MG4J6: Brand Strategy

Instructor: Dr. Hye-young Kim

Office: NAB 5.12
Email: h.kim55@lse.ac.uk
Office hours: Wednesday 13:00 – 14:30pm
(Please book yourself on Student Hub. If the office hours don’t work you,
please email me.)

Course Overview
In today’s hyper-competitive marketing environment, brands are often
the most valuable asset that can differentiate your offerings from
competitors. This course highlights the strategic implications of branding
and provides a framework to understand, analyse, and execute branding
strategies. This course offers students the chance to combine theory and
practice to understand how to design successful strategies to build
strong brands, how to maximize the value of existing brands, and how to
manage multiple brands in a portfolio.
The aim of this course is two-fold. First, the course aims to introduce an
overall framework and a set of tools to approach and manage diverse
brand-related issues. Students will also have an opportunity to enrich
their theoretical understanding by reading and discussing academic
papers. Second, this course encourages students to think about how the
principles and concepts learned in class are applied to real-world
marketing problems.
In classroom, students will actively involve in interactive lectures, case
discussions, in-class exercises, and guest speakers’ presentations. The
lectures will focus on a specific brand issue, blending theory with
practical examples. The case discussions are designed to introduce and
illustrate the complexities associated with branding. Short case exercises
will provide the chance to apply the concepts learned in the previous
lectures. The guest speakers will bring their own expertise and show how
specific branding issues are addressed in practice.

Course Materials
The required course materials will be made available via Moodle.
Lecture notes: Prior to each session, I will post a pdf slides so that you
can bring a copy of the slides when you come to class and take notes.
Each class session includes a discussion of either research articles or a
case.
Research papers: All the research articles for presentation will be posted
on Moodle.
Cases: All the case studies for both a case write-up and in-class exercise
will be posted on Moodle. Relevant questions for each case will also be
posted on Moodle.
Additional readings: Additional materials (i.e., research papers, news
articles) may be provided and posted on Moodle. Those readings are
meant to supplement the class sessions. There is no compulsory textbook
for this course. As optional background reading, I suggest one of the
textbooks below:

 Strategic Brand Management (Prentice-Hall), by Kevin Lane Keller

 Strategic Brand Management (Cerebellum Press), by Alexander
Chernev

Assessment
1. Class Participation (10%, Individual)
2. Take-home Assignment (45%, Individual)
3. Brand Audit Project (45%, Group)

Class Participation (10%, Individual)

Class participation is an assignment like any other.
In-class exercise: Some of our class sessions will start with an in-class
exercise. There will be no individual write-ups for these “short” case
exercises, but you are encouraged to share your or your group’s thoughts
in-class.
Paper discussion: Some of our class sessions include discussion on
academic papers. You are expected to read the assigned papers in
advance. A presenter will provide a quick summary of a paper and
facilitate discussion. If you don’t present a paper, you are expected to
submit at least one comment for each paper to be discussed on that
week, via Moodle by Wednesday 12pm of Week 3, 5, & 9). Think about
real-life examples that are relevant to the findings of the paper or further
research questions that extend the paper.
Case discussion: Some of our class sessions include discussion on case
studies. You are expected to read the case in advance. For each case, you
are expected to submit a short case write-up, unless you are a presenter
of a case. The case analyses should be typewritten and double-spaced.
The format for the case analysis will be based on the questions provided
for each case. The write-up must be submitted via Moodle by
Wednesday 12pm of Week 2, 4 & 8.
Some general guidelines for preparing an effective write-up are listed
below.

 As in real life, the case may not provide you with enough data and
information or may provide you with too much data and
information. Nevertheless, you have to come up with
recommendations and answers based on the data and information
included in the case. You should not rely on outside sources or try
to find out what really happened to the company and work
backwards to your recommendations. Deal with the case situation
at its particular point in time, putting yourself in the shoes of the
actors and see the situation as it appeared to them.

 Do not spend time paraphrasing the details of the case.

 Be specific in your recommendations and action plan.

Recommendations should be explained and derived from your
analysis and knowledge of the material covered in class in a logical
way.

 Provide a coherent and balanced argument. Do not use your

analysis to push a specific course of action and don’t ignore
information that goes against your recommended course of action.
Recognize the pros and cons of your recommendations.

Case/Paper Presentation (Optional, Individual)

We have 9 academic papers and 3 case studies to discuss, in total, which
requires 12 volunteers who would summarize either a paper or a case of
his/her choice. If you present a paper or a case, you do not have to
submit comments on papers or a case write-up on that week. These slots
will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Each presentation will
be 15-minute long (excluding classroom-wise discussion).
If you are interested in presenting, please send me an email with your
name and which paper or case you’d like to present.

Take-home Assignment (45%, Individual)

A take-home assignment, to be done individually, will be provided to you
at the end of the course. Further details (exact dates/times of submission,
preparation strategy, coverage, etc.) will be announced later in the term.
Followings are the tentative schedule: the assignment will be released on
Friday, April 3rd, 2pm and the answers will be due on Wednesday,
April, 8th, 12pm.

Brand Audit Project (45%, Group)

This project provides a hand-on opportunity to analyze a brand. You will
form a team of approximately 5 individuals, choose a brand, and conduct
a brand audit. The analysis will consist of an examination of the brand
based on primary qualitative and quantitative consumer research as well
as secondary research on information available on public sources.
Once you have formed your groups, send me an e-mail with your brand
and team members. Everyone must have a team, and all teams must have
an approved brand, by the end of the fourth class.
There will be an unassessed project presentation on the last day of class.
Further details will be announced later in the term.

An electronic copy of the group report is due by Thursday, April 2nd,

12pm. Please submit the final copy via Moodle (NOTE: Only one member
of the group has to submit the final copy of the Brand Audit Report).
The text of your final project, excluding all tables and figures, should be
no more than 2,500 words in length (please state the word count on the
cover of the document). Read carefully the “Brand Audit Report” at the
end of the syllabus.
 Appendix A: Weekly Course Outline

Topics, Cases, Readings

Session 1 (Week 1)
 Course introduction
 Brands, A Framework for Brand Management
 Brand Identity
Session 2 (Week 2)
 Brand Image
 Readings & Assignments
- Case: Cacharel
Session 3 (Week 3)
 Positioning
 Brand Delivery, Brand Experiences
 Readings & Assignments
- Aggarwal, P. (2004). The effects of brand relationship norms on
consumer attitudes and behavior. Journal of Consumer
Research, 31(1), 87-101.
- Kim, H. C., & Kramer, T. (2015). Do materialists prefer the “brand-
as-servant”? The interactive effect of anthropomorphized brand
roles and materialism on consumer responses. Journal of Consumer
Research, 42(2), 284-299.
- Aggarwal, P., & McGill, A. L. (2011). When brands seem human,
do humans act like brands? Automatic behavioral priming effects of
brand anthropomorphism. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(2),
307-323.
Session 4 (Week 4)
 Internal Delivery
 Brand Repositioning
 In-class Exercise: Pepsi Lipton Brisk
 Readings & Assignments
- Case: Burberry
Session 5 (Week 5)
 Brand Benefits
 In-class Exercise: Security Capital Pacific Trust
 Readings & Assignments
- Garvey, A. M., Germann, F., & Bolton, L. E. (2015). Performance
brand placebos: How brands improve performance and consumers
take the credit. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(6), 931-951.
- Park, J. K., & John, D. R. (2010). Got to get you into my life: Do
brand personalities rub off on consumers? Journal of Consumer
Research, 37(4), 655-669.
- Wang, Y., & John, D. R. (2019). Up, Up, and Away: Upgrading as a
Response to Dissimilar Brand Users. Journal of Marketing
Research, 56(1), 142-157.
Session 6 (Week 7)
  Brand Equity
 Guest Lecture, Mike Rocha, Interbrand
Session 7 (Week 8)
 Brand Portfolio and Architecture
 Brand Consolidation and Brand Extension
 In-class Exercise: Akzo Nobel
Session 8 (Week 9)
 Guest Lecture, Paul Reynolds, Massive Music
 Readings & Assignments
- Case: Unilever in Brazil
Session 9 (Week 10)
 Special Topics in Branding
 Wrap-up
 Readings & Assignments
- Yorkston, E. A., Nunes, J. C., & Matta, S. (2010). The malleable
brand: The role of implicit theories in evaluating brand
extensions. Journal of Marketing, 74(1), 80-93.
- Monga, A. B., & John, D. R. (2006). Cultural differences in brand
extension evaluation: The influence of analytic versus holistic
thinking. Journal of Consumer Research, 33(4), 529-536.
- Brough, A. R., Wilkie, J. E., Ma, J., Isaac, M. S., & Gal, D. (2016). Is
eco-friendly unmanly? The green-feminine stereotype and its effect
on sustainable consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(4),
567-582.
Session 10 (Week 11)
 Final Presentations
 Appendix B: Brand Audit Project

This project provides a hand-on opportunity to analyse a brand, develop

your own approach to setting brand strategy, and solve the problems that
go along with implementing the concepts contained in the course in a
real setting. Its objective is primarily to help you integrate the material
that you have learned from the lectures, cases, and readings in the
course and to add a practical perspective to the course.
Choice of Brand
By the end of Session 4 each group must choose a brand to analyze. Try
to be creative and go beyond famous brands that everybody knows about.
The best way to find a potential target is to think of brands that have
some challenges to overcome and interest you. News reports, magazines,
and personal experiences are a good source for this.
Scope of the Project
Brand audit aims to assess the health of the brand. After the audit, you
can suggest ways to improve and leverage the brand equity. The outcome
should be an accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date profile of the
brand identity, the brand image, the nature of the supporting delivery
actions and how they are experienced by consumers, and the value
provided by the brand. A thorough brand audit should be able to reveal
the extent of brand consistency and may also help to uncover undesirable
redundancies and overlaps in the marketing portfolio that could lead to
consumer confusion or retailer resistance. The brand audits can set
strategic direction for the brand.
In your analysis you should try to apply the framework learned in class to
address some of (or all) the questions below:

 What is the brand identity and brand image? How would you
characterize its positioning? What are the brand touchpoints and
how have they contributed to the success of the brand? How would
you judge the internal branding efforts?

 Where are the greatest opportunities to further enhance or change

(revitalize, reposition) the brand? Going forward, how would you
build/manage brand equity internally and externally?

 How can you assess the benefits of the brand to the customers and
the organization? Can you measure the value of the brand equity
from the perspective of the consumers and/or the market?
The most important part of the analysis is the primary consumer
research that you will conduct. Qualitative and quantitative research
should aim at assessing brand awareness, brand associations (their
strength, favourability and uniqueness), and/or (consumer-based) brand
equity. The analysis can also include information from secondary sources,
including company web sites and annual reports.
Final Report and Presentation
The final report should be no more than 2,500 words (please indicate the
word count on the cover page). Additionally, you may include tables,
figures, or exhibits to substantiate your analysis and recommendations.
The final report is due in electronic copy by Thursday, April 2nd, 12pm.
After submitting the group report, you can fill out an online peer
evaluation form that will be posted on Moodle.
On the last day of class, there will be an unassessed project presentation.
Logistical details will be confirmed after the course begins.