Brand Auditing Project

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MBA 640 PROJECT 2 NOTES

Step 1

Slate Case File

Client Name: Slate, Inc.

Industry: Gaming

Competitors: 1. Sony PlayStation

2. Microsoft Xbox

Product Lines: Gaming consoles

Slate, Inc. has asked us to provide a brand analysis report on these two competing brands to inform Slate’s decisions on the direction of its own branding strategy.

The gaming industry revenues have seen an increase in sales among consumers staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Heading into the year-end shopping season, consumers are trying to balance a weak economy with their higher need to entertain themselves at home. This has helped drive up Sony’s shares 46% since its March lows (Reuters, 2020).

Sony announced that its next-generation PlayStation 5 console will launch in November, 2020 and will sell for $499.99, and $399.99 for the version without a disk drive, as it squares off against rival Microsoft’s Xbox console (Reuter, 2020)

Microsoft announced that its next-generation Series X Xbox game console will also launch in November, 2020, and will sell for $499.99. The new console supports 4K graphics and has a solid-state drive that allows faster loading times than older generation consoles. Microsoft also announced a lower-priced model, the Xbox Series S, an all-digital console that will sell for $299.99 (Fortune, 2020).

Branding

A brand is a product or service whose dimensions differentiate it from other products or services designed to satisfy the same needs (Kotler & Keller, 2015). The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as "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 and to differentiate them from those of competitors" (AMA, 2017). Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers—either individuals or organizations—to assign responsibility for its performance to a particular manufacturer or distributor (Kotler & Keller, 2015).

Branding is a basic marketing decision in which a company uses a name, logo, symbol, decision, phrase, or a combination of these to identify its products and services and differentiate them from those of the competition. A brand name is any design, word, sound, color, or shape, or combination of these that differentiates the company’s products and services. Brand names may be spoken such as Aflac, or unspoken, such as Apple’s logo. A trade name is a legal commercial name under which a company conducts its business, like PepsiCo (Kerin & Hatley, 2017, p. 303).

A trademark shows that a company has legally registered is trade name or brand name, and that it has its exclusive use, thus preventing other companies from using it. Good trademarks such as Cartier, Armani, or Gucci help sell these companies’ products. Counterfeit products, therefore, become an issue, as they basically steal sales from original company, and tarnish its reputation (and brands) by purveying poor quality products (Kerin & Hatley, 2017, p. 303).

Brands typically serve three main functions for the customer (Johansson, 2009), though the application of these roles varies based on whether they relate to a hedonic or utilitarian product:

· a guide to evaluating the product or service

· an icon, with emotional impact that affirms affinity and self-perception

· a social statement, offering recognition among peers (conspicuous consumption)

Why are brands important? Imitative targeting of new product development makes product differentiation difficult to sustain. Consumers learn that quality and features are comparable across competitors, and the end result is that the only sustainable competitive advantage is in the brand (Johansson, 2009).

We have seen how important brands are, and how they can be a company’s most precious asset. However, marketing can also render a brand name generic (i.e., it becomes a household name for any equivalent product). Consider Google, Aspirin, Kleenex, and Band-Aid. Is this a good or bad thing? How can the company that owns the brand differentiate its product in its marketing message? For example, does Johnson & Johnson need to reestablish Band-Aid as the brand, and not the product? A point to ponder!

Step 2:

branding strategies

Branding Strategies

Multiproduct Branding Strategy

A company may use one name for all its product capitalizing on its brand equity and the favorable perception that the consumers have for it (i.e., the company’s trade name and brand name are the same, as it is for Sony, GE, and Microsoft). This strategy allows for product-line extensions, or the use of an existing brand name to enter new market segments in the same product class. Line extensions work best if they take business away from the competition (i.e., incremental business) and do not cannibalize the company’s existing sales.

An important decision companies must make is under which brand a new offering will be marketed. For example, Black & Decker makes power tools for consumers under its Black & Decker brand, while tools for more serious do-it-yourselfers and professionals are under its DeWalt brand. If Black & Decker decided to add to its DeWalt line new products such as coolers, portable radios, CD players, and other accessories construction professionals might find useful at a job site, the company would be creating a brand extension, which involves using an existing brand name or brand mark for a new product category.

Why would Black & Decker add these accessories to the DeWalt line? If the company did, it would be because DeWalt already has a good reputation for high-quality, long-lasting durability and performance among construction professionals. These same professionals would trust the DeWalt brand to deliver.

When they're branding a new offering, firms have to consider the degree of cannibalization that can occur across products. Cannibalization occurs when a firm's new offering eats into the sales of one of its older offerings; ideally, when you sell a new product, you hope that all of its sales come from your competitors' buyers or buyers that are new to the market. A completely new offering will not result in cannibalization, whereas a line extension likely will. A brand extension will also result in some cannibalization if you sell similar products under another brand. For example, if Black & Decker already had an existing line of coolers, portable radios, and CD players when the DeWalt line was launched, the new DeWalt offerings might cannibalize some of the Black & Decker offerings.

However, some marketers argue that cannibalization can be a good thing because it is a sign that a company is developing new and better offerings. These people believe that if you don't cannibalize your own line, then your competitors will.

Other companies engage in sub-branding, or combining the corporate brand with another brand (e.g., Lamborghini Murcielago or Porsche Boxter). On the other hand, a brand extension capitalizes on a strong brand equity and involves the use of an existing brand name to enter a totally different product class (e.g., Suzuki motorcycles extending its name to cars and outboard motors). However, too many uses of a brand name may dilute its meaning to the consumers as has happened with Arm & Hammer’s brand that has been used for toothpaste, detergent, cat litter, baking soda, carpet deodorizer, deodorant, and air freshener (Kerin & Hartley, 2017, p. 308).

Multibranding Strategy

With multibranding strategy, the company gives a distinct name to each product. This is a useful strategy when each brand is intended for a different market segment. For example, P&G markets its flagship detergent under the Ariel brand, while Tide is the low-tier brand. In the United States, Tide is the flagship detergent. This strategy involves higher promotion and advertising costs compared to the multiproduct branding strategy; however, since each brand is unique to its market, there is no risk that failure of one brand will impact the other brands in the line (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

Private Branding Strategy (Private Label)

With a private branding strategy, a company manufactures products but sells them under the brand name of a retailer (e.g., Rayovac produces batteries for retailers such as Walmart and Kroger). This is a highly profitable business for both sides, and about 20 percent of all products sold in drugstores and supermarkets bear a private label (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

Mixed Branding Strategy

Using a mixed branding strategy, companies market products under their own brand and under private labels and sell in different market segments (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

Branding Elements

Branding elements are the foundation of a branding strategy and help distinguish a brand from its competitors. There are several elements that are important in distinguishing a brand. These include brand personality, brand image, brand identity, brand differentiation, brand positioning, brand communication, brand loyalty, and brand equity. Analysis of these elements will allow marketers to understand the performance of a particular brand.

The branding elements described in the sections below are critical for a successful branding strategy.

Brand Personality

Successful brands acquire a brand personality over time, which is a set of human characteristics that is associated those brand name. Consumers "assign personality traits to products"—for example, rugged, romantic, rebellious, or sophisticated—and choose those brands that are more in line with their "desired self-image" (Kerin & Hatley, 2017, p. 304). Marketers can instill a brand with a personality; for example, Pepsi’s personality traits include exciting and young, while Coca Cola is real and all-American. On the other hand, Harley-Davidson portrays defiance, masculinity, and individualism (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

The five key dimensions of brand personality include the following (Imagibrand, 2017):

1. brand competence—Is the company branding its expertise? The attributes represented by this brand personality are success, intelligence, expertise, and reliability.

2. brand sincerity—Does the company have a genuine brand? The attributes represented by this brand personality are honesty, wholesomeness, genuineness, and cheerfulness.

3. brand excitement—How daring is the company's brand? The attributes represented by this brand personality are daring, playfulness, spirit, and imagination.

4. brand sophistication—Would James Bond ever use the company's brand? The attributes represented by this brand personality are poise, elegance, and charm.

5. brand toughness—Can the company's brand stand against the competition? The attributes represented by this brand personality are potency, forcefulness, power, and ruggedness.

Brand Image

The American Marketing Association (AMA) (n.d.-b) defines brand image as the "The perception of a brand in the minds of persons. The brand image is a mirror reflection (though perhaps inaccurate) of the brand personality or product being. It is what people believe about a brand—their thoughts, feelings, expectations."

There are two conventional—but incorrect —wisdoms about brand image (Johansson, 2009):

1. Brands are only important for luxury products. The typical reasoning behind this misconception is that luxury products are hedonic (i.e., not bought for functional utility).

2. Brands are not at all important for B2B products. The typical reasoning behind this misconception is that business buyers are coldly rational and are not influenced by emotions.

Research has shown that even utilitarian product choices are influenced by brands., and the driving force is competition. When competition is intense, all products will soon offer equal functional advantages (benchmarking, "me-too" strategies, follow-the-leader, etc.). Accordingly, the one sustainable advantage is the brand image. Anything can be differentiated and branded, even a commodity such Butoni or Barilla pasta (Johansson, 2009).

Brand Identity

Brand identity refers to the distinct and relatively lasting characteristics of a brand. A brand tends to have an appealing and solid identity when consumers perceive its identity as more distinct and prestigious (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003).

Creating a company's brand identity involves more than designing its logo. A brand identity is both emotional and visual and communicates trustworthiness and relevance. Building an effective brand identity takes many years of perpetual tweaking and hard work; however, it is crucial to the success of the company. When it comes to creating and maintaining a brand identity, every small detail counts. It is a delicate task of following the company's core values, while simultaneously being able to adapt to changing market forces and trends. This task is difficult for even big multinational companies (Jansen, 2018a). Remember how Kodak failed to adapt to changing market conditions?

A strong brand identity can help a company succeed (e.g., Apple and Amazon). This success requires a strong focus and strict brand guidelines to maintain the company's brand and keep it elevated in the face of the changing market forces. In order to do this, companies are advised to heed the following guidelines (Jansen, 2018b):

· Keep things simple and focus on their core values.

· Be flexible and adapt to changing market trends.

· Follow data, but do not ignore emotion.

· Do not jump on market trends without thinking of the bigger picture.

· Do not wait too long to rebrand themselves.

· Do not ignore market trends.

Brand Differentiation

Building a strong brand is crucial to success in today's business world, and strong differentiation is necessary to build a compelling and powerful brand. Brand differentiation is the means by which a company's brand is set apart from its competition, by associating a superior performing aspect of its brand with multiple consumer benefits (Carter, 2014).

Brand differentiation is related to a company's corporate reputation. There are several elements of reputation, including a good customer service, packaging, prompt response to problems, and product-specific comments, that consumers seek when buying. These elements not only provide a basis on which the company can improve its reputation, but also help it differentiate itself from the competition. Corporate reputation may be enhanced by different activities that are closely related to the vertical differentiation of a product, such as technological innovation and a strong brand image. On the other hand, a solid corporate reputation may also help to differentiate a brand. Companies are increasingly recognizing consumers as their most important asset in building an estimable corporate reputation (Vahabzadeh et al., 2017).

In this era of globalization and hypercompetition, companies need to rethink the way that they manage their customer portfolio, as well as how they interact with their customers. Fader (2012) stresses that customers are an asset (customer equity) that should have a place on a company's balance sheet. The author defines customer equity as "the sum of the customer lifetime values across a firm's entire customer base" (p. 62). Since every company's objective is to maximize its overall equity and since customers are perceived as an asset (customer equity) that is an integral part of the company's overall equity, the company should dedicate the necessary resources to maximize its customer equity (Fader, 2012).

Employees are another crucial factor in enhancing a company's reputation. They may help differentiate the company from the competition, as consumers evaluate the corporate reputation that is behind the product and brand presented to them. Accordingly, many companies use their corporate reputation as a vital resource in developing their strategic value. Reputation includes corporate social responsibility, innovativeness, and honest communication, which customers subconsciously convert into brand differentiation of the company's products (Vahabzadeh et al., 2017).

Brand Positioning

Brand positioning is the designing of a company's offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the mind of the target customers (Kotler & Keller, 2015). Brand positioning is the sum of all the marketing activities that position the brand in the target customers’ minds relative to the competition. Positioning does not create something new or different, but rather manipulates the mindset (Ries & Trout, 2001).

Positioning is a crucial stage in a brand management strategy. A good brand positioning strategy helps in the development of new products, communication, market expansion, pricing, and the selection of the distribution channels (Fayvichenko, 2018). Brand positioning is a process of creating the brand's own image, values, positive associations, and distinctive properties in the customers' minds in order to create a sustainable brand image and ensure consumers' attachment to that brand (Fayvichenko, 2016). Today, brand positioning is perceived as a process that begins with the design of a trademark position; however, it is "difficult to specify the essence of positioning when its ultimate goal is not clearly understood" (Fayvichenko, 2018, p. 245). To understand the essence of brand positioning, it is crucial to determine the ideal position of the brand. A clear representation of the ideal position of a brand is a "prerequisite for researching positioning as a target process and developing a system for evaluating its effectiveness" (p. 245).

Ideally, a brand will be positioned so that the customer has positive associations with a brand, is convinced of its unique advantages over other brands, and considers the brand to be of high value or a necessity. This brand-supporting customer is convinced that people who buy other brands are making the wrong choice, considers it a duty to recommend this brand to other consumers, and feels a spiritual unity with consumers who have chosen this brand (Kendukhov, 2008).

Accordingly, Kendukhov (2008) perceives brand positioning as a process of managing the perception of a brand by a customer. The purpose of this process is "persuasion of the consumer in the unique advantages of this trademark over other brands; formation of the consumer's exclusive affiliates with this trademark; formation of the consumer's sense of the indispensability and vital necessity of the brand; formation of fanatical devotion to the brand; raising a sense of duty to recommend this brand to other consumers; forming a sense of spiritual unity with consumers who chose this brand; forming a belief in the consumer that other consumers who buy goods under other brands make the wrong choice" (Fayvichenko, 2018, p. 246).

Brand Communication

The value of a company's brand may rise or fall with its brand communication. Even strong brands must communicate their values and core benefits to the customers in order to sell. Successful brand communication involves satisfied employees and enthusiastic customers. Companies used to communicate their brands using PR and advertising. Nowadays, customers and company employees define the reputation and reality of a brand. They discuss their experience with the company and its products around the clock using social media. Trust plays a crucial role here, and is only built up when the customers receive a consistent and credible brand experience. Employees help a company earn its customers' trust if they credibly communicate the brand's values and positioning (BrandTrust, 2018).

Social media provides an array of constantly changing brand communication tools in the corporate world, which play a crucial role in how customers research and share information, and learn about their brands. Similarly, companies use social media networks for the advertising and sponsorship of their products and services brands in order to develop trust and create sustaining relationships with their customers (Khadim, Hanan, Arshad, Saleem, & Khadim, 2018).

Social media comprises well-built platforms that have a significant and substantial impact on brand loyalty. Customers use social media as a tool to communicate and respond quickly to each other at any time (that information moves much faster on social media compared to traditional media). In addition, social media allows a company to send its brand messages to multiple audiences and collect their recommendations. This feature is crucial, as markets and customer preferences, needs, and wants change quickly, especially in this era of globalization. Social media allows a company to judge how its customers think about its brand and what they want from it. It also enables the company to make improvements to its brand and think forward to anticipate changes in customer needs and preferences (Khadim et al., 2018).

Brand Loyalty

Consumers usually benefit from branding, and trademarks may help them shop more efficiently, as they avoid brands that they dislike, while buying the brands that they like most. Brand loyalty is a favorable perception of, and the consistent buying of, a certain brand over time. The marketplace has been dramatically changing in the past decade thanks to advanced and cheaper communications technologies, which enable consumers to make better choices and share their buying experiences with others, worldwide. Consumers are now increasingly dependent on the internet to acquire information and compare brands before buying. Consumers can easily shift brands if they believe that they have not been treated fairly by a certain company (Kotler & Keller, 2015).

Brand Equity

AMA (n.d.-a) defines brand equity as "the value of a brand. From a consumer perspective, brand equity is based on consumer attitudes about positive brand attributes and favorable consequences of brand use."

According to Johansson (2009) brand equity is “the value of the positive associations that consumers have with a product's brand name. These associations often involve emotional attachments, affinity, positive brand image, and brand identity. They also involve cognitive factors such as familiarity, knowledge and perceived quality, as well as social factors including peer-group acceptance. When these associations turn negative (as in antiglobalization sentiments against global brands) the brand equity can go down very quickly.”

Brand equity is basically the added value that a brand gives to a product beyond the functional benefits that it provides. Brand equity provides competitive advantages; for example, Mercedes Benz implies quality. A second advantage is that consumers are willing to pay more for a product with a brand equity. Here, brand equity is represented by the premium that a consumer is willing to pay for a certain brand over another when both brands provide similar functional benefits. Acura, Infinity, and Lexus cars enjoy a price premium that arises from their brand equity (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

Brand equity takes time to develop and is carefully crafted and nurtured by marketers who forge unique, strong, and favorable experiences and associations with the brand. Brand equity resides in the consumers' minds, and results from what they have seen, heard, felt, and learned about the brand over time. Brand equity is not quickly or easily achieved (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

Financial Brand Equity

Financial brand equity is the monetary value of a brand in terms of net revenues the brand is expected to generate over time, across all country markets. The set of assets linked to a brand name include the following (Johansson, 2009):

· brand name awareness

· brand loyalty

· perceived quality

· brand associations (in the consumer's mind)

Financially lucrative brand licensing agreements may arise from brand equity. Successful brand licensing needs a thorough marketing analysis to ensure compatibility between the licensor's brand and the licensee's products. Companies such as Ralph Lauren, Disney, and Luxottica eyewear earn millions every year from licensing their brand names to others (Kerin & Hartley, 2017).

Global Brands

Why are global brands often the most valuable assets of a global company? Global brands are important because product differentiation is difficult to sustain. Accordingly, global brands become the most sustainable competitive advantage. Global brands have become more important because financial brand equity is strongly correlated with global reach (Johansson, 2009).

Step 3:

Primary and Secondary Research

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing research as follows: “the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information—information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.” (AMA, 2013, para. 2)

There are two types of research (Marshall & Johnston, 2011):

· primary research—Data is collected specifically for a certain research question, (i.e., primary data). Data may be quantitative (statistical analysis), or qualitative (e.g., surveys, focus groups, and interviews). Primary research is important when making strategic decisions. While primary research is costly and more time consuming, it is more accurate and reliable.

· secondary research—Data was collected for some other purpose than the research question at hand. Secondary research may involve an internet search, periodicals, CRM data, government sources (e.g., economic census), and market research organizations. Secondary data is cheaper to obtain and is less time consuming to use because it is readily available; however, it may be outdated or unreliable. In addition, secondary research may not be a perfect fit for the research question. In general, primary research usually starts with a scan of the available secondary information to help further refine the search.

STEP 4:

Meeting on Social Media Platforms

Carlos Chance, the head of branding at Slate, Inc. soon hosts a kickoff web meeting asking for the case team's insights into the company's logic on brand strategy.

"Social media is considered an important marketing communication channel, and it's a crucial element of a company's branding strategy," Carlos stresses. "There has been shift from text-centric to visually oriented experiences in social media platforms. The trend toward visual social media," he continues, "has been mainly driven by the increasing popularity of smartphones, as well as the enhancements in mobile internet services" (Li & Xie, 2020).

"I want you to research and discuss the role social media plays in an organization's branding strategy," Carlos adds. "Business-to-consumer, or B2C, companies leverage social media platforms—mostly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest—to target and engage their customers. I also want you to recommend two social media platforms, including those listed here, and discuss how companies can leverage them to enhance their branding strategy."

Contribute your thoughts in the Slate, Inc.'s project team discussion area, and discuss your ideas with your team members.

MBA Discussion Guidelines

Throughout the MBA program, you will be asked to participate in discussions. Assigned discussions, both individual and group work, are part of the process of developing your project deliverables.

In general, address your discussion posts to your classmates, rather than the instructor. Do not attach files; use only the discussion textbox. Your posts do not need the structure or format of formal business memos or reports. These discussions should be an informal exchange of ideas with your peers. You should, of course, still adhere to the norms of standard written English.

To receive the maximum benefit, you should participate in accordance with the guidelines provided below.

· timeliness

· initial posting(s) submitted by 11:59 PM ET on Saturday

· response(s) to other discussion postings submitted by 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday

· proper citation

· cite sources any time you quote or paraphrase an idea or evidence from another work

· use APA citation style (example below)

· meaningful engagement

· posts contribute to substantive scholarly discussion

· student demonstrates professionalism in interaction with peers

· posts critically discuss topics presented in the current week and, when appropriate, in previous weeks

· posts are grounded in the theories and concepts presented in the course

Example:

Based on the UMGC library’s guidance on APA citations , including guidance on how to cite content from the UMGC online classroom, please use the following format for classroom resources with no author or no date:

Title of resource. (n.d.). Document posted in University of Maryland Global Campus Course Name Course Number online classroom, archived at: hyperlink

SWOT analysis. (n.d.). Document posted in University of Maryland Global Campus MBA 610 2182 online classroom, archived at: https://lti.umgc.edu/contentadaptor/page/topic?keyword=SWOT%20Analysis

Step 6:

Branding Elements

The branding elements described in the sections below are critical for a successful branding strategy.

Brand Personality

The five key dimensions of brand personality include the following (Imagibrand, 2017):

1. brand competence—Is the company branding its expertise? The attributes represented by this brand personality are success, intelligence, expertise, and reliability.

2. brand sincerity—Does the company have a genuine brand? The attributes represented by this brand personality are honesty, wholesomeness, genuineness, and cheerfulness.

3. brand excitement—How daring is the company's brand? The attributes represented by this brand personality are daring, playfulness, spirit, and imagination.

4. brand sophistication—Would James Bond ever use the company's brand? The attributes represented by this brand personality are poise, elegance, and charm.

5. brand toughness—Can the company's brand stand against the competition? The attributes represented by this brand personality are potency, forcefulness, power, and ruggedness.

Brand Image

There are two conventional—but incorrect —wisdoms about brand image (Johansson, 2009):

1. Brands are only important for luxury products. The typical reasoning behind this misconception is that luxury products are hedonic (i.e., not bought for functional utility).

2. Brands are not at all important for B2B products. The typical reasoning behind this misconception is that business buyers are coldly rational and are not influenced by emotions.

Brand Identity

· Keep things simple and focus on their core values.

· Be flexible and adapt to changing market trends.

· Follow data, but do not ignore emotion.

· Do not jump on market trends without thinking of the bigger picture.

· Do not wait too long to rebrand themselves.

· Do not ignore market trends.

Brand Differentiation

Brand Positioning

Brand Communication

Brand Loyalty

Brand Equity

Financial Brand Equity

· brand name awareness

· brand loyalty

· perceived quality

· brand associations (in the consumer's mind)

Global Brands

STEP 7:

Step 7: Complete Your Brand Analysis Report

Deliverable: Incorporate any revisions to your final Brand Analysis report.

Also, include the following:

1. A one-page executive summary that highlights the most important findings of your analysis.

2. A clear recommendation on Slate’s branding of the new product that they intend to launch, and include your rationale (at the end of the paper).

3. A one-page table in an appendix at the end of the paper that compares the eight brand elements for the two brands.

Your final report to Carlos should be 11-13 pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, the reference list, and appendices. Any graphs, tables, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Submit your final report to the dropbox in the final step of this project.