STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENTAnanda Hussein Ph.D

STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT

• A product is anything that is potentially valued by a target market for the benefits or satisfaction it provides, including objects, services, organizations, places, people, and ideas

What is Brand?• A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

Strategic Role of Brands

• FOR BUYERS, BRANDS CAN:• reduce customer search costs by identifying products quickly and accurately,

• reduce the buyer’s perceived risk by providing an assurance of quality and consistency (which may then be transferred to new products),

• reduce the social and psychological risks associated with owning and using the “wrong” product by providing psychological rewards for purchasing brands that symbolize status and prestige.

Strategic Role of Brands

• FOR SELLERS, BRANDS CAN FACILITATE:• repeat purchases that enhance the company’s financial

performance because the brand enables the customer to identify and re-identify the product compared to alternatives,

• the introduction of new products, because the customer is familiar with the brand from previous buying experience,

• promotional effectiveness by providing a point of focus,• premium pricing by creating a basic level of differentiation

compared to competitors,• market segmentation by communicating a coherent

message to the target audience, telling them for whom the brand is intended and for whom it is not,

• brand loyalty, of particular importance in product categories where loyal buying is an important feature of buying behavior.

Brand Management Challenges• Intense price and other competitive pressure• Fragmentation of markets and media• Complex brand strategies and relationship• Pressure to invest elsewhere• Short-term pressure

Strategic Brand Management

Brand Identity Strategy

Identity Implementation

Brand Strategy Over Time

Managing the Brand Portfolio

Leveraging the Brand

BRAND EQUITY

MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC BRAND

ANALYSIS

Strategic Brand Analysis

• Strategic brand analysis includes market and customer, competitor, and brand analysis

• Tracking brand performance to guide decision on new products, modified products, and eliminating products.

Product Life Cycle

Relevant issues in PLC analysis include:

• Determining the length and rate of change of the PLC• Identifying the current PLC stage and selecting the

product strategy that corresponds to that stage• Anticipating threats and finding opportunities for

altering and extending the PLC

Brand Equity• Effective strategic brand management requires that we understand brand equity and evaluate its impact when making brand management decisions:

“Brand equity is a set of brand assets and liability linked to a brand, its name,and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or

service to a firm and/or to that firm’scustomers.”

Measuring Brand Equity. Several measures are needed to capture all relevant aspects of brand equity.**

* loyalty (price premium, satisfaction/loyalty),* perceived quality/leadership measures (perceived

quality, leadership/popularity),* associations/differentiation (perceived value, brand

personality, organizational associations),* awareness (brand awareness), and* market behavior

BRAND IDENTITY STRATEGY

Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain. These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers from the organization members.*

Four Brand Identity PerspectivesProductOrganizationPersonSymbol

* David A. Aaker, Building Strong Brands, 1996, 68.

Strategies for Improving Product Performance

Product lineStrategy

Addnew

product(s)

Costreduction

Productimprovement Alter

marketingstrategy

Eliminatespecific

product(s)

MANAGING THE BRAND PORTFOLIOLeverage

Commonalities to Generate Synergy

Allocate Resources

Reduce Brand

Identity Damage

Facilitate Change and Adaptation

Achieve Clarity of Product Offerings

Source: David A. Aaker, Building Strong Brands, New York: The Free Press, 1996, 241-242.

BRAND PORTFOLIO OBJECTIVES

BRAND EXTENSION

LINE EXTENSION

Extensions of the brand name to other product categories

--Similar

--Dissimilar

Minor variants of a single product are marketed under the same brand name

BRAND LEVERAGING STRATEGY

CO-BRANDINGCo-branding (dual branding) involves two or more established brands making a joint offer of their product brands —

The participant’s brand namesare identified on the good orservice.

Several different forms –

Component co-branding(Volvo and Michelin)

Same company co-branding

Alliance co-branding(Delta and American Express)

Ingredient co-branding

SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF BRAND MANAGEMENT*

Failure to fully understand the meaning of the brand.Failure to live up to the brand promise.Failure to adequately support the brand.Failure to be patient with the brand.Failure to adequately control the brand.Failure to properly balance consistency and change with the brand.Failure to understand the complexity of brand equity measurement and management.

*Kevin Lane Keller, Strategic Brand Management, Prentice Hall, 2003, 736.

Thank You