Brand Management
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The document is a comprehensive presentation on brand management, focusing on the definitions, characteristics, and importance of brands in corporate identity. It discusses how brand perceptions and customer experiences shape brand value and influence purchasing decisions. Effective brand management involves strategic planning to create and maintain a distinct brand position, alongside ensuring that brand promises align with delivery to avoid customer dissatisfaction.
Brand Management
- 1. BRAND MANAGEMENT Presentation By Himansu S M / 18-Jul-2013 1
- 2. Brand Management INTRODUCTION A Brand Image is what a company believes about its products, and reputation is the brand plus behaviour. Both the brand image and brand reputation are important; ideally they merge to create brand integrity. 2
- 3. DEFINITION A brand is defined as the net sum of its relationships. Another way of describing a corporate brand, then, is that it’s the net sum of its image and reputation. These two elements together drive brand relationships. Corporate Branding is the practice of managing the identity and image of a corporate organisation. 3
- 4. WHAT BRAND MEANS A brand is an identification, a certain image, a feeling or impression of a thing, an object, a person, an organisation, etc. This is the result of a perception resulting from some “experience with” & “information about” a company or a line of products. 4
- 5. WHAT BRAND MEANS Some experts say that the brand resides in the heads & hearts of the persons, and thus the MC (Marketing Communications) is all about how to create, deliver, manage & evaluate the “Brand Messages” i.e., all the information & experiences that impact how customers & other stakeholders perceive a brand. 5
- 6. INTERBRAND Definition According to Interbrand, one of the top brand consulting firms in the world, a brand is the mixture of tangible & intangible attributes symbolised in a trademark, which if properly managed creates influence & generates value. A perception can be influenced thro’ positive & negative communication experiences but not controlled. 6
- 7. CHARACTERISTICS OF A BRAND A brand differentiates the product from its competitors and makes a promise to the customers. The product attributes remaining the same one brand has more market share than another is because of the difference in perception of its brand in the minds of the people. 7
- 8. BRANDING This is the process of creating brand image that engages the hearts & minds of the customers. And this is precisely what separates similar products from one another. 8
- 9. LOGOS These are distinctive graphic design used to communicate a product, company, or organisation identity. Customers & prospects are influenced by a wide variety of messages that are sent by both the tangible & the intangible attributes of a product. 9
- 10. LOGOS Tangible attributes can be design, performance, ingredients/components, size, shape, price, etc., which can be observed, felt, touched, & known. But the importance lies with the intangible attributes, which are the primary responsibility of a marketer. These can be image, perceived value, memories, experiences, & impressions, etc. 10
- 11. Brands live in Heads & Hearts of the Customers Although a company may own a brand name & logo, and greatly influence what people think about its brands, the actual brand meaning that influences behaviour resides in the heads & hearts of the customers and other stakeholders. 11
- 12. Brands live in Heads & Hearts of the Customers It’s important to note that brands operate at different levels and have different meanings at different stages in the distribution chain along which products move from manufacturers to end users, and with different customers. 12
- 13. BRAND EXPERIENCES Ultimately, the meaning of the brand is based on the customers’ experience with the brand, either positive or negative. This can come from all the message sources, thro’ all the media, regarding all the attributes of a brand, product or company. 13
- 14. BRAND EXPERIENCES It has been estimated that most of the customers switch brands NOT because of product or performance attributes, BUT because of a response to customer service and other aspects of the brand experience that customers believe are less than satisfactory. 14
- 15. Customer Experience is very Important for Brand Building Brands are “lived” and adapted by each customer according to his own individual expectations and experience with them. Positive brand experiences are created by relevance & by offering value thro’ the brand relationship. 15
- 16. Brands transform Products A basic principle is that a brand transforms goods / services into something larger than themselves. A powerful brand is not just a product, but something more than that, and for this “more” customers “don’t mind to” or “gladly” pay a premium. Thus a brand & what it represents can affect what people are willing to pay. 16
- 17. Brands transform Products Branding has such powerful impact on consumer perception that retailers rather than relying solely on manufacturers’ brands (Name brand), have created their own brands (Store / House brand or Private label), which is used exclusively by one chain of stores for a line of products made to the chain’s specifications. 17
- 18. Brands make promises & set expectations In terms of consumer purchase, the essence of brand is a promise. The promise sets expectations for what a person considers likely to occur when using a product. Some experts say that a brand is also a contract, albeit a virtual one, between a company & a customer. Information & knowledge about what a brand stands for and past experience with the brand allow customers to make a quick18
- 19. Brand Promise That’s what a promise is – you know what to expect. Consistency is critical to the establishment of a brand promise. A clear & compelling brand promise consistently communicated at all points of touch is the principal benefit of branding. Of course, promises mean little if the product fails to meet expectations. 19
- 20. Marketing Communication(MC) MC has been used for years to make promises in order to generate sales. But often companies fail because they make promises that they can’t keep. This can happen for two reasons: 20
- 21. Failure of Brand Promise By making unrealistic promises: The first is that expectations are raised too high, usually in an overzealous advertising. By not matching the promises with the delivery: The second is that products or supporting services are defective. 21
- 22. Failure of Brand Promise Companies must constantly monitor customer expectations & product performance to make sure there’s no gap between them or there is a positive gap, where the customer is delighted. 22
- 23. Failure of Brand Promise But when a negative gap exists, either the brand promises need to be restrained, or the managers responsible for product performance need to be made aware that their products are not meeting expectations and they must take some remedial measures. 23
- 24. HOW BRANDS ARE CREATED & MAINTAINED Building a successful brand, whether for a company or a new product, requires strategic planning & a major investment. There are three basic steps that are discussed. Once the company has more than one brand, it then needs a system for managing how they interrelate amongst themselves: 24
- 25. Selecting the Desired Brand Position There must be a clear-cut policy of the company, on the basis of its business objectives, as to what should be its target audience. Brand position is the standing of a brand in comparison with its competitors in the minds of customers, prospects & other stakeholders. 25
- 26. Selecting the Desired Brand Position According to AL Ries, who had developed the positioning concept, customers who’re aware of several brands in a product category automatically compare and rank those brands on the basis of the differences they perceive amongst them. 26
- 27. Selecting the Desired Brand Position Although brand positions, like brands themselves, live in the minds & hearts of customers, a company’s MC can greatly influence how customers perceive a brand in relation to competition. 27
- 28. Selecting the Desired Brand Position The real challenge is to select a position that can be realistically supported by the product, the company, & the MC, and that can be appreciated by customers & prospects. 28
- 29. Positioning Strategies A positioning strategy is generally based on one of several variables like Category, Image, Unique Product Feature, Benefit, etc. According to Michael Porter, there are three basic positioning alternatives, like (1) as a product / service differentiator, (2) as a low cost leader, and (3) as a niche market offerer. 29
- 30. Positioning Strategies He suggested that the marketer should be specialist for a few strategies rather than a generalist for several strategies. The strategies can be based on several factors as: They are discussed in details in the following: 30
- 31. Category Positioning This type of positioning is possible anytime a brand defines, creates, or owns a category. Here the positioning is done as a leader of a particular category, so that it becomes synonymous with that service, like Xerox means photocopying, Essel Word means family holiday entertainment, etc. 31
- 32. Category Positioning Similar to category positioning is Pre- emptive positioning. This is the brand positioning based on a generic feature that competitions have not talked about. The Pre-emptive positioning is often used by commodity products, i.e. the goods & services that have very minor or no distinguishing differences. 32
- 33. Image Positioning This type of positioning differentiates on the basis of created association. It is similar to the pre-emptive positioning that any brand can attempt to create a differentiating image for itself. 33
- 34. Image Positioning These attempts are often not successful because the image is not realistic, not creatively constructed or not used long enough to actually build up an association between the brand & the desired image. 34
- 35. Unique Product Features Positioning This type of positioning is based on an element that is unique to the product or company. Product features are tangible and intangible attributes of goods or services and they provide a basis for positioning. 35
- 36. Unique Product Features Positioning This is also known as Attribute Positioning which is based on a single attribute or feature of a product / service, like Malayala Manorama- no.1 in circulation, Allahabad Bank- the oldest bank, etc. 36
- 37. Benefit Positioning This type of positioning is based on benefits, advantages that allow a product to satisfy customers’ needs, wants, & desires like some new generation private banks offering ATMs & internet banking, etc. Most benefits are experimental, functional or symbolic, any of which can be the basis of brand positioning. 37
- 38. Benefit Positioning Symbolic benefits such as belonging to a certain country club make people feel a certain way thro’ achievements, associations, or attitude. 38
- 39. Use/Application Positioning Positioning as the best for a particular service application, like SBI offering education loans, etc. 39
- 40. User Positioning Based on the requirements of some specific target groups, like India positioning itself as the destination of tourists seeking inner peace of mind, etc. 40
- 41. User Positioning Competitor Positioning: This service is positioned primarily against a particular competitor, like IIPM positioning itself against IIMs – dare to think beyond IIMs. 41
- 42. Quality/Price Positioning On the basis of quality standard at a particular price, like Oberoi hotels offer high class service at a high price range, other budget hotels offering decent minimum comfortable stay & service with all modern amenities (but not luxury) for affordable prices, etc. Marketers should be careful about their positioning strategies to prevent certain situations: 42
- 43. Some brands are over-positioned when the segment is too narrow for the offer and many potential customers fail to notice, Some brands are under-positioned when the customers fail to notice any distinctive edge, Some brands communicate conflicting features / benefits to create a confusion, 43
- 44. Some brands are over-positioned Some brands offer irrelevant or redundant features / benefits, Some brands offer promises which the customer doubt whether the marketer can deliver. 44
- 45. Managing a Brand’s Position Marketing Managers may develop high sounding positioning statements. But they don’t mean anything if they are not captured in the customers’ minds. To determine how customers perceive a brand & its competitors, the marketers do a sample study known as perceptual mapping, which is a visualisation technique that indicates how customers perceive competing brands in terms of various criteria. 45
- 46. Perceptual Mapping These maps indicate how a sample of customers rank each brand from low to high, on a handful of selected criteria, like performance, quality, style, price, features, etc. Numerical rankings for each criterion are averaged & plotted. This map enables brand managers to quickly see how theirs brands compare, in the minds of consumers, with competing brands. 46
- 47. Repositioning a Brand Sometimes the brands need to be repositioned. Because their original position no longer fits the modern day culture or requirements. Repositioning may also be used when a brand extends its product & line and needs to redefine itself in terms of its new goods & services. 47
- 48. Developing Brand Identification The brand name & symbol chosen to represent a brand need to reflect the position of a brand, and they must work as identification cues. Names & brand symbols are what customers look for when they shop, whether in stores, in catalogues, on the Internet, or in the case of B2B products, at trade shows and exhibits. 48
- 49. Developing Brand Identification The more memorable, relevant or catchy the brand name & symbols are, the faster & less expensive it becomes to reach to the minds of customers, and create awareness of the brand. Making it easy to find & repurchase a brand is an important factor in customer relation. Thus the more specific & less ambiguous brand identity cues are, the more they help customers save time looking for a product, which adds value to the brand. 49
- 50. Brand Names So, now what name to choose ? In general we ask often what’s in a name . Or we say, call a rose by any name, it will smell as sweet. But in the case of brands it does matter. Choosing a brand name is more art than science. Often it is the result of extensive & continuous research. Catchy or attractive names linger in the hearts & minds of the buyer. 50
- 51. Brand Names Sometimes the specific meanings of the names create an image in the minds of the customers. Successful brand names share several characteristics that help make them memorable. A good brand name usually communicates one or more of the following characteristics: 51
- 52. Benefit: The name directly suggests some benefit, like Heads & Shoulders, Itch-Guard. Association: The names directly convey the association of two or more entities, which may be companies, categories, themes, etc. like H-P. 52
- 53. Distinctiveness: The important theme is distinctiveness & it may be simple, but may be unrelated to the product, like Apple (Computers), Monster.com (Jobs), etc. 53
- 54. Simplicity: The names should be simple & short to spell & pronounce, or it should be phonetically easy for all. In today’s world most of the good & big companies go multinational, and names should not be awkward (or meaning awkward) for a particular linguist or ethnic group. Ex., recent case of a hotel in Mumbai named Hitler. 54
- 55. Brand Symbols We live in a visual world, or more precisely audio-visual world. So having a distinctive or unique symbol for a brand greatly increases the identification & recognition of a brand. In the realm of products & companies, a distinctive logo is used to indicate a product’s source of ownership. 55
- 56. Trademark The literal meaning of trademark is the mark of a trade. A trademark is, similar to but broader than a logo, is an element, word or design that differentiates one brand from another. Some of the earlier trademarks were only initials of the owners or other identification symbols or letters. A company has exclusive use of a trademark by using it first & consistently, and registering it with a govt.56
- 57. Creating the Brand Image Giving a brand an identity & a position is not enough to make the brand alive & connect with the customers. Just like the names & physical traits of persons are not enough to make someone remember them. 57
- 58. Creating the Brand Image So it needs an impression, an image in the minds of those who can remember. Thus the brand image is an impression or an image created by the brand messages, interactions & experiences. 58
- 59. These attributes are assimilated into a perception or image or impression of the brand. Whenever that image is encountered it makes a statement a brand’s personality and specialities. 59
- 60. An image adds value to the brand because it can communicate something about the buyer to other people. Experts say that the product one wears, drives, or subscribes to can tell (communicate) others what one thinks important, and about one’s personality. 60
- 61. HIMANSU S M / 14-JUL-2013 THANK YOU 61