STRATERGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT- ASSIGNMENT 1

Sending a statement to the world about who you are and what you stand for is what branding is
all about. The goal is to help people comprehend your name, product, or service and to portray it
in such a way that they want or aspire to it. In simple terms, Branding is all about adding value to
your product without changing it. Branding is all about making people aware of, understand, and
desire your product or service (product, service, idea).

MTN Ghana is a global telecommunications provider that has been operating in Ghana for more
than a decade and has developed a strong reputation. Because the firm has established a
respectable brand, the following possibilities and difficulties in branding will be discussed:

Opportunities:

Making maximum use of social media

With having a strong internet presence and using social media, a company is able to
communicate with the consumers and potential consumers of its products. After determining
where most potential customers spend time, it is important to create campaigns to try to reach out
to them. Users on key social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and
LinkedIn are profiled. To stay ahead of the competition, a social media branding plan must be
developed, and it must be persistent and consistent with other branding activities. Maintaining a
fair balance with a strategic plan for executing the social media campaigns in order for customers
and potential customers not to perceive it as obnoxious. Through such social media efforts, it
will be key to provide the users with useful information and offers.

Blogging for Branding

Along with a heavy social media presence, blogging is also an ideal branding strategy and
opportunity. Maintaining a blog not only to promote the brands products but to share information
which target group consumers value. This In reality, you have a blog not just to advertise your
products (even though you may do so indirectly using indirect marketing methods), but also to
offer knowledge that your target market values. This strategy will eventually lead to
circumstances in which consumers seek for you individually based on the distinct brand aspects
to which you have developed and to which you have remained committed. MTN Ghana has and
maintains a website (‘mtn.com.gh’) where all the need information about their products and
services have been uploaded for the customers’ perusal.

Customer service as a priority

Branding is only one part of the pre-sale advertising activities; exceptional customer service is
also required to get the full benefit. Making customer service a primary emphasis of brand
creation and succeeding at it may, without a doubt, save money in terms of advertising and
marketing. Branding is more of a long-term recognition among potential customers based on
word-of-mouth recommendations. A team of customer service personnel attend to customers and
potential customers who walk into the offices of MTN to make enquiries about their products
and services. Customers can also phone the MTN's toll-free hotline to report network problems.

Branding Challenges:

Consistency

Brands are established through a variety of contact points; each time a client engages with a
brand, associations are formed. This means that the brand is influenced by everyone in the
organization. As a result, brand building's main goal is to maintain the message consistent across
all channels. This necessitates keeping the brand current by developing new ways to
communicate its message while maintaining consistency. This entails making consistent and
suitable adjustments across the board, as well as adjusting to keep current with trends. Therefore,
one of the most difficult aspect of branding is consistency, or having a whole company embrace
the brand and deliver on its promises over time. The goal will not be realized if an organization
does not understand, believe in, and own the brand – if the message, brand, and product are not
consistent.

Clutter

The market is fiercely competitive and becoming progressively crowded. Every day, consumers
are inundated with hundreds, if not thousands, of advertising and incentives. It's really tough to
break through this crowded atmosphere. The goal is to be different and stand out from the crowd.
To carve out your niche, you'll need to use creative marketing and promotion. It's difficult to
persuade people to notice your brand, and much more difficult to establish significant
associations. To stand out, a brand must be focused and distinct; in the minds of customers, a
great brand implies something distinct. Having a defined positioning is a good start, but it's not
enough. Brands must attract attention through innovative media use and imaginative advertising.

Brand elements

The brand is the sum total of all the visual and non-visual, tangible, and non-tangible elements
that drive the perception of the customer and makes him believe what the company wants him to.
Below are some of the brand elements that distinguishes MTN Ghana from their competitors.

Brand Identity

The brand identity is the way people recognize the brand. It gives the customers the perception
of who the company is, and it is the first impression they have about the brand. It may be through
the company’s name, logo, catchphrase, or a tagline. MTN can be easily identified with the
yellow color within the telecommunications industry. Their catchphrase “everywhere you go”
makes it easy for consumers of their products to associate with them.

Brand Voice

The constant personality and emotion that you pour into your company's communications is
known as brand voice. It allows you to personalize your business, highlight your beliefs, and set
yourself out from the competition. Your brand's voice is the consistent personality that your
consumers recognize and like.

Brand Positioning

In the viewpoint of customers, brand positioning relates to where your brand sits in the market,
as well as how it differentiates from the competitors. Targeting is taken a step further with
positioning, which is planning your marketing efforts to ensure that your techniques are most
successful in reaching the intended market group. In addition to defining your marketing mix,
brand positioning entails developing a distinct brand voice that will stand out in a crowded
market.

Brand Extension

Brand extension is basically the idea of going beyond one’s origins and exploring newer fields.
MTN began as a telecoms company, but subsequently expanded into mobile money transfers,
making financial transactions more easier for consumers who do not have bank accounts. It has
broadened the brand's appeal, yet in such a way that existing operations complement newer
initiatives.

Brand Targeting

The phrase "brand targeting" refers to choosing which market segment you wish to target. This
involves determining the qualities of your target client and segmenting your target market. There
are numerous factors to consider, including age, geographic region, and economic level, as well
as behavioral and personality qualities (e.g., reason for buying the product, purchasing habits,
etc). MTN has made it a point over the years to reach out to remote areas of the country where
network coverage is tough to come by. As part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR),
they established a foundation and utilized money to build schools, hospitals, and other basic
facilities in these impoverished communities. They have built their brand in various regions as a
result of this.

REFERENCES
1. Chandra A.; Branding Challenges and Opportunities, September 2021. Available online:
https://www.brandloom.com/branding-challenges-and-applications (accessed on 21 September
2021)
2. The Most Common Branding Challenges and Opportunities, November 2020. Available
online: https://inkbotdesign.com/branding-challenges-opportunities (accessed on 21
September 2021)
3. Lytho; Biggest Branding Challenges and Opportunities for 2021, June 2021. Available
online: https://insights.lytho.com/biggest-branding-challenges-and-opportunities-for-
2021(accessed on 21 September 2021)
4. Stern H.; The Six Elements of a Brand, August 2020. Available online:
https://jscottmarketing.com/the-six-elements-of-a-brand/ (accessed on 21 September 2021)