A/P Sharon Ng

(Office: S3-B2C-88
Phone: 6790 4898)

Evolution status and physical attractiveness

enables greater access to resources. The best
hunters get most meat and more wives
Animal kingdom - alpha male gets more wives
and food
In modern world, status and attractiveness
provides.

Emotional payoff (feels good) and social currency

Financial reward
4

Deep down, everyone wants a little more

status, nice image
Need for recognition, need for acceptance
Brands are the means to gain acceptance in
social groups

I am rich and successful ! I have good taste!

I am unique and rebellious !

Philip
Kotler

The art of marketing is the art of brand

building. If you are not a brand, you are a
commodity. Then price is everything and the
low-cost producer is the only winner
7

Brand act as a prism to affect how you perceive

products and services !

Product/
Service

Brand

Perception

A cognitive bias
Tendency to generalize global affective
feelings or trait to other objects or attributes
Humans are cognitive misers
Observed in all aspects of business
Performance evaluation
Job interview
Celebrity endorsement
Students grading
Product evaluation
E.g., organic food

In brand, halo effect refers to the positive bias

consumers exhibit towards a brand because of
prior favorable experience with the brand or
overall impression of the brand
Driven by

brand equity !

10

E.g., name, logo, trademarks, packaging, taglines

These enable the customers to identify the brand
But these are just the visual elements of the brand

Having these does not = branding

Common misperception !!
It is the totality of customer experiences !!

Product

A physical thing
made in factory
An object
Sold by the company
Can be easily copied
Can be quickly
outdated

Brand

Made up of trust and

relationship
A personality
Bought by a
customer
Unique, not easily
copied
Timeless

Emotional connection between the company

and the consumers
Success in getting consumers attention,
imagination and emotion
Shows the one is different and better than the
rest
The price differential one is willing to pay
It is something that resides in the minds of
consumer
A perceptual reality

Give consumers a label for the product (how

to identify the product)
Provide meaning for consumers (why it is
special and what it can do for them)
Help create mental structures for consumers
to organize their knowledge

Ultimately a brand is something that resides in the

minds of consumers.
The key to branding is that consumers perceive
differences among brands in a product category.
Even commodities can be branded:

Bananas

YOU !!!

Branding in Asia

16

What are the common elements across all these brands?

Which is the most improved brand?
Which brand is losing traction?
Asian brands?

Why is branding important?

Value to
consumers

Value to
firms

Identification of source of product

Assignment of responsibility to firm

Risk reducer

Search cost reducer

Symbolic device

Signal of quality

Means of identification to simplify handling or

tracing

Means of legally protecting unique features

Signal of quality to customers

Means of endowing products with unique

associations

Source of competitive advantage / means of

differentiating products

Ability to charge a premium for products

Form of intangible assets / economic returns

Ability to command loyalty from customers

A brand can serve many purposes and

every company uses it differently.
Coke does not really command a
Premium but it commands loyalty.
Apple has a cult following.
Some cheaper brands just use brands to make it
easier for companies to identify with them.

Especially Asian companies (though this is

changing)
Branding takes time and money

May take a long time before effect is obvious

Need to be willing to invest resources to brand building
activities
Does not mean only rich and big companies can and should
do branding
Even small companies can do it (e.g., SMEs)

Sounds easy
enough.

BUT out of every brand that succeeds,

there are 10 others that fail !
Everyone should
be able to do it !

Mismatch
between
brand vision
& co reality
Consistency

Focus on
cost

Common
Problems
Brand
elements =
Branding

Branding
philosophy
not
internalized

Brand Strategy

Corporate
Strategy

Product
and
Service
Design

Internal
Branding

Brand
Identity

Savvy customers

Brand Proliferation / Clutter

Piracy

Rapid environmental changes

Internet/technology

Greater attention and focus on branding

Especially in Asia
Awareness that simply selling is not enough
Firms looking for branding experts
Increasing number of brand consultancy firms

Govt push for greater branding knowledge in SME

Boom in online and mobile purchase

Introduce the different aspects of branding

Insights into how brand equity may be managed
and leveraged
Enhance your understanding of brand management
and related branding strategies and the interaction
with the whole organization
Analysis of actual problems companies face

Brand equity
What is it
How do you build positive equity
How do you measure it
Brand Leverage
Brand Extensions
Brand feedback effect
Managing brand over time and cultures
Brand revitalization
Branding across cultures

Why should they care?

How will they know?
Who needs to know?
What people need to
know about you?
Who are you?

So it is not whether branding is

important, it is HOW you should do it.
This course will cover the theories and
findings on branding.

Strategic Brand Management

Process
Steps

Key Concepts

Identify and establish

brand positioning and values

Mental maps
Competitive frame of reference
Points-of-parity and points-of-difference
Core brand values
Brand mantra

Plan and implement

brand marketing programs

Mixing and matching of brand elements

Integrating brand marketing activities
Leveraging of secondary associations

Measure and interpret

brand performance

Grow and sustain

brand equity

Brand value chain

Brand audits
Brand tracking
Brand equity management system
Brand-product matrix
Brand portfolios and hierarchies
Brand expansion strategies
Brand reinforcement and revitalization

1.

2.

3.

A companys management of a brand is typically

the determining factor in the ultimate success or
failure of the brand.
Brands have differentiating features that
distinguish them from competitors and add value
for consumers.
Consumers often dont buy products, they buy

the images associated with products.

First half Lecture (about 1 hour)

Group discussion + Break (40 min)
In class discussion/presentation (1 hour)
Textbook: Keller, Kevin Lane (2007) Strategic Brand
Management: Building. Measuring, and Managing
Brand Equity, 3rd edition, New Jersey, U.S.A.:
Prentice Hall

Component

Format

Brand Audit

25%

Group

Brand Promotion Assignment

20%

Group

Class participation

15%

Individual

Exam

40%

Individual

Total

100%

Brand audit (25%)

A major component of this course
Objective - to get you to understand how to assess
a brands source of equity and suggest ways to
improve and leverage on that equity
Choose a brand
Each team a different brand (First come first serve)
Do your own research about the brand
Primary and Secondary Data

Part I Brand Analysis

Firms current branding strategies
Competitors
Customers
Brand awareness level, associations, extensions
etc
Part II Recommendations
E.g., what should the brand do to grow or
revitalize itself
Markets to enter? Exit? Change in positioning? etc

Let me know brand chosen by the end of this

session.
No written report needed
Presentation during the last 3 weeks of the term
45 min for presentation and 15 min for Q&A
Assess both style and content

Assume role of brand consultant

Assess market for a new product
Recommend branding strategy

Due 26 Sept 2014

Only report to be submitted. No presentations

required.
15 A-4 pages, 1.5 spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman
(excluding any appendices)

Every week, you learn a small part of branding

At the end of the term, hopefully you will be able to
put all these knowledge together and have a good
understanding of branding issues
Demonstrate you see the big picture. Imagine you are
the companys consultant. What would you do?
Show independent thoughts.
Put forth your argument.
Substantiate it. Dont just say e.g., theatre
advertising is good. Say why it is good. Give
reasons, give rationale, provide a well thought out
answer.

Provide a balance viewpoint. Logical flow in your

thought process.
Look at both the strategic and operational issues
E.g., how will the strategy affect companys
growth and expansion in the long term ? Impact
on customers relationship? How will it affect
brand equity?
Operationally, what other considerations need to
be taken into account?
Cost? Companies commitment?
Sufficient resources e.g., manpower to implement
strategies?

For the assignments:

Research secondary information
Primary data (optional)
Key is to be able to convince me you have thought
this through and your position is backed by good
logic and explanation

Silence handphone in class

Punctuality

Uploading of lecture notes, course outline, etc.

Announcements: please check every week

Peer Review

Reference materials. Purchase cases from UPO counter.

Any questions?

Take a 15 min break

Get into your groups. Discuss which brand your group
would like to do for the brand audit.
Do some research on the potential brands to know how
you intend to scope the audit.
Let me know which brand your group has chosen by the
end of the class. First come first serve.