SRI KRISHNA ADITHYA

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

(Affiliated to Bharathiar University)
Kovaipudur, Coimbatore – 641 042.
BRAND MANAGEMENT
UNIT 2
BRAND ASSOCIATIONS
It is the degree to which a specific product/service is recognized within its product or
service category. For example, a person asking for Xerox wants to actually make true copies
of a paper document.
Information Retrieval: It is the extent to which the brand name is able to retrieve or
process the associations from consumer’s memory.
Drive Purchasing: This is the extent to which brand associations drive consumers to
purchase.
Attitude: This is the extent to which brand associations create positive attitude in the
consumer’s mind.
Number of Brand Extensions: More the extensions, more the opportunity to add brand
associations.
Creating Associations
• Identifying and managing signals
– Customers often discount or disbelieve factual information
– They cope by using signals or indicators, one attribute or association can
imply others
– E.g., healthy cereal, caterpillar
Changing Associations
• Changing associations (repositioning) often is a delicate job because of the existing
associations
Maintaining Associations
• Be consistent over time
– Changing associations is wasteful when associations that have been nurtured
over a long time-period are allowed to dissipate when a new association is
emphasized
• Be consistent over elements of the marketing program
– E.g., E.J Korvette, a pioneer discounter (Eugene Ferfauf, 1948)
VISION
▪ A Vision is a description of the business, as you want it to be.
▪ It is, “a mental image produced by the imagination.”
▪ It involves seeing the optimal future for your business, and vividly describing this
vision.
The description might include HOW things will be WHERE, WHOM with, WHAT you’ll be
doing and HOW you’ll feel.
Brand vision
▪ A vision paints a picture of what you are trying to achieve with your brand in a simple
sentence.
▪ This is the strategic goal of a brand.
▪ It indicates the direction into which a given brand should develop medium- or long-
term.
Example:
"To be the Number 1 brand in the UK sun care market in penetration, sales and likeability.“
“To provide innovative solutions to market needs.

If brands are to succeed there needs to be a vision to give a sense of direction. Not only
does this enable staff to appreciate what role they should play but when unforeseen
challenges appear, it helps managers identify strategies that will help them stay true to their
long-term intent. This section addresses the three components of a brand vision:

• values characterising the brand

• future environment
• purpose for the brand

Brand values

The word ‘values’ is frequently used in marketing, yet there is sometimes confusion
about its meaning. A value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state
of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct
or end-state of existence.

In the context of brands, values represent the behaviours and end-states to which a
brand adheres as important guiding principles. A brand’s values effectively say ‘This is what
we believe in and this is how we think our business should be conducted’. A brand’s values
should not be confused with the concept of added value, which refers to the augmentation of
an offering to differentiate it from competitors

Envisioned Future
If a brand is to thrive, the team behind it must have a stretching vision about what the
future environment in which the brand will exist should be like, at least 10 years ahead.

Brand Purpose

The final component of the brand vision that needs to be identified is the brand
purpose. This is more than just increasing shareholder wealth, or making a profit, which is
taken for granted as being essential. Rather it is to do with answering the question ‘How is
the world going to be a better place as a consequence of the brand?’, and again it has to
inspire and guide staff.

BRAND AMBASSADORS
Another way of promoting brands is by employing a brand ambassador. A brand
ambassador is a person who embodies the brand, influences the customers, creates brand
awareness and a specific brand image, and generates sales opportunities.
A brand ambassador usually represents only one brand at a time. The employing company
considers the brand ambassador as a face of the company that speaks of the brand in their
own words and boosts the positive image in the minds of consumers. The looks, talents,
status, achievements, and reputation of a brand ambassador is useful for influencing large
audience of consumers.
▪ One who represent the product on behalf of the entire company.
▪ A well-connected person or a celebrity who is used to promote and advertise a
product or service
▪ A brand ambassador can also be called as an marketing agent of a company.
▪ Intention beyond is to market the product.
Criteria for choosing a brand ambassador
1. Renowned
2. Role model
3. Gender
4. Generation
5. Product
6. Price of the product
BRAND AS A PERSONALITY
• Brand Personality is a set of human characteristics associated with a brand
• Personality is how the brand behaves
• Gender, age, socio-economic class, psychographic, emotional characteristics
• Brand Personality, like human personality, is both distinctive and enduring
• Both are built over a period of time
• Refers to the outcome of all the consumer’s experiences with the brand
• In other words, the brand’s personality is the weighted average of previous
impressions
• In consumer’s mind, these impressions merge to form an overall concept of what to
expect from brand
• Brand Personality is eagerly searched by brand strategists and researchers
• Differences in responses by different consumers provide useful insights
• For example, users of a product will perceive a brand different from non-users
Why use brand personality
Enriches understanding
• Helps gain an in-depth understanding of consumer perceptions of and attitudes
towards the brand
• Can provide more insight than is gained by asking about attribute perceptions
For ex., Microsoft, IBM etc.,
Contributes to a differentiating identity
• Can differentiate brands especially where brands are similar in product attributes
• In fact, it can define not only the brand but the product class context and experience
• Mercedes Vs BMW; Clinic Plus Vs Pantene
Guides the communication effort
• Communicates the brand identity with richness and texture
• If the brand is specified only in terms of attribute associations, very little meaningful
guidance is provided
– Is Nike shoes or sports, performance and attitude?
Creates brand equity
• Builds long-term brand equity
• Differentiates the brand and makes it distinct from other competitive offerings
• Serves as a powerful relationship device
How to create brand personality
• Personality of a person is affected by everything associated with him – friends,
neighborhood, activities, clothes etc.,
• So too is a brand personality
1) Product-related characteristics
• Product-related characteristics can be primary drivers of a brand personality
– Even the product class can affect personality
• Banks, Insurance etc., tend to be Competent, Serious, Masculine, Older and Upper-
class
• Athletic shoes tend to be Young, Lively, Rugged, Outdoorsy, Adventurous etc.,
• Product attributes can often affect brand personality
• A high-priced brand will be considered wealthy, stylish and perhaps snobbish!
2) User imagery
Can be powerful driver of personality because user is already a person and so
conceptualizing the personality is reduced
User Imagery can be people who use the brand or those portrayed in advertising
3) Sponsorships
Activities such as events sponsored by the brand will influence its personality
Pond’s sponsoring Femina’s ‘Miss India’ contest
Budweiser sponsoring the blimp in American sporting events
4) Age
• How long a brand has been on the market can affect its personality
• New entrants like Apple, Outlook etc., tend to have younger brand personalities than
IBM, India Today etc.,
5) Symbol
• A symbol can be a powerful influence on brand personality since it can be controlled
and can have extremely strong associations
• Some examples…
– Apple’s bitten apple
– Nike’s swoosh
– MetLife’s Peanuts character

A brand personality can help a brand in several ways:

– It can provide a vehicle for customers to express their own identity

 – A brand personality metaphor helps suggests the kind of relationship that
customer has with brand

– Brand personalities serve to represent and cue functional benefits and product
attributes well

– Importantly, brand personality is often a sustainable point of differentiation,

Sustainable because it is very difficult to copy a personality

BRAND EXTENSION
 A Brand Extension occurs when a firm uses an established brand name to introduce a
new product
 When a new brand is combined with an existing brand (approach 3), the brand
extension can also be called a sub-brand.
 An existing brand that gives birth to a brand extension is the parent brand.
 If the parent brand is already associated with multiple products through brand
extensions, then it may also be called a family brand.

Types Of Brand Extension

Line extension or product related extension
 The parent brand is used to brand a new product that targets a new market segment
with in a product category currently served by the parent brand.
 A line extension often adds a different flavor or ingredient variety, a different form or
size, or a different application for the brand.
Eg: Head & Shoulders
Category extension
 The parent brand is used to enter a different product category from that currently
served by the parent brand.
 Eg: ITC
Strategies For Establishing a Category
1. Introduce the same product in a different form
2. Introduce product that contain the brand’s distinctive taste, ingredient or component.
3. Introduce companion product for the brand.
4. Introduce products relevant to the customer franchise of the brand.
5. Introduce products that capitalize on the firm’s perceived expertise.
6. Introduce products that reflect the brands distinctive benefit, attribute or feature.
 7. Introduce products that capitalize on distinctive image or prestige of the brand.
Unrelated Extension
The unrelated diversification of an organization
Thus unrelated diversification is more likely to be successful if the brand possess
(a) Early entry advantage
(b) Quality Image
(c) Respected family or organization name
Eg:- WIPRO started as Western India Vegetable Products and extended to IT Sector
Why Brand Extensions?
 Leveraging brand equity/value by introduction of logical & complementary new
product categories
E.g HP
 Product Innovation to surpass consumer expectations
 It increases awareness of the brand name
 Increases profitability from offerings in more than one product category.
 It’s a great way to reinforce a brand, reach out to new customers, create a BUZZ
Advantages of Brand extensions

Facilitate New Product Acceptance

▪ Improve brand image

▪ Reduce risk perceived by Customers

▪ Permit consume variety-seeking

▪ Increase the probability of gaining distribution and trial

▪ Increase efficiency of promotional expenditures

▪ Reduce costs of introductory & follow-up marketing programs (save 40-80%)

E.g. Apple iPods

▪ Avoid costs of developing a new brand

▪ Allow for packaging & labeling efficiencies

Provide Feedback Benefits to the Parent Brand and Company

 ▪ Clarify brand meaning

▪ Enhance the parent brand image

▪ Bring new customers into brand franchise and increase market coverage

▪ Revitalize the brand

▪ Permit subsequent extensions

Disadvantages of Brand Extensions

▪ Can confuse or frustrate consumers
▪ Can encounter retailer resistance
▪ Can fail & hurt parent brand image
 Xerox Computers-synonymous with copiers & no one believed they could
make computers
▪ Can succeed but cannibalize sales of parent brand
 Amul Butter-”reduced salt butter” is slowly
eating up Amul normal butter
▪ Can succeed but diminish identification with any one category
▪ Can succeed but hurt the image of parent brand
▪ Can dilute brand meaning
▪ Can cause the company to forgo the chance to develop a new brand

When are Brand Extensions Appropriate?

 When Prior Brand equity exists
 Consumer must see some “connection” between the proposed extension and the
parent brand.
 The proposed extension contributes to and reinforces the overall brand equity of the
parent brand.
How Consumers Evaluate Extensions

 Consumers have some awareness & positive associations about the parent brand

 At least some of these positive associations will be evoked by the brand extension

 Negative association are not transferred from the parent brand

 Negative associations are not created by the brand extension

BRAND POSITIONING

Positioning is a marketing strategy that aims to make a brand occupy a distinct position,
relative to competing brands, in the mind of the customer.
Rules of Brand Positioning

Basic qualities of brand positioning include:

• Relevance: Positioning of brand must focus on benefits that are important to people or
reflect the character of the product.

• Clarity: Brand should be positioned in such a way that it is easy to communicate and
quick to comprehend.

• Distinctiveness: In current market situation there are a reasonably good number of

players vying for a share in the market, forcing them to compete on the basis of price
or promotion. To overcome such a situation, company needs to offer distinctiveness in
its products or services.

• Coherence: A brand should speak with one voice through all the elements of the
marketing mix.

• Commitment: Management should be committed to the position it has adopted. Once

a position is adopted, it takes commitment to see it through.

• Patience: Patience plays an important role in the success of brand as branding is not a
one-day wonder – it takes years to position a brand in consumers’ mind.
 • Courage: Adopting a strong brand position requires courage as it is much easier to
defend an appeal rather than generate sales pitch

▪ Re-positioning involves changing the identity of a product, relative to the identity of

competing products, in the collective minds of the target market.

▪ De-positioning involves attempting to change the identity of competing products,

relative to the identity of your own product, in the collective minds of the target
market.

Approaches To Positioning:

1. Focusing on the consumer

2. Focusing on the competitors

Process Of Product/ Brand Positioning

Know your target audience well

Identify the product features

Unique selling Propositions

Know your competitors

Ways to promote brands

Maintain the position of the brand

Brand Personality Framework

5 Dimensions of Brand Personality

TRAITS DESCRIPTION

SINCERITY Service is perceived as honest, genuine, cheerful, domestic

EXCITEMENT Customer perceived service as daring and spirited

COMPETENCE Service is perceived as responsible, reliable, efficient and

dependable

SOPHISTICATION Customer perceived service as charming, glamorous and romantic

RUGGEDNESS Service is perceived as strong and tough

BRAND IMAGE BUILDING

▪ Impression in the consumers' mind of a brand’s total personality (real and

imaginary qualities and shortcomings).

▪ Brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with

a consistent theme, and is authenticated through the consumer’s direct experience.

▪ 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

▪ Brand image develops and conveys the product’s character in a unique manner
different from its competitor’s image.

▪ The brand image includes products' appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame, and
overall value

▪ Brand image is the objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they
purchase a product

▪ Positive brand image enhances the goodwill and brand value of an organization