Week 4 - Branding Strategies

Question 1

What is a brand?

Answer 1

• Has many definitions
• A name, symbol, word, sign, design or combination that differentiates one or more offerings of a seller or group of sellers from the competition

Question 2

Types of brand architecture

Answer 2

• A Branded House uses a single master brand to sell a range of products or services i.e. Virgin
• House of Brands contains independent, unconnected brands.
• Endorsed brands: Allows sub-brands or products to have their own reputation and brand identity while still being able to leverage off of their parent brand.
• Sub-brands:When a main brand creates a subsidiary or secondary brand i.e. Fedex and Fedex Express.

Question 3

Brand Components

Answer 3

• Brand equity
• Brand experience
• Brand identity
• Brand image
• Brand personality
• Brand positioning
• Brand promise

Question 4

What is brand equity?

Answer 4

• Brand equity is the total awareness and perceived value of the brand in the mind of consumers.
• It includes name, symbols, colours, jingles, associations, sensory features such as unique smells and reputation.
• Brand awareness and brand loyalty are part of brand equity.
• Actual brand experiences are part of brand equity.

Question 5

Extended explanation of brand equity

Answer 5

• Brand equity is a set of assets linked to a brand, its name and symbol that add to (or subtract from) the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customers (Aaker, 1991)
• Brand equity is also defined as an intangible asset of added value or goodwill that results from the favourable image, impressions of differentiation, and/or the strength of consumer attachment to a brand

Question 6

Brands with strong equity have higher competitive advantage through:

Answer 6

• High consumer awareness
• Strong brand loyalty
• Helps when introducing new products
• Less susceptible to price competition

Question 7

Brand Experience

Answer 7

• Is what the customers feel or experience when actually consuming the product or service
• It includes all touch points of the brand
• Brand moments are all the moments of contact between the brand and the customer

EXAMPLES: Website - email responses – handling enquiries - handling complaints – after-sales and all - marketing communications

Question 8

Explain Brand Identity

Answer 8

• Is part of brand equity
• How brand looks – logo, colours, graphic
• Helps customers to remember brand
• Helps customers build associations with values, personality and promise
• Identity is REAL while image is PERCEPTION

Question 9

Define Brand Image

Answer 9

• Is perception
• How consumers see the brand based on identity and ALL the other communications, discussions and experiences

Question 10

Define brand personality

Answer 10

• People have relationships with brand
• A brand personality has human trait
• What sort of person would the brand be if it was human
• What would they wear, drive, talk etc.
• Example: Singapore Girl (Singapore Airlines)

Question 11

Define Brand Promise

Answer 11

• Is what the brand offers the customer
• The brand proposition flows from the positioning
• Usually written as a part of the brand positioning statement, it is about what the company promise to the customers to offer.

Question 12

Creating Secondary Brand Associations.

Answer 12

• Companies (through branding strategies)
• Countries or other geographic areas (through identification of product origin)
• Channels of distributions (through channel strategy)
  Other brands (through co-branding)
• Characters (through licensing)
• Spokespersons (through endorsement)
• Events (through sponsorship)
• Other third-party sources (through award or reviews)

Question 13

Guidelines for Building Brand Equity

Answer 13

1. Define the brand hierarchy: In terms of the number of levels to use and the relative prominence that brands at different levels will receive when combined to brand any one product.
2. Create global associations: Relevant to as many brands nested at the level below in the hierarchy as possible but sharply differentiate brands at the same level of the hierarchy.
3. Introduce brand extensions: that complement the product mix of the firm, leverage parent brand associations, and enhance parent brand equity.
4. Clearly establish the roles of brands in the brand portfolio: adding, deleting and modifying brands as necessary.
5. Reinforce brand equity over time: through marketing actions that consistently convey the meaning of the brand in terms of what products the brand represents, what benefits it suppliers, what needs it satisfies, and why it is superior to competitive brands.
6. Enhance brand equity over time through innovation: in product design, manufacturing, and merchandising and continued relevance in user and usage imagery.
7. Identify differences in consumer behaviour: in different market segments and adjust the branding program accordingly on a cost-benefit basis.

Question 14

Seven Deadly Sins of Brand Management

Answer 14

1. Failure to fully understand the meaning of the brand
2. Failure to live up to brand promise
3. Failure to adequately support the brand
4. Failure to be patient with the brand
5. Failure to adequately control the brand
6. Failure to properly balance consistency and change with the brand.
7. Failure to understand the complexity of brand equity measurement and management.