Session 8 PDF - Marketing Management

Introduction Brands have become a major player in modern society. In fact they are everywhere. They penetrate all spheres of our life: economic, social, cultural, sporting, even religion. Because of this pervasiveness they have come under growing criticism (Klein, 1999). As a major symbol of our e...

Introduction Brands have become a major player in modern society. In fact they are everywhere. They penetrate all spheres of our life: economic, social, cultural, sporting, even religion. Because of this pervasiveness they have come under growing criticism (Klein, 1999). As a major symbol of our economies and postmodern societies, they can and should be analysed through a number of perspectives: macroeconomics, microeconomics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, semiotics, philosophy and so on. In fact our first book on brands was a collection of essays by eminent scholars from all these disciplines (Kapferer and Thoenig, 1989). Multifaceted Nature of Brands Research has shown that brands are multifaceted concepts and to talk about ‘‘a brand’’ sometimes overlooks the richness of this concept. A particularly useful tool that helps managers appreciate the nature of brands is the ‘‘branding iceberg’’. In workshops, managers are asked to explain their brand in one sentence. Their comments are written on a whiteboard to stimulate discussion. Depending on the managers present, possible comments might include ‘‘it’s a logo used to differentiate us from competitors’’, or ‘‘it’s a guarantee of a consistent level of quality’’. An iceberg, as shown in Figure 1.2, is then drawn, with the 15% visible part above the water and the invisible 85% beneath the water and the comments are placed above or below the water level, according to their customer visibility. This enables at least two points to be made. The first is that managers often talk about the visible part of brands (the name, logo or packaging), rather than the unseen value-adding processes inside the organisation that give brands their competitive advantages. The comment about the brand being a guarantee comes about because, particularly for product based brands, the organisation has systems unseen to the customer, which ensure reliable quality levels. The second point is that when probing to identify the elements below the water, these start to encompass not just marketing factors, but company-wide factors such as committed staff, organisational culture, a well-respected research & development department and helpful customer services staff. It is only by taking a planned perspective that the roles of these diverse domains can be integrated to ensure that the brand is a holistic entity, whereby the claims implicit in the visible components are backed by the invisible systems. Two important ingredients of brands are functional values and emotional values. From the brand iceberg it is possible to better appreciate how these values are shaped. Inside the organisation the functional values are influenced by the core competencies that are used to produce the brand. Externally these functional values are central to the positioning strategy. Likewise, inside the organisation the emotional values are shaped by the organisation’s culture. Externally these emotional values are communicated to evoke a personality reflecting these values. The functional and emotional values partly characterise a brand, but this is input grounded, i.e. what organisations do to build brands. Brands succeed because they add to customers’ experiences. In an experience economy it is important to consider the output perspective, of brands, i.e. brands deliver unique and welcomed experiences. By taking a more holistic perspective on brands through amalgamating the input and output perspectives, it is possible to define a brand as: “A brand is a cluster of functional and emotional values that enables a promise to be made about a unique and welcomed experience.” The Diverse Interpretations of “Brand” To facilitate appreciating the variety of interpretations, these have been placed into three categories. The categories are based on whether the perspective is input based, i.e. stressing branding as a particular way of managers using resources to influence customers; output based, i.e. consumers’ interpretations and consideration of the way brands enable consumers to achieve more; or time based recognising their evolutionary nature. Different Interpretations of Brand Brands are complex offerings that are conceived in brand plans but ultimately they reside in consumers’ minds. Brands exist mainly by virtue of a continuous process whereby the co- ordinated activities across an organisation concerned with delivering a cluster of values are interpreted and internalised by customers in such a way that enhances their existence and, through the organisation responding to feedback, enhances the likelihood of brand success. Figure 2.1 shows how the unified nature of brands evolves through balancing the input and output perspectives on brands. Input Perspectives on Brand Interpretations Brand as a Logo One of the more established definitions of a brand was proposed by the American Marketing Association (AMA). This stresses the importance of the brand’s logo and visual signifiers primarily as a basis for differentiation purposes, i.e.: ‘‘A name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.’’ The unique shape of Coca Cola’s bottle, the distinctive ‘‘golden arch’’ of McDonald’s, the blue and white roundel of BMW and the spectrum coloured, parteaten apple of the Apple mac, iPod and iPhone are notable examples of brands instantly identifiable through their logos. Organisations invest considerable resources behind their logos as they become powerful recognition devices, facilitating brand selection. Part of the reason for this is that pictures are perceived faster than words. Pictures are more memorable than their verbal counterparts; they are more readily recalled or recognised than words. More insight to this is provided by Sojka and Giese (2006). It was originally thought that people could be divided into cognitive processors (those who rely on logic and rational data to make a decision) and affect processors (those who consider how they feel to make a decision). However, cognition and affect work together. Their work indicated that affective processors have a more positive attitude towards a brand when supporting brand activity is visual. Cognitive processors, by contrast, show a more positive attitude towards a brand when presented with verbal marketing support. Brand as Legal Instrument One of the simpler interpretations of a brand is that of ensuring a legally enforceable statement of ownership. Branding represents an investment and thus organisations seek legal ownership of title, as protection against imitators. Many organisations (e.g. Absolut Vodka, Coca Cola) continually monitor competitors’ brand activity to quickly stop any firm adopting the name or bottle design. Counterfeit goods are illegal, lower-priced and frequently lower-quality lookalikes of brands that have invested significant sums building respected reputations. Estimates are that the global market for counterfeits is around 5 7% of world trade (Staake, Thiesse & Fleisch, 2009), i.e. hundreds of billions of US Dollars. Wilcox, Kim and Sen (2009) show how an understanding of attitudes helps understand why people buy counterfeit luxury brands. Counterfeit luxury brand buying is more likely when consumers’ attitudes to luxury brands serve a social adjustive function helping people maintain relationships, rather than a value expressive function helping people communicate their values. Brand as Company At one extreme is corporate branding where any branding is solely based on the corporation. This is typically seen in financial services (e.g. AXA, HSBC) where the corporation dominates in any branding strategy and where the corporate values are thought capable of stretching across the diverse product groups. At the other extreme, the brand has a unique name and is not easily recognised as being associated with a particular corporation. For example, Ariel Color washing powder and Fairy Liquid washing detergent are both from Procter & Gamble, while Cif and Comfort are both from Unilever. This can only be appreciated by looking carefully at the label. In this case, managers believe there is so little synergy between the corporation’s values and the different clusters of unique values for each of the individual brands, that rather than diluting the values of the corporation, the individual brands are free standing. Between these extreme positions exist brands which place differing emphasis on seeking corporate endorsement. Brand as Positioning Another perspective managers adopt when interpreting brands is in terms of positioning, i.e. ensuring customers instantly associate a brand with a particular functional benefit, or a very low number of functional benefits. For example, BMW as performance and Volvo as safety. People are bombarded with large amounts of data and choice. For example, it has been estimated that the weekend edition of a quality newspaper has more information than someone would have been exposed to during their life in the seventeenth century. In a grocery superstore the customer is faced with approximately 35,000 lines. To cope with this notable quantity of data, people’s perceptual processes take over. In effect these raise ‘‘barriers’’ protecting the mind against accepting just any type of data, and perceptual vigilance then focuses attention on particular data which are selectively comprehended and retained in memory. One of the implications of the perceptual process is that customers may interpret a brand differently from that intended by the organisation. For this reason some managers interpret a brand as a device that enables them to establish a key functional association in the customer’s mind. Brand as Personality With advancing technology and sufficient investment, competitors can emulate and surpass the functional advantage of a leading brand. One way to sustain a brand’s uniqueness is through enrobing it with emotional values, which users sometimes welcome beyond the brand’s functional utility. Customers rarely undertake a thorough review of a brand to identify its emotional values, as can be appreciated from the perceptual processes. By using the metaphor of the brand as a personality, sometimes manifested through a celebrity in brand advertisements, customers find it much easier to appreciate the emotional values of the brand. Thus, brand personality is ‘‘the set of human personality traits that are both applicable to and relevant for brands’’ (Azoulay & Kapferer, 2003, p. 151). Furthermore, with experience of the brand, customers develop their views about the brand, and to help them express this they personify brands. A good example of the way consumers personify brands based on their opinions about their emotional values is when British Airways and Air France stopped using Concorde in 2003. Brand as Vision Another perspective noted about managers’ interpretations of brands is akin to a beacon, whose rays provide a clear sense of direction for the traveller. In other words, brands are about a vision senior managers have for making the world a better place. If firms capitalise on devising a stretching vision, involving employees in the process, their brand stands a greater chance of succeeding. The key issue is to spend time devising a brand vision rather than drifting. As W.J. Bryan, a former American presidential candidate noted, ‘‘Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.’’ Thus, within a brand’s context it is a case of working to envision exhilarating futures then addressing the challenge of bringing that future about. As a result of a vision, a role can be defined for the brand. Within this perspective, brand management is about the senior team taking time to envision a world they want to bring about through their brand. Thus, Apple Mac is about enabling more creativity, Benetton is about a world of social harmony, Amazon is about bringing shopping into homes and Versace is about a pleasurable life based on beauty and joy. Brand as Adding Value This perspective on brands is akin to considering the extra benefits over and beyond the basic product or service that are added and that buyers value. These extra benefits could either be functionally based, albeit more difficult to sustain over time, or emotionally based. A functional example is a garage in a commuting town north of London that displayed a banner proclaiming, ‘‘We go the extra mile.’’ They do so through providing an extra service to customers who bring their cars to the garage for maintenance, driving their customers to and from the train station a mile away. By contrast, different brands of watches tell different stories about who the owner is. For example, Patek Philippe proclaim ‘‘You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.’’ This emotional component of a fine chronometer can account for a notable part of the price. Brand as Identity The concept of brand as identity has attracted the interest of researchers in marketing, organisational behaviour and strategy. Drawing on the review by Hatch and Schultz (2000), brand identity is the distinctive or central idea of a brand and how the brand communicates this idea to its stakeholders. Particularly when the organisation brands its offerings with its corporate name, or the brand is strongly endorsed by the corporation, this involves a lot of internal ‘‘soul searching’’ to understand what the firm stands for and how it can enact the corporate values across all its range. Managers and staff become engrossed in surfacing consensus above who the organisation is and what it stands for. For example, Apple believes in increasing people’s productivity through challenging inborn resistance to change. Its visual corporate identity of the bitten apple epitomises this the forbidden fruit with the colours of the rainbow in the wrong order. Communication is not directed just at consumers, but also at staff, so they can appreciate how they must behave to be the embodiment of the brand. Output Perspectives on Brand Interpretations Brand as Image This perspective encourages a more consumer-centred approach to brands as the set of associations perceived by an individual, over time, as a result of direct or indirect experience of a brand. These may be associations with functional qualities, or with individual people or events. It is unlikely for two people to have exactly the same image of a brand (since no two people have the same experiences), but their images may have common features. These features constitute, for example, ‘‘the caring image’’ of a particular brand of breakfast cereal. Evaluating a brand’s image needs to take into consideration customers’ levels of involvement with the category (Poiesz, 1989). For those categories where customers are actively involved in spending time and effort seeking out and processing brand information, it has been argued (e.g. Reynolds & Gutman, 1984) that brand image relates to a network of information stored in memory that help the customer define their sense of self. As customers are so involved in the brand selection process, it is appropriate to use an involved procedure when measuring brand image, for example the laddering technique within means-end theory. In this approach customers are first asked what they see as being the difference between the brand in question and a couple of competing brands in the category. Having elicited a functional attribute, which acts as the anchor point, customers are then asked why such an attribute might be important to them. They are then asked why this reason is important, and through repeatedly probing about why the reason is important, a value emerges. While this takes time to administer, it provides a rich insight into the brand’s image. Brand as Relationship The interpretation of a brand as a relationship is a logical extension of the idea of a brand’s personality: if brands can be personified, then customers can have relationships with them. Research has shown (e.g. Fournier, 1998; Aggarwal, 2004) that relationships are purposive and enable both parties to provide meanings. Customers choose brands in part because they seek to understand their self and to communicate aspects of their self to others. Through engaging in a relationship, albeit briefly, customers are able to resolve ideas about their self and, with the brand metaphorically akin to an active member of a dyad, it helps legitimise the customers’ thoughts about themselves. Within this perspective managers consider how the brand’s values should give rise to a particular type of relationship. Time Perspectives on Brand Interpretations Brands are dynamic offerings. They have to evolve to reflect the changing demands of customers as they gain more experience, as well as continually maintaining a position of strength against ever changing competition (de Chernatony, Drury & Segal-Horn, 2004). It is rare for a brand’s core values to change, rather it is the brand’s peripheral values that change. Drawing the analogy with fashion, a designer house brand’s core values of decency and style remain fixed and the length of the dress varies over time, it never transgresses a minimum length. A core value is one which the organisation will remain true to, regardless of external changes. A peripheral value is a secondary value that the organization is not so strongly wedded to and it serves a purpose within a particular set of external environments. As the environment changes, so the brand needs to make adaptations. Importance of Creating Brand Identity A brand is not the name of a product. It is the vision that drives the creation of products and services under that name. That vision, the key belief of the brands and its core values is called identity. It drives vibrant brands able to create advocates, a real cult and loyalty. Modern competition calls for two essential tools of brand management: ‘brand identity’, specifying the facets of brands’ uniqueness and value, and ‘brand positioning’, the main difference creating preference in a specific market at a specific time for its products. For existing brands, identity is the source of brand positioning. Brand positioning specifies the angle used by the products of that brand to attack a market in order to grow their market share at the expense of competition. Defining what a brand is made of helps answer many questions that are asked every day, such as: Can the brand sponsor such and such event or sport? Does the advertising campaign suit the brand? Is the opportunity for launching a new product inside the brand’s boundaries or outside? How can the brand change its communication style, yet remain true to itself? How can decision making in communications be decentralized regionally or internationally, without jeopardizing brand congruence? All such decisions pose the problem of brand identity and definition – which are essential prerequisites for efficient brand management. What is identity? To appreciate the meaning of this significant concept in brand management, this begins by considering the many ways in which the word is used today. For example, we speak of ‘identity cards’ – a personal, non-transferable document that tells in a few words who we are, what our name is and what distinguishable features we have that can be instantly recognised. We also hear of ‘identity of opinion’ between several people, meaning that they have an identical point of view. In terms of communication, this second interpretation of the word suggests brand identity is the common element sending a single message amid the wide variety of its products, actions and communications. This is important since the more the brand expands and diversifies, the more customers are inclined to feel that they are, in fact, dealing with several different brands rather than a single one. If products and communication go their separate ways, how can customers possibly perceive these different routes as converging towards a common vision and brand? Brand Identity Prism A useful conceptualisation of brand identity was provided by Kapferer (2008). His hexagonal identity prism helps explain the essential differences between competing brands The six dimensions of this prism enable managers to assess the differentiating features of a brand. Adapting Kapferer’s model slightly: Physique Physique relates to the tactile features of the brand that are recognised by our senses. The Financial Times majors upon its pink pages, Toblerone on its pyramid shape, Chanel No. 5 on its sophisticated fragrance, Fairy Liquid on its gentleness, Cadburys Dairy Milk on its creamy taste and Rolls Royce on its silent, yet powerful engine. For services brands, the physical cues associated with the brand provide a basis for distinction, e.g. the uniform staff wear, the tone of voice over the telephone, the logo employed and the behaviour of staff. Personality Personality of the brand reflects the set of human characteristics associated with a brand. Culture Each brand comes from a unique culture. While the culture of the Cooperative Bank could be described as ethically oriented, Virgin is about being a challenger. Relationship Brands thrive through the relationships they form with customers. For example, because of the way the breakfast cereal eaters likes to have some variety in their limited repertoire of preferred brands, this is akin to a casual friendship. By contrast, the relationship someone might have with a clinic monitoring their medical condition and revising their medication could be that of a committed partner. Reflection A brand provides a basis for the customer reflecting externally something about themselves to their peers through owning the brand. For example, the Lexus car owner making a statement about their success. Self-image Self-image, or internal reflection, relates to the way a brand enables the users to make a private statement back to themselves. A secretary who has had a difficult and argumentative day at work may have a favourite brand of tea that she drinks when back home alone. Part of the pleasure of the brand of tea relates to the way the secretary can silently think about the day, and as she sips the tea is saying to herself ‘I know I was right and what’s more I got through the day.’ : Planning and Launching a Brand and the Systematic Process Launching a brand and launching a product are not the same Marketing books devote chapters to the definition of new products, but none to the launching of new brands, except for an occasional word or two on how to choose the name of a new product. This confusion between product and brand is an enduring problem. Most famous brands, rich in meaning and values, started out as the ordinary names of innovative products or services, different from those of competitors. These names were generally randomly chosen, without any prior study or analysis: Coca-Cola reflected the contents of the new product; Mercedes was the name of Mr Daimler’s daughter; Citroën was a family name; Adidas is a spin-off of Adolphe Dassler; likewise Lip of Lippman and Harpic of Harry Picman. The new product had to be given a new name so that it could be advertised. Advertising was then put in charge of presenting the advantages of the new product as well as the benefits which consumers could expect from it. After some time, new products usually get copied by competitors. They then get replaced by new, higher quality products, which often benefit from the fame of the existing product name. However, although products change, brands stay. In the beginning then, advertisements will boast the merits of the new, initial product, say X. But, since all products naturally become obsolete over time, X will soon come to announce that it’s about to update and upgrade itself by lending its name to a higher quality product. And that’s how a new brand comes to life. From then on, it is no longer advertising that will sell the products, but the brand itself. A successful launch requires that the new brand be treated as a full brand, right from the very start – not as a mere product name presented in advertising. Launching a new brand means acting before the product name becomes a brand symbol, with a much broader and deeper meaning than previously. Modern management must show results a lot sooner. From the very beginning, the new brand must be considered in full, ie endowing it with both functional and non-functional values. Creating a brand means acting straightaway as if it is a well-established brand, rich in meaning. This entails a few fundamental principles. Setting Long Term and Short-Term Brand Objectives Long- and Short-Term Brand Objectives The purpose of this section is to consider brand objectives, devising catalytic mechanisms to ensure that staff focus on achieving these objectives and the long-term objectives of growing value and respected values. This section opens by focusing on long-term objectives which need to be easily understood, gain interest and motivate everyone. Breaking down long-term objectives into shorter-term goals helps managers fold back the future, and to facilitate this process, the use of the market cube is clarified. To help focus employees’ attention on meeting the stretching objectives, catalytic mechanisms are discussed. Potential routes to meet the objective of growing brand value are considered. Long-Term Brand Objectives HSBC, renowned for its respect for diversity, in the early part of the second millennium made its long-term objectives clear that it wanted to become a major player in China. However, this objective was daunting as some of the mounting challenges included increasing numbers of foreign competitors, China’s complex regulatory system and HSBC’s opposition against its job outsourcing. To achieve this stretching objective, HSBC dropped its strategy of Managing for Value that it had followed from 1998 to 2003. Instead, from 2003 to 2008 it followed a strategy of Managing for Growth. The brand strategy focused on making HSBC one of the leading brands for customer experience and corporate social responsibility. With a notable commitment to this long-term strategy, HSBC moved forward to the stretching goals that had been set. A powerful long-term objective is one that is constantly revisited as brand development progresses and thus should lead to other exhilarating long-term objectives. A long-term brand objective is powerful when there is commitment at all levels inside the organisation, even though the firm is facing high levels of risk. Powerful long-term objectives act as a motivating force, stronger than that of a charismatic leader and capable of out-living the tenure of that leader. But the objective must always be true to the three elements of brand vision. One has only to think about the purpose of Disney, ‘bringing happiness to millions’, to appreciate the logic of long-term objectives which took Disney from its origins to films and then theme parks. It is possible to assess whether a powerful long-term objective has emerged by questioning:  Does it stimulate progress? Is it exciting and adventurous? Is it clear to understand? Does it force staff to think differently? Does it provide a clear sense of direction for an individual who appreciates how his/her role needs to change? Is it consistent with the brand vision? Does it have a risk, but at the same time the scope for gaining full commitmentand unifying staff to work outside their comfort zone? Does it suggest other long-term objectives to sustain momentum? Short-Term Brand Objectives It is not always clear from the long-term objective how this could be rolled back to the present day to enable managers to appreciate how to move forward. Just as a problem is no longer a problem when it’s broken down into its different constituents, so may a long-term objective become easier to grasp when broken down into shorter-term objectives. A helpful starting point is to think of the typical marketing objective. This specifies the expected level of sales of a brand to a particular customer group by a specific time. If we draw on this, we are saying that to achieve a long-term brand objective, we have to be clear about which group of customers is going to benefit from this brand. The nature of the potential benefit from the brand needs to be reflected in the underlying customer motivations for buying the brand. However, the brands consumers purchase vary according to the context they are in. For example, the motivation for wearing shoes may be primarily because of the desire to protect one’s feet and to feel comfortable. Yet when people choose a pair of shoes to go to work, these may reflect a need to conform to the office conservative style of clothing. After work the same person might be going out to a dinner party and a different pair of shoes may be selected, reflecting the need to dress fashionably. By thinking about the potential market for a brand in terms of the three dimensions of customer group, motivation and context, managers have a tool for taking a long-term brand objective and breaking it down into shorter term objectives. The market cube to define the potential brand market A helpful way to approach the market cube is for the brand’s team to work together at a workshop. Taking the first dimension of customer motivation from the long-term objective, the team needs to identify the primary reasons why customers might want this new range of cars. This could be for environmental reasons, for example wanting the car because it does not degrade the quality of air and does not create noise pollution. A second motivation could result from the term ‘freedom to travel’ and here the motivation could be a desire for stress-free driving without the worry of getting lost when travelling. By translating the long-term objectives into possible consumer motivations, ideas should start to emerge in terms of shorter- term brand objectives. Brand Positioning Strategies What is brand positioning? Brand positioning is a process of getting the brand out there and establishing it as something worth thinking about. By what practical process can a brand platform be defined that will maximise the chances of a successful brand launch? This concerns local brands but also global ones with the big challenge of finding a strong global identity, and eventually a global positioning(if not, one that can be tailored to different markets). There are five phases to this process: understanding, exploring, testing, strategic evaluation and selection, and implementing or activating the brand: 1. The understanding phase is about identifying all potential added values for the brand, based on its identity, roots, heritage and prototypes, as well as its current image. This is a self-centred approach: a brand’s truth lies within itself. However, in order to detect which area of potential is most likely to be profitable for the business, an analysis of customers and competition is required. Markets are also analysed for this reason, as well as developments among consumers looking for ‘insights’ – consumers’ aspirations or dissatisfactions on whom the brand can build. Lastly, the aim of analysing the competition is to identify opportunities, gaps, exploitables and areas of interest. The tool for this is perceptual mapping, for in marketing the fight is over perceptions. Perceptual maps do produce a remarkably synthetic model of the mind of the consumer – the psychological battlefield. 2. The exploration phase is about suggesting scenarios for the brand. Finding the brand platform is not something that can be done in one fell swoop: it takes an iterative approach, using repeated eliminations and adjustments. For example, what would the possible scenarios be for a brand such as Havana Club? This is the only rum produced in Cuba, an island famous for the quality of its sugar cane (and thus its rum), and seeks to promote this quality on a worldwide scale. Going back to our four questions– against whom? why? for when? for whom? – we can identify four major scenarios, each of which uses its own approach to express the full richness of the imagery evoked by Cuba and its capital Havana, which have remained authentic and intact over time. Note that these four scenarios do not each rely on the same product. As is the case with many brands, preferences can differ from one country to another. For example, in the case of rum, some countries consume only white rum, while others consume only dark rum. Evidently not all of these countries could be penetrated using the same product. This has a strong impact on positioning, as the competition faced by a white alcohol will not be the same as that facing a dark rum. In one case, Havana Club will try to take market share away from gin and vodka, while in the other it will be up against whiskies, malts and brandies. Within the white alcohols sector, the question concerning the competition needs to be asked again: are we targeting the leader or not? It all depends on the subjective category and the targeted competitors: to define oneself as rum is already to have specified the nature of the competition. In the UK, however, there is no rum market – despite the fact that Bacardi sells very well there. But to drink Bacardi, do you necessarily have to be aware that it is a rum? It is – thanks to Cuba – perhaps the very epitome of the party cocktail drink. The angle of attack will differ depending on whether the target is Bacardi (the world leader), mixers and quality rums, or dark spirits in general (whiskies, brandies and so on). 3. The test phase is the time when scenarios are either refined or eliminated. It requires consumer studies to evaluate the credibility and emotive resonance of each scenario. What are being tested at this stage are ideas and formulations, but certainly not whole campaigns. 4. The strategic evaluation takes the form of a comparison of scenarios based on criteria, followed by the economic evaluation of potential sales and profits. The latter is conducted in ‘bottom-up’ fashion, through the summation of sales and contribution of forecasts from each country in question and so on. To evaluate a positioning, one must always take the trade into account. For example, in the world of shampoo, would a positioning of the ‘for men’ type constitute good positioning? The answer would seem to be ‘yes’ when judged by certain strategic evaluation criteria. It achieves differentiation and it represents a ‘customer insight’ (a genuine purchasing motive). But adopting the philosophy of the retailer leads us to a different conclusion. Retailers such as Wal- Mart, Carrefour and Asda tend to have a special men’s section for hygiene and cosmetics products. This would immediately attract those arguing for this positioning. But it tends to be women who buy for men, and these women tend to choose for their men a shampoo from their own section. Thus, in terms of sales potential, it makes more sense to leave the product in the normal shampoo section. If it were put in the men’s section, sales would fall by 50 per cent. Furthermore, let us suppose that the brand was in the men’s section, at which point the ‘for men’ positioning stops being a source of differentiation, since that section contains nothing but products and brands for men only. 5. The fifth phase is that of implementation and activation once the platform has been chosen and drawn up. This new term clearly expresses the fact that today, a brand’s values must be made palpable and tangible; and the brand must therefore transform them into acts at 360°. This is all about defining the brand’s marketing strategy, functional objectives and campaign plan. Will it be mainly massmedia advertising, or mainly proximity marketing? How will the brand be activated? Here again, choices will be determined by the competitive environment. Consider the example of Dolmio – the European leader in Italian sauces – whose marketing strategy cannot be the same for both the UK and Ireland. In the UK, Dolmio controls a mere 20 per cent of the market, while in the latter it is the comfortable leader with 50 per cent. Furthermore, far more proximity marketing can be carried out in a country with a small population than in a very large country. Activation is the phase during which strategy becomes behaviour and tangible actions, thus transcending mere advertising and promotion. Additional Reading The importance of Organizational Culture on brands The Link Between Organisational Culture and Branding The starting point for developing and sustaining a brand is its brand vision. One of the components of a powerful vision is the brand’s values and these are recognised as being part of the organisation’s culture. By understanding an organisation’s culture, there is a better appreciation of the organisation’s values and therefore insight about how the brand’s values might be linked to those of the organisation. Particularly for corporate brands, organisational culture provides a strong indicator about the values that characterize the brand. A clearly understood organisational culture provides a basis for differentiating a brand in a way that is often welcomed by customers. Earlier in this book, it was clarified that a brand can be considered as being a cluster of functional and emotional values. With competitors being able to emulate functional values, a more sustainable route to brand building is through emotional values. In other words, it’snot so much what the customer receives, but rather how they receive it. When two organisations provide similar functional brand benefits, for example Burger King and McDonald’s, the discriminator that may influence customers is the way the service is delivered. Organisational cultures are unique and provide a stimulus for staff behaving in ways unique to the organisation Organisational culture can act as a ‘glue’ uniting staff in disparate locations to act in a similar manner. It can motivate staff and through coherence of employees’ behaviour it can help engender a feeling of consistency about a brand. Ultimately, a strong organisational culture can increase the level of trust stakeholders have in a brand and thereby enhance performance levels Perspectives on Organisational Culture Until interest started to grow in corporate identity and reputation, organizational culture did not attract much attention in the marketing literature (Deshpande & Webster, 1989). In part this may be due to this concept’s complex nature, which has given rise to over 160 definitions (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952)..Interpretations of organisational culture can be categorised into two main groups. The first group of writers conceptualised it as something an organisation ‘has’, and are referred to as those in the integration paradigm. Deshpande and Webster’s (1989) definition is a good example, i.e.: ‘‘Culture is a set of shared assumptions and understandings about organizational functioning.’’ How a strong Culture Contributes to Brand Well Being There is evidence that organisations are characterised by several cultures (Hofstede, 1998) raising questions about whether shared values and assumptions should be considered more in terms of frequency, similarity or intensity (Gordon & DiTomaso, 1992). This second school of thought, the differentiation paradigm, considers culture as a root metaphor for the organisation, i.e. a metaphor for organisational knowledge, or shared symbols and meanings, or the unconscious mind. Culture exists in and through social interactions of staff, negotiating and sharing symbols and meaning. The integration paradigm regards culture as something an organisation ‘has’, while the differentiation paradigm perspective sees culture as something a group of people ‘are’. The artefacts are no longer the visible layer of culture, rather the means of its transmission and negotiation (Morgan, 1986). This interpretation recognises that all firms have subcultures, which individually share similar values and assumptions, but the extent to which these conform to the culture of senior management will vary. Auditing Organisational Culture There are numerous artefacts that could be investigated. Some of these include the following: (i) Material objects. The logo an organisation uses provides clues about its culture. Apple Inc. is a challenger, refusing to accept industry rules and competing with a different set of assumptions to the established players. The use of the apple which had been bitten drew on the Biblical analogy of the forbidden fruit which should not be eaten. Its use of the colours of the rainbow in the wrong order further reinforced its culture of not accepting established rules and being a challenger. Likewise when First Direct opened it deliberately wanted a new culture and chose its headquarters as Leeds, several hours drive north of London, where traditionally banks have their headquarters (HQs). (ii) Architecture and office location. An organisation’s building gives a clue about organisational culture. Microsoft’s head office looks modern, reinforcing the forward thinking nature of the brand. The location of an organisation’s head office gives clues about the importance of heritage and, particularly for an exclusive address, about its market positioning. Locating the Open University in the 1960s in the new town of Milton Keynes signalled a break with traditional University teaching. Just as Milton Keynes was being built around the new grid system (in England) of vertical and horizontal oriented roads, so the Open University embraced new ways of teaching using radio, TV, CDs and the Internet. iii) Language. The language that the staff and the corporation use provides insight about its culture. Dunhill is proud of its positioning of providing luxury gentlemen’s items and reinforces this through its brand personality of exclusive Englishness. The language in its corporate communication is a good example of how this artifact reflects a culture which deliberately strengthens the brand. (iv) Dress style. It is not uncommon for advertising and new media agency staff to dress informally, since this reflects their creativity. By contrast airlines place considerable emphasis on uniforms, hierarchically portraying seniority, to reflect the seriousness with which they address their business and their attention to detail. (v) Stories. Organisations such as American Express and the Marriott Hotel use hero stories to convey their belief in customer service. Staff talk to each other about corporate events, not just to communicate, but to help understand what their organisation stands for. When they see hero stories used in external advertisements, this helps them better appreciate their culture. For example, a press advertisement showing an American Express Service Agent travelling slowly on a motorbike through water in a storm, with the caption ‘‘don’t worry about it sir, I’ll get those travellers cheques and passport to you come hell or high water’’, is a helpful reminder of the organisation’s values. The story is often told of Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express, who in the very early days was refused a loan by the bank to keep his new firm going. About to catch a flight after meeting his bank, he saw a sign for Las Vegas, jumped onto a new flight, gambled at the casinos and used the winnings to pay his staff. His concern for employees’ well- being was soon appreciated. At Hewlett Packard (HP) employees used to be told the story of the garage, where the founders set up the business. By using the story, interlaced with expressions such as ‘‘always keep the toolbox open’’ and ‘‘share tools’’, employees could start to not only understand the brand, but also to interpret this to help them in their roles. (vi) Ceremonies, rites and rituals. Ceremonies are celebrations of organisational culture. A firm’s annual sales conferences in a variety of exotic locations are not just to inform the sales force about the future year’s marketing plans, but to reward performance. A poor year’s sales may well result in a less exotic conference location. Rites and rituals are planned activities that communicate the culture through planned events. A culture that respects staff loyalty can be recognised from the emphasis placed on the ritual of retirement dinners. (vii) Styles of behaviour. There are norms of behaviour about which new employees soon become aware. For example, the value of industriousness would be reflected in employees being in work early, or staying beyond the standard finishing time. Types of Culture in an Organization The Adhocracy Culture is characterised by an organisation that has a constantly changing organisation structure and a notable external orientation. This type of culture is continually looking for new brands and seeks to adapt to external opportunities. Emphasis on risk taking, individuality and anticipating the future is high. This is an entrepreneurial and creative environment with visionary leaders. Rapid growth, by being agile, enables this type of organisation to be at the leading edge of new knowledge to be implemented in new brands. The Market Culture is characterised by an organisation with a stable organization structure and is notably externally focused. Competitiveness and productivity are core values resulting in objectives such as profitability, market niche dominance and secure customer bases. Effective positioning is seen as an important basis for succeeding. The basic assumption for these organisations is that the external environment is hostile and customers are choosy. This is results-oriented place with leaders who are hard driving. The emphasis is on winning. The Hierarchy Culture is typified by an organisation with a stable structure but an internal orientation. As the environment is relatively stable, tasks can be co-ordinated, uniformity in products maintained and control systems are ubiquitous. Procedures and rules govern what people do and effective leaders are good co-ordinators and organisers. The long-term concerns are stability, predictability and efficiency. The Clan Culture is represented by organisations having a flexible structure and an internal orientation. Shared value and goals, cohesion, participation and a sense of togetherness are evident. Teamwork and corporate commitment to employees dictate work procedures. Some basic assumptions are that the environment can best be managed through teamwork, customers should be considered as partners, the organisation needs to develop a humane work environment and management should empower staff, mentor them and facilitate their participation and commitment.