BRANDING Flashcards
‘At the heart of a strong brand is a great product or service’. Discuss this statement and illustrate your answer with some practical examples. (2)
Diamond Sheddies (Sutherland, 2009)
When a pizza is heated the wrong way or a shampoo is used the wrong way, skin care or wrinkle cream. No matter how diligently designed in advance and carefully constructed, they’ll fail or disappoint if installed or used incorrectly. (Levitt, 1981) => brand is a promise
The product will be judged in part by who offers
it (Levitt, 1981)
‘Branding is just as relevant to services as it is to physical goods’. Critically evaluate this claim and refer to relevant literature and examples in your answer
Goods are distribution mechanisms for service (S-D logic - provision (Vargo and Lusch, 2004)
A recent study show that the role branding plays in influencing choice between brands in financial institutions is now equivalent to that of electrical appliances.
- Service or retail brands r more likely to succeed in the future than product-based brands, which will find it harder to deepen and broaden their relationships with their audiences.
- The process of designing is, simultaneously, also the process of manufacturing. Design and manufacturing of intangible (Levitt, 1981) Professor John M. Rathwell of Cornell University: “Goods are produced, services are performed.”
- The most important thing to know about intangible products is that the customers usually don’t
know what they’re getting until they don’t get it (Levitt, 1981).
products are generally done by the same people—
or by one person alone, like a craftsman at a bench.
- Product-based brands need to invest in retail distribution rather than spending on customer communication. CX also depend on existing products => cannot control as fully as they would like. However product brand can develop service in the future.
- To keep customers for regularly delivered and
consumed intangible products, again, they have
to be reminded of what they’re getting
‘The product is not as important as the brand’.
Provide arguments for and against this view. Refer to relevant literature and illustrate your answer with examples.
There are no facts. Everything in life is “perceptions.” There are no superior products. There are only superior perceptions in consumers’ minds. And so it is with many other “facts” we assume to be true.’
What else do we know about perceptions? They are very difficult to change. Once a person holds a strong perception about a specific brand, it’s extremely difficult to change that perception.
consumers believe the market leader is the superior brand.
o what happened when J.K. Rowling wrote a novel (The Cuckoo’s Calling) and had it published under a different name (Robert Galbraith)?
Product is just a product, brand is the customer
Nothing. In spite of favorable reviews, “The Cuckoo’s Calling” sold less than 1,000 copies. Then word got out that the book was actually written by J.K. Rowling and it almost immediately jumped to the top of the best-seller lists. In just a few months, the book had sold 1.1 million copies.
Start up phase
Why is it worth investing large amounts of money to build up a strong brand? Illustrate your answer with examples.
Brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. AMA (2004)
- Branding is sustainable (need for sustainable capitalism) - perceived value, added value (account for around 1 third of all wealth) (Hales, 2011)
- Fact: today even in financial service, branding is viewed as a separate activity in the mkt department, less important than restructuring or cutting cost in difficult market condition
Customers:
- Brand’s capability is build a relationship with consumers. Brand is associated w added value and help facilitate the rapid choice of customer (De Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley, 1998)
- When a brand is enrobed with a personality, consumers can use it as a
non-verbal communicator, portraying aspects about themselves such as mood,
emotion and lifestyle. (De Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley, 1998)
- Brand is a means to set customer expectations and reduce their risk
For companies:
- Corporate culture heritage
Risk reducing (De Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley, 1998) be too negative a perspective, since this is not the way all consumers assess brands. If a shampoo is not used as prescribed, or a pizza not heated as intended, the results can be terrible. (Levitt, 1981)
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- Naming policy
- Functional capability
- Service
- Personality
- Legal
- Clear communicator
Brand name makes it easier for the supplier to process orders and track down problems.
The supplier’s brand name and trademark provide legal protection for unique production features that might otherwise be copied by the opposition.
Branding enables the supplier to attract a loyal and profitable set of customers.
Branding helps suppliers segment markets
Economic importance:
- Account for around 1 third of all wealth
- To investor: brand is a reliable and stable indicator of the future health of a business. Strong brand means more return, less risk
According to the late Stephen King of WPP Group: ‘A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by a customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless’. Critically evaluate this statement and use examples and specific literature to illustrate your argument.
When a product can be imitated, the brand is built over a long time and can not be easily imitated => secure compatitive advantages (Kotler and Keller, 2016) - Mcdonald example Kotler n keller, 2016)
“The brand is a complex multidimensional
construct whereby managers augment products
and services with values and this facilitates the
process by which consumers confidently
recognise and appreciate these values.”
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