STAEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT

AGENDA

Ø Criteria for choosing Brand Elements to build Brand Equity

Ø Tactics for Brand Elements

Ø Brand Naming Guidelines

Ø Brand Naming Procedures

Ø Brand association

Ø Logos and symbols and their benefits

Ø Slogan and benefits

Ø Packaging

Ø Conceptualizing the Leveraging Process

Ø Country of origin

Ø Channels of distribution

Ø Co- branding, licensing, celebrity endorsement

Ø Sporting, cultural or other events

Ø Third party sources

  

Criteria for choosing Brand Elements to build Brand Equity

There are 6 integral criteria for choosing your brand elements:

1)      Memorability

2)      Meaningfulness                            

3)      Likability

4)      Transferability

5)      Adaptability                       

6)      Protectability

1. Memorability: Brand elements that help achieve a high level of brand awareness or attention to the brand, in turn facilitate the recognition and recall of a brand during purchase or consumption.

2. Meaningfulness: Here a marketer needs to ensure that brand elements are descriptive and suggesting something about the product category of the brand. This is important to develop awareness and recognition for the brand in a particular product category.

Secondly, the brand elements also need to have a persuasive meaning and suggest something about the particular benefits and attributes of the brand. This is necessary for defining the positioning of the brand in a particular category.

3. Likability: Brand Elements need to be inherently fun, interesting, colourful and not necessarily always directly related to the product.

A memorable, meaningful and likable brand element makes it easier to build brand recognition and brand equity, thus reducing the burden on the marketer and thereby reducing the cost of marketing communications.

The above 3 criteria constitute the "Offensive Strategy" towards building brand equity

4. Transferability: is the extent to which brand elements can add brand equity to new products of the brand in the line extensions.  Another point, a marketer needs to keep in mind is that the brand element should be able to add brand equity across geographical boundaries and market segments. For example, brand names like “Apple”, “Blackberry” represent fruits the world over, thus as a brand name it doesn't restrict brands and product extensions.

5. Adaptability: Consumer opinions, values and views keep changing over a period of time. The more adaptable and flexible brand elements are the easier it is to keep up changing and up to date from time to time to suit the consumers liking and views. For example, Coca -Cola has been updating it's logo over the years to keep up with the latest trends, fashions and opinions.

6. Protectability: the final criteria in choosing a brand element is that it should be protectable legally and competitively. Brand elements need to be chosen in such a way, that they can be internationally protected legally, legally registered with legal bodies. Marketers need to voraciously defend their trademarks from unauthorized competitive infringements.

Tactics for Brand Elements

•      A variety of brand elements can be chosen that inherently enhance brand awareness or facilitate the formation of strong, favorable, and unique brand associations.

–     Brand names

–     URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) also referred to as domain names; means specific locations on the Web.

–     Logos and symbols

–     Characters

–     Slogans

–     Packaging

Brand Names

Like any brand element, brand names must      be chosen with the six general criteria  of memorability, meaningfulness, likability, transferability, adaptability, and protectability    in mind.

•      Brand awareness 

•      Simplicity and ease of pronunciation and spelling

•      Familiarity and meaningfulness

•      Differentiated, distinctive, and uniqueness to improve recognition.

•      Brand associations

•      The explicit and implicit meanings consumers extract from it are important. In particular, the brand name can reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that makes up its product positioning.

Brand Naming Guidelines

Selecting a brand name is crucial part of the brand the marketing planning process:

Desirable Qualities for a brand name

1. Suggest something about product benefits e.g. Kleenex (tissue paper)
2. Easy to pronounce, recognize or remember e.g. Dove (soap), Yale (security products), Shell
3. The brand name should be distinctive e.g. Virgin, Kodak
4. It should translate easily (and meaningfully) into foreign languages
5. It should be capable of registration and legal protection e.g. Miller Brewery Company not allowed to use “Lite” exclusively for its low-calorie beer 
6.  Evoke positive associations e.g. Pepsi Max, Lexus
7.  Use of numerals or alphanumerics when emphasizing technology e.g. Audi A 4, Airbus 380 etc.

Brand Naming Procedures

•      Define objectives : Based on six criteria especially ideal meaning the brand should convey.

•      Generate names : Sources could include managers, employees, customers, agencies etc.

•      Screen initial candidates against objectives and criteria articulated earlier.

•      Study candidate names : Legal research etc.

•      Research the final candidates : To confirm memorability  and meaningfulness of the remaining names.

•      Select the final name : maximizes firm’s branding and marketing objectives and register it.

•      Brand Elements: Characters

•      Spokesperson

•      Pro: Grab attention; No personal issues; Can be updated as need be; Can be transferred across categories; Can be more personable to audience; Can explain otherwise difficult or boring product attributes;

•      Cons: Too static character losses interest; Issues with character e.g. the human voice example; Can outgrow the brand and overshadow this

•       

•      - useful for brand recognition

•      - good at evoking brand personality

•      - generates likable human qualities

•      - limited transferability

•      - adaptable through redesign

•      - excellent protectability

Brand Elements: Logos & Symbols

•      Logos (branding) have a history as identifying origin and association like in family crests and horses.

•      Logos can be (stylised) name, trademarks or abstract designs. Examples of only text logos incl.: Coca-Cola, Dunhill and Kit Kat

•      Example of abstract logos incl.: Mercedes star, Nike swoosh and Olympic rings. These are also called SYMBOLS.

•      Pro.: Logos and symbols are easily recognised and ca communicate a message/ be symbolic and can be more easily adapted over time than names.

•      Con.: of abstract logo is that consumer's need associated marketing to explain the logos meaning.

•      - useful for brand recognition

•      - can reinforce almost any association, though sometimes indirectly

•      - can provoke visual appeal

•      - excellent transferability

•      - adaptable through redesign

•      - excellent protectability

Brand Elements: Slogans

Short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information about the brand. Often appear in advertising, on packaging and other marketing comms. They are useful "hooks" and can efficiently build brand equity. They serve as tag-lines to summarise and remind of persuasive messages conveyed in advertising. marketing campaigns.

Designing Slogans: Incl. product related messages and build both awareness and image for brand equity.

Example: Master Card's "Priceless"

Cons: Overuse means it looses meaning.

- enhance brand recall and recognition

- explicitly convey any type of meaning

- evoke verbal imagery

- limited transferability

- adaptable

- excellent protectability

Brand Elements: When Changing Slogans

1. Recognise how the slogan is contributing to brand equity (if at all) through enhanced awareness or image.

2. Decide how much of the enhancement (if any) is still needed.

3. Retain needed or desired equities still residing in the slogan as much as possible while providing whatever new twists or meaning are necessary to contribute to equity in other ways.

Note: Sometimes modifying existing slogan is more fruitful than a new one.

Brand Elements: Jingles

Musical messages register in the listeners mind (in some cases permanently), very important in the first half of the 20th century as advertising was often over radio.

Pro: Enhance brand awareness through multiple encoding opportunities.

Con: Not nearly as transferable as other brand elements due to their musical nature.

Example: Kit Kat's " Give me a Break" or Intel's "In-tel In-side"

Brand Elements: Packaging

Packaging is the activity of designing and producing containers or wrappers for a product.

Objectives:

-Identify the brand

- Convey descriptive and persuasive information

- Facilitate product transportation and protection

- Assist in at-home storage

- Aid product consumption

Marketers must choose: aesthetic and functional components and meet consumer's needs e.g. squeezable, resealable or tamperproof

Brand Elements: Packaging Benefits

Appealing packaging can make the difference at the POINT OF PURCHASE.

Consumer's strongest association is of the look of products packaging and therefore can build or reinforce brand associations.

Packaging innovation can be a POD and permit higher margins. New packaging can expand a market and capture new market segments.

Example: Think Heineken, think green bottle

Brand Elements: Packaging at Point-of-Purchase

Note: -shopper is exposed to 20,000+ products in a 30min shop

-may make unplanned purchases

-packaging can be temporary competitive edge

-shelf can be customers first encounter with product/brand

-packaging is a cost-efficient way to build brand equity

Brand Elements: Packaging - When to make changes

- To signal a higher price

- When a significant product line extension would benefit from a common look

- To accompany a new product innovation to signal change to the consumer

- When the old package just looks outdated

Psychology of Packaging

Cornell University's Brian Wansink has discovered that packaging can affect consumption perceptions, as well as the purchase decision.

1. Packaging can influence taste - soy nutrition bar example

2. Larger packages make people believe they get better value for money, especially tall thin packages

3. People pour and consume 18-32% more of a product if it's in a double-size package because it suggests higher consumption norms. MBA students and old popcorn example.

4. Packaging influences how you use a product - 2x as many people learned a new product use from packaging than from TV, because they reach someone already favourable to the brand.

Packaging summary

- useful for brand recognition

- can convey almost any type of association, explicitly

- can combine visual and verbal appeal

- good transferability

- typically can be redesigned

- low protectability; can be copied

Leveraging Secondary Brand Associations to Build Brand Equity

•      To understand the importance of secondary brand associations in building brand equity

•      To understand the concept of leveraging brand entities as secondary brand associations in building brand equity

•      To understand the implications of leveraging secondary brand associations in managing branding strategies

Creating Secondary Brand Knowledge

•      We can create secondary brand knowledge by linking the brand to the following :

1.      Companies (through branding strategies)

2.      Countries or other geographic areas (through identification of product origin)

3.      Channels of distributions ( through channel strategy)

4.      Other brands (through co-branding)

5.      Characters (through licensing)                                     

6.      Spokespersons (through endorsement)

7.      Events (through sponsorship)

8.      Other third-party sources (through award or reviews)

Secondary Sources of Brand Knowledge

Conceptualizing the Leveraging Process

•      Creation of New Brand Associations

•      Effects on Existing Brand Knowledge

1.      Awareness and knowledge of the entity

2.      Meaningfulness of the knowledge of the entity

3.      Transferability of the knowledge of the entity

Guidelines

4.      Commonality: consumers have associations to another entity that are congruent with desired brand associations

5.      Complementary: how much value of the entity brand would add to the existing brand.

Understanding  Transfer of Brand Knowledge

1. Company

•     

Branding strategies are an important determinant of the strength of association from the brand to the company and any other existing brands.

•      Three main branding options exist for a new product :

1. Create a new brand
2. Adopt or modify an existing brand
3. Combine an existing and a new brand

2. Country of Origin and Other Geographic Areas

•      The country or geographic location from which it originates may also become linked to the brand and generate secondary associations

•      Many countries have become known for expertise in certain product categories or for conveying a particular type of image

•      Consumer can pick and choose brands originating in different countries, based on their beliefs about the quality of certain types of products from certain countries or the image that these brands or products communicate

3. Channels of Distribution

•      Channels of distribution can directly affect the equity of the brand they sell because of consumers association linked to the retail stores.

•      Because associations to product assortment, pricing and credit policy, quality of service, retailers have their own brand images in consumers minds

4. Co-Branding

•      Existing brand leverage associations by linking itself to other brands from the same or different company

•      Co branding or brand bundling or brand alliances: when two or more existing brands are combined into a joint product or are marketed together in some fashion.

•      Guidelines :

–     Both brands should have adequate brand awareness, sufficiently strong, favorable , unique associations, positive consumer judgments and feelings

–     Logical fit between the two brands and combined to maximizes the advantages of the individual brands while minimizing the disadvantages

–     Marketers must ensure the right kind of fit in values, capabilities, and goals

–     Marketers need detailed plans to legalize contracts, make financial arrangement , and coordinates marketing program

Special case : Co-Branding

•      Ingredient Branding : creates brand equity for materials, components, or parts that are necessarily contained within other branded products.

•      Guidelines :

1.      Consumers must first perceive that the ingredient matters to the performance and success of the end product. The intrinsic value is visible or easily experienced

2.      Consumers must then be convinced that not all ingredient brand are the same and that the ingredient is superior. The ingredient would have an innovation or some other substantial advantage over existing alternatives

3.       A distinctive symbol or logo must be designed to clearly signal to consumers that the host product contains the ingredient. The symbol or logo would function essentially as a “seal” and would be simple and versatile it could appear virtually anywhere and credibly communicate quality and confidence to consumers

4.      A coordinated push and pull program must be put into place such that consumers understand the importance and advantages of the branded ingredients

5. Licensing

•      Licensing creates contractual arrangements whereby firms can use the name, logos, characters, and so forth of other brands to market their own brands for some fixed fee.

•      Renting another brand to contribute to the brand equity of its own product.

•      Corporate trademark licensing :

–     Generating extra revenues and profits

–     Protecting their trademarks

–     Increasing brand exposure

–     Enhancing brand image

–     No inventory expenses, Account receivable, manufacturing expenses

–     Risk : product wont live up to the reputation established by the brand; inappropriate licensing will dilute brand meaning

6. Celebrity Endorsement                                     

•      Using well known and admired people to promote products is a widespread phenomenon with a long marketing history

•      Potential Problems :

–     Celebrity endorsers can endorse so many products that they lack any specific product meaning or are seen as opportunistic or insincere

–     Must be reasonable match between the celebrity and product

–     Celebrity endorsers can get in trouble or lose popularity diminishing their marketing value to the brand

•      Guidelines :

            Marketer should strategically evaluate, select, and use celebrity spokespeople

•      Chose a well known celebrity

•      There must be logical fit between the brand and person

•      Ad and communication program should use the celebrity in a creative fashion that highlights the relevant associations and encourages their transfer

7. Sporting, Cultural, or Other Events

 

•      vents have their own set of associations that may become linked to a sponsoring brand under certain conditions.

•      Sponsored events becoming associated to the brand and improving brand awareness, adding new associations, or improving the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of existing associations.

8.  Third-Party Sources

•      Create secondary associations by linking the brand to various third-party  sources.

•      Third party sources can improve perceptions of and attitudes toward brands.

CONCLUSION

            According to the study of chapter brand elements are the major process for build the brand and the brand equity.

In the brand elements have lot of tactics, naming guidelines, procedure, awareness of brand associations

Any brand should be stand in their own logo and symbols and their benefits to both company and customers like characters, slogans and packaging.

And also the conceptualizing process of country of origin and channel of distribution, licensing, endorsement, sporting, cultural events

These are all process should be involved to create the own brand elements and to shows their brand equity to the organization