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CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Brands have been with us since ancient times. Perhaps the first unrecorded brand strategy

was when a potter put an imprint of his thumb in the wet clay. Or perhaps it was a toolmaker

who carved a distinguishing mark into the handle of a blade. Whatever the origin, the practice

of identifying the goods (and later, services) with the craftsman who created them gave early

consumers a means to distinguish the goods of one maker from those of another. This added

another dimension on which buying decisions could be made. In addition to considering the

price, availability, and functional attributes of the pot or the tool, buyers could take into

consideration their knowledge of the maker; his reputation for quality, for consistency, for

honesty; and his standing in the community. The craftsman soon came to realize his “maker’s

mark” added value to his wares—that it gave him intangible competitive advantages that

translated into a greater demand for his products, and that because of it, he could charge more

for his “marked” product than for one of unknown origin.

Eventually, the rise of merchants, brokers, and other resellers added another dimension to the

concept of the “brand,” making possible the divorce of the maker and the seller. The

distribution channel created another level of marketplace sophistication and transformed the

two-way relationship between maker and buyer into a three-way association of maker-seller-

buyer. The development of brands and the separation of maker, seller, and buyer are what

now distinguish the modern marketplace. One cannot exist without the other, and all are

mutually dependent.

The emerging marketplace of the 21st century is infinitely more complex than that of the

ancient potter or the toolmaker, or even the maker-seller-buyer structure that is in place
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today. However, the primary functions of the brand—that of differentiating one seller or one

vendor or one organization from another—remains largely unchanged. The ultimate goal of

branding is still to establish a powerful, relevant identity in the minds of customers in order to

encourage their initial purchases and nurture an ongoing relationship between the marketer

and the end user.

While brands and branding have been with us, in one form or another, since the dawn of

commercial enterprise, it is only within the past 20 years or so that manufacturing

organizations in North America have shown so much interest and perceived value in their

brands. While brands historically have been within the purview of manufacturers, today all

levels of distributors, intellectual property holders, value-adding organizations, and the like

are attempting to apply branding principles to distinguish themselves from competitors. Thus,

brands and branding have taken on broad new meanings in the emerging interactive

information age that we are entering.

Never before has so much emphasis been placed on the contributions of the brand in

establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage. For the most part, the modern

marketplace is characterized by intense price competition between products with few

distinguishing features, attributes, or distribution advantages. Or if such competitive product

or distribution advantages are developed, because of the transferability of technology, those

advantages quickly disappear. Thus, many marketers have seemingly moved beyond tangible

advantages to embrace the intangible but powerful advantages that can stem from brands and

branding. Thus, the brand becomes the latest focal point of competition, and the one area

where an organization can achieve meaningful and sustainable differentiation among target

customers and prospects.

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A fundamental assumption of this study is that a strong brand is far more than a recognizable

name, a memorable mark or logo, or a catchy tag line. In fact, a brand is also more than a

distinguishable product with practical physical advantages for the purchaser. While a brand is

crafted in part from these basic building blocks, it is the customer who attaches meaning to

these visible cues based on his or her own experience and perceptions. Ultimately, it is the

customer who determines the true value of the brand. This value is derived from his or her

knowledge of the brand’s functional and emotional attributes; from the associations he or she

makes about the product, its category, and its parent organization; and from the interactions

that customers have with the brand’s representatives, such as employees, franchisees, channel

customers, and other brand owners and users.

The term Brand usually refers to any name, symbol or any particular features of a commodity

or service that distinguishes it from other similar type of goods/services. In legal terms, a

brand is called Trademark, used to denote a firm or company as a whole. A brand which has

gained popularity among the mass or in a market, is said to acquire brand recognition.

This helps the product get identified even without the name of the company.

Brand Management and Brand Building

Brand Management is a method of creating strategies of marketing a particular brand. Once a

product or service has achieved a brand name, it is also necessary for the company not only to

sustain that position but also to expand its market.

Hence, brand management is that faction of a brand which manages the tangible and

intangible characteristics of the brand.

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Brand Building is often associated with brand management, in which the company enhances

its brand value through advertisements and promotions or by sponsoring events. In this

process, the company builds up value for brands in a way that satisfies the needs of the

consumers, so that he/she identifies the particular product by a unique property.

The modern organization is faced with the challenge of finding ways to invest its brand with

a rich and vibrant identity that resonates with customers and to align its internal operations,

including employees and channels, with the core promises it makes to external customers. In

addition, the modern organization must then support those identities and promises throughout

the value chain.

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CHAPTER 2: History

The word "brand" is derived from the Old Norse brandr meaning "to burn." It refers to the

practice of producers burning their mark (or brand) onto their products. The oldest generic

Brand, which is in continuous use in India since the Vedic period (ca. 1100 B.C.E to 500

B.C.E), is known as 'Chyawanprash', an herbal paste consumed for its purported health

benefits and attributed to a revered Rishi (seer) named Chyawan. This brand was developed

at Dhosi Hill in North India, on an extinct Volcanic Hill.

The Italians were among the first to use brands, in the form of watermarks on paper in the

1200s. Blind Stamps, hallmarks and silver maker's marks are all types of brand.

Although connected with the history of trademarks and including earlier examples which

could be deemed "protobrands" (such as the marketing puns of the "Vesuvinum" wine jars

found at Pompeii), brands in the field of mass-marketing originated in the 19th century with

the advent of packaged goods. Industrialization moved the production of many household

items, such as soap, from local communities to centralized factories. When shipping their

items, the factories would literally brand their logo or insignia on the barrels used, extending

the meaning of "brand" to that of trademark.

Bass & Company, the British brewery, claims their red triangle brand was the world's first

trademark. Lyle’s Golden Syrup makes a similar claim, having been named as Britain's oldest

brand, with its green and gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885.

Another example comes from Antiche Fornaci Giorgi in Italy, whose bricks are stamped or
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carved with the same proto-logo since 1731, as found in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican

City.

Cattle were branded long before this. The term "maverick," originally meaning an unbranded

calf, comes from Texas rancher Samuel Augustus Maverick whose neglected cattle often got

loose and was rounded up by his neighbors. The word spread among cowboys and came to be

applied to unbranded calves found out wandering alone. Even the signatures on paintings of

famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci can be viewed as an early branding tool.

Factories established during the Industrial Revolution introduced mass-produced goods and

needed to sell their products to a wider market, to customers previously familiar only with

locally-produced goods. It quickly became apparent that a generic package of soap had

difficulty competing with familiar, local products. The packaged goods manufacturers needed

to convince the market that the public could place just as much trust in the non-local product.

Pears Soap, Campbell soup, Coca-Cola, Juicy Fruit gum, Aunt Jemima, and Quaker Oats

were among the first products to be 'branded', in an effort to increase the consumer's

familiarity with their products. Many brands of that era, such as Uncle Ben's rice and

Kellogg's breakfast cereal furnish illustrations of the problem.

Around 1900, James Walter Thompson published a house ad explaining trademark

advertising. This was an early commercial explanation of what we now know as branding.

Companies soon adopted slogans, mascots, and jingles that began to appear on radio and
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early television. By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers

were developing relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological

sense.

From there, manufacturers quickly learned to build their brand's identity and personality (see

brand identity and brand personality), such as youthfulness, fun or luxury. This began the

practice we now know as "branding" today, where the consumers buy "the brand" instead of

the product. This trend continued to the 1980s, and is now quantified in concepts such as

brand value and brand equity. Naomi Klein has described this development as "brand equity

mania". In 1988, for example, Philip Morris purchased Kraft for six times what the company

was worth on paper; it was felt that what they really purchased was its brand name.

Marlboro Friday: April 2, 1993 - marked by some as the death of the brand - the day Philip

Morris declared that they were cutting the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 20% in order to

compete with bargain cigarettes. Marlboro cigarettes were noted at the time for their heavy

advertising campaigns and well-nuanced brand image. In response to the announcement Wall

Street stocks nose-dived for a large number of branded companies: Heinz, Coca Cola, Quaker

Oats, PepsiCo, Tide, Lysol. Many thought the event signaled the beginning of a trend towards

"brand blindness", questioning the power of "brand value."

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CHAPTER 3: THE EVOLVING NATURE OF BRANDING:

CONSUMER AND MANAGERIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Creating, developing, implementing and maintaining successful brands is frequently at the

heart of marketing strategy. Successful branding requires a strategic perspective whereby

strong brand concepts are presented and communicated to well-targeted segments resulting in

favorable brand images which reflect the brand's identity (Gardner and Levy 1955, Reynolds

and Gutman 1984, Kapferer 1997).

One could look at the processes involved in successful branding from two perspectives--

those under the control of management (e.g. developing a vision and brand values) and those

controlled by consumers (e.g. forming associations, images and perceiving usage situations).

There is a sequential process interlinking brand managers with brand consumers in so far as

activities and information from the corporate side feeds into the consumer market, initiating a

decoding, interpretive and responding process. This is funneled back into the corporation,

ready for studying and fine tuning of brand strategy. This process has been modeled by de

Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley (1997) and is shown in Appendix A. Both processes must

synchronize for the corporation to achieve the goals it sets for its brands. While each of these

processes have been researched and written about, the relationship between them has seldom

been explicitly discussed in the literature. It is crucial that academics and practitioners have a

good understanding of the relationship between these two processes to successfully meet the

challenges of the increasingly hostile brand environment.

One aim of this review is to examine the literature about brand concepts and brand images in

order to explicate the relationship of brand image formation in consumers' minds with the
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brand concept developments made explicit in the brand identity plans of management.

Successful brand management requires both an understanding of how the brand strategy is

implemented and communicated to consumers and how consumers respond to this. Evidence

is mounting of the nature of brands and branding changing over time (Goodyear 1996;

Kapferer 1997; Young & Rubicam 1994). Tracing the processes that shape the future nature

of brands and brand activities helps management better plan for brand growth.

A second aim of this review is to examine the dynamic nature of brands in terms of changing

brand strategy and increasing consumer sophistication. Today, we read that brand loyalty is

declining, that brands no longer represent added value and that the importance of brands is

being questioned. Thus, it becomes imperative to understand the brand concept and image

creation processes more thoroughly in order to help brands thrive.

We open this paper by noting that managers and consumers have evolving goals for brands

and that one model which clarifies how the branding process might evolve is Goodyear's

(1996) six phase model. Our paper is then structured to review each of these progressive

stages and for each one we explore how consumer behavior theory can explain consumers'

growing brand appreciation and the changing approaches to brand management. As we

progress through the different phases, we draw on other models to gain further insights. We

conclude by indicating the value of this time driven process to management and identify areas

for further research.

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CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST FOUR STAGES OF CLASSICAL

MARKETING

Stage 1: Unbranded Goods

In developed countries this stage is usually by-passed but has more relevance to developing

economies. Exceptions might be commodity goods or cases where consumers are unwilling

to make brand distinctions -- for example, toothpicks or clothes pins. Even in economies

where brands are not common (for example the former USSR) this stage can be short lived as

consumers use surrogate cues to differentiate between supposedly unbranded goods. While a

Russian consumer may not have the benefit of brand names to simplify the selection process

between different tires, they learn that the codes stamped onto tires signify different factories

and from experience look for particular codes. Typically this is a period when demand

exceeds supply or Government central planners decide what degree of choice should be

allowed. In this phase, many organizations adopt the attitude that there is little need for

selling effort. In Western economies, the industrial revolution changed this because supply

began to exceed demand and producers had to learn to sell their goods. In this stage the goal

of the manufacturer is simply to sell goods and the consumer to acquire some of the limited

goods. The primary goal of consumers is to obtain the necessary goods and the goal of

management is to produce and distribute the good.

In this stage, the consumer’s memory network consists primarily of a node identifying the

product category. Information about the product is generally limted to product uses. For

example, all soap may be thought of as used for washing. Most market economies have

moved well beyond this stage, but it is included for completeness and to distinguish the first

efforts of management at differentiating their brand(s) which occur in Stage 2. In many

primitive economies and on occasion when the economic system is disrupted by war or strife,
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stage 1 exists. In the late 1970s in the U.S. and much of Europe, retailers introduced generic

goods which were positioned as a return to this stage through the elimination of frills such as

branding, advertising, etc. Within five years, however, consumers had ceased to purchase

generics—presumably because they did not provide good value to the consumer. This is

evidence that managers should attempt to move their new products and brands from stage 1

to stage 2 as quickly as possible. In stage 1, the manager is building primary demand for the

product catgory; whereas in stage 2, he/she is beginning to build selective demand for the

brand where returns to the brand are much higher.

Stage 2: Brands as Reference

In this stage, the goals of brand management are to position the brand as having unique

functional benefits, i.e. to identify the brand's functional benefits with a distinctive name

thereby differentiating it from other brands (Copeland 1923; Jones 1986; Brown 1992).

Doing so provides the firm and management several benefits. By taking time to give a brand

an appropriate and distinctive brand name, the brand name can be protected through

trademark registration, giving it legal protection against imitators and denoting the source of

ownership (Fogg 1998). Indeed, the 1960 American Marketing Association definition of a

brand is very much akin to the brand as reference, defining it as "a term, symbol or design....

intended to identify the goods or services of one seller...and to differentiate them from those

of competitors". Remnants of this perception of the function of brands still dominate

marketing textbooks (eg Kotler and Armstrong, 1996).

In the early stages of the product life cycle, competitive pressures lead management to

identify and differentiate brands in order to establish a competitive advantage with the hope

that superiority of the brand will lead to brand preference. Differentiation is most readily

achieved by stressing product attributes (functionality) because consumers may still be

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learning about the product. This is the beginning of secondary demand stimulation.

Consumers can now improve product/brand selection because they are able to identify brands

and to distinguish between them (Hoyer and Brown 1990). Identification requires only that

the consumer be aware of the brand name; differentiation requires more of the consumer, e.g.

that they acquire some knowledge about the brand.

The first type of knowledge that consumers might want is product-related information such as

superiority of product attributes or quality. Use of functional characteristics enables

consumers to rapidly categorize the brand in their mental sets. In particular, consistent quality

is a key to successful branding. A variety of authors stress that the brand is a guarantee to the

potential customer.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consistent quality was an extremely

important attribute to consumers who lived in a world where the quality of goods might be

low or fluctuating; where government inspection and control of goods had not begun and

where self-policing of industries was non-extant. Late-twentieth-century consumers have

come to take consistent quality for granted. This does not imply that consumers are not

interested in quality; indeed many products and brands from cars to bread come in varying

quality ranges. The consumer can choose the quality level that suits their budget and personal

wants. But they no longer must worry about fluctuations across products and brands sold at

the same price and presumably quality levels. Thus, quality has become a necessary, but not

sufficient condition for purchase. The determinant attributes of today's consumers are quite

different. Determinant attributes are those product and/or brand characteristics that actually

determine which brand the consumer buys. These could be style, color or features such

pouring spouts which meet the individual’s personal and social goals.

One interpretation of brands is that they are values in consumers' minds. These are not solely

functional values. One of the challenges a brand faces at this stage is that it might become
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overly dependent on utilitarian values that solely stem from the product's features. Planning

for the future needs to ensure that emotional values are added; otherwise the distinction

between the product and brand becomes blurred. In a market with experienced consumers

some might question whether the brand adds enough value to be distinguishable from the

basic product .

In this stage, consumers are linking various brand nodes to the product category in memory

and expanding the network associated with each brand. These networks are mostly

categorical in nature in that they differentiate brands primarily on physical attributes. This

process is described by Keller (1993) who conceptualizes brand knowledge as having two

components: brand awareness and brand image. Awareness consists of brand recall and

recognition. The first component of brand knowledge is types of brand associations which

consist of attributes, benefits and attitudes. In this stage, the consumer learns about the

attributes, some of the benefits and begins to form attitudes. The consumer may also form a

few favorable and some unique associations with the brand.

These relatively simple networks enable consumers to make product selections quickly and to

avoid some elements of perceived risk. Each brand represents a chunk of information and

each chunk of information are constructed by consumers to avoid explicitly multiple

attributes of each brand on purchase occasions. Studies by Jacoby et. al. indicate that

consumers faced with selection decisions find the brand name to be the most useful piece of

information in making a selection. When offered a choice of brand name, price, or other

product attribute information, respondents chose brand name first and price second. At this

point, brands have become shorthand devices created by consumers to enable them to make

product selections quickly, efficiently and on the basis of relevant information. In short, the

brand name alone has become a decision-making heuristic.

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It should be noted that Jacoby’s research was conducted in the U.S. and involved mostly

decisions involving convenience goods. A change in either cultural context or type of product

could result in the application of different and/or moreelaborate decision-making rules. For

example, purchase of cars would involve considerations other than just the brand name; price

might become particularly important. In other cultures, brands might be less important than

dealing with a preferred retailer.

Brand names are also the most prized means of avoiding perceived risk (Roselius 1971). As

studies have shown, information seeking by consumers enables them to avoid the negative

attributes of a product or negative outcomes associated with its. Ivory's purity is positive (an

approach attribute) because it avoids a negative condition--abrading of skin caused by other

harsh soaps. Further, the elements of perceived risk that consumers are most likely to avoid at

this stage are related directly to the product--its functionality (does it work), health risk (will

it cause me harm) and time (loss of time incurred because product does not work)(Jacoby and

Kaplan 1972).

The brand's meaning or value to the consumer. Rokeach (1973) defines values as follows:

"A value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or state of

existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode

of conduct or end state of existence. (p. 5)"

Rokeach’s focus was on values to the individual in general rather than in the consumption

context. One writer who has addressed consumption values specifically is Richard Pollay.

According to Pollay (1983), values are the properties of objects, individuals, or communities

that make them good, worthy, or respectable. Further, according to Rokeach (1973),

individuals form value systems which are "enduring organizations of ... end states of

existence along a continuum of relative importance". Thus, the bottom row in Chart 2B refers

to the meaning that consumers attach to brands as they learn about them.
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As learning increases, the consumer draws the brand closer by creating a relationship

between the brand and his or herself. After asking what Ivory is, consumers want to know

"What can it do for me? Will it make my skin soft?" Meaning explains why consumers would

buy a brand and initiates a relationship between the consumer and the brand. A product may

be used by everyone; whereas a particular brand may be identified with by the consumer as

"mine". Not all consumers will find the identical value and meaning in a brand.

Because the focus of marketers in this stage is predominantly on the functional capabilities of

the product or service, the emphasis is on communicating instrumental values to consumers.

Instrumental values consist of utilitarian or functional values and enjoyment. Utilitarian value

is based on the economic value of products and their usefulness, i.e. their ability to enable the

consumer to affect and control the environment (Prentice 1987). Enjoyment refers to the

brand's ability to provide the consumer with pleasure or enable him or her to engage in an

enjoyable activity. Smoking provides a good example of the difference in functional and

enjoyment values. The Camel ad mentioned earlier noted that Camels do not bite or parch.

For smokers, this means that they will not experience an overly hot, dry taste -- this is

functional value. Smoking cigarettes is also a matter of enjoyment as it may enable one to

take a moment from work and relax or it could provide a social outlet to smoke with one’s

friends.

Recently, the importance of enjoyment—usually referred to as experiential—has received

more emphasis. Authors such as Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) contend that many

consumption experiences involve fantasies, feeling and fun and that these three Fs are of vital

importance in explaining the purchase decision. At even the most basic level of the value

structure, consumers choose brands that satisfy their utilitarian value and which provide

enjoyment as well.
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To date, much of the research in this area has attempted to classify products rather than

brands according to their values to the consumer. One exception to this is a study by Sheth,

Newman and Gross (1991) which examined the impact values have on motivations. They

studied which types of values affect decisions made by smokers and nonsmokers. Their

results indicate that the instrumental value of goods is most useful in determining whether to

use the product and the form of the product to use. Functional value was most effective in

determining the form of product to use, i.e. filtered or non-filtered cigarettes. On the other

hand, enjoyment (the production of emotional states) was most effective in making the "to

smoke or not to smoke" decision. Smoking produced enjoyment by eliminating the anger or

anxiety that individuals experienced when they didn't smoke. Non-smokers experienced

feelings of confidence and intelligence from not smoking.

In summary, in stage 2, most marketing effort concentrates on developing and enhancing

functional characteristics of the brand and communicating these to consumers. This, in turn,

enables consumers to identify and distinguish the brand from the competition and also acts as

a guarantee of consistent quality. Thus, marketers are engaging in a brand positioning process

defined by Ries and Trout (1981) which builds perception of the brand vis-a-vis competitive

brands.

As managers exhaust the possibilities for differentiation based on product attributes, they

frequently turn to the use of emotional values. An example of this strategy is Harley

Davidson which was positioned in the first fifty years of its life on engineering developments,

the inclusion of new features and racing prowess. In the last twenty-five years of the

twentieth century, H-D management built an exceptionally strong consumer franchise on the

basis of emotion—freedom and American pride. Eventually, Harley turned this into a

lifestyle segmentation which shifted it to Stage 4 of the branding process. Honda, however,

still stresses the good functional value of its motorcycles.

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Consumer effort concentrates on learning about the functional capabilities of brands by

building memory networks and constructing simple brand images. These are used to make

brand selections quickly and to avoid perceived product risk. The values of the brands at this

stage are primarily instrumental and enable consumers to decide whether or not to use the

brand.

Stage 3: Brands as Personality

By stage 3, consumers are faced with a variety of brands--all of which make functional

promises. But advances in technology make it difficult to sustain a functional advantage

(Lambin 1997) with the result that brands competing in the same category have become

functionally more similar. To differentiate their brands, marketers focus on incorporating

emotional values into their brands, portraying this through the metaphor of brand personality.

They select brand personalities consonant with the emotional values of the brand and the

target consumers' lifestyle so that consumer and brand personalities are brought into

alignment.

From a social integrationist perspective, individuals form self-concepts which are one's

perceptions of the responses of others to one's self (Solomon, 1983) and use these self-

concepts to guide purchase behavior. For example, a consumer might buy any product purely

for its functional benefits (water to satisfy thirst) or to send social, role and lifestyle signals to

others (water with a twist of lemon to display sophistication). Ivory is the pure soap that

caring mothers use to protect their babies' precious, soft skin. When the brand is used to

communicate identity, it is no longer remote from the individual; instead it comes closer to

the consumer and a relationship forms between the two (Belk, 1988).
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Because of their ability to bolster, enhance or give definition to self-concepts (Solomon,

1983), material objects are also the props one needs to play various roles such as teacher,

sports enthusiast or business person (Goffman, 1959). Socialization processes occur within

cultures, groups and other social institutions to teach individuals the appropriate values and

behavior. Families, reference groups and peers are filters that can destroy or reinforce

marketer-controlled information aimed at linking the individual’s self-concept and the brand

image. Consistent learning occurs because all of a society’s members share a common set of

symbolic meanings and develop highly similar brand images.

Bearden and Etzel (1982) shed light on the ability of reference groups to affect the

importance of the brand image among types of goods. In their study, goods were divided into

luxuries and necessities and social group influences were hypothesized to affect brand

decisions through the locus of where a product was used – in private or public. Private goods

are items such as mattresses that are not viewed by others and are, thus, less susceptible to

social influences; whereas public goods such as golf clubs and televisions may be very

susceptible to social influences. Consequently, brands are more important for public goods

than private goods.

An excellent example of a relatively new brand personality that has caused a sensation is Joe

Camel. In order to increase market share, brand management at RJ Reynolds Tobacco created

a personality for a brand that had languished since its glory days in the 1940s and 1950s.

Playing off the name of the cigarette, they created Joe Camel—an ultra-hip and cool persona.

Noticeably, this personality change was unaccompanied by changes in the physical product.

The result has been a surge in Camel sales and popularity which perfectly illustrates the

importance and potential success of brand personalities. Done well, they can not only create a

strong bond with the consumers, but also provide the manufacturer with a competitive

advantage that others cannot duplicate. There will be only one Joe Camel.
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There are two issues in building brand personalities. The first is how to create the personality

and the second is how to measure it. With regard to the first, brand personalities are heavily

built by advertising, using advertising characters, slogans, packaging, user imagery, and other

elements of the marketing mix. To the imagery created by marketers, consumers add new

benefits and attitudes as part of their brand knowledge (Keller, 1993). Thus, the brand

personality encompasses real product attributes, as well as marketer-created images and

benefits that are supplemented by consumer supplied images, attitudes and beliefs.

Until recently, measuring brand personalities was difficult due to the lack of a reliable, valid

and generalizable scale. In the past, researchers relied on ad hoc scales and instruments taken

from personality psychology that are not validated for specific products or brands.(Aaker,

1997) To correct this situation, Aaker conducted an extensive study in which 631 subjects

rated 37 brands on 114 personality traits (Aaker, 1997). The results of her analysis revealed

five major dimensions of brand personality, each of which has two or more personality traits

associated with it. The five dimensions are: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication

and ruggedness. Three of these are consistent with the "Big Five" human personality

dimensions (Norman, 1963). Sophistication and ruggedness emerge for brands but are not

represented in human personality theory. Aaker explains that sophistication and ruggedness

may be attributes that are desired, but not necessarily possessed. One might assume that they

are associated with ideal selves rather than actual selves.

In the stage of brand as personality, the brand has become more than the product (Southgate

1994). It represents values which go beyond the functional ones of its product form to act as

an efficient communicator of the personality of the owner (Lanon 1993). Use of the brand

confers desired qualities to the user; mothers who use Ivory care for their babies. They are

loving and gentle—just like Ivory.

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The values of the brand change from instrumental to symbolic and facilitate expression of

self or help people represent their past history. The ability of possession to confer symbolic

meaning has been borne out by a long stream of research. For example, possessions enable

individuals to express themselves and their past; personal values or religious beliefs (Belk,

1992); ethnic identity (Mehta and Belk, 1991); one's competence; social power and status

(Furby, 1978) and differentiation of one's self from others.

A study by Belk and Pollay indicates that meaning of possessions changes over time (Belk

and Pollay, 1985). They found that new products are advertised for their

instructional/functional properties, and that over time advertising shifts increasing the appeal

to luxury (symbolic meaning) and pleasure (experiential value). The increasing use of

symbolic and experiential values coincides with Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton’s

notion that using material possessions can facilitate living the good life. (Belk and Pollay,

1985)

The symbolic function of possessions is explained by social constructionism in which

possessions are construed to be socially shared symbols of identity (Dittmar, 1992). Because

all individuals share in a process of transmitting, reproducing and transforming the social

meaning of objects (p. 68), consumer become the transmitters, creators and recipients of the

meaning of objects. As such, they function as transformers of social meanings. Consumers

use their knowledge to examine the possessions of others for the purpose of attributing

various attributes to them. In addition, consumers engage in a reflexive process whereby they

analyze others' reactions to them in order to determine what meaning others have ascribed to

them as a consequence of examining their possessions (Dittmar, p. 86). Thus, identity is

established through the shifting perceptions and reflections of the individual by him or herself

and others.

Identity is not inferred from ownership of one or a few possessions, rather:

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"Identity is significantly affected by an evaluation of the total symbolic significance

of one's own possessions. Instead of isolated artifacts with sharply delineated

meanings, they form a sign-complex -- a symbolic Gestalt -- of identity."

From a marketing perspective, Dittmar's Gestalt describes lifestyle. By our lifestyle we are

known to others so that their reactions to us can either reinforce our lifestyle or stimulate use

to change if the reflection is not what we desired.

Goods are also cultural co-ordinates. McCracken describes the culturally constituted world as

the plane of everyday experience "in which the phenomenal world presents itself to the

individual's senses fully shaped and constituted by the beliefs and assumptions of his/her

culture" (McCracken, 1986, p. 71). Cultural categories are the "coordinates of meaning" and

represent the basic distinctions of the phenomenal world such as race, gender, social class,

occupation, etc. Brands become a means of assigning consumers to categories. The affluent

drive Rolls Royce and the less affluent drive Fords. In addition, cultural principles are the

ideas or values that determine how goods are organized in consumers' minds, evaluated and

constructed. Success is associated with owning a Mercedes Benz and failure with an old,

dilapidated Ford.

Value as defined by the marketer is communicated through many of the same cues used to

communicate the brand. For example, American Express encodes a great deal of difference in

meaning between its platinum, gold and green cards. The holder of a platinum card must be

very affluent and, hence, very successful, compared to the holder of a green card. This

process works successfully only if the "viewer" responds to the holder with the appropriate

respect. If not, American Express has failed to establish sufficient value and meaning in their

cards to attract potential users, and thus, consumers might as well use another, less expensive
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card. In popular terms, American Express has failed to create sufficient value (real and

symbolic) to justify the higher cost of their card. Their ability to do so is constrained by the

willingness of consumers to create, re-interpret, modify, alter and respect the meaning of the

brand.

Thus, the notion that products and brands have symbolic properties which are used by

individuals to convey meaning exists at a broad cultural level, at the group level through

shared social meanings and at the individual level in the form of self-concepts and roles.

Confusion occurs when individuals from one social system encounter others from a different

social system or when they are inexperienced with a role. In either case as they become more

sophisticated, their ability to choose the brands appropriate for their self-concepts and

lifestyle improve as does their integration into the appropriate groups. An example of this is

the use of briefcases in the business world. Use of a briefcase ordinarily communicates that

one is a business person. Within the corporate structure, however, there can be vast

differences in the brands of briefcases used. While only the CEO and top executives carry

Dunhill briefcases, the level below them uses Hartmann briefcases and at the bottom level,

the newly hired managerial trainee may use a canvas sided attaché case from Lands’ End.

Use of the wrong briefcase can be demeaning (use of the Lands’ End attaché instead of the

Hartmann) or presumptuous (use of the Hartman instead of the Lands’ End). Either situation

will affect the way that the individual is viewed and evaluated.

Stage 3 requires that management pay constant attention to the market to create the right

personality for the brand and to update it when needed. An example of a firm with a strong

personality for their brand (even iconic properties for the brand) is Levi Strauss. From the

1960s through the 1980s, Levi was the brand of jeans in the U.S. market. The company,

however, failed to constantly change the perception of Levi jeans with succeeding teen-age

markets so that their former 48% share of market has fallen to 29%. Why? Today’s youth
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thinks of Levis as their dad’s (and mom’s) jeans. The "cool" jeans of the hippies and boomers

have become staid, stale and old. Levis is scrambling to update their image for the jean-

wearing, youth market. The brand’s personality must constantly change to keep up with

constantly shifting consumer self-images and expression.

In Stage 3, marketers begin giving brands personalities that incorporate human characteristics

and values so that the brand becomes a means of expressing one’s identity and self. Through

a complex process in which consumers use shared social meanings, they constantly

transform, alter, receive and reflect brand images and meanings to express self, lifestyle,

group membership, status and values such as success. In this process, consumers are making

the brand their own through their interpretation of it. As a result, they form relationships with

brands. Thus, the marketer initiates the process through advertising and other marketing

elements and consumers respond with their own interpretations which the firm may then

reinterpret. This process can continue indefinitely in order to keep the brand fresh.

Stage 4: Brand as Icon

In the Brand as icon stage, the meaning of various brands has become so widely accepted that

the brand can be used to stand for something beyond itself; in short, it has become a symbol.

At this point Goodyear (1996) believes consumers "own the brand", because they understand

and use its symbolic properties. In stages one and two, the brand was primarily owned by the

manufacturer who understood its functional capabilities and emotional values better than

consumers. With greater experience and much more learning about brands, consumers feel so

much closer to brands that the brand can be said to reside with them (Gordon 1991). Thus

consumers know that Nike is winning; that Marlboro represents independence; Camel is

"coolness"; and that Rolls Royce is the epitome of luxury, quality and status. The brand’s
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image is strong enough to stand on its own in signifying values and consumers use it for that

purpose. For example, the term "Rolls Royce" might be used to describe any object as being

at the top of its class which means that consumers feel comfortable describing Godiva

Chocolates as the "Rolls Royce of chocolates".

The fourth stage usually results from management’s extensive and continued use of the same

value for long periods of time. The slogan, "Engineered like no other car in the world" has

successfully reinforced the perception of Mercedes Benz quality for decades, just as Coca-

Cola has been the brand that refreshes. Management has chosen to associate the brand with a

particular value and usually extended that perception of the brand around the globe. Thus, the

chosen symbol (whether quality, prestige, or "coolness") must be of value to consumers

around the world to be successful.

To reinforce the symbolism, brands frequently use some physical symbol to denote the brand.

Mercedes has used the same hood ornament (star in a circle) for decades; Marlborough its red

and white packaging; Mack trucks its bulldog; Harley Davidson an eagle; and Coca Cola its

hourglass bottle. These icons become shorthand means of identifying symbolic brands no

matter what the local language.

Entry into stage five marks the transition from classical marketing to postmodern marketing

as defined by Brown (1995). This necessitates major changes on the part of both consumers

and management.

On the demand side, consumers are far more sophisticated, have a greater experience of a

broader array of brands and have become computer as well as market literate with the result

that communication becomes less structured, more interactive and better suited to answering

individual queries (Barwise, 1997). More efficient and flexible electronic data capture

enables marketers to gain a deeper appreciation of small groups of consumers" buying

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behavior, offering the opportunity for a new set of relationships to be forged between

consumers and brands. As this occurs, some consumers become less receptive to mass market

communication and demand more open and specific communication. Growing penetration of

the Internet allows more consumers to find out what they want to know about brands, rather

than what marketers want to say (Mitchell, 1997). These are the vigilante consumers

described by Faith Popcorn (Popcorn, 1992). They are interested in more than the brand.

They hold corporations accountable for individual brand actions, boycott any transgressor’s

brand portfolio and use the new communication channels to broadcast such wrong doings to

other consumers. Increasing consumer cynicism demands that senior management formulate

clear views about the values their firm adheres to and ensure that everything their firm does

ties into these values.

On the supply side, markets are likely to become more splintered, as needs-based

segmentation becomes more common (Piercy, 1997). The response is a greater number of

brands designed to meet the needs of smaller and smaller segments. Rather than support an

array of individual brands, management is shifting toward greater use of corporate branding

(de Chernatony, 1996) in order to provide an umbrella of respect for the firm’s portfolio of

brands. Through better satisfaction of particular need states, brands shift more toward

becoming the consumer’s friend.

Corporate branding is not the extent of the change; the fundamental nature of the brand is

being reconceived. No longer to managers think of only the physical product; rather they

think of products plus services (e.g. not just a car brand, but a car brand with regular

maintenance servicing occurring because of a series of communications directed from the

company to individual consumers). The era of the service industry has arrived (Bateson,

1995) which has a major impact on how firms create value for their customers. It is the

service component that enhances the firm's ability to create value. In the past, bank tellers
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created value by handling transactions and being pleasant and personable to customers. In an

era of ATMs, value in the eyes of consumers has changed. Consumers become part of the

value creation process by depositing funds, paying their own bills and obtaining cash

themselves. Banks make this possible through provision of the ATM, but it is the customer

who handles the transactions and decides when the transaction will take place. The growth of

telephone banking (e.g. Nationsbank, First Direct) reflects the way consumers are prepared to

take more responsibility for the tasks historically undertaken by tellers and to have greater

control over their financial affairs. Through ATMs, on-line services and telephone banking,

banks have created a more relevant value to consumers.

As the company becomes the brand, communication must expand to present the same

message at all of the points of contact. Numerous stakeholders interact with different parts of

the firm. Any individual could be a consumer of the brand, a media reporter about the

company, an owner of the brand through stock purchase or a regulator of the company in an

elected, regulatory capacity. With the opening of the firm, consumers are presented with

more, and diverse, points of contact with the firm and they can choose which will be the most

appropriate contact point for their particular concern (Normann and Ramirez, 1993). As

Normann and Ramirez express it, a firm such as "IKEA is not so much a retailer as the

central star in a constellation of services, goods, design, management, support, and even

entertainment." Consumers have grown familiar with the IKEA concept of value,

environmentalism and feel comfortable dealing with this firm. The personality of IKEA is

communicated through staff and all communication points with the consumer, whether

advertising, internet sites or public relations activities. The company must create a continuing

dialogue with customers in all of their potential roles.

E-commerce facilitates this two-way communication and building of information systems.

Sites such as Amazon can assess reader interests and send personally tailored messages of
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new offerings to individuals. By tracking orders, Amazon is able to determine how successful

their communications have been. And consumers can respond with book reviews, ratings of

books and other comments about books. In a recent study of the internet, Eighmey and

McCord (1998) determined which factors consumers use to evaluate web sites. Confirming

previous communication research, they found that entertainment value, personal relevance

and information involvement were important. Unlike previous research on non-electronic

media, they found that personal involvement and continuing relationship were important

factors in internet communication.

Few firms recognize the truth of this more than Ritz Carlton and Disney. Ritz Carlton Hotels

has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Malcolm Baldridge Award for

Quality, for its meticulous devotion to quality and its goal of near perfect service. What

differentiates Ritz Carlton Hotels from other hotels is its emphasis on employee selection,

training and empowerment. In an industry characterized by low pay and high turnover, Ritz

Carlton carefully selects employees (1 out of every 10 applicants), trains them for days before

they begin work (even to what to say to guests) and empowers them to rectify a situation on

the spot so long as it does not cost Ritz Carlton over $2,000. Every employee greets

customers appropriately, maintains the Ritz Carlton appearance in dress and behavior and

communicates a gracious, warm and immediate response to customer needs. Disney is

notorious for training all personnel in order to present a flawless performance to delight,

entertain and exceed the expectations of the customer. One is a relatively expensive service,

but the other is within the means of nearly all consumers.

By increasing the extent and importance of internal communications, staff will better

understand their role in reinforcing a consistent brand identity, will feel more committed

(Buchanan and Huczynski 1997) and the external communications of the corporation should

be more consistent. It is increasingly important that the same message be communicated to all
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stakeholders. No longer can firms claim to be environmentally concerned while being

pursued by Greenpeace. In the brand as company stage, actions and words must be

consistent. The same message must go to all publics whether consumers, media, government

or activist groups.

Through interactivity, consumer learning becomes more active, effective and longer lasting

than passive learning (Krugman, 1965). Active learning requires central rather than

peripheral processing of information about the company (Peter and Olsen, 1994). The result

is more knowledge about the brand, more extensive network(s) in long term memory, more

strongly defined nodes of knowledge, and more accessible information. Because of central

processing on a number of occasions, the information has more value for the consumer and is

less likely to be forgotten.

In this stage, extending brands becomes more difficult. Thanks to umbrella branding, the

extension has an impact on the perception of the firm as well as the individual brand. A

number of studies have demonstrated that extensions can have both positive and negative

effects on existing brands. The result can be a dilution of brand meaning or even an

inconsistency of meanings as values incorporated into the brand can change. Thus, it is

critical that all stakeholders receive the same message.

In summary, this stage demands a re-thinking of the brand to include the service element, a

re-structuring of communications at all the diverse points of contact that occur between

stakeholders and the firm and careful selection and training of staff about the brand.

Management must explicitly consider what values they will communicate, how they can

include the consumer in the creation of added value and how they can maintain consistency

of message. All of this begins with the desire of consumers to become more involved and the

desire to form a closer relationship with brands and their firms.

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CHAPTER 5: Components- Branding Strategy.

Tie your brand in your business Model

Let's clear up the biggest misconception about brand strategy right now. Your brand is not

your product, your logo, your website, or your name. It’s what your customers perceive

about you, and how you make them feel. Chances are you're not the only company out there

selling your product or service. Figure out what your company does best beyond what you

sell, and make it a part of your brand strategy.

For example, Apple doesn’t just sell computers and music equipment; it sells well-designed

products that are easy to use. Are they the best computers on the market? No. (Well, I guess

that depends on what side of the Mac-PC debate you're on.) But Apple sells a lot of them at

twice the price because of the way Apple positions its brand in the market. This goes beyond

your product itself -- it's about selling the problem you are solving.

Don’t claim to solve generic problems; your customers have specific problems. Play the word

game. Volvo = safe; Coke = refreshing; Disney = magic; What does your brand equal? You

always knew Bond was going to get out of a pickle, but you wanted to see how because he did

it with resourcefulness and flair. Decide which aspect is the most important about your

product or service, and make it a part of every aspect of your brand communication.

Be Consistent

Now that you have decided your key brand attributes, make sure it is clear and understood

through all your communications -- especially inside your own company. Don’t talk about

things that don’t relate to or enhance your brand. Added a new photo to Facebook? What
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does it mean for your company? Does it align with your message, or was it just something

funny that would, frankly, confuse your audience? If it doesn’t tie back to your brand's

message, you will have trouble differentiating yourself from competitors.

To reinforce the message, in your company meetings, over coffee or lunch, or just chatting at

your desk, encourage the feelings you want your brand to evoke in customers and

your employees. When employees start to talk the talk and walk the walk -- especially those

on the front lines -- the messaging is consistently reinforced with leads and customers, too.

You might be thinking, “Volvo doesn’t say safety, safety, safety all the time, though.” But

listen to how Volvo describes its cars and how long they last, as well as how it describes

features. It all ties back to Volvo's underlying brand theme of safety, and customers know

what they will get when they buy that product.

Connect Emotionally

Customers can either think rationally about your product or service, or they can think

emotionally about it. 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…open road…tough.” It’s the

way the brand makes you feel. You feel like you belong, like you're part of a larger group

that's more tight-knit than just a bunch of motorcycle riders. Where do you think HOG came

from? Harley Owners Group.

Find a way to connect to your customers on a deeper level. Do you give them peace of mind?

Make them feel like part of the family? Do you make life easier? Connect with your
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customers on this point before and after a sale. Answer their questions and concerns on social

media. A little goes a long way. Batman doesn’t have any real superpowers, but whenever

that signal lights up the sky, people trust that he will be there -- because he always is.

Reward and Cultivate

If you already have people that love you, your company, and your brand, don’t 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, but great brands also tend to give more than

that. Write them a personalized letter. Do you have some extra special swag? Sent it to them.

Ask them to write a review, and feature them prominently on your website. For example,

Porsche reached 1 million Facebook fans quicker than any other automotive brand, so to

thank its fans, Porsche made a wraparound for its GT3 Hybrid that included all 1 million

names. No doubt the car company also received an extra bit of buzz for it. And showing how

happy your current customers are with your product certainly helps your sales organization,

too, because it shows the positive end result of becoming a customer.

Measure

Just because you come up with a campaign to reinforce your brand strategy, doesn’t mean it

will work. There have been plenty of schemes and plans that have ended with our beloved

heroes in the clutches of an evil foe. How the Penguin catches anyone, I don’t know, but if it

can happen to Batman, it can happen to you. Watch your return on investment as you
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implement new campaigns to strengthen your brand. If your brand isn’t resonating with

enough people through the campaign, you have not given them a good enough reason to love

you.

At the start of each new campaign, check your marketing analytics for branded and organic

search. If it goes up when you launch your campaign, it means people are hearing about your

campaign and becoming interested in your brand. They are searching for you -- often by

name -- because you have provided them with enough compelling content that they want to

know more. Just don't get stuck on one tactic or campaign. By staying agile, you can better

measure whether your tactics are aligning well with your overall brand strategy, and if they

don't, you haven't invested so much that you can't re-evaluate.

Be Flexible

Speaking of agile inbound marketing, 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.

Old Spice generated quite the buzz over the last few years because it took its old brand and

made it relatable to a new generation. Old Spice still held true to its brand; they just did it in a

different, buzz-worthy way that opened them to a new customer market. I’m still talking

about them, and that horse left the barn over a year ago.

So if your old tactics aren’t working anymore, don’t be afraid to change them just because it

worked in the past. 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.

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Watch out for Competitors.. A little

You know that part in the movies, just when you think you're safe? When Indiana Jones gets

through all the booby traps only to discover an army of guards waiting there as he turns

around? Your competitors are like that. Just as soon as you think you have them figured out,

they throw a curve ball. This will never end. And it can seem disheartening until you realize

it is helping you improve your brand in the process.

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 tactics

based on their experience to better your brand and company. For too many years, American

car companies ignored their foreign competitors. But they finally realized they needed to

change their model for the changing times and tout a more fuel-efficient agenda to keep pace

with foreign competitors.

That being said, don't let your competitors dictate each and every move. I started this blog

post talking about why you're in business. Sure, you probably sell a similar product or service

as many other companies. But you're in business because your brand is unique. By harping on

every move your competitor makes, you lose that differentiation. And soon your customers

won't be able to tell you apart, making it even easier for them to leave you. Keep your eye on

your competitors when experimenting with your brand strategy -- just not a hawk's eye.
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CHAPTER 6: INTRODUCTION OF COLGATE- PALMOLIVE

Colgate-Palmolive is a New York based company established in the year 1806 by William

Colgate. It is best known for its oral care products. It was ranked No. 155 in the list of

Fortune 500 companies in the year 2012, with revenue of US$ 16.73 billion. Colgate enjoys

global market leadership in the oral care segments. Colgate started as a starch, soap and

candle business, it diversified itself into consumer goods category after it was taken over by

Palmolive. In the first phase of the “Brand Tracker” project we have attempted to determine

the current status of the brand and the brand identity in the minds of the consumers. A variant

of the famous Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) was used to identify the current status of the

brand while the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) was used to determine the

brand identity. The BAV model measures the value of the brand along 4 dimensions namely

Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem and Knowledge. Differentiation and Relevance together

comprise the brand strength while Esteem and Knowledge build up the Brand Stature. For

BAV, a simple random sample of 31 was surveyed using a questionnaire. COLGATE has the

highest percentile score (100) along 2 pillars namely relevance and esteem while it has 80

percentile in Differentiation and Esteem second only to Dabur and Pepsodent respectively.

On the BAV power grid COLGATE lies on the leadership category which shows that it has a

high earnings and high growth potential. The only cause for concern, if any is the

comparatively low differentiation score which shows that there is a problem in Colgate’s

Serving as it is replicated by its competitors also. The ZMET technique was used as the

qualitative research tool to gauge the brand identity of COLGATE. A sample of 6

respondents was chosen to execute this process. The technique is based on the fact that most

human communication is nonverbal, much of which is visual. The ZMET interview employs

several steps to surface and further define consumers key thoughts and feelings. Each step in

ZMET provides a different opportunity for identifying and understanding metaphors, thereby
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gaining a deeper understanding about the consumers. The ZMET technique identified Colgate

as a brand that promises satisfaction, confidence, love and care and gives value for money.

And a highly trusted brand which is considered as a part of a family.

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CHAPTER 7: Brief History and Type of Company

A Brief History of Colgate:

The Founder: William Colgate was born in Hollingbourne, Kent, England, on 25 January

1783. He was the son of an 18th century English farmer, politician and sympathizer with the

American war of Independence and French Revolution, whose Republican ideals impelled

him to leave their farm in Shoreham, Kent in March 1798 and emigrate to Baltimore,

Maryland, in the United States of America .Colgate formed a partnership with Ralph Maher

to manufacture soap and candles, and William helped the two men, but the partnership

dissolved after two years. William Colgate came to New York City in 1804. He there

obtained employment as an apprentice to a soap-boiler, and learned the business. Colgate:

From Soap & Candle manufacturer to Leader in Oral care.

In 1806, William Colgate, a soap and candle maker opened up a starch, soap and candle

factory on Dutch Street in New York City under the name of "William Colgate & Company".

William Colgate in 1833 suffered a severe heart attack stopping his business from selling.

But after a couple of years of recovery he continued with his business. In the 1840s, the firm

began selling individual cakes of soap in uniform weights. In 1857, William Colgate died and

the company was reorganized as "Colgate & Company" under the management of Samuel

Colgate, his son, who did not want to continue the business but thought it would be the right

thing to do. In 1872, Colgate introduced Cashmere Bouquet, a perfumed soap. In 1873, the

firm introduced its first toothpaste, aromatic toothpaste sold in jars. His company sold the

first toothpaste in a tube, Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream (invented by the dentist Washington

Sheffield), in 1896. In 1896, Colgate hired Martin Ittner and under his direction founded one

of the first applied research labs By 1908 they initiated mass selling of toothpaste in tubes.
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His other son, James Boorman Colgate, was a primary trustee of Colgate University

(formerly Madison University).

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the B.J. Johnson Company was making a soap entirely of palm oil

and olive oil, the formula of which was developed by B.J. Johnson in 1898. The soap was

popular enough to rename their company after it - "Palmolive". Around the start of the 20th

century Palmolive, which contained both palm and olive oils, was the world's best-selling

soap. Extensive advertising included the radio programs The Palmolive Hour (1927-1931)

and Palmolive Beauty Box Theater (1934-1937). A Missouri-based soap manufacturer known

as Peet Brothers merged with Palmolive to become Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Palmolive-Peet

bought the Colgate Company to create the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. In 1953 "Peet"

was dropped from the title, leaving only "Colgate-Palmolive Company", the current name.

Colgate-Palmolive has long been in fierce competition with Procter & Gamble, the world's

largest soap and detergent maker. P&G introduced its Tide laundry detergent shortly after

World War II, and thousands of consumers turned from Colgate's soaps to the new product.

Colgate lost its number one place in the toothpaste market when P&G started putting fluoride

in its toothpaste. But that didn't stop Colgate. In the beginning of television, "Colgate-

Palmolive" wished to compete with Procter & Gamble as a sponsor of soap operas. The

company sponsored many shows in part, and fully sponsored the serial The Doctors.

George Henry Lesch was president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Colgate-Palmolive in

the 1960s and 1970s, during that time transformed it into a modern company with major

restructuring.

In 2005, Colgate sold the under-performing brands Fab, Dynamo, Arctic Power, ABC, Cold

Power and Fresh Start, as well as the license of the Ajax brand for laundry detergents in the
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U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, to Phoenix Brands, LLC as part of their plan to focus on their

higher margin oral, personal, and pet care products.

In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive announced the intended acquisition of Tom's of Maine, a leading

maker of natural toothpaste, for US $100 million. Tom's of Maine was founded by Tom

Chappell in 1970.

Today, Colgate has numerous subsidiary organizations spanning 200 countries, but it is

publicly listed in only two, the United States and India.

On October 25, 2012, the company announced it will cut more than 2,310 workers, or 6

percent of its workforce, by the end of 2016 in a push to make the consumer products

company more efficient.

Type of Company:

Public Company Traded as: NYSE Industry: Personal Care Founded: 1806 Headquarters:

New York, USA Revenue: US$16.73 Billion Products: Soaps, Detergent and Oral hygiene

Employees: 39200 (2011) BRAND COLGATE Colgate is one of India’s most admired and

trusted brands. The brand has a permanent place in Brand Equity’s Most Trusted Brands

‘Hall Of Fame’, for consistently appearing in the top ten ranks. Over a hundred years ago

toothpaste did not in squeezable plastic tubes but was available in glass jars. In India, oral

hygiene meant munching on a piece of bark or root and a quick gargle afterwards. Today,

Indian consumers have multiple brand and flavours and product features to suit every dental

need. Colgate has led emphasis on basic oral care awareness in rural and urban India to build

a bond with the consumer and the dental professionals. This has helped Colgate to shape the
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oral care category in India, taking it beyond cavities and expanding it with a product portfolio

that now addresses a wide array of consumer oral health needs. Furthermore, constant

innovation in products and communication has been at the heart of their growth strategy.It

has followed a multi pronged communication strategy. Some of the significant mass media

initiatives were the last year 1947 reprint of the times of India on Independence day

advertising Colgate sensitive pro-relief and a limited edition night newspaper in Andhra

Pradesh to spread awareness about night brushing. It has also active social media presence for

Colgate MaxFresh and for Colgate Active Salt it ventured into the routine and daily lives of

consumers with an ‘interruptive format’ marketing campaign. The Colgate ‘ask the dentist’

campaign was used for the Colgate Dental Cream to make the brand relevant and top-of-mind

for consumers.
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CHAPTER 8: Qualitative Research Model Brand Asset Valuator Model

Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) Brand Asset Valuator is Y & R is a proprietary research

evaluating components of brand equity across categories and countries. The Brand Asset

Valuator brings together years of thorough international scientific research into the biggest

brand database existing today. With this knowledge, a brand will gain a competitive

advantage by analyzing and moving forward in an efficient and well-grounded manner.

Research administered on more than 38,000 brands after questioning more than 500,000

consumers from 49 countries. It involves continuous validation and analyses customized to a

brand. The analysis provides-

(1.) Brand Image Power (2.) Brand Diagnostics via the four pillars (3.) Brand image

Comparison (4.) Measurement of Current Strength & Future Potential BAV measures the

value of a brand across four key pillars: Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem and Knowledge.

(5.) Differentiation measures how distinctive a particular brand is. (6.) Relevance measures

how personally appropriate a particular brand is. (7.) Esteem measures how highly regarded a

brand is. (8.) Knowledge measures how well know a brand is. Indicates Report Card brands

future of past value performance.

Research Methodology

The BAV model was used to measure the current status of the brand vis-à-vis its

competitors. As questions of BAV are not available, hence an independent questionnaire was

designed to gauge the consumer’s perception across the 4 pillars on which BAV is based.

Weightage of 100% was assigned to each pillar of the BAV model (1.) This weightage was

split amongst the questions related to them. (2.) Weights were assigned to these questions on
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the basis of how direct and how comprehensive was the information that could be derived

from the question.

Research Design: A descriptive research was conducted. Research Instrument: Questionnaire

Sampling Unit : Users of Toothpaste Sample size :31 Calculation : (1.) The calculation was

done by adding the number of responses and multiplying them to the weightage of the

question that was allocated to a particular attribute or a brand. (2.) The process was followed

to arrive at a score for each brand. All the scores from the questions pertaining to a specific

pillar for a particular brand were added to get the final score. (3.) Percentile was assigned on

the basis of the final score received by each of the brands:-

In the below questions Z-test was done to find out whether the sample was

representative of the entire population or not. After that ANOVA was executed to figure

out which brand was the leader across all attributes being tested.

1. Which brands come to your mind when you think of toothpaste?

------- Brand Knowledge- 30%

2. Identify the tooth paste brand from the audio clip played.

------- Brand Knowledge- 30%

3. When it comes to toothpaste, which one of these will you recommend?

-------- Brand Esteem- 50% (a. Pepsodent b. Close up c. Colgate d. Anchor e. Dabur)
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4. Among the following, which criteria would you choose while buying toothpaste?

------- a.) Healthy tooth & gums b.) Long lasting freshness c.) Prevention of tooth decay

d.) Whiteness e.) Use of natural herb f.) Variety

6. (Brand Relevance)

A. If you consider Pepsodent as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on the basis

of the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being the lowest)

------- a.) Healthy tooth & gums b.) Long lasting freshness c.) Prevention of tooth decay

d.) Whiteness e.) Use of natural herb f.) Variety

B. If you consider Close up as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on the basis

of the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being the lowest)

------- a.) Healthy tooth & gums b.) Long lasting freshness c.) Prevention of tooth decay

d.) Whiteness e.) Use of natural herb f.) Variety

C. If you consider Colgate as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on the basis of

the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being the lowest

------- a.) Healthy tooth & gums b.) Long lasting freshness c.) Prevention of tooth decay

d.) Whiteness e.) Use of natural herb f.) Variety

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D. If you consider Anchor as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on the basis of

the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being the lowest)

------- a.) Healthy tooth & gums b.) Long lasting freshness c.) Prevention of tooth decay

d.) Whiteness e.) Use of natural herb f.) Variety

E. If you consider Dabur as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on the basis of

the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being the lowest)

------- a.) Healthy tooth & gums b.) Long lasting freshness c.) Prevention of tooth decay

d.) Whiteness e.) Use of natural herb f.) Variety

7. The understated brand is a Unique brand (Brand Differentiation- 40%) Agree or Disagree

-------- a) Pepsodent b) Close up c) Colgate d) Anchor e) Dabur

8. Identify the following brands (Brand Knowledge- 40%) 9. Which of these photos, you can

relate with (Brand Differentiation- 40%)

--------- a) Pepsodent b) Close up c) Colgate d) Anchor e) Dabur

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Result and Analysis of BAV

The percentile score of all the individual brands across differentiation, relevance, esteem

and knowledge was calculated and then converted into graphs. Then the graphs were

compared with the graph given below to find out in which category( new, unrealized

potential/niche, leadership, declining, eroded and unfocused) do these brands lie.

The brands that were analyzed were Colgate Pepsodent Close up Anchor Dabur

 The score of Anchor is low across all 4 parameters. Thus it is an unfocused brand.

 Close up is low on relevance but has scored average in terms of knowledge, esteem

and differentiation. Thus we can conclude that Close up is a Declining brand.

 Pepsodent scored high in Brand Stature but a comparative low in Brand Strength.

Thus Pepsodent can be termed as a Declining brand. (Declining from market leader)

----------- From the data collated Colgate scores high across the 4 dimensions of BAV,

Colgate is considered a high earnings and high potential brand i.e. it falls in the

Leadership category.

Brand Asset Valuator Power Grid Colgate on BAV Model:

From the analysis it was found that Colgate is the market leader. Analysis of 4 pillars of BAV

(individually) is given below: Brand Knowledge- In terms of brand knowledge, Colgate has a

percentile score of 80. Here it follows Pepsodent whose percentile score is 100. Hence

Colgate is a well-known brand in this category. Brand Esteem- Colgate has scored 100

percentile in terms of esteem. Thus it can be concluded that, Colgate is a highly regarded and

respected brand. Brand Relevance- Colgate has a 100 percentile in relevance. This leads us to
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realization that the need identification process of Colgate is excellent which leads to

conclusion that the most important building block for a brand is in place Colgate.

Brand Differentiation-

Colgate has scored 80 percentile and is following Dabur which has scored 100%. Colgate has

been able to differentiate itself from others. High Relevance, Low Differentiation- From the

quantitative analysis, it is found that Colgate has scored highest in relevance but a

comparative low in differentiation. The conclusion that can be drawn from here is “ need

identification is done well by Colgate but competitors are serving similar”

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CHAPTER 9:Branding Strategy of Colgate

Colgate has developed a powerful Branding Strategy which has significantly helped the

Brand in acquiring substantial amount of share in the oral care market of India. In order to

strengthen its' Brand Identity, Colgate is still restructuring its Branding Strategy. The Brand

Colgate emerged as a market leader as it bagged considerable amount of market share in all

the segments of oral care market like toothpaste segment, tooth powder segment and

toothbrush segment.

Colgate has succeeded in establishing its Brand Image and gaining substantial market share

in spite of facing tough competition from the brands like Hindustan Liver, Babool and

Anchor. Still the Brand Colgate is continuously updating and improving its' branding strategy

in order to strengthen its' Brand Name and Brand Identity.

The future Branding Strategy of Colgate may comprise the following steps and actions:

1. For maintaining the Brand Equity in the market, every company requires a system of

continuous growth and upgradation . So, in order to develop new products, Colgate

may give emphasis on Research and Development Projects.

2. The Brand Strategy of Colgate also aims at reaching to the rich and consuming

customers of rural India by introducing some Ayurvedic Oral Care Products.

3. In order to strengthen its' Brand Image in the urban market of India, Colgate may

launch some oral care products specifically targeting the urban youth and the urban

rich class.
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4. Colgate Branding Strategy aims at introducing some special oral care products which

will focus on functional benefits. The Brand can launch specific oral care products for

different age groups.

5. The Branding Strategy of Colgate also plans to customize its packaging techniques,

based on price points. This, in a way will establish a new pricing strategy.

6. Colgate Branding Strategy has a objective strengthening its' business promotion

network. The company is undertaking advertising strategies and campaigning

programs with the objective of reaching to the customers of India across income

classes.
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CHAPTER 10: Conclusion

The topic of brands and branding has generated enormous interest in the business community

in recent years. While brands have been with us since the dawn of commercial history, and

are believed to have been the engine driving the marketing train throughout much of this

century, little formal attention has been paid to the question of how organizations build,

maintain, and evaluate strong brands. Much of our current knowledge is based on individual

case studies, practitioner recollections, and anecdotal evidence.

Importantly, there has been a dramatic shift in focus regarding brands and branding.

Previously, brands were considered to be topics of concern primarily for marketing and

communication professionals. In recent years, however, because of the growing interest in

intangible assets, senior management has increasingly become involved in matters of brands

and branding. There appears to be a growing recognition that an organization’s brand or

brands have a value that can far exceed that of the firm’s more tangible assets such as

manufacturing plants, equipment, real estate, and investment holdings. Indeed, as we learned

throughout this study, senior management’s involvement with and commitment to the brand

is a key enabling difference between partner and sponsor companies.

Central to this study is the belief that a strong brand is far more than the components used to

identify it to customers and prospects, such as logos, jingles, tag lines, icons, and other

communication cues. In the past, the study of branding focused primarily on how

organizations create and communicate these distinguishing identity elements effectively in

the marketplace. While this is still an important aspect of branding, there is an increasing

understanding of the larger strategic context of the brand’s role, value, and organizational

purpose. In many cases, organizations have begun to consider the brand as the embodiment of

the relationship among the organization, its employees, and its customers. As such, the brand
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is being used by leading practitioners to drive the organization in all aspects of its interaction

with customers, including product development, pricing, customer service, distribution, and

operations. As organizations have sought to become more customer-focused, the brand has

become the means by which many weld meaningful, sustainable relationships with their

constituents.
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Bibliography

Aaker, David A. and Kevin Lane Keller (1990), "Consumer Evaluations of Brand

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Barwise, Patrick (1997), "Brands in a digital world". The Journal of Brand Management 4(4),

220-223

Bousch, David M. and Barabar Loken (1991), "A Process-Tracing Study of Brand Extension

Evaluation," Journal of Marketing Research, 28, (February), 16-28.

de Chernatony, Leslie (1998), "Developing on effective brand strategy. In C. Egan and M.

Thomas (ed), The Chartered Institute of Marketing Handbook of Strategic Marketing,

Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann

de Chernatony, Leslie and Francesca Dall'Olmo Riley (1998), "Experts views about definning

services brands and the principles of services branding". Journal of Business Research

Doyle, P. (1989), "Building successful brands: the strategic options". Journal of Marketing,

5(1), 77-95

Malhotra, Naresh (1988), "Self-concept and product choice: an integrated perspective",

Journal of Economic Psychology, 9, 1-28.

References:-

1.) Introduction and History - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colgate-Palmolive

2.) http://www.colgate.co.in/app/Colgate/IN/Corp/HomePage.cvsp
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3.) http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/History/1991.cvsp

4.) http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/snapshots/101.html

5.) http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=7644