GROUP 5

SYBMSA SEM 3
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." Jeff Bezos

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Introduction
Nothing can be taken for granted for a product. A strong or a weak marketer can succeed if they manage to create a difference. If they don't, failure is the only outcome unless lack of product differentiation is made up through significant price differentiation. It is better to act proactively, thinking of the worst. Else, when things start going the other way, enough time and even money may not be available to differentiate. It is essential that a product has a reason for being purchased which is different from other available products. The days of just being a good product is over. Among a range of good products one with a difference will survive. At the market place it is the survival of the differentiated. On the other hand manufacturers eventually learn market power lies with building their own brands. Japanese and South Korean companies spent liberally to build up brand names such as Sony, Toyota, Gold star, and Samsung. Even when these companies can no linger afford to manufacturer their products in their homelands, the brand manes continue to command customer loyalty. Branding is a major issue in product strategy. On the one hand, developing a branded product requires a great deal of long-term investment companies' subcontract manufacturing to other companies.

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Brand management
Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It seeks to increase the product's perceived value to the customer and thereby increase brand franchise and brand equity. Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that the level of quality people have come to expect from a brand will continue with future purchases of the same product. This may increase sales by making a comparison with competing products more favorable. It may also enable the manufacturer to charge more for the product. The value of the brand is determined by the amount of profit it generates for the manufacturer. This can result from a combination of increased sales and increased price, and/or reduced COGS (cost of goods sold), and/or reduced or more efficient marketing investment. All of these enhancements may improve the profitability of a brand, and thus, "Brand Managers" often carry line-management accountability for a brand's P&L (Profit and Loss) profitability, in contrast to marketing staff manager roles, which are allocated budgets from above, to manage and execute. In this regard, Brand Management is often viewed in organizations as a broader and more strategic role than Marketing alone. The annual list of the worlds most valuable brands, published by Interbrand and Business Week, indicates that the market value of companies often consists largely of brand equity. Research by McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm, in 2000 suggested that strong, well-leveraged brands produce higher returns to shareholders than weaker, narrower brands. Taken together, this means that brands seriously impact shareholder value, which ultimately makes branding a CEO responsibility. The discipline of brand management was started at Procter & Gamble PLC as a result of a famous memo by Neil H. McElroy.

What Is Brand?

Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their ability to create, maintain, protect, and enhance brands. Marketers say that "branding is the art and cornerstone of marketing." The American Marketing Association defines a brand as follows: A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller and to differentiate them from those of competitors.

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In essence, a brand identifies the seller of marker. It can be a name, trademark, logo, or other symbol. Under trademark law, the seller is granted exclusive rights to the use of the brand name in perpetuity. Brands differ from other assets such as patents and copyrights, which have expiration dates.
A Brand is a Promise

First and foremost, a brand is a promise. It says 'you know the name, you can trust the promise'. As all promises, it is trusted only as far as those promises are met. Trust is a critical first step and brands aim to accelerate that step leveraging the implied promise of the brand.
A Brand is an Associated Image

Most brands have a logo which acts as a short-cut to remind us of the brand promise. The logo uses color, shape, letters and image that is designed both to catch our eyes and to guide our thoughts in the rights direction. The brand may also be associated with tunes, celebrities, catchphrases and so on. All parts of the brand image works as a psychological trigger or stimulus that causes an association to all other thoughts we have about the brand.
Everything and Everyone is a Brand

If you get down to the detail, everything is a brand, because we build our understanding of the world by creating associations about. Even words are brands. When I say 'speed', you will conjure up image of fast cars, etc. People are brands, too. When people see you, or even hear your name, they will recall the image they have of you. In a company where people are visible to customers, such as a service business, the people are very much a part the brand. But a brand is an even more complex symbol. It can convey up to six level of meaning: 1. Attributes: A brand to mind certain attributes. Mercedes suggests expensive, well-built, well-engineered, durable, high-prestige automobiles. 2. Benefits: Attributes must be translated into functional and emotional benefits. The attribute "durable" could translate into the functional benefits "I won't have to buy another car for several years." The attribute "expensive" translates into the emotional benefits "The car makes me feel important and admired." 3. Values: The brand also says something about the producer's values. Mercedes stands for high performance, safety, and prestige. 4. Culture: The brand may represent a certain culture. The Mercedes may represent

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German culture: organized, efficient, high quality. 5. Personality: The brand can project a certain personality. 6. User: The brand suggests the kind of consumer who buys or uses the product. We would expect to.

Why A Brand?

Strong brands are important to both marketers and customers. These are wanted by marketers, as they: o o o o o o o o o o Provide relatively higher return on sales, Have higher loyalty than their weaker competitors, Provide opportunities for brands extension, Can bounce back after a mistake, Recover fast from aggressive price promotion by its competitors, Have longer life, Are important to customers, Create entry barriers for others into the category, Facilitate entry into related categories to which the brand can be extended, and Can command a price premium.

They are important to customers as they: o Are seen to be performing through it or with its help, o Find it easy to choose, o Use it to define/project themselves, o Have a perceived consistent quality about it which acts as a benchmark for brand consideration/choice. The importance of strong brands as highlighted above makes the need for a process of building a brand all the more important. And this has to structured and implemented as part of the overall marketing process. Marketing, as we understand, is continuous process of making customers continue to prefer to but a particular product or service, in the form of a brand. A brand is a combination of the basic products or service, and aspect not overtly specific to the basic product or service, and aspect not Product/Service + /other aspects. A brand provides a specific product/service an identity and differentiation. It does not just exist as a mark on the pack

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outside of the product but as something with in it.

Is It Enough To Be Strong At '4ps' To Build A Strong Brand?

The process of marketing, which includes 'product, pricing, promotion, and place' helps define 'product/service' and 'other aspects'. Each of these four activities includes the process of brand formation, i.e. Branding. However, none of these in isolation of together define the complete branding process. It is just not enough to: o o o o o o o o o o o o Develop a product based on customer need, Develop an attractive packing, Decide on a brand name, Design likeable and relevant advertising, Arrive at an appropriate price, Run consumers offer, Implement efficient sales and distribution plan, Keep tab on competition, Contact market research to ascertain effectiveness of marketing initiatives, Market segmentation, Undertake billed brand position, Redress customer's complaints tactfully, etc.

All the above are important activities and have a role to play in branding. But this does not provide a structured and complete process. The process of branding is too critical, not to have its own identity, structure, and distinct place in a marketer's 'things to do'. Unless it is done, 'product, price, promotion, and place,' may happen, but brand formation may not happen. Enough of such cases exit at the market place. Once the process of branding is understood and planned for a brand, other activities, Vis, 'product, price, promotion, and place need to be tuned around it. These together will go a long way in building strong brand.

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Branding/Manageable Elements of the Brand

Consumers are human beings. They know brands, express about brands think brands, feel brands, compare brands, choose brands, recommend brands, reject brands, buy brands, and do not buy brands through a combination of : o o o o o Brand name Brand associations Brand attitude Brand looks Brand personality, and

All these are not just a matter of semantics. These are specific manageable concepts, born and brought up on the minds and hearts of the consumers, linked to each other in more ways than one. These, if 'added' to a product, lead to creation of brand. As per the branding model, this in a way is a branding process: * Brand Relationship is the ultimate achievement need of branding. All other aspects (e.g. Brand Positioning) might happen but if this does not happen the job is not complete. Brand Relations happens of 'image' and 'attitude' for a brand exits. It is the resultant effect of these two aspects of a brand. * Brand Attitude defines what the brand thinks about the consumer, as per the consumer. A brand may have 'attitude' on one or more aspects. * Brand Image includes two aspects of a brand its associations and its personality. A brand may have image on one more aspects. * Brand Associations includes all the linked up in memory about the brand. It could be specific to attributes, features, benefits or looks of the brand. A brand may have a range of associations. But the one association that stands out in memory and differentiates it becomes the 'positions' of the brand. A brand may have one or more associations but no 'positions'. * Brand Looks, which have a role to play in forming/reinforcing brand associations are facilitated by two key properties of a brand its name and its symbol. While brand name is a necessary condition for existence of brand relationship, the same is not true for brand symbol. However, if the latter exists it helps the process of brand relationship and reinforces it.

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* Brand symbol includes two visual signals of a brand its character (e.g. Amul girl. Pillsbury doughboy) and its logo. * 'necessary' aspects for brand relationship to exist are: o brand name, o brand associations, and o brand attitude * 'Highly desirable' aspects for brand relationship to exist are (excluding the 'necessary' aspects): o brand position, and o Brand symbol.

ITS Principles
A good brand name should:
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Be protected (or at least protectable) under trademark law. Be easy to pronounce. Be easy to remember. Be easy to recognize. Be easy to translate into all languages in the markets where the brand will be used. Attract attention. Suggest product benefits (e.g.: Easy-Off) or suggest usage (note the tradeoff with strong trademark protection.) Suggest the company or product image. Distinguish the product's positioning relative to the competition. Be attractive. Stand out among a group of other brands.

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Types of brands
A number of different types of brands are recognized. A "premium brand" typically costs more than other products in the same category. An "economy brand" is a brand targeted to a high price elasticity market segment. A "fighting brand" is a brand created specifically to counter a competitive threat. When a company's name is used as a product brand name, this is referred to as corporate branding. When one brand name is used for several related products, this is referred to as family branding. When all a company's products are given different brand names, this is referred to as individual branding. When a company uses the brand equity associated with an existing brand name to introduce a new product or product line, this is referred to as "brand extension. " When large retailers buy products in bulk from manufacturers and put their own brand name on them, this is called private branding, store brand, white labeling, private label or own brand (UK). Private brands can be differentiated from "manufacturers' brands" (also referred to as "national brands"). When different brands work together to market their products, this is referred to as "co-branding". When a company sells the rights to use a brand name to another company for use on a noncompeting product or in another geographical area, this is referred to as "brand licensing." An "employment brand" is created when a company wants to build awareness with potential candidates. In many cases, such as Google, this brand is an integrated extension of their customer.

Brand Architecture
The different brands owned by a company are related to each other via brand architecture. In "product brand architecture", the company supports many different product brands with each having its own name and style of expression while the company itself remains invisible to consumers. Procter & Gamble, considered by many to have

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created product branding, is a choice example with its many unrelated consumer brands such as Tide, Pampers, Ivory and Pantene. With "endorsed brand architecture", a mother brand is tied to product brands, such as The Courtyard Hotels (product brand name) by Marriott (mother brand name). Endorsed brands benefit from the standing of their mother brand and thus save a company some marketing expense by virtue promoting all the linked brands whenever the mother brand is advertised. The third model of brand architecture is most commonly referred to as "corporate branding". The mother brand is used and all products carry this name and all advertising speaks with the same voice. A good example of this brand architecture is the UK-based conglomerate Virgin. Virgin brands all its businesses with its name (e.g., Virgin Megastore, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Brides) and uses one style and logo to support each of them.

Techniques
Companies sometimes want to reduce the number of brands that they market. This process is known as "Brand rationalization." Some companies tend to create more brands and product variations within a brand than economies of scale would indicate. Sometimes, they will create a specific service or product brand for each market that they target. In the case of product branding, this may be to gain retail shelf space (and reduce the amount of shelf space allocated to competing brands). A company may decide to rationalize their portfolio of brands from time to time to gain production and marketing efficiency, or to rationalize a brand portfolio as part of corporate restructuring. A recurring challenge for brand managers is to build a consistent brand while keeping its message fresh and relevant. An older brand identity may be misaligned to a redefined target market, a restated corporate vision statement, revisited mission statement or values of a company. Brand identities may also lose resonance with their target market through demographic evolution. Repositioning a brand (sometimes called rebranding), may cost some brand equity, and can confuse the target market, but ideally, a brand can be repositioned while retaining existing brand equity for leverage. Brand orientation is a deliberate approach to working with brands, both internally and externally. The most important driving force behind this increased interest in strong brands is the accelerating pace of globalization. This has resulted in an ever-tougher competitive situation on many markets. A products superiority is in itself no longer sufficient to guarantee its success. The fast pace of technological development and the

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increased speed with which imitations turn up on the market have dramatically shortened product lifecycles. The consequence is that product-related competitive advantages soon risk being transformed into competitive prerequisites. For this reason, increasing numbers of companies are looking for other, more enduring, competitive tools such as brands. Brand Orientation refers to "the degree to which the organization values brands and its practices are oriented towards building brand capabilities (Bridson & Evans, 2004).

Challenges
There are several challenges associated with setting objectives for a brand or product category.
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Brand managers sometimes limit themselves to setting financial and market performance objectives. They may not question strategic objectives if they feel this is the responsibility of senior management. Most product level or brand managers limit themselves to setting short-term objectives because their compensation packages are designed to reward short-term behavior. Short-term objectives should be seen as milestones towards long-term objectives. Often product level managers are not given enough information to construct strategic objectives. It is sometimes difficult to translate corporate level objectives into brand- or product-level objectives. Changes in shareholders' equity are easy for a company to calculate. It is not so easy to calculate the change in shareholders' equity that can be attributed to a product or category. More complex metrics like changes in the net present value of shareholders' equity are even more difficult for the product manager to assess. In a diversified company, the objectives of some brands may conflict with those of other brands. Or worse, corporate objectives may conflict with the specific needs of your brand. This is particularly true in regard to the trade-off between stability and riskiness. Corporate objectives must be broad enough that brands with highrisk products are not constrained by objectives set with cash cows in mind (see B.C.G. Analysis). The brand manager also needs to know senior management's harvesting strategy. If corporate management intends to invest in brand equity and take a long-term position in the market (i.e. penetration and growth strategy), it would be a mistake for the product manager to use short-term cash flow objectives (ie. price skimming strategy). Only when these conflicts and tradeoffs are made

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explicit, is it possible for all levels of objectives to fit together in a coherent and mutually supportive manner. Brand managers sometimes set objectives that optimize the performance of their unit rather than optimize overall corporate performance. This is particularly true where compensation is based primarily on unit performance. Managers tend to ignore potential synergies and inter-unit joint processes. Brands are sometimes criticized within social media web sites and this must be monitored and managed (if possible)

Online Brand Management

Companies are embracing brand reputation management as a strategic imperative and are increasingly turning to online monitoring in their efforts to prevent their public image from becoming tarnished. Online brand reputation protection can mean monitoring for the misappropriation of a brand trademark by fraudsters intent on confusing consumers for monetary gain. It can also mean monitoring for less malicious, although perhaps equally damaging, infractions, such as the unauthorized use of a brand logo or even for negative brand information (and misinformation) from online consumers that appears in online communities and other social media platforms. The red flag can be something as benign as a blog rant about a bad hotel experience or an electronic gadget that functions below expectations.
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30% of Laggards, compared to 65% of Best-in-Class companies, are satisfied with their current ability to identify and reduce risk to the brand

Using online monitoring as an early warning system, Best-in-Class companies are 12.5times more likely than Laggards to experience year-over-year increases in shareholder value

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Strategic Brand Management

When you have a brand that works for people, you should work the brand. "Strategic brand management involves the design and implementation of marketing programs and activities to build, measure, and manage brand equity."1 These concepts and techniques are to improve the long-term profitability of your product.

Strategic Brand Management: Customer Branding

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This Thing Called a Brand The first question that comes to mind when we talk about brands is -what is a brand?- A brand is the perception of a product or service by its customers. Other things that come to mind when we talk about brands is the company name, its logo, its advertising and the slogans used. It is very easy to concentrate on customers, but what about the employees - they have to carry out your business's day-to- day activities and make your company's brand image sustainable in the first place.

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The Customer Focus Have you realized that most companies focus their branding only on customers? Though this is the common trend, it is not completely the right thing to do. It is advisable to all those marketing executives and marketing experts out there to do branding on two levels (i.e. the customer's point of view), and focus on the employees as well. As a small business owner, it is important that you manage your brand from both the customer and employee angle. This is because irrespective of what you are selling or serving, your brand is the magnet that pulls customers and employees to your business. So if you manage to brand your company well for your employees, they will manage your brand appropriately for your customers.

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A good brand will

attract customers. This is because customers are attracted towards the emotional aspect or the logical aspect of a brand and its product or service. You as a business owner or marketing executive for your company have to be really good at positioning your brand. While you are positioning your brand, also remember to promote the right image of your brand to your customers. This means doing some extra work in terms of consumer behavioral surveys, but at the end of it isn't it worth it to have a happy, satisfied and loyal customer?
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As we discussed earlier, branding is all about developing a complete experience for your customer. The customer starts perceiving your brand from the minute they set foot into your store. They are observing and creating a brand image based on customer service, store appearance, and quality of products. The brand experience does not stop the minute the customer is out of the store. They are still judging you on after sales-service, product quality and attitude of the employees.

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Luxury Brand Management

Luxury brands are very distinct. And yet, even though France, Italy, Germany and the UK and the USA have created famous luxury brands, there is still some confusion over the concepts of luxury and the luxury brand, not to mention the French concept griffe which cannot adequately be translated into English. Naturally everyone is able to sense the differences and to quote a typical example for each of those concepts. However when pressed for an exact definition, most people hesitate to give a straightforward answer. What is Luxury? The problem with the word luxury is that it is at once a concept, a subjective impression and apolemical term, often subjected to moral criticism. Thus, what is luxury for some is just ordinary for others, while some brands are qualified as luxury brands by one half of the public opinion; others are simply considered as major brands by the other half. Likewise, given the economic crisis, it has become ethically more dubious to like luxury or to pursue luxury. Real luxury brands remain attractive, but the word itself has lost its clout and sparkle because of the economic downturn in industrialized countries. The word luxury has falled out of favor a little, a hindrance to market researchers, who wish to measure their customers sensitivity to luxury. In economic terms, luxury objects are those whose price / quality relationship is the highest on the market. By quality, economists mean what they know how to measure, i.e. tangible functions. Thus, researchers report defines luxury brands as those which have constantly been able to justify a high price, i.e. significantly higher than the price of products with comparable tangible functions. This strictly economic definition of the luxury brand does not include the notion of an absolute minimum threshold. What counts, indeed, is not the absolute price, but the price differential between luxury products and products with comparable functions. This price differential can vary from ten dollars for a cologne brand to hundreds of thousands of dollars. What does the luxury concept actually encompass? What are the essential attributes of this category of so-called luxury items? Luxury comes from lux which means light in Latin. This explains the typical characteristics of so called luxury items. Luxury glitters.

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The fact that luxury is visible is also essential; luxury must be seen, by the consumer and by others. That is why luxury brands externalize all of their signs, the brand signature must be seen and recognized on the person wearing the brand, and it must be recognizable worldwide. Made to perfection, luxury items stand out and embody certain ideals. Luxury defines beauty it is an art applied to functional items. Luxury constantly seeks to escape time constraints, by focusing on leisure, or by concealing the effects of time with wigs and face makeup. As for perfume, it also helped to distinguish aristocrats from the common folk. As we can see, it is significant that modern luxury brands have fallen for the cosmetics and perfume industry, not to mention the other essential class attributes, clothing and jewels. Etymology is not the only means of deciphering the mystery of the concept of luxury. Sociology and history can also help. Luxury is the natural accompaniment of the ruling classes. It is indeed widely acknowledged that luxury plays a classifying role according to which a restricted group bonds together and distances itself from the rest of society in terms of price and preferences. In this respect, luxury brands are just perpetuating and exemplifying the signs and attitudes of the former aristocracy. Not many luxury symbols exist, but those that do represent the past privileges of the European aristocracy living a life of leisure, free of all working, money, time or space obligations. Everything is made to conceal mere practical utility, the leather, the polished wood, the hushed engine are multiple details which make them more like a drawing room than a car. In this respect, Ferrari and Porsche are regarded as prestigious sport brands rather than typical examples of luxury. Created by a talented engineer, they certainly convey the mythical quest for speed, but they nonetheless embody above all the basic automobile function, mobility. Researchers have pointed out some of the basic principles of luxury brand management, for instance, the necessity of protecting clients from non-clients, by creating a distance, a no-mix area, or, as economists would put it, entrance barriers for those who are not invited. This is implemented through prices and selective and exclusive distribution, as well as the aesthetic dimension of the products. But for the distinctive sign to work, it must be

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known by all. Thus paradoxically, luxury brands must be desired by all but consumed only by the happy few. Loss of control occurs precisely when luxury brands no longer protect their clients from the non-clients. In our open democratic socities, groups are constantly trying to recreate separations of all kinds. The latter do eventually disappear when, for instance, prestigious brands get distributed in hypermarkets. The infinite multiplication of Vuitton bags also hinders the distinctive function of luxury. Likewise, distributed in large quantities, Channel T-Shirts ended up being worn by an excessive number of women, far beyond the initial target. The modern luxury brand must belong to those who rule the world today. Their reference points are no longer land or castle, but mobility. It is true that excessive practicality can harm the luxury product- in that respect, Seiko and Sony are not luxury brands. Conversely, though, if the products are not practical enough, they gradually start to lag and become obsolete.

Luxury brands cannot just ignore the threat of basic brands which are strictly focused on practicality, by constantly improving the quality of their products, the latter are indeed continually redefining the ever increasing standards of basic quality. However prestigious and potentially attractive Jaguar may have been, it was doomed by its deficiencies both in

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its engine and in its basic components. By relying too heavily on its symbolic added value, Jaguar actually lost some of its global luxury value and attractiveness. Its legend was no longer leading it, it had been left behind. Basic brands are meant to democratize progress, thanks to a virtually circular mechanism and to competition. Quality standards are rising all the time, even at the cheapest price possible, thanks to mass production. Being partly freed from price constraints, luxury brands, on the contrary, perpetuate an exceptionally high level of quality. For them, a wide variety of sensations counts just as much as a wide variety of functions. That is why they use the finest materials for their products and extensively customize them in order to prove how customer focused they are. In doing so, they actually condemn mass production as they make service an integral part of their offer. Anything that is considered optional or added on for normal brands is the norm for luxury brands, because for them what is extra is ordinary. Luxury brands would be wrong, however to think that they are totally safe. Luxury does not always have to be exorbitant. In the car industry, for instance, technological improvements have made production more flexible, and thus capable of providing greater scope for customization at no extra cost. Therefore, the customization differential is being jeopardized by the cost differential, due to the deliberate differences in the two production processes. Neither the rarity of the object nor the potency of the brand image can alone continue to justify the price differential. As we see, luxury defines the ideal degree of personalization and sublimation of a given object against which the more basic brands can measure themselves. In turn, the latter challenge luxury by their continuous technical improvements and very competitive pricing. Luxury watches, for instance, were challenged by quartz technology, developed for the mass market, which soon established new standards of precision and reliability and which no mechanical system could possibly meet-within the limits of realistic production costs. Both the economic cost of this quality differential and the negative impact on brand image were all the greater as the renown of luxury watch brands had long been associated with lifetime guarantees.

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VALUE-ORIENTED BRAND MANAGEMENT

Value-oriented brand management sees the development of a consistent brand strategy, in line with the corporate targets, as the basis for future market success. In detail, this means: Maintaining and committing existing customers Acquiring new customers Achieving and safeguarding a price premium An accurate analysis of success factors and an end-to-end connection of strategic and operative brand planning helps to prevent loss through friction and to ensure that funds are invested in the right place. Larger companies, especially those with a complex organizational structure, find it a challenge to transport the brand strategy to the operative level in a way which ensures that the target group receives the typically differentiated image which makes a strong brand.

The brand score card developed by BRAND RATING goes far beyond a mere information system. On the contrary, this approach covers the entire brand planning, steering and controlling process with one common database . This comprehensive representation of all decisive success factors provides an integrated brand management system for all levels of hierarchy and all organizational units. The BRAND RATING brand score card offers our customers the chance to maximize their brand-induced profit - through individually customizing the corporate structure and the IT-based implementation in the tool - in line with our vision of brand management as an entrepreneurial discipline.

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Journal of Product & Brand Management

Manuscripts must offer meaningful implications and recommendations for practitioners, but also must be conceptually or theoretically sound and offer significant research findings or insights. Where manuscripts report the findings of original research, the methodology and findings should be scientifically defensible and presented clearly and to the extent that readers with limited backgrounds in research methods and statistical analyses are not discouraged from reading the article. Research is not the only basis for an acceptable article. Case analyses, book reviews, and other thought-provoking manuscripts are encouraged. Article cases of an international nature are especially welcome. The editorial goal is to create a journal of relevance to an international audience. To do this we seek articles from all parts of the world. Particularly welcome are manuscripts which address product and brand issues from the perspective of comparative international markets. Coverage
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Building and defending growing market share How to value your brand portfolio Target marketing The elements of customer retention Understanding the buying process Understanding the risks of a new product launch Winning customer loyalty

Topicality The responsibility for product and brand management continues to fall squarely on the shoulders of frontline marketers. Keeping pace with new developments, finding out how other companies have solved branding dilemmas and keeping one jump ahead of your competitors can play an important part in the strategies you employ to imprint your brand firmly on the consumer psyche - and keep it there. Key benefits The journal presents important practical considerations and solutions through case histories and the deployment of advertising, sales, promotion, packaging, research, consumer psychology and other elements in the brand war. All papers are backed up by

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research to give an authoritative overview of one of marketing's most exciting and dynamic fields. Key journal audiences
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Academics seeking classroom examples or keeping up with the latest research findings Advertising and marketing consultants Marketing directors, business strategists, product/brand managers and all practitioners working in consumer marketing or sales management Students studying in the field

Conclusion
The above mentioned elements of the Brand are manageable. A firm has to adapt all the elements with its target segment and with proposed positioning of the Brand. As we discussed earlier that today is the era of branding. So, it's very obvious that Brand management at global level becomes very crucial and important. At global level starting from Brand name to Brand Relationship all the elements should be adopted with the culture and environment of the concerned country.

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SYBMS A SEM3 GROUP5 BRAND MANAGEMENT