Brand Equity Model

Definition of Branding

Branding is defined as a name, term, sign or symbol that is intended to identify the goods of a seller,
it is also utilised to differentiate from competitors. (Michelson, 1960, American Marketing
Association)

Branding in the IMC Process

Branding within the IMC process is the output of Marketing communications and the overarching
task of brand management.

Holt et al (2012) stated that branding is an integral part of the business process as branding creates
the ‘culture’ of the business and product, which is an important way to make associations within
consumers’ minds

Branding & IMC often come hand in hand, as Branding is important for business, The brand is the
first interaction and often only interaction consumers have with a product or service, therefore
integral to create a strong brand to gain retention. The IMC process however, is also highly
important to Branding, Pickton and Broderick (2005) state that there is greater likelihood of creating
strong brands through the IMC process.

Brand Equity Defined

The Concept of brand equity has risen due to the identification that Brands are assets to not only the
company but all of the stakeholder’s (Fill & Turnbull, 2016)

Brand Equity is defined as ‘the perceived value that is derived from the publics judgments of the
brand rather than the product or service its self’ – F&T (2016)

Brands can have a significant impact on the financial standing of the company with Pirrie (2006)
stating that strong brands consistently outperform in their markets

CBBE MODEL

Various models – Most acknowledged is Keller (2001) Customer Based Brand Equity Model –
Traditional Model of achieving B.E.

Keller (01) identified that brands are made up of emotional and rational elements and that these
elements should be developed sequentially, with completion at the end of each stage. There are 4
stages and 6 building blocks within a Brand Pyramid, the rational elements account for the right side
and emotional on the left.

CBBE MODEL in depth

Brand Identity – 1st Stage

Brand Identity - deep and broad awareness and understanding of what that company stands for
within the mind of their consumers.

High level of Brand Salience required (1st Block) – Salience goes far beyond standard product recall
and identifies how consumers can create brand associations within their mind by linking brand
colours, signs or symbols to things in their memories. Within Brand Salience, there are 3 key
objectives to creating a strong brand identity.
1. Strengthens brand image and gives the company meaning

2. Assists in product categorisation and encourages product consideration during the purchase
process and finally

3. Increases likelihood of purchase from low involvement consumers.

Brand Meaning – 2nd Stage

B.M relates to establishing a strong brand image and idea of what the company means within the
mind of the consumer. Brand Meaning is split into two building blocks, Brand Performance (Rational
Elements) & Brand Imagery (Emotional Elements).

Brand Performance, discusses the extent to which the offering meets consumers functional needs.

 Within Brand P, there are 5 key functional aspects which effect the level of brand
performance. 1. Primary characteristics and Secondary Features, which identifies the extent
to which the features enhance the level of performance 2. Durability, reliability and
serviceability, discusses how consistent the performance is over time. 3. Service
effectiveness, which is the extent to which consumers feel happy with the level of service
received (Prior, during & after sale). 4. Style and Design, refers to the overall aesthetic and
ergonomic value on products and finally, 5. Price, which identifies consumer’s perception of
value for money and the price bracket it, falls within, low, medium or high.
 A key example from a company, who have implemented a high level of brand performance
over the years, is APPLE. the uniqueness of their features, durability of their products and
service effectiveness with after care programmes such as apple care as well as their style
and design, have created a high level of B.P and therefore, B.E for the tech giants.

Brand Imagery, discusses the intangible aspects that construct abstract visuals within consumers’
minds relating to the brand.

 Within B.I there are four key aspects which are important to creating B.E
 1. User Profiles, It’s important for brands to understand the key demographics and
psychographics of their consumers in order to create a connection 2. Purchase and Usage,
similarly it is also important to understand why the consumer will be using a product/service
3. Consumer Personality and Values, Brands must adopt a similar set of values and
personality traits to their core consumers if they wish to engage them and 4. Similar to the
previous point, brands must display a similar heritage and experience level of T.A
 MISSGUIDED – utilise similar values and personality traits as their core audience of 18 – 25
y/o – with slang terms, the way in which the brand communicates makes the brand appear
to have a personality similar to core consumers. – Relatable.
 HOWEVER – it can be stated that since the development of this model, technology has
advanced significantly and now brand image is not only the intangible aspects, as with the
rise of influencers, they become a representative, a tangible brand image aspect that is now
an extension of the brand.

Brand Response

 B.R what consumers think and feel about company and offerings
 Split into two segments - Brand Judgements & Brand Feelings
Brand Judgments – Consumers evaluation of brand from marketing comms and all other sources

 4 brand judgements in order of importance to sustaining a good brand response 1. Brand

quality – Level of perceived quality within the minds of the consumer, 2. – Brand Credibility
– How Credible and level of expertise, and likability. 3- Brand consideration- How much
brand will be considered when choosing new products. 4 - Brand superiority – superiority
over their competitors (Good competitive advantage.
 Mercedes – High level of quality cars, very credible within the automobile industry, as a
main brand competitor within luxe motor cars will be considered and has superiority over
many of its competitors.

Brand Feelings – Ability to evoke emotions in consumers via comm’s

 6 emotions that brands can evoke within their comm’s

 First 3 – warmth, fun & excitement – are experiential, positive feelings which increase level
of intensity than person feels towards the brand and message
 Last three – security, social approval & self-respect – are private and reassuring aspects,
which increase the level of closeness consumer feels towards brand.
 E.G – NIKE – Find Your Greatness campaign, which evoked consumers need for social
approval within the highly competitive sports world and self-respect.

Brand Relationships

Brand Relationships is the final stage and Brand Resonance refers to the highest level of relationship
and awareness

To achieve a high level of Brand Resonance Brands and thus a substantial amount of brand equity
that is beneficial for the IMC process to flourish.

1. Gain a high level of brand loyalty 2. Consumers who pocess a high level of attintidal
attachment to the product/service/brand. 3. A sense of community and kinship between
other brands. Brands can do this through hosting brand days, in a study from McAlexander
(2002), which showed that when Jeep hosted Brand fest days in which they could interact
with other owners it improved their perception and level of closeness too brand. 4. Active
Engagement – willingness to invest time and money into brand after the purchase.
2. One company who has created a high level of Brand relationships is Harley Davidson, Merch,
Community, Rituals, High loyalty and attachment

Criticism

Whilst the CBBE model offers a almost step by step guide to building brand equity, it is quite
outdated in its view points, and since the advance of the tech savvy consumers it may be more
plausible to suggest a newer model such as a cultural branding approach or Hofstede’s Onion Model
(WHO) would be more effective. As consumers are now sceptical to communications from brands
and if they are genuine, they are quick to point out any contradictions that may be made if building
berand equity just on a series of messages, ideas and images. Now brands must act as cultures, living
and breathing values, practices and beliefs to their core in order to appear as genuine entities to
consumers.
It also must be identified that building a strong brand and the ways in which companies do so
dependent on the level of involvement of their consumers.

Overall the CBBE model can be utalised to create brand equity, however it must be understood that
this model is very traditional and perhaps a newer model which evaluates how brands tend to
operate today may be more useful.