MARKETING MANAGEMENT

LECTURE MATERIALS – LP10

Brand Management - Meaning and Important Concepts

BRAND: A brand is the set of product or service attributes imbibed in the consumer’s mind
in the form of a name, symbol, logo, design and trademark. The importance of brand
management is:

- Product differentiation from competitors

- Building corporate image
- Creating bundle of benefits for different product categories
- Attract and retain the most loyal customers
Brand management begins with having a thorough knowledge of the term “brand”.

It includes developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it. It means
defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. Brand management
is nothing but an art of creating and sustaining the brand. Branding makes customers
committed to your business. A strong brand differentiates your products from the
competitors. It gives a quality image to your business.

IMPORTANCE OF BRAND MANAGEMENT

A brand represents who your company is and what it stands for. This includes your
name, logo, messaging, merchandise, design, and any other feature that identifies your
company and its products and service and makes it distinct from others. With your brand
you are developing a promise, conveying the message of this promise and then
maintaining it.

Brand management is the science of crafting and sustaining a brand. This means
 defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand value constantly.
Branding creates customer commitment to your business. A robust brand differentiates
its products from the competitors and gives your business a leg up on the others, allowing
you to increase sales and grow your business.

Brand management includes handling both the noticeable and intangible

characteristics of a brand. When it comes to product brands, this includes the product
itself, packaging, pricing, availability, etc. With service brands, tangibles include
customers’ experience. The intangibles include emotional connections and expectations
with products and services. Branding also involves assembling a blend of the right
marketing campaigns to create and reinforce your identity. If done right, you can even
create a brand that is able to break through the noise and create brand loyalty.

Your brand should:

• Make your product or service distinctive from the competition

• Identify what customers can only get from your brand (Don’t camouflage
your strengths!)

• Trigger instant recognition with customers and prospects

• Position yourself as an expert

• Be present when and where it matters (Queue your integrated marketing

campaigns)

• Remind people of the reputation for which you are known. Show up locally
to reinforce this

• Place your company top-of-mind with your audience

• See better return on investment, more brand awareness

• Capitalize on mind share to help drive sales

Why Brand Management Matters

 Customers will recognize your company, your product, your service and your
status through your brand. You can build an incredible brand through messages, images
and ads but whether you realize it or not, your company is creating this reputation with
everything that you and your local affiliates do. So you need to make sure you are
consistently living up to your brand promise each and every day.

The most important part of brand management is ongoing maintenance and

control. Proper brand management involves making sure that each promotional piece,
touch point and every usage of your name, logo and message supports your organization
and goals by reinforcing your brand in the way you intended. This allows you continue
to strengthen the association your brand imprints on your customers. Even the best brands
can fall apart if not managed properly.
Many large corporations hire a full-time brand manager to ensure the brand is held
in high regard, and not diminished or misused. Even with a brand manager, developing
high quality promotional pieces that consistently strengthen your brand and controlling
its use can be a challenge for anyone.

Managing your Brand Throughout Your Channel

Brand management becomes even more challenging once you additional parties.
If you’re a brand that sells your products or services through resellers, VARs, agents,
distributors or other local affiliates, you know this better than anyone. Local affiliates
are notorious for using out of date information, old logos and off-brand messaging if they
aren’t provided the content they need. And brands generally don’t have the visibility or
control at the local level to police their brand. So what is a brand to do?

Revenue helps brands manage the chaos of local marketing by enabling them to
distribute the content, tools, data and funds needed to activate and empower channel
partners to market effectively – all with complete control and visibility to activities and
results.

Branding is more about following rules because if you don’t follow those rules,
 things don’t look the same and people won’t remember you. When you put out your
marketing pieces, you want to create a similar look and feel so that people remember
you. And you want that similar look and feel on every piece you put out.

The good thing is that you get to make the rules…colors are the same, style of
lettering is the same, logo, etc. However, there is some flexibility as long as you follow
the rules. You can’t go too far out of bounds, but you can change some things within the
framework of what others can still recognize.

Branding in your marketing has to make you feel something. A technology

company can’t have an old-style font you might not think that they are very advanced.

A brand consists of eight basic building blocks:

• The name

• The logo (brand icon)

• The brand’s colors

• The slogan and brand messaging

• The sound of the brand

• The overall look and feel = the brand’s position

• Packaging the brand

• The brand experience

A brand is a greater sum of its parts. It is always more than just the nuts and bolts,
the pieces; great brands are always the result of the whole equaling more than the sum
of its parts.

Branding is about making the consumer or buyer more hip, more in the “know,”
more cool than anybody else. We are a generation and a nation wanting to be special. We
want to be richer, more beautiful, better dressed, and more effortlessly gorgeous than any
 other generation that we know.

Benefits of Branding

Your business needs to create a positive image in the minds of consumers. Contrary
to what most people believe, branding isn’t just a logo. Your business’s purpose, focus,
and image all combine to create your brand. Why should you make this effort? Below
are a few benefits:

• You are remembered: It’s hard to remember a company with a generic name. You
may not be able to distinguish their purpose and business focus. And why would
you call a company if you couldn’t tell what they did? Branding your business
ensures that consumers will know what you’re about.

• You gain customer loyalty: The fact is, people build close bonds with brand
identities. Consumers want quality products that they can trust. So, your business
should have an identity that your customers can cling to. If your company delivers
great products and services and has a great brand identity, people will remember
you. Additionally, they will often refer you to friends and family.

• You become well-known: You want the people who have not done business with
you to still know who you are and what you do. If they see your ads on billboards,
hear them on the radio, see them on television, or any other media, they will know
your brand identity. And when the time comes that they need your product or service,
your company will be the first to come to mind.

• Consumers pay for image: We are a very brand-aware society. People commonly
associate brand names with quality and may only buy certain brands for that reason.
If people only want one brand of a particular product, they are willing to pay a higher
price. Having a great brand will make your company have a superior image and
cause consumers to forget about the competition.

When you have distinguished your business through branding, the marketing has the
capability of becoming so profound that little else is necessary. Developing your brand
takes time and effort, but after it has been solidified, and after customers have had the
chance to identify with it, your sales can increase naturally. You won’t have to spend as
much time planning marketing strategies to attract the public.
Online Branding

Branding, as a whole, is essential for any serious business because a company’s

brand is what distinguishes it from its competitors. In today’s computer age, it is
necessary for most businesses to have an online presence to stay competitive. Effective
Internet branding, just like its offline counterpart, helps bring awareness to your unique
business offering and drive customer demand.

While Internet branding offers huge opportunities for business, in order for it to
be effective, one needs to attract and engage its customers. This isn’t easy on the Internet.
Branding is not as easy as putting up a website and adding your company logo and
slogan. Your Internet branding strategy should make your online brand noticeable and
apparent.

Branding utilizes hi-tech tools to create an online presence for your business.
Graphics and animation, compelling web copy, and overall website design that reflect
your company are some of the important elements that will bring your online brand alive.
An attractive website that helps customers easily and quickly find the information they
need is the key to getting customer interaction and eventually, business. Your branding
plan should include good design elements and ease of use to
create an effective overall impression. A strong online image will make
the difference between a customer who buys from you online or switches to your
competitors. Remember that online customers can just leave your website and go to your
competitors with the click of a mouse. A lot depends on the impression they get from
your website. Branding seeks to convey an immediate unique message about your
business to your target clients.

Promoting Your Brand

 If you haven’t already initiated a brand for your company, now might be just the
time. Use these simple techniques in the promotion of your special brand.

• Make your brand as unique as possible: Catch the eye of the public by creating
something different — something that people have not yet seen. Instead of doing
what has already been done, go the opposite direction and be creative. Don’t forget
the legal dangers of copyright infringement related to borrowing or stealing from
another firm’s design.

• Display stability: Take time in the development process to establish your brand and
accomplish the look you really want. It’s better to spend sufficient time in the
beginning fine-tuning your design for the desired outcome rather than to play with it
after it’s been revealed to the public. Changing your brand, and all that’s involved
with it, including colors, slogans, logos, and tag lines, doesn’t support an image of
reliability and longevity.
• Stability should be maintained with branding: If you have integrated a brand into
your company’s marketing, use it all over the place. It should appear on all of your
marketing materials, business cards, website, and printed items. The same is true for
your packaging. Your brand should appear on all of your products.

• Give your brand away to the public with diverse promotional products: You
can help your brand to saturate the consumer population by handing out precious,
yet low-cost, items. Promotional products encourage possible customers to keep in
mind your brand and your gift every time they are used.

Brand Attributes

Brand Attributes portray a company’s brand characteristics. They signify the basic nature
of brand. Brand attributes are a bundle of features that highlight the physical and
personality aspects of the brand. 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 inspite 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.

• 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.

• 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.
BRAND POSITIONING
Brand positioning refers to “target consumer’s” reason to buy your brand in preference to
others. It is ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is guided, directed and delivered
by the brand’s benefits/reasons to buy; and it focusses at all points of contact with the consumer.
Brand positioning must make sure that:

• Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ?

• Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ?

• Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses ?

• Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products ?

• Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact with the
consumer ?
• Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals ?

• Is it able to support and boost up the organization ?

In order to create a distinctive place in the market, a niche market has to be carefully
chosen and a differential advantage must be created in their mind. Brand positioning is a medium
through which an organization can portray it’s customers what it wants to achieve for them and
what it wants to mean to them. Brand positioning forms customer’s views and opinions.
Brand Positioning can be defined as an activity of creating a brand offer in such a manner
that it occupies a distinctive place and value in the target customer’s mind. For instance-Kotak
Mahindra positions itself in the customer’s mind as one entity- “Kotak ”- which can provide
customized and one-stop solution for all their financial services needs. It has an unaided top of
mind recall. It intends to stay with the proposition of “Think Investments, Think Kotak”. The
positioning you choose for your brand will be influenced by the competitive stance you want to
adopt.
Brand Positioning involves identifying and determining points of similarity and difference
to ascertain the right brand identity and to create a proper brand image. Brand Positioning is the
key of marketing strategy. A strong brand positioning directs marketing strategy by explaining
the brand details, the uniqueness of brand and i t’s similarity with the competitive brands, as
well as the reasons for buying and using that specific brand. Positioning is the base for
developing and increasing the required knowledge and perceptions of the customers. It is the
single feature that sets your service apart from your competitors. For instance- Kingfisher stands
for youth and excitement. It represents brand in full flight.
There are various positioning errors, such as-

• Under positioning- This is a scenario in which the customer’s have a blurred and
unclear idea of the brand.
• Over positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have too limited a
awareness of the brand.

• Confused positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have a confused

opinion of the brand.

• Double Positioning- This is a scenario in which customers do not accept the claims
of a brand.

ATTRIBUTE POSITIONING

Positioning by product attributes and benefits: It is to associate a product with an attribute,

a product feature, or a consumer feature. Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two
or more attributes simultaneously. The price/quality attribute dimension is commonly used for
positioning the products.
POSITIONING BY PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES AND BENEFITS
1. Associating a product with an attribute, a product feature or a consumer feature.
Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two or more attributes simultaneously.
The price/ quality attribute dimension is commonly used for positioning the products.
2. A common approach is setting the brand apart from competitors on the basis of the specific
characteristics or benefits offered. Sometimes a product may be positioned on more than
one product benefit. Marketers attempt to identify salient attributes (those that are
important to consumers and are the basis for making a purchase decision)
3. Consider the example of Ariel that offers a specific benefit of cleaning even the dirtiest of
clothes because of the micro cleaning system in the product.
4. Colgate offers benefits of preventing cavity and fresh breath.
5. Promise, Balsara’s toothpaste, could break Colgate’s stronghold by being the first to claim
that it contained clove, which differentiated it from the leader.
6. Nirma offered the benefit of low price over Hindustan Lever’s Surf to become a success.
7. Maruti Suzuki offers benefits of maximum fuel efficiency and safety over its competitors.
This strategy helped it to get 60% of the Indian automobile market.

POSITIONING BY PRICE/ QUALITY

Marketers often use price/ quality characteristics to position their brands. One way they
do it is with ads that reflect the image of a high-quality brand where cost, while not irrelevant,
is considered secondary to the quality benefits derived from using the brand. Premium brands
positioned at the high end of the market use this approach to positioning.
Another way to use price/ quality characteristics for positioning is to focus on the quality
or value offered by the brand at a very competitive price. Although price is an important
consideration, the product quality must be comparable to, or even better than, competing brands
for the positioning strategy to be effective.
Parle Bisleri – “Bada Bisleri, same price” ad campaign.
POSITIONING BY USE OR APPLICATION
Another way is to communicate a specific image or position for a brand is to associate it
with a specific use or application.
Surf Excel is positioned as stain remover ‘ Surf Excel hena!’ Also, Clinic All Clear –
“Dare to wear Black”.

Price Quality approach of Positioning

The price quality approach of positioning uses the relation between price and quality such
that it optimally prices a product according to the quality of the product to keep the product
higher in the customers mind. Pricing does not need to be high for higher positioning. For
example – Walmarthas positioned itself in the minds of its customer using low pricing rather
than high pricing.

Lets review the basics. What is positioning? We know that positioning is related to what
perception a customer forms in his mind for your product. Both pricing and quality play a crucial
role in forming the right perception in the minds of customers – internal as well as external.
Lets take an example. You are offered an option to buy clothes. You might buy a jeans
worth 1500 rs or you may buy 3 jeans worth the same amount of money. Immediately what
comes in your mind is that the 3 jeans will be of lesser quality and therefore you might not get
value for money. That’s the price quality approach of positioning for you.

Several Brands and products use the price quality approach. They will keep the pricing
higher to attract only the cream customers and keep themselves exclusive. This high pricing also
ensures that the product is placed as a quality product in customers mind. However, price quality
approach can be a double edged sword. Every sector has lower priced product and thus entry in
the sector with penetration pricing becomes easier.

The best approach of price - quality is premium automobiles like BMW,Ferrari. They
maintain their quality such that their customers are ready to give the highest pricing for the cars.
Thus the quality and the pricing positions the car to the topmost segment. Retail chains like
walmart and others position themselves mainly through pricing. Whereas consumer durables
mainly position themselves through a combination of pricing and quality.

Summary – The price quality approach is an excellent positioning tool. However it needs to be
used with care as changes in the market can affect the pricing strategy and thereby the margins
of a company.

PRICE POSITIONING STRATEGIES:

The Internet has dramatically changed hospitality pricing. Its speed and transparency have
removed most barriers between customers and suppliers. With OTAs like Hotwire, Orbitz, and
[Link], you no longer need be an industry insider to find the best pricing to suit your needs.
Yet, hotels and restaurants still need to make pricing decisions; these new challenges simply up
the ante. Today, we’re looking at five price positioning strategies, explaining their merits (and
drawbacks), and providing examples. When you’re done reading, download a free price
positioning worksheet to experiment with your own pricing strategy.

The Price-Value Matrix

Many factors will influence your prices, including your
competitors’ rates and products. As the name implies, your goal
is to develop a pricing strategy that places your brand and its
products in a certain position relative to your competition. One
way to visualize this is the price-value
The position of your products within this matrix is a function of your brand proposition,
your competitors, and your pricing objectives. Are you looking to maximize short-term revenues
or profit? Are you seeking higher profit margins in a luxury market with sporadic sales? Do you
need to differentiate more to penetrate the market? Or, is your business in survival mode?
 Once you identify your pricing objectives, plot your prices and those of your competitors
on the price-value matrix. At a glance, you’ll see how your pricing lines up with your objectives.
If your rates need tweaking—either because they “say” the wrong things about your brand
relative to competitors, or because they’re undermining your pricing objectives—consider using
the following strategies to position your rates or prices more appropriately.

Price Positioning Strategies

Skim
This strategy clearly positions your company above the rest; it tells consumers something
is special (i.e., worth paying more for) about your products. For example, look at the prices The
Old Homestead restaurant has set for their steaks and chops. We can smell the fried onions and
seared, aged prime meat already. We can envision the long white aprons of the wait staff and the
impeccable table side service. To skim, set your prices higher than the competition does in order
to “skim off” customers who are willing to pay more. This strategy can be highly profitable, but
be careful: Though high prices imply high quality for many customers, it’s still critical that they
understand why they’d pay more to stay or eat at your establishment.
Match
This strategy puts your pricing on par with the competition, but not necessarily for all
rates. To match, set one rate comparable to your competition and another slightly higher. This
allows you to stay competitive for a larger pool of customers, yet doesn’t undercut the
competition
Penetrate
Being the low-priced option in your market has benefits and drawbacks. The strategy is
primarily designed to get people in the door and in seats. For new establishments, low prices
often seem the best way to entice consumers to try their products. But this strategy also can
depress market prices, lower margins, and set a poor precedent as your business grows. Do your
prices reflect how consumers value your hotel or restaurant? Here’s what consumers see as they
peruse online hotel options; those using penetration pricing certainly stand out.

BRAND REPOSITIONING
Brand repositioning is when a company changes abrand's status in the marketplace. This
typically includes changes to the marketing mix, such as product, place, price and promotion.
Repositioning is done to keep up with consumer wants and needs.

Brand Repositioning and Types of Brand Repositioning

Brand Repositioning is changing the positioning of a brand. A particular positioning
statement may not work with a brand.
For instance, Dettol toilet soap was positioned as a beauty soap initially. This was not in
line with its core values. Dettol, the parent brand (anti-septic liquid) was known for its ability to
heal cuts and gashes. The extension’s ‘beauty’ positioning was not in tune with the parent’s
“germ-kill” positioning.
The soap, therefore, had to be repositioned as a “germ-kill” soap (“bath for grimy
occasions”) and it fared extremely well after repositioning. Here, the soap had to be repositioned
for image mismatch. There are several other reasons for repositioning. Often falling or stagnant
sales is responsible for repositioning exercises.
After examining the repositioning of several brands from the Indian market, the following
9 types of repositioning have been identified. These are:
1. Increasing relevance to the consumer
2. Increasing occasions for use
3. Making the brand serious
4. Falling sales
5. Bringing in new customers
6. Making the brand contemporary
7. Differentiate from other brands
8. Changed market conditions.
 It is not always that these nine categories are mutually exclusive. Often one reason leads to
the other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a multiplicity of reasons.

Lipton Yellow Label Tea:

Lipton Yellow Label Tea was initially positioned as delicious, sophisticated and premium
tea for the global citizen. The advertisements also echoed this theme. For instance, all the props
and participants in the advertisements were foreign. It is possible that this approach did not
find favour with the customers. The repositioning specifically addressed the Indian consumer
through an Indian idiom.

Maharaja – the positioning:

Dishwasher in its initial Stages was possibly seen as an exotic product. Thus, Maharaja
positioned it as a product aimed at the upper crust. Thus, the positioning statement was “your
guests get Swiss cheese, Italian Pizza
…… you get stained glassware.” But Indians are reluctant to use dishwashers because of deeply
embedded cultural reasons. Thus, the message had to be changed to appeal to the Indian
housewife. Thus the positioning was
changed to “Bye, Bye Kanta Bai” indicating that the dishwasher signaled the end of
the servant maid’s tyranny. The brand, therefore, was repositioned from a
sophisticated, aristocratic product to one that is functional and relevant to theIndian
housewife.

Visa Card – the Positioning:

Visa Card had to change its positioning to make itself relevant to customers
under changed circumstances. Initially it asked the customer to “pay the way the
world does” (1981). This is to give its card an aura of global reach. But as more and
more cards were launched on the same theme, to put itself in a different league, it
positioned itself as the “world’s most preferred card” (1993). To highlight the
services it provided, it shifted to the platform of “Visa Power” (1995). This focus on
explaining the range of services available with the card continues till date (Visa
Power, go get it).