LEVERAGING Secondary Brand

Associations to Build Brand Equity

 Brand Equity can be built through

many ways.
It can be built through the various
brand elements or by undertaking
marketing activities regarding the 4
Ps of marketing mix.
It can also be built by leveraging
related or secondary brand
associations.

 Brand associations are those abstract

associations (attributes and benefits) that
help to position a product.
Just as individual brands have their own
knowledge, other entities with which the
brand is liked also have their own knowledge.
Because of this linkage consumers may
assume that the associations which
characterize the entity may also be true for
the brand.

 That is, the brand borrows some

brand knowledge from the other
entity .
This indirect approach of brand
building is known as leveraging
secondary brand knowledge.

 Secondary brand knowledge can be created by

linking the brand to the following:
- Companies
- Countries or geographic areas
- Channels of distribution
- Other brands ( Co-branding)
- Characters (through licensing)
-Spokespersons
- Events
- Other third arty sources

 Linking the brand to some other

entity may create a new set of
associations and also affect existing
brand associations.
Consumers have some knowledge
about the entity with which the
brand is associated.
The consumers may infer that what
is true for the entity may also be true
for the brand.

 This phenomenon is explained on the

basis of cognitive consistency
what is true for the entity must also
be true for the brand.
How much leverage can be got by
linking the brand with the entity will
depend on 3 factors:
- Awareness and knowledge of the
entity.
- Meaningfulness of the knowledge of

 There are two strategies for making

associations or linkages with an entity :
a) Commonality Strategy : when the
associations of the entity are congruent
with desired brand association.
b) Complementary Strategy: this is
adopted when there are few common
associations for the brand as well as
the entity.

 There may not be a fit or consistency

between the brand and the entity.
This strategy requires skillfully
designed marketing programs.

 COMPANY (linking brand and

company) :
When a company is launching a new
product, it has 3 options
- create a new brand
- Adopt or modify an existing brand
- combine an existing brand and a
new brand.

 A corporate or a family brand may

evoke associations of common
product attributes, benefits or
attitudes.
Therefore a corporate or family brand
can be a source of great brand
equity.
But leveraging a corporate brand
may not always be useful .

 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN :
This is linking the brand with the
country or location from which it
originates.

 CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION :
Members of channels of distribution like the
retailers have their own images in the minds of
the consumers.
Consumers may infer certain characteristics
about a product on the basis of where it is
sold.
When a brand is associated with such retailers,
the image transfer process takes place which
may effect the equity of the brand.

 CO-BRANDING :
An existing brand can leverage
associations by linking itself to other
brands from the same or different
company.
Co-branding or brand-alliance occurs
when two or more existing brands
are combined into a joined product or
are marketed together in same
fashion.

 To create a strong co-brand, both brands

should have adequate brand awareness,
sufficiently strong unique and favorable
associations and positive judgment and
feelings.
There should be a logical fit between the
two.
While executing a co-branding venture,
marketers must ensure the right kind of fit
in values, capabilities and goals.

Advantages of Co-branding :
- Borrow needed expertise
- leverage equity you do not have
- reduce cost of product introduction
Expand brand meaning into related
categories
Source of additional revenue.

Disadvantages of Co-branding :
- loss of control
Risk of brand equity dilution
Negative feedback effect
Lack of brand focus & clarity
Organizational distraction

 When attempting co-branding,

companies need to ask themselves:
- is it a profitable business venture?
- how does it help maintain or
atrengthen brand equity?
- is there any possible risk of dilution of
brand equity?
- does it offer any extrinsic advantages
such as learning opportunities?

 Ingredient Branding :
It is a special case of co-branding and
creates brand equity for material
components or parts that are contained
within other branded products.
Ingredient Branding must accomplish 4
tasks:
1. Consumers must perceive that the
ingredient matters to the performance of
the product.

 2. Consumers must then be convinced that

not all ingredient brands are same and that
the ingredient is superior.
3. A distinctive symbol or logo must be
designed to signal to consumers that the
host product contains the ingredient.
4. A marketing program must be put into
place such that consumers understand the
importance and advantages of the branded
ingredient.

Celebrity Endorsements
Using a well-known and admired person to
promote products is known as celebrity
endorsement.
The logic behind this is that a famous
person can draw attention to a brand and
shape the perceptions of the brand.
This happens because of the influences
that consumers make based on the
knowledge they have about famous
persons.

 The celebrity must be well enough known to

improve awareness, image and responses of the
brand.
Qualities of a Celebrity:
1. He should have a high level of visibility.
2. He should have a rich set of potentially useful
associations, judgment and feelings.
3. He should be credible in terms of expertise.
Trustworthiness, and likability.
4. He must have specific associations that carry
potential product relevance.

 Problems with Celebrity Endorsement :

1. Celebrity endorsers may endorse so
many products that they may seem
opportunistic or insincere
2. There must be reasonable match
between the celebrity and the product.
3. Celebrity endorsers can get in trouble or
lose popularity, diminishing their market
value to brand, or just fail to live up to
expectations.

 4. Many consumers feel that

celebrities are doing the
advertisement for the money and do
not necessarily believe in or use the
brand.
5. Celebrities may distract attention
from the brand in ads so that
customers notice the stars but have
trouble remembering the advertised
brand.