Brand Management
A. Edeling
Lecture notes and syllabus summary
Academic Year 2025–2026
1
,1) What Is a Brand & Why Do
Brands Matter?
2
,1. Defining Brands
1° Origins of branding
The word “brand” comes from literally burning a mark into cattle to show ownership.
Core idea: mark something to identify where it comes from.
2° Two definitions of a brand
1) Product-centered definition
Brand / Trademark= any signs that can distinguish one company’s goods or services from
another’s (ex. words, logos, shapes, colours, patterns, packaging,...).
o Must be distinctive (recognizable) and not descriptive (can’t just say what the product is).
o Can be legally registered and protected (ex. EU trademark).
o Types of trademarks:
Word mark = consists exclusively of words or letters, numerals, other standard
typographic characters, or a combination thereof (ex. LEVI’S).
Figurative mark = consists of non-standard characters, stylisation or layout, or a
graphic feature or colour (ex. Adidas trefoil).
Figurative mark with letters = combination of word & figurative mark (ex. Windows).
Shape mark = consists of, or extends to, a 3D shape can include containers,
packaging, the product itself, or its appearance (ex. Toblerone).
Pattern mark = consists exclusively of a set of repeated patterns (ex. Louis Vuitton
monogram).
Colour mark = consists exclusively of a single colour (ex. Milka purple).
o Risk: Genericide = risk that firms might lose the right to use the trademark if consumers
employ the brand name as the product category label (ex. aspirin, escalator, thermos, yo-
yo,…).
Protection: emphasize trademark status or do category advertising.
o Trademark threats:
Brand misappropriation = Unauthorized use of an identical brand name or brand
elements on products/ services in the same category to falsely claim affiliation with
that brand or capitalize on its equity.
Counterfeiting = illegal production and sale of goods using a registered trademark that
is identical to or indistinguishable from a genuine product, without the approval or
oversight of the registered trademark owner.
Brand imitation (copycats) = strategic practice of using confusingly similar key
attributes of a leading brand to leverage its reputation.
3
, 2) Customer-centered definition
Brand = associations consumers have with something that can be managed professionally (ex.
product, person, place,…).
Lives in consumers’ minds (knowledge) and hearts (feelings).
Brands identify and differentiate products from competitors.
Everything can technically be branded: products, services, people, universities, countries,
…
3° Brands vs. products
Product = anything that can be offered to a market and that satisfies a certain need.
Brand = creates competitive advantage by differentiation a product from competing products
that satisfy the same need.
Added value on top of the product, based on past marketing.
Can be related to product performance or non-product-related means (ex. image
associations surrounding the product).
Brands influence consumers’ perceptions and preferences !
Empirical evidence: the Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola blind test:
Blind test: 51% preferred Pepsi, 44% preferred Coca-Cola, 5% equally good Pepsi
wins on taste alone.
Test with brand information: 23% preferred Pepsi, 65% preferred Coca-Cola, 12%
equally good Coca-Cola wins by a large margin.
Interpretation: product itself is essentially the same, but the brand name changes how
people perceive and prefer it ! brand knowledge directly shapes taste perception
and purchase preference.
Empirical evidence: golf putting experiment:
Three groups used the same putter, only the branding differed:
Nike putter (= strong performance brand): avg 1.91 strokes.
Starter putter (= weak performance brand): avg 2.36 strokes.
Unbranded putter (= control group): avg 2.49 strokes.
Participants using the Nike-branded putter objectively performed better, even though
the physical putter was identical.
Brand placebo effect = marketing phenomenon where a consumer's belief in a brand
enhances the perceived or actual performance of a product, independent of its
objective quality.
4
A. Edeling
Lecture notes and syllabus summary
Academic Year 2025–2026
1
,1) What Is a Brand & Why Do
Brands Matter?
2
,1. Defining Brands
1° Origins of branding
The word “brand” comes from literally burning a mark into cattle to show ownership.
Core idea: mark something to identify where it comes from.
2° Two definitions of a brand
1) Product-centered definition
Brand / Trademark= any signs that can distinguish one company’s goods or services from
another’s (ex. words, logos, shapes, colours, patterns, packaging,...).
o Must be distinctive (recognizable) and not descriptive (can’t just say what the product is).
o Can be legally registered and protected (ex. EU trademark).
o Types of trademarks:
Word mark = consists exclusively of words or letters, numerals, other standard
typographic characters, or a combination thereof (ex. LEVI’S).
Figurative mark = consists of non-standard characters, stylisation or layout, or a
graphic feature or colour (ex. Adidas trefoil).
Figurative mark with letters = combination of word & figurative mark (ex. Windows).
Shape mark = consists of, or extends to, a 3D shape can include containers,
packaging, the product itself, or its appearance (ex. Toblerone).
Pattern mark = consists exclusively of a set of repeated patterns (ex. Louis Vuitton
monogram).
Colour mark = consists exclusively of a single colour (ex. Milka purple).
o Risk: Genericide = risk that firms might lose the right to use the trademark if consumers
employ the brand name as the product category label (ex. aspirin, escalator, thermos, yo-
yo,…).
Protection: emphasize trademark status or do category advertising.
o Trademark threats:
Brand misappropriation = Unauthorized use of an identical brand name or brand
elements on products/ services in the same category to falsely claim affiliation with
that brand or capitalize on its equity.
Counterfeiting = illegal production and sale of goods using a registered trademark that
is identical to or indistinguishable from a genuine product, without the approval or
oversight of the registered trademark owner.
Brand imitation (copycats) = strategic practice of using confusingly similar key
attributes of a leading brand to leverage its reputation.
3
, 2) Customer-centered definition
Brand = associations consumers have with something that can be managed professionally (ex.
product, person, place,…).
Lives in consumers’ minds (knowledge) and hearts (feelings).
Brands identify and differentiate products from competitors.
Everything can technically be branded: products, services, people, universities, countries,
…
3° Brands vs. products
Product = anything that can be offered to a market and that satisfies a certain need.
Brand = creates competitive advantage by differentiation a product from competing products
that satisfy the same need.
Added value on top of the product, based on past marketing.
Can be related to product performance or non-product-related means (ex. image
associations surrounding the product).
Brands influence consumers’ perceptions and preferences !
Empirical evidence: the Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola blind test:
Blind test: 51% preferred Pepsi, 44% preferred Coca-Cola, 5% equally good Pepsi
wins on taste alone.
Test with brand information: 23% preferred Pepsi, 65% preferred Coca-Cola, 12%
equally good Coca-Cola wins by a large margin.
Interpretation: product itself is essentially the same, but the brand name changes how
people perceive and prefer it ! brand knowledge directly shapes taste perception
and purchase preference.
Empirical evidence: golf putting experiment:
Three groups used the same putter, only the branding differed:
Nike putter (= strong performance brand): avg 1.91 strokes.
Starter putter (= weak performance brand): avg 2.36 strokes.
Unbranded putter (= control group): avg 2.49 strokes.
Participants using the Nike-branded putter objectively performed better, even though
the physical putter was identical.
Brand placebo effect = marketing phenomenon where a consumer's belief in a brand
enhances the perceived or actual performance of a product, independent of its
objective quality.
4
