Week 5 : Product & Brand Strategies

Question 1

What is a brand?

Answer 1

• is a differentiated offering in the marketplace
• it is an attractively different option in the product category
• it is intangible

Question 2

What is a product?

Answer 2

• can be a physical good (tangible) e.g., food
• service (intangible) - activities or benefits offered for sale, doesn’t result in ownership of anything e.g., hair dresser service
• the word product can also be used in the sense of market offering encompassing just goods, just services or both combined
• an even broader view of product is it being the totality of the customer’s experiences (everything the customer experiences from your market offering) - the good itself, its packaging, the interaction with the salespeople, the ambience of the stores, the smells, etc
  >All the tangibles + intangible aspects of the customer experience with all its ups and downs : including how the brand make consumers feel not just about the market offering itself, but also about themselves as people.
  >when you devise product strategies, you should not just think of the good and service, but about all the touch points with the customer.

Question 3

What are the 5 layers from inner to outer layers in the Strategic Concept of Product? Using Macbook as an example

Answer 3

5. Core Product - Product features or attributes (Laptop specifications e.g. the processor and memory)
6. Functional Product - How the product functions or performs (User friendly, free of bugs , stylish)
7. Augmented Product - All the “augmentations” or additions to the basic (i.e. logo, mascot, warranties, history - e.g., Eaten apple + Steve jobs)
8. Potential Product - the true “solution” (need) the customer seeks from the offering (have fun with technology)
9. Product - The totality of the customers’ experiences

Question 4

What drives customer purchase is the …………. …………..

Answer 4

potential product

Question 5

Focusing on the potential product allows for a greater …………….
Therefore, its important to carefully craft the ………… ………….

Answer 5

differentiation, potential product

Question 6

what are the 5 steps in the process of crafting a strong brand?

Answer 6

1. Ask what business the brand is in
2. Build brand identity
3. Implement brand identity
4. Measure brand equity
5. Refresh the brand

Question 7

What is Brand Identity?

Answer 7

• It is the set of associations the brand strategist wants to create or maintain in the mind of the target consumer.
• These associations represent the promise the brand makes to the customer
• strong brands are successful in crafting brand identity in terms of the four product levels.