowest level of awareness is when the customer has to be reminded about the existence of
the brand name, and that it is being a part of a particular category. In aided recall, the customer
can recognize the companys brand from among a list of brands in the category.
In unaided recall, the customer himself mentions the companys brand. The highest level of
awareness is when the first brand that the customer can recall upon the mention of the product
category is the companys brand. This is called top-of-mind recall.
Awareness of the name acts as an anchor to which everything else about the brand is linked,
much like the name of a person acting as an anchor for tying all associations about him.
Building awareness involves making the brand visible to the relevant target audience by various
promotional methods such as publicity, sponsorships, events, advertising, instigating word-ofmouth promotion, etc.
2. Brand associations:

Anything that is connected to the customers memory about the brand is an association.
Customers form associations on the basis of quality perceptions, their interactions with
employees and the organization, advertisements of the brand, price points at which the brand is
sold, product categories that the brand is in, product displays in retail stores, publicity in various

media, offerings of competitors, celebrity associations and from what others tell them about the
brand. And this is not an exhaustive list.
Consumers add to brand associations with each and every interaction they have with the brand.
All these associations are not formed only due to their interactions with the organization. Many
associations are formed from what others tell customers about the brand.
It is absolutely crucial that the company plan each interaction with every customer and relevant
others (media, shareholders, employees, government) so as to eliminate even the slightest
chances of any negative associations that can emanate from any of these sources.
Associations contribute to brand equity, as strong, positive associations induce brand purchases,
besides generating good word-of-mouth publicity. Such associations can also help the company
in leveraging the brand, create strong barriers to entry for competitors, give trade leverage to the
company and enable the company to achieve differential advantage.
3. Perceived quality:

Perceived quality is also a brand association, though because of its significance, it is accorded a
distinct status while studying brand equity. Perceived quality is the perception of the customer
about the overall quality of a brand.
In assessing quality, the customer takes into consideration the performance of the brand on
parameters that are important to him, and makes a relative judgment about quality by assessing
competitors offerings as well. Therefore, quality is a perceptual entity, and consumer judgments
about quality vary.
Quality perceptions influence pricing decisions of companies. Better quality products can be
charged a price premium. Quality is one of the main reasons for consumer preference for a brand
in any product category. Thus, superior perceived quality can also be used to position the brand.
4. Brand loyalty:

A customer is brand loyal when he purchases one brand from among a set of alternatives
consistently over a period of time. In the traditional sense, brand loyalty was always considered
to be related to repetitive purchase behaviour.
For some products such as purchasing a house or an automobile, repetitive purchase behaviour
may not occur. In these situations, attitudinal brand loyalty, i.e., consumer feelings about the
brand that was purchased, and their inclination to recommend the brand to others are measured.
Brand loyalty is usually rated as the most important indicator of brand equity because loyalty
develops post purchase and indicates a consistent patronage by a customer over a long period of
time whereas all other elements of brand equity may or may not translate into purchases.

Brand loyal customers form the bedrock of a company. Higher loyalty levels lead to a decrease
in marketing expenditure as such customers act as positive advocates for the brand. Besides, a
company can introduce more products in its portfolio that are aimed at the same customers at less
expenditure.
It also acts as a potential barrier to entry for new players and gives time to the company to
respond to competitive threats.
The bargaining power of the company with the trade channel members is stronger when there are
many loyal customers who would only buy the companys brand. In this case, the retailer merely
distributes the manufacturers products.
5. Other proprietary brand assets:

Proprietary assets include patents, trademarks and channel relationships. These assets are
valuable as they prevent competitors from attacking the company and prevent the erosion of
competitive advantages and loyal customer base.
All activities of the firm determine brand equity. These activities may enhance or diminish the
brand value. Activities that are synchronous with the overall vision for the brand enhance equity,
and any activity that goes against this overall vision reduces brand equity.

Brand Equity Models


Many research agencies have developed their own brand equity models that are
executed in partnership with end-user researchers.

Brand Asset Valuator Model BAV Model to


measure Brand Equity
Advertising agency Young and Rubicam (Y&R) developed a model of brand equity called Brand
Asset Valuator (BAV). Based on research with almost 200,000 consumers in 40 countries, BAV
provides comparative measures of the brand equity of thousands of brands across hundreds of
different categories. There are four key componentsor pillars of brand equity, according to
BAV.
1. Differentiation measures the degree to which a brand is seen as different from others.
2. Relevance measures the breadth of a brands appeal.
3. Esteem measures how well the brand is regarded and respected.

4. Knowledge measures how familiar and intimate consumers are with the brand.
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Differentiation and Relevance combine to determine Brand Strength. These two pillars point to
the brands future value, rather than just reflecting its past. Esteem and Knowledge together
create Brand Stature, which is more of a report card on past performance.

Brand Asset Valuator (BAV Model)


Examining the relationships among these four dimensionsa brands pillar patternreveals
much about its current and future status. Brand Strength and Brand Stature can be combined to
form a Power Grid that depicts the stages in the cycle of brand developmenteach with its
characteristic pillar patternsin successive quadrants. New brands, just after they are launched,
show low levels on all four pillars. Strong new brands tend to show higher levels of
Differentiation than Relevance, while both Esteem and Knowledge are lower still. Leadership
brands show high levels on all four pillars. Finally, declining brands show high Knowledge
evidence of past performancerelative to a lower level of Esteem, and even lower Relevance
and Differentiation.

Brand Asset Valuator Examples

Aaker Model Defining Brand Identity


Aaker views brand equity as a set of five categories of brand assets and liabilities linked to a
brand that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to
that firms customers.
These categories of brand assets are:
1. Brand loyalty
2. Brand awareness
3. Perceived quality
4. Brand associations
5. Other proprietary assets such as patents, trademarks, and channel relationships.
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According to Aaker, a particularly important concept for building brand equity is brand identity
the unique set of brand associations that represent what the brand stands for and promises to
customers.
As per Aaker, brand identity as consisting of 12 dimensions organized around 4 perspectives:
1. Brand-as-product (product scope, product attributes, quality/value, uses, users, country
of origin)
2. Brand-as-organization (organizational attributes, local versus global)
3. Brand-as-person (brand personality, brand-customer relationships)
4. Brand-as-symbol (visual imagery/metaphors and brand heritage).
Aaker also conceptualizes brand identity as including a core and an extended identity.
The core identitythe central, timeless essence of the brandis most likely to remain constant
as the brand travels to new markets and products.
The extended identity includes various brand identity elements, organized into cohesive and
meaningful groups.

Brandz Model Measuring Brand Equity


Marketing research consultants Millward Brown and WPP have developed the BRANDZ model
of brand strength, at the heart of which is the Brand Dynamics pyramid. According to this model,
brand building involves a sequential series of steps, where each step is contingent upon
successfully accomplishing the previous step. The objectives at each step, in ascending order, are
as follows:
1. Presence. Do I know about it?
2. Relevance. Does it offer me something?
3. Performance. Can it deliver?
4. Advantage. Does it offer something better than others?
5. Bonding. Nothing else beats it.
Research has shown that bonded consumers, those at the top level of the pyramid, build stronger
relationships with the brand and spend more of their category expenditures on the brand than
those at lower levels of the pyramid. More consumers, however, will be found at the lower

levels. The challenge for marketers is to develop activities and programs that help consumers
move up the pyramid.

Brand Resonance Pyramid


The brand resonance model also views brand building as an ascending, sequential series of steps,
from bottom to top. The steps are as below:
1. Ensuring identification of the brand with customers and an association of the brand in
customers minds with a specific product class or customer need
2. Establishing the totality of brand meaning in the minds of customers by strategically
linking a host of tangible and intangible brand associations
3. Eliciting the proper customer responses in terms of brand-related judgment and feelings
4. Converting brand response to create an intense, active loyalty relationship between
customers and the brand.
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According to this model, enacting the four steps involves establishing six brand building
blocks with customers. These brand building blocks can be assembled in terms of a brand
pyramid. The model emphasizes the duality of brandsthe rational route to brand building is the
left-hand side of the pyramid, whereas the emotional route is the right-hand side.
Example:
MasterCard is an example of a brand with duality, as it emphasizes both the rational advantage to
the credit card, through its acceptance at establishments worldwide, and the emotional advantage
through its award-winning priceless advertising campaign, which shows people buying items
to reach a certain goal. The goal itselfa feeling, an accomplishment, or other intangibleis
priceless (There are some things money cant buy, for everything else, theres MasterCard.).

Brand Resonance Pyramid


The creation of significant brand equity involves reaching the top or pinnacle of the brand
pyramid, and will occur only if the right building blocks are put into place.

Brand salience relates to how often and easily the brand is evoked under various
purchase or consumption situations.

Brand performance relates to how the product or service meets customers functional
needs.

Brand imagery deals with the extrinsic properties of the product or service, including the
ways in which the brand attempts to meet customers psychological or social needs.

Brand judgments focus on customers own personal opinions and evaluations.

Brand feelings are customers emotional responses and reactions with respect to the
brand.

Brand resonance refers to the nature of the relationship that customers have with the
brand and the extent to which customers feel that they are in sync with the brand.

Resonance is characterized in terms of the intensity or depth of the psychological bond


customers have with the brand, as well as the level of activity engendered by this loyalty.
Examples of brands with high resonance include Harley-Davidson, Apple, and eBay.

Financial Brand Equity Metrics


While financial metrics are always the first thing that executives want to see to confirm that a
brand is profitable and should live to see another day, financial metrics should actually be the last
part of the brand equity measurement process. Thats because financial metrics result from the
brand strength and consumer metrics described below. With that said, your financial brand equity
metrics should gather the following data:

Market share

Price sensitivity

Profitability

Revenues

Marketing investments

Growth rate

Cost to acquire new customers

Cost to retain customers

Of course, this is just short list of the financial metrics you should track. Look for anomalies and
trends, so you can identify initiatives that drive positive results and ensure your brand is building
positive equity over time. Use this data to demonstrate how important the brand asset is to your
organization, to support brand extensions, to secure marketing budgets, and more.
For example, a brand that can prove to the leadership team that its growing, bringing in positive
revenue, and adding to the organizations bottom-line is far more likely to secure a higher
marketing budget and live another day than a brand that can only show negative growth and
earnings.

Strength Brand Equity Metrics


The power of a brand is a key driver of brand equity, so its imperative that you measure that
strength. Brands like Playboy are perfect examples of how a strong brand can survive despite
changing consumers and markets.
Earlier this year, I was interviewed by The Guardian in the days leading up to the opening of a
new Playboy Club in London. In the interview (you can read the article from The Guardian

here), I explained that as Playboy enters new markets, the brand is being introduced quite
differently from the Playboy brand consumers in the United States have come to know over the
past half century. In China, the brand is considered to be cute like Hello Kitty. Globally, women
buy more Playboy merchandise than men, and merchandise sales is the biggest revenue generator
for the Playboy company. This is a company that was struggling for years, and without the
strength of the Playboy brand, such expansion might not have been possible.
Measuring brand strength should also be done on an ongoing basis. Following are some of the
factors to track:

Accessibility

Awareness and knowledge of the brand

Loyalty

Licensing potential

Retention

Aided and unaided recall

Buzz

The social web has provided an amazing place for companies to track and measure brand buzz
through engagement, reach, and influence. Use these metrics to demonstrate your brands
strength to support positive financial metrics or communicate that positive financial metrics will
come in time based on the brands growing strength.

Consumer Brand Equity Metrics


As I explained in both Parts 1 and 2 of the Brand Equity Basics series, consumers build brands,
not companies. Therefore, its essential that you track consumer sentiment and behaviors related
to your brand to get a complete understanding of brand equity. If consumers believe in a brand,
it has far more equity than a brand that consumers dont care about or believe in.
Use the following factors to track and measure consumer sentiment and behavior related to your
brand:

Relevance

Emotional connections

Differentiators

Value

Perceptions

Ask questions through surveys and research that provide insight to how people feel about your
brand and how they make purchase decisions. Use that data along with the information you
gather through social media monitoring to create a measurement of your brand equity from
consumers perspectives.
Whatever you do, dont ignore the importance of building brand equity and tracking your brands
equity to ensure its growing in a positive direction. It adds more to your companys bottom-line
than you might think. Just ask executives at companies like Disney or Coca-Cola if theyd be
willing to give up the equity their brands hold. Ill guarantee you the answer will be no.

Brand Extension: Definition, Strategy,


Failures & Examples
What Is a Brand Extension?
You're standing in the ice cream aisle at the grocery store trying to choose what to buy. Suddenly,
you see it. Snickers Ice Cream Bars! You love Snickers Candy Bars. Why wouldn't you love the
ice cream? It just makes sense. This is an example of the concept we are going to talk about in
this lesson, which explains how companies expand through brand extensions.
A brand is a distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or any combination of
these, given to a group of products that are made by the same company to distinguish from
others. A brand extension is when a company uses its leverage to launch a new product in a
different category. Snickers Ice Cream Bars are a brand extension of the Snickers Candy Bars.

Brand Extension Strategies


Now that you understand what a brand extension is, we will discuss how to create one. There are
eight different strategies.
1. Similar product in a different form from the original parent product - This is the strategy
Snickers used to create Snickers Ice Cream Bars.

2. Distinctive flavor/ingredient/component in the new item - Hershey's chocolate milk uses this
strategy. Consumers purchase this product because they know the taste of Hershey's chocolate.
3. Benefit/attribute/feature - Febreeze is known for smelling good. Extending into the car air
freshener category made sense for this company.
4. Expertise - Honda is known for reliable engines, which made Honda lawn mowers a good
move for the company.
5. Companion products - Aunt Jemima launched a pancake syrup to go with its pancake mix.
6. Vertical extensions - This strategy has the reputation of going backwards. For example, Rice
Krispies are used to make Rice Krispies Treats. So Kellogg decided to offer a ready-to-eat
version of this snack.
7. Same customer base - This strategy is used when a marketer knows they have a product that
could be used by their current customers.
8. Designer image/status - Harley-Davidson found success with this strategy through its clothing
line.

Examples of Brand Extension Failures


Strong companies can branch out into brand extensions. However, these extensions have to make
sense. If a company does not have leverage in the category it wants to go into, it will likely fail.
Let's take a look at a few famous brand extension failures.

Harley-Davidson perfume - If you've done much research on the HarleyDavidson brand, you know that it draws a loyal group of consumers. The
company has launched a variety of products including motorcycles, clothing,
wedding and animal accessories. All have been successful. Why not perfume?
The problem was that consumers did not associate this brand with a good
smell. Instead, consumers think of the smell of motor oil and sweat. HarleyDavidson learned from this mistake and is now focusing on its areas of
expertise.

Gerber singles - Gerber found success in making small portion baby foods.
When the company wanted to branch out, they decided to start making small
portion adult foods. The problem was that adults did not want to eat mushy
meat that looked identical to baby food. This brand extension goes down in
history as one of the most famous brand extension fails.

Bic underwear - One of the most successful razor companies in the world
decides to take on the underwear industry. What could go wrong? Everything!
Who wants to wear underwear that they associate with razors? This didn't
make sense, and it failed miserably.

Brand Extension - Meaning, Advantages and Disadvantages

Brand Extension is the use of an established brand name in new product categories. This new
category to which the brand is extended can be related or unrelated to the existing product
categories. A renowned/successful brand helps an organization to launch products in new
categories more easily. For instance, Nikes brand core product is shoes. But it is now extended
to sunglasses, soccer balls, basketballs, and golf equipments. An existing brand that gives rise to
a brand extension is referred to as parent brand. If the customers of the new business have
values and aspirations synchronizing/matching those of the core business, and if these values and
aspirations are embodied in the brand, it is likely to be accepted by customers in the new
business.
Extending a brand outside its core product category can be beneficial in a sense that it helps
evaluating product category opportunities, identifies resource requirements, lowers risk, and
measures brands relevance and appeal.
Brand extension may be successful or unsuccessful.
Instances where brand extension has been a success arei.

Wipro which was originally into computers has extended into shampoo,
powder, and soap.

ii.

Mars is no longer a famous bar only, but an ice-cream, chocolate drink and a
slab of chocolate.

Instances where brand extension has been a failure arei.

In case of new Coke, Coca Cola has forgotten what the core brand was meant
to stand for. It thought that taste was the only factor that consumer cared
about. It was wrong. The time and money spent on research on new Coca
Cola could not evaluate the deep emotional attachment to the original CocaCola.

ii.

Rasna Ltd. - Is among the famous soft drink companies in India. But when it
tried to move away from its niche, it hasnt had much success. When it
experimented with fizzy fruit drink Oranjolt, the brand bombed even
before it could take off. Oranjolt was a fruit drink in which carbonates were
used as preservative. It didnt work out because it was out of synchronization
with retail practices. Oranjolt need to be refrigerated and it also faced quality
problems. It has a shelf life of three-four weeks, while other soft- drinks
assured life of five months.

Advantages of Brand Extension

Brand Extension has following advantages:

1. It makes acceptance of new product easy.


a. It increases brand image.
b. The risk perceived by the customers reduces.
c. The likelihood of gaining distribution and trial increases. An established
brand name increases consumer interest and willingness to try new
product having the established brand name.
d. The efficiency of promotional expenditure increases. Advertising,
selling and promotional costs are reduced. There are economies of
scale as advertising for core brand and its extension reinforces each
other.
e. Cost of developing new brand is saved.
f.

Consumers can now seek for a variety.

g. There are packaging and labeling efficiencies.


h. The expense of introductory and follow up marketing programs is
reduced.
2. There are feedback benefits to the parent brand and the organization.
a. The image of parent brand is enhanced.
b. It revives the brand.
c. It allows subsequent extension.
d. Brand meaning is clarified.
e. It increases market coverage as it brings new customers into brand
franchise.
f.

Customers associate original/core brand to new product, hence they


also have quality associations.

Disadvantages of Brand Extension


1. Brand extension in unrelated markets may lead to loss of reliability if a
brand name is extended too far. An organization must research the product
categories in which the established brand name will work.
2. There is a risk that the new product may generate implications that damage
the image of the core/original brand.

3. There are chances of less awareness and trial because the management
may not provide enough investment for the introduction of new product
assuming that the spin-off effects from the original brand name will
compensate.
4. If the brand extensions have no advantage over competitive brands in the
new category, then it will fail.

What is Brand Personality ?


Brand personality is the way a brand speaks and behaves. It means assigning human personality
traits/characteristics to a brand so as to achieve differentiation. These characteristics signify
brand behaviour through both individuals representing the brand (i.e. its employees) as well as
through advertising, packaging, etc. When brand image or brand identity is expressed in terms of
human traits, it is called brand personality. For instance - Allen Solley brand speaks the
personality and makes the individual who wears it stand apart from the crowd. Infosys represents
uniqueness, value, and intellectualism.
Brand personality is nothing but personification of brand. A brand is expressed either as a
personality who embodies these personality traits (For instance - Shahrukh Khan and Airtel, John
Abraham and Castrol) or distinct personality traits (For instance - Dove as honest, feminist and
optimist; Hewlett Packard brand represents accomplishment, competency and influence). Brand
personality is the result of all the consumers experiences with the brand. It is unique and long
lasting.
Brand personality must be differentiated from brand image, in sense that, while brand image
denote the tangible (physical and functional) benefits and attributes of a brand, brand personality
indicates emotional associations of the brand. If brand image is comprehensive brand according
to consumers opinion, brand personality is that aspect of comprehensive brand which generates
its emotional character and associations in consumers mind.
Brand personality develops brand equity. It sets the brand attitude. It is a key input into the look
and feel of any communication or marketing activity by the brand. It helps in gaining thorough
knowledge of customers feelings about the brand. Brand personality differentiates among brands
specifically when they are alike in many attributes. For instance - Sony versus Panasonic. Brand
personality is used to make the brand strategy lively, i.e, to implement brand strategy. Brand
personality indicates the kind of relationship a customer has with the brand. It is a means by
which a customer communicates his own identity.
Brand personality and celebrity should supplement each other. Trustworthy celebrity ensures
immediate awareness, acceptability and optimism towards the brand. This will influence
consumers purchase decision and also create brand loyalty. For instance - Bollywood actress
Priyanka Chopra is brand ambassador for J.Hampstead, international line of premium shirts.

Brand personality not only includes the personality features/characteristics, but also the
demographic features like age, gender or class and psychographic features. Personality traits are
what the brand exists for.

Why Do Brands Have Extensions ?


As the business environment is changing, the profile of the organizations as well as the way of
conducting business is changing too. Use of technology and globalization has changed
everything about business. Marketing is no longer what it used to be. Online marketing has
changed the face of conventional marketing and both are incomparable by any standards.
When we look at the job profile of brand managers, we find that over the past few years, there
have been several changes. Todays brand managers are not only planning product promotion
and marketing services, but work as business managers responsible for the brand. They are in
fact responsible for the sales, growth as well as the profits of the brand in Multinational
companies. A strong brand may have a team of brand managers working on the brand across
several geographic locations and countries. With the global brands being present in various
markets, there arises the need for local factors and sensibilities to be built into the brand
and into the brand management as well. Therefore it makes it imperative to build a brand
management team or structure that can work through micro and macro levels.
Take a look at the shelf in the super market when you visit next time and you will be surprised to
see that each of the leading brands be it in the medical section, soft drink or grocery item, there
are likely to be multiple variations of the same brand with little difference. Of course we are
talking about the brand extensions that have become the latest strategy adopted by brand
managers to exploit the brand value. Coke is perhaps the best and the most common example
where you get to see variations of coke in the shelf today. Brand extensions have become the
norm of the day. The question that one needs to ask is whether such brand extensions are really
required and worthwhile?.
In the market place, where competition is very high and intense amongst brands, the brand
managers are always under pressure on multiple fronts. First and foremost, for a brand to
grow or retain market share, there has to be continual effort to deliver incremental value through
the brand. Secondly, managements have increased expectations from the brand in terms of
revenue growth, market share as well as the bottom line. Brand managers therefore are forced to
opt for brand extension strategies in order to create product differentiation and to increase
revenue streams. Sometimes, brand extensions become necessary to reign in some of the niche
segments which may not be addressed by the parent brand and thus the brand extension helps
gain incremental market share.
Brand extensions are also considered to be the most natural progression for brands. When
organizations spent a lot of investments into manufacturing and technology for launching the
parent brand, they would not like to leave out any opportunity to capitalize on the capacity that
they have created and maximize returns on investment.

The next logical question that one asks is whether such brand extensions are useful and
beneficial for the brand. What is the effect of brand extensions on the parent brand?. It is difficult
to predict what the exact result would be for, the results in the case of such brand extensions have
been mixed in the market.

Brand Identity - Definition and Concept


Brand identity stems from an organization, i.e., an organization is responsible for creating a
distinguished product with unique characteristics. It is how an organization seeks to identify
itself. It represents how an organization wants to be perceived in the market. An organization
communicates its identity to the consumers through its branding and marketing strategies. A
brand is unique due to its identity. Brand identity includes following elements - Brand vision,
brand culture, positioning, personality, relationships, and presentations.
Brand identity is a bundle of mental and functional associations with the brand. Associations are
not reasons-to-buy but provide familiarity and differentiation thats not replicable getting it.
These associations can include signature tune(for example - Britannia ting-ting-ta-ding),
trademark colours (for example - Blue colour with Pepsi), logo (for example - Nike), tagline (for
example - Apples tagline is Think different),etc.
Brand identity is the total proposal/promise that an organization makes to consumers. The brand
can be perceived as a product, a personality, a set of values, and a position it occupies in
consumers minds. Brand identity is all that an organization wants the brand to be considered as.
It is a feature linked with a specific company, product, service or individual. It is a way of
externally expressing a brand to the world.
Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand (for instance - Trademark colour, logo,
name, symbol) that identify and differentiates a brand in target audience mind. It is a crucial
means to grow your companys brand.
Brand identity is the aggregation of what all you (i.e. an organization) do. It is an
organizations mission, personality, promise to the consumers and competitive advantages.
It includes the thinking, feelings and expectations of the target market/consumers. It is a means
of identifying and distinguishing an organization from another. An organization having unique
brand identity have improved brand awareness, motivated team of employees who feel proud
working in a well branded organization, active buyers, and corporate style. Brand identity leads
to brand loyalty, brand preference, high credibility, good prices and good financial returns. It
helps the organization to express to the customers and the target market the kind of organization
it is. It assures the customers again that you are who you say you are. It establishes an immediate
connection between the organization and consumers. Brand identity should be sustainable. It is
crucial so that the consumers instantly correlate with your product/service.

Brand identity should be futuristic, i.e, it should reveal the associations aspired for the brand. It
should reflect the durable qualities of a brand. Brand identity is a basic means of consumer
recognition and represents the brands distinction from its competitors.

Sources of Brand Identity


1. SYMBOLS- Symbols help customers memorize organizations products and services.
They help us correlate positive attributes that bring us closer and make it convenient for
us to purchase those products and services. Symbols emphasize our brand expectations
and shape corporate images. Symbols become a key component of brand equity and help
in differentiating the brand characteristics. Symbols are easier to memorize than the brand
names as they are visual images. These can include logos, people, geometric shapes,
cartoon images, anything. For instance, Marlboro has its famous cowboy, Pillsbury has
its Poppin Fresh doughboy, Duracell has its bunny rabbit, Mc Donald has Ronald, Fed
Ex has an arrow, and Nikes swoosh. All these symbols help us remember the brands
associated with them.
Brand symbols are strong means to attract attention and enhance brand personalities by
making customers like them. It is feasible to learn the relationship between symbol and
brand if the symbol is reflective/representative of the brand. For instance, the symbol of
LG symbolize the world, future, youth, humanity, and technology. Also, it represents
LGs efforts to keep close relationships with their customers.
2. LOGOS- A logo is a unique graphic or symbol that represents a company, product,
service, or other entity. It represents an organization very well and make the customers
well-acquainted with the company. It is due to logo that customers form an image for the
product/service in mind. Adidass Three Stripes is a famous brand identified by its
corporate logo.
Features of a good logo are :
a. It should be simple.
b. It should be distinguished/unique. It should differentiate itself.
c. It should be functional so that it can be used widely.
d. It should be effective, i.e., it must have an impact on the intended audience.
e. It should be memorable.
f. It should be easily identifiable in full colours, limited colour palettes, or in black
and white.

g. It should be a perfect reflection/representation of the organization.


h. It should be easy to correlate by the customers and should develop customers trust
in the organization.
i. It should not loose its integrity when transferred on fabric or any other material.
j. It should portray companys values, mission and objectives.
The elements of a logo are:
1. Logotype - It can be a simple or expanded name. Examples of logotypes including
only the name are Kelloggs, Hyatt, etc.
2. Icon - It is a name or visual symbol that communicates a market position. For
example-LIC hands, UTI kalash.
3. Slogan - It is best way of conveying companys message to the consumers. For
instance- Nikes slogan Just Do It.
2

TRADEMARKS- Trademark is a unique symbol, design, or any form of identification


that helps people recognize a brand. A renowned brand has a popular trademark and that
helps consumers purchase quality products. The goodwill of the dealer/maker of the
product also enhances by use of trademark. Trademark totally indicates the commercial
source of product/service. Trademark contribute in brand equity formation of a brand.
Trademark name should be original. A trademark is chosen by the following symbols:
(denotes unregistered trademark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods);
(denotes unregistered service mark)
(denotes registered trademark).
SM

Registration of trademark is essential in some countries to give exclusive rights to it.


Without adequate trademark protection, brand names can become legally declared
generic. Generic names are never protectable as was the case with Vaseline, escalator and
thermos.
Some guidelines for trademark protection are as follows:
i.

Go for formal trademark registration.

ii.

Never use trademark as a noun or verb. Always use it as an adjective.

iii.

Use correct trademark spelling.

iv.

Challenge each misuse of trademark, specifically by competitors in market.

v.

Capitalize first letter of trademark. If a trademark appears in point, ensure that it


stands out from surrounding text.

Brand Loyalty
Brand Loyalty is a scenario where the consumer fears purchasing and consuming product from
another brand which he does not trust. It is measured through methods like word of mouth
publicity, repetitive buying, price sensitivity, commitment, brand trust, customer satisfaction, etc.
Brand loyalty is the extent to which a consumer constantly buys the same brand within a product
category. The consumers remain loyal to a specific brand as long as it is available. They do not
buy from other suppliers within the product category. Brand loyalty exists when the consumer
feels that the brand consists of right product characteristics and quality at right price. Even if the
other brands are available at cheaper price or superior quality, the brand loyal consumer will
stick to his brand.
Brand loyal consumers are the foundation of an organization. Greater loyalty levels lead to
less marketing expenditure because the brand loyal customers promote the brand positively.
Also, it acts as a means of launching and introducing more products that are targeted at same
customers at less expenditure. It also restrains new competitors in the market. Brand loyalty is a
key component of brand equity.
Brand loyalty can be developed through various measures such as quick service, ensuring quality
products, continuous improvement, wide distribution network, etc. When consumers are brand
loyal they love you for being you, and they will minutely consider any other alternative
brand as a replacement. Examples of brand loyalty can be seen in US where true Apple
customers have the brand's logo tattooed onto their bodies. Similarly in Finland, Nokia
customers remained loyal to Nokia because they admired the design of the handsets or because
of user- friendly menu system used by Nokia phones.
Brand loyalty can be defined as relative possibility of customer shifting to another brand in
case there is a change in products features, price or quality. As brand loyalty increases,
customers will respond less to competitive moves and actions. Brand loyal customers remain
committed to the brand, are willing to pay higher price for that brand, and will promote their
brand always. A company having brand loyal customers will have greater sales, less marketing
and advertising costs, and best pricing. This is because the brand loyal customers are less
reluctant to shift to other brands, respond less to price changes and self- promote the brand as
they perceive that their brand have unique value which is not provided by other competitive
brands.
Brand loyalty is always developed post purchase. To develop brand loyalty, an organization
should know their niche market, target them, support their product, ensure easy access of their
product, provide customer satisfaction, bring constant innovation in their product and offer
schemes on their product so as to ensure that customers repeatedly purchase the product.

Brand Association

Brand Associations are not benefits, but are images and symbols associated with a brand or a
brand benefit. For example- The Nike Swoosh, Nokia sound, Film Stars as with Lux, signature
tune Ting-ting-ta-ding with Britannia, Blue colour with Pepsi, etc. Associations are not reasonsto-buy but provide acquaintance and differentiation thats not replicable. It is relating perceived
qualities of a brand to a known entity. For instance- Hyatt Hotel is associated with luxury and
comfort; BMW is associated with sophistication, fun driving, and superior engineering. Most
popular brand associations are with the owners of brand, such as - Bill Gates and Microsoft,
Reliance and Dhirubhai Ambani.
Brand association is anything which is deep seated in customers mind about the brand.
Brand should be associated with something positive so that the customers relate your brand to
being positive. Brand associations are the attributes of brand which come into consumers mind
when the brand is talked about. It is related with the implicit and explicit meanings which a
consumer relates/associates with a specific brand name. Brand association can also be defined as
the degree to which a specific product/service is recognized within its product/service
class/category. While choosing a brand name, it is essential that the name chosen should
reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that forms its product positioning. For
instance - Power book.
Brand associations are formed on the following basis:

Customers contact with the organization and its employees;

Advertisements;

Word of mouth publicity;

Price at which the brand is sold;

Celebrity/big entity association;

Quality of the product;

Products and schemes offered by competitors;

Product class/category to which the brand belongs;

POP ( Point of purchase) displays; etc

Positive brand associations are developed if the product which the brand depicts is durable,
marketable and desirable. The customers must be persuaded that the brand possess the features
and attributes satisfying their needs. This will lead to customers having a positive impression
about the product. Positive brand association helps an organization to gain goodwill, and
obstructs the competitors entry into the market.

What is Brand Value ?


Branding has emerged as a corporate strategy in the recent times. All business organizations in
all sectors have embraced the strategy of building their identity through their corporate brands
besides the product related brands. Branding is definitely a marketing strategy. However the
strategy of investing into brand building and managing the reputation of the corporate brand goes
beyond marketing. Branding is considered to be a strategy that is driven and managed by the
CEO or the organization along with the senior management as well as marketing heads. Over the
recent years, we see new concepts of brand value, brand power and brand equity etc. being
coined and measured.
If marketing professionals found it difficult to justify and obtain sanctions for the brand
promotional activity, today they no longer need to worry. Brand value and expenses towards
brand building have become an accepted part of the balance sheet. Capitalizing the brand value
and the expenses towards meeting the brand promotion are budgeted and accounted for in the
balance sheets and in many cases the ROI of a brand is also calculated to reflect the brand value
status over time.
Brand management has gained prominence in recent times. The fact that we have global brands
that have been well established for over fifty years goes on to prove the fact that brands certainly
have the power to make or break in the markets. Goodyear, Coco Cola, Gillette, Nestle,
Kelloggs, Schweppes, Brooke bond etc have been around for a very long time and have gained
certain brand power to drive growth through brand reputation and relationship with the
consumers.
Marketers have realized the growing power of brands and have begun to nurture the brand
image and cultivate value through brand ambassadors. Most of the lifestyle and luxury
brands globally and locally have well known actors and sports persons etc as brand ambassadors.
Through the persona of the brand ambassadors, the marketers derive the power to connect with
the consumers and build brand loyalty. Realizing the brand power also calls for working on the
product quality and continuous modification both in the product as well as in the promotion of
brand ambassadors. Building and growing strong brand at a global level calls for the entire
organization to be brand oriented. The best example of building and realizing strong brand power
and unleashing the brand value is Apple. If you think that the entire world outside is an Apple
fan, you are right. But the entire organization within also worship their brand too. All of the
strategies, decisions as well as day to day business decisions at all levels are directed towards
promotion of and strengthening of the apple brand. The entire organization believes in the brand
and all business processes are driven to build the brand and deliver superior customer experience

through the brand. Apple as a global brand is perhaps the best example of a successful corporate
brand.
As much as the corporate strategy has got to account for the branding strategy, the marketing has
also to ensure that they work on the different aspects of the brand packaging, design, etc and
keep working on the brand so that it is consistent with the changing times, markets, consumer
expectations and taste etc.
The brands have their own value. The market leadership and profitability of a certain
product or business is realized through the brand value. Growing the brand power and using
the brand value as a driver to increase profitability as well as the market calls for expert
management of branding. Maintaining the leadership of a brand calls for strategic planning in the
long term perspective.

Brand Value Measurement


Brands have a certain value in the market as well as in the balance sheets of the organization that
owns the brand. This is a matter that has been agreed upon by the industry. The accounting of
the brand value and the methodology for calculation of the brand value is widely debated.
When organizations pay a huge premium or goodwill to acquire a brand, it becomes a strategic
decision. However accounting for the premium paid is a matter that is discussed and debated by
many in the industry.
No doubt accountants would like to assign a tangible value to every asset owned by the company
and brand value paid to acquire a particular brand and the business is also considered to be an
asset. One of the systems followed by UK based business organizations is that they capitalize the
entire value paid for acquiring the business and the same is depreciated over a period of time.
Interbrand, the branding company has proposed a different method of accounting for the brand
value. This method as well as the other methods that are proposed by industry experts take into
account the future sales potential of the brand as well as its current market share to arrive at a
definitive figure in terms of brand equity or brand power.
Accordingly one of the models followed by the industry accounts for the net profit earned
by the brand in the last three consecutive years in terms of value. To this, is added a score
that is derived out of measuring certain key factors associated with the brand like brand
leadership, market share, trend, loyalty etc. Certain weight age is given to each of the factors and
the total score is then converted into a certain value with the help of a multiple that is again
derived out of a market study conducted for that particular sector.
Similarly there are several other models and methods that have been proposed by experts in the
industry. All of the models use a combination of qualitative and quantitative factors to
arrive at a measurable value in terms of Brand Equity. Some of the well known models are

Brand Equity Index, Consumer Brand Equity Brand Asset by Longman Moran and Leo Burnett,
Conversion Model Equity Monitor etc. The factors included in the above vary from Quality of
the brand to Customer attitude, perception, market share, price band, durability etc.
A reasonable model to measure brand equity becomes essential not only for the accountants
but for the business Organization that is looking out to buy a brand. Valuation of a brand
and fixing the right price or premium for the brand needs a proven methodology and model that
can guide the decision making. It is also true that one model cannot satisfy the finance and
accounts personnel as well as the business managers, for each ones perceptions and purpose of
evaluation is different. When brands are key to the growth and business strategy of the
Organizations, the decision makers would definitely need proven and strong models to guide
them for decision making. Besides the models they would need to analyze the brand equity from
many other points of view of product portfolio, growth potential of the brand to see if a particular
brand is the right choice for them. If there exists a strategic synergy between the brand and the
buyers business needs, then the brand value is likely to change and the buyer might find that he
is required to pay a premium over and above the perceived brand value. At what price does it
make sense to acquire the brand is a decision that is critical to the buyer. Brand value models can
certainly aid him in this decision making process.

Brand Management Challenges in Changing


Times
Last few decades have changed our world beyond recognition. There has been unprecedented
progress in all spheres of life. Technology and scientific advancement has played major role
affecting all parts of the economy, politics as well as markets. With globalization and opening of
markets we see a sea of changing in the way business is conducted and organizations are
structured. Global and open markets have changed the structure of consumer economy. The
financial mechanisms that aid in trade and consumer buying too have impacted the consumers
buying habits. Online trading and buying, online payments, mobile banking etc have empowered
the customers to make their choices and buying decisions at their discretion.
Marketers job has always been very challenging, but the complexities that they face in the
market today are different from the earlier times. With markets opening up the competition from
Me Too brands have increased considerably. Brands face competition from local brands as well
as foreign brands and generic products as well.
With brand logo and image being central to brand, the brand logo, color and image or design
hold the key to the brand image as perceived and recalled by the consumers. Good brand
management calls for strengthening and re-affirming this brand image association with the
consumers at all times. Any slight change in the brand image be it the color, logo or image, the
consumer loyalty gets affected resulting in change of buying decision by the consumer. As the
consumer perceives an image and associates a pleasant or unpleasant experience with a particular

brand, the consumer perception management is a very important part of brand management. With
the changes in the technology and lifestyle, the expectations of the consumers with reference to
the brand image too changes. Consumers are likely to expect trendy, stylish and modern brand
images that go with the current trends rather than an outdated logo that is perceived to be old
fashioned. While the brand logos and image have to be modified to suit the latest trends and
reach out to the customer, the logos have to retain elements of the old brand components mainly
of colors, image etc in modified but familiar pattern so that the consumers continue to recognize
and recall the old brand familiarity and image.
Over the years with change in communication, publishing and electronic media, the
advertising and promotion of brands too have had to change and keep up with the new
trends. Traditional mass advertising of brands is no longer prevalent. The concept of
personalized and customized advertising to the target customers is in. On one hand the consumer
segment has become highly fragmented and warrants that the brand communication reach out to
the consumers at an individual and customized manner. On the other hand, the consumer
behavior and expectations too have changed. Consumers expect much more from the brand than
ever before. Consumers today are very demanding in terms of their expectations of the product
as well as of the brand reputation, image and value etc. The well informed customers of today,
having access to electronic media like to ask for more information, compare with competition
and arrive at their decision based on rationalization. The brand communication has to take into
account the change in consumers buying process and position the brand image as well as the
communication accordingly to the individual customers.
Social Media networks provide an interactive platform for the brand managers and consumers to
interact with one another. The social media networks are participant driven and the consumers
have access to a larger audience to discuss, share, question and voice their opinions. Thus this
media provides an exciting as well as challenging platform for brand managers to position their
brands, to engage the consumers to get to know the brand, to get the already consumers to
influence the others positively and build loyal communities supporting the brand.

Brand Essence

What is it?
Brand Essence is the emotional heart of a brand, summed up in a few words. The Brand Essence
Wheel is a format for capturing and communicating the conceptual subtleties of the brand.

When is it useful?
In B2C markets, emotional brands are the only way to defensible, sustainable
differentiation.

Brands are more than just product names. If you have a brand that delivers emotional benefits to
customers, your loyalty and margins will be much higher. Think of the football club from your
youth that you still support, even though it had not won a tournament for 5 years. Its
performance is poor, but you still support it through thick and thin because of the emotional
attachment you have.
In todays cut-throat competitive world, it is hard to maintain a performance edge through
innovation for long. When you lose this edge, the emotional attachment of your brand will keep
loyalty until your next breakthrough innovation.
Sustaining an emotional brand requires extraordinary consistency across multiple
touchpoints
It is hard to create and sustain an emotional brand. After all, you are not just competing within
your industry for share of heart every brand wants it and bombards consumers with
emotional branding messages. It is very hard to cut through the noise to establish your brands
emotional benefits in consumers heads.
To get traction, brands need a consistency of purpose and execution at every customer
touchpoint. A touchpoint could be in a retail store, on TV, or the brand facebook page or when
they use the product. This is even more important in a fragmented social media world. Brands
need to be crystal clear in their expression of their essence, reinforcing consistently across time,
media and geographies in order to establish their essence in the consumers mind.
The brand essence wheel will help you achieve this consistency across large organisations
Small organisations (e.g. niche luxury goods) try to achieve this consistency through a brand
guardian who holds a rich picture of the brand in their heads, and vet every execution of the
brand to ensure it is consistent. This approach works, but is not scaleable as the organisation
grows, the decisions multiply and the guardian becomes a bottleneck.
For larger organisations, the brand needs to be communicated across the company so that
everyone can execute in alignment with the brand. The brand wheel is a framework to structure
and help communicate this conceptual picture, getting it out of the guardians heads in a way that
others can digest. [Brand books are a useful tool for this too see this example from Skype]

How do you do the analysis?


The Core Brand Promise
A one sentence summary of the unique emotional benefit of the brand in 10 words or less.
Sometimes this can also be the advertising tagline (e.g. LOreal: Because Im worth it)

Facts and Symbols


The main ones can be identified using a google search, looking at the brand heritage webpages
and the images and facts used in their advertising across time.
Brand Personality
This records the response when customers are asked If the brand was a person, what would they
be like? You will also see these characteristics on display in the people the brand uses in the
advertising.
How the brand makes me feel
This is the emotion that the brand inspires in you. Brand that are not visible to others (e.g.
perfume, conditioner, underwear) play mostly in this space. It will be closely connected to the
Brand Promise
How the brand makes me look
We are social creatures, and one of the emotional benefits of brands is the image that it helps you
project to others. For high visibility luxury brands like the Louis Vuitton bag or the Ferrari sports
car, this is more important than how the brand makes you feel.

7 Essential Elements of Brand Essence


A brand is a promise: a promise of specific benefits and value; a promise that is meaningful and
relevant to the user; and a promise that is different from your competition. Its a gut feeling a
consumer has about your product, service, or company.
Brand essence is the single most compelling thing we can say about the brand that differentiates
it from competitor brands as perceived by the consumer. The most powerful brand essences are
rooted in a fundamental consumer need.
Its best stated in just a few words. Classic examples are Nike: Authentic Athletic Performance,
Disney: Fun Family Entertainment, Starbucks: Rewarding Everyday Moments, Volvo:
safe, Sanitarium: Good Wholesome.
Your brand essence will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating your marketing strategies
and materials. The brand experience is strengthened when it is instilled into all your products and
servicesand at every customer touch pointincluding packaging, logos, your tagline, your
corporate culture, in employee training, etc. The brand experience is weakened when it is
ignored, or worse, through inconsistent usage, mixed messages, uncaring attitudes, and
impatience.

The 7 essential ingredients of a strong brand essence are:


1. Single-minded a brand essence must rely on just one absorbing thing to say about the
brand otherwise it will lack focus.
Its not written to pamper the clients desire for a list of apparently inadmissible features.
2. Unique we notice what is different about something; not what is the same. At the heart
of a strong brand is how it is different from competitors.
We dont buy a dress because everyone at work is wearing it.
3. Experiential a brand essence captures what the consumer feels during an experience
with the brand.
Its a consumers definition; its not internal jargon.
4. Relevant the essence must be relevant to the consumer a brands essence must be
desirable and vital.
Its what matters to them; not what you say it is.
5. Consistently delivered If the core audience doesnt consistently experience it then
practically it isnt the true essence.
The character of a brand must be consistently represented across all company operations
and marketing mediums.
6. Authentic the brand essence must be believable or the brand will be rejected. Its
allowed to be aspirational as long as the consumer believes you can deliver on the
promise.
Consumers expect the truth and the real thing from brand owners.
7. Durable the brand essence will stand over time. It doesnt change. Ever.
Logos may come and go, packaging may change but the brand essence remains.

8.

Choosing Brand Elements to Build


Brand Equity

9. Brand equity is the result of a process which leads to a creation of a unique and
distinct brand identity. These brand identifiers are referred to as brand identifiers.
Brand identification can be done through various ways; for example, Unique Selling
Proposition (USP), Logo, Style, Brand Ambassador, Etc. Brand elements facilitate the
process of consumer brain mapping and play a key role in building brand equity.
Consumers over period of time are able to identify the brand through brand elements. The
idea is to develop brand elements, which can properly communicate about brand and its
point of difference from competing brands.
10. There are various factors, which add to a good brand element.
11. Brand element should be such that they can have a great recall power; for example, half
eaten apple, it steadily identifies with brand Apple. These sort of logo stays in memory

for long time. So the brand element should be such that it can be easily recalled. Another
factor is significance and application, is brand element conveying either of this two for
consumer? Significance here means that brand element should be suitable for that given
product category. Consumer should not be left guessing about brand by looking at the
element. Another factor for a good brand element is design and appearance, of course it
depends on product category company is operating (industrial product v/s consumer
products). For example, Apple products I-pod and Mac, design and appearance are such;
anyone would be attracted towards them.
12. Another factor is the application of brand element. For example, Virgin, this brand is
applicable to airlines as much as to financial services, on other hand, Toys r us, this brand
can only be valid to sell toys, games, etc. In this globalize world it is very important to
respect diversity and culture. A word or symbol can have various meanings, for example,
Swastika symbol is associated with Nazis movement but in India symbol means luck. So
the choice of word or symbol should not be without research. Another factor is flexibility;
an openness to change. This flexibility could be in the form of demographic, society, etc.,
for example, TV ads during the super bowl show Asian, African American, Hispanic
drinking beer together, even though football is all American game. The reason been
American society has a good mix of people from different race and culture but has a
strong passion for the game. Ads15 years never showed this kind of mix of different race
and culture. The last important factor is intellectual property rights, brand element should
have a legal cover from piracy and copiers in which countries they operate.
13. The most elementary part of brand element to achieve brand equity is the brand
name. For example, in meeting a stranger, a formal introduction starts with name, so that
next time you see person again you greet her by name. Similarly brand name can convey
much about brand itself, example, Pepsi-cola or common name Pepsi. Brand name is easy
to remember and recall making pronunciation easy for non-English speaker. Brand name
could also be suggestive into what brand is offering, for example, Kentucky Fried
Chicken. The brand name itself is sufficient in conveying that for fried chicken KFC is
the brand.
14. Another elementary part is the brand slogan because it can again convey the whole
existence of brand. For example, Wal-Marts slogan is Save Money Live Better; it
conveys lot about offering at brand stores. But again as time change slogan also have to
evolve. Earlier Wal-Marts slogan was Always Low Price, but in tough economic times
the new slogan is more relevant. Packaging also plays important part as brand element in
building brand equity. For example Kelloggs cereals; its packaging as evolved
responding to modern needs (healthy diet) to new technologies.
15. It can be easily concluded from above the importance of brand element in creation of
brand equity. Various elements like brand name, packaging, slogan symbol individually
and collectively play important in creating long lasting impression and relation with
consumer.
Brand Positioning Strategy

Brand knowledge comprises of brand awareness and brand image contribute to establishing of
customer based brand equity. The process is gradual and requires in-depth understanding of
consumer mind. Connection between brand and consumer leads to long term partnership and

loyalty. And, continued support to marketing efforts of the company. So when a company is
trying to build up brand knowledge, Brand Positioning becomes very much relevant. For
example, Apple and Windows both are well known brand. Consumers are aware that they both
are computer brands dealing in entertainment, but Apple stands for style, cool quotient, iPod etc
where as Windows stands for world class operating system, quality etc. Consumer can easily
identify point of similarities and points of difference between the two brands. This process of
creating point of similarities and points of difference in consumers mind is called Brand
Positioning.
Brand positioning strategy is about finding a right place for a brand in market place as
well consumer mind. A consumer should easily identify that for a given need or want this is the
brand. If brand fails to do this, it simply becomes just another product or commodity on
supermarket or mall shelf. So for successful brand positioning, following points are of utmost
importance for companies; target consumer, main competitors, point of similarity with
competitors and point of difference with competitors.
So, to identify target consumer we must narrow down target market. A market comprises of
cluster of individual with similar behavior, referred to as segments. These segments can be
defined on basis of personal consumption profile, which includes marital status, consumption of
product, usage rate of product and expectation from product. Another is demographic which
includes age, sex, income level, race and family. Further segmentation can be done on location, if
consumer, that is whether they are local or global. Other segmentation can be done on basis of
emotional profile, which includes personal belief and values, chosen lifestyle, religious
affiliation etc.
Another market which is important is business market. Segmentation of business market is starts
with product class, meaning target industry (chemical, agriculture etc). Another segment is
buying decision, that is, through tender process, bidding process. By end customer (government,
not profit organization etc). Finally segmentation is done on basis of company profile, which
includes financial strength and geographical location.
Knowing your competitor is very essential for survival in market. SWOT analysis is
definitely good starting point. Competition may not be coming from the same product class but
maybe from substitute, such as, tea v/s coffee. The point here is that not to narrow down
competition too much as to lose focus. In recent time apparel industry has facing competition
from consumer electronics industry, as people are willing to spend buck on iPod, HDTV to make
style statement and not clothes.
Point of difference could be defining in terms of the way consumer thinks for a given
brand. These are the points which will make the brand stand out from competition. Point of
difference is like unique selling proposition and this difference can be in form of appearance,

predictable performance, quality, better customer service. For example Wal-Mart, faces
competition not only from Target but also from Macys and Shaws. But point of difference is the
product range it can offer at competitive prices compared to other stores.
Points of similarity are common traits essential to make sure that consumer understand the
product. It helps in enforcing a simple point of identifying product within product class. This
becomes important especially if brand is in extension mode and looking to enter another
category. This is more prevalent in consumer goods industry, such as Old Spice earlier it was
focus on shaving product but later moved to grooming products like deodorants.
Brand positioning is very important step in establishing customer based brand equity. Target
market, Knowing competitors, Point of difference and Point of similarity together add to
strategic branding process.

Sensory Branding

<br /> Continuing our survey of neuromarketing books, we recently finished Brand Sense
Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound, by Martin Lindstrom.
This data-packed volume was published in 2005, and is based in part on a global research project
by Millward Brown which studied the relationship between branding and sensory awareness.
Lindstroms basic point is simple brands that appeal to multiple senses will be more successful
than brands that focus only on one or two. These appeals can be part of the brands advertising,
like using a distinctive color and logo in a consistent manner, or part of the product itself, like a
phone ringtone or the fragrance of a soap product. He points to Singapore Airlines as the
pinnacle of sensory branding. They not only employ the more common consistent visual themes
one might expect from an airline, but incorporate the same scent, Stefan Floridian Waters, in the
perfume worn by flight attendants, in their hot towels, and other elements of their service. Flight
attendants must meet stringent appearance criteria, and wear uniforms made from fine silk which
incorporate elements of the cabin decor. They strive to make every sensory element of their
customer interaction both appealing, and, equally importantly, consistent from encounter to
encounter. Lindstrom credits Singapore Airlines perennial position atop travelers preference
rankings to these efforts.
One key element of Lindstroms marketing prescription is what he calls, Smash Your Brand. In
essence, he wants a brand to be identifiable even when parts of the marketing program arent
there. If your logo is removed from your product or your advertisement, would it still be instantly
recognizable as your brand? Is just a color enough to signify your brand? Of course, few brands
have the power to claim a single color as their exclusive look, but the point is that marketers
need to think beyond their logo as the sole consistent element in their branding efforts.

Neuromarketers will find Lindstroms discussion of the less common marketing senses quite
interesting. Smell in particular is potent in bypassing conscious
thought and creating associations with memories and emotions.
He notes that only 3% of Fortune 1000 companies have given
thought to using smell in their marketing or branding, despite the claim that 75% of our emotions
are generated by what we smell.
Interestingly, auto companies arent the stodgy behemoths one might expect when it comes to
sensory branding. Indeed, they are in many ways the most advanced pioneers in the field. In the
late 1990s, Daimler Chrysler had already established a department whose sole purpose was to
improve the sound of their car doors. And that wonderful new car smell thats so enticing in the
dealership? Today, its largely a manufactured artifact. Lindstrom reports on the efforts at Rolls
Royce to improve customer satisfaction with their new vehicles by duplicating the new car
smell of a 1965 Silver Cloud. An olfactory analysis found over eight hundred distinct elements,
with expected ones like leather and mahogany but also including things like underseal and felt.
Ultimately, the scent engineers came up with a mixture to duplicate this heady aroma which is
now applied below the seats. Even though the synthetic materials that must now be used to build
Rolls Royce cars for safety and other reasons no longer release much in the way of detectable
odors, every new Rolls Royce owner can enjoy the same new car smell that previous generations
experienced.
Lindstrom provides a list, determined by focus groups on multiple continents, of the top 20
brands that most effectively leverage multiple senses in their branding efforts. The leaders are,
1. Singapore Airlines
2. Apple
3. Disney
4. Mercedes Benz
5. Marlboro
6. Tiffany
7. Louis Vuitton
8. Bang & Olufsen
9. Nokia
10.Harley Davidson

No list of winners would be complete without a list of losers, and Lindstrom also lists some of
the major brands that are doing the worst job of developing sensory indentities:
1. Ikea
2. Motorola
3. Virgin
4. KFC
5. Adidas
6. Sony
7. Burger King
8. McDonalds
9. Kleenex
10.Microsoft

Most marketers, of course, lack the budget or staff of these large corporations. Nevertheless, this
book will appeal to even smaller scale marketers. With the plethora of examples of effective and
ineffective sensory branding, any marketer should be able to come up with ideas to impact a
firms brand identity. He provides a six-step process to audit ones existing sensory brand
identity, to create sensory synergy, and implement a sensory branding strategy. Even firms that
cant afford a door slam department will no doubt spot flaws in their current sensory branding
and find ways to do better without breaking the bank.

What Is a Brand Portfolio?


When large businesses operate under multiple different brands, services and
companies, a brand portfolio is used to encompass all these entities under one
umbrella. Often, each of these brands has its own separate trademarks and
operates as an individual business entity. However, for marketing purposes, a brand
portfolio is used to group them all together. Brand portfolios are also used to lessen
consumer confusion in regard to who owns particular brands.

Examples of Brand Portfolios


To better explain what a brand portfolio looks like, consider the Hilton brand. In addition to the
Hilton Hotels and Resorts brand, the company also owns numerous other business entities, which
are all grouped under the brand portfolio name Hilton Worldwide. A few of the other brands

under Hilton Worldwide include the Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts, Embassy Suites Hotels
and Homewood Suites. As another example, consider PepsiCo. PepsiCo is the brand portfolio
name of several food and beverage companies that include not only Pepsi, but also brands such
as Frito Lay, Quaker and Tropicana.

Advantages of Using a Brand Portfolio


When businesses try to run each of their brands completely separate from one another, confusion
and inefficiency can prevail. In contrast, by utilizing a brand portfolio, the business is able to
focus on the big picture, causing resources to be better allocated to where they can do the most
good, thus creating the most value, and reducing unnecessary overlap. For example, if a new
brand with potential is left solely to its own resources, it could be starved out of resources before
ever having a chance to get off the ground.

Brand Relationships Within Portfolios


Three different relationship structures are used for brand portfolios. One type uses a single brand
name across the entire organization, without differentiating any sub-brands. Examples of this
include IBM, Goldman Sachs and Greenpeace. Another type uses a primary brand to endorse
sub-brands. Examples of this includes Ralph Lauren endorsing Polo, Microsoft endorsing
Windows and McDonald's endorsing the Big Mac. The final type uses a house of brands to
encompass individual brands. Examples of this includes how Pampers operates under Proctor
and Gamble and how Viagra operates under Pfizer.

Elements of an Ideal Brand Portfolio


Since how a brand portfolio is managed has a direct impact on the growth and future success of
the business, properly organizing the brand portfolio is vital. The ideal portfolio should always
fit with the businesses vision of its future in the marketplace. The brand portfolio should also
prioritize key elements and markets vital to its success. When brands no longer fit in with the
portfolio, they should be either altered to better conform or altogether eliminated. Above all else,
the brand portfolio should continue to make acquisitions to fill any gaps

Brand marketing vs. brand communications

Marketing and PR are the walk and the talk; your brand needs
to use both

Most companies confuse communications with marketing. Both are


intended to enhance demand, so in many companies the functions
get entangled. And more recently, the added factor of omnipresent,

multichannel communication has blurred the line between when


marketing kicks in and when communications takes over.
To define some of these functions up front: Marketing is shaping who
you are, what will make your offering meaningfully different from
your competition, and using this compass to guide not only what
you say but what you do to deliver your distinctive value to your key
constituents in a compelling way. Communications is crafting the
messages you would like to be received, and sending them out both
to priority internal and external audiences.
It would seem to follow that marketing is more important at the
start, when you are setting strategy, and communications grows in
importance as execution comes to the forefront. The reality is not
that simple in our complex new world of broad-reaching, two-way
interactions. The two are co-reliant siblings from beginning to end.
Yes, traditional PR and outreach events are viewed more as
communications functions, while product and content management
are considered to be more within the purview of marketing. The
truth, though, is that the two cross over. You can generate
tremendous messaging through your product or content just look
at Samsungs meteoric success with the Galaxy phone. Similarly,
you can use messaging to drive understanding and delivery of your
value proposition. A recent example is Oreos extremely successful
exploitation of the power outage at last years Super Bowl.
Like walking and talking, marketing and communications are best
done in conjunction with each other, and with balanced effort. It is a
false division to allocate your efforts between communications and
marketing its essential to achieve a strong equilibrium and codependence on both. Strong marketing that works in tandem with
outstanding communications ensures that the enterprise has
something to offer that the target audience is aware of, understands
and, most importantly, values.

Doing good without anyone knowing about it may be noble, but not
terribly commercial; saying nice things without delivering them
amounts to moral fraud. So supporting fluidity between marketing
and communications is, in a sense, like two siblings deciding to call
their differences quits. Because working together, so much more can
be achieved.
11 Tips to Help Improve Your Brand's Communication Strategy
As marketers, we strive to communicate with consumers in the ways that they prefer. In fact,
marketing is becoming increasingly consumer-driven. For example, with the rise of social media
marketing, brands can communicate directly with their customers to develop products that sell,
and consumers essentially become product co-creators. Today, 80% of online content is usergenerated, and content will increasingly come from a customers peers. Marketers need
advocates buzzing about their products as people increasingly receive information about brands
from their social connections.
The big question is: How does a company acquire brand evangelists? Here, well discuss how
much an authentic, humanized brand voice matters in your quest to get people raving about you
to all of their friends not to mention form long-lasting brand-customer relationships built on a
solid foundation of trust. Here are 11 key tips to help improve the way your brand communicates
with consumers.

1) Be Authentic
People dont want brands talking at them as if theyre dollar signs they want authentic
communication. Maintain an authentic tone when posting and interacting with consumers one
that doesnt seem forced. Always speak like a human being. Communicate directly with fans and
followers and be flexible and spontaneous. Instead of solely tracking and analyzing, you can
spend time planning and perfecting your brand voice.
Patagonia is a brand that does a fantastic job at remaining authentic. For starters, they don't
traditionally advertise. The company works to provide meaning rather than superficial promises.
They "advertise" by building human bonds, providing reliability and utility, and behaving like
trustworthy people would and that's a big deal to customers. Their focus is truly on people,
emphasizing that the best brands are people that just happen to be associated with the product.

2) Have a Conversation
Remember that voice and tone matter; they humanize your brand and let you take part in
conversations naturally. Take the time to have genuine, real-time dialogue with customers and
prospects to better position your brand in a world of evolving and increasingly niche markets.

Define and uphold a strong social media marketing voice and others will start doing your
marketing for you.
This is a great example of how Oreo engages its customers in playful conversation on Twitter
that syncs with the rest of the brands strategy. Consumers are delighted when a company takes
the time to speak with them one-on-one not to mention in a fun way. Three words: expanding
brand loyalty

3) Create Buyer Personas


Creating buyer personas, or fictional, generalized characters that build a picture of your ideal and
largest markets, helps you better understand your core customer groups. In order to organize
your research, you can start by conducting interviews and surveys, then organize and format your
persona research, finalize specific buyer personas, and lastly, use your buyer personas for
segmentation, content mapping, and lead nurturing. When you truly know your ideal customer,
you will create more compelling content that theyll respond positively to.
Walt Disney World knows exactly whom they're speaking to, when and where. This is a good
example of attracting your ideal customers where they typically hang out. The highest percent of
Facebook users is between ages 34-54, and the majority of those users are women. Who is more
likely to book and plan the family vacation? Mothers! Walt Disney World knows this, and thats
why they focus their efforts on Facebook.

4) Show Your Personality


Cultivate a voice that delights your customers. Delighted customers talk positively about your
brand, essentially driving new content creation. This content then reaches other customers and
prospects, delivering your message naturally. Put a face on your brand and let a real personality
shine through. Cater to your buyer personas and post the kind of content they enjoy. Let readers
know that your brand is professional, of course, but also fun and relatable. People often prefer a
connection over information.
Old Spice is known for their funny ads and brand personality. Especially in recent years, the
company has taken many creative risks and, in turn, made a lasting impression. Here's an
example of an unmistakeably Old Spice ad.

5) Provide Relevant Content


Great content is only great as long as it resonates with your target audience. Take the time to
really understand your readers. Research their challenges and publish content that speaks directly
to them, where and when they prefer. In doing this, youll enhance your reach.

Lowe's on Pinterest makes perfect sense. The products should be shared on Pinterest because
that's where Lowes' ideal customers want to browse for ideas of what to buy. This shows that the
company really understands its audience and wants to cater to their interests.

6) Be Helpful
Create a presence in social communities by helping people. Spend time crafting genuinely
helpful replies rather than just dropping links all over the place. Building those relationships will
carry your business forward at a rapid pace. It is critical that you are helping people rather than
focusing only on driving traffic and metrics.
JetBlue responds quickly to customer service questions on Twitter. They dont take any days off
(just like their airlines) and are there to help at any time. If your brand is going to go on Twitter
for customer service, its important to be committed. They are going where their customers are
and being there to help them, not to help themselves by constantly pushing press releases.
JetBlue is promoting their brand by having great customer service. Its a win-win: customers get
service on Twitter, while JetBlue publicly displays their quick and responsive service.

7) Focus on Quality Engagement Over Quantity


Quality of the engagement with a message must be factored in more so than the quantity of
engagements. Thoughtful comments and replies or posts that answer your audiences common
questions give your brand an edge while building trust. And, speaking directly to your customers
gives you a much better idea of how to market to them than merely analyzing data. Traffic is
nice, but truly engaging with the reader means more. A glorified RSS feed is actually a waste of
time.
Here, Southwest Airlines took advantage of an opportunity to engage with a customer directly on
Twitter and, in turn, really made a positive impact on his view of the company. Little yet
meaningful interactions have the power to create loyal customers and even brand evangelists.

8) Be Open
Transparency and openness can be a huge asset as you are generating your social media
marketing voice. This type of marketing is unique. Few companies share the intimate details of
their journey, and doing so can help you stand out from your competition. Writing with openness
and transparency also helps you communicate with confidence; nothing is off the table to
discuss.
With the Our Food. Your Questions. digital platform, consumers were encouraged to ask their
toughest questions. In exchange, McDonalds Canada promised to step up and provide clear and
concise answers. It was the open, honest kind of approach that can silence the harshest of critics,
turn a fence-sitter into a fan or, if it backfires, risk alienating consumers unsatisfied with the
answers.

9) Post About Things Other Than Your Own Brand


Make sure your posts aren't all just about your company or industry although those are
important, too. When you venture outside of your usual topics once in a while, it makes people
feel comfortable being themselves because you're being yourself, too. Share great posts by other
industry leaders and touch upon relevant news. Its always beneficial to keep content interesting
so as not to lose peoples interest. Keep your audience coming back for more.
Here's an example of how Whole Foods touches upon topics on Twitter that aren't directly tied to
their offerings but correlate with their audience's interests and concerns. This shows that you care
about more than just touting your products and services, and it helps keep your content
interesting and relevant.

10) Throw in Content for Pure Consumer Enjoyment


Post things that you think your audience would just plain enjoy sometimes, with no link to your
blog, lead-capture form, or transaction attached. This will make people more than like your posts
theyll look forward to them. This also enhances trust because readers will see that you arent
just on a mission to promote; youre there to delight and serve your audience. If you come across
a funny YouTube video that would speak to your buyer personas, share it! Dont be afraid to try
new things.
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese does a good job at keeping their followers entertained. Here's a great
example of just plain fun no link, no promotion, just great branding. Keeping customers
delighted is key, especially when it's delivered genuinely.

11) Leverage Consumer-Generated Content


IBMs Global CEO Study found that 88% of CEOs said "getting closer to customers" was the top
priority for their business over the next five years. This can be done, largely, by leveraging usergenerated content. Brands should work to improve their products and messaging as consumers
continue to influence and take co-ownership of their favorite brands. Share consumers content
and tweak your offerings in order to give your audience exactly what they like to see and
experience.
Starbucks engaged fans and created some beautiful content when they launched a stunning White
Cup Contest where fans were proposed to paint Starbucks white cups and submit their photos to
social media using the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. As a result, the brand received wonderful
visual content for its Facebook and Pinterest pages, and increased their social media reach.

Brand valuation methods

There are a number of different brand valuation methods. There are pros and cons of all these
methods of valuing brands. A brand valuation method that is appropriate for one brand may not
be the best valuation method for another. Judgement should be exercised to ensure the most
appropriate of brand valuation methods is used.
1. Income based brand valuation methods

Relief from royalty method: this brand valuation method is based on how much the
brand owner would have to pay to use its brand if it licensed the brand from a third party.
It uses discounted cash flow analysis (DCF) to capitalise future branded cash flows

Excess-earnings method: this brand valuation methodology calculates the earnings


above the profits required to attract an investor which uses the estimated rate of return
based on the current value of the assets employed. These excess earnings are assumed to
be attributable to the intellectual property, or brand.

Price premium method: this brand valuation method is based on a capitalisation of


future profit stream premiums attributable to a business brand above the revenues of a
generic business, without a brand.

Capitalisation of historic profits method: the brand valuation method is based on the
capitalisation of profits earned by the brand.

2. Market based brand valuation methods

P/E ratios method: the P/E (price to earnings) brand valuation method multiples the
brands profits by a multiple derived from similar transactions of profits to price paid
based on the value of reported brand values.

Turnover multiples method: this brand valuation method multiplies the brands turnover
by a multiple derived from similar transactions.

3. Cost based brand valuation methods

Creation costs method: this brand valuation methodology estimates the amount that has
been invested in creating the brand.

Replacement value method: this brand valuation method estimates the investment
required to build a brand with a similar market position and share.

Which brand valuation method to use?


It is generally best to value brands using all appropriate brand valuation methods and synthesise
the results to arrive at a conclusion.

What is Brand Reinforcement and Revitalisation?


Brand Reinforcement is all about maintaining brand equity; in other words, it is about making
sure that the consumers do have the desired knowledge structures so that the brands continues
having its necessary sources of brand equity. This could be done by marketing activities that
would persistently carry the meaning of the brand, to the consumers - which could be in form of
brand awareness and brand image. However, sometimes, even a well-designed reinforcement
strategy fails for various reasons like emergence of new technology or competitors, change in
customers' taste and preference, etc. In this situation, the brands need to revive their fortune by
returning to their roots, in order to recapture the lost sources of equity. This is what is meant by
Brand Revitalisation (Keller, 1999).

Important considerations of Brand Reinforcement


Chernatony et al. (2011) says, in order to maintain brand equity, brands need to be managed over
their period of life cycle and the marketing activities required for the same, would be different in
its different phase; namely the growth phase, the maturity phase and the decline phase.
According to Keller (2012), Brand Reinforcement involves the following:
Maintaining brand consistency - This helps to enhance brand's positive reputation with customers
and without it, the meaning of the brand would vary across its several touch points. Brand
consistency leads consumers to get familiarised with the brand and enhance their perception
about brand uniqueness, resulting in brand reputation (Miller, 2010). E.g. - Coca Cola's "open
happiness" proposition across the globe (See Appendix 3).
Protecting sources of brand equity - Though brand should always try to defend the existing
sources of brand equity, they should also look for potentially powerful new sources of equity.
However, there is very little need to deviate from a successful positioning, unless the current
positioning is being affected by some internal or external factor which is making it less powerful
(Kellar, 2012).
Fortifying vs. Leveraging - Fortifying refers to enhancing brand equity in terms of awareness and
perception, whereas Leveraging refers to making money from a brand. Failure to fortify a brand
might result in brand decay and there would be no leveraging from the brand any more.
Therefore, there should be a proper balance between fortifying and leveraging brands.
Fine-tuning Supporting Marketing Program - This could be done through improving product
related performance associations and non-product related imagery associations. This should also
be done, only when the current ones are no longer creating the desired results to maintain and
strengthen brand equity (Kellar, 2003).

Brand Revitalization strategies for a company


It is very important for a company to know, what marketing or managerial actions possibly will
revitalise the brand in the minds of the consumer (Andrews and Kim, 2007). The main key to
revive a brand is to increase its differentiation, which could be achieved by asserting the "core
relevance though incremental and continuous innovation". Another element that needs important
consideration is the presence of brand's core image in the minds of consumer, in the revitalisation
strategy. When a brand is revitalised, many people will recognise the brand but will however
want to know whats "new" in it. So, to support the revival, there must be well planned
advertising and promotional campaigns. (Bellman, 2005). Chernatony et al. (2011) suggests the
following steps to revitalise a brand :
According to Kapferer (2004), in order to revitalise a brand, it is necessary to redefine its brand
essence, which will then be embodied in new product or services, targeting a new set of
audience. Therefore, according to him, revitalisation could happen through:
new uses - to develop new user occasion of the product
distribution change - to develop newer ways of reaching target audience
innovations - to technologically advance the product
segmentation - to segment brands and if necessary, create sub-brands
opinion leaders - to target the trend-setters
360 degree communication - to make use of all marketing communication tools together
change in business model - to let the brand be handled by new set of people, which usually
happens in case of acquisitions or mergers.
However, Kellar (2012) believes there are three main strategies of Brand Revitalisation and they
are:
Expanding Brand Awareness through:
Identifying additional or new usage opportunities - This includes reminding the consumer about
the brand usage and trying to increase its frequency of use, and to also create new usage
opportunities of the brand for the consumers. E.g. - Neutrogena's launch of oil-free acne face
wash (See Appendix 4).
Identifying new and different ways to use the brand - This refers to changing the unique selling
proposition of the brand by identifying new ways of using the brand. E.g. - Cadbury's change of

USP in India from "Shubh Aarambh" (having something sweet before embarking on something
new) to "Khaane Ke Baad Meethe Mein Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye" (positioning Cadbury Dairy
Milk as a post dinner dessert) (See Appendix 5).
Improving Brand Image through:
Repositioning the brand - This refers to establishing more convincing points of difference or to
establish a point of parity on some key image dimension. E.g. - Repositioning of Airtel (India's
largest telecom service provider) in 2010 (See Appendix 6).
Changing brand elements - This refers to changing of one or more brand elements in order to
convey that the brand has taken a new meaning because either the product or market campaign,
has changed. E.g. - evolution of Starbuck's logo (See Appendix 7).
Entering new markets: It refers to identifying growth potential in other target market/s and
building a new marketing communications plan to build a position of the brand in the new
market segment. E.g. - Horlicks launched "Women's Horlicks" in India, in 2008, identifying
growth potential in that segment (See Appendix 8).

Brand Audit
In the most general terms, a brand audit is a detailed analysis of your brand in its current state.
By determining which qualities of your brand are currently effective and which ones are not, you
can restructure your identity and your messaging goals to produce better results. That's the
corporate-speak way of saying it. The plain way to say it is this: you're giving your brand a
makeover, but first you need to find out what's in style.
Over the course of your brand audit, you'll take a look at your current branding, which includes,
among other qualities:

The standards of your brand image and voice

The demographics of your target audience

The mission and strategic objectives of your company

The strategies you use to reach your goals

Since brands tend to become less relevant gradually, it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment when
a brand needs to be updated. It's even harder to notice dwindling audience numbers or unfocused
messaging when your objective data does not indicate a single identifiable instance of disinterest.
Still, it's important to be as objective as possible during the brand audit. You need to base your
analysis on measurable metrics, not subjective opinions.

Once you have a good understanding of what's currently right or wrong with your brand, you can
create an action plan to readjust your standards and a marketing strategy to support it.

What is the purpose of a brand audit?


The purpose behind a brand audit is plain and simple: to gain a fundamental understanding of
where your brand stands in its current state.

When and why should we audit our brand?


The majority of business go through the process of auditing their brand when they have a vested
interest in making a change within their organization. Maybe theyre rebranding, or refreshing
their current look. This would be a perfect time to take a look at your current brand and see
where it has shifted since its inception. Perhaps an organization is unhappy with their internal
communication and employee relations. A smart CEO or CMO might take that opportunity to
judge what their brand stands for, who they are as a company and what they need to do from a
communications stand point to fix the internal problems or issues. The power of a brand is much
stronger than most realize. A strong brand empowers and inspires employees. Its the foundation
on which a strong organization can be built. If the foundation is cracked in certain areas, it would
be in the homeowners best interest to audit the situation and put the proper processes in place to
fix it. The same goes with companies and their brands.

Who should perform our brand audit?


Every organization is different. There is no once-size-fits-all approach. Regardless of whether
you assemble an in-house team or hire an outside agency, you need one important element if you
hope to perform a successful brand audit: honest objectivity.

Brand Audit Example


An extensive brand audit should look at the following categories:
Internal

Positioning

Brand Values

Unique Selling Proposition (USP), brand promise, or brand essence

Voice

Culture

Product / Service positioning

External

Corporate Identity logos and other brand elements

Collateral-brochures, print materials, trade show displays, etc.

Advertising

Website

SEO

Social Media

Sponsorships/civic-involvement/memberships

News/PR

Content Marketing and other assets blogs, white papers, case studies,
articles, books, etc.

Testimonials

Videos

Systems

Corporate identity/brand standards

HR policies/on-boarding process

Sales processes/touch points

Internal systems

Customer service systems

Brand Audit: Before and After


In todays increasingly complex market, there is a hyper-focus (and rightfully so) on return on
investment (ROI). Of course, ROI isnt just a tactic to keep the bean counters satisfied-weighing
the financial benefits of your branding decisions throughout the process will help guide difficult
decisions.

Once way you can demonstrate ROI is by conducting a brand audit before and after a rebrand.
This will show where the branding exercise helped improve systems and close gaps.

Perceptual Mapping

Perceptual mapping is a graphic display explaining the perceptions of customers with relation to
product characteristics.

Key Points[ edit ]


o

Perceptual maps help marketers understand where the consumer ranks


their company in terms of characteristics and in comparison to
competing companies.

Perceptual maps can display consumers' ideal points that reflect their
ideal combinations of product characteristics.

When creating a new product, a company should look for a space that
is currently unoccupied by competitors and that has a high
concentration of consumer desire (ideal points).

A perceptual map is usually based more on a marketer's knowledge of


an industry than market research.

Perceptual Mapping
Perceptual mapping is a diagrammatic technique used by marketers in an attempt to visually
display the perceptions of customers or potential customers. Typically the position of a product,
product line, brand, or company is displayed relative to their competition. Some perceptual maps
use different size circles to indicate the sales volume or market share of the various competing
products.

Perceptual Map Of Competing Products


Perceptual maps commonly have two dimensions even though they are capable of having
several. For example, in this perceptual map you can see consumer perceptions of various

automobiles on the two dimensions of sportiness/conservative and classy/affordable. This sample


of consumers felt that Porsche cars were the sportiest and classiest of the ones in the study. They
felt that Plymouth cars were the most practical and conservative. Cars that are positioned close to
each other were seen as similar on the relevant dimensions by the consumer. For example,
consumers saw Buick, Chrysler, and Oldsmobile as similar. They are close competitors and form
a competitive grouping. A company considering the introduction of a new model will look for an
area on the map free from competitors.

Perceptual mapping
This is an example of a perceptual map.

Perceptual Map Of a Consumer's Ideal


Many perceptual maps also display consumers' ideal points. These points reflect ideal
combinations of the two product characteristics as seen by a consumer. This diagram shows a
study of consumers' ideal points in the alcohol product space. Each dot represents one
respondent's ideal combination of the two dimensions. Areas where there is a cluster of ideal
points (such as A) indicates a market segment. Areas without ideal points are sometimes referred
to as demand voids.

Perceptual Map of Ideal Points in the Alcohol Product Space


Ideal points maps reflect ideal combinations of two product characteristics as seen by a
consumer. This helps marketers accurately target their message to consumers based on consumer
desires.

Combining the Competing Products and Ideal Points Maps


A company considering introducing a new product will look for areas with a high density of ideal
points. They will also look for areas without competitive rivals. This is best done by placing both
the ideal points and the competing products on the same map. This map displays various aspirin
products as seen on the dimensions of effectiveness and gentleness. It also shows two ideal
vectors. This study indicates that there is one segment that is more concerned with effectiveness
than harshness, and another segment that is more interested in gentleness than strength.

Combination Map of Competing Products and Ideal Points


A combination map allows companies to find a space that has unmet consumer desires.

Intuitive Maps
Perceptual maps need not come from a detailed study. There are also intuitive maps (also called
judgmental maps or consensus maps) that are created by marketers based on their understanding
of their industry. The value of this type of map is questionable, as they often just give the
appearance of credibility to management's preconceptions. When detailed marketing research
studies are done, methodological problems can arise, but at least the information is coming
directly from the consumer. There is an assortment of statistical procedures (preference
regression, multi-dimensional scaling) that can be used to convert the raw data collected in a
survey into a perceptual map.
Some techniques are constructed from perceived differences between products, others are
constructed from perceived similarities. Still others are constructed from cross price elasticity of
demand data from electronic scanners.

Produvt management audit


Product audit is the method which aims at evaluating the efficiency of preventive
and corrective actions implemented to improve a product-specific manufacturing
process. Efficiency is measured by comparing the results obtained from testing the
final product against product specification. Product auditing method is a specific
method developed by the major car manufacturers. The effectiveness of this

method is revealed in the quality of products delivered and in the optimization of


manufacturing processes. The applicability of this concept can be extended, in the
authors opinion, in all productive organizations in the machinery industry with large
or small series production. Selecting the type of corrective or preventive actions
based on the evolution in trends of the results obtained from product auditing
represents the value added obtained from this process. The audit is essentially a
product control key for the activities of a productive organization .

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