Brand Management

BA5122 MBA EVE 60 A

What is a Product/Service?
Product – is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use
or consumption that may satisfy a need or a want (goods, services, retail store,
person, organization, idea)

Kotler defines 5 levels of a product

1. Core benefit level – fundamental need or want that is satisfied
2. Generic product level – basic version – attributes necessary for functioning
(stripped down level)
3. Expected product level – what customer’s normally expect
4. Augmented product level – additional attributes, benefits that distinguish it
from competition
5. Potential product level – all transformation that it might undergo in the
future
Product Development Stages
• Idea generation
• Idea screening
• Concept development and testing
• Concept testing
• Conjoint analysis – to find out the best valued attributes by consumers
New Product Development
• Most new product development is an improvement on existing products
• Less than 10% of new products are totally new concepts.
New Product
A new product can be defined as a product that is new to the market.
Examples:
• Sony introduced Walkman
• GE introduced Light
• HLL’s adult diapers
New Product
There are five categories of new products.
1. New-to-the-world products or services are new inventions.
Example: In-line skates and health maintenance organizations.

2. New category entries are products or services that are new to a firm
Example: Sport utility vehicles

3. Additions to product lines add products or services to a firm’s current markets.

Example: When a powder laundry detergent offers a liquid version it is considered a
line extension.
New Product
4. Product improvements are another type of new product and are common to
every product category.
• Example: Product improvement made in Lifebuoy Soaps (as shown through Figure
below)

5. Repositioning target products to new markets or for new uses.

Success Rate of New Products
• The success rate of new products is very low – less than 5%. ‘You have to kiss a lot
of frogs to find a prince.”
• Product obsolescence is rapid with improvements in technology
• Shorter PLCs
Product Mix
• The assortment of products that a company offers to a market
• Width – how many different product lines?
• Length – the number of items in the product mix
• Depth – The no. of variants offered in a product line
• Consistency – how closely the product lines are related in usage
Brand Origins
• The word brand is derived from the Old
Norse word brandr, which means “to
burn,” as brands were and still are the
means by which owners of livestock
mark their animals to identify them.
• Early Greek and Roman Civilization- High
illiteracy rates led to shopkeepers
hanging pictures or signs over their
store.
• A shorthand/shortcut device
• Marking animals/cattle to prove
ownership in the “New world”
Brand’s Perspective
At Seller Level: At Consumer Level:
• Basis of competitive advantage • Source of product
• Way of bestowing products with • Delegating responsibility to the
unique associations manufacturer of product
• Way of identification to easy • Lower risk
handling • Less search cost
• Way of legal protection of products’ • Quality symbol
unique traits/features
• Deal or pact with the product
• Sign of quality to satisfied customer manufacturer
• Means of financial returns • Symbolic device
What is Brand?

“Brand is everything, and everything is brand.”

by Dan Pallotta

A brand is the ideas, the memories, and the feelings evoked every time someone
thinks of the brand. When those mental associations make the associated product
or service more salient, more interesting, or more compelling than the alternatives,
they create value. E.g. are McDonald’s’, Mercedes-Benz, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Lux,
Olpers, Dalda, Fresh Up etc.
What is Brand?
American Marketing Association’s definition
A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design which is intended to identify the
goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from
those of competitors.

• Attributes that identify the brand are called – Brand Elements (based on people,
place, objects, animals, etc.)

• Practicing managers define brands as more than that.

What is Brand?
• A brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other
products, services, or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and
marketed
• A strong brand differentiates your products from the competitors
• It gives a quality image to your business
• It includes developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it
• Brands are different from products in a way that brands are “what the consumers
buy”, while products are “what concern/companies make”
• Brand is an accumulation of emotional and functional associations
• Brand is a promise that the product will perform as per customer’s expectations.
It shapes customer’s expectations about the product.
What is Brand?
A Brand is therefore a Product – that also has dimensions that differentiates it
from other products designed to satisfy the same need (competition)
Differences may be –
• Rational and tangible : related to product performance (3M, Sony, Gillette)
• Symbolic, emotional, intangible: related to what the brand represents (Coca
Cola, Calvin Kline, Marlboro)
• What distinguishes a brand from a commodity gives it equity - the sum total of
consumer perceptions and feelings about how it performs (3M, Sony, Gillette)
• The name and what it stands for
• The company associated with the brand
Types of Brands
• Product Brands
• Service Brands
• E-brands
• Cause Brands
• Nation Brands
• Government Brands
• Global Brands
• Corporate Brands
A Brand comprises of
Tangible attributes Intangible attributes
• Product • Quality
• Packaging • Emotional benefits
• Labelling • Values
• Attributes • Culture
• Functional benefits • Image
A Brand Name should indicate
• Product benefits
• Product quality
• Names easy to remember, recognize, pronounce
• Product category
• Distinctiveness
• Should not indicate poor meanings in other markets or languages
What is Branding?
• Branding is assembling of various marketing mix medium into a whole so as to
give you an identity

• It is nothing but capturing your customers mind with your brand name
• Branding makes customers committed to your business
• It is all about capturing the niche market for your product / service and about
creating a confidence in the current and prospective customers’ minds that you
are the unique solution to their problem
• Branding forms customer perceptions about the product
• The primary aim of branding is to create differentiation.
Eight Categories of Branding
1. Brand as a sign of ownership
2. Brand as a differentiating device
3. Brand as a functional device
4. Brand as a symbolic device
5. Brand as a risk reducer
6. Brand as a shorthand device
7. Brand as a legal device
8. Brand as a strategic device
Eight Categories of Branding
1) Brand as a sign of ownership-
Large reputable companies can focus more on letting the customer know
who owns the product rather than the attributes of the product itself.
Eight Categories of Branding
2) Brand as a differentiating device-
To compete with similar or identical products, a successful brand must prove
itself different, special, with added value.
Eight Categories of Branding
3) Brand as a functional device-
Simply, how well does a specific brand work? How good are its functions?
Eight Categories of Branding
4) Brand as a symbolic device-
A brand that allows for special status symbol; that makes people feel as if they are
part of something special or unique
Eight Categories of Branding
5) Brand as a risk reducer-
Consumers feel danger when buying a new product----
• What if it doesn’t work?
• What if it’s a waste of money?
• What if my friends don’t like it?
• What if I don’t want it after I buy?
• What if no one will marry me?
• What if I spend the rest of my life alone and very sad?
Eight Categories of Branding
6) Brand as a shorthand device-
Brands help consumers cut through all the information being processed when
thinking about purchasing an item.
The brand itself ensures confidence in buying
Eight Categories of Branding
7) Brand as a legal device-
Brands enables quality products to distinguish themselves from fake, inferior
rip-offs (e.g. 镇江醋 Zhenjing Vinegar)
Eight Categories of Branding
8) Brand as a strategic device-
Identifying the strong characteristics and attributes of a successful product in order
to maintain and further its success.
Advantages of Branding
• Easy for the seller to track down problems and process orders
• Provide legal protection of unique product features
• Branding gives an opportunity to attract loyal and profitable set of customers
• It helps to give a product category at different segments, having separate bundle
of benefits
• It helps build corporate image
• It minimizes harm to company reputation if the brand fails
New Branding Challenges
Brands are important as ever
• Consumer need for simplification
• Consumer need for risk reduction

Brand management is as difficult as ever

• Savvy consumers
• Increased competition
• Decreased effectiveness of traditional marketing tools and emergence of new
marketing tools
• Complex brand and product portfolios
Brand Element Choice Criteria
 Memorable
 Meaningful
 Likeability
 Transferable
 Adaptable
 Protectable
Anything Can Be Branded
Branding is possible for
• B 2 B products
• High-tech products
• Services
• Retailers and Distributors
• Online products and services
• People and Organizations
• Sports
• Arts, Entertainment
• Geographic location
• Ideas and causes
Anything Can Be Branded
To brand a product what needs to be done is

Consumer has to be
• Taught to identify the brand – label, name and other elements
• Learn the brand meaning - functional, emotional and symbolical
• Know the brand difference from other similar product brands (performance /
image and non-product related considerations)
Commodities have been branded – atta, salt, sugar
Brand Associations
• ‘owned word’
• Slogans
• Colors
• Symbols and logos
• Characters
Brand Equity
• When a commodity becomes a brand, it is said to have equity.
• The premium a brand can command in the market
• The difference between the perceived value and the intrinsic value
Brand Equity – Competitive Advantages
• Reduced marketing costs
• Trade leverage
• Can charge a higher price
• Can easily launch brand extensions
• Can take some price competition
Brand Power
• Customer will change brands for price reasons
• Customer is satisfied. No reason to change.
• Customer is satisfied and would take pains to get the brand
• Customer values the brand and sees it as a friend
• Customer is devoted to the brand
Brand Development Strategies
Brand Strategy
• Line extension – existing brand name extended to new sizes in the existing
product category
• Brand extension – brand name extended to new product categories
• Multiband – new brands in the same product category
• New brands – new product in a different product category
• Co-brands –brands bearing two or more well known brand names
Brand Attributes
Attributes are developed through images, actions, or presumptions. Brand
attributes help in creating brand identity.

A strong brand must have following attributes:

Relevancy- A strong brand must be relevant. It must meet people’s expectations
and should perform the way they want it to. A good job must be done to persuade
consumers to buy the product; else in spite of your product being unique, people
will not buy it.

Consistency- A consistent brand signifies what the brand stands for and builds
customers trust in brand. A consistent brand is where the company communicates
message in a way that does not deviate from the core brand proposition.
Brand Attributes
Proper Positioning- A strong brand should be positioned so that it makes a place in
target audience mind and they prefer it over other brands.

Sustainable- A strong brand makes a business competitive. A sustainable brand

drives an organization towards innovation and success. Example of sustainable
brand is Marks and Spencer’s.

Credibility- A strong brand should do what it promises. The way you communicate
your brand to the audience/ customers should be realistic. It should not fail to
deliver what it promises. Do not exaggerate as customers want to believe in the
promises you make to them.
Brand Attributes
Inspirational- A strong brand should transcend/ inspire the category it is famous
for. For example- Nike transcendent Jersey Polo Shirt.

Uniqueness- A strong brand should be different and unique. It should set you
apart from other competitors in market.

Appealing- A strong brand should be attractive. Customers should be attracted

by the promise you make and by the value you deliver.
What is Brand Management?
• Brand management is nothing but an art of creating and sustaining the brand
• It means defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand
• Brand management includes managing the tangible and intangible
characteristics of brand
• In case of product brands, the tangibles include the product itself, price,
packaging, etc. While in case of service brands, the tangibles include the
customers’ experience
• The intangibles include emotional connections with the product / service.