PRs Role in Managing Brand Equity

Gheorghe-Ilie Farte PhD Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Jassy

Main theses
1. Brand problem is relevant solely in products world; 2. Brand is a relational reality created to identify, differentiate and overvalue a (class of) product (s); 3. (Customer-based) brand equity is the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand; 4. PR practitioners can improve brand equity by timeliness, adaptability, credibility, cost efficiency, mobility, versatility, penetrating voice, endurance and sensitivity to societal changes.

What is a product?
anything offered to a market for
attention buying use consumption etc.

and that can satisfy

a need a want a whim etc.

products = economic things

scarcity of external ressources factors of production
land labor capital goods entrepreneurship human capital

free market/ exchange correlation between cost of production factors and price of products

Products vs. Non products

Products I give a lecture on managing brand equity; I buy a small vacation house; Company Tarom answers to my complaint letter; I visited the State Hermitage Museum. Non products I make a romantic dinner for my wife; I care for my ailing grandmother-in-law; My friend, Alex, help me to repair my car; Two lovers kissed goodbye at the station.

Classes of products
physical goods: food, shelter, clothes, roads, etc. services: cleaning, hairdressing, higher education, erotic massage, etc. persons: politicians, CEO-s, artists, pundits, etc. organizations: political parties, companies, NGO-s, universities, etc. places: towns, regions, countries, tourist centres, etc. (political, economic, religious, philosophical, etc.) ideas or ideologies etc.

No one can live only on food

Every product a jumble of material and ideal things All actions relating to products motivated by the urge to remove a felt uneasiness; The demand for products widely influenced by
metaphysical, religious or ethical considerations aesthetic value judgments customs habits prejudices tradition changing fashions

Kotlers 5 levels to a product

Core benefit
Fundamental want that customers satisfy by consuming the product

Generic product

Basic version of the product containing only those elements absolutely necessary to function

Expected product

Attributes that buyers normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product

Augmented product

Additional product attributes that distinguish the product from competitors

Potential product

All the augmentations and transformations that a product might ultimately undergo in the future

Brand doesnt matter if

People exchange their products within a small isolated community; In the same category, all products are similar; Customers only look for core benefits and want generic products; All people know the provenance of products; Providers, products and consumers dont form a highly sophisticated system.

Brand problem is serious if

People exchange their products in a open and global collectivity; In the same category, there is a wide variety of products; Customers are sophisticated and look for intangible added value; Origin of products is not obvious to most people; People want to belong to a special community of consumers.

What is a brand? (1)

a marketing tool a toy in the play room of PR practitioners a fresh way to tell an organization's story a retail approach to package business issues an unmistakable symbol for products and services a consistent holistic pledge made by a company the (public, favourable) face a company presents to the world

What is a brand? (2)

a thing that enables customers to better visualize and understand intangible products a promise of future satisfaction a name that becomes a purchase criterion a name that influence consumer behavior through the mental associations they create
area: expertise, goods, services, location, etc. quality: low, medium, premium, luxury product attributes predominant quality of product evoked personality factors etc.

What is a brand? (3)

a teacher to buying a set of added perceptions a unique combination of physical or intangible attributes that a product name or logo evokes in the audience mind a means (name, symbol, design, or a combination of them), intended to identify the products of one provider and to differentiate them from those of competition

Ultimately, brand
is not solely a physical symbol (name, logo, colors, design, etc.)or a physical product; is not solely a noetic object (added perceptions, intangible attributes, mental associations, etc.) ; but is a mixture of tangible and intangible things created to identify, differentiate and overvalue a (class of) product (s) As a relational reality, a brand can be created, protected, changed, improved, but not sold as a whole.

The brand system (1) (Jean Noel Kapferer)

brand concept

brand semiotic invariants

branded products

The brand system (2)

Brand semiotic invariants Brand concept Branded products trigger brand concept; indicate branded products;

gives content to brand semiotic invariants;

adds meanings to branded product; embody brand concept; support brand semiotic invariants.

Brand Ingredients
Brand name & heritage Packaging (structure & graphics) & signage Brand symbols, properties and logos Perceived quality, reliability & convenience Defined level of satisfaction Meaningful (premium) price/value relationship Purchase & usage experiences Consumer perceptions, attitude & behaviors Emotional associations with the product

BRAND POWER
Brand weight Brand length Brand depth Brand breadth
The influence or dominance that a brand has over its category or market more than just market share

The stretch that the brand has achieved in the past or is likely to achieve in the future The degree of commitment (proximity, intimacy, loyalty) that the brand has achieved among its customers The combination of age spread, consumers types and international appeal

Brand vision
It is not a goal, an intention, a plan or a strategy to be the best, but It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. A vision statement outlines what the organization wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be.

Brand vision must be

inspirational and stirring exciting aspirational readable distinctive specific connoting superiority bold revolutionary

What is brand equity? (1)

a cluster of values and characteristics that stakeholders take away from using branded products a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add or subtract from the value provided by a product or a service to a firm and/or to that firms customers a bridge between the past and future possibilities marketing effects uniquely attributed to the brand

What is brand equity? (2)

common denominator to interpret the potential effects and trade offs of various strategies and tactics common denominator for assessing the value of a brand marketing effects uniquely attributed to the brand the added value endowed as a result of past marketing investments intangible value-added aspect of particular products (otherwise not considered unique)

Brand Loyalty

Name Awareness

Perceived Quality

Brand Associations

Other Proprietary Brand Assets

Brand Equity

Provides values to customers by interpretation information use satisfaction assignment of responsibility to maker search cost reducer or processing of

Provides values to firm by signal and pledge of quality level brand loyalty prices or margins trade leverage competitive advantage simplicity of handling or tracing

confidence in purchase decision

risk reducer

legal protection of unique features

(Customer-based) brand equity

is the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand; occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favorable, strong and unique associations in memory. Brand knowledge an associative network memory model

Dimensions of brand knowledge (K.L. Keller)

Brand awareness Brand recall Brand recognition Types of brand associations Brand image Attributes Benefits Attitudes

Brand knowledge

Favorability of brand associations Strength of brand associations Uniqueness of brand associations

Definitions (1)
Brand awareness = salience of a brand; consumers abilities to identify the brand with a specific product category Brand recall = consumers ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category as a cue Brand recognition = consumers ability to recall previous exposure or experience with the brand

Definitions (2)
Brand image = perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory Attributes = descriptive features that characterize a product Benefits = what consumer think the product can do for them Brand attitudes = consumers overall evaluation of a brand

Clarifications
It is difficult to create a favorable association for an unimportant attribute; The strength of associations depends on how the information enters consumer memory (encoding) and how it is maintained as part of the brand image (storage); Unique selling proposition gives consumers a compelling reason for buying a particular branded product.

Managing brand equity

understanding and anticipating the needs, desires, wants, whims etc. of the consumer understanding the key attributes of the product(s) discovering (rather than inventing) the brands core values and abide by them creating and cultivating an associative network memory model

PR main goals
presenting the [favorable] public face of an organization or individual (Jacquie LEtang) building a convenient framework on organization/ organization-stakeholders relationship/ brand etc. meaning negotiation creating semiotic added value

PR functions
creating trust, comprehension and sympathy arousing attention, interest and needs creating, cultivating or preserving communication and relationships creating mutual understanding and agreement articulating, representing and adjusting interests influencing public opinion resolving conflicts creating consensus

PR tools
(favorable) news publicity/ positive media coverage special events written materials audiovisual materials corporate-identity materials sponsorship direct (engaging, robust, compelling, and memorable) experience valuable endorsement

PR activities
establishing and maintaining contacts with stakeholders investigating aspects regarding the relationship organization-stakeholders message writing and editing initiating and cultivating press relations client counseling organizing special events preparing public lectures creating some communication products with the aid of typographic, photographic or multimedia means professional training

PR practitioners
stimulate providers and consumers of branded products to transact cultural meanings so Brands become meaningful to consumers; and They are associated with a certain level of quality, credibility, trust and satisfaction in the stakeholders mind.

Why PR? (1) (David Drobis)

Timeliness PR can be tied to real-time news coverage; Adaptability PR activities can be easily and naturally combined with advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, etc. activities; Credibility Customers find messages delivered by a trusted journalist more believable than purchased messages;

Why PR? (2) (David Drobis)

Cost efficiency PR have a good return on investment; Mobility PR activities can be planned and carry out anywhere. Versatility By means of PR, we can build brand equity for any kind of product, whether its a big brand, a private label or a commodity;

Why PR? (3) (David Drobis)

Penetrating voice PR programs (must) have a creative, interesting twist in order to attract the attention of customers in a cluttered media universe; Endurance Building brand equity is a continual process, and it needs to be an exciting and creative one; Sensitivity to societal changes Consumers are more sophisticated and more jaded. We must speak directly to their needs, desires, wants and dreams.

Bibliography
Aaker, David (1991). Managing brand equity. Capitalizing on the value of a brand name, The Free Press, New York Drobis, David (1993). Building brand equity with public relations, Management Review 82 (5): 52-55 Erdem , Tlin et alii (1999). Brand Equity, Consumer Learning and Choice, Marketing Letters 10(3): 301-318 Kapferer, Jean-Nol (2008). The new strategic brand management. Creating and sustaining brand equity long term, 4th edition, Kogan Page, London and Philadelphia Keller, Kevin Lane (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity, Journal of Marketing 57: 1-22 Oll, Ramn (2009). All in the timing. A framework to manage the communication of brands, Communication World January-February: 33-35 Simpson, Soni (2003). Strategic brand management, document URL: www.scribd.com/doc/7380064/Strategic-Brand-Management-by-SoniSimpson-2003, accessed on 02.04.2010

Thank you!