MANAGING BRANDS OVER TIME

Reinforcing Brands
 Generally, we reinforce brand equity by
marketing actions that consistently convey the
meaning of the brand to consumers in terms of
brand awareness and brand image.
 Brand Reinforcement
 Reinforcing a brand is commonly explored by
creating more or greater brand awareness .

 To establish brand recall and recognition –

improving strength , favorability and
uniqueness .

13.3
 Managing Brands over Time
 Questions marketers should consider are as
follows :-

(a) What products does the brand represent , what

benefits does it supply , and what needs does it satisfy
?

(a) How does the brand make those products superior ?

What strong , favorable and unique brand
associations exist in the minds of consumers ?
13.4
LONG TERM EFFECTS
OF MARKETING
Consumer response to
ACTIONS ON BRAND past marketing activities
EQUITY

Brand awareness and brand image

Consumer response to
current marketing activities

Changed brand awareness and brand image

Consumer response to
future marketing activities
 Reinforcing Brands
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
Maintaining brand consistency

Protecting sources of brand equity

Fortifying versus leveraging

Fine-tuning the supporting marketing program

 Maintaining Brand Consistency
 Reinforcing brands in the consistency of NATURE
& MARKETING SUPPORT .
 Consistency is critical to maintaining the strength
and favorability of brand associations .
 Brands always have the risk of –
- Getting technologically disadvantaged
- Obsolete

- Out-of-date

- Forgotten

Testifies examples of brand reinforcement :- coca-cola .

13.7
 Consistency and change
 Being consistent does not mean , however , that
marketers should avoid making any changes in the
marketing program .
- Product features may be added or dropped
- Ad campaigns can employ different creative strategies ,
slogans , brand extensions

BUT – certain key elements of the marketing program are

always retained and brand meaning has remained
consistent over time .

13.8
 Protecting sources of brand equity
 A top priority of any brand is to preserve and defend the sources of
brand equity that already exist .
Example :- Intel – Pentium – brand equity :- “Power” & “safety”
Pentium FDIV Bug in 1994 :- Intel P5 Pentium Floating Point Unit .
BUG :- Processor can return incorrect decimal results ( troublesome for
only very precise calculations in advanced math's & science and would not
affect an average user)
- Rarely encountered by average users
- Found by Mathematics Professor :- Thomas Nicely of Lynchburg College
- Story was covered by CNN in 1994- damaging Intel’s brand Image
- IBM its competitor that time added to the public outcry
RESULT :-
- Publicly , Intel acknowledged the Floating –point flaw ,
though claimed the problem was not serious and would not
affect most users .
- Offered to Replace processors on the basis of request
- Financial impact on the co. was huge (10% of PC’s
worldwide had Intel inside then in 1994 )
- The defective chips were later turned into key rings

13.10
 Fortifying versus Leveraging
 Fortify (grow ) new brand equity and those that
leverage or capitalize on existing brand equity .

13.11
 Fine-tuning the Supporting Marketing
Program
-Repositioning
 Product – Related Performance Associations
- Need to work on innovating the product
- But not to change product too much, especially if the brand
meaning to consumer is wrapped up in the product design or
makeup .
- Reassure customers that it is a better product but not a
different one .
- Example :- Coca Cola to COKE
 Non-Product-Related Imagery Associations .
 Coca-Cola took biggest risk in consumer
goods history , of announcing the change in
formula & referred to as “New COKE” in 99
years . As a result in 1985 within 79 days – it
had to return to the original formula now
called – “COCA-COLA- Classic”
 Consistency in
amount and nature
Brand Awareness
of marketing
support
•What products does the brand represent?
•What benefits does it supply? Innovation in product
•What needs does it satisfy? design, manufacturing
and merchandising Continuity in brand
Brand meaning; changes in
Reinforcement marketing tactics
Strategies
Brand Image
Relevance in user Protecting sources
•How does the brand make products superior?
and usage imagery of brand equity
•What strong, favorable, and unique brand
associations exist in customers’ minds?
Trading off
marketing
activities to
fortify vs.
leverage brand
equity
 Understanding

Repositioning of Brand
vs
Revitalizing of Brand

13.15
 Repositioning
 Repositioning refers to the major change in
positioning for the brand . To successfully
reposition a brand , the firm has to change the
target market’s understanding of the brand .
 Reasons
- Declining performance
- Shifts in environment

13.16
 Revitalizing Brands
 A strategy to recapture lost sources of brand
equity and identify and establish new sources
of brand equity . This may include product
modification or brand repositioning .- Brand
Revitalization .

13.17
 Example of Repositioning
 In 1950’s & 60’s Milkmaid was positioned as
a creamer or milk whitener for tea & coffee
 Relevance :- as that time fresh milk was in
short supply in some parts of India
 Earlier positioning :- as a security against
milk shortage due to the short supply of milk

13.18
 1980’s :- India moved from milk-deficit nation to milk-surplus
nation .
 Milk powders were rapidly replacing condensed milk as a tea &
coffee whitener .
 Repositioning :- as a dessert ingredient , proving convenience &
time saving
- Ads in print & TV , pack design reflecting recipe ( free recipe
booklet)
- Change of packaging backed by aggressive & consistent
advertising changed the initial positioning of Milkmaid.
- Milkmaid ended up creating a segment of its own – “dessert
maker”

13.19
 Example of Revitalizing
 Lifebuoy
History :-since 1895 largest and oldest toilet
soap brand of HUL ( earlier Unilever) . 17%
market share . It entered Indian market when
in 1895 the grip of a plague epidemic took
place .
Positioned then as :- germicidal and
disinfectant , with a strong carbolic smell .

13.20
 1970’s was a challenging time for the brand – to build
awareness with the urban , middle class .
 In 2002 brand moved from being a hard soap to a milder soap
that delivered a significant superior bathing experience .
- Refreshing fragrance – instead of strong carbolic smell
- Product and pack innovations- rugged looking pack replaced
by soft pinkish one .
- Ads- focused on family soap – germ-fighting soap with focus
on the health of child .
- Lifebuoy’s Swathya chetna (LBSC) – largest private rural
health hygiene educational program .
 Increase quantity
of consumption Identify additional
Expand depth and (how much) opportunities to
Breadth of awareness
use Brand in Same
And usage of brand
Increase frequency basic way
of consumption
Refresh old sources (how often) Identify completely
Brand Of brand equity new and different
Revitalization ways to use
Strategies
Create new sources
Of brand equity

Retain vulnerable
Bolster fading associations customers
Improve strength,
favorability, and Recapture lost
Neutralize negative
uniqueness of brand customers
associations
associations
Identify neglected
Create new associations segments

Attract new
customers

13.22
 Strategies to Revitalize Brands
 Expanding brand awareness
 Breadth challenge
 Improving brand image
 Repositioning the brand
 Changing brand elements

 Entering new markets

13.23
 Expanding Brand Awareness
 Increasing usage
 Increasing the level or quantity of consumption
 Increasing the frequency of consumption

 Identifying new or additional usage opportunities

 Communicate appropriateness of more frequent use in
current situations
 Reminders to use

 Identifying new and completely different ways to

use the brand
13.24
 Improving the Brand Image
 Repositioning the brand
 Establish more compelling points of difference
 In some cases, a key point of difference may turn
out to be nostalgia and heritage rather than any
product-related difference.
 Other times we need to reposition a brand to
establish a point of parity on some key image
dimension.
 Changing brand elements
 Convey new information or signal that the brand
has taken on new meaning

13.25
 Entering New Markets
 Segmenting :- identifying neglected segments
 Entering new segments to retain existing
customers :- Example Kellogs

13.26
 Adjustments to Brand Portfolio
 Migration strategies
 A corporate or family branding strategy in which brands are
ordered in a logical manner could provide the hierarchical
structure in consumers’ minds to facilitate brand migration.
 Example: BMW with its 3-, 5-, and 7-series numbering systems
 Acquiring new customers
 Tradeoffs in their marketing efforts between attracting new
customers and retaining existing ones
 Firms must proactively develop strategies to attract new
customers, especially younger ones.
 Retiring brands