CHOOSING BRAND ELEMENTS TO BUILD BRAND EQUITY

4.1

Brand Elements

A variety of brand elements can be chosen that inherently enhance brand awareness or facilitate the formation of strong, favorable, and unique brand associations. Brand names URLs Logos and symbols Characters Slogans Packaging
4.2

Brand Names

Telephone network: Airtel Perfume: Dior Personality : Shahrukh Khan Shoes : Nike Diamonds :De beers Beer :Fosters Clothes : Manish Malhotra Cosmetics :M.A.C
4.3

URLs

URLs (uniform resource locators) specify locations of pages on the web and are also commonly referred to as domain names. A company can either sue the current owner of the URL for copyright infringement, buy the name from the current owner, or register all conceivable variations of its brand as domain names ahead of time.
4.4

Brand Naming
Guidelines

Brand awareness

Simplicity and ease of pronunciation and spelling Familiarity and meaningfulness Differentiated, distinctive, and uniqueness
The explicit and implicit meanings consumers extract from it are important. In particular, the brand name can reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that makes up its product positioning.

Brand associations

4.5

Logos and Symbols

Play a critical role in building brand equity and especially brand awareness Logos range from corporate names or trademarks (word marks with text only) written in a distinctive form, to entirely abstract designs that may be completely unrelated to the word mark, corporate name, or corporate activities

4.6

4.7

Characters

A special type of brand symbolone that takes on human or real-life characteristics Some are animated like Pillsburys Poppin Fresh Doughboy, Fido Dido :7 up Others are live-action figures like Ronald McDonald. Notable newcomers include the AOL running man & the Budweiser frogs,.

4.8

Slogans

Slogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information about the brand. Slogans are powerful branding devices because, like brand names, they are an extremely efficient, shorthand means to build brand equity Just do it, I am loving it,Ji lalchae.. Raha na jae..
4.9

Jingles

Jingles are musical messages written around the brand. Typically composed by professional songwriters, they often have enough catchy hooks and choruses to become almost permanently registered in the minds of listeners sometimes whether they want them to or not! Jingles are perhaps most valuable in enhancing brand awareness.

4.10

Packaging

From the perspective of both the firm and consumers, packaging must achieve a number of objectives:

Identify the brand Convey descriptive and persuasive information Facilitate product transportation and protection Assist at-home storage Aid product consumption Packaging Cuts through Store Clutter,

Susan B. Bassin, Value-Added

Marketing News, 26 September 1988, 21.

4.11

Packaging Can Influence Taste

Our sense of taste and touch is very suggestible, and what we see on a package can lead us to taste what we think we are going to taste.

4.12

Packaging Can Influence Value

Long after we have bought a product, a package can still lead us to believe we bought it because it was a good value.

4.13

Packaging Can Influence Consumption

Studies of 48 different types of foods and personal care products have shown that people pour and consume between 18% and 32% more of a product as the size of the container doubles.
Valerie Folkes, Ingrid Martin and Kamal Gupta, When to Say When: Effects of Supply on Usage, Journal of Consumer Research, 20 December 1993, 467-477.

4.14

Putting It All Together

The entire set of brand elements makes up the brand identity, the contribution of all brand elements to awareness and image. The cohesiveness of the brand identity depends on the extent to which the brand elements are consistent.
4.15

Building Customer-Based Brand Equity

Brand knowledge structures depend on:

The initial choices for the brand elements

The supporting marketing program and the manner by which the brand is integrated into it Other associations indirectly transferred to the brand by linking it to some other entities
4.16

Criteria for Choosing Brand Elements

Memorability Meaningfulness Likability Transferability Adaptability Protectability

Marketers offensive strategy and build brand equity

Defensive role for leveraging and maintaining brand equity

4.17

Memorability

Brand elements should inherently be memorable and attention-getting, and therefore facilitate recall or recognition. For example, a brand of dairy products, Amul featuring a young girl mascot with a distinctive face is likely to stick in the minds of consumers.
4.18

Meaningfulness

Brand elements may take on all kinds of meaning, with either descriptive or persuasive content. Two particularly important criteria

General information about the nature of the product category Specific information about particular attributes and benefits of the brand

The first dimension is an important determinant of brand awareness and salience; the second, of brand image and 4.19 positioning.

Likability

Do customers find the brand element aesthetically appealing? Descriptive and persuasive elements reduce the burden on marketing communications to build awareness.

4.20

Transferability

How useful is the brand element for line or category extensions? To what extent does the brand element add to brand equity across geographic boundaries and market segments?

4.21

Adaptability

The more adaptable and flexible the brand element, the easier it is to update it to changes in consumer values and opinions. For example, logos and characters can be given a new look or a new design to make them appear more modern and relevant.
4.22

4.23

Protectability

Marketers should:
1.

2.

3.

Choose brand elements that can be legally protected internationally. Formally register chosen brand elements with the appropriate legal bodies. Vigorously defend trademarks from unauthorized competitive infringement.

4.24

4.25

4.26

Marketing Communications Options

Advertising Promotions Event marketing and sponsorship Public relations and publicity Personal selling

6.27

Developing IMC Programs

Mixing communication options

Evaluate all possible communication options available to create knowledge structures according to effectiveness criteria as well as cost considerations. Different communication options have different strengths and can accomplish different objectives. Determine the optimal mix

6.28

Evaluating IMC Programs

Coverage: What proportion of the target audience is reached by each communication option employed? How much overlap exists among options? Cost: What is the per capita expense?

6.29

Evaluating IMC Programs (cont.)

Contribution: The collective effect on brand equity in terms of

enhancing depth and breadth of awareness

improving strength, favorability, and uniqueness of brand associations

Commonality: The extent to which information conveyed by different communication options share meaning

6.30

Evaluating IMC Programs (cont.)

Complementarity: The extent to which different associations and linkages are emphasized across communication options Versatility: The extent to which information contained in a communication option works with different types of consumers
Different communications history Different market segments

6.31

Brand Positioning

Is at the heart of the marketing strategy

3.32

. . . the act of designing the companys offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers minds.
Philip Kotler

3.33

Determining a frame of reference

What are the ideal points-of-parity and points-of-difference brand associations vis--vis the competition? Marketers need to know:

Who the target consumer is Who the main competitors are How the brand is similar to these competitors How the brand is different from them

3.34

Points-of-Parity and Points-of-Difference

Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. Points-of-parity associations (POPs), on the other hand, are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands.
3.35

Two key issues in arriving at the optimal competitive brand positioning are:

Brand Positioning Guidelines

Defining and communicating the competitive frame of reference Choosing and establishing points-ofparity and points-of-difference

3.36

Defining and Communicating the Competitive Frame of Reference

Defining a competitive frame of reference for a brand positioning is to determine category membership. The preferred approach to positioning is to inform consumers of a brands membership before stating its point of difference in relationship to other category members.
3.37

Choosing POPs & PODs

Desirability criteria (consumer perspective)

Personally relevant Distinctive and superior Believable and credible

Deliverability criteria (firm perspective)

Feasible Profitable Pre-emptive, defensible, and difficult to attack

3.38

Core Brand Values

Set of abstract concepts or phrases that characterize the five to ten most important dimensions of the mental map of a brand Relate to points-of-parity and pointsof-difference
Mental map Core brand values Brand mantra
3.39

Brand Mantras

An articulation of the heart and soul of the brand similar to brand essence or core brand promise Short three- to five-word phrases that capture the irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand positioning and brand values Considerations

Communicate Simplify Inspire

3.40

Designing the Brand Mantra

The term brand functions describes the nature of the product or service or the type of experiences or benefits the brand provides. The descriptive modifier further clarifies its nature. The emotional modifier provides another qualifierhow exactly does the brand provide benefits, and in what way?
3.41

Designing the Brand Mantra

Emotional Modifier Descriptive Modifier
Athletic

Brand Functions
Performance

Nike

Authentic

Disney

Fun

Family

Entertainment

Fun

Folks

Food
3.42

Internal Branding

Members of the organization are properly aligned with the brand and what it represents. Crucial for service companies

3.43

Brand Audit

Externally, consumer-focused assessement A comprehensive examination of a brand involving activities to assess the health of the brand, uncover its sources of equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage that equity It includes brand vision, mission, promise, values, position, personality, and performance
3.44

Importance of Brand Audits

Understand sources of brand equity

Firm perspective Consumer perspective

Set strategic direction for the brand Recommend marketing programs to maximize long-term brand equity

3.45

Brand Audit Steps

Brand inventory (supply side) Brand exploratory (demand side)

3.46

Brand Inventory

A current comprehensive profile of how all the products and services sold by a company are branded and marketed:
Brand elements Supporting marketing programs Profile of competitive brands POPs and PODs Brand mantra

3.47

Brand Inventory (Cont.)

Suggests the bases for positioning the brand Offers insights to how brand equity may be better managed Assesses consistency in message among activities, brand extensions, and sub-brands in order to avoid redundancies, overlaps, and consumer confusion
3.48

Brand Exploratory

Provides detailed information as to how consumers perceive the brand:

Awareness Favorability Uniqueness of associations

Helps identify sources of customerbased brand equity Uncovers knowledge structures for the core brand as well as its competitors
3.49

Suggested Brand Audit Outline

Brand audit objectives, scope, and approach Background about the brand (self-analysis) Background about the industries Consumer analysis (trends, motivation, perceptions, needs, segmentation, behavior) Brand inventory

Elements, current marketing programs, POPs, PODs Branding strategies (extensions, sub-brands, etc.) Brand portfolio analysis Competitors brand inventory
3.50

Brand Audit Outline (Cont.)

Brand exploratory

Summary of competitor analysis SWOT analysis Brand equity evaluation Strategic brand management recommendations

Brand associations Brand positioning analysis Consumer perceptions analysis (vs. competition)

3.51

4.52