Branding & Brand Positioning

Prepared by: Samer Meqdad

OutlineWhat is a Brand?Brand ElementsBrand Role and AdvantagesBrand EquityBrand PortfoliosStrategic Brand ManagementBrand PositioningPODs & POPsProduct LifecycleMarket Evolution

What is a Brand?

A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them

from those of competitors.What is Branding?

Providing goods and services with the power of the brand.

Brand Elements

Brand Element Choice Criteria – How to choose good elements?MemorableMeaningfulLikeableTransferableAdaptableProtectable

Brand NamingIndividual namesBlanket family namesSeparate family namesCorporate name/individual name

combo

Slogans – Examples

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The Role of Brands

Advantages of Strong Brands

Improved perceptions of product performance

Greater loyaltyLess vulnerability

to competitive marketing actions

Less vulnerability to crises

Larger marginsMore inelastic

consumer responseGreater trade

cooperationIncreased marketing

communications effectiveness

Possible licensing opportunities

What is Brand Equity?

The added value given to goods and services, through branding

which may be reflected in the way consumers, think, feel, and act with

respect to the brand.

The 10 Most Valuable Brands

Brand 2006 Brand Value (Billions)

Coca-Cola $67.00

Microsoft $56.93

IBM $56.20

GE $48.91

Intel $38.32

Nokia $30.13

Toyota $27.94

Disney $27.85

McDonald’s $27.50

Mercedes-Benz $22.13

Measuring Brand EquityBrand Audits

◦Comprehensive examination of a brand to assess the health of the brand

◦Suggest ways to improve its equity.Brand Tracking

◦Collecting information about the brand performance

Brand valuation◦Determining financial value of the

brand

Managing Brand EquityBrand reinforcement

◦Continuous product improvement and innovation.

Brand revitalization◦Change in Positioning◦Overhaul the brand image

Brand PortfoliosA set of brands a company offers

Advantages◦Increasing shelf presence and

retailer dependence in the store◦Attracting consumers seeking variety◦Increasing internal competition

within the firm◦Yielding economies of scale in

advertising, sales, merchandising, and distribution

Brand Roles in a Brand PortfolioFlankersCash cowsLow-end, entry-levelHigh-end prestige

Strategic Brand Management

Identifying & establishing brand positioning

Planning & implementing brand marketing

Measuring & interpreting brand performance

Growing & sustaining brand value

What is Positioning?

The act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the

mind of the target market.

Value PropositionA good hot pizza, delivered

to your door within 30 minutes of ordering, at a moderate price

Defining Associations

Both are important!

PODs Success Criteria

Deliverability Criteria

Consumer Desirability Criteria

Examples of Negatively Correlated Attributes and BenefitsLow-price vs. High qualityTaste vs. Low caloriesNutritious vs. Good tastingPowerful vs. SafeUbiquitous vs. ExclusiveVaried vs. Simple

Differentiation StrategiesProductDistribution ChannelPersonnelImage

Product Differentiation

Product formFeaturesPerformanceConformanceDurabilityReliabilityReparability

StyleDesignOrdering easeDeliveryInstallationCustomer trainingCustomer

consultingMaintenance

Distribution Channel DifferentiationCoverageExpertisePerformance

Personnel Differentiation

Better-trained staffCompetent (skill and knowledge)TrustworthyFriendly and respectfulReliable (perform consistently &

accurately)ResponsiveGood communicators (understand

customer and communicate clearly)

Image Differentiation

Establish character and value proposition

Convey in a distinctive wayDeliver emotional power

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Product Life Cycles

Claims of Product Life CyclesProducts have a limited lifeProduct sales pass through distinct stages each with different challenges and opportunities

Profits rise and fall at different stages

Products require different strategies in each life cycle stage

Product Life Cycles Stages

Stages in the Maturity Stage

Growth

StableDecaying

Maturity

Strategies for Sustaining Rapid Market GrowthImprove product quality, add new

features, and improve stylingAdd new models and flanker productsEnter new market segmentsIncrease distribution coverageShift from product-awareness

advertising to product-preference advertising

Lower prices to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers

Ways to Increase Sales VolumeConvert nonusersEnter new market segmentsAttract competitors’ customersHave consumers use

◦The product on more occasions◦More of the product on each

occasion◦The product in new ways

Market Evolution

Market Evolution Stages

Latent Single-niche Multiple-

niche Mass-

market

New firms enter market

Competition covers all major market segments

Society needs decline or new technology replaces old

Maturity Strategies

ReferencesPhilip Kotler, Marketing

Management, 11th Edition. Prentice Hall, 2002.