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Brand management begins with having a thorough knowledge of the term brand. It includes developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it. It means defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. Brand management is nothing but an art of creating and sustaining the brand. Branding makes customers committed to your business. A strong brand differentiates your products from the competitors. It gives a quality image to your business.

Brand management includes managing the tangible and intangible characteristics of brand. In case of product brands, the tangibles include the product itself, price, packaging, etc. While in case of service brands, the tangibles include the customers experience. The intangibles include emotional connections with the product / service.

Branding is assembling of various marketing mix medium into a whole so as to give you an identity. It is nothing but capturing your customers mind with your brand name. It gives an image of an experienced, huge and reliable business. It is all about capturing the niche market for your product / service and about creating a confidence in the current and prospective customers minds that you are the unique solution to their problem. The aim of branding is to convey brand message vividly, create customer loyalty, persuade the buyer for the product, and establish an emotional connectivity with the customers. Branding forms customer perceptions about the product. It should raise customer expectations about the product. The primary aim of branding is to create differentiation. Strong brands reduce customers perceived monetary, social and safety risks in buying goods/services. The customers can better imagine the intangible goods with the help of brand name. Strong brand organizations have a high market share. The brand should be given good support so that it can sustain itself in long run. It is essential to manage all brands and build brand equity over a period of time. Here comes importance and usefulness of brand management. Brand management helps in building a corporate image. A brand manager has to oversee overall brand performance. A successful brand can only be created if the brand management system is competent. Following are the important concepts of brand management:

Understanding Brand - What is a Brand ?

Brands are different from products in a way that brands are what the consumers buy, while products are what concern/companies make. Brand is an accumulation of emotional and functional associations. Brand is a promise that the product will perform as per customers expectations. It shapes customers expectations about the product. Brands usually have a trademark which protects them from use by others. A brand gives particular information about the organization, good or service, differentiating it from others in marketplace. Brand carries an assurance about the characteristics that make the product or service unique. A strong brand is a means of making people aware of what the company represents and what are its offerings. To a consumer, brand means and signifies:

Source of product Delegating responsibility to the manufacturer of product Lower risk Less search cost Quality symbol Deal or pact with the product manufacturer Symbolic device

Brands simplify consumers purchase decision. Over a period of time, consumers discover the brands which satisfy their need. If the consumers recognize a particular brand and have knowledge about it, they make quick purchase decision and save lot of time. Also, they save search costs for product. Consumers remain committed and loyal to a brand as long as they believe and have an implicit understanding that the brand will continue meeting their expectations and perform in the desired manner consistently. As long as the consumers get benefits and satisfaction from consumption of the product, they will more likely continue to buy that brand. Brands also play a crucial role in signifying certain product features to consumers. To a seller, brand means and signifies:

Basis of competitive advantage Way of bestowing products with unique associations Way of identification to easy handling Way of legal protection of products unique traits/features Sign of quality to satisfied customer Means of financial returns

A brand, in short, can be defined as a sellers promise to provide consistently a unique set of characteristics, advantages, and services to the buyers/consumers. It is a name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of all these planned to differentiate the goods/services of one seller or group of sellers from those of competitors. Some examples of well known brands are Mc Donalds, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, Coca Cola, Kingfisher, etc. A brand connects the four crucial elements of an enterprise- customers, employees, management and shareholders. Brand is nothing but an assortment of memories in customers mind. Brand represents values, ideas and even personality. It is a set of functional, emotional and rational associations and benefits which have occupied target markets mind. Associations are nothing but the images and symbols associated with the brand or brand benefits, such as, The Nike Swoosh, The Nokia sound, etc. Benefits are the basis for purchase decision. Brand name is one of the brand elements which helps the customers to identify and differentiate one product from another. It should be chosen very carefully as it captures the key theme of a product in an efficient and economical manner. It can easily be noticed and its meaning can be stored and triggered in the memory instantly. Choice of a brand name requires a lot of research. Brand names are not necessarily associated with the product. For instance, brand names can be based on places (Air India, British Airways), animals or birds (Dove soap, Puma), people (Louise Phillips, Allen Solly). In some instances, the company name is used for all products (General Electric, LG).

Features of a Good Brand Name

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. It should be unique / distinctive (for instance- Kodak, Mustang) It should be extendable. It should be easy to pronounce, identified and memorized. (For instance-Tide) It should give an idea about products qualities and benefits (For instance- Swift, Quickfix, Lipguard). It should be easily convertible into foreign languages. It should be capable of legal protection and registration. It should suggest product/service category (For instance Newsweek). It should indicate concrete qualities (For instance Firebird). It should not portray bad/wrong meanings in other categories. (For instance NOVA is a poor name for a car to be sold in Spanish country, because in Spanish it means doesnt go).

A good brand name should have following characteristics:

Process of Selecting a renowned and successful Brand Name

1. Define the objectives of branding in terms of six criterions - descriptive, suggestive, compound, classical, arbitrary and fanciful. It Is essential to recognize the role of brand within the corporate branding strategy and the relation of brand to other brand and products. It is also essential to understand the role of brand within entire marketing program as well as a detailed description of niche market must be considered.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Generation of multiple names - Any potential source of names can be used; organization, management and employees, current or potential customers, agencies and professional consultants. Screening of names on the basis of branding objectives and marketing considerations so as to have a more synchronized list - The brand names must not have connotations, should be easily pronounceable, should meet the legal requirements etc. Gathering more extensive details on each of the finalized names - There should be extensive international legal search done. These searches are at times done on a sequential basis because of the expense involved. Conducting consumer research - Consumer research is often conducted so as to confirm management expectations as to the remembrance and meaningfulness of the brand names. The features of the product, its price and promotion may be shown to the consumers so that they understand the purpose of the brand name and the manner in which it will be used. Consumers can be shown actual 3-D packages as well as animated advertising or boards. Several samples of consumers must be surveyed depending on the niche market involved.

On the basis of the above steps, management can finalize the brand name that maximizes the organizations branding and marketing objectives and then formally register the brand name. Brand Attributes portray a companys brand characteristics. They signify the basic nature of brand. Brand attributes are a bundle of features that highlight the physical and personality aspects of the brand. Attributes are developed through images, actions, or presumptions. Brand attributes help in creating brand identity. A strong brand must have following attributes:

6.

1. Relevancy- A strong brand must be relevant. It must meet peoples expectations and should perform the way they want it to. A good job 2. Consistency- A consistent brand signifies what the brand stands for and builds customers trust in brand. A consistent brand is where the 3. Proper positioning- A strong brand should be positioned so that it makes a place in target audience mind and they prefer it over other 4. Sustainable- A strong brand makes a business competitive. A sustainable brand drives an organization towards innovation and success. 5. Credibility- A strong brand should do what it promises. The way you communicate your brand to the audience/ customers should be 6. Inspirational- A strong brand should transcend/ inspire the category it is famous for. For example- Nike transcendent Jersey Polo Shirt. 7. Uniqueness- A strong brand should be different and unique. It should set you apart from other competitors in market. 8. Appealing- A strong brand should be attractive. Customers should be attracted by the promise you make and by the value you deliver.
realistic. It should not fail to deliver what it promises. Do not exaggerate as customers want to believe in the promises you make to them. Example of sustainable brand is Marks and Spencers. brands. company communicates message in a way that does not deviate from the core brand proposition. must be done to persuade consumers to buy the product; else inspite of your product being unique, people will not buy it.

Brand positioning refers to target consumers reason to buy your brand in preference to others. It is ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is guided, directed and delivered by the brands benefits/reasons to buy; and it focusses at all points of contact with the consumer.

Brand positioning must make sure that:

Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ? Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ? Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses ? Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products ? Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact with the consumer ? Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals ?

Is it able to support and boost up the organization ? In order to create a distinctive place in the market, a niche market has to be carefully chosen and a differential advantage must be created in their mind. Brand positioning is a medium through which an organization can portray its customers what it wants to achieve for them and what it wants to mean to them. Brand positioning forms customers views and opinions.
Brand Positioning can be defined as an activity of creating a brand offer in such a manner that it occupies a distinctive place and value in the target customers mind. For instance-Kotak Mahindra positions itself in the customers mind as one entity- Kotak - which can provide customized and onestop solution for all their financial services needs. It has an unaided top of mind recall. It intends to stay with the proposition of Think Investments, Think Kotak. The positioning you choose for your brand will be influenced by the competitive stance you want to adopt. Brand Positioning involves identifying and determining points of similarity and difference to ascertain the right brand identity and to create a proper brand image. Brand Positioning is the key of marketing strategy. A strong brand positioning directs marketing strategy by explaining the brand details, the uniqueness of brand and its similarity with the competitive brands, as well as the reasons for buying and using that specific brand. Positioning is the base for developing and increasing the required knowledge and perceptions of the customers. It is the single feature that sets your service apart from your competitors. For instance- Kingfisher stands for youth and excitement. It represents brand in full flight. There are various positioning errors, such as-

1. 2. 3. 4.

Under positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have a blurred and unclear idea of the brand. Over positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have too limited a awareness of the brand. Confused positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have a confused opinion of the brand. Double Positioning- This is a scenario in which customers do not accept the claims of a brand.

Brand identity stems from an organization, i.e., an organization is responsible for creating a distinguished product with unique characteristics. It is how an organization seeks to identify itself. It represents how an organization wants to be perceived in the market. An organization communicates ts identity to the consumers through its branding and marketing strategies. A brand is unique due to its identity. Brand identity includes following elements - Brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality, relationships, and presentations.

Brand identity is a bundle of mental and functional associations with the brand. Associations are not reasons-to-buy but provide familiarity and differentiation thats not replicable getting it. These associations can include signature tune(for example - Britannia ting-ting-ta-ding), trademark colours (for example - Blue colour with Pepsi), logo (for example - Nike), tagline (for example - Apples tagline is Think different),etc. 5. Brand identity is the total proposal/promise that an organization makes to consumers. The brand can be perceived as a product, a personality, a set of values, and a position it occupies in consumers minds. Brand identity is all that an organization wants the brand to be considered as. It is a feature linked with a specific company, product, service or individual. It is a way of externally expressing a brand to the world. 6. Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand (for instance - Trademark colour, logo, name, symbol) that identify and differentiates a brand in target audience mind. It is a crucial means to grow your companys brand. 7. Brand identity is the aggregation of what all you (i.e. an organization) do. It is an organizations mission, personality, promise to the consumers and competitive advantages. It includes the thinking, feelings and expectations of the target market/consumers. It is a means of identifying and distinguishing an organization from another. An organization having unique brand identity have improved brand awareness, motivated team of employees who feel proud working in a well branded organization, active buyers, and corporate style. Brand identity leads to brand loyalty, brand preference, high credibility, good prices and good financial returns. It helps the organization to express to the customers and the target market the kind of organization it is. It assures the customers again that you are who you say you are. It establishes an immediate connection between the organization and consumers. Brand identity should be sustainable. It is crucial so that the consumers instantly correlate with your product/service. 8. Brand identity should be futuristic, i.e, it should reveal the associations aspired for the brand. It should reflect the durable qualities of a brand. Brand identity is a basic means of consumer recognition and represents the brands distinction from its competitors. 9. SYMBOLS- Symbols help customers memorize organizations products and services. They help us correlate positive attributes that bring us closer and make it convenient for us to purchase those products and services. Symbols emphasize our brand expectations and shape corporate images. Symbols become a key component of brand equity and help in differentiating the brand characteristics. Symbols are easier to memorize than the brand names as they are visual images. These can include logos, people, geometric shapes, cartoon images, anything. For instance, Marlboro has its famous cowboy, Pillsbury has its Poppin Fresh doughboy, Duracell has its bunny rabbit, Mc Donald has Ronald, Fed Ex has an arrow, and Nikes swoosh. All these symbols help us remember the brands associated with them. Brand symbols are strong means to attract attention and enhance brand personalities by making customers like them. It is feasible to learn the relationship between symbol and brand if the symbol is reflective/representative of the brand. For instance, the symbol of LG symbolize the world, future, youth, humanity, and technology. Also, it represents LGs efforts to keep close relationships with their customers.

10. LOGOS- A logo is a unique graphic or symbol that represents a company, product, service, or other entity. It represents an organization
very well and make the customers well-acquainted with the company. It is due to logo that customers form an image for the product/service in mind. Adidass Three Stripes is a famous brand identified by its corporate logo. Features of a good logo are : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. It should be simple. It should be distinguished/unique. It should differentiate itself. It should be functional so that it can be used widely. It should be effective, i.e., it must have an impact on the intended audience. It should be memorable. It should be easily identifiable in full colours, limited colour palettes, or in black and white. It should be a perfect reflection/representation of the organization. It should be easy to correlate by the customers and should develop customers trust in the organization. It should not loose its integrity when transferred on fabric or any other material. It should portray companys values, mission and objectives.

The elements of a logo are:

11. Logotype - It can be a simple or expanded name. Examples of logotypes including only the name are Kelloggs, Hyatt, etc. 12. Icon - It is a name or visual symbol that communicates a market position. For example-LIC hands, UTI kalash. 13. Slogan - It is best way of conveying companys message to the consumers. For instance- Nikes slogan Just Do It. 11. TRADEMARKS- Trademark is a unique symbol, design, or any form of identification that helps people recognize a brand. A renowned brand has a popular trademark and that helps consumers purchase quality products. The goodwill of the dealer/maker of the product also enhances by use of trademark. Trademark totally indicates the commercial source of product/service. Trademark contribute in brand equity formation of a brand. Trademark name should be original. A trademark is chosen by the following symbols: (denotes unregistered trademark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods); SM (denotes unregistered service mark) (denotes registered trademark). Registration of trademark is essential in some countries to give exclusive rights to it. Without adequate trademark protection, brand names can become legally declared generic. Generic names are never protectable as was the case with Vaseline, escalator and thermos. Some guidelines for trademark protection are as follows:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Go for formal trademark registration. Never use trademark as a noun or verb. Always use it as an adjective. Use correct trademark spelling. Challenge each misuse of trademark, specifically by competitors in market. Capitalize first letter of trademark. If a trademark appears in point, ensure that it stands out from surrounding text.

Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers perception about the product. It is the manner in which a specific brand is positioned in the market. Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. Brand image is nothing but an organizations character. It is an accumulation of contact and observation by people external to an organization. It should highlight an organizations mission and vision to all. The main elements of positive brand image areunique logo reflecting organizations image, slogan describing organizations business in brief and brand identifier supporting the key values.

Brand image is the overall impression in consumers mind that is formed from all sources. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these associations, they form brand image. An image is formed about the brand on the basis of subjective perceptions of associations bundle that the consumers have about the brand. Volvo is associated with safety. Toyota is associated with reliability. 12. The idea behind brand image is that the consumer is not purchasing just the product/service but also the image associated with that product/service. Brand images should be positive, unique and instant. Brand images can be strengthened using brand communications like advertising, packaging, word of mouth publicity, other promotional tools, etc. 13. Brand image develops and conveys the products character in a unique manner different from its competitors image. The brand image consists of various associations in consumers mind - attributes, benefits and attributes. Brand attributes are the functional and mental connections with the brand that the customers have. They can be specific or conceptual. Benefits are the rationale for the purchase decision. There are three types of benefits: Functional benefits - what do you do better (than others ),emotional benefits - how do you make me feel better (than others), and rational benefits/support - why do I believe you(more than others). Brand attributes are consumers overall assessment of a brand. 14. Brand image has not to be created, but is automatically formed. The brand image includes products' appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame, and overall value. Brand image is actually brand content. When the consumers purchase the product, they are also purchasing its image. Brand image is the objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they purchase a product. Positive brand image is exceeding the customers expectations. Positive brand image enhances the goodwill and brand value of an organization.

Brand Identity

Brand Image

Brand identity develops from the source or the company.

Brand image is perceived by the receiver or the consumer.

Brand message is tied together in terms of brand identity.

Brand message is untied by the consumer in the form of brand image.

The general meaning of brand identity is who you really are?

The general meaning of brand image is How market perceives you?

ts nature is that it is substance oriented or strategic.

Its nature is that it is appearance oriented or tactical.

Brand identity symbolizes firms reality.

Brand image symbolizes perception of consumers

Brand identity represents your desire.

Brand image represents others view

t is enduring.

It is superficial.

dentity is looking ahead.

Image is looking back.

dentity is active.

Image is passive.

t signifies where you want to be.

It signifies what you have got.

t is total promise that a company makes to consumers.

It is total consumers perception about the brand.

Brand awareness is the probability that consumers are familiar about the life and availability of the product. It is the degree to which consumers precisely associate the brand with the specific product. It is measured as ratio of niche market that has former knowledge of brand. Brand awareness includes both brand recognition as well as brand recall. Brand recognition is the ability of consumer to recognize prior knowledge of brand when they are asked questions about that brand or when they are shown that specific brand, i.e., the consumers can clearly differentiate the brand as having being earlier noticed or heard. While brand recall is the potential of customer to recover a brand from his memory when given the product class/category, needs satisfied by that category or buying scenario as a signal. In other words, it refers that consumers should correctly recover brand from the memory when given a clue or he can recall the specific brand when the product category is mentioned. It is generally easier to recognize a brand rather than recall it from the memory. Brand awareness is improved to the extent to which brand names are selected that is simple and easy to pronounce or spell; known and expressive; and unique as well as distinct. For instance - Coca Cola has come to be known as Coke. There are two types of brand awareness:

1. Aided awareness- This means that on mentioning the product category, the customers recognize your brand from the lists of brands 2. Top of mind awareness (Immediate brand recall)- This means that on mentioning the product category, the first brand that customer
recalls from his mind is your brand. The relative importance of brand recall and recognition will rely on the degree to which consumers make product-related decisions with the brand present or not. For instance - In a store, brand recognition is more crucial as the brand will be physically present. In a scenario where brands are not physically present, brand recall is more significant (as in case of services and online brands). Building brand awareness is essential for building brand equity. It includes use of various renowned channels of promotion such as advertising, word of mouth publicity, social media like blogs, sponsorships, launching events, etc. To create brand awareness, it is important to create reliable brand image, slogans and taglines. The brand message to be communicated should also be consistent. Strong brand awareness leads to high sales and high market share. Brand awareness can be regarded as a means through which consumers become acquainted and familiar with a brand and recognize that brand. shown.

Brand Loyalty is a scenario where the consumer fears purchasing and consuming product from another brand which he does not trust. It is measured through methods like word of mouth publicity, repetitive buying, price sensitivity, commitment, brand trust, customer satisfaction, etc. Brand loyalty is the extent to which a consumer constantly buys the same brand within a product category. The consumers remain loyal to a specific brand as long as it is available. They do not buy from other suppliers within the product category. Brand loyalty exists when the consumer feels that the brand consists of right product characteristics and quality at right price. Even if the other brands are available at cheaper price or superior quality, the brand loyal consumer will stick to his brand.

Brand loyal consumers are the foundation of an organization. Greater loyalty levels lead to less marketing expenditure because the brand loyal customers promote the brand positively. Also, it acts as a means of launching and introducing more products that are targeted at same customers at less expenditure. It also restrains new competitors in the market. Brand loyalty is a key component of brand equity. Brand loyalty can be developed through various measures such as quick service, ensuring quality products, continuous improvement, wide distribution network, etc. When consumers are brand loyal they love you for being you, and they will minutely consider any other alternative brand as a replacement. Examples of brand loyalty can be seen in US where true Apple customers have the brand's logo tattooed onto their bodies. Similarly in Finland, Nokia customers remained loyal to Nokia because they admired the design of the handsets or because of user- friendly menu system used by Nokia phones. Brand loyalty can be defined as relative possibility of customer shifting to another brand in case there is a change in products features, price or quality. As brand loyalty increases, customers will respond less to competitive moves and actions. Brand loyal customers remain committed to the brand, are willing to pay higher price for that brand, and will promote their brand always. A company having brand loyal customers will have greater sales, less marketing and advertising costs, and best pricing. This is because the brand loyal customers are less reluctant to shift to other brands, respond less to price changes and self- promote the brand as they perceive that their brand have unique value which is not provided by other competitive brands.

Brand loyalty is always developed post purchase. To develop brand loyalty, an organization should know their niche market, target them, support their product, ensure easy access of their product, provide customer satisfaction, bring constant innovation in their product and offer schemes on their product so as to ensure that customers repeatedly purchase the product.

Brand Associations are not benefits, but are images and symbols associated with a brand or a brand benefit. For example- The Nike Swoosh, Nokia sound, Film Stars as with Lux, signature tune Ting-ting-ta-ding with Britannia, Blue colour with Pepsi, etc. Associations are not reasonsto-buy but provide acquaintance and differentiation thats not replicable. It is relating perceived qualities of a brand to a known entity. For instance- Hyatt Hotel is associated with luxury and comfort; BMW is associated with sophistication, fun driving, and superior engineering. Most popular brand associations are with the owners of brand, such as - Bill Gates and Microsoft, Reliance and Dhirubhai Ambani.

Brand association is anything which is deep seated in customers mind about the brand. Brand should be associated with something positive so that the customers relate your brand to being positive. Brand associations are the attributes of brand which come into consumers mind when the brand is talked about. It is related with the implicit and explicit meanings which a consumer relates/associates with a specific brand name. Brand association can also be defined as the degree to which a specific product/service is recognized within its product/service class/category. While choosing a brand name, it is essential that the name chosen should reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that forms its product positioning. For instance - Power book.

Brand associations are formed on the following basis:

Customers contact with the organization and its employees; Advertisements; Word of mouth publicity; Price at which the brand is sold; Celebrity/big entity association; Quality of the product; Products and schemes offered by competitors; Product class/category to which the brand belongs; POP ( Point of purchase) displays; etc

Positive brand associations are developed if the product which the brand depicts is durable, marketable and desirable. The customers must be persuaded that the brand possess the features and attributes satisfying their needs. This will lead to customers having a positive impression about the product. Positive brand association helps an organization to gain goodwill, and obstructs the competitors entry into the market.

At times, organizations are often inspired by a variety of ideas to create products and services which can be offered locally or globally. Generally, such products or services require the establishment of a brand or company name. Often these brands include both logo and lettering and can do a long way in advertising such products or services. Therefore, one of the most important steps in building a Brand is decide upon a brand name or the product or service one wishes to sell.

Branding is a process that allows an individual or a group of individuals the ability to provide a brand image and lettering to an idea. Upon doing so, one has a better chance of selling such items to a broader audience whether that be on a local or global level. Therefore, while he old adage nothing happens until somebody sells something, still stands true to some extent, at times almost seems as if the process of advertising and branding has overtaken the desire to sell. Although branding generally identifies the company and philosophies behind same, it can also be representative of those working for such a company. This is a good thing as it generates the right type of audience to the product or service being sold based on personal relationships with those running the company. Therefore, benefiting both the organizations selling the branded product or service and the dealers buying same. One of the most important steps in selling any product or service is the belief one holds in relation to the item. Therefore, only those who strongly believe in the products and services offered by the company are going to be good at selling same. Otherwise, one may want to work from an advertising or graphic artist perspective in relation to advertising rather than sales when it comes to time to market same. Another step is to build a brand that maintains loyalty with its customer base and has a strong customer service department. For, having such a department in today's world where one is both experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to helping others can be a rare find. So, companies who represent oneself has having a strong customer base and even stronger customer service department are often more successful than those who do not. A very important step in marketing a brand is to identify the target audience before creating the logo and lettering in relation to marketing. This is because different age groups react differently to a variety of logo and lettering especially as so much is misrepresented by a variety of gangs and others using such material inappropriately. Therefore, if one can define the brand name, logo and lettering and present same to a marketing research review panel or the like, one may be able to gain a better understanding of which audience one needs to direct their product or service to in order to create the most sales. Still, if one can communicate the use of their product or service clearly, establish trust within the community, be that locally or globally, aim marketing at the right audience, build a base of buyers and customer loyalty and offer great customer service, then one is on their way to not only creating and advertising an excellent brand but selling one as well.

Therefore, when looking for steps in building a brand, there are many steps which one can complete to help make the creation of such brand an easier task. These include, knowing your audience, building your brand, finding a great logo and lettering to represent same, targeting the appropriate audience and placing a number of ads in as many online and offline advertising venues one can find. For, after doing so, one may just find that they are selling even more products and services than one had ever dreamed possible. Brand Equity is the value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth. It can also be defined as the differential impact of brand knowledge on consumers response to the Brand Marketing. Brand Equity exists as a function of consumer choice in the market place. The concept of Brand Equity comes into existence when consumer makes a choice of a product or a service. It occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable positive strong and distinctive brand associations in the memory.

Brand Equity can be determined by measuring:

Returns to the Share-Holders.

Evaluating the Brand Image for various parameters that are considered significant. Evaluating the Brands earning potential in long run. By evaluating the increased volume of sales created by the brand compared to other brands in the same class. The price premium charged by the brand over non-branded products. From the prices of the shares that an organization commands in the market (specifically if the brand name is identical to the corporate name or the consumers can easily co-relate the performance of all the individual brands of the organization with the organizational financial performance. OR, An amalgamation of all the above methods.

Factors contributing to Brand Equity

1. 2. 3. 4.

Brand Awareness Brand Associations Brand Loyalty Perceived Quality: refers to the customers perception about the total quality of the brand. While evaluating quality the customer takes into account the brands performance on factors that are significant to him and makes a relative analysis about the brands quality by evaluating the competitors brands also. Thus quality is a perceptual factor and the consumer analysis about quality varies. Higher perceived quality might be used for brand positioning. Perceived quality affect the pricing decisions of the organizations. Superior quality products can be charged a price premium. Perceived quality gives the customers a reason to buy the product. It also captures the channel members interest. For instance - American Express. 5. Other Proprietary Brand Assets: Patents, Trademarks and Channel Inter-relations are proprietary assets. These assets prevent competitors attack on the organization. They also help in maintaining customer loyalty as well as organizations competitive advantage. 6. Brand Equity is defined as value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth whereas Customer Equity is defined in terms of lifetime values of all customers. 7. Brand Equity and Customer Equity have two things in commonBoth stress on significance of customer loyalty to the brand

Both stress upon the face that value is created by having as many customers as possible paying as high price as possible.

8. But conceptually both brand equity and customer equity differ.

While customer equity puts too much emphasis on lower line financial value got from the customers, brand equity attempts to put more emphasis on strategic issues in managing brands.

Customer Equity is less narrow alternative. It can overlook a brands optional value and their capacity effect revenues and cost beyond the present marketing environment.

Just as customer equity can persist without brand equity, brand equity may also exist without customer equity. For instance I may have positive attitude towards brands - McDonald and Burger King, but I may only purchase from McDonalds brand consistently.

9.

To conclude, we can say brands do not exist without consumer and consumer do not exist without brands. Brands serve as a temptation that utilizes other intermediaries to lure the customers from whom value is extracted. Customers serve as a profit-medium for brands to encash their brand value. Both the concepts are highly co-related.

Brand Extension is the use of an established brand name in new product categories. This new category to which the brand is extended can be related or unrelated to the existing product categories. A renowned/successful brand helps an organization to launch products in new categories more easily. For instance, Nikes brand core product is shoes. But it is now extended to sunglasses, soccer balls, basketballs, and golf equipments. An existing brand that gives rise to a brand extension is referred to as parent brand. If the customers of the new business have values and aspirations synchronizing/matching those of the core business, and if these values and aspirations are embodied in the brand, it is likely to be accepted by customers in the new business. Extending a brand outside its core product category can be beneficial in a sense that it helps evaluating product category opportunities, identifies resource requirements, lowers risk, and measures brands relevance and appeal. Brand extension may be successful or unsuccessful.

Instances where brand extension has been a success are-

i. ii.

Wipro which was originally into computers has extended into shampoo, powder, and soap. Mars is no longer a famous bar only, but an ice-cream, chocolate drink and a slab of chocolate.

Instances where brand extension has been a failure are-

i. ii.

In case of new Coke, Coca Cola has forgotten what the core brand was meant to stand for. It thought that taste was the only factor that consumer cared about. It was wrong. The time and money spent on research on new Coca Cola could not evaluate the deep emotional attachment to the original Coca- Cola. Rasna Ltd. - Is among the famous soft drink companies in India. But when it tried to move away from its niche, it hasnt had much success. When it experimented with fizzy fruit drink Oranjolt, the brand bombed even before it could take off. Oranjolt was a fruit drink in which carbonates were used as preservative. It didnt work out because it was out of synchronization with retail practices. Oranjolt need to be refrigerated and it also faced quality problems. It has a shelf life of three-four weeks, while other soft- drinks assured life of five months.

Advantages of Brand Extension

Brand Extension has following advantages:

1. It makes acceptance of new product easy.

It increases brand image. The risk perceived by the customers reduces. The likelihood of gaining distribution and trial increases. An established brand name increases consumer interest and willingness to try new product having the established brand name. d. The efficiency of promotional expenditure increases. Advertising, selling and promotional costs are reduced. There are economies of scale as advertising for core brand and its extension reinforces each other. e. Cost of developing new brand is saved. f. Consumers can now seek for a variety. g. There are packaging and labeling efficiencies. h. The expense of introductory and follow up marketing programs is reduced. There are feedback benefits to the parent brand and the organization. a. The image of parent brand is enhanced. b. It revives the brand. c. It allows subsequent extension. d. Brand meaning is clarified. e. It increases market coverage as it brings new customers into brand franchise. f. Customers associate original/core brand to new product, hence they also have quality associations. a. b. c.

2.

Disadvantages of Brand Extension

1. Brand extension in unrelated markets may lead to loss of reliability if a brand name is extended too far. An organization must research 2. There is a risk that the new product may generate implications that damage the image of the core/original brand. 3. There are chances of less awareness and trial because the management may not provide enough investment for the introduction of new
product assuming that the spin-off effects from the original brand name will compensate. the product categories in which the established brand name will work.

4. If the brand extensions have no advantage over competitive brands in the new category, then it will fail.
What is Co-branding
Co branding is the utilization of two or more brands to name a new product. The ingredient brands help each other to achieve their aims. The overall synchronization between the brand pair and the new product has to be kept in mind. Example of co-branding - Citibank co-branded with MTV to launch a co-branded debit card. This card is beneficial to customers who can avail benefits at specific outlets called MTV Citibank club.

Types of Co-branding
Co-branding is of two types: Ingredient co-branding and Composite co-branding.

1. Ingredient co-branding implies using a renowned brand as an element in the production of another renowned brand. This deals with

2.

creation of brand equity for materials and parts that are contained within other products. The ingredient/constituent brand is subordinate to the primary brand. For instance - Dell computers has co-branding strategy with Intel processors. The brands which are ingredients are usually the companys biggest buyers or present suppliers. The ingredient brand should be unique. It should either be a major brand or should be protected by a patent. Ingredient co-branding leads to better quality products, superior promotions, more access to distribution channel and greater profits. The seller of ingredient brand enjoys long-term customer relations. The brand manufacture can benefit by having a competitive advantage and the retailer can benefit by enjoying a promotional help from ingredient brand. Composite co-branding refers to use of two renowned brand names in a way that they can collectively offer a distinct product/ service that could not be possible individually. The success of composite branding depends upon the favourability of the ingredient brands and also upon the extent on complementarities between them.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Co-branding

Co-branding has various advantages, such as - risk-sharing, generation of royalty income, more sales income, greater customer trust on the product, wide scope due to joint advertising, technological benefits, better product image by association with another renowned brand, and greater access to new sources of finance. But co-branding is not free from limitations. Co-branding may fail when the two products have different market and are

entirely different. If there is difference in visions and missions of the two companies, then also composite branding may fail. Co-branding may affect partner brands in adverse manner. If the customers associate any adverse experience with a constituent brand, then it may damage the total brand equity.

BRAND PERSONALITY

Based on the premise that brands can have personalities in much the same way as humans, Brand Personality describes brands in terms of human characteristics. Brand personality is seen as a valuable factor in increasing brand engagement and brand attachment, in much the same way as people relate and bind to other people. Much of the work in the area of brand personality is based on translated theories of human personality and using similar measures of personality attributes and factors.

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