Contemporary Marketing Issues

MKT304

Branding
Outcomes

• What is a brand and why it is important

• Brand equity and the value of brands
• The benefits of branding
What is a brand?
"A product is something made in a factory - it can be copied by a competitor and quickly become
outdated; A brand is something that is bought by the customer, it is unique and can be timeless.“
- Stephen King, WPP Group

“Customers can be emotionally bonded to a brand. They are more likely to remain loyal, repeat or
cross purchase. They could happily recommend the brand to others and accept no substitutes.” -
Brand Strategy June 2007

“A bundle of attributes that combine together to create a recognizable personality that can help
communicate those attributes to the consumer. A brand has one strategic purpose and that is to
differentiate itself from competitors ” - CIM 2007

A ‘trust mark’ – guarantee of consistent quality.

It’s what contacts discuss about the products,
service and company afterwards
A brand exists in the mind of the consumer

• A strong brand is built on all the ideas and

memories that motivate people to buy it and
pay a premium price for it
Some brand examples

Family Fun Entertainment

Everyday low prices

Innovation

Simplicity

Reliability
 The brand iceberg

What you
can see
Brand
Presentation
name

Advertising
Price

Efficient production High quality

Low cost operation High service levels

What you
can’t see

Strong R&D Effective selling

Strong supply chain

The intangible nature of a brand
Importance of trust to a brand
• A strong brand with a positive reputation must be trusted by
its stakeholders
• A good effective corporate brand reduces customer risk
• Willmott (2001) suggests trust is based upon 3 core elements
– honesty, fairness and openness; known collectively as
transparency
• Keller & Aaker (1998) consider key organisational
associations of which trustworthiness is vital:
• Corporate expertise
• Corporate trustworthiness
• Corporate likeability
Brand Equity

“A set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its

name and symbol that adds to or subtracts from
the value provided by a product or service to a firm
and/or to that firm’s customers” Aaker (1991)
 How important is brand equity to the value of
the brand overall?

Source: Millward Brown 2013

 Dimensions of brand equity

Roper & Fill 2013

BrandZ brand dynamics pyramid, Millward Brown
Dimensions of brand equity
 Discussion
What is the world’s most valuable brand? What is it worth?

Apple is worth 185bn (2013)

Source: BRANDZ (Millward Brown 2013)

Some metrics to measure brand ROI

• Brand awareness, recognition

• measures strength of the brand as reflected by
customer's ability to identify the brand under varying
conditions
• Contract fulfillment
• measures degree to which your brand is upholding its
Brand Contract
• Financial value
• reports the financial value of your brand in the
marketplace
What are the benefits of branding?
1. Charge a premium price. Reduce the need to compete
on price alone

2. Differentiate from competitors

3. Longevity of product

4. Range extension i.e. Virgin

5. Gives employees focus and sense of purpose

What are the benefits of branding?
Value of brand (Apple)

Develop trust

Create an emotional connection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHjssdNNzP0

Be real. With real people, real benefits, aimed at real consumers

Brand Innovation
“Brand innovations help to ensure that customers and users
recognize, remember, and prefer your offerings to those of
competitors or substitutes. Great ones distill a “promise” that
attracts buyers and conveys a distinct identity” Doblin (2011)

You can express your brand in a different way:

• Packaging
• Brand Image
• Brand Equity
• Brand Extension
• Brand Personality
• Internal Branding
• Co-create value
Coursework Theory Application
Introduction

Theory 1
What is
Theory 2
innov Company 1
Theory 3
Why your Company 2
Theory 4
sub topic Company 3
Theory 5
is innv
Theory 5 etc

Your sub topic

Theory 1, 2 and 3

conclusion
Summary

• A brand adds personality and benefits over and above

tangible and rational benefits – encompasses the whole
customer experience

• Brand equity is the extent to which consumers hold strong

favourable and unique associations with a brand in memory
and the extent to which h/she is willing to pay more for a
branded version

• The benefits of having a strong brand: it is different and

relevant, creates loyalty and advocacy, adds financial value
and a platform form for growth