SUMMARY
BRAND MANAGEMENT
LECTURES
,BRAND MANAGEMENT LECTURE 1 AND 2 – BRAND MANAGEMENT
BRAND MANAGEMENT – THE PAST - HISTORY
Once upon a time there were commodities that we undifferentiable by sellers and manufacturers. They were
often sold loose, and quality was highly variable. There were thus no brands. However, in competitive markets
we have many manufacturers and sellers of the same commodity. So, the question arises, how do I get a buyer
to prefer and buy my commodity?
You need to be different from the competition, more attractive than the competition, and identifiable. In other
words, you need to brand your commodity. A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of
them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from
those of competition. In practice a brand creates a certain amount of meaning, reputation, preference, and so
on, in the eyes of the customer.
BRAND MANAGEMENT – THE PRESENT – PERSPECTIVES
Marketing is about creating a bridge between customers and organizations which satisfies them both. A product
is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a
need or want (Kotler). The 4 levels of a product according to Levitt are the following:
- Core product
- Tangible product
- Augmented product
- Total product
Up until the augmented product, the
company can determine the product
(inside-out sending). The outer layer is
determined by the market (outside-
in). The brand from the organizations’
point of view is the physical product.
The brand from the customers’ point
of view is the psychological product.
PRODUCT VERSUS BRAND
Brands are intangibles that have become the key source of corporate
value. An example of an experiment where product versus brand was
researched, is the Diet Coke vs Diet Pepsi Blind Taste Test and Identified
Taste Test. In the Bind Taste Test, Pepsi was superior. However, in the
Identified Taste Test, Coca Cola was superior. This indicates that a
,brand can have a big influence on the preference of consumers, and not just the product itself.
A product:
- Is tangible. It can be touched by customers
- Can be copied
- Can be outdated
- Involves transactions
A brand:
- Is intangible. It lives in the customer’s mind
- Unique
- Potentially timeless
- Forms a basis for connections
A brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products
designed to satisfy the same need. These valued differences can be rational and tangible, but also symbolic,
emotional, and intangible.
ORGANIZATION VERSUS CUSTOMER
The lens of the customer sees engagement, convenience, and fitness for use. The lens of the organization sees
processes, employees, and products.
Products and services deliver functional elements of value that address four kinds of needs: functional,
emotional, life changing, and social impact. In general, the more elements provided, the greater customers’
loyalty and the higher the company’s sustained revenue growth.
A brand and brand offering needs to offer either the most
gains or the most pain reduction. Customer value is thus
the difference between what a customer gets from a
product (gains), and what he or she must give in order to
get it (pains).
A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered
and acknowledges, and a belief from the customer that
value will be appealed and experienced. A value proposition can apply an entire organization, or parts thereof,
customer accounts, products/services, or brands.
The biggest problem you can have, is when the value
proposition and customer value do not match. Another
problem that could occur, is that the company does not
have a good image of what the customer value actually is.
, This could then also result in a mismatch between customer value and value proposition.
For an example, please check the slides for the Airbnb example.
The overarching theme that can be detected in
the data on the left-hand side, is that customers
want to feel understood and have the feeling that
they are in good hands. A part of the customer
value is thus that the company understands the
customer.
For a value proposition done wrong versus right, check the slides for the Segway and small Scooter example.
BRAND MANAGEMENT – THE PRESENT – IMPORTANCE
WHY ARE BRANDS IMPORTANT FOR…?
CUSTOMERS
- Identification of the source of the product
- Assignment of responsibility to the product maker. The product maker can be held accountable for tis
products.
- Risk reducer. If a consumer has used a branded product in a different category, it can reduce the risk of
trying another product by the same brand in a different category.
- Search cost reducer (e.g., heuristic). Because the customer trusts the brand, it will choose the brand
more quickly to reduce search costs, since they know that the brand won’t disappoint.
- Bond/pact with the maker of the product.
- Symbolic device. It can give the customer a certain image that he/she wants to portray.
- Signal of quality. A brand can also signal a certain level of quality, because customers started perceiving
the brand as having a certain level of quality over time.
PRODUCERS
- Means of identification to simplify handling or tracing (the golden arches of McDonalds).
- Means of legally protecting unique features. This is the case, because brands can be protected legally
from copy-cats, which keeps the features of the brand unique.
- Signal of quality level. This is also where copy-cat brands come in. If a copy-cat product’s brand looks
like the original brand, certain qualities such as quality level can be portrayed down on the copy-cat
brand.
- Means of endowing products with unique associations.
- Source of competitive advantage. A good brand can be a big barrier of entry for new entrants into the
market.
BRAND MANAGEMENT
LECTURES
,BRAND MANAGEMENT LECTURE 1 AND 2 – BRAND MANAGEMENT
BRAND MANAGEMENT – THE PAST - HISTORY
Once upon a time there were commodities that we undifferentiable by sellers and manufacturers. They were
often sold loose, and quality was highly variable. There were thus no brands. However, in competitive markets
we have many manufacturers and sellers of the same commodity. So, the question arises, how do I get a buyer
to prefer and buy my commodity?
You need to be different from the competition, more attractive than the competition, and identifiable. In other
words, you need to brand your commodity. A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of
them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from
those of competition. In practice a brand creates a certain amount of meaning, reputation, preference, and so
on, in the eyes of the customer.
BRAND MANAGEMENT – THE PRESENT – PERSPECTIVES
Marketing is about creating a bridge between customers and organizations which satisfies them both. A product
is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a
need or want (Kotler). The 4 levels of a product according to Levitt are the following:
- Core product
- Tangible product
- Augmented product
- Total product
Up until the augmented product, the
company can determine the product
(inside-out sending). The outer layer is
determined by the market (outside-
in). The brand from the organizations’
point of view is the physical product.
The brand from the customers’ point
of view is the psychological product.
PRODUCT VERSUS BRAND
Brands are intangibles that have become the key source of corporate
value. An example of an experiment where product versus brand was
researched, is the Diet Coke vs Diet Pepsi Blind Taste Test and Identified
Taste Test. In the Bind Taste Test, Pepsi was superior. However, in the
Identified Taste Test, Coca Cola was superior. This indicates that a
,brand can have a big influence on the preference of consumers, and not just the product itself.
A product:
- Is tangible. It can be touched by customers
- Can be copied
- Can be outdated
- Involves transactions
A brand:
- Is intangible. It lives in the customer’s mind
- Unique
- Potentially timeless
- Forms a basis for connections
A brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products
designed to satisfy the same need. These valued differences can be rational and tangible, but also symbolic,
emotional, and intangible.
ORGANIZATION VERSUS CUSTOMER
The lens of the customer sees engagement, convenience, and fitness for use. The lens of the organization sees
processes, employees, and products.
Products and services deliver functional elements of value that address four kinds of needs: functional,
emotional, life changing, and social impact. In general, the more elements provided, the greater customers’
loyalty and the higher the company’s sustained revenue growth.
A brand and brand offering needs to offer either the most
gains or the most pain reduction. Customer value is thus
the difference between what a customer gets from a
product (gains), and what he or she must give in order to
get it (pains).
A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered
and acknowledges, and a belief from the customer that
value will be appealed and experienced. A value proposition can apply an entire organization, or parts thereof,
customer accounts, products/services, or brands.
The biggest problem you can have, is when the value
proposition and customer value do not match. Another
problem that could occur, is that the company does not
have a good image of what the customer value actually is.
, This could then also result in a mismatch between customer value and value proposition.
For an example, please check the slides for the Airbnb example.
The overarching theme that can be detected in
the data on the left-hand side, is that customers
want to feel understood and have the feeling that
they are in good hands. A part of the customer
value is thus that the company understands the
customer.
For a value proposition done wrong versus right, check the slides for the Segway and small Scooter example.
BRAND MANAGEMENT – THE PRESENT – IMPORTANCE
WHY ARE BRANDS IMPORTANT FOR…?
CUSTOMERS
- Identification of the source of the product
- Assignment of responsibility to the product maker. The product maker can be held accountable for tis
products.
- Risk reducer. If a consumer has used a branded product in a different category, it can reduce the risk of
trying another product by the same brand in a different category.
- Search cost reducer (e.g., heuristic). Because the customer trusts the brand, it will choose the brand
more quickly to reduce search costs, since they know that the brand won’t disappoint.
- Bond/pact with the maker of the product.
- Symbolic device. It can give the customer a certain image that he/she wants to portray.
- Signal of quality. A brand can also signal a certain level of quality, because customers started perceiving
the brand as having a certain level of quality over time.
PRODUCERS
- Means of identification to simplify handling or tracing (the golden arches of McDonalds).
- Means of legally protecting unique features. This is the case, because brands can be protected legally
from copy-cats, which keeps the features of the brand unique.
- Signal of quality level. This is also where copy-cat brands come in. If a copy-cat product’s brand looks
like the original brand, certain qualities such as quality level can be portrayed down on the copy-cat
brand.
- Means of endowing products with unique associations.
- Source of competitive advantage. A good brand can be a big barrier of entry for new entrants into the
market.
