Brand Orientation Flashcards
Introduction points
- business orientation has received significant academic attention given the importance it holds navigating organisations towards success
- within business orientation brand and marketing orientation 2 strategic approaches utilised by businesses to guide decision making and operations
What are the 2 approaches discussed in this response
- market orientation
- brand orientation
What characterises market orientation? (Urde, 1999)
Outside-in-approach
The focus is on the needs and wants of consumers at all costs
Extensive market research is carried out to bring back in to the organisation to address market gaps (Urde, 1999).
What are the benefits of a market orientated approach?
- In-depth understanding of consumer demands allows competitive advantage capitalising on market trends
- identification of innovation opportunities - organisation can be at forefront of industry in terms of innovation
Is brand and market orientation similar?
Essentially market orientation 2.0 - providing an extra layer of sophistication.
i.e. it is crucial there is market demand for offerings but these offerings must also align with brands core values to build awareness and associations = generating all important brand equity
What characterises brand orientation?
Takes an inside-out-approach
Brand identity is key
The brand is thought of as a strategic resource
= goal is to satisfy the wants and needs of the consumer within the limits of brands core identity
Who said “brand building is not a project but a process”
Gromark and Melin (2011)
Give a real life example which shows branding acting as a strategic resource
Land Rover vs Wind Rover
Define brand equity
the intangible value and perception that brands hold in the mind of consumers
What are the 3 types of brand equity
Customer-based
Employee-based
Financial
How is brand awareness built?
Awareness and Associations
What notion did Urde (1999) propose?
proposed the notion of adopting the mindset of ‘building brands in to strategic resources’ also known as brand orientation
3 Benefits of Brand Orientation
- Commercial ability to demand premium price
- increasingly competitive market - need to differentiate
- long term market sustainability - building connections
Barriers to Brand Orientation
- Lack of CEO support and perceived relevance
- Short term focus on sales activities - leaving no resources free for long-term brand building - organisations currently financially struggling will rely on short-termism which is harmful in long run
- Lack of financial resources
Who refutes the ‘lack of finances’ argument for not adopting brand orientation approach
(Huang and Tsai, 2013)
VP: Creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking can be more important than financial resources in building a strong brand
for example Blockbuster - had significant financial capital but overtaken by new entrants such as Netflix with significantly less resources - due to their inability to innovate.
Concluding points
despite possible barriers to adopting brand orientated approach - overcoming these are possible and crucial to allow organisations to effectively leverage their brands as strategic resources and reap the many benefits that they present
In comparison to market orientation:
Brand orientation places emphasis on building brand awareness and associations = brand equity which can be strategically leveraged for market differentiation, creation of consumer relationships (and loyalty), competitive advantage, and long-term success.
Internal Brand Orientation
A crucial element of brand orientation - employees are the one who actually implement the vision
Must build a sense of brand pride within the company to retain employees and create brand ambassadors
CEO provides the vision - employees implement it
Brand must be felt at every touch point by consumers - this can only be done by getting employees on board with the brand = brand pride!
What is a saying which simply encapsulates brand orientation
The brand becomes the company and the company becomes the brand
