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Brand Management
MK542E
Introduction to Contemporary Brand Management

Dr. Dildar Hussain

Assistant Professor
ESC Rennes School of Business
Office No. 327
dildar.hussain@esc-rennes.com

Chapter Overview
Overview
Introduction to contemporary brand management
Functions of brands
What branding means to customers
What brands means to the manufacturer/the producer/the brand owner

Learning Objectives
Understand meaning, function, and importance of brands
Explain the role of brands from different perspectives i.e., consumer, company and the society
Understand components of a brand and different types of brands
Discuss advantages and disadvantages of brands

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Introduction / Importance of Brand Management -1

Shifting consumer trends

Have become more sophisticated
Shift towards hedonic and symbolic consumption
Self-concept and self-image have become increasingly important
Resulted in increased focus on creation of brand meanings and customer-brand relationships

Information technology and the Internet

Rise of information technology and the Internet
New ways of promoting and experiencing brands
Competitive offerings of online brands versus non online brands
At the same time it has become a threat to brands; rumors, false information, propaganda
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Introduction / Importance of Brand Management -2

Social and environnemental issues

Growing importance of ecology and environmental issues
Clear effects on creating brand loyalty and shaping
corporate culture

Cultural diversity and global mobility

Strong impact of global mobility on brand management
Important to identify, capture, develop and retain niche markets
Cculturally diverse markets acceptability and rejection of brands

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Definition of Brands - 1

Definition of Brands - 2

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Definition of Brands -3

A name, symbol, design or mark that enhances the

value of a product beyond its functional purposes
(Furquhar, 1989)

Definition of Brands - 4
Products
Attributes ( coke has a curvy glass bottle)
Uses (apple computers are great for graphical applications)
Quality/ value (Marks & Spencer delivers quality products)
Functional benefits (Tesco provides extra value)

In addition to above a brand includes

User imagery (those who wear designer clothes)
Country of origin (Audi has German craftsmanship)
Organizational association (3M is an innovative company)
Brand personality (Credit Lynonnais is a brand expressing integrity)
Self-expressive (Nike is sporty)
Emotional benefits (Maserati makes it drive feel sporty and sophisticated)
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Importance of Brands

A brand creates more favorable view of product, relative

to others in the market
Branding is even more important for durable products
For consumers
Branding is an important value-added aspect of products or services
It often serves to denote a certain quality or characteristics
Differentiation is crucial

For marketing managers

Difficult to compete merely on products
Products and services are relatively easy to imitate
Building on-going relationship between the company and the customer
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Premium pricing

Functions of Brands
Efficiency of information
Facilitate information process by providing information regarding
manufacturer and the origin of the product
Help customers to repeatedly find trusted brands

Reduction of Risk
Help customers to reduce risk of wrong purchase
Monetary risk, functional risk, social risk, etc.
Provide reassurance regarding negative effects of purchase

Image benefit creation

Brands are a way to emotional and self-expressive needs
Feeling safe in a Volvo
Comfortable and at home at Starbucks
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Brand Relationships -1
Brands can be viewed as relationships
It is the promise a company makes to its current and future customers
Relationship is based on trust, fulfillment of promises and common values
Relationships change as needs change
Buyers can become footloose
Find new interests
Become bored with their usual habits

Brands can
Stagnate and focus on new customers
Change in their essence

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Brand Relationships -2
Brand relationship is also fragile
Brands can suffer chronic damage through
Failure to deliver promises
Unreliability
Failure to deliver on specifications

Implicit specifications also need to be taken care of

Quality and implicit service promise
Involvement of distribution channels

Surviving over longer periods of time though quality and innovations

Examples of selling same products for more than 100 years through marketing

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Metaphors of Branding

Metaphors are the basic frames or orientations we have towards

the world around us
Shape the way we engage with the world
Are a good ways to learn about customer emotions
To understand a negative feeling towards a brand, advertisement or scent, it is important to
discover whether shame, guilt, or some other thing is creating the adverse or negative feeling

Provide the basic foundation for the brand stories

Deep metaphors are shared by the customers who may be very different on the
surface
Coke studio; Michelin tire container
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGFe07Ro7r0

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Brand Components
Brand identity
Strategic goal for a brand
Aspirational from brand owners point of view

Brand image
What currently resides in the minds of consumers

Brand position
The process by which companies try to create an image or identity in the minds of consumers
Also relative and competitive comparison in a given market

Brand equity
An asset to the firm
Preference in the marketplace, adding value to products and services, charging premium
pricing
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Types of Brands
Generic Brands
Names used like common names
Hoover, Paracetamol

Manufacturer's or national brands

Made by manufacturer
Coca Cola

Private or Supermarket brands

Many manufacturers produce for retailers who put their own
names on the products
Tescos coke, Carrefour brands

Captive Brands
National brands exclusively sold by a retail chain e.g., Marks & Spencer
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Branding Decisions - 1

Brand strategy
Whether to brand a product or not
Nature of the product, types of the outlets, perceived advantages and costs of branding
Whether to add or maintain brands with the companys portfolio
Whether to create new brands or use existing brand elements
(symbols, colors, packaging, etc.)

Brand naming
Selecting a name
Needs to be relevant to both product and audience
Should be able to generate favorable associations
Different types of brand names (Initialism, descriptive, suggestive, free-standing, Founders,
etc. )
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Branding Decisions - 2

Brand sponsorship
Whether the company should manufacture the brand itself
Whether to use a private label/brand
Or to combine both

Brand portfolio
Concerns a multi-product company
Mostly FMCGs like Nestl operating in a multi-product market
e.g., coffee, baby products, chocolates, etc.
Must be managed in a way that each brand is distinct, has differentiated value and unique
image
These products may also be competing with each other

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Branding Decisions - 3

Brand positioning / repositioning

Attaching a permanent meaning and relevance to the product in the minds of consumers
It determines what kind of value the brand will deliver
Repositioning is an effort to redefine its value to customers

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Branding in the Internet Age -1

Information technology implications

Branding used to be a welcome effect
Decreased role of traditional channels i.e., point-of-sale,
promotions, local media, etc.
Branding has become the key
It allows a company to focus on fewer marketing points (relationships and branding)
The companies on social media are exposed to unwanted situations

Online branding
First, companies thought that new brands need to created for the dotcom age
Now, realized that it may be too expensive hence old and trusted ones need to be adapted to
the new environment
Consumers are more willing to engage in ecommerce with known brands
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Branding in the Internet Age - 2

Online brands versus offline brands

Operating only in virtual environment
Operating only in physical environment
Operating in both
Brand management is almost same
The internet can prove a very powerful tool for building brands
It can transmit information, impart experiential associations and leverage on other brand
building programs
Increased market transparency
Ease of access to information and much more

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Marketing Ethics and Sustainability of Brands

Key challenges
Environment and social responsibility through marketing
and brand ethics
Growing importance in creating brand loyalty and corporate culture
Marketing versus sustainability i.e., selling more versus consume less

Some solutions
Marketing needs to move away from the traditional approach of considering volume increase
as the only route to great profitability
It needs to focus on what matters to consumers and how companies perform on these
attributes

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Take Home Message

Definition of brands
Importance of brands
Functions of brands
Brand components
Brand decisions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5016fh7TgQ&feature=related

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Case Study

Managing a brand: An Indian perspective

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dildar.hussain@esc-rennes.com

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