What is a Brand?

According to American Marketing Association (AMA) a brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol
or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or
group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitioners”. A brand in short is an
identifier of the seller or the maker. A brand name consists of words, letters and/or numbers that
can be vocalized. A brand mark is the visual representation of the brand like a symbol, design,
distinctive colouring or lettering. Mercedes Benz is a brand name and the star with it is a brand
mark. Essentially, a brand is a promise of the seller to deliver a specific set of benefits or
attributes or services to the buyer. Each brand represents a level of quality. Irrespective of the
fact from whom the brand is purchased, this level of quality can be expected of the brand. A
brand is much more complex. Apart from attributes and benefits, it also reflects values.

Evolution of Brands

Brands start off as products made out of certain ingredients. Over a period of time, brands are
built through marketing activities and communications. They keep on acquiring attributes, core
values and extended values. Branding makes it easier for consumers to identify products and
services. Brands ensure a comparable quality when products are repurchased. Brands simplify a
consumer’s shopping. Choosing a commodity is far more complex than choosing a brand. The
firms find that brands can be advertised. The firms also get the advantage of recognition when
brands are on the shelves of the retailers. There is no confusion between branded products
amongst consumers. Branding makes price comparisons difficult. Good brands help build a
corporate image. Branding gives added prestige to the marketer. Branding also gives legal
protection to the seller. Brand loyalty protects a firm against competition. Branding enables a
seller to segment the market. The distributors prefer branding as an identification tool for
vendors, as a convenient tool to handle the products. These are some of the factors which
encourage the sellers to brand their products
Brand evolution has interesting history. In ancient Roman and Greek society, shopkeepers hung
pictures above their shops of the products they sold. There was a high degree of illiteracy in
those days; the pictorial representation did help the buyers. Each retailer then started developing
symbols to represent his speciality. This led to the development of brand logos. Logos are
shorthand device indicating capability of a brand. The trend is continuous even now. In medieval
times, craftsmen put their marks on products to indicate the skills which went in to making them.
Branding based on the reputations of craftsmen has existed over the centuries. Thus suppliers
started distinguishing themselves. Branding was used as a guarantee of the source of the product.
Later it came to be used for legal protection against copying and imitation. Trademarks now
include works, symbols and package design, and are registerable. Branding was associated with
the mark put on cattle by red hot iron as a proof of ownership, and this must have influenced
Oxford English Dictionary’s lexical meaning of a brand as an indelible mark as proof of
ownership, as a sign of quality or for any other purpose. Ranchers in the old west used brands to
identify their cattle. As fencing was not invented, this was the only way to mark their valuable
property. Brands thus became differentiating devices, and remain so even today. They identify
the products of one seller or group and competitors. Brands can be a name, term, sign, symbol or
design or any combination of them. Classical brand management developed in the retail grocery
stores. Manufacturer-retailer relationship underwent transformation in the wake of the Industrial
Revolution. Wholesalers were a dominant force then. Manufacturers sold unbranded products to
the wholesalers and had little contact with the retailers. But technological advances enabled
manufacturer to mass produce goods in anticipation of demand. They questioned their reliance
on wholesalers. They tried to protect their investment by branding their products, and by
patenting them. They tried to bypass the wholesalers by advertising these brands directly to the
consumers. Advertising then focused on creating awareness of a brand, emphasising its
reliability, and guaranteeing that branded goods were of a consistent quality. Manufacturers also
began to appoint their own salesmen to deal directly with the retailers. All this happened by the
second half of the 19th century. The power shifted from the wholesalers to the manufacturers
thanks to the branding process. Manufacturers took efforts to create brand awareness, and to
make their brands different from those of the competitors. They also strove to maintain a
consistent quality level. Brands came to have three dimensions-differentiation, legal protection
and functional communication. After the World War II, the consumers hankered after the goods
which were short since resources were diverted to the war efforts. People started life afresh and
wanted security. Family provisions were a desirable objective. It augured well for the
manufacturers. Many of today’s great brands emerged in this period. Brand management became
a respectable subject

In the last century, brands came to acquire an emotional dimension also. They made personality
statements and represented buyer moods.
Characteristics of Brands

Brand can be considered in terms of four levels: Generic: It is the commodity level which
satisfies the basic needs such as transportation. It is so easy to imitate a generic product. A brand
continues to add values so as to reach the expected level. Expected: A generic is modified to
satisfying some minimum buying conditions such as functional performance, pricing,
availability, etc. Augmented: Brand is refined further by adding non-functional values along with
the functional ones. We may direct advertising to the social prestige, the possessor of the brand is
likely to enjoy. Potential: As brands evolve, we become more critical. Creativity plays an
important role to grow up the brand to its full potential. If no creative effort is taken, there is
danger of the brand relapsing to its augmented or expected level.

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 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.

What is Branding?

Branding is the business process of managing your trademark portfolio so as to maximize the
value of the experiences associated with it, to the benefit of your key stakeholders, especially
current and prospective: 1. Employees 2. Customers 3. Stock/share holders 4. Suppliers 5.
Intermediaries 6. Opinion leaders 7. Local communities 8. Purchasers and licensees Experts
argue as to which stakeholders should be the main focus of the branding process, but this is
probably the wrong question as their experiences are all interrelated: Employees: The more your
employees value your brands and understand what to do to build them, the more your customers,
suppliers, local communities and opinion leaders will value them. The more attractive your
brands are to potential employees, the more they are likely to want to work for you. Customers:
The more your customers value your brand, the more they will buy your products and services,
and recommend them to other people. They will also pay a premium for them and make the lives
of your employees easier. This, in turn, will enhance the value of your brands to prospective
purchasers and licensees. Research has shown that strong brands are more resistant to crises of
reputation. Stock/share holders: Strong brands multiply the asset value of your company (90% of
the asset value of some major corporations lies in their intellectual property), and assure them
that your company has a profitable future. They also allow you to afford to give competitive
dividends to your current stock/share holders. Suppliers: Suppliers like to be associated with
strong brands as this benefits their own reputation in the eyes of other current or potential
customers. You are therefore likely to get better service at a lower total acquisition cost.
Intermediaries: Retailers, distributors and wholesalers value strong brands as they improve their
own profit margins. They are likely to give you more “air time” and shelf space, thus enhancing
further the value of your brands in the eyes of your current and prospective customers. Opinion
Leaders: The media, politicians and non-government organisations are more respectful of strong
brands. Local Communities: Supportive local authorities can make your life easier in many
ways, and offer you better deals, if you have prestigious brands. Your local communities provide
you with your work force and can be highly disruptive if they perceive you as damaging their
environment. Purchasers and Licensees: The question prospective purchasers and licensees ask is
“how much more profit can I get for my products and services sold under this brand than under
any brand I might build?” Strong brands can be spectacularly valuable

Branding Challenges

There are many challenges faced by the organizations and companies according to the branding
scenario and these are: (a) Reactive Approach to Brand Development: Often, an event triggers
brand development or re-branding. Signaling comments include, “We have a major tradeshow
coming up. . .” or, “We’re being featured in a major publication and want to place an ad, but we
don’t know how to position ourselves.” With neither a plan nor procedures, your company
simply “reacts” to opportunities for exposure. (b) Branding Initiatives Lack Accountability
(Return on Branding Investment, ROBI): No formal metrics are in place to determine the
effectiveness of branding initiatives, which may include advertising, direct marketing, public
relations, and web activity. Often, the basis for continuing an initiative resides in gut instinct, and
the effectiveness of branding initiatives is weighed after the fact. Without metrics, you can’t tell
whether the result was good, bad, or average. All you know is that you invested “X,” the sales
result was “Y,” and in the short-term, you’re happy. (c) Can’t Bring Branding Initiatives to
Conclusion: Many companies make a series of false marketing starts, or start strong and lose
focus, which leads to comments like, “We have a website in development . . .”, or “We’re
working on a new corporate brochure . . .” The senior executive may be too involved in the
process, or the project may have been delegated to an unqualified staff person. I’ve had a number
of great interns at Delia Associates, some of whom I hired, and others who have moved on to
promising marketing careers elsewhere. No matter how bright these individuals were, they were
not qualified to develop and deliver a company’s online brand single handedly, and it would
have been unwise to expect them to do so. (d) “Who are we Today” Syndrome: If you haven’t
constructed a core brand foundation, each branding initiative represents a “re-invention of the
wheel” that requires rethinking of your company’s position, key values, image, and core focus.
What should be a simple new product announcement turns into a debate about the company’s
past, present, and future with everyone asking, “Who do we REALLY want to be when we grow
up?” (e) Competition “Stole” the Business away from Us: We frequently get calls from
companies that have lost a major piece of business, often to a direct or emerging competitor. The
top executive will complain that the competitor is inferior, yet stole the customer. What
companies in these situations fail to realize is that branding has more to do with perception than
with reality. If a customer believes a competitor is better than you, it’s true, pure and simple. (f)
“We’re in a Commodity Business”: Due to competitors using price-cutting tactics essentially to
buy market share, perceived value is being driven out of the business. As a result, you may be
forced to drop prices or add value simply to hang onto existing business. Meanwhile, branding
takes a back seat. In truth, every company, by virtue of its existence, is remarkable in some way.
And every industry sector has a value curve of companies, from true commodity suppliers to
industry innovators. Who do you think is making more money? (g) “Branding Doesn’t Work in
Our Industry”: This statement is often paired with, “Branding is a necessary evil.” These
comments are usually spoken by casualties of poorly executed marketing or bad marketing
advice. The speakers have been stung once and won’t be so easily stung again. The truth is,
branding does work, as evidenced by the successes achieved by companies that have achieved
brand status.(h) “Everybody Knows Us.”: Any company in business for ten years or more has
name Notes recognition, especially if it services a well-defined industry. The better question is,
“What do people THINK about you?” Your customers know you for what you do for them, but
they may not know your full range of capabilities, or how to make qualified referrals on your
behalf. Your customer contacts may disappear, or customers may simply forget to call you in a
time of need. (i) Unrealistic Expectations: “We sent out a mailing and nothing happened.” This
common complaint gets back to accountability and ROBI. What did you expect from a single
mailing? The biggest reason for branding failures is that companies lack the tenacity to stay the
course. They bail out prematurely and cite failure. The truth is that it takes, on average, seven
brand impressions to get on the radar of a qualified prospect, let alone convert that prospect into
a customer. (j) “Nobody Knows Us”: Many organizations place more emphasis on selling than
on branding. With a highly capable sales team to drive opportunity, an organization will grow,
but that won’t replace the power of branding. If you’re a $10 million company with about 100
key clients, your brand is very important to those 100 customers. But the rest of the world could
care less, until you give them a reason to care. (k) “We Don’t Have the Budget”: Nearly every
company we’ve talked to IS spending money on its brand. Companies may not be tracking it or
considering it a brand investment, but they are investing all the same. Golf outings, client
dinners, company gifts, sporadic ads, tradeshow appearances, presentations, hats, t-shirts, new
brochures, updating the company website-that’s all spending on a brand.
Types of Brands

The type of brand used depends on the particular entity using it. The following are some of the
most common forms of brands:

 Corporate Brands: Corporate branding is a way for companies to market themselves in

order to give themselves an edge against their competition. They make a series of
important decisions in order to accomplish this, such as pricing, mission, target market,
and values.

 Personal Brands: As mentioned above, branding isn't just for companies anymore.
People use tools like social media to build their own personas, thereby boosting their
brands. This includes regular social media posts, sharing images and videos, and
conducting meet-and-greets.

 Product Brands: This type of branding, which is also known as merchandise branding,
involves marketing one particular product. Branding a product requires market
research and choosing the proper target market.

 Service Brands: This kind of branding applies to services, which often requires some
creativity, as you can't actually show services in a physical way.4

Creating a Brand

When a company settles on a brand to be its public image, it must first determine its brand
identity, or how it wants to be viewed. For instance, a company logo often incorporates a
company's message, slogan, or product. The goal is to make the brand memorable and appealing
to the consumer.

The company usually consults a design firm, team, or logo design software to come up with
ideas for the visual aspects of a brand, such as a logo or a symbol. A successful brand accurately
portrays the message or feeling the company wants to get across. This results in brand
awareness, or the recognition of the brand's existence and what it offers. On the other hand, an
ineffective brand often results from miscommunication.

Once a brand has created positive sentiment among its target audience, the firm is said to have
built brand equity. Some firms with brand equity and very recognizable product brands include
Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, Apple, and Meta (formerly Facebook).

If done right, a brand results in an increase in sales not just for the specific product being sold,
but also for other products sold by the same company. A good brand engenders trust in the
consumer, and, after having a good experience with one product, the consumer is more likely to
try another product related to the same brand. As noted above, this phenomenon is often referred
to as brand loyalty.
Benefits of Brands

Creating a brand provides numerous benefits, whether that's to a corporation or an individual.

Successful branding leads to a lot of impressions. But what does this mean? A company that can
get its message across is able to induce and evoke emotion within its customer base. These
consumers develop unique relationships with these companies, allowing the latter
to capitalize on their loyalty. Companies also rely on these customers to help draw in other, new
consumers.

This helps companies build trust and credibility. After all, people are more apt to purchase goods
and services (or brands) from companies they know and trust. This gives companies a
competitive edge against their competition. Keeping brands in the minds of consumers means a
bigger bottom line.

It also helps corporations introduce newer products and services. Since consumers are going to
stay loyal to brands they know and trust—and with whom they already have a relationship—
they're more likely to spend when new products are released, even if they're more expensive.

Let's use Apple as an example. The company has built a hugely loyal customer base that is
willing to overlook the price tag associated with an iMac, MacBook, iPad, or iPhone because of
their loyalty to the brand. Many existing customers are completely willing to replace their
existing electronics when the company releases new ones.

Functions of Branding:

Branding is a powerful instrument of promotion which performs the following functions:

(i) Distinctiveness:

A brand name creates a distinctive impression among the customers. For instance, different
brands of soap such ‘Cinthol’, ‘O.K.’, ‘Lux’, Tears’, ‘Vigil’, etc. create different impressions
upon the users, though the article is the same, i.e., soap. Thus, a branded product enjoys distinct
or separate identity.

(ii) Publicity:

A brand name enables its holder to advertise his product without any difficulty. Once a brand
name becomes popular, people remember it for long.

(iii) Protection of Goods:

Generally, the branded products are packed in suitable containers or wrappers which provide
protection to the goods against heat and moisture and facilitate convenient handling. The
customers derive many other benefits from the branded products. They are assured of the quality
of the branded products.
(iv) Consumer Protection:

The prices of branded products are fixed by the manufacturers and are printed on the packages.
This protects the interest of the consumers because the retailers cannot charge more than the
printed prices. The prices of branded goods remain fixed at different places and over a
considerable period of time. They are not changed so frequently since it involves great
inconvenience to the firm and a considerable cost in advertising the new price.

(v) Wide Market:

Branded products are quite popular and have wide market. The wholesalers and retailers readily
handle the branded products which are advertised.

(vi) Customer Loyalty:

Branding ensures better quality at competitive prices. Branded products are available in all parts
of the country at uniform prices. This tends to create brand loyalty on the part of customers.
They ask for the goods by their brand name such as Taj Mahal (tea leaves), Nescafe (Coffee),
Tata (Iodised Salt), Natraj (Pencils), etc.

Importance of Branding:

(i) It helps in product identification and gives ‘distinctiveness’ to a product.

(ii) Indirectly it denotes the quality or standard of a product.

(iii) It eliminates imitation of the product.

(iv) It ensures legal rights of the product.

(v) It helps in advertising and packaging activities.

(vi) It helps to create and sustain brand loyalty to a particular product.

(vii) It helps in price differentiation of products.

(viii) It helps the manufacturer for identifying the product.

(ix) It improves the effectiveness of product advertising and promotion. Product identity can be
created easily which would help easy ‘Repeat Sales’.

(x) It helps to increase and control the share of market. A brand has distinct image and character
that may make it more acceptable than a virtually identical competitor.

(xi) An accepted brand makes the introduction of new products easier and thereby helps in
expansion of product mix.
Types of Brand:

There are two main types of brand-manufacturer brands and own-label brands.

1. Manufacturer Brands:

Manufacturer brands are created by producers and bear their chosen brand name, brand is
marketed by manufacture. It is helpful in distribution of products in a wide area and to gain
brand loyalty.

2. Own-Label Brands:

Own-label brands are created and owned by businesses that operate in the distribution channel –
often referred to as “distributors”. Sometimes the retailer’s entire product range will be own-
label. However, more often, the distributor will mix own-label and manufacturers brands. The
major shopping mall and supermarket, have their own brands for example, Vishal Mega Mart is
having their own label brand.

There are many advantages to businesses that build successful brands.

These are:

a. Higher Prices:

For high branded products, consumers are prepared to pay a premium for products or services
that simply deliver core benefits, they are the expected elements of that justify a core price.

b. Higher Profit Margins:

Businesses that operate successful brands are also much more likely to enjoy higher profits. A
brand is created by augmenting a core product with distinctive values that distinguish it from the
competition.

c. Better Distribution:

A brand differentiates itself from the competition, customer recognizes the added value in an
augmented product and chooses that brand in preference, this creates demand and awareness in
market, it is easy to distribute product in market.

d. Customer Loyalty:

Successful brands are those that deliver added value in addition to the core benefits.
Alternatively, the consumer may be looking for the brand to add meaning to his or her life in
terms of lifestyle or personal image. Brands such as Nike, Mercedes, Sony or Microsoft ensure
guarantee of quality. Consistent high quality and performance generate customer loyalty.
Branding Decisions:

1. Brand Sponsor Decision:

The questions to be answered is: Who should sponsor the brand? The brand can be sponsored by
the manufacturer or producer (also called national or international brand) such as Amul, Godrej,
Tata, Sony, etc. The distributor or retailer could also use its own brand.

Thus, when Videocon started its business in electronics, it introduced TVs under the brand
Videocon in the market. Similarly, Mobilink (main brand Motorola) and Shyam’s Garments
(New Delhi) and Nalli Sarees use their own brand names. The third is the licensed brand as being
operated by Coca-Cola Company in India.

Why the distributors or resellers bother to sponsor their own brand?

The reason is not far to seek. They have to order for large quantities to avail of discounts, and
maintain large inventories. All these have become things of the past with the resellers starting
their own brands. In addition, they get the advantage of utilising their limited shelf-space for
their own advantage.

2. Brand Strategy Decision:

What branding strategies should be used? Should it be new brand each time, as followed by HUL
and P&G? Should it be brand extensions, as recently done by HUL for Lifebuoy-Lifebuoy
Personal, Lifebuoy Gold and Lifebuoy Liquid? Or should it be line extension when it introduces
additional items in the same product category under the same brand name as done by Colgate
toothpaste when it introduced gel, the new line extension became – Colgate Regular, Colgate
Salt, Colgate Gel, and Colgate Total.

The line extensions are mostly the result of pressures from consumers to provide variety. Brand
extension comes mostly from the manufacturers’ side to leverage the existing brand equity.
While multi-brands are introduced to set up flanking brands at each end of the market segment,
providing maximum security to the company.

3. Brand-Repositioning Decision:

A competitor may launch a new brand close to the one carried by a particular company. Or it
may need repositioning of the brand when the original product would become more effective.
For example, Rasna was earlier targeted to children and was later re-positioned to attract and
include mother’s alongwith the influencer, the child. Another example came to light when Balm,
a cure for headache and cold was displaced by Vicks Vaporub for colds.
What is Brand Management?
Brand Management is the function 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.

Strategic Brand Management Process

Strategic brand management process is important for creating and sustaining brand equity.
Developing a strategy that successfully sustains or improves brand awareness, strengthens brand
associations, emphasizes brand quality and utilization, is a part of brand management.
Strategic Brand Management Process has four main steps:

1. Identify and Establish Brand Positioning and Values

2. Designing and implementing brand marketing programs
3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance
4. Growing and sustaining brand equity

Strategic Brand
Management Process
Identify and Establish Brand Positioning and Values
The first step of the strategic brand management process starts with a clear and concise
understanding of what the brand is to represent and how it should be positioned with respect to
competitors.

Brand Positioning is defined as “the act of designing the company’s offer and image so that it
occupies a distinct and valued place in the target consumer’s mind.”

Philip Kotler
Brand planning uses the following three interlocking models

1. Brand positioning model: describes how to guide integrated marketing to maximize

competitive advantages.
2. Brand resonance model: describes how to create intense, activity loyalty relationships with
customers.
3. Brand value chain: means to trace the value creation process for brands, to better understand
the financial impact of brand marketing expenditures and investments.
Key Concepts
Mental Map
A mental map is a visual depiction or point-of-view perception of the various associations
linked to the brand in the consumer’s mind.
Points of difference
It convinces consumers about the attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a
brand and believe that they could not find the same in a competitor’s brand.

Points of parity
A product offering that is largely similar to the offerings of like competitors, leading consumers
to believe that brand is “good enough” to be included in the category.

Core Brand Associations

Subset of associations i.e. both benefits and attributes which best characterize the brand.

Brand Mantra
Brand mantra is a short, three to five-word phrase that captures the irrefutable essence or spirit,
of the brand positioning. It’s similar to the brand essence or the core brand promise also known
as the Brand DNA.
Frame of reference
Identifying the target market and the nature of competition.

Plan and Implement Brand Marketing Programs

Building brand equity requires creating a brand that consumers are acceptable aware of and with
which they have favourable, strong and unique brand associations.
Key Concepts
Mixing and matching of brand elements
Brand elements, also known as brand identities, are those trademark that serves to identify and
differentiate the brand from its competitors. Different brand elements here are brand names,
URLs, logos, symbols, logos, images, packaging, slogans, etc.
Brand elements help to facilitate the formation of strong, favourable, and unique brand
associations, enhancing brand awareness and elicit positive judgments and feelings about a
brand.

Integrating brand marketing activities

Marketing program activities and product, price, distribution, and marketing communication
strategies make the biggest contributions and can create strong, unique and favourable brand
associations in a variety of ways.

Leveraging Secondary Associations

Marketer tries to associate a brand with certain source factors such as countries, characters,
sporting or cultural events in the mind of the consumer and leveraging these associations for the
brand to improve its brand equity.

Different source to leverage secondary brand associations by linking the brand are:

 Companies (through branding strategies)

 Countries (through the identification of product origin)
 Channels of distribution (through channel strategy)
 Other brands (through co-branding)
 Characters (through licensing)
 Spokespersons (through endorsements)
 Events (through sponsorship)
 Other third-party sources (through awards or reviews)
Measure and Interpret Brand Performance
To understand the effects of brand marketing programs, it is important to measure and interpret
brand performance.

Key Concepts
Brand Audit
Brand Audit is a comprehensive examination of the brand and uncovers its sources of equity to
suggest ways to improve and leverage it.
 Brand inventory (supply side): A current comprehensive profile of how all the products and
services sold by a company are branded and marketed.

 Brand exploratory (demand side): Provides detailed information as to how consumers

perceive the brand.
Brand tracking studies
Collect information from the customer about brand performance on a number of key dimensions
marketers can identify in the brand audit or other means.
Brand Value chain
A brand value chain is a structured approach to assessing the sources and outcomes of brand
equity and the way marketing activities create brand value. It helps to better understand the
financial impacts of brand marketing investments and expenditures.
Brand Equity Measurement System
A Marketer’s tools or set of research procedures designed to provide, accurate, actionable and
timely information to make the best possible tactical decisions in the short and long run.

 Brand equity charter: It formalizes the company view of brand equity into a document and
provides general guidelines to marketing managers within the company as well as key
marketing partners outside the company.

 Brand equity report: Assembles the results of the tracking survey and other relevant
performance measures.

 Brand equity responsibilities: Senior management must be assigned to oversee how brand
equity is treated within the organization.
Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity
The next step involves growing and sustaining brand equity. Maintaining and expanding brand
equity can be quite challenging.

Key Concepts
Defining the brand Architecture
Captures the branding relationship between the various products /services offered by the firm
using the tools of a brand-product matrix, brand hierarchy and brand portfolio.

 Brand portfolio is the set of different brands that a particular firm offers for sale to buyers in
a particular category.
 Brand hierarchy displays the number and nature of common and distinctive brand
components across the firm’s set of brands.
Managing Brand Equity over time
Marketer’s ability to take a long -term perspective as well as a short-term perspective of
marketing decisions as they will affect the success of future marketing programs.

 Reinforcing Brands: Brand equity is reinforced by marketing actions that consistently

convey the meaning of the brand to consumers in terms of brand awareness and brand image.
 Revitalizing Brands: Revitalizing a brand requires either that lost sources of brand equity are
recaptured or new sources of brand equity are identified and established.
Managing Brand Equity over Geographic boundaries, Market segments and Cultures
Marketers need to take into account international factors, different types of consumers and need
to build equity by relying on the specific knowledge about the experience and behaviours of the
new geographies or market segments when expanding the brand overseas or into new market
segments.
 What do you mean by brand equity?
Brand equity is the value of a brand, determined by the consumer's perception
of its quality and desirability. It is based on factors such as the brand's
recognition, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction. Brand equity is a key
factor in a company's success, as it can influence consumer decisions,
marketing strategies, and potential partnerships.

What are the 4 elements of brand equity?

 Brand Awareness: Recognition of the brand by customers and potential
customers.
 Brand Loyalty: Customers’ willingness to purchase from the same brand over
time.
 Perceived Quality: The level of perceived quality associated with the brand.
 Brand Associations: The values and attributes associated with the brand.

 Email
Today more than ever before, it is difficult to underestimate the value of customer brand equity.
It is what separates a generic local soft drink in your supermarket to Coca-Cola and Pepsi. It’s
the value that a brand adds to comparable products.

Customer brand equity (also referred to as Customer-Based Brand Equity, or CBBE) relates to
how your customers’ attitudes towards your brand influence the success of your business overall.
If customers recognise, understand and connect with your brand, performance goes up (provided
experiences are positive).

It appears a straightforward concept to understand, but building customer-based brand equity

isn’t anywhere near as clear-cut. It takes a lot of effort and nurturing your audience, but the
rewards for getting it right can make a big difference to your business prospects.

Plus, measuring CBBE in retail can offer valuable insights into your company’s performance and
play a key role in guiding your marketing strategy.

Here, we dive deeper into customer brand equity and why it’s so valuable for companies to strive
towards. This includes a breakdown of Keller’s brand equity model, and techniques you can
apply to enhance your brand equity moving forward.

What is customer brand equity?

As noted earlier, customer brand equity represents how much the success of your brand is
directly related to the attitudes of your customers towards it.

It’s no shock that customers play a vital role in the success of any brand or organisation –
without consumers, it would be impossible for these to get anywhere. But their influence extends
far beyond simply how much they’re buying into your products or services – it is as much about
how they perceive your brand.

If customers have a positive association with your brand and use it regularly over your
competitors, this will naturally have a positive effect on your business. Conversely, an overall
negative perception of your brand by consumers will have the opposite effect.

And, with the rise in people’s ability to publicly review and critique a brand’s quality of products
and service, paying attention to the strength of your customer brand equity is as crucial as ever.

In essence, customer brand equity plays a vital role in depicting brand loyalty towards your
business. As acquiring a new customer is 5 times as expensive as maintaining an existing
one, having a strong CBBE is likely to benefit your bottom line.
Plus, having loyal customers that understand and resonate with your brand will help generate
new leads more naturally. Brand-loyal consumers are more likely to act as advocates for your
services to loved ones and friends – especially valuable considering 90% of consumers claim a
word-of-mouth recommendation is a leading influence on their purchase decisions.

This makes the value of your customer-based brand equity essential to the strength of your
company as a whole. If this is managed well and harnessed effectively, you can make a big
impression on how successful your business is operating.

Equally, an understanding of your customer brand equity can provide insight if your brand is not
connecting with consumers in the way you anticipated. Identifying this can encourage a change
in strategy or approaches that develop a stronger, more positive association between your target
audience and your brand, leading to repeat business and loyal advocates.

Brand equity vs customer equity

Brand equity illustrates the worth of the brand, i.e. the value added to a product by branding it.
Customer equity relates to lifetime values that are important to consumers.

Both are linked by a strong focus on customer loyalty, and the value of having a dedicated
customer base in determining the overall worth of a brand. But, what makes customer brand
equity a key focus is its direct connection to the financial impact customers have on an
organisation as a whole.

Therefore, building customer-based brand equity achieves the critical aims of raising the value of
your brand, while also giving insight into what your customers want and expect from your
company.
The Keller Brand Equity Model

The standout CBBE model was developed by Kevin Lane Keller, a Professor of Marketing, in
his 1993 book Strategic Brand Management. Through this model, Keller looked to illustrate the
journey of customers’ relationships with brands – from recognition at the bottom, through to
resonating with the brand at the peak.
As depicted in the above image, Keller identifies 6 components that contribute to customer brand
equity, and thus how customers think and feel about a brand overall:

 Salience

 Performance

 Imagery

 Judgements

 Feelings

 Resonance

Here, we’ll cover these in greater detail and the role each plays in creating customer loyalty
towards a brand.
At the foundation of the brand equity pyramid is salience, which represents how aware people
are to the existence of your brand in general. This is the essential first step in building customer
brand equity – if people don’t know about your brand, it will be hard for them to form an opinion
about it one way or the other. This section carries the weight of the rest of the pyramid.

Of course, this stage is about more than ensuring people have some recognition of your brand; it
must be the right recognition. At this first instance, it’s important you give people a clear,
consistent and accurate depiction of your brand’s identity, as without this they will have little
chance of progressing further up the pyramid.

To make the biggest positive impact on your customer brand equity at this level, you should
conduct thorough research to get a clear understanding of your target audience, and what they are
looking for out of a company that provides your products or services. How do they decide
between your brand and another competitor?

Once you have established this, it is important that your awareness efforts:

 Hone in on the pain points/interests that matter to them;

 Are placed on a platform that they interact with often;

 Are consistent across all channels you choose to market on.

This is your opportunity to let people know who you are as a brand and why they should know
you, so presenting an accurate and authentic image of it is critical. This is why BAM by
Papirfly™ is designed to maintain total brand consistency across your entire marketing
collateral, allowing no room for misinterpretations.

The second level of Keller’s CBBE model is divided into two segments – performance and
imagery. Performance covers the actual features and capabilities of your products/services. This
encapsulates:

 Functionality
  Reliability

 Style/Design

 Price

 Durability

 Customer Service

 Customer Satisfaction

Consequently, if your product delivers on the promises highlighted in your brand awareness
campaigns, then it should lead to positive experiences which, in turn, drive customers further up
the brand equity pyramid. If it doesn’t deliver on their expectations, then you risk them falling
away altogether.

This is why authenticity is more than just a buzzword when it comes to customer-based brand
equity – it is central to encouraging loyalty and establishing long-term relationships.

Alongside performance is imagery, which is more about how your brand meets your customers’
social and psychological needs. Think of your brand as if it were a human – what would they be
like? Is it strong and tough? Is it sensible and sophisticated? Is it quirky and exciting?

Brand imagery is what people think when they see your brand. It is about how happy they would
be to be seen associated with your products as a result of its reputation.

How effective this proves for you will come from initially discussing your brand values and
which you consider relate to the interests of your customers. How important is the environment
for them? Do they care about their local community? Finding the answers to these and other
questions will help you project an image customers can get on board with.
The third strand of the customer-based brand equity pyramid is also split in two, covering both
judgement and feelings. These both relate to what people feel towards your brand, and the
impact this has either positively or negatively.

First, judgement is about the opinions that people form about your brand. This could be good,
like if someone considers your products reliable or handy. Or it could be detrimental, as in
somebody judging them to be cheap or ineffective. And while you might disagree with their
assessment, they still carry a great deal of weight.

Typically, the judgement of a brand breaks down into four segments:

 Quality – the brand’s actual/perceived quality

 Credibility – the brand’s reputation

 Consideration – the brand’s relevancy

 Superiority – the brand’s status against competitors

Plus, someone doesn’t have to even experience your brand first-hand to be affected by
judgements – they can form an opinion simply through word-of-mouth.

To combat the potential problems of negative judgements, it’s essential your company is
responsive to any complaints or issues that customers may have. Having access to software that
can quickly turn around relevant marketing materials is extremely helpful in these circumstances.

Also, if these persist, it gives you just cause to reassess your brand and if it is delivering as it
should be.
The other half of this equation is feelings, which unsurprisingly covers how people feel about
your brand. According to Keller’s brand equity model, there are 6 positive brand feelings that
companies should be aspiring to:

 Warmth

 Fun

 Excitement

 Security

 Social approval

 Self-respect

While your brand might not appeal to all the emotions listed here, it should focus on at least one
and make sure customers feel that when they interact with or consider your brand.

Associating your brand with positive feelings and judgements is crucial for building customer-
based brand equity – it grows trust and helps form a strong, lasting relationship between your
company and your customers.

Remember – eliminating negative feelings and judgements is a tall ask once they’ve planted
roots, so trying to instil positivity from the outset is very beneficial.
Finally, we reach the ‘Holy Grail’ of customer brand equity – resonance. This is the stage where
customers are more than just aware of your brand and buying what you’re selling – they are
advocates for your brand. These are the customers who go out on your behalf to introduce others
to your company.

It is unquestionably the most difficult level to reach, but it comes with the greatest benefits. In
Keller’s model, he breaks resonance down into 4 categories:

 Behavioural loyalty – how habitually a customer buys from your brand

 Attitudinal attachment – the love and connection people feel towards your brand

 Sense of community – the bond that customers feel towards others who use your brand

 Active engagement – how engaged people are with your brand even when not purchasing
from it (e.g. social media follows, marketing events, online chats, etc.)

Achieving resonance with customers is a tall order, but there are numerous incentives that you
might want to consider to encourage lifetime loyalty with your audience:

 Exclusive offers for customers who have signed up for emails

 Loyalty cards

 Points-based rewards

 Free/limited-time experiences

 Shareholder potential

 Community forums

 Charitable donations/events

These are just some suggestions of what you can do to achieve this rarefied level of relationship
with your customers. As highlighted earlier, it doesn’t take many people to reach the summit of
the customer brand equity model to make a significant difference to the strength of your brand
and your business as a whole.

Measuring, managing and perfecting customer brand equity

Now you have a deeper understanding of what customer-based brand equity is and what Keller’s
model represents, you can start to consider techniques and approaches to track this information
and help move people onto the pyramid and up the tiers over time.
Conducting regular research into the changing trends and feelings of your audience, as well as
distributing feedback surveys, can help you determine whether your brand is leaving a positive
impression on your audiences. Alongside this, when measuring customer brand equity, you
should turn attention to your:

 Financial metrics

 Brand ‘buzz’ metrics

 Consumer metrics

These will give you a clearer sense of how your brand is perceived, and the impact this is having
on your business prospects. By keeping tabs on these insights and focusing on the four tiers of
Keller’s brand equity model, you can make a significant uptick in customer loyalty and
subsequently expand your company’s bottom line.

Beyond that, it is simply a case of delivering branded materials frequently, authentically and
consistently. Each of these characteristics is crucial for enhancing your customer brand equity
over time, so finding ways to make this seamless and straightforward for your company should
be a top priority for your marketing teams.

And that is where our team at Papirfly can help. Through our sophisticated BAM solution, we
empower marketing teams across the globe to maximise the reach and power of their branding.

Brand value

This is a financial gauge of your brand equity. It follows the revenue generated as a result of
marketing strategies and brand awareness. Brand equity may contribute to your value through
how customers perceive your brand. The more loyal a customer is to a brand, the more likely
they are to spend more.

How can we measure this?

There are a number of ways to measure the value of a brand based on customer perceptions and
the financial success of the brand. It can be difficult to properly measure your brand value
without a solid strategy in place.

The first way you can measure the impact and value of your brand is to gauge what your brand is
worth to other companies and get a valuation from companies in your sector. You can get an
average of these figures to get a rough idea of where you stand in the market.

You could also execute a cost analysis between how much money you invest in your brand and
the subsequent revenue generated. Furthermore, you could also reach out to customers to see
how they value your brand and services, and how much they are willing to pay.
Why is it important to measure the value of your brand?

Measuring your value is very significant for a couple of reasons. It can be good to determine the
value of your brand, reputation and customer loyalty to compare where you stand alongside your
competitors.

Reputable brands have a higher value, not just from a financial point of view but also a higher
value to their customers.

Methods of measurement

There are multiple ways in which you can accurately measure your brand value.

Below, we have listed a few ways that can help you to measure the value of your brand and how
to track its success:

Measure by cost

You can measure your value by calculating how much it costs to build your brand.

The first thing you need to calculate is all the costs you put into your brand; this mainly includes
expenses like third party branding agencies, trademark costs, salaries for employees, marketing
activities, and any other costs associated with building your brand.

This will then give you the overall cost or “value” of your brand. However, it’s important to
mention that this does not include the qualitative value your brand will have to your customers.

Measure by your markets

You may choose to measure your value by evaluating other brands within their market and
comparing their worth to your brand.

The best way to calculate this is to either ask someone to evaluate your brand, or calculate it
based on the stock performance of companies in the same industry as you. This will provide you
with a good overview of where your brand stacks up to your competitors.

Measure by customer experience

A good way to measure the value of your brand to your customers is to measure and assess
qualitative data. By using customer experience data, you can see how your brand is perceived in
comparison to your competitors.

This will give you a good understanding of the qualitative brand value of your customers. Loyal
customers will also be more likely to invest more in your brand through your products or
services.
You can also calculate the cost to your current customers and extrapolate this data for forecasting
purposes. This is also known as your customer lifetime value.

By doing this you can predict possible future revenues and profit for your brand and calculate
your value this way. Customers are always good to measure and are the key focus of brand
awareness strategies.

Measure by income

This is one of the best ways to evaluate the current value of your brand. It looks directly at the
income being generated by your brand through multiple different streams and channels from
your sales and marketing.

To execute this, look at all the income being generated by your business, and analyse which
streams can be attributed directly to your brand; could be brand awareness campaigns or any
other outreach you have done for your brand.

Measure by total income

When you measure your value by total revenue, you obtain a very accurate valuation of its
worth.

Once you gather the data on the value of your brand and what it means to customers, you can
then expand the data and make predictions based on scaled-up data.
What is multi branding? Multi branding definition

Let’s start with the basics: What is multi branding?

Today’s companies have many ways to build and market their organizations. A
brand can come in many different forms, from a global venture to a business
focused entirely on a specific location.

A company with a multi-branding strategy sells a variety of products and services

to a wide, diversified audience under different distinct names or brands.

Look at Coca-Cola. The company doesn’t just sell coke products; it also owns a
multitude of other “mini brands,” like Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, and Smart Water.

Some experts define multi branding strategy as a way businesses reach different
audiences with specific brand initiatives. An organization may have one brand for
general consumers, another for budget-conscious buyers, and another for luxury
sales.

Multi-branding also allows organizations to appeal to consumers with specific

tastes or preferences by offering various different kinds of products.

There are different ways to set up a multi-brand architecture.

The two most common are:

A branded house

If you’re launching new sub-brands in your organization to serve different needs

for the same audience, you’d use a “branded house.” Virgin has Virgin Media,
Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Money to address different requirements.

A house of brands

With a house of brands, companies create various sub-brands to target different

audiences. There’s no real connection between the parent brand and sub-brands in
this scenario.

Think of P&G; they’re responsible for a huge range of organizations, all with their
own distinct branding methods.
Factors in a multi branding strategy

Multi branding is a way to expand the reach and potential of your company by
creating specific sub-brands for different purposes. It’s most common among
larger companies ready to branch out into new segments and marketplaces.

While there are many factors involved in developing a strong multi brand strategy,
the most common components you’ll need to think about include:

Goals or Vision

Each sub-brand in a multi brand strategy should have a specific focus, goal, or
vision. In the Virgin multi brand strategy, the purpose of the corporation is to
create different companies capable of helping consumers complete various tasks in
their lives, from managing money, to exploring the world.

Audience

When creating a multi branding strategy, companies need to think carefully about
the specific customer groups they want to reach. The main purpose of a multi-
brand is to give you more scope to connect with different customers. You’ll need
to decide whether you want to reach specific sub-sections of the same wider
audience or completely new groups.

Brand image

Every brand needs a recognizable visual identity. When you create a sub-brand for
your multi branding strategy, you’ll need to decide whether the image will be
linked to the parent brand or not.

Using elements of an existing brand can improve recognition, but it may not be the
right option if you’re appealing to an entirely new audience.

Building a Foundation for a Strong Brand Image

The best way to build and nurture an effective brand image is through a
multidisciplinary approach that combines owned, earned and paid media in
a coordinated, integrated marketing strategy.
There are several requirements that you’ll need to address as you develop your
brand image:

 Identify Your Key Audiences. The first step is to identify your target
audiences. Your target audiences will consist of a mix of external and
internal groups, including customers, partners, industry analysts and
employees. It’s important to be very specific when defining your audiences.
You need clarity about the groups you are targeting to craft an effective
marketing strategy that will speak directly to their unique needs and
concerns.

 Determine Critical Business Goals. You have to know where you are
going before you can get there. Building a brand image without knowing
your short-term and long-term business goals is ineffective and a waste of
valuable resources.

 Define Your Brand Persona. Once you have determined your key
audiences and critical business goals, you can start to build out your brand
persona. Your persona should appeal to customers and articulate your most
important differentiators and product benefits. Since your brand persona
defines your image, it’s important to keep it simple and relevant.

 Develop Key Messaging. After you’ve defined your brand persona and
image, document your key messages and align them with your audiences.
Your key messages will be the most important takeaways you want your
audience to walk away with after interacting with your brand. They should
incorporate the unique aspects of your business and value added to
customers, with a splash of your brand personality.

Next Steps for Solidifying Your Brand Image

After you have drilled down and laid the foundation for your brand image, you can
ramp up your promotion activities to build a loyal customer following and generate
sales. By integrating the below brand, demand and event channels, you’ll be able
to promote your brand on a wide scale:

 Public Relations: PR disseminates your key messages and company news

in online blogs, trade publications and news outlets. By positioning your
company as a thought leader and expert source on breaking news and
trends, PR can improve your brand image and raise awareness.
  Social: Social media is a valuable tool for sharing information relevant to
your industry and interacting with customers and influencers in your field. A
robust social media presence can significantly increase website traffic and
enhance your image with both new and existing customers.

 Awards: Awards are more than just participation trophies. A solid awards
strategy can help you build credibility through third-party validation that
will make your brand stand out to target audiences.

 Content: Content is the fuel that drives integrated PR and digital marketing
activities. To elevate your brand profile, you’ll need to deliver a steady
stream of white papers, contributed articles, blog posts and other rich content
assets to target audience segments.

 Paid Marketing: Paid marketing helps build brand awareness with your
target audience on platforms they trust. A sophisticated paid marketing
strategy can reach granular audience segments to directly influence
purchasing behavior.

 Search: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a tactic that improves your

company’s ranking on popular search engines like Google. To make an
impact with key audiences, you’ll need to rank well for specific keywords
and key phrases, increasing the amount of traffic to your company website
and other digital assets.

 Email: Email is a valuable channel for maximizing ROI. With strategic use,
email will help you deliver relevant content to your target audiences.

 Events: Events are an important channel for building meaningful

relationships with both prospective and current customers. Both virtual and
in-person events can provide relationship-building opportunities that digital
marketing can’t replicate.

Walker Sands is a leading integrated marketing agency with a proven track record
of combining brand, demand and event channels to deliver outstanding results for
our B2B and technology clients. Designed to promote your brand
image, our approach generates leads, shortens sales cycles and accelerates
business growth.
Brand personality

Similarly, every sub-brand you create will need to have a unique personality to
connect with your audience. The personality you create for each company will
shine through in its image, messaging, and marketing strategies.

It is a comprehensive concept, which includes all the tangible and intangible traits
of a brand, like, beliefs, values, prejudices, features, interests, and heritage. Brand
Personality is a set of human characteristics associated with a brand. In general, it
expresses how the brand behaves.
A brand personality makes it unique. Like human personality, a brand personality
is both distinctive and enduring and is built over a period of time. It refers to the
outcome of all the consumer’s experiences with the brand. In other words, the
brand’s personality is the weighted average of previous impressions. In consumer’s
mind, these impressions merge to form an overall concept of what to expect from
brand. Brand personality is seen as a valuable factor in increasing brand
engagement and brand attachment, in much the same way as people relate and bind
to other people. Brand Personality is eagerly searched by brand strategists and
researchers to find out differences in responses by different consumers provide
useful insights.
Example: Users of a product will perceive a brand different from non-users In
essence, it can be said that ‘Personality traits are what the brand will live and die
for’.
Brand Extensions
Line extension strategy involves launching various product variants in the same
category under the same brand name. The brand extension, on the other hand,
involves using an existing brand name to launch a product in a different category.
The key difference between the two strategies is the product category. In the
extensions, product category remains constant whereas in brand extensions product
category is a variable.
The companies in the western part of the world differed from their eastern
counterparts, especially Japanese and South Korean with respect to branding
policies. Procter & Gamble, Hindustan Lever and Reckitt & Coleman, etc., all
favoured the branding policy by which individual products carried their own
names. It was a product-branding strategy, whereas eastern companies seemed to
favour some sort of umbrella branding. This involved launching different products
under a common banner. Companies favouring this policy included Japanese giants
like Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, and Korean Companies like Samsung, and Lucky
Gold Star (now LG). But now the companies which followed product branding
seem to be moving towards a policy of hanging products belonging to different
categories on one brand name peg. Once supreme examples of product branding,
Hindustan Lever and Procter & Gamble seem to have jumped onto the brand
extension bandwagon.
Why Brand Extension?
Brand extension strategy has found favour in the modern marketing world because
of the advantages it has over the other new product launch options. The important
benefits that it promises to deliver are as follows: Cost of New Launches: The
marketing environment of today is characterized by ups and downs. These shifts
necessitate frequent introductions in the marketplace both as a defense against
competition and desire to grow. A new brand costs anywhere between 50 to 100
million dollars to develop, hence the huge investments required to develop and
launch a new brand act as a major deterrent. Brand extensions, therefore, present
irresistible options in such situations. By extending a brand, the marketer can bring
the costs down substantially while increasing the probability of success.
Promotional Efficiency: What happens when a company needs to support a large
number of individual brands? Its promotion cost structure goes up. Also,
investment in one brand does not help the other brands. When the Dettol brand of
soap is advertised, it indirectly benefits other brands which share the same name.
The extensions enhance promotional efficiency.
Co-Branding
Co-branding occurs when two or more existing brands are combined into a joint
product or are marketed together in some fashion. Co-Brands is used extensively
by credit cards. Consider a Standard Chartered card that is cobranded with
Shopper’s Stop. It would indicate that the card is oriented towards the frequent
shopper who could avail discounts at Shopper’s Stop outlets using the card. An
ABN Amro [Link] card on the other hand would be one for frequent
fliers and enable one to stock points for each flight booked using this card. As for
equity transfer, a StanC-Shopper’s Stop co-branded card would work differently
when compared to a StanC-Big Bazaar one - the previous would transfer
sophistication to the card while the later would transfer qualities related to cost
effectiveness and value-for-money.
Examples: 1. Sony Ericsson 2. Yoplait Trix Yogurt 3. Nestle’s Cheerios Cookie
Bars
Advantages of Co-Branding
1. Borrow needed expertise 2. Leverage equity you don’t have 3. Reduce cost
of product introduction
4. Expand brand meaning into related categories (a) Broaden meaning (b)
Increase access points 5. Source of additional revenue.

Disadvantages of Co-Branding

1. Loss of control 2. Risk of brand equity dilution 3. Negative feedback

effects 4. Lack of brand focus and clarity 5. Organizational distractions.

Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance

To understand the effects of brand marketing programs, it is important to

measure and interpret brand performance. A useful tool in that regard is the
brand value chain. The brand value chain is a means to trace the value
creation process for brands to better understand the financial impact of brand
marketing expenditures and investments. The brand value chain helps to
direct marketing research efforts. Taking the customer’s perspective of the
value of a brand, the brand value chain assumes that the brand value creation
process begins when the firm invests in a marketing program targeting actual
or potential customers.

The marketing activity associated with the program then impacts the
customer “mindset” with respect to the brand, what they know and feel
about the brand. The customer mindset includes everything that exists in the
minds of customers with respect to a brand, thoughts, feelings, experiences,
images, perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, etc. consistent with the customer-
based brand equity model, five key dimensions that are particularly
important measures of the customer mindset: 1. Brand awareness 2. Brand
associations 3. Brand attitudes 4. Brand attachment 5. Brand activity or
experience The customer mindset affect how customers react or respond in
the marketplace in a variety of ways. Six key outcomes of that response are:
1. Price premiums
2. Price elasticities 3. Market share 4. Brand expansion 5. Cost structure 6.
Brand profitability
Based on all available current and forecasted information about a brand, as well
as many other considerations, the financial marketplace then formulates
opinions and makes various assessments that have very direct financial
implications for the value of the brand. Three particularly important indicators
are the stock price, the price/earnings multiple, and overall market
capitalization for the firm. The model also assumes that a number of linking
factors intervene between these stages. These linking factors determine the
extent to which value created at one stage transfers or “multiplies” to the next
stage. Thus, there are three sets of multipliers that moderate the transfer
between the marketing program and the subsequent three stages, the program
multiplier, the customer multiplier, and the market multiplier. Profitable brand
management requires successfully designing and implementing a brand equity
measurement system.
Brand Equity Management System

Brand tracking studies – as well as brand audits – can provide a huge reservoir
of information concerning how to best build and measure brand equity.
Nevertheless, the potential value of these research efforts will not be realized
unless proper internal structures and procedures are put into place within the
organization to capitalize on the usefulness of the brand equity concept and the
information that is collected with respect to it. A brand equity management
system is defined as a set of organizational processes designed to improve the
understanding and use of the brand equity concept within a firm. Although there
are many aspects to a brand equity management system, two useful tools that
can be employed are highlighted here.

Brand Equity Charter

The first step in establishing a brand equity management system is to formalize
the company view of brand equity into a document, the brand equity charter,
which provides relevant guidelines to marketing managers within the company
as well as key marketing partners outside the company (e.g., ad agency
personnel). This document should: 1. Define the firm’s view of the brand equity
concept and explain why it is important. 2. Describe the scope of key brands in
terms of associated products and the manner by which they have been branded
and marketed (as revealed by historical company records as well as the most
recent brand inventory). 3. Specify what the actual and desired equity is for a
brand at all relevant level of the brand hierarchy. 4. Explain how brand equity is
measured in terms of the tracking study and the resulting brand equity report. 5.
Suggest how brand equity should be managed in terms of some general
strategic guidelines (e.g., stressing clarity, relevance, distinctiveness, and
consistency in marketing programs over time). 6. Outline how marketing
programs should be devised in terms of some specific tactical guidelines (e.g.,
ad evaluation criteria, brand name choice criteria, etc.). 7. Specify the proper
treatment of the brand in terms of trademark usage, packaging, and
communications. Although parts of the brand equity charter may not change
from year to year, it should nevertheless be updated on an annual basis to
provide a current brand profile and identify new opportunities and potential
risks for the brand to decision-makers.

Developing a Brand Equity Measurement and Management System

A brand equity measurement system uses a set of research procedures that is
designed to provide timely, accurate, and actionable information for
marketers for their tactical decisions in the short run and strategic decisions
in the long-run. The goal in developing a brand equity measurement system
is to be able to achieve a full understanding of the sources and outcomes of
brand equity and be able to, as much as possible, relate the two. The ideal
brand equity measurement system would provide complete, up-to-date, and
relevant information on the brand and all its competitors to relevant decision
makers within the organization. Three key components of a brand equity
measurement system are brand audits, brand tracking, and brand equity
management systems.

Brand Audit

A brand audit is a comprehensive examination of a brand. Specifically, a

brand audit involves a series of procedures to assess the health of the brand,
uncover its sources of brand equity, and suggest ways to improve and
leverage its equity. A brand audit requires understanding sources of brand
equity from the perspective of both the firm, it is necessary to understand
exactly what products and services are currently being offered to consumers
and how they are being marketed and branded. From the perspective of the
consumer, it is necessary to dig deeply into the minds of consumers and tap
their perceptions and beliefs to uncover the true meaning of brands and
products. The brand audit can be used to set strategic direction for the brand.
Are the current sources of brand equity satisfactory? Do certain brand
associations need to be strengthened? Does the brand lack uniqueness? What
brand opportunities exist and what potential challenges exist for brand
equity? As a result of this strategic analysis, a marketing program can be put
into place to maximize long-term brand equity. A brand audit should be
conducted whenever important shifts in strategic direction are contemplated.
Moreover, conducting brand audits on a regular (e.g., annually) allows
marketers to keep their “fingers on the pulse” of their brands so that they can
be more proactively and responsively managed. As such, they are
particularly useful background for managers as they set up their marketing
plans. A brand audit consists of two steps: 1. Brand Inventory: The purpose
of the brand inventory is to provide a current, comprehensive profile of how
all the products and branded profiling each product or service requires that
all associated brand elements be identified as well as aspects of the
marketing program. This information should be summarized in both visual
and verbal form. The outcome of the brand inventory should be an accurate,
comprehensive and timely profile of how all the products and services sold
by a company are branded and marketed. As part of the brand inventory, it is
also advisable to profile competitive brands, in as much details as possible,
in terms of their branding and marketing efforts. The brand inventory is a
valuable first step in the brand audit. It helps to suggest what consumer
current perceptions may be bases on. Thus, the brand inventory provides
useful information for interpreting follow-up research activity such as the
brand exploratory that collects actual consumer perceptions toward the
brand. Second, the brand inventory may provide some initial insights into
how brand equity may be better managed.
Example: The consistency of the branding and marketing for all the different
product or services can be assessed. A thorough brand inventory should be
able to reveal the extent of brand consistency.

Brand Exploratory:

The second step of the brand audit is to provide detailed information as to

what consumers think of the brand by means of the brand exploratory,
particularly in terms of brand awareness and the strength, favourability, and
uniqueness of brand associations. The brand exploratory is research activity
directed to understanding what consumers think and feel about the brand and
its corresponding product category in order to identify sources of brand
equity. Although the “supply-side” view of the brand as revealed by the
brand inventory is useful, actual consumer perceptions, of course, may not
 necessarily reflect the consumer perceptions that were intended to be created
by the marketing program. Thus, the second step of the brand audit is to
provide detailed information as to what consumers think and feel about the
brand by means of the brand exploratory. Several preliminary activities are
useful for the brand exploratory. First, in many cases, a number of prior
research studies may exist and be relevant. Reports may have been buried,
and perhaps even long forgotten, which contain insights and answers to a
number of important questions or suggest new questions that may still need
to be posed. Second, it is also useful to interview internal personnel to gain
an understanding of their beliefs about consumer perceptions for the brand
and competitive brands. Past and current marketing managers may be able to
share some wisdom not necessarily captured in prior research reports.

Impact of Branding on Consumer Behavior

Brand alignment may be the most powerful influence, but many consumers
experience a few more brand effects before opening their wallet. Sometimes, the
feelings are commensurate with the cost of the purchase. Whether it's a designer
handbag, a smartphone or a vehicle, a recognizable brand:

 Creates desire. It's human nature: when something looks appealing and we think it
will somehow enhance our life, we want it.

 Becomes synonymous with status and prestige. This is one of the reasons many
savvy small-business owners review many logo designs before settling on “the
perfect” one. They know that the picture alone holds the promise of
communicating values that thousands of written words could only hope to convey.
Of course, status and prestige convey more than a high price; they signify quality,
too.

 Validates self-esteem. It may also help forge a lacking one. Either way, Brand
Anew notes that “every individual has a certain image about himself or herself in
their mind. When they purchase something, they would like those items to conform
to their self-concept.”

 Creates a sense of belonging. Before the dawning of the era of content marketing,
it was rare to hear marketers talk about consumers wanting to “bond” with a
company by understanding its culture and products and what goes on behind the
scenes. Now they talk about little else. At their best, brands are inclusive.
 Just as there is a difference between a small business and a great small business,
there is a difference between a brand and a “strong” brand. So if you suspect you
should scrutinize your brand with an eye toward fortifying it, follow your instinct
and hire a branding expert to help you. Gallup suggests that it will be time well
spent:

 “Almost every company has a brand promise that tells consumers what they can
expect from their interactions with that company. However, Gallup finds that not
every company has done an effective job of creating and communicating
a strong brand promise. And to create brand alignment, companies must develop a
strong brand promise to let consumers know what the company stands for, what
makes it unique and why they should choose it over its competitors.”

What is brand repositioning?

Brand repositioning is how a business alters a brand’s position in the market while
keeping its identity intact. Changes to the marketing strategy, such as product,
price, location, or promotion, are frequently made as part of this process.

Repositioning is often carried out when a business experiences a drop in sales and
realizes it is time to make some adjustments and grow. This is essential to keep
their brand alive and remain on top of customer requirements and desires.

This is known as “brand repositioning,” when you alter what your target market
associates with and expects from your brand. Repositioning your brand involves
keeping the existing brand identity while making minor adjustments.

The concept of brand repositioning may include little changes like the inclusion of
a secondary or tertiary color palette or major ones like a redesign of your logo.

It’s worth noting that companies may effectively reposition themselves without
completely rebranding.

How to reposition the brand?

Repositioning a company’s brand involves careful planning. It must be supported

by the three pillars of listening, delivering, and convincing to succeed. Without the
others, you cannot have one of these three points because they are all interrelated.
This implies that you may successfully reposition your brand by paying attention
to your target audience, exceeding their expectations, and persuading them of your
viewpoint. Apply this mixture consistently during the whole repositioning
procedure.

You’ll offer your brand the best chance for a successful repositioning effort if you
carefully follow these procedures.

Analyze brand position

Is your brand sick? Find the cause. Then you can diagnose. First, you must analyze
your brand’s current state. Where is your brand now?

You can fix your brand if you know what’s wrong. Recognizing your present state
and evaluating why you’re behind your competition can help you choose new
routes and create growth.

You must investigate your concerns and make changes. Don’t make sweeping
changes. Spending extra time and money is pointless. Identify where to apply your
strategy. After identifying your weaknesses, you may create a plan to overcome
them.

Brand repositioning strategy

You may reposition your brand in several ways. The activities you undertake when
moving your brand rely on your choice to do so and the desired results. Let’s
discuss repositioning.

 Image repositioning – First, modify the brand’s image, not the product.
Marketing efforts concentrate on boosting the product’s image and
reputation instead of its characteristics.
 Intangible repositioning – Repositioning includes modifying a product’s
target market. The initial effect may be less desirable owing to technical
developments.
 Intangible repositioning – pursues a new market with the same product.
This method is used when marketers realize that a product appeals to more
consumers than the initial target category.
  Tangible repositioning – is the riskiest alteration to a company’s
positioning plan. When a new produc
productt loses attractiveness in the current
market, tangible repositioning helps the corporation seek new customers.
customers

Brand repositioning implies not overlooking even little things since any flaws
might affect the business’s image. Good time management, a budget, and
responsible division are crucial to success
success.

What Is Brand Leveraging?

Brand leveraging refers to taking advantage of an existing brand name to gain

support and popularity while entering a new but relatable product category.
Leveraging the brand can help you only when you enter a similar product
category.

For example, you have a reliable company providing the best quality coffee beans
in the market, and your audience loves it. Then, you decide to enter into the market
of manufacturing and selling cof coffee
fee maker machines as well. An excellent
relationship between the products and the audience is also similar.

Thus, the audience also prefers to purchase new products from your brand and this
is also called umbrella branding for a brand. Because they have a good experience
with your existing brand quality and delivery. However, you have to maintain the
quality of your new launches because some disappointment can change the entire
perception of a customer towards your brand.

Brand
rand Leveraging Strategy
Brand Leveraging Strategy
Enter Into The Similar Field

Before leveraging a brand, you must enter into a similar field. This step will let
you have all the benefits of existing branding & create a brand positioning map.

Remember the example of a coffee beans company. If you also offer similar
products, you will have the required customer base, trust factor, connections, and
much more. Thus, find your next business near your previous one to have the most
of the possible advantages.

Leverage The Existing Credibility Through The Marketing

Now, the mainstream role of brand leveraging strategy comes into action. When
you showcase all your points in your marketing and your existing credibility, you
will get a lot more exposure and appreciation than you could without it.

Create a strategic brand development plan, which helps in getting customers’ trust,
and you will get significant sales in the initial launching phase too. Every
successful company brand has its own separate loyal customer base list, and you
can also use that.

Inform Your Loyal Customer Base About Your New Launch

Once you are done with all the essential preparations, you should inform your loyal
audience base about your new launch. They will become your biggest supporter if
they find everything well and generously. It will bring you sales. After this point,
your brand leveraging remains with nothing to contribute further. Your newly
launched products have to bear all the responsibility.

Use Your Existing Connections

In the end, since you’re in a similar industry, you will also have the required
business connections, which will help you to promote your products more and get
more genuine sales and revenue. Having existing relationships is a blessing for any
business. And, here, you can freely use that blessing.
Real-Life
Life Brand Leveraging Example
Examples

Examples Of Successful Brand Extensions:

Gillette’s Razors And Shaving Supplies

Gillette used to create authentic razor blades for shaving, and they later extended
their products to generate shaving foam. This separate complimentary complimen
Gillette’sGillette’s product has significantly boosted its whole brand.

Star Wars Action Figures

Children did not much appreciate Star Wars during its first release. However, it
was pretty famous among the adults. However, its franchise has had tremendous
success after it released toy characters in the real
real-life market.
ket. They have obtained a
new set of audience through this brand extension process.

Examples Of Unsuccessful Brand Extension

Extensions

Cadbury’s Instant Mashed Potatoes

Cadbury is one of the most prominent high high-end

end chocolate and candy
manufacturing leading industries. Then there was a time when Cadbury stepped
into the low-end
end food products, like instant mashed potatoes. It has weakened
weaken its
chocolate side. Ultimately, Cadbury had to sell the company Smash in 1986 after
sticking to it for 20 years and introducing the world to instant mashed potatoes.
Thus, it teaches you to select your new products very wisely.
Levi’s Tailored Classics

From the very start, Levi’sLevi’s was highly associated with a casual, rugged, and
outdoorsy lifestyle. And, when they entered the high-end men’s suits field, people
didn’t trust them, and it eventually conflicted with its core identity. Thus,
customers didn’t like the idea at all.

Leveraging Secondary Brand Associations

The brand expansion or extension of an already established and developed brand is

quite a fascinating process. Because you can take advantage of your already set
brand by withdrawing some of its brand elements and knowledge, it is called
leveraging secondary brand associations to build your brand equity in the market.

But, brands should launch their new products or brand strongly related to or
associated with their previous brand. Otherwise, they won’t have any benefit from
brand leveraging. One of the best examples of secondary brand associations is
when Nokia introduced its mini laptop in the market, named the Nokia 3G booklet.
People could associate its quality and efficiency with their technical gadgets –
mobile phones.

Conclusion

We hope you like the guide on brand leveraging and its benefits. It would have
helped you understand all the concepts of brand leveraging. Therefore, brand
leveraging has numerous benefits for a brand extension if correctly executed. Thus,
follow all the steps we have mentioned in this guide.
What Is Brand Architecture?
Brand architecture is a subset of brand management where the relationship
between the master brand and sub-brands is established to make them accessible
and relatable to customers. Establishing this relationship helps build a portfolio of
brands with which customers can tell who is associated and to what extent. This
exercise is the foundation to brand identity.

An effective branch architecture design comprises names, colors, symbols, and

visual vocabulary formulated keeping the customer’s thought process in mind. It is
an inside-out approach through which the brand identity or image is built.
Creating a brand image involves analyzing each product or service, determining
their importance in the market, and ranking them accordingly.
Brand Architecture Explained
Brand architecture is the structure of the organization’s portfolio of brands, sub-
brands, products, and services structured so that it is easier for customers to relate
to and remember the brand and its sub-brands. Moreover, brand architecture not
only helps the customers to understand the relationship between brands and the
extent of their association but also helps the brand to build an internal framework
and structure.
The brand architecture framework is made in such a way that it defines the brand’s
identity and helps develop and design the product or service’s future expansion.
Since the brand’s identity is based on its customer base – both existing and
 potential customers, positioning the brand in a way that best appeals to the target
audience is the foremost step toward designing an efficient brand placement.
Components
A brand architecture design comprises a master brand, several extensions, and sub-
extensions. It is also important to remember that there might be sub-sub-brands as
well, depending on the structure of the company. Let us discuss these components
through the points below:

 Master Brand: A master brand is a corporate brand that envelopes all the
benefaction of the company. Typically, the master brand’s name is formed by the
parent company’s brand name.

 Sub-Brand: A sub-brand or an affiliate brand is related to the master brand.

However, these affiliate brand have their name, identity, and set of products or
services.

 Brand Extensions: Using existing brand names to introduce new products or

services into the market is a brand extension. These are incorporated to facilitate
an increase in sales.
Types
There are five types of architecting a brand depending on the nature of their
product or services. The design of these brands is curated after closely considering
brand architecture principles. Let us discuss them briefly in the following section –
#1 – Branded House
Under the branded house structure, the master brand strongly influences the entire
brand or company. This is one of the most robust ways to architect a system of the
brand to create a brand identity. Major brands like information technology (IT)
company Google and electronics company Apple follow this structure. It is
noticeable through the different products and services they offer. Each product can
keep consumers constantly reminded about the parent brand.
Creating such a structure makes it easy for the company to manage its brands, as
its target audience across brands is usually the same. Therefore, it is easier to
market their products. However, it is also important to note that the risk of the
whole brand’s image getting tampered with due to a fall in one of the sub-brands’
images is also highly likely.
#2 – Sub Brands
Sub-brand is the closest structure to the branded house. However, there are a few
differences in the fundamentals. One of the most noticeable differences is that even
though the affiliate brands have similar visuals to the master brand, their products,
services, and customer bases are entirely different. This structure allows the brand
to build familiarity amongst its audiences and simplify its design. Therefore, it is
considered one of the most flexible forms of brand architecture.
#3 – Endorsed
As the name suggests, an endorsed architecture is a culmination of different brands
but with an endorsement of the parent or master brand. These endorsed brands
have their own brand identity and a market segment they appeal to the most.
However, the endorsement of the master brand gives them added emphasis and
credibility. An endorsed form of architecture can be seen in some of the leading
hospitality brands.
#4 – House Of Brands
The house of brands is a pluralistic architecture of brands similar to branded house
architecture. However, these brands have different names and identities and are
sometimes listed in various industries.
These brands are positioned differently from one another and are managed by a
single-parent company. Most fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies
have a house of brand architecture.
#5- Hybrid Architecture
A brand is said to follow hybrid architecture when it adopts two or more types of
brand architecture structures. This form of architecture is considered the most
flexible architecture. It allows the organization to take aspects of different designs
and keep what works for its brand and identity. Some of the leading e-
commerce websites follow a hybrid form of architecture.
Examples
Let us understand this concept better with the help of a couple of examples:
Example #1
Gordon runs a ready-to-eat food business. The canned beans are his best-selling
product. They go by the name ‘Ramsey Breakfast Beans”. To expand his business,
he purchased a new unit that would be run by his mother and is known among the
locals for making healthy drinks to accompany breakfast.
Sensing a great opportunity, Gordon introduced the brand ‘Mom Ramsey,’ which
acts as an extension of the Ramsey brand while being a completely different unit
and management, which comes under the parent brand.
Example #2
Technology company Facebook has become a household name for all the right
reasons, with the younger generation and everything infamous among the older
ones. However, the management of the social media giant had decided to rebrand
or revamp the brand’s architecture to call it ‘Meta’ to signify its entry into the
metaverse space. Therefore, the parent company (Meta) will use Instagram,
Facebook, Whatsapp, and Messenger as sub-brands. They followed a hybrid form
of architecture which can be better understood through the flowchart below:

Importance
Irrespective of the number of brands or products within the scope of the parent
brand, the architecture helps the brand build an image and appeal to its target
audiences with more clarity. Let us understand the key aspects that make brand
architecture design an essential step toward the brand image.
#1 – Reduced Costs of Marketing
Since the brands are interconnected and related, the costs of branding
and marketing them reduce significantly. In addition, the marketing efforts for one
brand might automatically increase the visibility of other brands as their
association is made known to the customers.
#2 – Wider Customer Base
Since different brands have their own independent identity and a unique customer
base, the other brands stand to get exposure to different target groups in various
market segments through their affiliate brands. Otherwise, a particular brand has a
limited scope of reaching out to new leads.
#3 – Greater Brand Authority
For several brands to be associated with a master brand shows an immense sense
of credibility and trustworthiness among consumers. Trust and credibility help the
brand to create a space with higher authority and equity in the market.
#4 – Simplified Management:
Following brand architecture principles, the internal and external management of
the company is made simpler. The relationship between brands and their extent is
clear to customers and the employees within the company; this makes it easier to
manage the brands and the activities relating to them.
#5 – Stronger Presence
An efficient architecture of brands allows the organization to elevate the brand
messaging and positioning in the market, appeal to a broader range of audiences,
and create a more substantial presence in the market through uniform tonality and
creating more excellent value for its consumers.
What is a product mix?

A product mix is the total number of individual products and the product lines that
the company manufactures. The product mix is something that keeps varying from
company to company. Some companies have a limited number of products, while
others have several lines of products, which include a number of different products
in each product line. A company can have a number of product lines containing
several products.

A product line is basically a group of several products which are similar in terms of
their basic attributes. The products which fall into the same product line generally
target the same customer base and have almost similar prices. Professionals
working in the product development department often create flowcharts to
illustrate their different various product lines and to explain how the product lines
relate to one another.

Read more: How Much Do Product Managers Make? (With Career Info)

What are the basics of a product mix?

Here are the basics of a product mix that help companies to maintain the needs of
their existing customer base and reach out to new customers:

Significance

Companies with large product lines often focus on product mix. Focusing on
product mix allows companies to analyse the needs of customers so that they can
introduce some new products to the line. It helps businesses to fulfil the demands
of their customers better. Using product mix perfectly helps companies to stay with
the latest trends, as there can be many competitor companies that focus on several
customer bases.

Function

The main function of a product mix is to provide companies with an understanding

of a particular product and the methods to advertise it to as many customers as
possible. A good product mix can provide detailed information about each and
every product and the target customers. For example, if a soap company produces a
basic budget soap, an expensive soap and nature-friendly soap, then a good product
mix contains all the varieties of soaps that the company produces with the types of
consumers and their needs.

Read more: 24 Product Manager Interview Questions (And Example

Answers)

Size

The larger the product mix is, the more it can help the company in planning
strategies for growing sales. If the product mix contains a product that is unpopular
among consumers, it can lead to a significant loss in sales. Companies often focus
on having those products in the product mix which are in demand. Focusing on
products that are currently in demand with the customers can help companies to
stand against their competitors in the market.

Effects

Product mix can help the companies know their loyal customer base and the
customers who are switching to their competitors. This can directly help them to
plan and build strategies that focus on increasing the efficiency of the sales. For
example, if you are managing a chain of hotels for a company, you can offer your
customers different kinds of rooms, gardens and swimming pools in one place.
This way customers can get different kinds of facilities in one place.

Misconceptions

Some companies can misunderstand a product mix as a group of several products

that a company puts into the market. A product mix provides detailed information
about each product in the group and helps in optimising the production and
delivery processes. Introducing too many products into the same group can lead to
a downgrade in sales. Using product mix carefully allows companies to make sure
that their products are complementing each other instead of competing.
What are the dimensions of a product mix?

A product mix strategy helps to define each product category and the number of
total products which the company offers. A product mix has the following four
dimensions:

Width

The total number of product lines that a company suggests refers to as the width of
the product mix. For example, if a clothing company sells only ties and belts, then
it has two product lines. If it starts selling shirts, then it has three product lines.

Length

The total number of products in a product mix is the length of the product mix.
You can determine the length by adding all the products together. For example, if a
company has three product lines with five products in each line, then the length of
the product mix is 15.

Depth

The total number of variations or types of product in a product line is the depth of
the product mix. The variations may depend on the shape, size, flavour or any
other features that the company provides. For example, a company may sell potato
chips of different flavours that fall into the same product line.

Consistency

The relationship between different products of product mix is called consistency.

This relationship can be about the production process and the distribution criteria
of the products. Focusing more on consistency can help companies in reducing the
production cost of the products. If there is more product variation, then there is less
product consistency.
What is the importance of a product mix?

The product mix is important for both large companies and small businesses.
Product mix allows companies to expand their customer base by introducing more
products into different niches. Having a better understanding of the basics of
product mix and how to use them efficiently can be helpful to the companies. Here
are the reasons why product mix is important:

Meeting the need of the customer

Proper management of products from manufacturing to distribution helps the

company to fulfil the needs of its customers. A happy and satisfied customer can
again buy products from the same company. For running the production line
smoothly, companies do a proper tracking and assessment of their customer's
feedback. Product mix can help in maintaining the supply to demand ratio and
allows companies to change the speed of the production process according to the
market demand.

Maintaining the image of the business

The reputation of a company depends on various factors, including delivering the

best quality products and maintaining consistency. Product mix plays a very
important role in fulfilling the demands of the customers. If a company sells its
products at low prices and suddenly makes the price high, the customers would get
confused with the prices and doubt the quality of products.

Focusing on the primary business

When companies concentrate on product mix, it becomes easy for them to focus on
their primary business. Many companies broaden their business by introducing
new product lines. Focusing on product mix can help companies to keep their
focus on everything that is important for overall growth.
 Example of product mix

Here is an example that can help you understand the product mix and its
dimensions:

There is a company which has two product lines, a soft drink product and a juice.
Under both the lines, they manufacture varieties of soft drinks and juices of
different flavours but in the same size and quantity. All the products the company
is producing are in the beverage category, the production and the distribution
process is the same for all of them.

In this example, we have two product lines, so the width of the product mix is two.
The length of the product mix is the total variety of products under each line. Let
us assume the company produces three different flavours of soft drinks and four
flavours of juice. Here the length is seven, the depth for the soft drink product line
is three, and for the juice product line, it is four.

Read more: Top 10 Product Manager Skills And How To Develop Them

What are common product mix strategies?

Here are some common examples of product mix strategies:

 bringing a change to an existing product strategy can help improve an existing

product
 eliminating low-performing lines or products can simplify product mix
 implementing a depth strategy is useful if a company keeps and expands its current
lines
 identifying and communicating new uses for existing products without affecting
the existing products or lines
 increasing the number of product lines or product variations
 adding a product with lower cost to its existing line of products
 adding a product with a higher cost to an existing line to increase the demand for
its low-cost products
Brand hierarchy:

Branding is nothing if not a means to provide the market with clarity and
meaning.
Brand hierarchy, therefore, is a massively important structural approach for brands
to provide exactly that.

Brand hierarchy provides the means to arrange a company’s different brands,

products, and services by creating a clear, visual, and conceptual structure for the
brand family.
This makes managing a portfolio of brands much more efficient and effective
for brand managers and entrepreneurs.
In this article, we’re diving into the importance of brand hierarchy, its differences
from brand architecture as well as examples, types, structures, and levels.

What Is Brand Hierarchy?

In the name of hierarchy, why don’t we start at the top?

Brand hierarchy is an organizational brand strategy to provide structure to a
portfolio of brands.
Brands don’t live in a silo and quite often, organizations have ties and relationships
with other brands, forming part of a larger organizational structure of brands, also
known as a brand portfolio.

When we think of a standard organizational chart in a business, we’ll likely see

some executives at the top followed by middle management followed then by line-
managers, then non-management roles.
This is essentially the people hierarchy within a business.
Instead of people, brand hierarchy gives structure and organization to a portfolio of
brands, forming part of an overall brand strategy.
Why Is Brand Hierarchy Important?

Brand hierarchy is essential for brands to build a consistent brand image and brand
identity within the market.
It helps their target audience and the wider market players to identify
and differentiate a brand’s products and services from those of their competitors.
Along with providing clarity to the market, it also serves as a framework for
managing the brand’s portfolio effectively and a structural roadmap and compass
for product development and brand expansion.

Brand Hierarchy vs Brand Architecture?

So what’s the difference between brand hierarchy and brand architecture?

Well, although the two terms are often used interchangeably, brand
hierarchy vs brand architecture are two different concepts.
Brand architecture refers to the overall structure of a company’s brands and
how those brands relate to one another.
Brand hierarchy on the other hand refers to the arrangement of brands and
products within the overall brand architecture.
In other words, brand hierarchy is a component of brand architecture. The
hierarchy focuses on organizing the different brands and products within the brand
family.

5 Brand Hierarchy Examples, Types & Structures

Brand hierarchy can take on many different models and structures depending on
the company’s overarching branding strategy, marketing strategy, industry, and
market position.
These elements represent an important consideration for the brand in order to
avoid any confusion and to continue to offer clarity to the market.
Whether you’re managing an established brand with established products or
introducing a new brand with new products, brand hierarchy represents a
solid business strategy to increase clarity and reduce customer confusion.
Here are five types of brand hierarchy and examples.

Monolithic Brand Hierarchy

A monolithic brand hierarchy is a brand strategy where all of the brand’s

products, sub-products and services are positioned and marketed under a single
brand name.
Apple, for example, uses a monolithic brand hierarchy structure, where all of the
brand’s individual products from the iPhone to the Macbook to the iMac and
everywhere in between, are marketed under the Apple corporate brand.
This is an excellent option for smaller brands that want to provide clarity around
the products and services they offer.

Endorsed Brand Hierarchy

An endorsed brand hierarchy is a structure where the products and services are
positioned as sub-brands under a parent brand which endorses the individual
sub-brand.
Nestle, for example, is a parent brand that uses the endorsed hierarchy structure to
endorse product lines and sub-brands such as KitKat, Nescafe, and Nestea to name
a few.
This approach offers the sub-brands a little more freedom to deviate from the look,
feel, and personality of the parent brands when compared to the monolithic
structure.
With this approach, each sub-brand boasts its own unique visual brand albeit
with a clear presentation of the parent brand.
Branded House Brand Hierarchy

A branded house strategy provides structure to a brand portfolio where the sub-
brands clearly leverage the brand name and equity of the parent brand, with a
name, position and target audience for each of the sub-brands.
FedEx and Virgin are two perfect examples of a branded house strategy.
All of the Virgin sub-brands such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Media and Virgin
Money clearly fall under the masthead of the parent brand Virgin.

House Of Brands Brand Hierarchy

The House Of Brands Hierarchy is the most independent brand strategy of

all brand hierarchy approaches.
With this approach, the parent brand boasts a brand portfolio of independent
brands, each with its own distinct brand elements including brand identity,
position, personality, brand messaging and target audience.
This approach enables parent brands to serve a wide variety of markets and market
segments with often similar products appealing to distinct groups.
Unilever and Procter & Gamble are the two poster child examples for the house of
brands strategy.
Proctor & Gamble boasts 65 brands across 10 product categories with brands
including Tide, Pampers and Gilette.

Hybrid Brand Hierarchy

A hybrid brand hierarchy provides parent brands and sub-brands with the
flexibility of associations and brand equity of the endorsed brand approach with
the freedom of independence of the house of brands approach.
The Marriot hotel is an excellent example of a hybrid brand hierarchy where
each of its hotels and resorts has a unique sub-brand.
Some of these sub-brands leverage the endorsed brand approach such as the
Marriot Executive Apartments and the Marriot Courtyard, with others falling under
the House of Brand structure such as Ritz-Carlton, Westin, and Sheraton.

Brand Portfolio vs Product Portfolio

Another set of words that are often used interchangeably is product portfolio and
brand portfolio though there is a difference.
A brand portfolio refers to the collection of brands that a company owns or
manages while a product portfolio refers to the collection of products and
services that the company offers.
Brand hierarchy helps to manage both brand and product portfolios effectively and
creates a guideline and strategic direction for management when it comes to
product development and expansion.

What Are The Levels Of Brand Hierarchy?

Brand hierarchy has a few different levels that create a clear visual and conceptual
structure for the brand family.

Here are the different levels of brand hierarchy:

CorporateBrand
(Master Brand)

The corporate brand is the overarching parent brand and the top level of the brand
hierarchy, representing the overall corporate brand of a company, for example,
The Coca-Cola Company and Amazon are corporate brands.
Family Brand

The family brand level represents a group of brands under a common parent brand,
for example, Virgin’s sub-brands such as Virgin Atlantic and Virgin money are
part of the same brand family under the Virgin parent brand.

Individual Brand

An individual brand represents and independent brand with its own unique
identity, position, and target audience.
Although individual brands may be part of a larger brand portfolio, they operate
independently.
Product Brand

A product brand represents a specific product or service within an individual

brand.
For example, Apple is an individual brand that owns a portfolio of product
brands such as iPhone and MacBook. The these are products of Apple, they have
been structured as separate brands.

What Are The Advantages Of Brand Hierarchy?

As we’ve already covered there are plenty of business advantages to a well-

structured brand hierarchy.
But let’s dive a little deeper.

Brand Differentiation

A clear brand hierarchy helps to establish and maintain brand differentiation

and customer loyalty over time.
The trust build-up across a brand family serves as a point of difference across
markets and a reason to choose one brand over another.

Brand Equity

Brand equity is the value of the brand name and reputation which translates into
the willingness of consumers to choose a brand or pay a premium for a brand over
its competitors.
Brand hierarchy across a brand portfolio allows equity to flow from one brand to
another.
Efficient Brand Management

Managing brands and brand families are far more efficient and effective with a
well-established brand hierarchy, helping brand management with strategic
strategi
decision-making.

Product Development

Deciding what products to develop or how to develop them is a challenge at the

best of times.
Brand hierarchy provides parent brand managers with clarity on the markets
they serve and where the demand is higher.

Consistency

Managing multiple brands is no easy task and when consistency is the

cornerstone of building trust
trust, it becomes even more challenging.
Brand hierarchy provides the clarity that paves the way for consistency across
multiple brands and their marketing strategies from social media marketing, to
content, advertisements, digital marketing and everywhere in between.

How Do You Manage Brand Hierarchy?

Managing brand hierarchy requires a strategic approach and a clear
understanding of the company’s overarching brand strategy.
Here are some hey steps to help you manage brand hierarchy effectively.

#1 Define Your Brand Strategy

Within a brand’s hierarchy, there needs to be a guiding strategy for the overall
organization.
Is there a certain market, type of person, industry or sub sub-industry
industry your
organization will serve? Define
fine who you’re for and who you’re not for.

#2 Define Your Brand Positioning Strategy

Knowing where you want your overarching brand to sit in the market is a key
decision.
Once you’re clear on the position of your parent brand, you then need to get clear
on the position of each brand in the portfolio within their given markets.

#3 Define Your Brand Architecture

Define the overall structure of your brand architecture strategy and the different
types of brands within the brand family.
Include brands you expect to develop or acquire in the future based on your
possible expansion strategy.

#4 Create A Roadmap For Product Development

Clarity on the brand’s strategy, position, and architecture paves the way for
strategic decision-making.
A roadmap for product development also provides a roadmap for growth and
expansion.

#5 Monitor And Evaluate

Keep an eye on the hierarchy of your brand and the performance of brands within
the family.
Learn from both the successes and failures of brands within the portfolio and
use these learnings to optimize the strategy.
A rebranding or a brand refresh is often the last option but it can help to realign a
misaligned brand.
WHAT IS BRAND REJUVENATION?

Brand rejuvenation is all about changing how consumers see your brand. It means
keeping the fundamentals the same, but changing its image to present it in a whole
new way; updating elements like the logo, colour scheme, tone-of-voice and
website. Essentially, it’s giving your business a makeover.
It might be time to rejuvenate your brand if the structures are still working fine, but
its overall look feels dated. When new customers interact with your brand, if you
appear old-fashioned compared to your competitors, this can put them off buying
from you.

BRAND REJUVENATION VS REBRANDING: WHAT’S THE

DIFFERENCE?

A brand goes beyond the name, logo and visual elements of a business. It describes
how your business exists in the minds of your consumers; how they feel about your
business, rather than just how it looks. That means that a re-brand is more than just
changing the name or redesigning the logo. It’s about creating an entire new
identity for your business, setting it apart from its competitors and making it
memorable because of the way people feel about it.

FIVE STEPS TO BRAND REJUVENATION

Re-establish your brand’s edge and focus with a brand rejuvenation strategy. If it’s
time to make a change but you’re feeling a little daunted by the process ahead,
follow these simple five steps to brand rejuvenation and take back your share of
the market.

1. Understand why you need to change

So many business owners are reluctant to make a change and we hear the
phrase “But that’s how we’ve always done it!” far too often. Many organisations
play it safe, tweaking small aspects here and there.
This isn’t what brand rejuvenation is about. You need to challenge what you know
and be prepared for a significant image overhaul. Understand that the alternative is
to appear dated and behind-the-times compared to your competition, which is
guaranteed to cause your customers to gradually fall away.
2. Think beyond your audience’s demographics

Understanding the age, income, gender and interests of your customer base helps
you build a product and a message that appeals to them. However, rejuvenating
your brand is a good chance to take this a step further.
Dig deeper than consumer behaviour. What are their goals, passions and struggles?
Tap into their mindset to create a personal, intimate brand that will appeal to their
emotions, too.

3. Refresh from top to bottom

A spring clean should involve cleaning the entire house; not just one room. What
we mean is that you need to refresh your brand as a whole, otherwise some aspects
will look shiny and new, while others gather cobwebs.
Think about what your brand represents. Keeping the “heart” of your business the
same (after all, your customers are already drawn to that), think about changing the
entire presentation of it. Consistency is important as you evolve based on your
audience and vision.

4. Rewrite your narrative

Your brand’s history is what makes it fundamentally you. This stage isn’t about
overriding your history or erasing your brand’s story, but about presenting a new
angle to your narrative that will engage customers.
Your website is the perfect place to tell your story and connect with new
audiences. A refreshed tone-of-voice and creatively telling people why you started
the business, rather than how is an excellent place to start.

5. Hire experts

We understand that taking an objective look at your business can be difficult.

When you’ve grown so attached to your original branding and story, it’s hard to
see beyond that, to how the public perceive your image.

Brand Relaunch

The term brand relaunch describes the restart or repositioning of a brand. Its
purpose is the brand's strategic re-alignment.
A relaunch serves to charge a brand with fresh energy by means of a revised brand
strategy. The brand is positioned in the market with more focus and addresses a
more specific target group. The relaunch is based on the peak performances of the
company and a sustainable positioning.

A brand relaunch is necessary particularly when brand attractiveness is declining

consistently. This can have serious consequences such as slumping sales figures
and shrinking competitiveness.

What is important for a brand relaunch?

A brand relaunch helps to extend the life cycle of a brand. However, it offers not
only opportunities but risks as well. Their effects must be considered. This is why
it is enormously important from a brand strategic viewpoint that the brand core and
with it the unmistakable identity of a brand takes a central role during the entire
relaunch process. A strategically developed positioning is also essential; it has to
be credible, attractive, superior, and therefore sustainable.

One of the most famous brand success stories is that of Jägermeister. It was known
as a traditional brand that was preferred in downhome circles, because
Jägermeister kept losing attractiveness, because the brand was not evolving. It was
about to become obsolete. After a rejuvenating relaunch, the brand was
successfully positioned with younger consumer groups and became established as
a cult beverage in the event scene.

Brand Building Through Mergers And Acquisitions

Relationships are becoming more one on one; communications are becoming faster
and more frequent; customer loyalty cycles are becoming shorter – and yet
organizations, returning to merger mode after the global financial crisis, are scaling
to breathtaking size.
The dichotomy between the intimacy with which customers are looking for and the
footprint that companies are generating in order to, supposedly, reach those
individuals more efficiently is glaring.

My awareness of this incongruity sprang from a conversation recently about the

mega merger of Omnicom and Publicis. We were talking through how such a
merger would probably be great for the agencies’ biggest clients but might read as
a signal to depart for the many that would now fall below the horizon of attention.
Imagine how much clout you’re going to have as a marketing client with even a
few million to spend in a Group that will be billing around $23 billion? Imagine
how difficult it is for a company of that scale to deliver communications that feel
one on one?

I’ve seen and heard a number of reasons for why this merger makes good business
sense:

 The new Group is now bigger than WPP;

 Consolidation diversifies risk;
 Media buying becomes more efficient;
 The shift to digital advertising, and the proliferation of channels, makes scale
the only way to combat declining margins; and
 The agencies are now facing competition from the channels – Facebook,
Google etc – which now fulfill the function of digital mega-shops in their own
right. Mega-mergers are an effective counter-measure.
There’s nothing new here. These reasons, or sector-appropriate equivalents, get
rolled out every time expansion looms. They place significant emphasis on how the
business benefits. And it may well be that they are right, and this particular M&A
works. But if it does, it will be the exception, and Bain & Co have done
some interesting work to explain not just why, but also how disappointment can be
averted.
First of all, the explanation for what goes wrong. “Numerous studies have found
that more than half of all mergers fail to deliver the intended improvement in
shareholder value. Customer defections contribute to that high failure rate.” I’ve
seen figures that are a lot higher than 50%, but let’s put that aside, and focus on
what Bain believe can be done to avert mass exodus.

The secret to a successful merger, they say, lies in five key initiatives:

1. Set ambitious goals for customer retention, and track performance.

2. Prioritize what customers will experience in the merger planning.

3. Take actions that improve the experience for customers or increase the value of
your offering to them.

4. Keep customers in the loop about changes, good and bad, that will affect them

5. Give employees the tools and information they need to respond to customers
caught up in the change.
These are sound and robust strategies from a management point of view. But, you
know what, they still strike me as the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Because
the question that should have been asked, and never seems to be, is the one that
would truly make the customer the center of attention.

And that question is this: “In what ways will each of our customers directly benefit
from this merger that they would not benefit if we did not merge?” That, to borrow
from the lexicon of Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, is the real “Return on
Customer” question. That’s the nitty-gritty, relationship-focused, outcome-specific
enquiry that never seems to get raised.
If it were, that one question could well generate some very different strategies to
help cut the huge wastage in human capital and organizational potential that
M&As seem to have largely accepted as a cost of business:

1. Expand to the size you should be, not the size you could be, and make your
acquisition decisions accordingly.

2. Directly align the extent of growth with the extent of the benefit that customers
will receive from that growth.

3. Acquire companies that you can learn from, not just take from.

4. Make your customers proud of what they are newly part of, rather than force-
feeding them credentials by way of justification.

5. Give employees access to new opportunities that they had previously not
enjoyed. In other words, expand the loyalty of staff to fill the new footprint.

And in response to all the PR that merging companies always distribute about what
the new entity will “mean” for customers, here’s something I wrote eight years ago
about the futility of credentials as a marketing strategy. It’s still true. In fact, given
the huge emergence of social media, it’s even more relevant. In this particular case,
I was talking about the merger of two airlines, but the arguments are applicable
universally.

What is brand licensing? How to define brand licensing

To answer the question, “what is brand licensing” we need to define brand

licensing and it’s unique nuances. Essentially, the act of brand licensing is leasing
a copyrighted or trademarked property for use in connection with a promotion,
product, or service.
Modern brand owners lease software, patents, and even mascots or characters to
other companies. This allows licensees to re-sell the intellectual property, or
manufacturer merchandise related to the item.

Think about all the McDonalds Happy Meal toys you see from other major brands,
this is an example of what brand licensing looks like.

McDonalds gets a licensing agreement to use assets like Sonic the Hedgehog or
Trolls in its meals, which spreads brand awareness for the licensed brand, and
boosts sales for the licensee.

Brand licensing helps smaller businesses to increase their revenue, by giving them
access to something with an existing impact on the market. At the same time, the
licencing company also gets more sales and brand reach.

Brand licensing categories and brand licensing verticals

Brand licensing isn’t a new concept. There are plenty of great examples out there
already. For instance, if you’re familiar with the “Funko” toy brand, you’ll know
the company produces versions of characters from existing movies and franchises.

The organization’s entire business plan is built around the ability to leverage
licenses.

Here are some brand licensing categories you may be familiar with:

Brand and trademark

It’s possible for companies to give other organizations the rights to a brand name
or logo, known as a trademark. For instance, independent restaurants and stores
can use the “Coca-Cola” brand mark on their beverage machines to highlight a
product available for sale.

These partnerships generate millions in extra revenue for the larger brand, and help
the smaller company to reach their customers.

Patents

Patents offer access to intellectual property otherwise protected from commercial

use. Allowing another business access to a patent means they can produce products
and services built on another company’s design.
For example, anyone who wants to create a weighted children’s sipping cup will
need a patent from the Lollacup Company.

Characters, entertainment, and art

Characters and art are other forms of trademarks businesses can license. Disney is
a great example of this. You can see Star Wars and Marvel characters on
merchandise around the world, and they’re not always delivered by Disney stores.

These trademarks can also pass into entertainment. Disney licenses TV shows,
music, and movies, to increase potential sales.

Software

If you pay to use a software, you’re buying either a team or single-use license.
While you can’t sell the software to anyone else, you can still leverage the
technology.

Some companies do provide “resell” licenses to other companies who want to

access features of the software available to serve their own customers.

Sports

The licensed sports market is huge. There are countless different products out there
which showcase logos and names from major players in the sporting industry.

Manchester United makes around $115 million from its licensing agreements every
year. Sporting licenses work similarly to art or trademark licenses.

What companies use brand licensing?

When answering the question, “what is brand licensing?” you’ll find a range of
different examples of companies using this strategy to generate growth. Licensing
is a brand extension and marketing tool used by everyone from major companies to
smaller businesses and sports groups.

Licensing can help extend brands into new categories and target audiences. It’s
also a great way for brand owners to gain more attention for new products. As an
added benefit, the licensee selling the new product can increase its own product
portfolio.
 We can see a huge selection of licensing examples throughout the standard
business world. You’ve probably seen cereal boxes which use the logos of famous
cartoon characters, or characters from the Walt Disney franchise.

The most common companies to utilize brand licensing include:

 Major corporations like Pokémon and Disney.

 Sporting groups like the NBC or the Football League.
 Musicians and artists with their own personal brand.
 Influencers with personal brands on social media.
 Software companies and technology creators.

The smaller companies acting as “licensees” can fall into a number of categories
too. There are countless restaurants, miniature businesses, ecommerce brands and
SaaS vendors all offering enhanced products based on licensing deals.

Brand franchise:

A brand franchise is an arrangement between a corporation and a local retailer or

wholesaler to function as the exclusive seller for the corporation’s products within
a defined sales territory. In some cases, the contractual agreement will also allow
the retailer to display the corporation’s logo on all sales advertisements or other
promotional material. Since the agreement provides for exclusive rights to sell the
products within the area, the franchisee normally has a great deal of latitude when
it comes to establishing the retail price for each unit sold.

As with any type of franchise situation, the retailer or wholesaler makes certain
commitments in exchange for being able to sell the products in a noncompetitive
market. While these commitments vary, it is not unusual for the brand owner to
have specific requirements when it comes to the display of the products within the
store, the type and structure of promotional materials, and input into how any
advertising through various media is conducted. Brand name manufacturers often
make these requirements as a means of ensuring that the presentation of their
products to consumers is in keeping with their own advertising standards,

Opening up a Starbucks would be an example of a brand franchise.

There are several benefits of entering into a brand franchise arrangement. One has
to do with the products themselves. Assuming that the brand name or names
involved are well-known, the retailer will find it is much easier to gain the
attention of consumers in the local market, a fact that helps to expedite the
realization of a profit from the business.

Is Amazon actually giving you a competitive price? This little known plugin
reveals the answer.
Bookstores might be part of a brand franchise.
Many brand name manufacturers also provide ongoing support to their brand
franchise partners. This may come in the form of assistance with store remodeling,
pre-printed advertising tools, or even audio and visual public relations tools that
can be utilized to promote the brand. The manufacturer may also offer various
other incentives, such as paid vacations or other rewards if the franchise exceeds a
certain amount of sales within a given accounting period.

A brand franchise is an arrangement between a corporation and a local

retailer.
Manufacturers also benefit from a brand franchise arrangement. Contracting with
wholesalers and retailers means that the brand owner can place the products in
front of prospective customers, without the need to build and staff their own local
retail outlets. The manufacturer also has the advantage of working with someone
who is local to the area, and is highly likely to have an established reputation
within the area. As a result of the working relationship with the brand franchise,
the brand can be introduced to new areas with relatively little expense or utilization
of the manufacturer’s resources.

Packaging and labeling:

Among all aspects of an eCommerce business, there is one aspect that is often
over-looked – eCommerce packaging and labelling. While most business owners
focus on sales and advertising, packaging and labelling take a back seat.

Packaging and labelling directly impact sales and profits as they offer detailed
information on the price, quality, quantity, usage, ingredients, and features of the
products. They also display the brand logo and message that help the customer find
the product easily by creating a recall value. Notably, packaging and labelling play
a vital role in the overall marketing strategy of the business.
Furthermore, the label and packaging enhance the product's overall appeal too.
They give all the relevant information about the product that is crucial for the
customers to know, in order to make an informed buying decision. Notably, selling
unlabelled products proposes strict actions.
 Functions of Labelling

Labelling provides all the necessary information related to the product to the
consumers. The labels help customers gain knowledge about the product quality
and feature without even opening or tasting it. Consumers can recognize the
standard of the product with the labels.

Labels also give information about the price, quality, and quantity of the product.
This information helps consumers make an informed decision. Consumers can
easily compare different products on the basis of the information provided on the
label.
Labels help the sellers sell the products conveniently. It also protects from
malpractices of middlemen. In a nutshell, labelling is an essential element that
affects sales and profits and provides clear information about the product.

In eCommerce, the following are the functions of labelling:

 Product Identification: label helps the customers in identifying the product and
brand. It popularizes the product and brand among the customers.
 Product Grades: label tells about the grade of the product. For example, air
conditioners come with a star grading system, such as 1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars, 4
stars, and 5 stars. The label helps the consumer purchase a product according to its
quality.
 Product Description: label introduces, describes, and expresses the product. The
label includes the information about – who manufactured the product, when and
where it was manufactured, ingredients of the product, how to use it safely, and
best before date. The information helps the customers make an informed choice.
 Product Promotion: labels help in promoting products. Graphs, figures, and signs
attract customers. This motivates the customers to make a purchase.

Functions of Packaging

The packaging is the outer covering of the product. It plays a crucial role as an
effective sales tool and encourages customers to buy the product. It performs
several functions, like protection, storage, ease of handling, and convenience in
usage. The following are the functions of packaging:
 Content Protection: the basic function of packaging is protecting the contents
from dust, dirt, damage, leakage, and pilferage. Packaging helps in protecting the
products throughout its life.
 Product Density: packaging helps in providing density to the product. It means
choosing the best packaging material and making the best use of limited space.
 Promotional Tool: good packaging helps to sell the products easily and
conveniently. It works as a promotional tool – it does self-advertising, publishing,
displaying, and also acts as an advertising medium. It combines package, size,
colours, and design to attract the customers' attention.
 Product Identification: packaging also facilitates product identification. Branding
and packaging go together. The packaging helps to identify the product no matter
how the customers see it and under what circumstances. You can say that a
package is actually a product's personality.
 User Convenience: packaging helps in providing user-convenience. It performs
various marketing functions, such as storage, handling, and transportation, without
any wastage.

Importance of Packaging and Labelling

In the world of online selling, the importance of packaging and labelling is often
overlooked. The quality of the product is important but how it is packaged plays a
huge role. Packaging and labelling play a critical role in the first physical
impression of your product on customers. Let's take a look at the importance of
packaging and labelling in the eCommerce industry.

Decreases Return Rate

Whether you sell electronics or food items, you must not neglect the impression
packaging and labelling make on the consumers if you wish to get repeat business.
This is true for both offline and online sales.

In a retail shop, sharp packaging catches the customers' attention from other
products on the shelf. For online sales, the customers get a pleasant unpackaging
experience.

As such, packaging plays a critical role in deciding the condition in which the
product reaches the customer. First impressions are crucial. Poorly packed and
labelled products can increase the return rates. You may also receive bad reviews.
How the customer receives the products, informs the customers about your product
quality and the care that went into manufacturing the product. Aptly packaged and
labelled products can increase the trust customers have for your product and build
anticipation as they unpackage the product.

Brand Experience
Keeping packaging and labelling consistent throughout all the products helps to
keep brand identity consistent. Brands should ensure that they share the same
information through all the mediums to ensure customer familiarity with the
product's quality. This also increases product recognizability in both the online and
offline market.

You can also think about whether the packaging and labelling for your products
should be the same in the online and offline markets. You can think of different or
basic packaging for online products as they have additional packaging – cardboard
or corrugated boxes.
However, using different packaging may incur a higher cost. Or you may miss an
opportunity to reinforce your brand. You can research what makes the consumers
buy products online and add the same value to your product packaging and
labelling.

Packaging Design Principles

Adopting the best practices for product packaging and labelling is imperative.
Your packaging design must communicate the functioning of the products and
services. Therefore, your design should use bold colours and vibrant images. Tell
your customers how your product will fulfill their needs.

You can also use sustainable packaging or eco-friendly packaging for your
products. Most consumers are becoming environmentally conscious, and thus, they
prefer buying products that come in sustainable packaging. You can consider
making your packaging fully recyclable or biodegradable.

The design of your label is also important. Determining the design of the label and
keeping it consistent throughout all the packaging is crucial. An additional label,
i.e., a shipping label, is added in the eCommerce industry. The product delivery
highly depends on the shipping label.

Hand-written shipping labels can be tedious and time-consuming. You can print
them. You can also think of customized packaging labels; they can help increase
brand awareness by standing you out from other companies.
 In the end, we would like to say that don't package or label your products just for
the sake of it. They must be created in such a way that they protect your products
and make their shipping convenient. The packaging and labelling need not be so
sophisticated but must fulfill their objectives. If you take care of packaging and
labelling, your business is bound to grow and prosper!

Branding Strategy:

The branding strategy that you adopt is made up of more aspects:

 The way you display your name, products, and services

 The unique selling proposition that you’re coming up with
 Your brand’s mission or purpose
 So much more.

It is the most challenging aspect of a newly launched business because it has a

huge impact and influence concerning how well your company performs in the
longer run.

There are though certain factors that could influence the success of a brand
strategy. During today’s article, we’ll take a look at 9 strong factors that could
potentially bring your brand to the next level.

1. Define Your Brand’s Value and Purpose (Mission)

It all starts with a simple idea. Then it develops into a plan, and it quickly turns
into a business. When you’re starting to work on your branding, the first thing you
must do is to define your brand. The question is: “What does my business do, and
what value does it give to the marketplace?”

After you figure out how exactly your brand is useful, you can proceed to create a
brand mission or purpose. Every professional brand has its own purpose, and it is
usually leveraged through marketing campaigns.

For example, Nike’s mission is to bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete
out there. Create a mission statement for your own brand, and show it to the public.
 2. Understand Your Target Audience
Before you sell anything, you must do proper market research in order to
determine what types of consumers are belonging in your target audience. A
target audience is a group of individuals which might be interested in what you
have to offer. Here’s a good exercise that’ll help you a lot:

Start to imagine your ideal customer. Think about:

 What does he want most in life?

 What are his biggest problems?
 What unfulfilled needs does he have?
 Age/nationality/gender?
 What’s the average yearly salary that he receives?

When you get a clear picture of how your ideal customer looks like, you can start
to validate your branding strategy ideas taking him into consideration.

3. Analyze the Competition

If you’re planning to take your brand to the next level, you’d
better know what your competitors are doing. After all, you’re fighting over the
same target audience so there’s always going to be a fight over customers. Start
analyzing your competition and look for the following things

 The quality of their products

 The brands’ messages
 Customer reviews and opinions
 Unique strategies that they’re using

These are enough to start. Take a look at your biggest five competitors’ websites
and brands. With much patience, analyze their strategies and look for weak
spots. When you discover a deficiency in your competition’s branding, you can
leverage that.
Do something that will fix their issue, and let your potential customers notice the
difference between you and them. One more thing – make sure that you never
copy-paste your competitors brand strategies, or else you’ll McDonald’s as a copy-
cat.

4. Focus on Your Brand’s Logo and Tagline

You do realize that your brand’s logo must get stuck in your customer’s heads,
right? It must be that good. First of all, a professional brand logo is distributed
across all your promotion channels. Your Social Media channels’ profile pages,
your business card, and almost every marketing material will also
contain your logo.

I’d suggest investing in a professional graphic designer. The person who’s going
to take care of your branding design must fully understand your company’s
purpose.

Secondly, you must create an amazingly catchy tagline. Let’s use the Nike
example again: “Just do it McDonald’s See, it’s just three words, but it’s an
awesome message. Your brand’s tagline is essential to your success, as most
people tend to remember the taglines which they liked.

5. Develop a Healthy Brand’s Reputation

If McDonald’s wasn’t so tasty, their brand would have to suffer a lot because of
their reputation. Everyone knows that McDonalds alters the ingredients in order to
become addictive and extremely tasty. Few videos came out showing how
incredibly unhealthy it is to eat from McDonalds.

Your brand’s reputation is another differentiating factor between a mediocre and a

successful brand. In order to maintain a healthy reputation, you must focus on your
customers. The moment you see negative reviews, or you see customers that
complain, you must immediately find solutions.

6. Seek Consistent Feedback from Customers

In order to stay on track, a consistent analysis of your performance is necessary.
The best way to figure out whether you’re on the right path or not is to seek
feedback from your customers. You can do this in plenty of ways.
Michael Hardy, marketing specialist at Australian Writings suggests that:

“You can take advantage your brand’s Social Media presence and get responses
directly from your followers. In order to motivate your audience to help you with
constructive feedback, offer them an incentive. It could be anything from a special
report to a small free e-book.”

The feedback should never stop. It is the only way in which you can find and fix
your brand’s issues. In addition, your company’s reputation will improve as a
result of all the positive adjustments that are being made.

7. Hire the Right Employees

Your employees are the only ones who are going to assist your activity, so you’d
better choose them carefully. The recruitment process must be quite strict, and you
should definitely wait until you really feel that they’re good for the team.

The people that you choose to hire must understand your brand’s purpose and
mission, and they should resonate with it. If they enjoy the cause and the
workplace conditions, there’s no reason for them to perform poorly.

8. Stick to Your Brand’s Purpose

When you start your company, you are declaring your brand’s purpose. According
to that purpose, your actions and strategies will be heavily influenced. Here’s
something that could sabotage your brand’s success: the inability to stick to your
brand’s purpose.

Many entrepreneurs do the big mistake of changing their plans along the way. This
is wrong, because you have already stated your mission. Therefore, changing your
brand’s purpose will make you lose a lot of reputation and customers.

9. Set High Standards and Eliminate Limits

Do you actually want to become the best in your industry? Unless there’s a big
monopoly in the industry (Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft), no one says that your
brand can’t become the best. If your niche market is smaller, there’s quite a big
chance to overstep your competitors in time.

Set high standards and goals, and try to eliminate your limiting beliefs. You may
think: “But I don’t have the necessary capital” or “But X Competitor is always
going to be the best in the field”. These are such damaging beliefs.

Everything starts with you – the owner of the business. If you limit yourself, your
company will never become the biggest dog in your niche market.

Customer loyalty programs

It helps organizations reduce sales costs, compile customer profiles for targeted
deals and stay in contact with audiences. These programs also benefit customers,
who can receive credits toward future purchases, exclusive promotions, discounts,
early access to new products and custom recommendations based on their
purchasing habits.

Below, explore four types of loyalty programs that companies can institute and
their benefits.

1. Tiered loyalty program

Tiered loyalty programs separate benefits into different levels, with more rewards
offered to customers in higher program tiers. Some programs use the names of
precious metals -- silver, gold and platinum -- or other naming conventions to
motivate customers to spend more and reach higher tiers for increased rewards.

Examples include loyalty programs from Hilton or American Airlines, which offer
free sign-ups and encourage customers to continue to purchase from them. As
customers make more purchases, they can move to higher tiers and gain more
rewards over time.

2. Subscription-based loyalty program

A subscription-based loyalty program requires customers to pay an upfront,
monthly or yearly fee to join. Subscriptions can benefit organizations looking to
retain customers for specified amounts of time.
For example, Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service that offers free shipping
and other services to subscribers. Amazon Prime users get free TV shows, music,
shipping, photo storage and product recommendations with the plan.

3. Value-based loyalty program

This type of loyalty program differs from others because it doesn't offer any
explicit rewards to customers, like discounts or other benefits. Instead, value-based
programs emphasize the organization's values and, ideally, also align with
customers' values.

With this program, an organization pledges to donate a portion of its proceeds to

one or more charities, enabling customers to choose the charity that best aligns
with their personal values. Organizations that use value-based loyalty programs
aim to facilitate deeper connections with customers.

4. Points-based loyalty program

Points-based programs reward customers with points for each purchase, making
them popular in retail environments, like restaurants. When customers reach a
certain number of points, they can cash those points in to get a product or receive a
discount.

For example, Chipotle awards customers points for joining its program, and for all
purchases thereafter. When customers rack up enough points, they can get free
food or merchandise, among other rewards.

Benefits of a loyalty program

A successful loyalty program means customers find value in it. To gauge success,
an organization should monitor its program's use over time and ensure it converts
enough customers.

Once successfully implemented, loyalty program benefits include the following:

 Enhanced customer analytics. Loyalty programs can capture customers'

purchasing habits and demographic information, like age and gender, which
provides valuable insights into the company's customer base. Those insights
can help identify a marketing campaign's effectiveness so marketers can target
customers appropriately to increase sales.
 Increased product sales. If organizations collect customers' contact
information, they can send promotions to encourage repeat purchases or new
product notifications.
 Improved brand recognition and customer loyalty. Loyalty programs can
increase brand recognition, as a company can continuously reach out to and
engage with its customer base. As customers opt into the program, they get
continuous exposure to the brand and reminders of products they use or might
like. They can also receive discounts and product promotions that could
discourage them from looking at competing brands.

Loyalty programs can help marketing teams improve brand recognition, customer
retention and boost sales. Each company must know its customer base well enough
to recognize which type of loyalty program would best suit its audience and
products.

HOW TO BUILD A GLOBAL BRAND? WHAT BRAND BUILDING ?

Do you have an export plan? Does this involve capitalizing on your brands? Why
not make it global? But of course, you need to have a strategy on how to do this.
Here are several aspects to think of.

1. UNDERSTAND CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR

Consumers preferences and habits can depend on many factors especially the
culture from which they hail. But there are always some differentiating factors that
highlight individualism and oppose the generalised rules. Due to this scenario, one
needs to understand consumer behaviour as a group and as individual decision
makers to be able to accurately decipher consumer trends for a specific business.

2. POSITION YOURSELF PROPERLY

Good brand positioning means truly understanding one’s competition and
subsequently, look into one’s advantage. An accurate assessment of a brand’s
Unique Selling Proposition (USP) still holds strong and can be the deciding factor
between standing out or dying out.
3. KNOW HOW YOUR BRAND TRANSLATES
A brand or product name may have a different meaning in another language.
Not only will language matter but so will color. Some people prefer a specific
color for the products they would want to buy. Color apparently adds appeal.

4. THINK BROADLY
Your company should be broad enough to accommodate changes due to expansion
and demand. A prerequisite of a global brand is the ability to evolve with the times
to stay relevant under all circumstances. Outdated business philosophies can be
detrimental in today’s dynamic industry.

5. FIND GOOD PARTNERS

Work with an attorney in protecting intellectual property overseas – filing
trademark and patent protections. Good partners are recommended as well. Those
who come from colleagues or state or federal offices have a good appeal due to
their reputations.

It is imperative that providers are reputable and won’t misuse or misappropriate

your name.

6. EFFICIENTLY MANAGE BRANDS OVER TIME

Managing brands is challenging. Brands are affected by several factors and require
advocacy and reputation management. In this dynamic, complex business
environment across varying geographies, brand management systems can only
truly be called globally relevant when they are resilient, futuristic, proactive and
highly responsive.

7. BE ADAPTIVE AND FLEXIBLE

Successful global brands are managed by balancing consistent brand guardrails
with the freedom to adapt local growth opportunities. It’s vital to maintain brand
equity by not compromising on basic core values of the brand during any
adaptation programs.

8. LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY
Technology-enabled solutions have changed the practice of brand management and
it would prove very advantageous to use these for furthering a brand. They have
especially impacted the area of Custom Relation Management (CRM) systems
among others.
9. USE CUSTODIANS
Custodians are people who act as a strategic guide and mentor who advise local
brand marketing teams on strategic issues. They ensure consistency in brand
positioning with adherence to brand guidelines, seamless sharing of knowledge and
best practices and utilisation of localised communication and marketing tools.

10. ALIGN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

Organizational structures need to be aligned in order to ensure seamless brand
management. The roles and responsibilities, of especially the core functional team,
need to be well defined at the onset for better accountability and higher efficiency.

Reasons for Brand Failure:

Position Amnesia

Position Amnesia is when a brand forgets what it is and what it stands for and tries
to experiment with its identity and positioning to an extent that it takes a totally
different route. This route could result in that brand’s failure as it might not be
congruent to the existing image and positioning of the brand.

Example of brand failure due to Position Amnesia

Coca Cola Brand Failure

One of the perfect examples of “Brand is as important as the product” theory.

With over a billion drinks sold every day, Coca Cola is surely one of the most
loved brands in the world. But it also committed one of the biggest marketing
blunders of all time. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was evident that Pepsi
had better marketing campaigns planned to win the first position from Coca Cola.
Many successful campaigns like “Pepsi Challenge” and “Pepsi Generation” made
it clear that people preferred Pepsi’s taste over Coca Cola. Hence Coca Cola,
instead of modifying their marketing strategies, saw the only solution to this
problem as the introduction of the ‘New Coke’ with better and improved taste.

By launching New Coke, Coca-Cola contradicted its previous marketing efforts

where it spent more than 50 years to attach an emotion (happiness) to their original
product. This being the only reason the new coke was boycotted and the company
was left with no option but to bring back the original product.

Icarus paradox (Overconfidence)

Sometimes, one of the most successful companies face the biggest brand
failures because of their strengths and past victories, which resulted in over-
confidence and lulled them into complacency that they feel reluctant in trying new
strategies and sometimes even don’t even care about their current and prospective
competitors.

The Icarus Paradox refers to a Greek Tale of Icarus who burnt his feathers after
flying too close to the Sun, even though he was warned against it.

Similarly, many big companies often burn their wings because of their
overconfidence and extensive and unscientific use of some rule of thumb strategies
(which helped them to reach the top).

Example of brand failure due to Icarus paradox (Overconfidence)

Kellogs Brand Failure

Kellogg’s initial foray into the Indian market is generally agreed to have been a
failure. Despite a high profile launch in 1994, consumers were not interested to
repeat the purchase of Kellogs products. This brand failure shows the signs of
Icarus Paradox as

 The brand was overconfident because of its success in other countries

 It overlooked many critical cultural insights of the Indian market.
Here are the reasons which led to the failure of Kellogs in India

 The price was kept too high to convince Indian consumers to consider it as a
daily meal and make a repetitive purchase. The product was bought just as
a novelty.
 Kellogs overlooked the Indian habit of having boiled & sweetened milk
which made the crispy flakes go soggy as the company designed their
products to be accompanied with cold milk.
 Kellogs enforced its established positioning strategy of being a morning
breakfast which was no match to the usual gut-busting breakfast in India.
Deception

When the marketing strategies are built to cover up the reality, the brand doesn’t
last very long. It’s true that not everything can be told to the consumers but the
product has to compliment the brand promise or the company could get a great fall.
Deception, at today’s digital age, would no longer result in the success of a brand
as the consumers are much aware of the current scenarios and, with an increase in
competition, aren’t hesitant to switch over to a new brand. Such strategies may
result in a decrease in brand equity and also affect the brand image of the business.

Example of brand failure due to Deception

Volkswagen Brand Failure

Until 2015, the brand best known for reliability, performance and environmental
credential, Volkswagen was trusted by millions worldwide. But as soon as the truth
about 11 million of its vehicle being equipped with a software program to dupe
emissions testing was out, there was no looking back. The deceptive brand promise
had made the brand fall to such a level that it now not only faces a £30bn lawsuit
but a monumental battle to rebuild trust among consumers.

Lack of Change

The environment in which the brand functions is dynamic and requires it to

change its marketing and branding strategies from time to time to keep up with the
trend and to maintain and gain new consumers. In this age of the digital world, if a
brand still sticks with print media, it surely lags behind many of its competitors.
Similarly, if a brand fails to infer the current and future needs, wants, and desires
of the customers, there are greater chances that it may lose to its competitors.

Example of brand failure due to Lack of Change

Nokia Brand Failure

Nokia sat on a wall, Nokia had a great fall.

This is the actual story of a brand which was once a market leader in the mobile
phones industry. Today, it has just three percent of the global smartphone
market(which is a fifth of what it was in 2007). Nokia had great research and
innovation, the only place where it lagged behind was marketing. Nokia had a set
of best hardware engineers but it overlooked the fact that the consumer preference
was shifting from hardware to more of software. Hence, Apple (ios) and other
companies like Samsung (Android) were able to crush Nokia and succeed in a
comparatively short span of time.

Brand Ego

Sometimes, a successful brand, because of its ego, may get a feeling

of megalomania and plans to spread its hands in every possible product category.
This strategy might not work for every brand. Even Amazon faced losses when it
launched its fire range of phones.

Example of brand failure due to Brand Ego

Cosmopolitan Brand Failure

Cosmopolitan is the world’s most popular international women magazine. But this
famous magazine, out of its brand ego, launched some edible products like Yogurt
and fresh cheese in 1999 and predicted it to be an instant success because of the
existing image of the brand. Any form of marketing, advertising, and promotion to
spread the awareness was also refused by the management. These products
remained in the market for more than a year but were removed as the brand
concluded that they should stick with what they’re good at.

Brand Paranoia

This is the opposite of brand ego and occurs when a brand faces too much
competition or starts to lose much of its market share. This condition is
characterized by the reinvention of brand strategies in short spans of time,
imitation of competition, and distorted public relations.

Example of brand failure due to Brand Paranoia

Blackberry Brand Failure

Blackberry was one of the market leaders in 2007, just before when the iPhone was
launched. BlackBerry didn’t consider the iPhone to be a competitor initially,
perceiving it to be an enhanced mobile phone with playful features targeted at
younger consumers. This was where Blackberry went wrong. iPhone turned out to
be an instant hit and started to eat much market share of blackberry as it appealed
to business professionals as well.

Blackberry, afraid of this new competition, did release a touchscreen smartphone –

Storm. But this impulsive move was focused just to curb the competition wasn’t
backed up with research and innovation. Hence, the company received many
complaints about the device’s performance. This put even more pressure on the
company and it started to lose most of its market share to the competition.
Blackberry did try to come back with the launch of its playbook, but it had already
lost most of its brand equity till 2010, and playbook turned out to be a failure due
to its high-price, low-feature, and low-performance.