Brand Management

Why study brand management?

• Brands are an integral part of an individual’s life.
• Some brands are remembered one for lifetime whereas some go unnoticed.
• We live in a world now where brands have to be created, nurtured and protected.
• Hence, the study of brand management becomes important in today’s times.

Meaning of Brand Management?

• The term brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a
particular company, product, or individual.
• Brands are intangible, which means you can't actually touch or see them.
• As such, they help shape people's perceptions of companies, their products, or
individuals.
• Brands commonly use identifying markers to help create brand identities within the
marketplace.
• Brand Management is the analysis and planning on how that brand is perceived in the
market by the consumer.
• Developing good relationship with the target market is essential for brand
management.
• Brand management has two elements:
• Tangible elements: Looks, price, packaging etc.
• Intangible elements: Experience that the consumer has, relationship they have with
the brand and so on.

Brand vs product!!
• A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or
consumption that may satisfy a need or want.
• A brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions that differentiate it in some
way from the other products designed to satisfy the same need.
• For e.g., Chocolate is a product. However, KitKat by Nestle Company is a brand as it
distinguishes itself from the competitor by being a wafer chocolate.

Importance of brand to consumer!!

• Identification of the maker of the product
• Assignment of responsibility to the maker of the product
• Simplify product decisions
• Brands create relationship with customers
• Brands act as symbolic devices
• Indicators of quality
• Reduce risk
Importance of brands to firm!!
• Identification purpose
• Legal protection
• Level of quality
• Competitive advantage
• Sources of financial returns

Scope of Branding!!
• Physical goods
• Services
• Retailers and distributors
• Online products and services
• People and organizations
• Geographic locations

Branding challenges and opportunities!!

• Knowledgeable customers
• Brand proliferation
• Media fragmentation
• Increased competition
• Increased cost
• Accountability

Strategic Brand management process!!

§ It involves the design and implementation of marketing programs and
activities to build, measure and manage brand equity.
1. Identifying and establish brand positioning values:
o The process begins with determining with what the brand represents and how
it is positioned with respect to its competitors.
o Brand positioning is the act of designing the company’s offer and image so
that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer’s mind. It
aims at making the company’s product look better than the competitor in the
minds of the customer.
2. Planning and implementing brand marketing programs:
o Choosing brand elements: Most common brand elements are brand names,
logos, symbols, characters, packaging, slogans.
o The best of brand-building contribution of brand element is what consumers
think about the product or service if they knew only its name or its associated
logo or other element.
3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance:
o To understand brand profitability, managers must design and implement a
brand equity measurement system.
o A brand equity measurement system is a set of research procedures designed
to provide timely, accurate and actionable information to marketers so that
they can make the best possible tactical decision in the short run and the best
strategic decision in the long run.
4. Growing and sustaining brand equity:
o Maintaining and expanding on brand equity can be quite challenging.
 o Brand building is a time-consuming process.
o Marketers have to take a long-term perspective in brand building so that it is
able to offer value to customers.
5. Customer based brand equity model:
o Customer Based Brand Equity or the CBBE Model explores the overall brand
equity through the customer perspective in order to create a strong and a
sellable brand in the market.
o It was first proposed and developed by marketing professor and expert Kevin
Keller in 1993.
o Keller's CBBE model states that creating a positive and strong brand image or
equity requires focusing on customers and how they perceive, experience and
position the brand in their mind.
o The overall brand identity of the products or the brand should be such that the
customers respond positively to it.
6. Brand salience:
o Brand salience measures various aspects of the awareness of the brand and
how easily and often the brand is evoked under various situations or
circumstances.
o Brand salience is related to brand awareness.
o Depth of brand awareness measures how likely it is for a brand element to
come to mind, and the ease with which it does so.
7. Brand performance:
o Designing and delivering a product that satisfies customer needs and
o wants is important for successful marketing. If the brand surpasses
o customer expectations, it creates customer delight.
o Brand performance describes how the product or service meets customer’s
needs.
o The strongest brands excel because they offer performance advantage which
the competitor cannot match up to.
8. Brand imagery:
o Brand imagery depends on the ways in which a brand attempts to meet
o customer’s psychological or social needs. It is the way people think about a
brand, rather than what they think the brand actually does.
o Thus, imagery refers to more intangible aspects of the brand, and consumer
can form imagery associations directly from their experience or indirectly
through advertising or by other sources like word of mouth.
o Four main ways of brand imagery:
§ User imagery
§ Purchase and usage imagery
§ Brand Personality and values
§ Brand History, heritage and experiences.
9. Brand judgement:
o Brand judgements are the customer’s personal opinions and evaluations of the
brand, which consumers form by putting together all the different brand
performance and imagery associations.
o Customers may make all types of judgements with respect to a brand, but four
types are particularly important judgements about quality, credibility,
consideration and superiority.
10. Brand feelings:
o Brand feelings are customer’s emotional responses and reactions to the brand.
 o These feelings can be mild or intense and can be positive or negative.
o For e.g.: Saffola cooking oil by Marico Industries evokes a negative feeling in
the woman’s mind if she does not use a good cooking oil, it can affect the
health of her husband.
o Therefore, she decides to buy Saffola though it maybe costlier than its
competitors.
o Brand judgements are driven by the head whereas brand feelings are driven by
the heart.
11. Brand resonance:
o Brand resonance focuses on the ultimate relationship and level of
identification the customer has with the brand.
o Brand resonance is characterized in terms of intensity, or depth of
psychological bond that customers share with the brand.
o Brand resonance can be broken down into four categories:
§ Behavioral loyalty
§ Attitudinal attachment
§ Sense of community
§ Active engagement
o In short, brand resonance and the relationships consumers have with the
brands have two dimensions: intensity and activity.
o Intensity measures the strength of the attitudinal attachment and sense of
community.
o Activity tells us how frequently the consumer buys and uses the brand as well
as engages in other activities not related to purchase and consumption.

Meaning of brand positioning:

• Brand positioning is the act of designing the company’s offer and image so that it
occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer’s minds.
• Brand positioning is at the heart of marketing strategy.
• Good brand positioning helps guide marketing strategy by clarifying what a brand is,
how it is unique and how it is similar to competitive brands and why consumers
should purchase it.

Importance of brand positioning:

• Makes the product stand out amongst competitors.
• Makes the customer excited about the product.
• Competitor’s brand positioning must be kept in mind.
• Good positioning is believable.
• Good positioning never gets old.

Guidelines for positioning:

• Defining and communicating the competitive frame of reference:
o Communicating category benefits
o Exemplars
o Product description
• Choosing points of difference
o Desirability criteria
o Deliverability criteria
o Differentiation criteria
 • Establishing point of parity and point of difference
o Point of parity means that the brand has all the necessary features needed in
that category of products. The best approach is to create a product that
performs well on both dimensions: point of parity and point of difference.
o A communication program for the brand must not only highlight the point of
difference but also the point of parity. A successful ad campaign must be able
to strike a balance between point of parity and point of difference.

Following factors to keep in mind when creating successful positioning in consumer’s

minds:
• Keep the customer’s needs in mind.
• Unique attributes of the brand.
• Delivering the promise.
• Brand repositioning.
• Characteristics of brand repositioning:
• Understand the customer
• Make the brand relevant
• Convince the customer

Brand elements:
• Brand elements also known as brand identities.
• Devices that allow a brand to be identifiable and differentiable.
• They include logos, brand names, slogans, jingles, packaging and so on.

Criteria for choosing brand elements:

• Brand elements also known as brand identities.
• Devices that allow a brand to be identifiable and differentiable.
• They include logos, brand names, slogans, jingles, packaging and so on.

Types of Brand elements:

• Brand name
o Brand elements also known as brand identities.
o Devices that allow a brand to be identifiable and differentiable.
o They include logos, brand names, slogans, jingles, packaging and so on.
o Guidelines for brand name selection
§ Brand elements also known as brand identities.
§ Devices that allow a brand to be identifiable and differentiable.
§ They include logos, brand names, slogans, jingles, packaging and so
on.
• Brand logo and symbols
o Logo is a graphic mark, emblem, symbol commonly used by commercial
enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant
public recognition.
o Logos are either purely graphic (symbols/icons) or are composed of the name
of the organization (a logotype or word mark).
o For e.g.: Amul, IBM, Nike swoosh, Olympic rings etc.
Benefits of logo and symbols
• They are easily recognizable and give an identity to the product.
• Logos are versatile and can be used across a range of products.
• Logos give identity to the product even when the brand name is not used.
• Logos are easy to change with changing times.
• However, the change must be brought about gradually so that the advantage that the
logo offers are not lost over time.

Characters
• Characters represent a special type of brand symbol one that takes on human or real-
life characteristics.
• Characters are usually promoted through ad campaigns and they create brand identity
for the product.
• For.e.g.: in Parle G girl has given identity to the brand for many years.
• Similarly, Ronald McDonald, the bunny from Lijjat Papad ad and the spinning girl on
Nirma packaging and so on.

Slogans
• Slogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information
about the brand. They often appear in advertising but can play an important role in
packaging and other aspects of the marketing program.
• Slogans are important in building brand equity. They are effective in attracting
consumers to the brand.
• For e.g.: Amul: The Taste of India, Surf: Daag acche hain, Asian Paints: Har Ghar
kuch kehta hai, Bajaj: Humara Bajaj, Kingfisher: The King of Good times, etc.

Benefits of slogan
• They help build brand awareness
• They establish a relationship between the brand and the product category that the
brand belongs to.
• They reinforce the brand positioning
• They make the product look different from that of the competitor

Jingles
• Jingles are musical messages written around the brand.
• They use catchy words and have a tone which is very hummable.
• They immediately register in the customer’s minds.
• They help in creating brand awareness.
• For e.g.: Cadbury silk jingle, Britannia jingle, Niram jingle and so on.

Packaging
• The role of packaging in marketing has become significant as it one of the ways
companies can get consumers to notice the products.
• Effective packaging makes it easier to understand at a glance – who I am, what I am,
and why I am relevant to your life.
• Packaging offers many benefits to the product. It gets the customer to notice the
product and makes the product likeable.
Integrated Marketing programs and Personalizing Marketing

It is essential to promote brands among consumers, not only to project them as being better
than their competitors but also survive in the long run.

Brand communication is an initiative taken by organizations to make their products and

services popular among the end-users.
The process involves identifying the target markets and promoting the brand among them
through any one or combination of following means:

Advertising
Sales Promotion
PR
Direct Marketing
Personal selling
Social media etc.

Various factors for Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)

• Understanding the product and the target market.
• The corporate culture: Features of product must be in line with the work culture

• Brand Focus: Brand focus represents the corporate brand identity of the brand. The
brand must always focus on what matters most. i.e., the customer.

• Consumer experience: Consumer experience must be a priority. Product must try and
meet consumer expectations.

• Communication tools: Include various modes such as advertising, direct selling,

promoting through social media

• Promotional tools: Various promotional tools such as trade promotions, personal

selling, exhibitions and so on.

• Integration tools: Tools which help in keeping regular track on customer feedbacks
and reviews.

Benefits of IMC:

• Better Results
• Saves time and money
• Effective campaigns

Developing an Integrated Marketing Program:

• Coverage
• Contribution
• Commonality
• Complementarily
• Conformability
• Cost
Personalized marketing
• Personalized marketing is the ultimate form of targeted marketing. It focuses on
creating messages for individual consumers.
• It allows the marketer to reach different consumers with different creative messages,
rather than single TV ad that everyone sees.
• It means the marketer can subtly tailor the message based on demographics, interests,
location or even purchase history.
• It can reach out to millions but tailored message for each and every one of them.

Experiential marketing

• Broadly defined as any form of customer focused marketing activity that has various
touch points which creates a sensory-emotional connection with the customers.
• To put it in simple words, experiential marketing focuses primarily on helping
consumers experience a brand.
• To generate brand loyalty, traditional marketing methods aren’t enough.
• Brands need to create and communicate deeply with consumers by creating a unique
experience via experiential marketing.

• EM differs from traditional marketing in following ways:

• Focuses on consumer experience
• Focuses on consumption situation
• Views customers as rational and emotional
• Uses various methods and tools

One to One Marketing

One to One Marketing is a customer relationship management strategy emphasizing

personalized interactions with customers.
This is in order to foster greater customer loyalty and better returns on marketing
investments.

• Identifies individual customers from the customer database.

• Engages in dialogue with the customer
• Customizes the product and service as per the requirement of the consumer.
• One to One marketing is based on the logic that each individual
• customer is different, has different needs and must be treated differently.

Permission Marketing

• Term coined by Seth Godin.

• It aims at selling goods and services only when advance consent is given by customer
to receive marketing information.
• Useful tool of marketing in a world full of cluttered marketing messages.
 • Personal Marketing is
• Anticipated – people look forward to hearing from you
• Personal – the messages are directly related to the individual
• Relevant – Marketing is something about the prospect is interested in
• Permission marketing helps markets avoid following short term goals and focus on
long term goals of building long term relations.
• According to Godin, it is the process of “turning strangers into friends, and friends
into customer.”

Product Strategy

• The marketer must design the product/service in such a way that it meets customer
expectations.
• If the product meets/surpasses customer expectations, it creates customer delight.
• It is very crucial for generating brand loyalty.

Perceived quality

• Perceived quality is the customer’s perception of the overall quality or superiority of a

product or service as compared to its competitors.
• Quality of the product ensures repeat purchases.
Perceived quality may have little or nothing to do with the actual quality of the product and
may be based on one of the following:
• Company or brand’s public image.
• Consumer’s experience with the product.
• Influence of friends, family, experts, etc.
• For e.g.: Customer undergoing a process of car purchase.

Relationship marketing

• Relationship marketing refers to everything a marketing does to develop strong,

lifelong relationship with the customer.
• In simple terms, it is about making your customer feel important.
• For this, listening to your customers is very important.
• If your customers (multiple) are requesting a certain change in product, policy or
procedure and the company responds accordingly, it reflects that the company values
its customers and their welfare.
• Some examples include: Giving birthday discounts, offering reward plans, sending
cards on occasions and festivals and so on.
Tips on developing effective relationship marketing program
• Take regular feedback from customers.
• Incorporate feedback into company’s business practices.
• Use of social media to connect with customers better.

Pricing strategy
Price is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix. It is crucial for managers in
order to set the right price of the product.
Value Based Pricing:

• Value based pricing is the setting of a product or service’s price based on the benefits
it provides to consumers.
• It relies on the consumer’s perception of the value of the product and not the cost of
the product.
• It tries to find a price point that is high as possible without causing too many potential
consumers to turn away due to price.
• In the case of value-based pricing, value is not determined by simply adding up the
costs of the materials and labour involved in production, along with other costs such
as marketing and distribution.
• While cost of production is important, the driving force behind the price is how much
the product is desired by the customer, a subjective number that is not easy to measure
numerically.
• The fashion industry is an example of value-based pricing.
• If a particular designer becomes popular, the designer charges more for the garments
they create than if they were not as popular.

Everyday Low Price (EDLP)

• EDLP is the pricing strategy used by the retail stores that provides low prices to the
customers every single day without any special pricing discount, sale, comparison
shopping etc.
• EDLP helps to convince the consumer that they will better and low prices products
better than other competitive stores
• EDLP helps the retail stores to reduce their demand fluctuations that would occur due
to promotions on some days by other stores.
• Stores like Walmart, Big Bazaar use EDLP strategy to a very large extend.

Channel Strategy

• Marketing channels are defined as “sets of interdependent organizations involved in

the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption”
• Channel strategy includes the design and management of intermediaries such as
wholesalers, distributors, retailers etc.
• Making the product available to the consumer at the right time and place helps in
brand building.
Channels can be classified into direct and indirect channels:
Indirect channel
• In indirect channels of distribution there are one or more middlemen between the
manufacturer and customer.
• There is no contact between manufacturer and consumer.

• Manufacturers – Retailer – Consumer

• Manufacturers – Wholesalers – Retailers – Consumer
• Manufacturer agent – Wholesalers – Retailers – Consumer
Direct channel
• A direct channel of distribution describes a situation in which the
• producer sells a product directly to a consumer without the help of intermediaries.
In the direct channels of distribution, the manufacturer attempts to reach the consumers
through the following:
• Company owned stores
• Online retail formats
• Telemarketing etc.

Web Strategy

• An attractive and interactive website helps in building brand equity.

• A web strategy is a strategy that is used by business to engage customers online
through the web.

• Many times, it is observed that a company makes a website and does not alter it for a
very long time.
• This creates negative brand value in the minds of the customer.

Cause Related Marketing

• Meaning: Cause related marketing is a marketing strategy whereby the firm makes a
contribution, financial or otherwise, to a Non-profit organization contingent upon the
customer engaging in revenue providing exchange that satisfies business and
individual objectives.
Example
• ITC cause related marketing programme

• E-choupal as a more efficient supply chain aimed at delivering value to its customers
around the world on a sustainable basis.
• Choupal saagar hub-transporting rural local economies to a new level of productivity
and consumption.
• Social forestry conservation wasteland into artificial forests benefitting 16000
families.
• Women empowerment: Through self-help groups, Sunhera kal program.
• Livestock development part of their rural development program.

Branding and cause marketing

Three potential options:

• Self-branded: Create own cause program. E.g.: Ronald McDonald House charities,
Friends for life, NGOs like Thrani, NAACO.
• Co-branded: Link to existing cause program. E.g.: Reliance’s sponsorship with Help
Age India.
• Jointly branded: Link to existing cause program. E.g.: Conducting cultural program,
conducting football match and cricket match by big business groups for funding poor
children or natural calamity.
Why cause related marketing?
• Achievement of organizational goals
• Enhance a company’s reputation and brand image.
• Impact a company’s bottom line through increased sales.
• Attracting and retaining customers.
• Contribution to society.
• Build brand awareness.
• Establish brand credibility.
• Evoke brand feelings.

Green Marketing

Green marketing is more than just promotion or advertisement of products with

environmental characteristics. It is a broader concept.

Green marketing is defined as the holistic management for identifying, anticipating and
satisfying the requirements of customers and society in a profitable and sustainable way.

Why Green Marketing?

• Growing concern worldwide about the environment protection.
• Consumers are becoming more conscious that their consumption has an impact on the
environment.
• Manufacturers have recognized environmental concerns as a source of competitive
advantage.

Advantages of green marketing

• Reducing the cost

• Improving product design
• Standardized practice
• Creating awareness
• Increased revenue
• Increased productivity
• Receiving loans and grants

Brands and values: how do they relate?

Value stand at the very core of your brand.

• They are the center from which everything radiates – including your brand’s look
(design), message (voice) and relationships (customer service).
• A brand value is simply not how much people will pay extra but also how often they
choose that brand and for which reasons.
• For example: A branded watch may cost 10000 Rupees. But if people choose them
only once for a matter of prestige but never buy again, then the brand doesn’t have
much value.
• No one can survive on one-time customers.
• The associations which people have with a brand, means the thoughts and feelings
which come to mind when thinking of a company.
• Branding is about distinguishing and differentiating a company from others.
 • How does a company achieve this differentiation?
• The solution lies in focusing on the issues which determine whether a purchase is
made.
• These are the values of the brand and it is the brand values which are at the heart of
successful branding.

Brand Value Chain

• Brand Value chain is a structured approach to assessing the sources and outcomes of
brand equity and the manner by which marketing activities create brand value.
• Brand value chain provides companies with a structured means to understand where
and how value is created and more importantly identify and target specific areas
which needs improvement.

Value Stages

Marketing programme help to develop brand value. It includes:

• Advertising
• Personal selling
• Sponsorship
• Publicity
• Public relation

Marketing program investment

• Any marketing program investment that can contribute to brand value development,
intentionally or not, falls into this first value stage.
• Marketing activities such as product research, development and design, trade or
intermediary support, marketing communications including advertising, promotion,
sponsorships, direct and interactive marketing, personal selling, publicity and public
relations and employee training.
• For e.g. Consumer research carried out by online apps brand is an investment for
future marketing program.

Program Quality Mul/plier

The ability of the marke0ng program to affect the customer mind-set will
depend on its quality.
The means to judge the quality of a marke0ng program are:
• Clarity
• Relevance
• Dis0nc0veness
• Consistency
A well-integrated marke0ng program, carefully designed and implemented to be highly
relevant and unique, is likely to achieve a greater return on investment from marke0ng
program expenditures.
For e.g., Vodafone ZooZoo ads were clear and conveyed the consistent message to the
Indian relevant audience.
Customer Mind-set

• The customer mind-set includes everything that exists in the minds of the customers
with respect to a brand: Thought feelings, experiences, images, percep0ons, beliefs
and aJtudes.
• Five dimensions have emerged as important measures of the customer mind-set:
• Brand awareness
• Brand associa0ons
• Brand aJtudes
• Brand aLachment
• Brand ac0vity

Market place condi/on mul/plier

• The extent to which value created in the minds of customers affects market
performance depends on factors beyond the individual customer.
• Three such factors are:

• Compe00ve superiority
• Channel and other intermediary support.
• Customer size and profile.

• The value created in the minds of customers will translate to favorable market
performance when compe0tors fail to provide a significant threat, when channel
members and other intermediaries provide strong support and when sizeable
number of profitable customers are aLracted to the brand.
• For e.g.: When its toothpaste its Colgate.

Market performance
• The customer mind-set affects how customers react in the market place in six main
ways.
• Price premiums
• Price elas0ci0es
• Market share
• Brand expansions
• Cost structure
• Brand profitability
• For e.g. A college student always prefers watching movies on weekdays and not
weekends due to price being lower on weekdays.

Investor sen/ment mul/plier

• Financial analysts and investors consider a host of factors in arriving at their brand
valua0ons and investment decisions.
Among them are the following:
 • Market dynamics
• Growth poten0al
• Risk profile
• Brand contribu0on
For e.g. while choosing a celebrity for brand endorsement or adding more products in the
product line an analyst analyses the investment and its outcome.

Shareholder value

• Based on current and forecasted informa0on about a brand, as well as other

considera0ons, the financial marketplace formulates opinions and assessments that
have very direct financial implica0ons for the brand value.
• Three important indicators are stock price, the price/earnings mul0ple and overall
market capitaliza0on for the firm.
• It is proven that strong brands can deliver greater returns to stockholders but they
can do so with less risk.
• Several possible enhancements to the brand value chain could expand its relevance
and applicability.

What is brand tracking?

• Brand tracking refers to the marke0ng efforts used to quan0fy the effects of brand
building campaigns on sales and conversions.
• Marke0ng teams build campaigns that are focused on emphasizing unique brand
aLributes rather than just products.
• The goal of these campaigns is to establish a rela0onship with the brand’s core
audience and build associa0ons between brands and certain ideals.
• The ul0mate goal of brand tracking is to help marketers understand which brand
efforts are working and how they have impacted sales, as well as iden0fying the
efforts that are not, and how they can be op0mized to perform beLer.
• Learning what resonates with your customers can lead to long term growth and
con0nued customer loyalty.
• To measure the efficacy of brand campaigns, many turn to brand tracking studies.
• Brand tracking studies aim to measure the success of brand building ini0a0ves based
on the impact they have on the consumer and the impact they have on the business.

WHAT TO TRACK?
Brand Preference: The metric refers to number of consumers that would elect to buy
branded product over the same product from a different brand
Brand loyalty: Loyalty measures how likely a consumer is to purchase your brand again, or
purchase other products from your brand.
Brand awareness: Brand awareness refers to how easily a consumer can recognize your
brand. 2 types: Aided and unaided awareness.
Brand Recall: Refers to how well a consumer can recall your brand from memory.
Brand experience and associa0ons: These refer to the emo0ons, experiences and
associa0ons that a consumer has with a brand.
Brand Associa0ons: Measures what consumers associate with your brand.
Brand warmth: Measures the emo0onal aLachment consumers have to a brand
Brand momentum: Measures whether consumers think a brand is progressing in the market.
Brand usage: Measures how oYen consumers are using your product.
Brand purchases: Tracks what consumers last purchased.

When to track?

• Brand tracking studies involves collec0ng quan0ta0ve data from consumers on

regular basis. One way to do it is to con0nuously collect informa0on.
• It allows us to control for unusual marke0ng ac0vi0es.
• If con0nuous tracking is not feasible for the organiza0on, data can be s0ll collected at
certain point in 0me.
• This approach may be equally effec0ve depending on how quickly the industry is
evolving.
• When determining frequency of data collec0on, consider:
• Frequency of product purchase: For e.g., Durable goods with long purchase cycles
can be tracked less frequently.
• Marke0ng ac0vity in the product category: a category where brands are constantly
launching marke0ng programs and promo0ons require more frequent monitoring.
• Level of compe00on in the product category: Highly compe00ve product categories
where new products and compe0tors are constantly trying to break in, should be
tracked regularly.
• Stability of brand associa0ons: Brands with an established image that don’t change
quickly over 0me, can afford less frequent brand tracking.

Whom to track?

• We oYen conduct brand tracking studies with current customers.

• However, monitoring the non-users of the brand can prove to be invaluable.
• It can support the development of acquisi0on and market penetra0on strategy in the
search of business growth.
• Including non-customers who are ac0ve in the category in your sample will also allow
you to monitor your compe00on.

Leveraging the brand

Brand extension is the process of extending into a new product category with the exis0ng
company’s established brand.
Leveraging the brand includes:
• Line extension
• Stretching the brand: Stretching down and Stretching up
• Brand extensions: Ad hoc and Range Brand
• Co-branding
Line extension
• When a brand is extended to the same product category it is called line extension.
• In line extension, two constants are brand and product category.
• For e.g., Shampoo brand remains constant but it can be extended to pouches and
boLles of different sizes. Product can be offered in different flavors or shapes playing
same func0on.
• A line extension is a new version of the product within the same product-class.
• Helps expand base, provide variety, energize the brand, manage innova0ons and
inhibit compe0tors.
• Horlicks is a general health drink but chocolate Horlicks reaches out to those who
prefer flavored drinks.
• Line extension can also be added func0onal benefits like CNG model of car,
squeezable boLle of ketchup and so on.

Advantages of brand extension:

• Increases brand image
• Cost of developing new brand is reduced
• Consumers can seek for variety
• Packaging and labelling efficiencies.
• Expense of introductory and follow up marke0ng program is reduced.

Disadvantages of brand extension:

• Brand extension may get loss of reliability, if it is extended too far.
• There can be chances of damaging the image of brand by the new product.
• Brand extension has no advantage over compe0ng brands that may lead to its failure.

Some brand extensions are ver/cal extensions of their current product

• A brand that can use their “ingredient/component” heritage to launch products in a
more finished form.
• Consumers are switching from expensive, pres0ge worthy, luxury brands to lower
cost brands that deliver acceptable quality and features.
• To combat this trend, brands offer lesser versions of their tradi0onal brand product
package.

Moving a brand up

The mo/va/on for brand to move up is not to obtain volume but

rather:
Drivers:
• ALrac0ve margins: Brand can drive up their margins in super-premium segment.
• Re-vitalize the brand: Innova0on and quality gets more no0ced at the end and the
high margins helps to pay for new innova0ons.
• Enhance the Brand: Boost the brand with higher quality and more pres0gious
associa0ons. E.g.: Credibility.
Risks of Up-market move
• Brand is inadequate
• Lacks credibility and capability to deliver a high-end experience
• Lacks self-expressive benefits
• Offering is unsuccessful
• Falls short of expecta0ons
• Damaging the core brand

Brand Strategy op/ons: Up market move

Posi0on the brand to work ver0cally

• Create credibility for the whole product-class.
• Avoid a value proposi0on focused on price
• Create a personality that can be effec0ve at different price points
• Create a posi0oning/pay-off that works at different price points.

Different products/markets
• Use a different product class or market to create distance – make up-market move
less transparent.
• A strategy that also works well in a new geographical market.
Rebrand at the low end
• Remove driver of the value from the low end
• Increase psychological distance between premium and value space.
Use or create a sub-brand
• Posi0on as the value super-premium
• Co-brand with a pres0ge brand.
Develop a new brand
• A key issue is whether can be stretched upward. Brand whose iden00es are
inconsistent with an upscale entry will find an upward move more difficult.

Ad-hoc brand extension

• When the brand is extended into unrelated categories OR extensions which do not
fulfil the criteria of brand extensions i.e., fitness, value percep0on and edge is
termed as Ad hoc brand extension.
Product form extension:
• When a brand is launched in a different form, it is line extension. If a different
product form is within an en0rely different product category, it will be a brand
extension. For
• E.g., Amul milk extended to Amul condensed milk and Real juices extended to real
juice concentrate.
Companion product extension:
• Nowadays extensions in the form of companion products are very popular.
• The reason is to capitalize on product complimentary.
• Consumers tend to view the products jointly.
• For e.g., Colgate toothpaste to Colgate tooth brush, GilleLe razors to GilleLe aYer
shave.
Extension of customer franchise:
• A product range is extended in order to meet the needs of a specific customer group.
• For e.g., a variety of products are launched for nursery school children.
• Example: Johnson and Johnson company offers baby shampoo, baby talc, baby oil,
baby diapers etc.

Extension of brand image or pres0ge:

• Under brand extension, new products may be introduced into unrelated product
categories. A popular brand name is used in a host of unrelated products.
• For e.g., Tata extended from salt to soYware. Godrej can be seen from hair
• dyes, lockers, safety locks, refrigerators etc.

Crea/ng range brands

Range Branding
Range branding is extending a single brand across several related categories.
For e.g. Hindustan Unilever markets soaps, shampoos, coffee tea etc. There is less risk
involved in range branding than stretching the original brand to en0rely new categories.

Product Range Brand strategy:

• Allows mul0ple market entry and flexibility
• Consumer oriented branding
• Encourages innova0on and risk taking
• Possible to control greater shelf space with strong brands
• BUT expensive and requires sophis0cated organiza0on

A range brand provides classic economies of scope – that is, the fixed cost of maintaining a
brand name can be spread across different businesses.
Appropriate awareness and iden0ty of a range brand can reduce the costs and risks of new
product efforts
It can reassure consumers that the firm is capable of success in different contexts.

Co-branding
• It is the prac0ce of using mul0ple brand names together on a single product or
service.
• To build your brand, some0mes you have to share your brand.
• The overall synchroniza0on between the brand pair and the new product
• has to be kept in mind.

Types of co-branding
Ingredient branding:
• Ingredient co-branding which says about the type of co-branding that implies about
the brand which comes from the other renowned brand.
• It has now become a common place in the minds of the company.
• The ingredient brands are the company’s biggest brands and the biggest supplier
which is usually known as the biggest brand.
 • The ingredient brand always needs to be unique and it should be a major brand or it
should be safe and protected by the patents.
• It leads and progress with high and beLer quality of products, it deals with superior
promo0ons.
• In this type of branding, sellers also enjoy and believe in long-term rela0onship with
the brand and also with the company.
• The compe00ve advantage can be benefited and used by the manufacturer of this
brand and the retailer also enjoys benefit by enjoying a promo0onal help from this
brand called ingredient brand which creates so much importance in geJng the
advantage.
• Example: Sunfeast – Kaju Badam Cookies, Smartphones with Android OS etc.

Brand Equity
• Brand equity is the “value of a brand.
• It is based on the extent to which the brand has high brand loyalty, brand awareness,
perceived quality and strong product associa0ons. It also includes other “intangible”
assets such as patents, trademarks and channel rela0onships.
• Brand equity cannot be known unless a product is branded and it is known the
market.
Brand equity is the added value endowed to products and services.

Customer based brand equity:

• It is the differen0al effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the
marke0ng of the brand.
• Posi0ve customer-based brand equity: when customers react more favorably to a
product and the way it is marketed when the brand is iden0fied.
• Nega0ve customer-based brand equity: If consumers react less favorably to
marke0ng ac0vity for the brand under the same circumstances.
• Brand knowledge consists of all the thoughts, feelings, images, experiences, beliefs
and so on that become associated with the brand.
• Brand try to create strong, favorable and unique brand associa0ons
• For e.g., Johnson and Johnson baby products (caring), Harley Davidson (masculine,
adventurous), Tata (safety)

Importance of brand equity

• The products associated with the brand command a premium price in the market
and are perceived to be higher quality when compared to similar generic unbranded
product.
• It offers compe00ve advantage by reducing the marke0ng costs to firms that enjoy
high “brand equity”
• It is over a long 0me period by using inves0ng employing various tools like
adver0sing, public rela0ons, sponsorships, events, social etc. around the en0ty that’s
marketed.
• It is important to maintain brand equity very carefully or else it can be destroyed
over 0me.
 • Developing brand equity allows companies to more effec0vely engage with their
customer base in a way that drives brand loyalty, allowing the business to grow
further.
• It helps capture loyal customer base ensuring some gravitas.
• It reinforces the significance of brand value’s and produce that posi0ve type of recall
in customer’s mind.
• Brand equity provides value to the customer. Perceived quality and brand
associa0ons can enhance customer sa0sfac0on with the use experience.
• It also has the poten0al to add value for the firm.

10 guidelines to build strong brands

• Brand iden0ty
• Value proposi0on
• Brand posi0on
• Execu0on
• Consistency over 0me
• Brand system
• Brand leverage
• Tracking brand equity
• Brand responsibility
• Invest in brands.

Brand building blocks

Building strong brands: Why is it hard?

To be able to develop strong and effec0ve branding strategies, it is important to understand

these pressures and barriers:
• Develop a vision for your brand
• Clear iden0ty
• Pressure to compete on price
• Trouble with posi0oning your brand to differen0ate yourself from compe00on
An excep0onal quality of product and services
• Reliance on outdated methods
• Fragmen0ng market and media
• Complex brand strategies and rela0onship
• Bias towards changing strategies
• Bias against innova0on

Brand visuals and partners as secondary brand associa/ons

• Popular brands
• Celebri0es
• Third-party endorsements
Measuring sources of Brand Equity

Qualita0ve research technique:

• OYen, qualita0ve research techniques are used to determine and characterize types
of associa0ons and sources of brand equity linked to a brand.
Qualita0ve research techniques:
• Allow for an unstructured measurement approach that affords freedoms to the
probes of the researcher and the responses given by the customer.

Free Associa0on Technique

• Customers are usually asked what comes to mind when they think of a brand with no
specify probe or cue other than perhaps the associated product category.
• Ques0ons like “What does the Dominos name mean to you?” or “Tell me what
comes to mind when you think of Dominos Pizza.”

Projec0ve technique
• Projec0ve technique explores associa0on with brands, symbols, products, adver0sing
and images.
• What is Projec0ve Technique?
• The use of vague, ambiguous, unstructured s0mulus objects or situa0ons in which
the subject “projects” his or her personality, aJtude, opinions, and self-concept to
give the situa0on some structure.
• Projec0ve techniques involve presenta0on of ambi0ous s0muli to the respondents
for interpreta0on.
• In doing so, the respondents reveal their inner characteris0cs.
• The s0muli may be picture, photograph, inkblot or an incomplete sentence.
• The basic assump0on of projec0ve techniques is that a person projects his own
thoughts, ideas and aLributes when he perceives and responds to ambiguous or
unstructured s0mulus materials.
• Direct methods of data collec0on i.e. personal interview, telephone interview and
mail survey rely on respondents’ own report of their behavior, beliefs, aJtudes etc.
• But respondents may be unwilling to discuss controversial issues or to reveal in0mate
informa0on about themselves or may be reluctant to express their true views fearing
that they are generally disapproved.
• In order to overcome these limita0ons, indirect methods have been developed.
• Projec0ve techniques are such indirect methods.
• Par0cipants are asked to projects their feelings and thoughts onto other things.

Advantages of Projec/ve technique:

• It helps to uncover feelings, beliefs, aJtudes and mo0va0on which many consumers
find difficult to ar0culate.
• It discover the person’s characteris0c modes of perceiving his or her world and how
to behave in it.
 • It allows consumer to enter the private worlds of subjects to uncover their inner
perspec0ves in a way they feel comfortable with.
• It acts as a way of transcending communica0on barriers.
• The amount, richness and accuracy of informa0on could be gathered.
• A view of the overall func0oning of individuals could be tracked.
• “Breaking the ice” in a focus-group discussion is feasible.

Disadvantages of Projec/ve technique:

• The complexity of the data and the corresponding skills.
• Expensive to administer.
• Sampling and generaliza0on is difficult
• The reliability of measures.

Brand personality and values

• Brand personality is seeing the brand as a person and defining the traits the brand
has.
• A brand could be interpreted in mul0ple ways, male, female, young, mature, friend
or professional.
• Brand personali0es are oYen developed with 0me around the brand.
• For. E.g., ThumsUp has a personality of a rugged individual. This was not the original
personality.
• Brand personality can be created in different ways and with different tools.
• Adver0sing is heavily used in this process of personality crea0on.
• It can be communicated through a personality who symbolizes those associated
characters to the brand.
• For e.g., Titan and Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Pepsi etc.

Measuring brand personality/ Big 5

Sincerity
• Sincere brands also oYen apply clear consumer policies to avoid ambigui0es, they
establish good customer rela0onships, and support employees and the social and
natural environment.
• Sincere brands are rarely involved with scandals or controversial situa0ons. It is
exactly the contrary.
• They understand and act as being part of a larger collec0ve societal group.
• As consequence of some or all of such prac0ces, they are viewed by consumers (or
society as a whole) as being sincere.
• Example: Tata

Excitement
• This dimension involves brands which are perceived as being imagina0ve, up-to-date,
inspiring, edgy and spirited.
• Thus, oYen these brands oYen use colorful logos, uncommon fonts, portray
themselves in unexpected and exci0ng places and situa0ons.
• Example: Red bull
Competence
• Competent brands are the ones which are primarily seen as being reliable,
responsible, intelligent, and efficient.
• These consumer percep0ons are oYen based on how well a product or service
performs, and how the organiza0on behaves in society and in the market.
• Example: Apple

Sophis/ca/on
• Sophis0cated brands are the ones perceived by consumers as upper class, roman0c,
charming, preten0ous and glamorous.
• Thus, it is no surprise to imagine that sophis0cate brands are commonly found across
luxury industries and on high priced brands (for their product categories) across
other industries.
• Example: Louis VuiLon

Ruggedness
• The general aim is to convey the idea that the product is resistant, durable and made
for people who are brave, willing to take risks, with low fear and that do not wish to
have an ordinary life.
• Example: Mountain Dew

Quan0ta0ve research techniques

Qualita0ve measures are useful to iden0fy and characterize the range of possible
associa0ons to the brand, quan0ta0ve measures are oYen the primary ingredient in tracking
studies that monitor brand knowledge structures of consumers over 0me.
• Brand Knowledge: Brand knowledge refers to brand awareness (whether and when
consumers know the brand) and brand image (what associa0ons consumers have
with the brand).
• Brand awareness: Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in
memory. Brand awareness can be measured through brand recall or brand
recogni0on.
Brand Recall
• In this research, cues are placed to try and figure out when where who and how the
brand will be bought or used.
• Typical cues are: Subcategories (beverages/soY drinks/ colas etc)
• Consump0on occasion/goals (date, hangout, birthday party etc) Places (available in
supermarket, local stores, bars) People (social, consume alone etc)
Brand recogni/on
• Brand recogni0on is the ability of consumers to confirm prior exposure to the brand.
• In a recogni0on task, the consumers see a s0mulus and must say whether they have
seen it before. Realis0c s0muli and context paired with short amount of 0me are
cri0cal to study brand recogni0on
Brand image
• Brand image is the consumers percep0on of the brand and is measured as the brand
associa0ons held in consumer’s memory.
• Brand image awareness is the first important step to building brand equity.
 • Brand image is formed aYer constant exposure to a certain s0mulus like an ad, jingle
etc.
Brand Feelings
• Brand feelings are customers’ emo0onal responses and reac0ons with respect to the
brand.
• What feelings are evoked by the marke0ng program for the brand or by other
means?
There are 6 important feelings of brand buildings:
• Warmth
• Fun
• Excitement
• Security
• Social approval
• Self-respect

Global Branding strategy

• A typical defini0on of a global brand is “a brand that is marketed under the same
name in mul0ple countries with similar and centrally coordinated marke0ng
strategies”

Global branding strategies:

Solo branding
• A branding strategy under which each product that the parent company sells has its
own brand name.
• Example: Coca-Cola has Sprite, Fanta, Thumbs Up etc.
• Have their own global brand names that they are marketed and sold under individual
brand name.
• This strategy is beneficial for targe0ng specific market segments and consumer
groups.

Hallmark Branding
• In this branding strategy the firm tags one brand, generally, the corporate brand, to
all of the products and does not use sub-brands.
• This strategy keeps the branding simple for consumers to remember and allows the
company to focus on one brand name.

Family (Umbrella) Branding

• This branding strategy focuses on the parent company brand name, and everything
the company sells is under that brand name, no maLer the product. Example: Tata
Group which Tata salt, Tata steel, Tata Motors, Tata Tea and more.
• This is a corporate brand name focus so that consumers associate one of the
company’s business units with the quality and reputa0on of the all-encompassing
brand.
Extension branding
• A company with a pre-exis0ng established brand enters a new product category
using the same branding, now over mul0ple product categories, by extending the
brand to the new markets.
• An example of this is Samsung, who have extended the brand from televisions to cell
phones, washers and dryers, refrigerators and more.

Brand Audit
• Brand audit is the process of assessing your brand’s current posi0on in the market.
Brand audit allows you to spot strengths and opportuni0es and compare your
company to your compe0tors.
• A brand audit results in a list of ac0onable insights you can implant to boost your
company’s overall results.
• By conduc0ng a brand audit, you can get a lot of informa0on that will help develop
more brand strategy.

Why conduct a brand audit?

• A brand audit is necessary for building a strong brand.
• Strong brands make more money and are more immune to crisis.
• A robust brand has a higher brand awareness level which directly translates into
higher sales and lower chum.
• Brands with established posi0ons on the market spend less money on aLrac0ng new
customers.
• The rate of returning customers is also higher for healthy brands. People prefer
brands they have a posi0ve interac0on with to their friends and families.

How to conduct brand audit process?

Brand audit consists of 2 parts – Internal and external audit.

• They can be conducted individually or combined. Integra0ng them will give you an
extensive data but it is very 0me consuming.
Internal part of brand audit consists of examining:
• Your brand values
• Your culture
• Communica0on
External part of brand elements you look at:
• Your website
• SEO
• Social media
• Events
• PR ac0vi0es
• Content marke0ng
Role of brand managers
• A brand manager is responsible for adap0ng a brand strategy for a company’s target
market.
• As the ‘brand guardian’ brand managers maintain brand integrity across all company
marke0ng ini0a0ves and communica0ons and may manage a porlolio of products.
• Brand managers can work on the adver0sing/marke0ng agency side or for a
corpora0on, managing one of the porlolio brands.

Some ac/vi/es that brand managers perform:

• Brand strategy including seJng style guides, brand vision, value proposi0on for short
and long term as well.
• Planning and execu0on of all communica0ons and media ac0ons on all channels.
• Assis0ng with product development, pricing and new product launches.
• Crea0ng and managing promo0onal collateral to establish and maintain product
branding.
• Managing the budget for adver0sing and promo0onal items.
• Compe0tor and customer insights analysis.

Brand communica/on
• Brand communica0on is an important part and tool by which companies inform,
persuade, enlighten, teach, remind and enrich the knowledge of their stakeholders
about the brand, its strengths, values, fundamentals and its offerings of products and
services.
• It is an act of communica0ng and delivering meaningful and focused messages
pertaining to the brand to the stakeholders.
• It encompasses the mixed use of tradi0onal and new media.

Brand promo/ons
• Brand promo0on is all about the trust of the customers in a firm’s product.
• Brand promo0on helps leave a deep posi0ve impression about the brand in the
buyer’s mind.
• Brand promo0on is the way to inform, remind, persuade convincingly and influence
the consumers to drive their decision towards purchasing the product under the
brand.

The process involves:

• Marke0ng the brand name and logo rather than individual products.
• Popularizing the mission statement and focusing on building brand equity.
• Gaining publicity through mass marke0ng strategies and enhancing brand
percep0ons.
• Some0mes, making use of the exis0ng customer base to promote the brand.
Importance of brand promo/on
• Promotes informa0on related to features, price and special scheme of the brand.
• Differen0ate the product by convincing the customers about the unique features of
the brand.
• Create and increase the product demand.
• Build brand equity
• Stabilize the sales affected by natural, social or poli0cal changes. For e.g., Promo0on
of Nescafe’s ‘Iced coffee’ in summer.
• Outperform the compe0tor’s marke0ng efforts. For e.g., Coca Cola and Pepsi work to
nullify each other’s efforts.
• Build posi0ve brand image.

Methods of brand promo/on

• Organizing contests
• Promo0on on social media
• Product giveaway
• Point-of-sale promo0on
• Customer referral incen0ve programs
• Causes and charity
• Promo0onal giYs
• Customer apprecia0on

Online Brand promo/ons

• Online brand promo0on is the method of promo0ng the brand on various social
plalorms by leveraging the power of the internet to reach a wider range of audience.
• There are various ways to promote a brand online such as Instagram reels and live
streaming, Tweets, Online PR etc.

Advantages of Online Branding

• It costs less than the tradi0onal one
• It promotes your brand to a wider audience
• Targeted promo0on is possible
• The results are easier to measure using various free tools available online
• It is more beneficial for smaller firms, having lower budgets to compete with larger
firms

Role of brand ambassadors and celebri/es

• A brand ambassador is a person who embodies the brand, influences the customers,
creates brand awareness and a specific brand image and generates sales
opportuni0es.
• A brand ambassador should have some level of influence – either paid or volunteer
brand ambassadors.
• They must be loyal, genuinely interested in your brand and willing to live by the
brand’s values and code of conduct.
5 main roles of a brand ambassador in the acronym B.R.A.N.D:
Believe in Brand
• Brand ambassadors’ first point of calling, connec0on and communica0on are to
believe in your brand.
• They are to buy into the brand.

Represent the brand

• The role of brand ambassador is to represent the brand whenever they can and
wherever they find themselves.
• An ambassador becomes the mouthpiece of the brand, in words and in deeds; to
posi0vely project the image of the brand in every way possible.

Authen/c the brand

• A brand ambassador’s role of authen0ca0ng the brand implies making the brand
more likeable, real to consumers to enable them to trust the brand and aLract more
clients.

Nurture the brand

• To nurture the brand is to help the brand grow to reach more people, to create more
loyal consumers.

Defend the brand

• This means to protect the brand’s reputa0on.
• Ambassador stands in the gap of constantly providing the goodwill of the brand,
protec0ng against defama0on and protects the brand.

Loyalty program
• Brand loyalty enables customers to emo0onally aLach to your brand.
• They stay staunchly loyal to the brand.
• Effec0ve brand loyalty programs and you will see repeat purchases by your
customers with
• minimum effort and expense.
• That is the magic of the brand loyalty program solu0on craYed with precision and
strategically implemented

Popular schemes of loyalty program:

• Customer loyalty program
• Frequent (discount) rewards
• Referral programs
Global Marke/ng Programs
• Global marke0ng means marke0ng of products to different countries.
• The products are marketed are desired by people in different countries.
• For e.g., Amazon has dedicated sites in 13 countries and ships to more than 90
countries.

• Marke0ng strategies designed for global markets are known as global marke0ng
programs.

Strategy for Global Marke/ng Program

• A marketer can have various op0ons when selling products in different countries,
• Market the same product under different brand names in different countries
• Same product with different product formulas in different countries
• Coca Cola company for Diet Coke follows a global marke0ng strategy where the
brand name, concentra0on formula, adver0sing and posi0oning remains the same;
however sweetness and packaging is changed as per the requirements of the
country.

Dimension for global marke/ng program

Business Strategy
• GMP depends upon the business strategy that the company believes in. Some
companies follow standardiza0on whereas some follow localiza0on.
• Standardized means decision making is centralized whereas localiza0on means local
managers will make decisions about the product.
Products
• If the same products can be used in different countries then the economies of scale
offered would be high and vice versa.
• However to cater to needs of the customers, marketers have to adapt the product as
per the need of the market. (economy of scale: A propor0onate saving in costs
gained by an increased level of produc0on)
Marke0ng mix
• It is not possible to use the same marke0ng mix for all the countries, the product is
sold in. Marke0ng mix has to be adapted as per the needs of the market.
• A good marke0ng strategy which appeals to the customers of a par0cular market
must be designed.

Advantages of global marke/ng program

Standardized product
• One of the biggest advantages of a global marke0ng program is that if the product is
desired in different countries, it can be produced in bulk and the company can get
advantage of economies of scale.
Known brand
• The customers may be familiar with the brand and hence marke0ng to them
becomes easier. Good and convincing adver0sements must be designed to mo0vate
the customer to buy the product.
Large customer base
• One of the biggest advantages of GMP is that it can reach to large number of
consumers. The company is able to reach out to customers globally and not just
locally.
High visibility for the brand
• The brand through global marke0ng is available in more than one country. Hence the
visibility of brand increases.
• This contributes to the growth of the brand and building of the brand equity.
Higher revenue
• The revenue that the brand earns through global marke0ng programs is higher as the
brand is present in more than one country.

Disadvantages of Global Marke/ng Program

Customers are different in different markets
• Customers in different markets have different tastes and preferences.
• Therefore, using a standardized product may not work in all markets.
Compe00on
• The compe00on is intense in global markets as the brand faces compe00on not only
from other global brands but also from local brands.
• Local brands are able to adapt as per the needs of the customer.
Centralized decision making
• Decision making for GMP in some companies is centralized. In such case the local
needs and aspira0ons of the customers may not be taken into considera0on.
High risk
• High profits are always accompanied by high risk.
• There are chances that the brand may not get accepted in foreign markets as the
local brands are well established.
Different laws and standards to be followed
• Each country has different laws and standards which they expect companies to
follow.
• This makes marke0ng ac0vi0es difficult and complex. The company must ensure that
the laws of the country where the brand is
• introduced are followed; otherwise, the consequences can be severe.

Brand Partnership
• Brand partnership happens when two similar companies come together to promote
a product to the same target market.
• The benefit of partnering is that cost gets shared and both the companies can
leverage their strength.
• For e.g., Uber and Spo0fy, Kanye West and Adidas, Michael Jordan and Nike, GoPro
and Red Bull.
 • One major benefit of brand partnership is if the company with whom the partnership
is entered into is trusted amongst the public, the value of the other company also
goes up.

Types of Brand partnerships

Content marke0ng
• Means crea0ng content which the audience finds engaging and publishing the
content in some channel like social media, vlogs, blogs, podcast etc.
• Brands can enter into partnership for crea0ng content which is interes0ng and
informa0ve to the audience.
Co-branding
• Two or more brands can create a new product together or alter an exis0ng product.
• Both companies benefit from the new brand created and they can capitalize on their
strength.
Distribu0on partnership
• Two companies get together and combine each other’s product in a bundle and
selling it through their respec0ve distribu0on channel to the target audience.
Affiliate marke0ng
• It means promo0ng of the product/service through a blogger or influencer.
• For e.g., if a blogger reviews new movies released by Nellix aYer the review gives
you the link to Nellix, that is affiliate marke0ng.
Sponsorship
• The brand is displayed when an event happens, this enhances the image of the
brand. The event organizers in turn get sponsorship fees from the company.
• When a well-known brand endorses an event, it enhances the value of the event
also.
• For e.g., Tata was the sponsor for IPL 2022.
• Thus, the partnership created a win-win situa0on for both IPL and Tata.