Strategic Brand Management

BM3506/BM3509
Introduction to Branding

Dr Boey Yew Tung

Senior Lecturer
Marketing Division (MKT)
Nanyang Business School

S1 AY2022/2023
BM3506/BM3509 Class
Physical seminar classes on Mondays from 8th Aug 2022
AM Class - 9:30 am in S4 SR10
PM class – 2:30 pm in S4 SR10

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 2

 3

Learning Objectives & Outcomes

1.1 Define “brand,” state how brand differs from a product, and
explain what brand equity is
1.2 Summarize why brands are important
1.3 Explain how branding applies to virtually everything
1.4 Describe the main branding challenges and opportunities
1.5 Identify the steps in the strategic brand management process

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU

3
 4

What is a Brand?
• 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
• Trademark or Servicemark that can be protected
• Something that resides in the minds of consumers
• A perceptual reality
• Colours one’s perception

• Brand Elements
• Brands versus Products
• Logo ≠ Brand !!!
3, 4, 5
4
Hence, branding provides …
Identification
• Give consumers a label for the product
– how to identify the product

Connection
• Give meaning for consumers
– why it is special and what it can do for
them

• Help create mental structures for

consumers to organize their knowledge 5

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU

I see a lot of brand The art of marketing
decay, partly is the art of brand
because many building. If you are
brands seem to not a brand, you are
have a sameness a commodity. Then
of offer and pricing price is everything
terms. and the low-cost
producer is the only
winner.

Philip Kotler

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 6

Ten Firms Rated Highly in Innovation (Fast Company)

Fast Company (2020) Fast Company 2021

1. White Claw 1. Moderna
2. Aviation Gin 2. Pfizer-BioNTech
3. Popeyes 3. Shopify
4. Mountain Dew 4. SpaceX
5. FNDR 5. SpringHill Company
6. Patagonia 6. Epic Games
7. Netflix 7. Netflix (~)
8. IKEA 8. Tock
9. Procter & Gamble 9. Microsoft
10. adidas 10. Graphika

Source: Based on Fast Company 2020 & 2021 List of Most Innovative Companies. 7

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU

7
Ten Firms Rated Highly in Innovation (BCG)

BCG (2020) BCG (2021)

1. Apple 1. Apple (~)
2. Alphabet 2. Alphabet (~)
3. Amazon 3. Amazon (~)
4. Microsoft 4. Microsoft (~)
5. Samsung 5. Tesla
6. Huawei 6. Samsung (-1)
7. Alibaba 7. IBM (+1)
8. IBM 8. Huawei (-2)
9. Sony 9. Sony (~)
10. Facebook 10. Pfizer

Source: BCG 2020 & 2021 List of Most Innovative Companies.

6
8

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU

8
 9

Brands Versus Products (1 of 2)

• 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 like a cereal, tennis racquet, or car
• A brand is more than a product since it can have dimensions that differentiate it
from other products

9
BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU
Brands Versus Products (2 of 2)
• Differences between a product and a
brand may be:
– Rational and tangible:
• Related to product
performance of the brand
– Or may be more symbolic,
emotional, and intangible:
• Related to what the brand
represents
• Hence, brands have value
as a signaling toolBM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 10
 11

Signaling Theory
• Describe behavior when two parties
(individuals or organizations) have access to
different information. Asymmetric information

• The sender, must choose whether and how to

communicate (or signal) that information, and
the receiver, must choose how to interpret the
signal.
• Happens in social situations, IPOs, interviews
etc

BM3506/BM3509 SBM 11
©YTBoey@NTU
 12

Human as social animals

• Deep down, everyone wants a little more status, nice image

– Need for recognition, need for acceptance

• Brands are the means to gain acceptance in social groups

– Entry into the elite, gain social currency
– Brands may provide acceptance into desired groups
(e.g., peer groups that feels anti-establishment)

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 12
Cakes and Pastry anyone?

Do you know this place? Can you identify this brand?

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 131313

13
Cheesecake!!!
Say you like to buy a cheesecake
for a party next week (w/in SMM
guidelines )

How much are you willing to pay?

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 14

Source: https://www.facebook.com/BeverlyhillscheesecakeSingapore/ accessed 22 Jul 2022
BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 15
Are you in the construction business?

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 161616

16
 17

Why Do Brands Matter?

• Consumers
• Firms

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 17
 18

Consumers
• Functions provided by brands to consumers:
– Identify the source or maker of the product
– Simplify product decisions
– Lower the search costs for products internally and externally
– Helps set reasonable expectations about what consumers may not know about
the brand
• Brand can signal product characteristics and attributes
• Brands can reduce risks in product decision

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 18
 19

Firms
• Brands provide valuable functions to a firm:
– Simplify product handling and tracing
– Help organizing inventory and accounting records
– Offer the firm legal protection for unique features or aspects of the product
– Provide predictability and security of demand for the firm and creates barriers
of entry for competitors
– Provide a powerful means to secure competitive advantage
• e.g. loyalty, premium or even cult following
• Firms use these differently

7 BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 19
Roles that Brands Play
Consumers Manufacturers
• Identification of source of product • Means of identification to simplify
• Assignment of responsibility to handling or tracing
product maker • Means of legally protecting unique
• Risk reducer features
• Search cost reducer • Signal of quality level to satisfied
• Promise, bond, or pact with maker customers
of product • Means of endowing products with
• Symbolic device unique associations
• Signal of quality • Source of competitive advantage
• Ability to command loyalty
• Source of financial returns

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 20

 21

Brand Value as a Percentage of Market Capitalization (2021)

Company Brand Value (in Market Cap (in Brand Value as a

$ billions) $ billions) Percentage of
Market Cap
Amazon 638.9 1678 38%
Apple 612.0 2411 25%
Google 458.0 1798 25%
Microsoft 410.3 2142 19%
Tencent 240.9 587.1 41%
Facebook 226.7 1010 22%
Alibaba 196.9 544.8 36%
Visa 191.3 544.6 35%
McDonalds 154.9 181.1 86%
Mastercard 112.9 382.5 30%

Sources: Based on BrandZ Top Global Brands 2020 and Yahoo! Finance, 31 July 2021
BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 21
 22

Brand Value as a Percentage of Market Capitalization (2022)

Company Brand Value (in Market Cap (in Brand Value as a

$ billions) $ billions) Percentage of
Market Cap
Apple 947.1 2514 38%
Google 819.6 1510 54%
Amazon 705.6 1268 55%
Microsoft 611.5 1981 31%
Tencent 214.0 418.8 51%
McDonald’s 196.5 187.5 105%
Visa 191.0 457.5 42%
Facebook 186.4 495.7 37%
Alibaba 170.0 284.5 60%
Louis Vuitton 124.3 238.8 52%

Sources: Based on BrandZ Top Global Brands 2022 and Yahoo! Finance, 22 July 2022

BM3506/BM3509 SBM 22
©YTBoey@NTU
 23

Can Anything Be Branded?

• To brand a product or service, it is necessary to teach consumers
“who” the product is:
– Giving it a name and using other brand elements to help identify it
– What the product does and why consumers should care
• Marketers must give consumers a label for the product and provide
meaning for the brand
• Marketers can benefit from branding whenever consumers are in a
choice situation
• Key to branding = Consumers perceive differences among brands in a
product category

• Impact on financial decisions

8 BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 23
 24

Physical Goods
• Physical goods are what are traditionally associated with brands:
– Mercedes-Benz
– Nescafé
– Sony
• Branding has been adopted in a variety of industries:
– Industrial business-to-business (B2B) products
– Technologically intensive “high-tech” products

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 24
 25

Services
• Branding a service can be an effective way to signal to consumers that a firm has
designed a particular service offering that is special and deserving of its name:
– American Express
– British Airways
– Ritz-Carlton
– Merrill Lynch
– Federal Express

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 25
 26

Retailers and Distributors (1 of 2)

• For retailers and other channel members, brands provide important functions:
– Can generate consumer interest, patronage, and loyalty
– Create an image and establish positioning within an industry
– Yield higher price margins, increased sales volumes, and greater profits

BM3506/BM3509 SBM 26
©YTBoey@NTU
 27

Retailers and Distributors (2 of 2)

• Retailers can introduce their own brands by:
– Using their store name
– Creating new names
– Some combination of the two
• Many distributors, especially in Europe, have introduced their
own brands
• Products bearing these store brands or private label brands
offer another way for retailers to increase customer loyalty
and generate higher margins and profits

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 27
 28

Digital Brands
• Some of the strongest brands in recent years have been born online:
– Amazon
– Google
– Facebook
– Twitter
– TikTok

• Brand building has become more important in recent years to online marketers:
– It is critical to create unique aspects of the brand
– Brand needs to perform satisfactorily as well
BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 28
 29

People and Organizations

• A product category can be a person or an organization:
– Naming of this branding is usually straightforward
– Usually accompanied by well-defined images easily understood by consumers
– The key to a person or organization as a brand is that people outside your
industry know who you are and recognize your skills, talents, and attitude:
• Blackpink
• Singapore Cancer Society
• World Economic Forum

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 29
 30

Sports, Arts, and Entertainment

• A special case of marketing people and organizations as brands
exists in the sports, arts, and entertainment industries:
– Sports marketing has become highly sophisticated
– Branding plays, for example, has become an especially valuable
function in the arts
– Movies have become famous for their marketing and branding:
• For years, some of the most valuable movie franchises
have featured recurring characters and ongoing stories—a
classic application of branding

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 30
 31

Geographic Locations
• What has contributed to the rise in place marketing?
– Increased mobility of people
– Increased mobility of businesses
– Growth in tourism
• Cities, states, regions, and countries actively promote through advertising, direct
mail, and other tools

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 31
 32

Ideas and Causes

• Numerous ideas and causes have been branded:
– Especially by nonprofit organizations
• May be captured in a phrase or slogan or represented by a symbol:
– AIDS ribbons
– #BlackLivesMatter
– #sustainability

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 32
 33

15-min activity (in your teams)

1. What are your favorite brand(s)?

2. Why did your favorite brand(s) appeal to you?
3. The most successful/powerful brand to me is ____________
4. If I were to name one brand that failed, it is __________

Be prepared to share your responses and answer questions

from others

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 33
 34

What are the Strongest Brands?

• Brands that are the “strongest” are the brands that are:
– Best known
– Most highly regarded
• Maintaining brand relevance and differentiation are
important to the success of a brand

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 34
Benefits of a Strong Brand
Offense
• Differentiation
• Charge price premium
• Build sustainable
competitive advantage
• Aid in future expansion
Defense
• Command loyalty
• Reduce brand switching
• Emotional connection are
hard to imitate and
replicate

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 35

35
 BrandZ ‘22 ’21 ‘20 ‘19 ‘18 ‘17 ‘16 ’15 ‘14 ‘13 ‘12 ‘11 ‘10 ‘09 Brand
1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 3 6 Apple
Top 100 2 3 4 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 1 1 Google
Most 3 1 1 1 3 4 7 14 10 14 18 14 16 26 Amazon
Valuable 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 4 7 5 5 4 2 Microsoft
Global 5 5 7 8 5 8 11 11 14 21 37 52 - - Tencent

Brands 6 9 9 9 8 10 9 9 5 4 4 4 6 5 McDonald’s
7 8 5 5 7 7 6 5 7 9 15 20 18 36 Visa
8 6 8 6 6 5 5 12 21 31 19 35 - - facebook
9 7 6 7 9 14 18 13 - - - - - - Alibaba
10 21 19 22 26 29 30 32 30 29 21 26 29 29 Louis Vuitton
11 12 - - - - - - - - - - - - Nvidia
12 10 10 12 15 20 20 20 18 20 29 60 67 87 Mastercard
15 13 12 11 12 11 8 7 11 12 9 13 20 34 Verizon
17 16 13 14 14 13 13 9 6 5 6 6 5 3 Coca Cola
18 15 14 13 11 9 10 4 3 3 2 3 2 4 IBM
23 14 11 10 10 6 4 6 8 6 8 7 22 28 AT&T
Source:
BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 36
How does brand affect our perception & brand choice?
Halo Effect!!
• Humans are cognitive misers
– Observed in all aspects of business
• Performance evaluation
• Job interview
• Celebrity endorsement
• Students grading
• Product evaluation
– E.g., organic food
• A cognitive bias = positive bias
– Tendency to generalize global affective
Cognitive Miser!! feelings or trait to other objects or attributes
•  Brand equity
37
BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU
 Perception

4’ 33” – 5:30 left

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 38
Beware of loud sounds
How about Asian brands?
• Any comes to mind?
• Make your list
• What is needed?

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 39

Common Problems

Mismatch
between
Brand Vision &
Reality

Branding
philosophy not Consistency
internalised

Branding
Problems

Brand
elements Focus on Cost
Branding

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 40

 41

Branding Challenges and Opportunities

• Unparalleled access to information and new technologies
• Downward pressure on prices
• Ubiquitous connectivity and the consumer backlash
• Sharing information and goods
• Unexpected sources of competition
• Disintermediation and reintermediation
• Alternative sources of information about product quality
• Winner-takes-all markets
• Media transformation
• The importance of customer-centricity

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 41
Current Trends

• Greater attention and focus on branding

– Especially in Asia
• Awareness that simply ‘selling’ is not enough
• Firms looking for branding experts
– Increasing number of brand consultancy firms
• Govt push for greater branding knowledge in SME
• Boom in online, mobile purchase & livestreaming

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 42

 43

The Brand Equity Concept

• Principles of branding and brand equity:
– Differences in outcomes arise from the “added value” endowed to a product
– The added value can be created for a brand in many different ways
– Brand equity provides a common denominator for interpreting marketing
strategies and assessing the value of a brand
– There are many different ways in which the value of a brand can be exploited to
benefit the firm

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 43
 44

Strategic Brand Management Process

• Identifying and Developing Brand Plans
• Designing and Implementing Brand Marketing Programs
• Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance
• Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 44
 45

Strategic Brand Management Process

BM3506/BM3509 SBM
©YTBoey@NTU 45
 Summary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

………
………

9
BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 46
COVID-19 – IMPORTANT REMINDERS

47
 Thank you

BM3506/BM3509 SBM ©YTBoey@NTU 48