Strategic Brand Management

What is BRAND?
According to American Marketing Association a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitiors

Concept of Brand
a brand is an identity which gives a product its own individuality helps consumers to identify a particular product . They can find out what they want. It is a distinction. There are various products available to consumers in the market. Helps a particular product to stand exclusively among rival products. Basis of goodwill and reputation for producers. Brand can be name, trademark, logo or other symbol. Brand name can be seen but not pronounced. Brand name can be pronounced & utter able. Brand also says something about producers value. Brand translates functional & emotional benefits. Brand brings to mind certain attributes. Brand is a seller s promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits and service consistently to the buyers.

Qualities of a good brand name

It should be easy to pronounce, recognize and remember. It should suggest something about the product s benefits. It should be decent and should not carry poor meanings It should be registrable It should be distinctive. It should be suitable also for other items that may be added to the product line in future.

Difference between Product & Brand

According to Philip Kotler:
Product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. Brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions that differentiates it in some way from other product designed to satisfy the need.

What is Branding?
The means by which names, logos, symbols, trademarks, or product design endow goods or services with a recognizable presence and a set of associated values or expectations on the part of the consumer. It also means identifying your unique value proposition first, and repeating it amongst all communication you have both internally, so that it is engraved in the minds of all employees, as well as externally, so that it is made aware to the public.

Importance of Branding
a. For Consumers & Buyers:
a. Distinction & Recognition. Brand helps consumers to distinguish various items and recognize the particular item they need. b. Assignment of responsibility to product maker: Brands identify the source or maker of product and allow consumers to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or distributor. c. Proper Choice: Branding helps consumers to make a proper choice among alternatives. d. Standard Quality: Branding ensures standard quality to consumers. Producers take keen interest and pain to maintain standard quality. e. Status Value: Some brands have status value. f. Regularity: Branded items are regularly available in the market. Producers take pain to maintain regular supplies. g. Search cost is reduced

Importance of Branding
b. For Firms/Manufacturers/Marketers:
a. Legal Protection: Brand offers the firm the legal protection rights, giving legal title to the brand owner. b. Intellectual Property Rights: Brand gives intellectual rights ( trade mark, patent) c. Quality: Brand assures level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product again. d. Brand loyalty: As buyer become familiar with a product and realize its nature and characteristics to their satisfaction they become loyal to its brand. e. Basis of promotion: It is not possible to promote a product without a brand name. Various vehicle of promotion can be used only in brand. f. New product development: A producer of popular brand can add new items to the same brand. g. Profit earning: Brand helps producers and marketers to make profit as brand becomes increasingly popular, profit mounts rapidly.

How brands can reduce risk?

Types of risk:
a. Functional Risk: If the product doesn t perform upto expectation. b. Physical Risk: If product posses a threat to the physical well being or health of users. c. Financial Risk: If the product is not worth the price paid. d. Social Risk: If the product results embarrassment from others. e. Psychological risk: If product affects the mental well being of the users. f. Time Risk: The failure of the product result in an opportunity cost of finding another satisfactory product. Remedy to overcome above mentioned risk: To buy well- known product.

Challenges & Opportunities in Branding

1. Savvy Customers: ( Knowledgeable Customers) Consumers and business have become more experienced with marketing and more knowledgeable about how it works. What consumers want from product or services and brand has changed. Well developed media market has resulted in increased attention paid to the marketing action and motivations of companies.. 2. More Complex brand families and portfolios Development of new brands and products in part spurred by the rise in line and brand extension as a result brand name may be now identified with number of different products of varying degrees of similarity.

3. Increased Competition

Maturing markets More sophisticated and increasing competition Difficulty in differentiating Decreasing brand loyalty in many categories Increasing trade power

4. Fragmenting media coverage

Fragmentation of traditional advertising media and emergence of interactive and non traditional media, promotion and other communication alternatives. Marketers have become disenchanted with traditional advertising media especially wit network television.( Cost , commercial breaks have become more cluttered , growth in individual independent stations and channels, remote control)

5. Eroding traditional media effectiveness Marketers are spending more on non traditional forms of communication and new and emerging forms of communication. Interactive, electronic media, sports & event sponsorship, in-store activity, billboards, vehicles branding, product placement in movies. 6. Emerging new communication options 7. Increasing promotional expenditures

8. Increasing cost of product introduction and support

Cost of introducing a new product or supporting an existing product has increased rapidly making it difficult to match the investment and level of support that brands were able to receive in past. 9. Short term performance orientation Marketers find themselves responsible for meeting ambitious short-term profit targets because of financial market pressure.

10. Decreasing advertising expenditures Marketers may make decision with short term benefits but long term cost cut for example cutting advertising expenses. 11. Increasing Job turnover.

Types of Brand
1. Individual Brand
exclusive and separate brand for each product also known as exclusive brand gives separate identity to each product promotionally expensive, because each brand requires separate promotion

2.

Family Brand
single brand name given to a number of products in a category promotionally less expensive, single promotional exercise can cover all items in the product line easy to introduce new brands may sometimes prove hazardous, because disreputation of particular items in the product line under the brand jeopardizes the reputation of all other items

Types of Brand
3. Umbrella Brand
It is an all inclusive brand.Not only covers various items in product line but also other items beyond the product line Promtionally less expensive. Single promotion can cover all the items. Failure of product may adversely affect other products aswell.

4.

Combined Brand
It represents the combination of umbrella brand and individual brand. Mostly adopted by reputed companies

Types of Brand
5. House Brand
It is a brand name given by a business house. Distributors & large business houses buy products from manufacturers and attach their own brand names. Also known as distributors brand, middleman s brand or private brand. Manufacturers simply produce goods according to specifications provided by wholesalers and distributors. Some producers may not have the reputation required to promote and popularise their products, they may not have financial resources to undertake advertisement and promotion. Real manufacturers have to remain in the shade behind the screen. They can not come to light and earn reputation.

Types of Brand
6. Competition Brand
If a product has similar or identical quality and features and has the same price as compared to the other products it is known as competition brand.

7. Fighter Brand
There may be products with established market. A company may have to introduce a similar product. But it is not possible to compete. Therefore a low cost item of similar nature is produced and branded and offered for sale at lower price.

Brand hierarchy
A brand hierarchy is a means of summarizing the branding strategy by displaying the number and common distinctive brand elements across the firms product. Brand hierarchy tells us how consumers views the brands relationship in terms of chain of command: which brand stands above and which brand below our brand: which brand consumer consider most important when making a purchase. Brand hierarchy is useful means of graphically portraying a firm s branding strategy . Its based on realization that product can be branded in different ways depending on how many new and existing brand elements are used and are combined.

Corporate Brands: Corporate, umbrella are master brands that drives consumers purchase decision. An example could be Philips which drives all corporations consumers electronic sub brands. Sometimes a Corporate brand will be carried by physical brand personality such as Marlboro Man enhancing the accessibility of the brand and facilitating the expression of brand values. This structure normally provides overall support for product or service designed to garner trust to the consumer. Company or corporate brand is always present on the product or package

Family Brand: Family brand is defined as a brand that is used in more than one product but not necessarily the name of the company or corporation itself.. If a corporate brand is applied to range of product then it functions as family brand too. Individual Brand: A brand that has been restricted to essentially one product category although it may be used for several different product types within the category. Each Brand has a dominant position in its respective product category . Modifier is a means to designate a specific item or model type or particular version or configuration of the product.

Strategic Brand Management Process:

Brand management is consciously providing a product with an identity that is understood on all levels. This means both internally and externally and includes customers, employees, suppliers, and vendors. It involves the design and implementation of marketing programs and activities to build, measure, and manage brand equity.
Four Steps in Strategic Brand Management Process; 1. Identifying and establishing brand positioning & values. 2. Planning & implementing brand marketing programs 3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance 4. Growing & sustaining brand equity.

1. Identifying and establishing brand positioning & values.

As to what the brand is to represent & how it should be positioned. Act of designing the company s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer s mind. Primary goal is to be on TOM Its product's identity, its differentiating features, and its niche. It is the "What I am" about the product. Convincing consumer of the advantage of brand vis--vis competition.

2. Planning & implementing brand marketing programs:

Knowledge building process depends on three factors: Choosing brand elements Brand Element is visual or verbal information that serves to identify or differentiate a product. Brand names, Logos, Symbols, Characters, Packaging & Slogans Enhance brand awareness To establish strong favorable and unique brand associations Integration of marketing activities
Right choice of brand elements can make some contribution in building brand equity. Primary input depends upon marketing activities related to the brand. Product, Price, Channel new concept in marketing programs. Influencing Secondary Associations Third way to build brand equity is through secondary associations. Brand association may be created by linking brand to some secondary association. Secondary association could be factors such as company ( MNCs), region ( Scotland for scotch), Channel of distribution, through ingredient or co branding, endorsement, sponsorship, third party sources such as reviews, press etc

3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance

To understand the effects of brand marketing programs. Means to trace the value creation process for brands to better understand the financial impact of brand marketing expenditure & investments. Types Brand Audit Brand Value Chain- Marketing Research Efforts Brand Equity Management System

4. Growing & sustaining brand equity.

Maintaining and expanding the brand equity is challenging. Managing brand equity involves managing brands within the context of other brands as well as managing brands over multiple categories over time and across multiple market segments. Defining the branding strategy: To provide the general guidelines as to which brand element a from chooses to apply Two main tools are Brand Product matrix: Graphical representation of all brands and products sold by the firm Brand hierarchy: It reveals explicit ordering of brands by displaying the number and nature of common and distinctive brand components across the firm s product.

 Managing Brand Equity over time: Effective brand management requires taking long term view of marketing decisions. Long term perspective of brand management recognizes that any changes in the supporting marketing program for a brand by changing consumer knowledge, affect the success of future marketing programs. It s a proactive strategy Managing Brand Equity over Geographical Boundaries, Cultures & Market Segment Recognizing and accounting for different types of consumers in developing branding and marketing programs. Geographical boundaries, culture & market segment