BRAND Management

What is a brand?

A name, a term

A symbol, a sign

A name, term, sign, symbol or any other feature that identifies one sellers product or service as distinct from those of other sellers -The American Marketing Association

Brand can be
Logo

shortcut to remind Colours Shape Letter Images Tunes Phrases Celebraties

Functions of Branding

Helps in Identification and gives distinctiveness to the product Indirectly denotes quality and standard Eliminates Imitation Ensures legal right to the product (Trademark, patents, copyrights) Helps in advertising and packaging Helps in price differentiation of the product

Characteristics of a Strong Brand

Brand

name should describe its nature Easy to remember and pronounce Act as a stimulating trigger to customers Brand portfolio and hierarchy shouldfa make sense Brand should properly positioned Brand should be consistent Brand should be given continuous support and monitoring

Scope of Branding
To teach the customers the following:-

1. Who the product- name, other elements 2. What the product does 3. Why the consumers should buy

Brand relationships
FIRM
Brand identity framed by marketers

INTERACTIONS
Brand relationships

CUSTOMERS
Brand image in the mind of customers

Branding process
Brand the actual image of the firm in customers minds

A new definition based on Brand relationships: Brand is created in continuously developing brand relationships where the customer forms a differentiating image of a product or service based on all kinds of brand contacts that the customer is exposed to.

Brand Identity
Brand Identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential costumers.

BRAND IMAGE
A unique set of associations in the minds of customers concerning what a brand stands for and the implied promises the brand makes.

The importance of image

Image communicates expectations Image is a filter influencing perceptions of the performance of the firm Image is a function of expectations and experiences Image has employees an internal impact on

Image and Identity

Sending Media Receiving

Brand identity

Signals transmitted

Brand image

Competition And Noise

Contd..
BRAND

IMAGE is a unique set of associations in the minds of customers concerning what a brand stands for and the implied promises the brand makes. BRAND IDENTITY is the strategic goal for the unique set of associations that a brand should stand for. These associations also imply a potential promise to customers. PERCEPTION GAP.

Brand Hierarchy
Brand Hierarchy is how an organization organizes the various named entities within its portfolio, and how they relate to each other. The four general types of Hierarchy are: 1. Master brand : Maruti Suzuki 2. Brand/sub brand : Maruti 3. Endorsed brand : Maruti Esteem 4. Separate (stand-alone or independent) brands: LXi/ SXi

Top 10 Global Brands*

* http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx

Brand Positioning
Brand

Positioning

Positioning is how a product appears in relation to other products in the market

Brand positioning is all about identifying the optimal location in our customers minds for our Brand vis--vis with our competitors Proper positioning makes it easier to facilitate understanding of our Brand

Developing a Positioning Strategy

Positioning

is not what you do with a product but what you do in the mind of the prospects. Positioning requires determining the frame of reference by identifying Target market Competition POPs and PODS

Category membership
Starting

point in brand positioning is to determine Category Membership. Category membership is product or set of products with a brand competes and which functions as close substitutes Three main ways to determine category membership: Announcing category benefit Comparing to exemplars Relying on the product descriptors

Target Market
Consumer Aggregates Current users Potential users Competitive users Consumer Segments Behavioral Dem/psych/geo

Points of Difference & Parity

Difference Strong, favorable, unique Attribute or benefit Parity Shared with other brands Important for brand extensions

POPS
Point

of Parity (POP) Two Types Category : attributes that are required to include your product as a member of that category. Competitive: POPs that negate your competitor's PODs POPs should be good enough but PODs should be superior

Choosing the differentiating strategy

Product

differentiation Personal differentiation Channel differentiation Image differentiation

Choosing the pops and pods

Relevance

Distinctiveness
Believability Feasibility Communicability Sustainability

Proper Positioning
Clarifies

what the Brand is all about How it is both unique and similar to competitive brands Why customers should purchase and use the Brand

5 Factors of Brand Positioning

1. Brand Attributes : What the brand delivers through features and benefits to consumers. 2. Consumer Expectations : What consumers expect to receive from the brand. 3. Competitor attributes: What the other brands in the market offer through features and benefits to consumers. 4. Price : An easily quantifiable factor Your prices vs. your competitors prices.

5. Consumer perceptions: The perceived quality and value of your brand in consumers minds (i.e., does your brand offer the cheap solution, the good value for the money solution, the high-end, high-price tag solution, etc.?).

The Process of Positioning

Generally, the product positioning process involves:
Defining

the market in which the product or brand will compete (who the relevant buyers are) Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product 'space' Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of each product on the relevant attributes

Positioning- Toothpaste
Four main segments:

Flavor and product appearance Brightness of teeth Decay Prevention

Flavor, Brightness

Price Positioning

Decay Prevention

Low Price

Brand Equity
Brand

Equity is the value of a brand built up over a period of time. It is composed of four components namely Image, Perception, Awareness and Loyalty. David Aaker defines brand equity as: A set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand's name and symbol that adds to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm's customers Brand Equity is an asset that can be sold or leased

 BE

is an important intagible assets that has psycological and financial value to the firm.

Measuring Brand Equity

Brand Audit It is a consumer focused exercise that involves a series of procedures to assess the health of a brand, uncover sources of brand equity, suggest ways to leverage that equity. Is current brand equity satisfactory What brand associations needs to be strengthened What brand opportunity exist What potential challenges exist from the brand equity. As a result strategic analysis to develop a new marketing program to maximize long term brand equity

Steps of Brand Audit

Brand Inventory:- Provides a current comprehensive profile of how all the product and services sold by a company are marketed and branded. Marketers helps in assesing and finding the consistency od diff product and services sharing the same brand name. Brand Exploratory:- It is a research activity conducted to understand what consumers think and feel .Surveys,questionnaire,interviewhelps in generate ideas , insights, Techniques are used as projective technique,vizualizationword association test.

Brand Tracking
Collect

information from consumers on a regular basis time to time Helps in providing information how their marketing programs and brands are performinh Tracking studies are a means of understanding where, how much, and in what ways brand values is been created. Helps in facilitating day to day decision making.

Brand Valuation
It

is the total financial worth of the brand. Premium charged*no of units sold.

Managing Brand Equity

Brand

Reinforcement consistently convey the meaning of the brand to customers

What the core brand represents, benefits supplied, which needs it satisfies How brand makes those product/service superior and which strong favorable unique brand association should exist in the mind of customer Requires new product introduction Requires consistency of marketing support (new offerings, new promotions) Example- Nivea from skin crme to skin care and personal care products. Early 70s brand still a leader-coke kodak,hienz,wrigleys

Brand Revitalization

Brand Revitalization
Go back to basics of consumer needs and wants finding gaps in market or at the other end of spectrum go for reinvention (Intel). Revitalization finds elements of both of the above, to refresh existing sources or find new sources of brand equity e.g. Lifebuoy

Reasons of Brand Revitalization

A new competitor may have taken over the category and the company is struggling to generate revenues from the current product (colgate-closeup) A new variant has to be launched in order to regain market share. The whole product or service category may be declining, and a brand could be one of many brands that could use revitalization Revitalization may be needed in order to communicate category leadership, as well as develop an energized new visual identity system Brand may no longer meet the consumers needs or desires, where in the consumer has shifted to a different platform.

Revitalization may just be a need increase market share as the brand image may be becoming less relevant to people. It may be time to re-position the product or rejuvenation may be a spike in promotion activity. The brand has lost its unique point of differentiation and thus looking to revitalize the product or brand with a new image. The target market for the brand has aged, and the brand hasnt managed to renew its positioning in the minds of the next generation of consumers as was the case with.(lalita ji surf) Consumers needs have shifted from price to value

Examples
Mountain

Dew introduced in 1969 (yahoo mountain) 1990- Do the Dudes (young males) 2000- Do the dew

Brand Crisis
Critical

of planning is planning for worst Smart company have effective corporate crisis management policy. Careful preparation and well managed Crisis management program ensures corporate credibility and trustworthiness Example Frozen pizza, packaged Milk

Brand Equity Models

Brand

Asset valuator Model

Aakers Brandz Brand

Rssonance

Aakers model
Viewed BE as a 5 categories of asstes and liabilities linke to a brand that adds and subtract to the value Brand loyalty Brand awareness Percieved quality Brand association Other proprietory assets such as trademark patents and channel relationship. Imp concept in building BE is Brand Identity who had 4 prospectives Brand as product, brand as organization, brand as person,brand as symbol

Factors influencing Brand Equity

Positive or Negative Brand Equity

Brand Extension
Brand

extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this strategy to increase and leverage brand equity

Benefits of Extension
Price

premium that a brand commands over a generic product Reduce risk perceived by customers Increase the probability of distribution and trial Increase efficiency of promotional expenditures Reduce costs of introductory programs Avoid cost of developing a new brand Create opportunities to extend into more distant product categories Build equity

Line Extension Strategy

When

a brand is used to brand a new product that targets a new market segment within a product category currently served by the parent brand.

Examples:

Coca-Cola diet Colgate for Kids

Line Strategy
Horizontal:

the brand extends to new varieties of the product. E.g. pineapple, strawberry, Mango. the brand extends up or down in terms of product quality. E.g., Base & premium

Vertical:

Brand Category Extension Strategy

Effort

to use a successful brand name to introduce a new product into a different product category. Examples:
Nike MP4 player Colgate toothbrush Lilliput- Kids Shoes

Important Factors for Extending Brands

POSITIONING

MARKET Information Characteristic and N Competitors

Success of Brand Extensions

Choice Shares Sales Evaluation Perceived Risk Profit Market Share

EXTENSION Fit

CONSUMERS Knowledge Risk Aversion

BRAND/FIRM Brand Strength

Disadvantages of Brand Extensions

Can

fail and hurt parent brand image Can succeed but diminish identification with any one category Can dilute brand meaning Can forgo the chance to develop a new brand Can damage company credibility

What is brand personality?

Brand

Personality is a set of human characteristics associated with a brand is how the brand behaves

Personality Gender,

age, socio-economic class, psychographic, emotional characteristics

Some Examples
Marlboro IBM

is masculine while Virginia Slims is feminine is older while Apple is younger

India

Today is old-fashioned while Outlook is trendier

is conforming while Pepsi is irreverent

Coke

About Brand Personality

Brand

Personality, like human personality, is both distinctive and enduring

Both are built over a period of time

Refers In

to the outcome of all the consumers experiences with the brand other words, the brands personality is the weighted average of previous impressions

In

consumers mind, these impressions merge to form an overall concept of what to expect from brand

Some More
Brand

Personality is eagerly searched by brand strategists and researchers in responses by different consumers provide useful insights

Differences

For

example, users of a product will perceive a brand different from non-users

Why use brand personality

Enriches understanding Helps gain an in-depth understanding of consumer perceptions of and attitudes towards the brand
Can

provide more insight than is gained by asking about attribute perceptions ex., Microsoft, IBM etc.,

For

Why Use brand personality

Contributes to a differentiating identity Can differentiate brands especially where brands are similar in product attributes

In fact, it can define not only the brand but the product class context and experience Vs BMW; Clinic Plus Vs Pantene

Mercedes

Why use
Guides the communication effort Communicates the brand identity with richness and texture
If

the brand is specified only in terms of attribute associations, very little meaningful guidance is provided
Is Nike shoes or sports, performance and attitude?

Why use
Creates brand equity Builds long-term brand equity
Differentiates

the brand and makes it distinct from other competitive offerings as a powerful relationship device

Serves

Sponsorships
Activities

such as events sponsored by the brand will influence its personality

Ponds

sponsoring Feminas Miss India contest MRF Formula-1 racing championship

Age
How

long a brand has been on the market can affect its personality entrants like Apple, Outlook etc., tend to have younger brand personalities than IBM, India Today etc.,

New

Symbol
A

symbol can be a powerful influence on brand personality since it can be controlled and can have extremely strong associations examples

Some

Apples bitten apple Nikes swoosh MetLifes Peanuts character

To Sum Up

A brand personality can help a brand in several ways:

It can provide a vehicle for customers to express their own identity A brand personality metaphor helps suggests the kind of relationship that customer has with brand Brand personalities serve to represent and cue functional benefits and product attributes well

Importantly, brand personality is often a sustainable point of differentiation

Sustainable because it is very difficult to copy a personality

Brand Creation
Brand

creation is about answering:-

What to launch? Where to launch? When to launch? How to launch? For whom to launch? Brand creation is striking a sync between: Brand pricing-Brand distribution-Brand quality-Brand Image-Brand benifits

Some More.
Brand

creation is the birth of a brand It is not only naming or symbolically tagging but goes beyond that Headed towards fulfilling all promises and top class services. Brand creation is an expensive and tricky affair

Examples
Nike

- tick mark (always right) Wipro spent Rs 35 crore for new logo (applying thaught) Videocon

Brand Customer Relationship

Brand

are essentially the collective perceptions of an organizations key constituents(customer,supplier,inverstor,em ployee etc..) Defined more by deeds than by words Brand is how your customer experience what you do.

Steps to build strong customer Relationship

Clearly articulate your brand identity Establish a customer value proposition A Strong Vision Regarding Service that is Clearly Communicated Constant Service Talk Customer Friendly Systems A Balance Between Technology and the Personal Touch Do the optimal customer experience and create a holistic brand experience Cultivate relationship and treat them carefully by listening what are u told , learn from it and respond

Devising a Branding strategy

Can

develop new brand element for new product Can apply some of its brand element Can use a combination of new and existing brand elements.

Branding Strategy
New Products
Brand extension use established brand name to launch a new product Sub-brand combine a new brand with an existing brand (Adobe Acrobat software,Toyata camary automobiles,american express bluecards) Parent brand existing brand gives birth to a brand extension (Procter $ Gamble) Family brand parent brand associated with multiple brand extensions e.g. Kelloggs, Heinz, DelMonte) Line extension use of a parent brand to brand a new product, targeting anew market segment served by the parent (e.g. new flavors) Category extension (brand stretching use of a parent brand to enter a different product category from that served by the parent (Yamaha ---motorbikes to pianos, sports equipment) Brand line all products sold under a particular brand (Heinz 57) Brand mix set of all brands offered to buyers (P & G has 71 brands) Branded variants specific brand lines supplied to particular retailers or channels (e.g. Guinness Stout, Guinness Extra Stout)

Financial aspects of Brand

In the past, marketing was often said to be unaccountable. Not any more. Today, marketers are required to show how their expenditure is delivering a return, by contributing to brand and business success. And there are clear benefits in putting a value on the brand plan. First, it allows for return on investment calculations to be based on a truly long term perspective, not just on outcome within one fiscal year. And second, it enables testing of investment hypotheses for example, to find out what happens if expenditure is reduced within a framework both marketing and finance can understand.

Branding in Different Sectors

Industrial
Often,

Sector

Company Name Branding

especially in the industrial sector, it is just the company's name which is promoted (leading to one of the most powerful statements of "branding"; the saying, before the company's downgrading, "No one ever got fired for buying IBM").

In

this case a very strong brand name (or company name) is made the vehicle for a range of products (for example,Reliance and hilty)

Financial Sector
Branding

in financial services has its own characteristics, the crucial element being consumer trust, after all the institutions are handling your money. For this reason in most cases the brand and the institutions name are one and the same.
Core brand values
Trust/reliability Value/price Service Recognition/awareness

Availability/distribution
Product

range Innovation Professional expertise

Service Sector

The 4-M approach centers on the 4 basic elements that a service provider must manage for branding services effectively. In a nutshell the 4-M approach involves
Managing Egos- People always react negatively when they perceive a threat. Also, research has shown that more than the physical threat; it is threat to one's sense of self-one's ego that elicits the most negative response. Thus managing egos is important in maintaining healthy and positive relationships with the company's customers-both internal as well as the external. Only if the internal customers (employees) feel safe and do not perceive any threat to their egos, will they provide superior service to the external customers. Managing Perceptions- Brands are not static but are continuously evolving and changing with changing customer perceptions. Thus, a brand is not simply the promise of said quality but is in fact a manifestation of consumer perceptions of that promise- whether they see it as useful or not, truthful or not, consistent or not etc. Thus, managing perceptions of both internal and external customers is crucial in branding services.

Contd.
Managing Attitudes- What people think about you matters! In any service, people are the walking billboards of the company. As primary service providers they interact with customers directly to deliver the service. What they think about the company is invariably reflected in the service they deliver. Thus, managing their opinions is critical in branding services. Also, each satisfied customer can direct another ten prospects towards your service. This word-of mouth publicity which is unique to the service industry can only be leveraged if your customers think highly of you as a service provider. Managing Awareness- Goods have the advantage of ocular presence and physical existence. This tangibility helps consumers to first experience the product through the various senses, build a perception about the same and then decide to buy or not. However, in the case of services, the intangibility of the service causes the customer to buy the product and then decide whether it appealed to their senses or not. Branding services therefore becomes extremely tricky since there are very few ways of creating brand awareness and conveying the brand promise to the customers. Nevertheless, managing service awareness, though challenging can be achieved using physical evidence and media. Physical evidence refers to the material touch and feel factors that accompany the service and these are important in conveying the brand promise to the customers. Media on the other hand, is extremely useful in branding services by creating brand awareness.

Consumer Sector

Sound: Here i would like to quote an example by Martin Lindstorm of Coke. According to him, whenever a user open the website of Coca Cola - a sound of Fizz while opening Coke should be there. With that as these days people go to hypermarkets and buy in bulk, so they spend lot of time there. SO the experience out there is important. And the right music there can really help. Also these big FMCG giants occupy one section for their respective projects. So they can utilize the space. Sight: There are different dimensions here. First is the packaging which is normally said the 5th P of marketing. You know after HLL getting a tough competion from Regional players in India, because of packaging, started focusing a lot in this area. Looks definately matter. Other thing is retail displays/ merchandising. If the products are placed at the eye level, there is a high chance of consumers to but them in basket.

Contd..

Smell: As mentioned in point 1, with music, aroma of different products according to the company or the product categories can also be introduced. Then in case of Agarbattis, soaps, toothpaste as Puru mentioned, smell plays a major role. Also count deos and perfumes here.

Taste: It is more of a product attribute and is considered to be a tangible. Obviously Nestle Maggi Noodles should taste which will force buyers to refill their empty stock next time they visit retail.
Touch: There are some products like classbooks like ITC's Classmate for which the quality of the paper is very important. This also involve an angle of touch.