Brand Management

Brand Management

Brand Vision, Identity, and Values

Brands Must Stand For Something

• “Businesses must run at a profit…else it will die. But when anyone tries to run a business solely for profit…then also the business must die, for it no longer has a reason for existence”.

Henry Ford

The Multidimensional Product Core Product:

the problem-solving benefits; intrinsic

Actual Product

Attributes; extrinsic

Augmented Product:

Support services that

add value (Kotler, 2010)

Core Benefit Core

Benefit

installation

Warranty

Delivery After- Sale

service

Features

Packaging

Branding Styling Design

Credit

The Brand System Brand vision and purpose

Core Brand Values

Brand personality codes and semiotic invariants

Strategic benefits and attributes (four or five prioritized)

Physical signature: family resemblance

Product A... Product B... Typical brand actions

Brand management process: top-

down

Brand perception

process: bottom-up

Kapferer 2003

Brand Building

• Augment the product with distinctive values • Understand features and benefits as

customers see them

• Understand rational and emotional drivers for choosing categories and brands

• Differentiate on augmented attributes - service, guarantees, packaging, quality, delivery, image

Brand Identity

• …is often considered to be visual marks • …goes beyond this and is a unique set of brand associations that

the company aims to create or maintain (Aaker 1996)

• A brand’s meaning as put forward by the company (Kapferer 2008) • Implies a promise • Means of recognition/differentiation • Who do we want the brand to be? How do we want it to be

perceived?

• Communicates what it is, what it does, and how it does it • Originates with the company (Nandan 2005)

Brand Vision and Purpose

• Vision – represents where/who you want to be as a brand

• Purpose - justifies the brand’s reason for existence • What are we trying to achieve? • What would the market lack if we did not exist? • Higher purpose – make more money! 1-1-1

• Drives strategy: The emblem is not what unifies products under a brand, it is their common spirit, vision, and ideals embodied in them

• Guides consumer decisions

Brand Values

• The non-negotiable brand contract • Used to underpin vision and purpose • What do we stand for? • Should be more emotive than

attributes • As integrators and differentiators

(Mischel 2000) • Restrict number to avoid paralysis; brand

evolution

• Kernel (core) vs peripheral

Nivea central value = taking care of oneself

Scientific reassurance

Rokeach’s Value System (1973) Terminal – achieve in life • An exciting life

• A world at peace • A world of beauty • Pleasure

• Equality • Family security • Freedom

• Happiness • Inner Harmony • A comfortable life

Instrumental – steps to terminal • Capable

• Clean • Courageous • Polite

• Helpful • Honest • Imaginative

• Forgiving • Independent • Cheerful

Consumers feel more positively disposed

toward brands whose values/value systems

reflect their own. (Solomon 2013)

Physical Signatures/Elements/Artefacts

Includes elements: names, website addresses, logos, symbols, characters, spokespeople, slogans, jingles, packaging, and signage

Criteria for choosing (Keller et al 2008):

• Brand building • Memorable – aid recall • Meaningful – category or brand benefits • Likeable – visually, verbally, otherwise

• Brand preserving • Transferable • Adaptable • Protectable

Brand Identity Prism • Physique

• Personality

• Relationship

• Culture

• Reflection – stereotypical user; how a customer wishes to be seen having used the brand; user imagery

• Self-Image – how the customer views themselves; how the brand makes them feel

Kapferer (2003)

Brand Prism ‘elements’

1. Physique – Includes tangibles or salient aspects which come to mind when reminded of the brand. Typically includes Packaging, Logo, Functional differentiators (caps, handles etc.), product shapes, etc. You would also notice how most successfully positioned brands have a predominant colour and a flagship pack.

2. Personality – Values that the product would bring in case it was ‘personified’. These also get defined in the style or tone of communication or in effective use of celebrities or spokespersons.

3. Culture – Values that feed brand inspiration or passions of the brand. Where important it could also communicate the source origin or country (Swiss for watches, chocolates, etc.)

Brand Prism ‘elements’

4. Relationship – In short, this is what the consumer feels he / she gets on purchase of the product – The ‘exchange’ beyond a transaction.

5. Reflection – The stereotypical user of the brand as generally reflected in communication. Do remember that this is mostly a subset of the ‘Target group’ of the marketer. While soft drinks manufacturers target a large portion (young, mature and the old, for example) of society, they would typically project teenagers as their users.

6. Self Image – The internal mirror which shows how the consumer wants to be seen. This is very important in imagery based products. Ideally, a few characteristics from different elements need to fall on this side of the prism.

Aaker Brand Identity/Vision

Identity: timeless essence of the brand

Brand as:

• Product – scope, attributes, quality, value, uses, users, and country of origin

• Organisation – attributes e.g. innovation, consumer concern, trustworthiness; Local vs global • Person – personality and consumer-brand

relationships • Symbol – audio and visual imagery, symbols and

brand heritage - metaphor Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000)

Brand Image…

• …is a subjective mental picture of a brand that creates differentiation

• … a set of associations acquired by the individual. Beliefs, experiences, user profiles, memories, values, myths. • … is how the consumer ‘sees’ the

brand

• Drives willingness to pay: involved buyers bargain less

• Directly linked to profitability

(Riezebos 2003)

Brand Image

Marketing Communications

Consumption Experiences

Social Influence

Brand Image

• Early acts of a brand form long-lasting meaning; this is used as a filter for future aspects. • Hard to change but differs among

generations • Must launch products that relate to the

desired long-term image • Build brand; don’t just sell product • Long-term effects as criteria for short-

term decisions

So how does it all fit together….

Identity and Image

SAAKSJARVI AND SAMIEE (2011)

Brand identity doesn’t directly

impact on consumer preference

Consumers interpret a

brand’s identity and translate it

into an image

The image influences consumer

preferences

Coherence…

• …the quality of being logical and consistent. • …the quality of forming a unified whole • Brand identity and brand image coherence

leads to greater brand loyalty (Nandan 2005)

• Is my product/service idea coherent with the brand?

• Does it align with the identity and image?

Selected References

Aaker D. A. (2004). Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, Energy, Leverage and Clarity . New York: Simon & Schuster

Biel, A.L., 1992. How brand image drives brand equity. Journal of advertising research, 32(6), pp.6-12.

Da Silveira, C., Lages, C. and Simões, C., 2013. Reconceptualizing brand identity in a dynamic environment. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), pp.28-36.

Dibb and Simkin 2005 Marketing Concepts and Strategies London.

Esch F.R. (2007), Strategie und Technik der Markenführung, 5th edition, Vahlen Verlag, München. Cited in Cristian D. (2011). ‘Producer versus Retail Brand Strategies—Positioning Vectors in Consumers’ Mind’. Management & Marketing Challenges for the Knowledge Society Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 407-420.

Selected References

Fournier, S., Breazeale, M. & Fetscherin, M. (2012). Consumer-brand relationships: theory and practice, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon;New York

Geuens, M., Weijters, B. and De Wulf, K., 2009. A new measure of brand personality. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 26(2), pp.97-107.

Kapferer, J. (2012) The New Strategic Brand Management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. 5th Edition. Kogan Page.

Keller, K.L. (2013). Strategic brand management: building, measuring, and managing brand equity, 4th, Global edn, Pearson, Boston, [Mass.]; London.

Laforet, S. (2010). Managing Brands. London: McGraw-Hill.

Nandan, S., 2005. An exploration of the brand identity–brand image linkage: A communications perspective. The Journal of Brand Management, 12(4), pp.264-278.