STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT LATEST
UPDATE.
chapter 1: brands and brand management
what is a brand?
brands are the means by which owners of livestock mark their animals to
identify them.
a brand: a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them,
intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competition.
brand elements: the different components of a brand that identify and
differentiate forms.
product: anything we can offer to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or
consumption that might satisfy a need or want.
this includes a broad scope of definitions. a product may be a physical good
like cereal, tennis racquet, or automobile; a service such as an airline bank, or
insurance company; a retail outlet like a department store, specialty store or
supermarket; a person such as a political figure, entertainer, or professional
athlete; an organization like non-profit or arts group; a place including a city,
state or country or even an idea like a political or social cause.
a product has 5 levels of meaning
1. the core benefit level: the fundamental need or want that consumers
satisfy by consuming the product or service
2. the generic product level: a basic version of the product containing only
those attributes or characteristics absolutely necessary for its functioning
but with no distinguishing features. this is basically a stripped-down, no
frills version of the product that adequately performs the product
function.
3. the expected product level: a set of attributes or characteristics that
buyers normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product.
4. the augmented product level: includes additional product attributes,
benefits, or related services that distinguish the product from
, competitors.
5. the potential product level: all the augmentations and transformations
that a product might ultimately undergo in the future.
, most competition takes place at the product augmentation level, because
most firms can successfully build satisfactory products at the expected
product level.
competition is not focussed on what companies produce in their factories
but between what they add to their factory output in the form of packaging,
services, advertising, customer advice, financing, delivery arrangements.
warehousing, and other things that people value. advantage can also be
created with product performances.
strong brands carry a number of different types of associations and
marketers must account for all of them in making marketing decisions.
there are many types of associations and a lot of different means to create
them.
by creating perceived differences among products through branding and by
developing a loyal consumer franchise, marketers create value that can
translate to financial profits for the firm.
why do brands matter?
- to consumers
brands provide important functions.
1. identify source or maker of product
2. assign responsibility to a particular distributor
3. shows which brands satisfy their need and which do not
4. lower search costs for products both internal and external
there are 3 categories qua products and their associated attributes or benefits:
1. search goods: like grocery produce, consumers can evaluate product
attributes like sturdiness, size, colour, and style
2. experience goods like automobile tires, consumers cannot assess
product attributes like durability, service quality, safety and ease of
handling
3. credence goods: like insurance coverage, consumers may rarely learn
product attributes.
brands can reduce the risks in product decisions, consumers can perceive 6
types of risks:
1. functional risk: the product does not perform up to expectations
, 2. physical risk: the product poses a threat to the physical well-being or
health of the user or others.
3. financial risk: the product is not worth the price paid
4. social risk: the product affects the mental well-being of the user
5. time risk: the failure of the products results in an opportunity cost of
finding another satisfactory product.
6. psychological risk: the product affects the mental well-being of the user
brands take on unique, personal meanings to consumers that facilitate their
day-to-day activities and enrich their lives.
- to firms
brands serve an identification purpose, to simplify product handling or
tracing. the also help to organize inventory and accounting records, offer
legal protection (intellectual property) for unique features or aspects of the
product.
- the brand name can be protected through registered trademarks
- the manufacturing processes can be protected through patents
- the packaging can be protected through copyrights and designs
can anything be branded?
a brand is something that resides in the minds of consumers. it is a
perceptual entity rooted in reality and reflects the perceptions and
idiosyncrasies of consumers.
to brand a product you need to:
- label the product: who and how can you identify it
- provide meaning: what it can do for you, why it’s special and different
the key to branding is that consumers perceive differences among brands
in a product category. marketers can benefit from branding whenever
consumers are in a choice situation.
physical goods
physical goods are what are traditionally associated with brands and include
many of the best known and highly regarded consumer products like
nescafe and sony.