Brand Management Brand According to American Marketing Association, A brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol or special design

or some combination of these elements that is intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers. A brand differentiates these products from those of competitors. Role of Brands In a world where products, markets, and industry boundaries are in flux, a well-managed brand can be a prime source of strategic direction and competitive advantage. Today branding is such a strong force that anything from salt to lemon juice and water is branded. The following are the roles of branding which serve many purposes 1) A brand identifies the seller or maker. 2) A brand protects both the consumer and the producer from competitors who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical.

3) A brand reduces the primacy of price upon the purchase decision. 4) It accentuates the bases of differentiation. 5) A brand is essentially a sellers promise to consistently deliver a specific set of features, benefits and services to the buyers. 6) A brand gives the seller the opportunity to attract a loyal and profitable set of customers. Brand loyalty gives sellers some protection from competition and greater control in planning their marketing programs. 7) Strong brands help build the corporate image, making it easier to launch and gain acceptance by distributors and customers. 8) Managing a positive brand image creates opportunities to introduce new products that build on brand equity. It helps to attract and retain good employees and it improves the stockholders

Brand Characteristics The world is rapidly shrinking with the advent of faster communication, transportation and financial flows. Products developed in one country Mont Blanc pens, McDonalds, BMWs are finding enthusiastic acceptance in other countries. A German businessman may wear an Armani suit to meet an English friend at an Indian restaurant who later returns home to drink Russian vodka and watch an American soap on a Korean television. There are different aspects or levels of a brand, may it be of a product or service which attract customers to build an image and an idea about that product or service. There may be various viewpoints through which a person may perceive the brand in a particular way. Lets take Mercedes Benz for example: Attributes: Mercedes suggests expensive, well-built, well-engineered, durable, high prestige, high value, fast and so on. The company may use one or more of the attributes to advertise the car. For years, Mercedes advertised Engineered like no other car in the world. This tagline served as a positioning platform for the cars other attributes. Benefits: Customers are not buying attributes, they are buying benefits. Attributes need to be translated into emotional and functional benefit, I am safe in case of an accident. Values: The brand also says something about the producers values. Thus Mercedes stands for high performance, safety, prestige and so on. The brand marketer must figure out the specific groups of car buyers who are seeking these values. Culture: The brand may represent a certain culture. The Mercedes represents German culture: organized, efficient, high quality. Personality: The brand can also project a certain personality. If the brand were a person, an animal, or an object, what would come to mind? Mercedes may suggest a no-nonsense boss (person), a reigning lion (animal), or an austere palace (object). Sometimes it might take on the personality of an actual well-known person or spokesperson. User: The brand suggests the kind of consumer who buys or uses the product. We would be surprised to see a 20-year-old secretary driving a Mercedes. We would accept instead to see a 55

year-old top executive behind the wheel. The users will be those who respect the products values, culture and personality.

Brand Name -: Company has to choose its brand name strategically. Each can have a separate brand name, or one family name can be extended to all the products. Phillips follows the family brand name strategy; previously Bajaj followed family brand name strategy, whereas Hindustan Lever brands follow the individual brand strategy. Basically, brand name use to distinguish one product from its competitors products. Its also use to the ownership. Family Brand A family name used for a number of products in the same line. It is also called a blanket brand. Example-: Phillips electronic, Cadbury, amul (amul milk, amul chocolate etc) Benefits-: it is cost effective in as much as it reduces product launch costs and also the promotional expenses incurred on a continuing basis. The success of one brand when well promoted gives a push to the entire product line. Management of trade channel is also become easier. If product fails it will also effect on the image of other brands. Individual Brand A brand name use for a single product within a product line. How to select a good brand name A good brand name should possess as many of the following characteristics as possible. 1. It should be indicative-: A well-chosen name or symbol should be indicative of quality, or may be associated with superiority or a great personality. The name Mcdonald is sugguested happy meal, quality product at affordable price. Similarly as, the name VIP Classic for travel- wares is suggestive of a superior quality for a distinct class of people. Promise is suggestive of an assurance of health.

2. It should be appropriate Many products are surrounded by a certain mystique in the minds of the consumers. Example-: Videocon is the appropriated word for TV and VCRs. Carefree is most suitable brand name of a sanitary towel. 3. It should be easy to remember Like tide, Colegate etc. 4. It should be adaptable to new products Videocon is a good brand name for TVs and VCRs but when it is extended to refrigerator and washing machines, some of the sales appeal is lost. Holline was a good name for gas stoves, but is definitely not suitable name for TVs. 5. It should be distinctive-: The market is filled with over-worked names and over-used symbols. 6. It should be registrable -: under the Indian laws of Trade Marks and copyrights.

Generic brands Generic Brands are those brands which does not carry any brand name. Sometimes, a brand name becomes so successful so that it associates with some particular product category. Like colgate for toothpaste, fridge for all refrigerator, and the word fridge came from the brand name of frigidair and its GE brand.

So, if brand become generic brand, it cant be market-leader so long. Though consumer asks a product by the generic name, he ends up buying a brand that offers attractive benefits. The generic brand sits on the shelf.

A sub- brand or branded benefits may revitalize the parent brand and it may also enrich and support the parent brand.

For instance, shoppers stop runs a first citizen club, where the benefits of priority treatment are highlighted by the sub-brand. It add to the image of shoppers stop- an image of care and support. Brand Value Brand Value means somethings to the end users. Every year, businessweek magazine publishes a ranking of Top 100 Global brands. The survey evaluates brand values based on a variety of metrics and attempts to attach a dollar amount to the worlds most prominent brands.

Hofstede Model for understanding the core value of a Brand Geet Hofstede has developed this model to understand inter- cultural differences. It can be adapted to understand core values of a brand. A cultural group shares certain values that are expressed through the rituals, behavioural, practices, icons and symbols of that culture. Core Values-: Basic values of a community. American-innovation, Japanese- manufacturing excellence and Indian- intellectual pursuits etc.

Rituals-: collective activities, say way of greeting or social ceremonies. Japanese way greeting and Indian way of greeting Behavioral practices-: trade practices, or social practices. Marwari way of doing business.

Icons-: persons who are role models. They can be real or fictitious. They can be dead or alive. Symbols-: words, gestures, pictures or objects which carry a meaning for those sharing a culture. Positing Positioning is how a product appears in relation to other products in the market.

A perceptual Maps Defines the market in terms of the ways buyers perceive key characteristics of competing products or brands. Positioning is about building the image of a brand. It is about how the brand is going to be perceived in the market. According to Kotler, defines positioning as the act of designing the companys offering an image to occupy a distinct place in the mind of the target market.

Brand positioning The primary motive of companies is to somehow create a distinct a space in the consumers mind. Generally termed Positioning Positions are based upon consumer perceptions, which may or may not reflect reality. A position is effectively built by communicating a consistent message to consumers about the product and where it fits into the market through advertising, brand name, and packaging. You cant define a good position until you have divided the market into unique segments and selected your target segment.

Identifying where a specific brand is placed within the marketplace and its relationship to competitive brands, brand positioning is determined by defining the brands benefits to the consumer, opportunities for which the brand is the best suited, the brands target audience, and who its main competitors are. When a new brand appears in the market, the consumer gets acquainted with it and starts collecting information the consumer creates an opinion of the brand and establishes a brand image.

For a stable market position of a brand, consumer awareness of the new brand on the market is not sufficient. The consumer must prefer a brand and have a positive assessment of it as well as considering it in its purchasing decisions. The target position means deciding on the target image of a brand and how the consumers should compare it to other competitive brands.

To achieve the benefits of brand positioning, it is necessary to research indepth the market position of the brand. Brand maps and forms are created to profile the brand positioning, compare.

Positioning Strategy

4 W s of Positioning Strategy

1) Who am I?

Under this we try to reveal the origin of brand: where it belongs, or where it comes from. Identifying family or origin could give a brand competitive advantage by allowing it to draw positives or strengths of the family.

 Positioning by Corporate Identity-:

Brand draws a direct connection with the corporate identity and seeks to play on its credentials. Sometimes, firms use the corporate as brand name to label their entries in various product categories,

As the example we discussed in the class room if you remembered are Cadbury, LG, Phillips etc.

In the other cases, a separate brand is launched by revealing the corporate connection by a statement like From the house of .. or A quality product of . Whereby the brand is positioned. The product labels of HLL, Proctor & Gamble all disclose the corporate link by the statement: A quality product by HLL and .

 Positioning by brand endorsement-:

Unlike the previous strategy where corporate name is used, in this case a successful brand is used as an endorser of a new entry. For instance, Dabur uses its successful brand Vatika to promote products like shampoo. Nestle used the Maggi name to promote ketchup, pickles, and soups. Raymond s Park Avenue brand endorses soaps, belts, aftershaves, perfumes and deodorants, tie and shaving creams.

2) What am I?

In this category of strategies, a brand s functional capabilities are used for positioning purposes. Within this group, four options exist:

 Category positioning:

This involves making a product jump over the category it originally belongs to and positioning it in a different category. This is usually recommended when the existing product category is overcrowded and brand is difficult to differentiate. For instance, instead of positioning itself in the cycle category, a cycle brand can cross over to the health category. ICICI brand of Gold jewellary is positioned as an investment, not as a piece of jewellery, promising higher rate of returns than gold. For this category to be successful, the brand must offer tangible and compelling reasons to buy.  Benefit Positioning-:

Products are bought for their benefits. This strategy involves choosing a unique, not-yetoffered benefit to position the brand. For instance, car-buying motives include: economy, speed, luxury, esteem and safety. Depending upon how existing brands are positioned, a new brand could choose an unoccupied benefit to position itself in the market. Fructis shampoo is positioned as For strong hair (gives benefit of making hair strong). All clear shampoo is positioned as an anti-dandruff shampoo offering the benefit of dandruff removal.

 Usage and Use time positioning

A brand may choose to preempt a particular usage or usage time for the positioning purposes. After bath cream is positioned for applicant after the bath. Livon hair lotion is positioned as something to be used after shampoo to detangle hair. One of the recent campaigens of Nescafe aims to position the coffee brand as a morning beverage ( Get the day started ). Milkmaid ran a series of campaigns to position its product- condensed milk- as an essential ingredient for specific usages like for making sweets.

 Price- Quality Positioning

A brand can choose to occupy a distinct position on price-quality spectrum. At the bottom end, it means an economy position (like Nirma and Breeze, both low quality, low price positions) and at the top end, iy means premium position (Surf excel and Airel: high quality and high price). In the readymade shirts market, Madura Garments has the Peter England brand at the lower end and Louis Philippe at the top end.

3) For Whom am I?

This category of positioning strategies looks at the target market for positioning the brand. A market consists of various segments. There are many ways of segmenting the market. Depending upon the segmentation scheme used to divide the market, a brand can focus on a specific customer groups, but greater relevance is achieved for the target group. The market can be broken down into the following types of groups:

 Demographic Groups

Demographic variables like age, income, sex, education or location could be used to divide the market. Clinic shampoo is positioned as a shampoo for the young school-going girls market. Zandu kesri Jeevan is poisoned as a strength tonic for old people. Lenovo Notebook is positioned as a laptop meant for professionals in the industry.

 Behavioral The usage volume differs in the market and this gives rise to grouping like light, heavy and medium user segments. A brand may choose to use this classification to position itself. Brands like Rath Vanaspati focus on the professional caterers segment, known for bulk consumption.

 Psychographic

A brand can be positioned according to the psychographic traits of the people. The use of psychological variables is gaining popularity nowadays. Pepsi has all along been positioned as drink of what they call a new generation or Generation Next . Asian paints is positioned as the brand for a group of self-expressive people.

4) Why me?

This group involves positioning the brand on the basis of a unique reason or clincher. Finding out a unique reason or argument to offer to prospects is key in this category of positioning strategy.

 Unique Attribute:

A brand must have a unique benefit or attribute to give the prospects a reason to buy. Medimix ayurvedic soap is positioned as made from 24 different herbal ingredients. Anchor white toothpaste boasts of being a Vegetarian toothpaste. J&J No tears shampoo is positioned as a nonhurting shampoo.

 Why me Positioning

This is done by making a direct reference to competition and establishing a clinching argument in favour of the brand in question. One of the most quoted campaigns in this category is that of Avis,in which it sought to position itself against its superior rival (and market leader) Hertz Rent-a-car. Avis exhorted car renters to use its services in preference to Hertz ( We try harder because we are No. 2)

Brand Identity Concept and Definition Brand identity is the combination of color, symbol, logo, icon, signature tune, nemonic, trade mark and people. Brand identity stems from an organization, i.e., an organization is responsible for creating a distinguished product with unique characteristics. It is how an organization seeks to identify itself. It represents how an organization wants to be perceived in the market. An organization communicates its identity to the consumers through its branding and marketing strategies. A brand is unique due to its identity. Brand identity includes following elements - Brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality, relationships, and presentations.

Brand identity is a bundle of mental and functional associations with the brand. Associations are not reasons-to-buy but provide familiarity and differentiation thats not replicable getting it. These associations can include signature tune(for example - Britannia ting-ting-ta-ding), trademark colours (for example - Blue colour with Pepsi), logo (for example - Nike), tagline (for example - Apples tagline is Think different),etc. Brand identity is the total proposal/promise that an organization makes to consumers. The brand can be perceived as a product, a personality, a set of values, and a position it occupies in consumers minds. Brand identity is all that an organization wants the brand to be considered as. It is a feature linked with a specific company, product, service or individual. It is a way of externally expressing a brand to the world. Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand (for instance - Trademark colour, logo, name, symbol) that identify and differentiates a brand in target audience mind. It is a crucial means to grow your companys brand. Brand identity is the aggregation of what all you (i.e. an organization) do. It is an organizations mission, personality, promise to the consumers and competitive advantages. It includes the thinking, feelings and expectations of the target market/consumers. It is a means of identifying and distinguishing an organization from another. An organization having unique brand identity have improved brand awareness, motivated team of employees who feel proud working in a well branded organization, active buyers, and corporate style. Brand identity leads

to brand loyalty, brand preference, high credibility, good prices and good financial returns. It helps the organization to express to the customers and the target market the kind of organization it is. It assures the customers again that you are who you say you are. It establishes an immediate connection between the organization and consumers. Brand identity should be sustainable. It is crucial so that the consumers instantly correlate with your product/service. Brand identity should be futuristic, i.e, it should reveal the associations aspired for the brand. It should reflect the durable qualities of a brand. Brand identity is a basic means of consumer recognition and represents the brands distinction from its competitors. Source of Brand Identity 1. SYMBOLS- Symbols help customers memorize organizations products and services. They help us correlate positive attributes that bring us closer and make it convenient for us to purchase those products and services. Symbols emphasize our brand expectations and shape corporate images. Symbols become a key component of brand equity and help in differentiating the brand characteristics. Symbols are easier to memorize than the brand names as they are visual images. These can include logos, people, geometric shapes, cartoon images, anything. For instance, Marlboro has its famous cowboy, Pillsbury has its Poppin Fresh doughboy, Duracell has its bunny rabbit, Mc Donald has Ronald, Fed Ex has an arrow, and Nikes swoosh. All these symbols help us remember the brands associated with them. Brand symbols are strong means to attract attention and enhance brand personalities by making customers like them. It is feasible to learn the relationship between symbol and brand if the symbol is reflective/representative of the brand. For instance, the symbol of LG symbolize the world, future, youth, humanity, and technology. Also, it represents LGs efforts to keep close relationships with their customers. 2. LOGOS- A logo is a unique graphic or symbol that represents a company, product, service, or other entity. It represents an organization very well and make the customers well-acquainted with the company. It is due to logo that customers form an image for the product/service in mind. Adidass Three Stripes is a famous brand identified by its corporate logo. Features of a good logo are : It should be simple. It should be distinguished/unique. It should differentiate itself. It should be functional so that it can be used widely. It should be effective, i.e., it must have an impact on the intended audience. It should be memorable. It should be easily identifiable in full colours, limited colour palettes, or in black and white. g. It should be a perfect reflection/representation of the organization. a. b. c. d. e. f.

h. It should be easy to correlate by the customers and should develop customers trust in the organization. i. It should not loose its integrity when transferred on fabric or any other material. j. It should portray companys values, mission and objectives. The elements of a logo are: k. Logotype - It can be a simple or expanded name. Examples of logotypes including only the name are Kelloggs, Hyatt, etc. l. Icon - It is a name or visual symbol that communicates a market position. For example-LIC hands, UTI kalash. m. Slogan - It is best way of conveying companys message to the consumers. For instance- Nikes slogan Just Do It. 3. TRADEMARKS- Trademark is a unique symbol, design, or any form of identification that helps people recognize a brand. A renowned brand has a popular trademark and that helps consumers purchase quality products. The goodwill of the dealer/maker of the product also enhances by use of trademark. Trademark totally indicates the commercial source of product/service. Trademark contribute in brand equity formation of a brand. Trademark name should be original. A trademark is chosen by the following symbols: (denotes unregistered trademark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods); SM (denotes unregistered service mark) (denotes registered trademark). Registration of trademark is essential in some countries to give exclusive rights to it. Without adequate trademark protection, brand names can become legally declared generic. Generic names are never protectable as was the case with Vaseline, escalator and thermos. Some guidelines for trademark protection are as follows: a. b. c. d. e. Go for formal trademark registration. Never use trademark as a noun or verb. Always use it as an adjective. Use correct trademark spelling. Challenge each misuse of trademark, specifically by competitors in market. Capitalize first letter of trademark. If a trademark appears in point, ensure that it stands out from surrounding text.

Brand Image Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers perception about the product. It is the manner in which a specific brand is positioned in the market. Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. Brand image is nothing but an organizations character. It is an accumulation of contact and observation by

people external to an organization. It should highlight an organizations mission and vision to all. The main elements of positive brand image are- unique logo reflecting organizations image, slogan describing organizations business in brief and brand identifier supporting the key values. Brand image is the overall impression in consumers mind that is formed from all sources. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these associations, they form brand image. An image is formed about the brand on the basis of subjective perceptions of associations bundle that the consumers have about the brand. Volvo is associated with safety. Toyota is associated with reliability. 4. The idea behind brand image is that the consumer is not purchasing just the product/service but also the image associated with that product/service. Brand images should be positive, unique and instant. Brand images can be strengthened using brand communications like advertising, packaging, word of mouth publicity, other promotional tools, etc. 5. Brand image develops and conveys the products character in a unique manner different from its competitors image. The brand image consists of various associations in consumers mind - attributes, benefits and attributes. Brand attributes are the functional and mental connections with the brand that the customers have. They can be specific or conceptual. Benefits are the rationale for the purchase decision. There are three types of benefits: Functional benefits - what do you do better (than others ),emotional benefits how do you make me feel better (than others), and rational benefits/support - why do I believe you(more than others). Brand attributes are consumers overall assessment of a brand. 6. Brand image has not to be created, but is automatically formed. The brand image includes products' appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame, and overall value. Brand image is actually brand content. When the consumers purchase the product, they are also purchasing its image. Brand image is the objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they purchase a product. Positive brand image is exceeding the customers expectations. Positive brand image enhances the goodwill and brand value of an organization.

Brand Awareness Consumer recognize the existence and availability of a companys product or services. Brand loyalty When consumers become committed to your brand and make repeat purchase over time. Brand loyalty is a result of consumer behavior and is affected by a persons preferences. Loyal customers will consistently purchase products from their preferred brands, regardless of convenience price. Companies will often use different marketing strategies to cultivate loyal customer, be it is through loyalty program (i.e. rewards programs) trial and incentives etc.

Brand Association Extent to which a particular brand calls to mind the attributes of a general product category. For example, asking for 'Pampers' when one wants disposable diapers. The associations consumers make with brand support brand equity. These associations may include product attributes, a celebrity spokesperson or a symbol. Brand associations are driven by brand identity-what the organization wants the brand to stand for in the consumers mind. A key to brand building then is to develop and implement brand identity One key to successful brand building is to develop a brand identity- to know what the brand stands for and to effectively express that identity. Hyundai Santro has clearly positioned itself as the sunshine car and endorsed Preity Zinta known for her bubbly personality to match their positioning statement. Invariably all brands come to acquire a meaning in the mind of the customer. Customers associate different dimensions of the product including its use and use situations to the brands. Brand association, therefore, is anything linked to the memory of a brand. Thus a jingle like Happy days are here again has been associated in the customers mind with Thumps Up. Surf is linked with the economy-minded middle class housewife- Lalitaji in the advertisements. The name Tata is associated with quality. It is important to know how strong this association is and for a family name like this, which are the products with which this association is the strongest.

Brand Recognition The extent to which the general public (or an organization's target market) is able to identify a brand by its attributes. Brand recognition is most successful when people can state a brand without being explicitly exposed to the company's name, but rather through visual signifiers like logos, slogans and colors. Brand Recall The extent to which consumers remember advertising and other messages they have been sent about a brand. Its a type of brand awareness where the consumer recognises or identifies a brand, using information from their memory

Brand Recall is the extent to which a brand name is recalled as a member of a brand, product or service class, as distinct from brand recognition. Common market research usage is that pure brand recall requires "unaided recall". For example a respondent may be asked to recall the names of any cars he may know, or any whisky brands he may know. Some researchers divide recall into both "unaided" and "aided" recall. "Aided recall" measures the extent to which a brand name is remembered when the actual brand name is prompted. An example of such a question is "Do you know of the "Honda" brand?" In terms of brand exposure, companies want to look for high levels of unaided recall in relation to their competitors. The first recalled brand name (often called "top of mind") has a distinct competitive advantage in brand space, as it has the first chance of evaluation for purchase.

Brand Personality A set of human characteristics traits associated with a brand. Gender, age, socio-economic class, psychographic, emotional characteristics.  Christine Restall of McCann Erickson contends that it is because of an emotional predisposition that people choose one brand instead of the other though there is no discernible difference between them. Thus, she sees brand personality as the emotional link between the consumer & the brand. This definition has appeal.  Even very rational products (eg industrial purchases) can use emotional linkage as a way to the consumers heart.  Larson & Tourbo irrespective of where it appears as brand name (whether it is in cement or cement making machines) tends to get favoured. This is because L & Ts brand personality portrays its achievements in executing countless engineering projects successfully

Brand personality is the specific mix of human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand. 5 traits that may be attributed to a particular brand. 1. Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest & cheerful) 2. Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, & up-to-date) 3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, & successful) 4. Sophistication (Upper Class & charming)

5. Ruggedness ( tough) 6. Respondents in her study rated how descriptive each personality trait was for each brand according to a 7 point scale (1= not at all descriptive; 7 = extremely descriptive); responses were then averaged to provide summary measures The Brand Personality of bata Old, orthodox, bore formal, introvort, adjustable, unsporty, weak simple, loving, caring sober, old fashioned, conservative, turstworthy, unenthusiastic, friendly.

Major Brand Strategy Decisions

Line Extension Introducing additional items under the same brand name; new flavours, forms, colours, added ingredients, package sizes. (Depth) Brand Extension Using a successful brand name to launch a new or modified product in a new category. (Width) Multibrands

Introducing additional brands within the same product category. (Length) New Brands Creating a new brand name when entering a new product category. (Width)

TYPES OF BRAND EXTENSIONS 1. Extension into related categories Cinthol Soap launching a lime fresh/cologne fresh version or becoming a talcum powder 2. Extension into unrelated categories Tata brand name being used for both steel & tea. Extension into Related Categories 1. Extension into the same product category Cinthol Soap launching its lime fresh / cologne fresh / spicy fresh versions. Here the product has not been changed but stretched to accommodate variety. Both Cinthol (old) & Cinthol Lime Fresh are soaps. This could be called Category Related Extension 2. Extension into a category that is different but similar in benefits, association & appeal to the parent brand Cinthol from a toilet soap becomes a talcum powder. Though products are different, they are linked by the appeal they hold for customers. Both are cosmetics. This is termed as Image Related Extension. Brand Repositioning and Types of Brand Repositioning Brand Repositioning is changing the positioning of a brand. A particular positioning statement may not work with a brand. For instance, Dettol toilet soap was positioned as a beauty soap initially. This was not in line with its core values. Dettol, the parent brand (anti-septic liquid) was known for its ability to heal

cuts and gashes. The extension's 'beauty' positioning was not in tune with the parents germkill positioning. The soap, therefore, had to be repositioned as a germ-kill soap (bath for grimy occasions'') and it fared extremely well after repositioning. Here, the soap had to be repositioned for image mismatch. There are several other reasons for repositioning. Often falling or stagnant sales is responsible for repositioning exercises.

After examining the repositioning of several brands from the Indian market, the following 9 types of repositioning have been identified. These are: 1. Increasing relevance to the consumer 2. Increasing occasions for use 3. Making the brand serious 4. Falling sales 5. Bringing in new customers 6. Making the brand contemporary 7. Differentiate from other brands 8. Changed market conditions.

It is not always that these nine categories are mutually exclusive. Often one reason leads to the other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a multiplicity of reasons.

Lipton Yellow Label Tea: Lipton Yellow Label Tea was initially positioned as delicious, sophisticated and premium tea for the global citizen. The advertisements also echoed this theme. For instance, all the props and participants in the advertisements were foreign. It is possible that this approach did not find favour with the customers. The repositioning specifically addressed the Indian consumer through an Indian idiom.

Maharaja - the positioning: Dishwasher in its initial Stages was possibly seen as an exotic product. Thus, Maharaja positioned it as a product aimed at the upper crust. Thus, the positioning statement was your guests get Swiss cheese, Italian Pizza ...... you get stained glassware.'' But Indians are reluctant to use dishwashers because of deeply embedded cultural reasons. Thus, the message had to be changed to appeal to the Indian housewife. Thus the positioning was changed to Bye, Bye Kanta Bai'' indicating that the dishwasher signaled the end of the servant maid's tyranny. The brand, therefore, was repositioned from a sophisticated, aristocratic product to one that is functional and relevant to the Indian housewife.

Visa Card - the Positioning: Visa Card had to change its positioning to make itself relevant to customers under changed circumstances. Initially it asked the customer to pay the way the world does'' (1981). This is to give its card an aura of global reach. But as more and more cards were launched on the same theme, to put itself in a different league, it positioned itself as the world's most preferred card'' (1993). To highlight the services it provided, it shifted to the platform of Visa Power (1995). This focus on explaining the range of services available with the card continues till date (Visa Power, go get it).

Brand Equity - Understanding Brand Equity

Before looking at the various methods of brand building it is essential to know what brand equity is because strong brand equity is the basis of brand building. Brand Equity 1) Cost based 2) Price Based Refer to Brand equity book by YLR Moorthi Keller defines brand equity as

Brand equity is defined in terms of the marketing effects uniquely attributable to the brands -for example, when certain outcomes result from the marketing of a product or service because of its brand name that would not occur if the same product or service did not have that name. David Aaker defines brand equity as A set of assets and liabilities linked to a brands name and symbol that adds to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firms customers. The major asset categories are: Brand loyalty Brand Name Awareness Perceived quality Brand Association Several aspects of this definition require elaboration. First, brand equity is a set of assets. Thus the management of brand equity involves investment to create and enhance these assets. Second such brand equity asset creates value in a variety of very different ways. In order to manage brand equity effectively and to make informed decisions about brand building activities it is important to be sensitive to ways in which strong brands create value. Third brand equity creates value for the customer as well as the firm. The word customer refers to both end users and those at the infrastructural level. Finally for assets or liabilities to underlie brand equity they must be linked to the name or symbol of the brand. If the brands name or symbol should change, some or all of the assets or liabilities could be affected or even lost, although some might be shifted to the new symbol or name. Brand Awareness - A Brand Building Concept Awareness refers to the strength of a brands presence in the consumers mind. Awareness is measured according to the different ways in which consumers remember a brand, ranging from recognition to recall to top of the mind.

Recognitions reflect familiarity gained from past exposure. Recognition does not necessarily involve remembering where the brand was encountered before why it differs from other brands or even what the brands product class is. It is simply remembering that there was a past exposure

to the brand. When consumers see a brand and remember that they have seen it before they realize that the company is spending money to support the brand. Since it is generally believed that companies will not spend money on products consumers take their recognition as a signal that the brand is good. Many companies, especially while introducing a new product in the market find that sales cannot be sustained without constant advertising. Sales charts always show a meteoric rise postadvertising burst. Companies often rerun advertisement on different channels over the year to sustain the brand awareness and ensure that the consumers are exposed to the brand. Complan repeats the same TV commercials for different target markets over a period of time to ensure brand recall and visibility. Factors Affecting Brand Awareness Brand Awareness refers to the strength of a brands presence in the consumers mind. Awareness is measured according to the different ways in which consumers remember a brand, ranging from recognition to recall to top of the mind. Some of the major factors affecting brand awareness are: Brand Name: One of the most important factor affecting brand awareness is the brand name. Brand name plays an important part in creating awareness for a brand. Also whether the name is really very meaningful or completely baseless they both affect brand awareness. Bacardi Breezers - flavoured aerated vodka based drink Fevi Stik - adhesive Centre Shock chewing gum. Advertising: Advertising also helps to create Brand awareness in a big way. Take any brand name Fevicol, Vicks, Pepsi all have used ads for creating awareness among their consumers. Celebrity:- Another important factor affecting Brand awareness is the celebrities endorsing the Brand. Whenever you see a celebrity you love endorsing a brand you tend to propagate the Brand. Coca Cola experienced a tremendous increase in brand following post ad campaigns with Hrithik Roshan and Kaho Na Pyaar Hai.

Parent Company:- To a large extent the parent company helps in promoting a brand. The parent company in many cases is so popular that its brand automatically become popular and people become aware about the product. TATA always promotes it brand with its name along with the brand such as TATA INDICA, TATA INDIGO, TATA SALT. Sales Promotions And Offers: - It also helps in making the consumers aware of the brand. Some of the sales promotion activities that companies carry out help them in a big way to make their target aware of the brand. Reliance India Mobiles Monsoon Hungama offer, wherein they offered their WLL services at an affordable price. 1st Mover Advantage: - Usually the company that enters a product category first has good awareness about its brand. Usually people tend to remember the first player to enter the market. Parle products BISLERI in the packaged water segment. Public Relations: - The coverage that the fourth estate and magazines provide a brand also helps in building awareness about a brand. The popularity of local restaurants such as J.W.Marriot has been boosted by the page 3 mentions in the Bombay Times supplement of The Times of India. Direct Selling: - Some of the companies use direct selling as a platform to create brand awareness. Eureka Forbes water filter AQUA GUARD. Peer Group Opinion: - Peer group opinion also plays an important part in the whole brand awareness exercise. Usually people tend to discuss a lot about the brand and tend to share their experiences or some recent ads they have seen which in turn increases brand awareness of their peers. When opting for cellular network services (irrespective of prepaid or billing), most people generally go by the opinions of their friends and colleagues. Recall Of Ads: - In some cases the brand awareness is also high due to specific ad recall, which is very high.

Amaron battery advertisement of race between tortoise and rabbit with the tagline LAST LONG REALLY LONG. Celebrity Endorsements - A Brand Building Concept The billions of dollars spent per year on celebrity endorsement contracts show that celebrities, like Liz Hurley, Britney Spears and Tiger Woods, play an important role for the advertising industry. This shows that the practice of using super stars in advertising generates a lot of publicity and attention from the public. The underlying question is, if and how the lively interest of the public in the rich and famous can be effectively used by companies to promote their brands and consequently increase revenues. CELEBRITIES AS SPOKESPERSONS Companies frequently use spokespersons to deliver their advertising message and convince consumers of their brands. A widely used and very popular type of spokesperson is the celebrity endorser. The reason for using celebrities as spokespersons goes back to their huge potential influence. Compared to other endorser types, famous people achieve a higher degree of attention and recall. They increase awareness of a companys advertising, create positive feelings towards brands and are perceived by consumers as more entertaining. Using a celebrity in advertising is therefore likely to positively affect consumers brand attitudes and purchase intentions. SOURCE CREDIBILITY AND ATTRACTIVENESS A central goal of advertising is the persuasion of customers, i.e., the active attempt to change or modify consumers attitude towards brands. In this respect, the credibility of an advertisement plays an important role in convincing the target audience of the attractiveness of the companys brand. Pursuing a celebrity endorsement strategy enables advertisers to project a credible image in terms of expertise, persuasiveness, trustworthiness, and objectiveness. To create effective messages, celebrity advertisers also have to consider the attractiveness of the spokesperson. Source attractiveness refers to the endorsers physical appearance, personality, likeability, and similarity to the receiver, thus to the perceived social value of the source. The use of (by corresponding standards) attractive people is common practice in television and print advertising, with physically attractive communicators having proved to be more successful in influencing customers attitudes and beliefs than unattractive spokespersons. This behavior

mainly goes back to a halo effect, whereby persons who perform well on one dimension, e.g. physical attractiveness, are assumed to excel on others as well, e.g. happiness and coolness. Simply assuming that a person just has to be famous to represent a successful spokesperson, however, would be incorrect, with a considerable number of failures proving the opposite. Very well accepted and attractive super stars have failed in turning their endorsements into success. The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements in advertising in India. Hindi films and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain of models. There was a spurt of advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings). Of course, the first ad. to cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term mission statement kind of way was Lux soap, a brand which has been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime. Detergents on the other hand ran the whole gamut from Lalitaji (the antithesis of celebrity) to Shekhar Suman, stepping into the lives of ordinary housewives. In the much talked about Shah Rukh-Santro campaign, the organisation wanted to overcome the shortcoming of an unknown brand, Korean at that. The objective was to garner faster brand recognition, association and emotional unity with the target group. The Santro ad. showed the highest recall amongst auto ads.. despite average media spends for the category. Even the ill-fated Home Trade had hits going up to seven lakhs a day after their campaign featuring Hrithik, Shah Rukh and Sachin. Basically, celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of glamour, and the hope that a famous face will provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market. In the battle for the mind, you get the customer excited by showing him a known face, and an effective demand is created. This would normally work best when the concerned brand has close substitutes, or has a need for differentiation, or requires quick entry in a short lifecycle category. Apart from this memorable bit, using a celebrity is supposed to lend instant credibility as well as aspirational values to the brand ----- a hope to get people to follow the Pied Piper. For instance, usage of sports personalities in footwear advertising (where the consumer feels that as Sachin wears Adidas, so should he). But here, the marketer needs to be really disciplined in choice of celebrity and the celebrity needs to match the product. For instance, Cokes Daler Mehndi campaign suffered from this very problem-----it wasn't aspirational enough. On the

other hand, Videocon is using Shah Rukh cleverly to lift the brand from the masses to a more upmarket, techie image. Sports people have always been celebrities. Only now, the advertising industry is trying to cash in on their mass appeal. In the field of sports, the cricketers take the lions share of advertisement contracts for their wide mass appeal where this sport is considered as a religion and Sachin as God. The much sought-after players of Indian Cricket are: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virendra Shewag. Apart from cricket and cricketers other sport and sportspersons also attract considerable endorsement money. Leading tennis players like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati (J Hampstead, Adidas), footballer Baichung Bhutia (Reebok, Omega), chess wizard Viswanathan Anand (NIIT), golfers Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa (Mizuno of Japan), Narain Karthikeyan ( Tata group, Amaron, Kingfisher and JK Tyres) attract sizeable endorsement money among others. In an attempt to fly deeper into the hearts of Indian travellers, tourism promotion boards from the South East Asian region are now looking at Indian ambassadors. Topping the list is Tourism Malaysia, which is in negotiations to sign up both Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai as its brand ambassadors to promote this predominantly Muslim tourist destination among the Indians. Not to be left behind, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) is also planning to ink a similar deal with the Indian cricket team.
Brand Success But have you ever think what makes the brand great? What are the important things we have to remember to make a brand successful? There are different practices to make a brand successful and it differs from product, services to services and corporate brands. Some points to make your brand successful 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Protect your brand -: through trade mark, patent etc. Honor your shareholders Treat your brand as an investment, not a cost Exploit the financial potential of your brand A clear and consistent positioning