Brand Equity

A Review of Brand Equity

As on 10th Feb 2010
 Y!OUNIFICATION – are you
You`ed?
• If you are noticing the adverts – then
you are You`ed.
• “It`s you, 100% you, power to you,
its who we are, and its you, the new
me” – Recent Tagline by Yahoo!.
• Marketers adopting to the strategy of
adopting this ‘You’ word with their
products and brand offering.
• Providing themes – larger than life.
 You are You`ed!
• Goal: to get more intimate with
consumers, allowing them to
express their person.
• For e.g. YAHOO! It`s Y!ou – A Campaign as
a uniting force, combines the
“World Outside” with “My World”
• Articulates a long term brand
promise.
 “You need a phone that gets YOU” - HTC
• YOU campaign, across 20 countries.
• Tagline: “You don`t need to get a
phone. You need a phone that gets
you”
• Establish an emotional relationship
with their phones.
 The “YOU” thing…
• Nokia also applying to YOU, “It`s not
just a phone, it`s who we are” – an
advert for its Nokia Supernova
series starring Priyanka Chopra.
• Videocon Mobile launched its mobiles
– “V is the new me”
• HP also had a campaign – “The
Computer is Personal Again”
• Dell, “Yours is Here”
 You-ing has got to lead somewhere…

• Should lead to somewhere,

otherwise these are just hollow-
lines.
• But Ogilvy has said that these are
just lines, calling it a shift in
marketing approach would be a
wrong thing.
• These concepts were earlier used too
– Insurance, car makers, tobacco
cos.
•
 You – A Power to You!
• These Campaigns create a illusion of
power with the customers – a
power to do what they want.
• Marketers don`t walk to customers,
rather they talk through their
brands.
• not only about handing over the
brand baton to the customer, but
delivering what is promised.
•
 Handling the Customers…
• Customer is getting smarter day by
day.
• Handling the customer will need
democratisation of some brand
assets – making a proposition as
brand philosophy, rather than a
marketing ploy.
• But one must have right and
appropriate product portfolio first.
 What do Customers Say??


“If a brand tells me I’m like 40



million other people, then I need to

find another place to hang out” – an
Active Online Commenter.
 e a nd
C a u s
l e 2 –
Arti c
Effe c t ?
 CAUSE & EFFECT – A Marketing
Strategy?
• Concentration upon cause & effect rather
than functional attributes.
• Lead India and Teach India Campaigns
by The Times of India Group
• Tata Tea Jaago Re Campaign
concentrating upon increasing
corruption.
• Idea Cellular attempts to talk about
environment and caste-ism and position
their brands as a means of ending it.
 Aman ki Asha
• Recent initiate by The Times of India Group,
Aman Ki Asha – aimed at bringing the two
nations together through – Cultural
Interactions, business seminars, music,
literarcy festivals and citizen meets.
• Thus such an initiative, helps the times
group to reach to people in a unique and
different manner.
• Filling up the vaccum for urban educated-
elite, who feel dis-engaged from politics
and nobody is listening to them.
 Tata Tea – Jaago Re…
• Brands using causes & effects, look
to replace the old campaigns.
• Tata Tea replaced its ‘Asli Taazgi’ line
with its ‘Jaago Re’ initiative…
• Jaago Re initiative: “Aaj se khilana
band aur pilana shuru” –
particularly targeted for youth.
•
 Idea Cellular – A Power to
change the society
• Brand name gave them a power to
change the society and the way
people live – a thing beyond
conventional communication.
• Chose a completely different route.
 For the times to come…
• Differentiated messaging – i.e.
justifying some particular association
or a cause.
• Brands Realise – the way the company
position its brand, by way of
association with certain initiatives and
causes.
• Thus besides the communication of
product attributes, association with
certain initiatives is also important.
 To conclude…
• Customers getting more & more
smarter, inducing companies to
change the way they deal with
them.
• Change is inevitable, hence
Younification is what companies are
focusing upon.
• Also, there is a need for association
with certain initiatives.
•
 …its not the ending
• But to make the promise is easy, to
keep is difficult, hence the
marketers need to stand by what
they communicate.
• They should deliver more than what
they promise.
• But amidst the many yous and mes
and westhere’s a rather troubling,
question in the consumer’s mind?