Branding and Brand Equity Concepts

Study Notes

Creating a unique image or identity for a product or service that sets it apart from competition
Involves marketing activities aimed at promoting and selling products/services to target consumers.
Requires management oversight to align branding and marketing strategies with business goals.

Measures the value a brand adds based on consumer perceptions, loyalty, and overall market presence.
Understanding and awareness of the brand is a key element.
Consumers connect brand-related information in their minds through the associative network memory model.
Components of Brand Knowledge are:
- Brand Awareness: Recognition of the brand by consumers.
- Brand Recall: The ability to remember the brand when prompted.
- Brand Image: The overall perception of the brand in consumers' minds.
- Brand Associations: Links between the brand and certain attributes or ideas.
- Brand Attributes: Characteristics that describe the brand.
- Brand Benefits: Advantages or value that the brand offers to consumers.
- Brand Experience: The sum of all interactions a consumer has with the brand.
Brand Positioning refers to the unique place a brand occupies in the minds of consumers relative to competitors.

Target Market: Specific group of consumers the brand aims to reach.
Market Segmentation: Dividing the market into distinct groups based on shared characteristics.
- The Entrenched: Loyal customers deeply connected to the brand.
- The Average: General consumers with moderate loyalty.
- The Shallow: Consumers with minimal engagement.
- The Convertible: Potential customers who can be converted into loyal ones.
- The Available: Consumers who are accessible but not necessarily loyal.
- The Ambivalent: Consumers who have mixed feelings about the brand.
- The Unavailable: Consumers who do not currently engage with the brand.

Indirect Competition: Alternatives that satisfy the same consumer needs.
Multiple Frames of Reference: Different contexts in which consumers consider the brand.
Points of Parity (POP): Features that are expected in the category.
- Category POP: Basic standards for all brands in a category.
- Competitive POP: Similarities with competing brands.
- Correlational POP: Attributes that are commonly associated with brand benefits.
Points of Difference (POD): Unique features that differentiate the brand from competitors.

Represents the financial worth of a brand, reflecting its strength and market influence.
Measures how a brand contributes to financial performance:
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Combining with or purchasing other companies.
- External Investor Relations: Managing communications with outside investors.
- Internal Investor Relations: Engaging with internal stakeholders.
- Marketing Budget Allocation: Distributing funds for marketing activities.
- Internal Marketing Allocation: Resources dedicated to marketing within the company.
- Balance Sheet Reporting: Financial statements reflecting the brand's value.
- Licensing and Franchising: Allowing others to use the brand for a fee.
- Securitized Borrowing: Using brand assets for securing loans.
- Litigation Support: Legal backing related to brand issues.
- New Product and Market Development Assessment: Evaluating potential for launching new products.

A strategic tool to identify a brand's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Helps brands understand internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats, guiding strategic planning.