Marketing (Subject) / Branding and Brand Management (Lesson)

Brand Management and Marketing

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• What is the Self Expansion Theory and how can it be transferred to the context of consumer-brand-realationships? The Self-expansion theory says that when people enter a relationship they expand their "selves", because of the intense exchange. The rapid expansion can be emotionally arousing. Once the exhilaration is over and they know each other well enough, further expansion decreases. That means: with rapid self-expansion emotional arousals increase, with slow or non self-expansion it is very minimal. In a consumer-brand-relationship context that means that consumers rapidly expand their selves when a close relationship with a brand is newly formed. This relationship is then associated with strong, positive feelings, which is evident in increased arousal once the initial "big love" is over. The expansion of the self and emotional arousal decrease over the relationship span, while the inclusion of the brand into self increases and leads to a stronger bond.
• Definition of "brand" / What is a brand? - can be a name, symbol, term, design or a combination of them - intended to identify the seller of a service or of the goods - differentiates goods and services from those of the competitors - creates a certain amount of awareness, reputation prominence in the marketplace
• What are elements of a brand? Elements of a brand are differente components that identify and differentiate a brand: - name - logo - symbol - package design - other --> can be based on people, places, things and abstract images
• What is the difference between a brand and a product? Brand Has a component that differentiates the products or services of a brand from others in the market designed to satisfy the same needs. Differentiation can be achieved through: - packaging - warehousing - service provided - customer advice Product Anything available in the market for consumption or use that may satisfy a need or want. Can be categorized into five levels: - core benefit level - generic product level - expected product level - augmented product level - potential product level
• What can you achieve through branding? - you can create perceived differences among products - you can develop loyal customer franchise - you can create value that translates to financial profit
• Why do brands matter? For consumers: - identify the source or maker of the product - simplify product decisions - lower the search costs for products Brands signal product characteristics and attributes so that products can be classified as: - search goods (attributes can be evaluated prior to purchase: furnishing) - experience goods (attributes can be evaluated after the purchase: meal at a restaurant) - credence goods (even after purchase/ use the attributes cannot be evaluated: doctor's appointment) Brands reduce risks in product decisions, which are: - functional risks (branded TV reduces the risk of the TV not working) - financial risks (borrowing money from a know bank, not from a stranger) - social psychological risks (brand is not cheating on you) - time risks (risk of wasting time) - physical risks For companies - brand provides a powerful means to secure competitive advantage - provides predictability and security of demand - offer the firm legal protection for unique features - simplify product handling and tracing
• What makes branding challenging? What are factors responsible for branding challenges? - savvy customers - brand proliferation (growth) - increased competition - media transformation - economic downturn
• What is the principle of Branding? (What is Brand Equity) The principle of branding lies in the added value that is endowed to a product which leads to difference in outcomes. The added value can be created in many different ways. Brand Equity provides a common demoniator for assessing the value of a brand: It is the change that is created when you "add" a brand to a product; the difference between what people pay for a product and for the same product when it's branded. Added value = once brand is "added" to a product it changes its value for the customer
• What is Customer-Based Brand Equity That is the differential effect of brand knowledge on a consumer response to a company's marketing. Means: A consumer responds differently to a brand's marketing when he or she has knowledge about that brand. Important terms: - Marketing comprises to the marketing mix - Brand Knowledge = brand awareness and brand Image
• What are the steps in the strategic brand management process? 1. Identifying and developing brand plans 2. Designing and Implementing brand marketing programs 3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance 4. Growing and sustaining brand equity
• Step 1 of the Brand Management Process: Identify and develop Brand Plans. Through which tools can that be done? - Brand positioning Model - Brand resonance models - Brand Value Chain
• Step 2 of the Strategic Brand Management Process: Design and implement brand marketing programs. How is that done? What are the steps here? - choosing brand elements - integrate the brand into marketing activities and the supporting marketing program - leveraging secondary associations
• Step 4 of the Strategic Brand Management Process: Growing and sustaining brand equity. How? - defining brand architecture - managing brand equity over time - manging brand equity over geographic boundaries, cultures and marketing segments
• What das object-centered engagement mean? functionally-driven engagement --> the consumer acquires information about the brand with the goal of receiving utilitarian benefits from the brand (praktisch/ funktionell)
• What does self-centered engagement mean? Brand is seen as personally relevant to the customer
• What does Social Engagement mean? The brand is viewed from an interpersonal and socio-cultural perspective and provides a sense of community
• The Nature of a brand: Consumer-based Approach The Brand is analyzed as residing in the mind of the individual consumer as a cognitive construal Computer Metaphor: When the marketer feeds the consumer computer with the most appropriate information, then the consumer will do as intended and choose a brand. Underlying perspective: Cognitive Consumer Perspective a consumer is being exposed to stimuli from his or her environment. Focus on how these stimuli enter the mind via senses and how that leads to action.
• The process of identifying brands The process refers to: - searching for, - being exposed to, and - collecting information about the brand, its category and related brands The process primarily concerns: - brand categorization - assocations with the brand, or - inter-brand relations
• Identfying a brand - Step 1 in the process: Brand Categorization - When consumers engange with a brand in an object-centered way they are mostly concerned about the brand, the product category and the relation between the two - Therefore the task for a company is to link the brand to a product category Through: - stimulus- or memory based categorization - verbally - visually through physical proximity, temporal proximity or design
• The Theory behind Brand Categorization: Categorization Theory - individuals place objects in different categories to understand them - objects in the same category likely share certain attributes - categorization has functions for learning, organizing and storing information --> it helps an individual to amass a large amount of information with the least amount of effort or time
• Brisoux-Laroche-Model OR Traditional brand categorization model = a concept to identify brand categorization - in multi-brand environments consumers categorize brands into subsets - they are able to categorize brands properly BUT the categories are fuzzy, not clearly marked
• Brand Awareness as an important memory-based categorization task - memory depends on retrieval cues that may be self-generated or externally-generated - knowledge in memory consists of nodes and links and is structured into associative networks - nodes represent the stored information and are connected by links
• What does Brand Awareness means (as a means of memory-based categorization) ? Brand Awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall Brand Recognition: Does the consumer recognize the brand name? Prerequesite: consumer has to have prior exposure to the brand Brand Recall: The consumer has to recall the brand name from memory when given a cue (for example the product category)
• Dilution effects of/ for Brand Categorization Distinction between brand names is blurred, because of the similarity of the brand name or logo (for example the logos of Gucci and Channel)
• Identifiying Brands: Brand Associations When consumers engage with a brand in a self-centered way, consumers identify information that is relevant to them --> For them, strategists seek to create a unique set of brand associations that is then maintained in the consumer's mind --> constitutes a brand's identity Brand Associations can relate to: - brand attributes - benefits - images
• Types of Brand Associations Attributes = descriptive features characterizing a product or service - product-related attributes: directly associated with the product - non-product-related attributes: external aspectes related to purchase or consumption Benefits = personal values attached to a brand - functional benefits: personal exptections of what the product can do - experiental benefits: relate to the sensory experience of using the brand - symbolic benefits: are about self-expression
• The Theories behind Brand Associations 1. Associative Network Theory: to explain how consumers form brand associations in memory and recognize brands 2. Associative Memory: Ability to learn and remember the relationship between unrelated items (such as the aroma of a particular perfume) 3. Classical Conditioning = an important process for learning associations and thus forming associative memories
• Depending on how people engage with a brand - how do they identify a brand? - In a object-centered engagement customers use brand categorization - in a self-centered engagement customers use brand associations - in a socially-engaged way customer use inter-brand relations
• Identifying a brand on the social level: Inter-brand Relations Consumers who engage with a brand on a social level may look for further information such as the relations the brand has with other brands. Example of direct inter-brand relations: comparative advertising (Pepsi and Coca Cola, Apple and Microsoft)
• Experiencing a brand: The experience process includes what? - sensory perceptions of the brand - the brand affect, and - participatory experiences a consumer may seek with a brand
• Experiencing Brands: Multi-Sensory Perception - brands provide multi-sensory stimulations through sight, sound, smell, touch and taste - when people are engaged with a brand in an object-centered (funtional) way, they pick up stimuli rather mindlessly - Examples of multi-sensory stimuli of a brand: its logo, a verbal or auditory slogan, brand characters
• Experiencing a brand through: Brand Affect - brands can evoke positive or negative moods (especially when customeres engage with the brand in a self-centered way) --> for example brands can make consumers feel happy or angry --> consumers can also have ambigous feelings: enjoying fast food but feeling bad about eating so many calories
• Experiencing Brands: Participation (participatory experiences) - socially engaged consumers may experience a brand by participating and interacting with it - consumer is no longer a passive recipient of information - opportunities for participatory experiences provided by brands:   - interactive elements in retail stores   - live events   - customization of product features
• Depending on the engagement, consumers can experience the brand differently: - sensory participation: consumers who engange in an object-centered, functional way with the brand - brand affect: consumers who engage in a self-centered way with the brand - participation: consumers who engange with the brand on a social level
• Integrating a brand refers to... During the integration process consumers combine brand information and summarize it in - a brand concept (when engaged in an object-centered way) - personality, or (when engaged in a self-centered way) - relationship with the brand (when socially engaged)
• Integrating: Information summarized in an overall brand concept - brand concept is a psychological construct - it consists of the information associated with a product or brand - it facilitates the pursuit of functionally-driven goals (= receiving utilitarian benefits from the brand)
• Integrating Brands: Personality - when consumers are engaged in a self-centered way, information (identfiying) and experiences (experiencing) may be further integrated through inferring trait and personality characteristics about a brand - Brand Personality = the set of human characteristics associated with a brand - brand personalities are relatively stable over time - inferred personalities differentiate brands in the minds of consumers
• The Personality Approach Function of brand personality: consumers' needs for identity and self expression - brand has a human like character - attractive brand personality is an important source of differentiation and brand power (brand equity) - consumers more easily bond with brands that have a brand personality
• Strategies to create brand personality 1. know exactly how the brand conributes to the consumers' construction and expression of identity 2. The stronger the personality, the stronger the bond with the consumers 3. Understsand how first-mover groups enforce or devaluate the brand personality 4. Let the brand personality guide all actions
• Brand Personality: Key Management Tools 1. Brand Personality must match the target group's personality 2. Appeal to a target group by creating a hype around the brand 3. Understand how the personality of the brand can strengthen the individual and social identity of consumers 4. Idenfity First Movers: Will their personality alter or dominish the personality of the brand?
• Integrating: Brand Relationships - consumers may interact with brands in ways that parallel inter-personal relationships   --> brand relationships use the norms of social relationships as guiding principles   --> when a brand violates the relationship norms, consumers assess it more negatively - brand personalities and relationships may interact
• The brand relationship theory The Brand as a relationship partner - consumers perceive brands as viable relationship partner - consumer chooses with the heart - brand and consumer engage in an on-going dialogue
• Brand Relationships: Key Management Tools - depth interviews and CRM systems (to build knowledge about the consumer) - seek a holistic understanding of consumption (how and why the brand is being consumed) - understand the relationship between the brand and the consumer - broaden the concept of loyality
• Signifying Brands The brand acts as - an informational cue (for object-centered engagement) - a personal identity signal (for self-centered engagement) - a cultural symbol (for social engagement)
• Signifying: Brands as Informational Cues - the accumulated information about a brand can be used as informational cues - for example: price and quality (signifying that a brand is premium, value or luxury) - brands can even be used by firms to inform consumers about product positions
• Signifying: Brands as Identity Signals - for self-engaged consumers, a brand can be a signal of the consumer's own identity - the part of the self that is defined by brands is referred to as "self-brand identity"
• Signifying: Brand Symbolism - For socially engaged customers brands can be used to represent a group, society or culture - example: brands can stand for nations (McDonalds) or values (Marlboro)
• Purpose of the Big Five Human Personality Dimensions (Aaker) Understanding how consumers perceive brands --> Brand Personality = set of human characteristics associated with a brand --> --> the personality traits stated in the Big Five describe the characteristics that people associate with each brand personality dimension
• The Leveraging Process (3rd means of building brand equity) Brands can leverage secondary associations to build brand equity: - brands can be linked to other entitites - brands borrow brand knowledge so that people's associations with other important brands slop over to the own brand example: Aldi connecting itself to "Swissness" so that people from switzerland buy at Aldi, too . Linking the brand to some other entity may: - create a new set of associations from the brand to the entity - affect the existing brand associations
• Guidelines to leverage secondary brand associations 1. Take into account consumers' awareness of that entity you want to leverage the brand assocications of 2. choose entities for which consumers have some deal of similar associations 3. Design a commonality of leveraging strategy 4. Practice complementarity branding strategies that can help deliver the described brand prosition

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