Product Management

Identifying and Developing brand plans

brand positioning model, brand resonance model, brand value chain

advantages of brand awareness

Learning advantages Consideration advantages Choice advantages The elaboration- likelihood model • Consumer purchase motivation • Consumer purchase ability

Brand resonance model:

Describes how to create intense, activity loyalty relationships with customers.

Brand positioning model:

Describes how to guide integrated marketing to maximize competitive advantages.

brand attributes

Descriptive features that characterize a product or service.

Designing and implementing brand marketing programs

choosing brand elements, integrating the into marketing activities and the supporting marketing program, leveraging secondary associations

differentiating from competitors

consumers must see the brand association as distinctive and superior to relevant competitors

brand recognition

consumers' ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category the needs fulfilled by the category or a purchase or usage situation as a cue

a product can also be categorized into five levels namely

core benefit generic product level expected product level augmented product level potential product level

Managing brand equity over time

o A long-term perspective of brand management recognizes that any changes in the supporting marketing program for a brand may affect the success of future marketing programs. o Produces proactive strategies designed to enhance customer-based brand equity and reactive strategies to revitalize a brand that encounters problems.

the brand boundaries

o Based on the brand vision and positioning, identifying the products or services the brand should offer, the benefits it should supply, and the needs it should satisfy. o Broad brand - One with an abstract positioning that is able to support a higher-order promise relevant in multiple product settings. It has a transferable point-of-difference. Examples - Delta Faucet Company expanded from faucets to a variety of kitchen and bathroom products. Others include Apple, Virgin, GE • However, all brands have boundaries. Reason why Honda, Nissan, and Toyota entered luxury brand market in North America using Acura, Infiniti and Lexus brands o To improve market coverage, companies target different segments with multiple brands in a portfolio. Top marketing companies in recent years has been to focus on fewer, stronger brands.

the brand positioning

o Four key ingredients: • Competitive frame of reference • Points-of-difference • Points-of-parity Brand mantra

Managing brand equity over geographic boundaries, cultures and market segment

o In expanding a brand overseas, managers need to build equity by relying on specific knowledge about the experience and behaviors of those market segments.

manufactures

o Means of identification to simplify handling or tracing o Means of legally protecting unique features or aspects of the product o Signal of quality level to satisfied customers o Means of endowing products with unique associations o Source of competitive advantage o Source of financial returns o Help organizing inventory and accounting records

Market Segmentation

•Divides the market into distinct groups of homogeneous consumers who have similar needs and consumer behavior •Involves identifying segmentation bases and criteria

a product can be

Physical good - A cereal, tennis racquet, or automobile. A service - An airline, bank, or insurance company. A retail outlet - Department store, specialty store, super market. A person - Political figure, professional entertainer, athlete. A place - City or country. An idea or a social cause.

forms of brand associations

- brand attributes - brand benefits

Two Key Concepts in defining brand architecture are

- brand portfolio -brand hierarchy

disadvantages of brand extension

- confuse/frustrate consumers -ratailer resistance -fail and hurt parent brand image -succeed but cannibalize -succeed but diminish identification with anyone category -dilute brand meaning -forgo the chance to develop a new brand

4 key criteria for effective segmentation

- identifiability -size -accessibility -responsiveness

1) defining brand potential

- the brand vision - the brand boundaries - the brand positioning

desirable to consumer

. Consumers must see the brand association as personally relevant to them.

4 steps in strategic brand management

1) Identifying and developing brand plans 2)designing and implementing brand marketing programs 2)Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance 4)Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity

Steps in developing a brand's architecture

1) defining brand potential 2) identifying brand extension opportunities 2) branding new products and services

Identifying brand extension opportunities

2. Identifying Brand Extension Opportunities • Brand extension is a new product introduced under an existing brand name o Line extensions: New product introductions within existing categories (Tide Total Care detergent) o Category extensions: New product introductions outside existing categories (Tide dry cleaners' outlets) • Equity implications of each extension needs to be understood in terms of: o Points-of-parity o Points-of-difference o Example of a company that has used line extensions and category extensions over the past 25 years is Nike. Evolved from a company selling running shoes to selling tennis and basketball shoes to a company selling clothing and equipment for a wide variety of sports.

Brand benefits

: The personal value and meaning that consumers attach to the product or service attributes.

Three steps that help implement a brand equity management system are:

: creating brand equity charters, assembling brand equity reports, and defining brand equity responsibilities.

Brand

A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them. - Intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers. - Differentiate goods and services from those of competitors.

Augmented product level

Additional product attributes, benefits, or related services that distinguish the product from competitors.

Potential product level

All the augmentations and transformations that a product might ultimately undergo in the future.

Integrating the brand into marketing activities and the supporting marketing program

Although the judicious choice of brand elements can make some contribution to building brand equity, the biggest contribution comes from marketing activities related to the brand.

means of differentiation

Any product or service benefit that is sufficiently desirable, deliverable, and differentiating can serve as a point-of-difference for a brand. The obvious, and often the most compelling, means of differentiation for consumers are benefits related to performance. For choosing specific benefits as POPs and PODs to position a brand, perceptual maps may be useful.

product

Anything available in the market for use or consumption, that may satisfy a need or want

generic product level

Basic version of the product containing only those attributes or characteristics absolutely necessary for its functioning but with no distinguishing features.

leveraging secondary associations

Because the brand becomes identified with another entity, even though this entity may not directly relate to the product or service performance, consumers may infer that the brand shares associations with that entity, thus producing indirect or secondary associations for the brand.

sub-brands

Brand extension in which the new product carries both the parent brand name and a new name o Signal to consumers to expect similarities and differences in the new product. o Sub-branding should be adopted only when there is a distinctive, complementary benefit. • The reality is most firms adopt a strategy somewhere between these two end points, often employing the sub-brand strategy. Sub-brands are an extremely popular form of brand extension in which the new product carries both the parent brand name and a new name o Apple ipad, Ford Fusion, American Express Blue card o A good sub-branding strategy can tap associations and attitudes about the company or family brand as a whole, while allowing for the creation of new brand beliefs to position the extension in a new category. o Sub -brands signal to consumers to expect similarities and differences in the new product

Brand tracking studies

Collect information from consumers on a routine basis over time, typically through quantitative measures of brand performance on a number of key dimensions marketers can identify in the brand audit or other means.

competitive advantage

Competitive advantage is a company's ability to perform in one or more ways that competitors cannot or will not match. But few competitive advantages are inherently sustainable. At best, they may be leverageable. A leverageable advantage is one that a company can use as a springboard to new advantages, much as Microsoft has leveraged its operating system to Microsoft Office and then to networking applications. In general, a company that hopes to endure must be in the business of continuously inventing new advantages that can serve as the basis of points-of-difference.

brand audits

Comprehensive examination of a brand to, assess its health, uncover its sources of equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage that equity.

brand recall

Consumers' ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or a purchase or usage situation as a cue.

brand image

Consumers' perceptions about a brand. o Positive brand image - Requires strong favourable and unique brand associations. o Forging strong associations with the appropriate product category.

core benefit level

Fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by consuming the product or service.

Brand Architecture Strategy

Helps marketers determine which products and services to introduce, and which brand names, logos, and symbols to apply to new and existing products. • Role: o To clarify brand awareness - improve consumer understanding and communicate similarity and differences between individual products and services o To improve brand image - maximize transfer of equity between the brand and individual products and services to improve trial and repeat purchase

the brand vision

Helps marketers determine which products and services to introduce, and which brand names, logos, and symbols to apply to new and existing products. • Role: o To clarify brand awareness - improve consumer understanding and communicate similarity and differences between individual products and services o To improve brand image - maximize transfer of equity between the brand and individual products and services to improve trial and repeat purchase

Favorability of Brand Associations

Is higher when a brand possesses relevant attributes and benefits that satisfy consumer needs and wants

Emotional Branding

Many marketing experts believe a brand positioning should have both rational and emotional components. In other words, it should contain points-of-difference and points-of-parity that appeal to both the head and the heart. A person's emotional response to a brand and its marketing will depend on many factors. An increasingly important one is the brand's authenticity.

Brand value chain:

Means to trace the value creation process for brands, to better understand the financial impact of brand marketing expenditures and investments

strength of brand associations

More deeply a person thinks about product information and relates it to existing brand knowledge, stronger is the resulting brand association

category POP

Necessary conditions for brand choice. Attributes or benefits that consumers view as essential to a legitimate and credible offering within a certain product or service category.

A brand can be differentiated on the basis of

Packaging Services provided Customer advice Financing Delivery arrangements Warehousing Other things valued by the customers

perceptual map

Perceptual maps are visual representations of consumer perceptions and preferences. They provide quantitative pictures of market situations and the way consumers view different products, services, and brands along various dimensions. By overlaying consumer preferences with brand perceptions, marketers can reveal "holes" or "openings" that suggest unmet consumer needs and marketing opportunities.

correlational POP

Potential negative associations that arise from the existence of other, more positive associations for the brand.

defining brand architecture

Provides general guidelines about branding strategy and the brand elements to be applied across all the different products sold by the firm.

Brand awareness

Related to the strength of the brand node or trace in memory

Expected product level

Set of attributes or characteristics that buyers normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product.

Brand equity management system

Set of organizational processes designed to improve the understanding and use of the brand equity concept within a firm.

size

Some form of data should be available to measure the size of the market segment --Measurements are very important to be able to evaluate the overall attractiveness of each segment

Choosing Brand Elements

The best test of the brand-building contribution of a brand element is what consumers would think about the product or service if they knew only its brand name or its associated logo or other element.

deliverable by the company

The company must have the internal resources and commitment to feasibly and profitably create and maintain the brand association in the minds of consumers.

identifiability

The firm needs to be able to implement a distinctive marketing mix for each market segment. Segments must be identifiable so that the marketer can determine which consumers belong to a segment and which do not. -- The range of segments identified generally need to be defined for the capabilities and resources of the organization, so very specialized segments may not be appropriate

accessibility

The market segment should be reachable, particularly in terms of distribution and communication - Each segment needs to be able to be reached and communicated with on an efficient basis

POD criteria

Three criteria determine whether a brand association can truly function as a point-of-difference: desirability, deliverability, and differentiability. - desirable to consumer -deliverable by the company -differentiating from competitors

Competitive POP

associations designed to overcome perceived weaknesses of the brand in light of competitors' points-of-difference.

________________ creates a certain amount of awareness, reputation, prominence, and so on in the marketplace

brands

Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity

defining brand architecture -brand portfolio -brand hierarchy Managing brand equity over time Managing brand equity over geographic boundaries, cultures and market segments

Brand Hierarchy

displays the number and nature of common and distinctive brand components across the firm's set of brands

Responsiveness

each market segment should respond better to a distinct marketing mix, rather than a generic offering - The key outcome of the STP process is to develop a unique marketing mix for a specified target market, if the segment will not be more responsive to a distinct offering, then the segment can probably be combined with another similar segment

Advantages of brand extensions

facilitates new product acceptance - reduce risk perceived by customers -gain distribution and trial increase efficiency and promotional expenditures - reduce costs of introductory and follow up marketing programs -allow for packaging and labeling efficiencies -allow packaging/labeling efficiences -permit consumer variety-seeking Provide feedback benefits to the parent brand -clarify brand meaning -enhance parent brand image -bring new customers into the brand franchise and increase market coverage -revitalize the brand -permit subsequent extensions

Consumers

oIdentification of source or maker of product oSimplify product decisions oAssignment of responsibility to product maker oRisk reducer (Functional, physical, financial, social, psychological, time) oSearch cost reducer, Lower the search costs for products internally and externally oPromise, bond, or pact with maker of product oSymbolic device oSignal of quality, set reasonable expectations about what consumers may not know about the brand

Brands can be based on ____, _____, _______ and ______________

people, places, things, and abstract images

functional risk

product will not perform as expected

Pyschological Risk

products affect the mental well-being of the user

A brand's dimensions may be ____ and ____ to product performance of the brand—or more symbolic, emotional, and intangible—related to what the brand represents.

rational and tangible

time risk

the failure of the product results in an opportunity cost of finding another satisfactory product

financial risk

the product is not worth the price paid

physical risk

the product poses a threat to the physical well-being or health of the user or others

social risk

the product results in embarrassment from others

brand portfolio

the set of different brands that a particular firm offers for sale to buyers in a particular category

uniqueness of brand association

unique selling propositions of the product

brand positioning

• Act of designing the company's offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers' minds • Finding the proper "location" in the minds of consumers or market segment • Allows consumers to think about a product or service in the "right" perspective

Customer based brand equity

• Approaches brand equity from the perspective of the consumer • Stresses that the power of a brand lies in what resides in the minds and hearts of customers • Differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand • Positive customer-based brand equity - When consumers react more favorably to a product and the way it is marketed when the brand is identified than when it is not. • Negative customer-based brand equity - When consumers react less favourably to marketing activity for the brand compared with an unnamed or fictitiously named version of the product.

Points-of-difference (PODs)

• Attributes/benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand • Associations that make up points-of-difference can be based on virtually any type of attribute or benefit. Strong brands often have multiple points-of-difference. • Functional-performance related considerations. • Abstract-imagery related considerations.

Brand as a reflection of the past

• Marketers should consider the money spent in brand building as an "investment". • On the basis of the past experience, what consumers saw, heard, learned, felt, and experienced about the brand should be analysed. • The quality of the investment in brand building is the most critical factor, not the quantity.

communicating POPs and PODs

• Negatively correlated attributes/benefits • Low price vs. high quality • Taste vs. low calories • Powerful vs. safe • Ubiquitous vs. exclusive • Varied vs. simple • One common challenge in positioning is that many of the benefits that make up points-of-parity and points-of-difference are negatively correlated. ConAgra must convince consumers that Healthy Choice frozen foods both taste good and are good for you. Unfortunately, consumers typically want to maximize both the negatively correlated attributes or benefits. Much of the art and science of marketing consists of dealing with trade-offs, and positioning is no different. The best approach clearly is to develop a product or service that performs well on both dimensions.

Branding new products and services

• New products and services must be branded in a way to maximize the brand's overall clarity o Branded house and house of brands strategy o Brand architecture strategies can be distinguished if: o A firm is using branded house strategy - Business-to-business industrial firms. Siemens, Oracle, and Goldman Sachs. o A firm is using house of brands strategy - Consumer product companies. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and ConAgra.

value pricing

• Objective is to uncover the right blend of product quality, product costs, and product prices that fully satisfies the needs and wants of consumers and the profit targets of the firm. • It should strike the proper balance among three key components: o Product design and delivery o Product costs o Product prices • Communicating value - Marketers may need to engage in marketing communications to help consumers better recognize the value.

price segmentation

• Sets and adjusts prices for appropriate market segments. • Because of wide adoption of the Internet, firms are increasingly employing yield management principles or dynamic pricing to vary their prices for different market segments according to their different demand and value perceptions

Consumer Price Perceptions

• The pricing strategy can dictate: o How consumers categorize the price of the brand. o How firm or how flexible they think the price is, based on how deeply or how frequently it is discounted. • Consumers rank brands according to price tiers in a category. • Price bands: Range of acceptable prices that indicate the flexibility and breadth marketers can adopt in pricing their brands within a tier. • Value-based pricing strategies: Attempting to sell the right product at the right price to better meet consumer wishes.

Points-of-parity versus points-of-difference

• Unless certain points-of-parity can be achieved to overcome potential weaknesses, points-of-difference may not even matter. • There is a "zone" or "range of tolerance or acceptance" with points-of-parity. • Points-of-parity are easier to achieve than points-of-differences.

Brand equity measurement system

•A set of research procedures designed to provide timely, accurate, and actionable information for marketers so that they can make the best possible tactical decisions in the short run and the best strategic decisions in the long run

Points of parity (POPs)

•Attribute/benefit associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands •Three types of associations are: - category POP - competitive POP -correlational POP

brand as a direction to the future

•Brand knowledge that marketers create over time, which allows them to determine appropriate and inappropriate future directions for the brand. •Brand equity offers focus and guidance, provides a means to interpret past marketing performance and design future marketing programs.

Everyday low pricing

•Has received increased attention as a means of determining price discounts and promotions over time. •Reasons for Price Stability: oForward buying oDiverting

Measuring and Interpreting brand performance

•To manage brands profitably, managers must implement a brand equity measurement system oBrand audits oBrand tracking studies oBrand equity management system

selling prices to build brand equity

•choosing a pricing strategy to build brand equity means determining the following: oA method for setting current prices. oA policy for choosing the depth and duration of promotions and discounts.