CH.

2 Branding & Corporate Image Management

Developing Brands:
Strong brands are developed by beginning with knowing why consumer buy a
brand and why they re-purchase the brand

This includes knowing what the brand does to compel benefits to

consumers
Emotions attached to the brand (during or even after purchase)
Why do consumers consider the purchasing the brand product is important
to them

Therefore, the goal of branding is to really set a product apart from it

competitors. A primary feature that keeps a brand strong is that it contains
something that is salient to customers and is consistent with it

Building Strong Brands:

Branding starts with 1) awareness, 2) authenticity,3) trust, 4) delivers beyond
functional features (focuses on providing an experience that involves the
opportunity to be personalized/customized), 5) effective use of social media &
mobile advertising (in todays modern age) and 6) company/organization of that
brand has to act responsible

Brand Loyalty: More detailed in How does a Brand create value?

Brand loyalty means customers purchase only one brand *they consider no other
brand, regardless of price difference

A brand adds value when it creates a factor of satisfaction or delight by

exceeding expectations and making an emotional connection with the consumer
Brand name recognition and
recall can be built through
repetitious advertising

Brand Equity:
Brand equity is the perception that a good or service with a given brand name is
different & better

Allows the company the opportunity to charge a higher price & retain a market
share that is greater than would otherwise be expected for an undifferentiated
product

Brand Parity: the perceptions that there arent tangible differences between
competing brands
Measuring Brand
Equity
Financial Value Estimates future cash flows of a brand based on its strength
& characteristics (which will then be discounted to
determine a net present value)
Stock Market Financial value of the company is determined through stock
 valuation an estimate of the portion of the value allocated
to brand equity and not physical assets is made
Revenue Premium Compares a brand product to the same product without a
brand name
Consumer value Measures value of a brand based on input from consumers
(such as familiarity, quality, purchasing considerations,
customer satisfaction and the willingness to seek out the
brand

Modern Philosophies

Asymmetrical Symmetrical (seen in crises)

Organization attempts to change the
behaviour of their publics without
changing the behaviour of the
organization
Both the organization and their publics
can be persuaded and both also may
change their behaviour
Uses bargaining, negotiation and
conflict resolution to bring changes in
knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of
both

Company Planning Process:

Company Mission
Why Plan?

Company Business Ensure strategic consistency

Plan Prevent a corporate identity crisis
Prevent running out of $ too soon
Avoid costly mistakes
Marketing Plan Stretch your $
Build on previous efforts
Always tried in the court of public
opinion in the end
Marketing
Communication Plan

Brand Names
A corporate name is the overall banner under which all other operations occur.
The corporate name sets an attitude and tone and is the first step toward
establishing a personality with the customer

Corporate names can be divided into the following four categories based on their
actual, implied, or visionary meaning:
Overt names reveal what a Conceptual names capture the
company does essentials of what a company
offers
Implied names contain Iconoclastic names represent
recognizable words or word parts something unique, different and
that convey what a company does memorable

CORPORATE IMAGE
Effective marketing communication begins with the establishment of a clearly
defined corporate image

A corporate image consists of the overall consumer perceptions or end-user

feelings toward a company along with its goods and services
This corporate image summarizes what the company stands for as well as
how it is positioned in the market place

Components of a Corporate Image

A corporate image contains invisible and intangible elements. The components of

a corporate image include:

Products
Negative publicity has the potential to
Personnel stain or damage consumer perceptions
Retail outlets of a corporations image.
Servicing
Advertisements
Publicity
Interactions with employees

Corporate Logos

A logo is a symbol used to identify a company and its brands, helping to convey
the corporate image

Quality logos and corporate names should pass four tests:

1. Easily recognizable. The notion that a logo can
2. Familiarity elicit a consensual meaning
3. Elicit consensual meaning among those in the among
firms customers is known
target market as stimulus codability
4. Evoke positive feelings

Logos are especially important for in-store shopping. To be advantageous the logo
should help with two things:
1. Consumers must remember seeing the logo in the past
2. The logo must remind consumers of the brand or corporate name

BRANDING
The brand is one of the firms most valuable assets the value of a strong brand
indicates the heart of the marketing concept
How advertising, promotions and other
marketing activities are executed all affect
customer perceptions of the firm!
 Brands represent the value that a product/service offers to the customer
As with a strong corporate name, an effective brand name allows a
company/organization to charge for more products (higher gross margins)
o Marketing mix (includes pricing), product features & attributes,
distribution channels, marketing communications
o Strong brands are salient, memorable and noteworthy to
consumers

The IMC plan should be used to segment the potential population and
define a target audience which includes understanding the brand and the
firm's overall marketing objectives, associated with using that brand

Ensure the right message is placed in front of the right audience at the
right time
Effective Communication: (From Week 2 Slides)
Breakdown: 1) right information 2) right people 3) right source(s) and 4)
right time

= brand identity which is used to summarize what the company/firm/organization

stands for and the position they are wanting/have established

Recall: many established companies encounter brand parity that means

customers see only minor product differences

What customers believe about the firm is far more important than how internal
company members view their image corporations should go for establishing
brand equity (have their customers be familiar with the brand in a positive way)
to provide their customers with positive assurance about what to expect from
them

So how does a brand create value?

The Customer Perspective The Company Perspective

Provide assurance regarding purchase
decisions of familiar products in
unfamiliar settings
Give assurance about purchases when
the buyer does not have enough
information/experience with the
good/service
Reduced searching time
Psychological reinforcements & social
acceptance of purchases
Measure brand equity:
use brand metrics &
brand awareness
Brand extensions; customers can be
introduced to new products when they
have positive feelings
Can charge higher prices or fees
Consumer loyalty more frequent
purchases
Positive word-of-mouth
communications
Higher level of channel power
Attracting quality employees
More favourable investment ratings by
financial observers and analysts
Brand Value
The value generated from a strong brand relies on attitudes & behaviours related
to the mindset of the customer *mentioned more in Positioning

Five key dimensions to

mindset
Brand awareness Extent to which customers
recognize the elements
associated with the brand
Associations that Thoughts that customers have
customers make with pertaining to one or more
brands aspects of the brand
Attitudes that customers
have on the ability of a
brand to outperform
competitors
Brand attachment How loyal are your customers
towards the brand?
Brand activity How do customers use the
brand? How do they
communicate about it others?

Approaches to Branding:

Family brands: A group of related Ingredient branding: The

products sold under one name
Brand extension: The use of an
established brand name on
products/services not related to
the core brand
Flanker brand: The development of
a new brand sold in the same
category as another product
Co-branding: The offering of two or
more brands in a single marketing
offer
placement of one brand within
another brand
Cooperative branding: The joint
venture of two or more brands into a
new product or service
Complementary branding: The
marketing of two brands together for
co-consumption
Private brands: Proprietary brands
marketed by an organization and sold
within the organizations outlets

Private Brands:
Proprietary brands marketed by an organization & normally distributed
exclusively within the organizations outlets

Advantages to these Private retailers include:

Quality levels of private label
brands have improved
Perceived as a value purchase
Loyalty to private labels
Use of differentiation retail
outlets
Firms switching to advertising company
private brands
Increase quality of in-store displays for
& packaging of private labels

Tactics Used by Manufacturers to Fight Gains Made by Private Labels:

Focus on core brands (focus
on a few core ones)
Increase advertising
Introduce new products
(expand product offerings)
Focus on in-store selling &
packaging (counter private
labels)
Use alternative methods of
marketing promotions

Positioning

**The process of creating a perception in the consumers mind regarding the nature
of a company & its products relative to competitors
Created from product quality, prices, distribution methods, packaging, imaging

A products position is based on two elements:

Marketing communications must
(1) the products standing relative to the competition and
either reinforce what consumers
(2) how the product is perceived by consumers
already believe about a product
and its brand name, or shift
consumer views toward
a more desirable position.

Effective Positioning Explained

An attribute is a product trait or Product user positioning strategy
characteristic that sets it apart from distinguishes a brand or product by
other products. clearly specifying who might use it.

Use competitors to establish Sometimes firms seek to position

position through contrasting the themselves in a particular product
companys product with others. class.

Use or application positioning Identifying a product with a cultural

involves creating a memorable set of symbol is difficult but, if done
uses for a product. successfully, can become a strong
competitive advantage for a firm.

Businesses on the extremes of the

price range often use the price
quality relationship.
 Elements involved in identifying, creating, rejuvenating, or changing a
corporation's image:
Identifying the To promote the desired image, the marketing team should
desired image evaluate the nature of the companys current image. Then
future communications can be tailored to promote the
proper image.

Company leaders first study the firms image and identify

how it is connected to a companys strengths and
weaknesses.

As the advertising team studies a companys image, other

consumers, especially noncustomers of the firm, should be
approached so that decisions can be made regarding how
to correct any misperceptions and/or build on the image
that customers currently hold.
Creating the right In each industry, the right image is one that reaches all target
image markets and conveys a clear message regarding the unique nature
of the organization and its products.

A strong image accurately portrays what the firm sells.

Rejuvenating an
image
Strong brands are consistent
in their positioning over time.
They also deliver a consistent
brand promise
in every contact with the
Changing an image
In a business-to-business operation, creating the right image can
be challenging.
Reinforcing or rejuvenating a current image that is consistent with
the view of consumers is easier to accomplish than changing a well-
established image.
The key to successful image reengineering is to remain consistent
with a previous image while at the same time building to
incorporate new elements to expand the firms target audience.
Rejuvenating an image helps a firm sell new products and can
attract new customers when successful; requires time and effort as
it is a difficult process
It is very difficult to change the images people hold regarding a
given company - Changing an image becomes necessary, however,
when target markets have begun to shrink or disappear, or the
firms image no longer matches industry trends and consumer
expectations.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND EQUITY

Marketing communications benefit from strong brands in a self-reinforcing cycle
when: consumers encounter marketing communications from a brand with high
brand equity

Consumers are more willing to attend to the marketing communications,

spend time thinking about it, or recall it later on
Brand equity exists only because
of the perceptions, feelings, and
attitudes that customers have
toward the brand

Therefore, brand equity is central to marketing communications both as an end

goal, and as a mediator to other end goals, such as awareness, recall, or revenue
develops & maintains brand equity!

** The ultimate objective for a brand manager is to have resonance between a

brand and a customer, which leads to a close relationship and loyalty!

At the most basic level, marketing communications helps establish brand

awareness with customers:

Marketing communications must strive to create brand salience for the

customer. Customers must know how the brand can satisfy their particular needs
whether be it at specific times & consumption experiences

Point of- purchase material in stores reminds people of the brand when they are
shopping and considering a purchase.

Brand meaning is built upon brand salience. Brand meaning consists of both
performance-related attributes related to functional needs and the abstract
social or psychological needs of the customer.

Brand performance can clarify for customers how the ingredients,

features, or attributes add value
Also influences how people diagnose product performance

Brand meaning is also created when the brand creates intangible value for
customers
= the objective in building brand equity is generating brand responses,
generated after customers examine the marketing communications designed to
build identity & meaning

Once customers judge a brand favourably it can lead to resonance, the

psychological
bond between the customer and the brand

Resonance can lead to higher levels of loyalty or referring the brand to others:
consumers can promote the brands to others if they are devoted to the brand
that is closely interrelated with how they judge and feel about the brand (positive
social approval and inclusive feelings towards the brand, which can be
highlighted through effective marketing communications)

Can play a strong role in developing both active and intense brand relationships

Using social media: allows current users of a brand to connect with other
users and foster a sense of community, or promote the brand to non-users
Direct marketing can target customers with high-value relationships

Packages and labels can be used to support an integrated marketing

communications program, both domestically and in foreign settings:

Packaging
A unique package and label can help sell a product, build brand recognition, and
inspire repeat purchases
Labels
Labels must:
Meet legal requirements
Point out distinguishing features of the product
Help lead to the purchase

The label represents another marketing opportunity, therefore, a companys

image, brand, logo, and theme should extend to the design of the package and
label.

QR Codes *new
The placement of QR codes for consumers to access with mobile devices
represents a new trend in packaging and labelling (recall ENT 402 project)

IMC PLAN
COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES
In international markets, product development, branding, and maintaining an
image are
more complex. Firms can use either an adaptation strategy or a standardization
strategy
in promotional programs:

1) With standardization, the same brand name and product are sold in all
countries
2) With adaptation, the brand and/or the actual product may be different in
each country or region

Ethical Issues in Brand Management Think Globally, But Act Globally (IB
301)
Brand infringement occurs when a company creates a brand name the closely
resembles a popular or successful brand

Domain squatting means buying a domain name with the purpose of making a
profit by re-selling it to the firm

International Implications Advantages of Standardization

Carefully consider standardization
versus adaptation when developing
global brands
Make sure packages and labels are
legal and protect the product being
shipped over long distances
Using a standardized global brand
reduces costs
(a standardized message can be sent
instead of going with separate
communications strategies)
Purchasing a standardized global brand
can be viewed by consumers as a
better choice than buying a local brand

(global brands may be viewed as having

higher quality)
Be aware of the complications that May lead to a greater use of
occur when trying to position standardized global brands
products in global markets