WHAT IS A BRAND?

Dr. Sanjay Jain

Product

■ A product is anything we can offer to a market for

attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that
might satisfy a need or want.
– physical good, a service, a retail outlet, a person, an
organization, a place, or even an idea.
■ Levels of product??
Products – Consumption value
■ Customers seek following type of values
1. Functional
2. Social
3. Emotional
4. Epistemic (know or learn)
5. Aesthetic
6. Hedonic
7. Situational
What turns a product into a brand?
the physical product is combined with something else – symbols,
images, feelings – to produce an idea which is more than the
sum of the individual parts

Brand Anatomy
A brand would be seen as consisting of two dimensions:
The functional dimensions
Utilitarian
Emotional or symbolic dimensions
Provides emotional reasons to buy
(Emotions, Personality, User Imagery, Psychological Benefits)
What is a brand?

■ 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 competition.”
American Marketing Association (AMA)
What is a brand?

■ A brand is therefore more than a product, as it can have dimensions

that differentiate it in some way from other products designed to
satisfy the same need.

■ Some brands create competitive advantages with product

performance; other brands create competitive advantages through
non-product-related means.
WHY DO BRANDS MATTER?
What functions do brands perform that make them so valuable to marketers?
Importance of Brands to Consumers
■ Identification of the source of the product
■ Assignment of responsibility to product maker
■ Risk reducer
■ Search cost reducer
■ Promise, bond, or pact with product maker
■ Symbolic device
■ Signal of quality & other characteristics
– Search goods, experience goods & credence goods
Reducing the Risks in Product Decisions

■ Functional risk
■ Physical risk
■ Financial risk
■ Social risk
■ Psychological risk
■ Time risk
Importance of Brands to Firms

■ Identification
■ Legally protecting unique features
■ Signal of quality level to satisfied customers
■ Creates entry barriers
■ Secure price premiums
■ Source of competitive advantage
■ Source of financial returns
Attributes of strongest brands
1. The brand excels at delivering the benefits

2. The brand stays relevant

3. The pricing strategy is based on consumer perceptions of value

4. The brand is properly positioned

5. The brand is consistent

6. The brand portfolio and hierarchy makes sense

7. The brand makes use of and coordinates a full repertoire of marketing activities to build
equity

8. The brand’s manager understand what the brand means to consumer

9. The brand is given proper, sustained support

10. The company monitors sources of brand equity

(Source: Kevin Keller, The brand report card, HBR, 2000)
STRATEGIC BRAND
MANAGEMENT
 Strategic Brand Management

It involves the design and implementation of marketing programs and

activities to build, measure, and manage brand equity.
Involves four main steps:
1. Identifying and establishing brand positioning and values
2. Planning and implementing brand marketing programs
3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance
4. Growing and sustaining brand equity
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Strategic Brand Management Process

Steps Key Concepts

Identify and establish
brand positioning and values
Mental maps
Competitive frame of reference
Points-of-parity and points-of-difference
Core brand values
Brand mantra

Plan and implement Mixing and matching of brand elements

brand marketing programs Integrating brand marketing activities
Leveraging of secondary associations

Brand value chain

Measure and interpret Brand audits
brand performance Brand tracking
Brand equity management system

Brand-product matrix
Grow and sustain Brand portfolios and hierarchies
brand equity Brand expansion strategies
Brand reinforcement and revitalization
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