Brand Management (KCL)

What are the cons of valuing brands?

Requires subjective data, methods are sometimes over-complex and defy common sense, intangible assets are not always relevant to brand equity

What is brand positioning?

Designing the company's offer and image so it occupies a distinctive place in the customer's mind

What is the process of brand management?

Developing plans, implementing programmes, measuring performance, sustaining brand equity

What are brand elements?

Different components that identify and differentiate a brand - e.g. logo, symbol, packaging, identity

What are the benefits of brand extensions?

Facilitate new product acceptance (reduce customer risk, increase probability of distribution/trial, increase efficiency of master-brand promotion, avoid cost of developing new brand), and provide feedback benefits to parent brand (clarify (hopefully!) brand meaning, enhance master-brand image, bring new customers into master-brand, revitalise master-brand)

What are the problems in communicating brand proposition?

Fighting through noise and competitive activities, and creating a meaningful, powerful message

What is the financial effect of brand equity (excluding 20% of intangible share price value)?

(1) Increased customer acquisition, (2) Higher supplier discounts/better terms of business, (3) Drives down staff expense and increases efficiency, (4) Drives down borrowing costs

What is the definition of a brand and who said it?

A brand is a cluster of functional and emotional values that enable organisations to make a promise about a unique and welcomed experience - De Chernatony

What is brand mantra, and how is it developed?

A brand mantra is a short tagline which sums up a company's desired position in the market place

What is the 'brand value chain'?

A chain that describes the value stages from brand creation to shareholder return. Its steps include: marketing programme investment > customer mind-set change > market performance (e.g. price premiums, higher market share) > shareholder value (e.g. stock price, dividends). The chain has multipliers throughout (e.g. market conditions) which can increase likelihood of success and returns.

What is brand awareness? Why is it advantageous?

A combination of brand recognition (remembering your previous exposure to the brand when you see it) and brand recall (thinking of the brand when you think of a specific product category). It is advantageos because - due to ELM (elaboration likelihood model), people are more likely to purchase brands they are familiar with or aware of, especially for low-involvement decisions where they look for short-cuts. Familiarity assures them about worries over quality, value and durability.

What guidelines are there for brand architecture?

Adopt a strong customer focus, create robust brand platforms, avoid over-branding and too many brands, selectively employ sub-brands and selectively extend brands

What are the components of brand positioning?

Analyse the target market, and the positioning of your competitors to find suitable positioning

What is Ansoff's matrix?

Ansoff's product/market growth matrix suggests that a business' attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. The output from the Ansoff product/market matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies which set the direction for the business strategy.

What are the steps to revitalising brands?

As brand equity is based on brand awareness and brand image, those are the two aspects you'll need to look at... Expand brand awareness: identify new usage opportunities, or identify completely new ways of using the brand (e.g. gum>soap, cars>peppermills). Improving brand image: identify target market>reposition>change brand elements

What is brand equity, and what are its sources?

Assets and liabilities linked to a brand's name/logo that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product to a customer (Aaker). Sources are: brand awareness and brand image

Give an example of a brand equity measurement tool used by a consultancy?

Brand Asset Valuator - Young & Rubicam (Y&R) - focusses on (1) differentiation, (2) relevance, (3) esteem, (4) knowledge

What is the highest awareness level for brand names?

Brand dominance (Aaker)

What should I talk about when it comes to branding/equity etc. internationally?

Brand names, brand equity (CBBE, drivers of brand equity, benefits internationally), value of brands, culture and its effect on brands, positioning (POP,POD,FOR), country of origin, Aaker's brand personality dimensions (competence, sincerity, sophistication, excitement, ruggedness)

What is the brand resonance model, and what are its components?

Brand resonance is all about building active loyalty relationships with customers

What are the changes in B2B from B2C?

Buyers engage in relationships, not just transactions as in consumer world - B2B moves from product-centric to promise-centric approaches, and corporate brand/reputation is critical, especially as a risk-reducer. Purpose of this corporate branding is to facilitate relationships between buyers and sellers, embody corporate valye system and make company name known and credible in the minds of potential buyers

What are the negatives of brand extensions?

Can confuse, retailer resistance, damage parent brand, succeed but cannibalise sales of parent brand, dilute brand meaning, block chances to develop totally new brand

What different elements make up integrated marketing?

Coherence and integration between product, place, price and promotion

What are brand tracking studies?

Collects information from consumers on regular basis, for categories, specific products, specific brands and corporations. Includes: brand awareness/meanings/sentiment etc.

What are important aspects to brand names/logos?

Colour, sound, symbolism, associations, culture, history

What are the levels of a brand hierarchy?

Company Brand level>Family Brand>Individual Brand>Modifier Level>Product Descriptor

What are the implications of the new economy on brands?

Consumers wield more power, have access to a greater variety of products, can obtain greater information and can compare and review products online. Companies themselves can collect greater data and interaction information about their brands online, can increase personalisation and can communicate directly with individual consumers.

How do you measure brand performance?

Create a brand equity measurement system: including brand audits, competitor tracking, and brand equity management

What features should good brand positioning have?

Created in a frame of reference, points of difference and points of parity

What is customer-based brand equity (CBBE)?

Customer-based brand equity is the differential response to marketing activities by consumers with or without equity towards a specific brand (e.g. if I have positive CBBE towards Dove, I will choose Dove over unbranded product, not mind if it is harder to find, and still purchase it if advertising stops. The opposite is true with negative CBBE). CBBE focusses on the belief that the power of brand equity lies in the minds of the consumer.

What should be done to maintain endorser credibility?

Easily comprehended message, synergy between endorser and product type, similar demographics to target market, and realistic wording

What are the advantages/disadvantages of global marketing programmes?

Economies of scale, lower marketing costs, uniformity of marketing practices, consistency in brand image, power and scale. BUT: there are disadvantages too... differences in consumer desires/tastes/usage patterns, different consumer responses to branding, different competitive environments in each country, new marketing institutions, differences in regulations/legal/admin procedures

What is experiential marketing and its types?

Focusses on customer experience as integral to the brand, and seeks to engage users to provide a memorable experience (e.g. Hollister). 5 different types: sense, feel, think, act, and relate marketing.

What are the factors of brand decline?

Forgotten quality, little brand differentiation, lacking new trends, weakened channels (e.g. retail), below-the-line investments rather than advertising

Explain the GLOCAL term?

GLOCAL is the merging of global and local: it allows some standardisation whilst still adapting key areas - low-cost production and sales worldwide, global roll-outs and low complexity, but with specialised marketing, local market penetration and different distribution channels

What principles do you need to keep in mind when designing a brand architecture?

Growth, survival, simplicity, relevance, differentiation, prominence, commonality

How do you formulate brand positioning?

Identify target segment and the key drivers of purchasing behaviour, then analyse competitive space (e.g. through positioning map), finally create points of parity and points of difference (the resultant merger of POP and POD is called the 'straddle position')

What are the sources/outcomes of CBBE?

If CBBE is high for a brand, they have stronger brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, and positive brand associations. This means... they have greater margins, potential licensing opportunities, higher quality perceptions, customer retention, customers less concerned with price fluctuations, and they are less susceptible to competitive marketing actions. Overall, consumers have a better impression of the brands they like.

What are the differences between brand image, brand identity and brand position?

Image: how the brand is perceived. Identity: how the brand wants to be perceived. Position: the part of the brand identity and value proposition to be communicated to the target audience

What are the benefits to brand revitalisation?

Increase consumption quantity and frequency, create new revenue streams through new brand uses, identify neglected sements and recapture lost customers

Why would a company introduce multiple brands in a portfolio?

Increase self presence and retailer dependence, increase internal competition within firm, attract consumers seeking variety and to yield economies of scale in advertising/sales/distribution. BUT: danger that core brand values may be diluted.

What are the key characteristics of a service brand?

Intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, perishability and ownership. Brands are even more important for services than for goods, because they are intangible and it is hard to communicate the values of service brands. Service brands place high importance on culture, staff and holistic approach. Brand purpose is key.

How does SERVQUAL relate to services?

It has five dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, appearance) - failing to consider these can have a negative impact on perceived service quality

How can you reinforce brands?

Maintain brand consistency, protect sources of brand equity, fortifying vs leveraging, fine-tuning marketing programmes (e.g. performance and imagery associations)

What methods are used to explore brands and their meanings?

Mental maps and brand concept maps

What are the types of relationship marketing?

Mass customisation, one-to-one marketing and permission marketing

What is intergrated marketing communications?

Mixing and matching between marcomms types to build brand equity (image, associations) - 6 Cs: coverage, contribution, commonality, complementarity, conformability, cost

What are the risks that can cause cognitive dissonance in the buying process?

Monetary risk, functional risk, physical risk, social risk, psychological risk

What are the unique characteristics of B2B marketing?

More people, higher prices/costs, more decision-making time, more loyalty, segmentation is critical, greater risks

What is the consumer decision making process?

Need recognition > Information search > Evaluation of alternatives > Purchase decision > Post-purchase behaviour

What is the financial lifecycle of a brand?

Negative net cashflow>Zero net cashflow>Long-term positive net cashflow OR Short-term high positive net cashflow

Arguments for / against standardisation or adaptation?

Pro standardisation: economies of scale, shrinking of global tastes/variances, global competition. Pro adaptation: differing use conditions, government/regulatory influences, differing consumer behaviour, local competition

What are the factors on the brand resonance pyramid?

Salience, imagery/performance, judgements/feelings, and then... resonance!

What factors cause branding challenges?

Savvy customers, economic downturns, brand proliferation, changing media, increased competition, increased costs, greater accountability

Why do brands go global?

Slow and increased competition in domestic markets, reduce costs via economies of scale, diversify risk geographically, recognition of customers' global mobility

What is brand architecture strategy?

Step 1: define brand potential, step 2: identify brand extension opportunities, step 3: brand new products/services

Brand image: what are the three key features?

Strength of brand associations, favourability of brand associations, and uniqueness of brand associations. These all help create a strong brand image that leads to brand equity.

What are the two theories of advertising effectiveness?

Strong and weak. Strong suggests ads cause awareness, and this leads to interest, desire and action. Weak theory suggests the awareness leads to trial, this leads to reinforcement and then nudging.

Give examples of different types of advertising?

Subliminal, endorser, product placement etc.

How do brands help combat cognitive dissonance?

They foster heuristics by acting as risk reducers and shorthands. Consumer inertia can be present (buying a brand out of habit because it reduces effort), and Zipf's Law suggests we tend to prefer a number one brand compared to its competition.

What are the criteria for choosing brand elements?

They must be: memorable, meaningful, likeable, transferable, adaptable and protectable (legally)

What are brands' value to companies?

They represent up to 20% of the intangible value of a listed company. They combine with tangible and other intangible elements to create value

How can we gain information to research brand equity?

Through free associations, neural research, brand personality and value (Aaker's brand personality scale - sincerity/excitement/competence/sophistication/ruggedness), ethnography, brand awareness (recognition/recall), brand image (brand associations (SFU), brand responses (likelihood to recommend, sentiment etc.), brand relationships (e.g. resonance and loyalty)

How do brands satisfy social and psychological needs?

Through symbolic interaction (brands say things about consumers) and contributing to a self-concept (who they think they are, or who they would like to be)

Why is measuring brand equity important?

To benchmark against competitors, gain insights into existing perceptions (inc. possible negatives), optimise brand building and provide further structure to managing a brand portfolio (inc. differentiation between brands)

4Ps apply to goods, and 7Ps apply to services. What are they?

product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people