Brand Management: Importance, Strategies, and Brand Equity

This document provides a comprehensive guide on brand management, focusing on the importance of branding, different brand strategies, and brand equity management. It includes a case study on Apple Inc. and offers insights into successful brand management techniques. The document also discusses the emergence of branding as a business practice and analyzes key components of brand strategies and brand equities.

Brand Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
LO 1...........................................................................................................................................................3
Importance of branding and its emergence............................................................................................3
Analysing key components of brand strategies and brand equities......................................................5
LO2............................................................................................................................................................7
Analyse different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity management
................................................................................................................................................................7
LO3............................................................................................................................................................9
Evaluate how brands are managed collaboratively and in partnership both at a domestic and global
level........................................................................................................................................................9
LO4..........................................................................................................................................................11
Evaluate different types of techniques for measuring and managing brand value using specific
organisational examples.......................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Brand management can be defined as the process of planning and analysing how a brand is
being perceived within the market. It is the function of marketing in which various techniques are used
to increase the brand values in the market. It also involves the process of improving, maintaining as
well as upholding the brand so that it always has a positive image on customers. In this report Apple
Inc. is taken as an organization, which is an American multinational company also operating in UK.
This is one the most popular company with many popular brands selling across the different parts of
the world. It designs develops as well as sells computer software, online services and electronics. It
comes under 4 major technology companies of the world. Present report discusses how a brand is built
and being managed over time. Also, this report also discusses how brands are organized within
portfolios and how brand hierarchies are being managed and built. Present report also includes how
brands are leveraged and also evaluates various techniques for measuring and managing a brand value.
LO 1
Importance of branding and its emergence
The importance of branding as a marketing tool and how it has emerged in business practise can
be understood as it helps the company to stand out in the saturated competitive market. With a clear
brand image the company builds loyalty within its customers, with good premium quality services and
products offered a company makes out the way for growth in customers.
It builds Trust: A trust is created among the consumers on a long term with memorable impression on
company's services and products (Davis, 2017). A good brand name distinguishes itself from
competitors by a true representation of who you are as a business, and how the brand wishes to be
perceived. It creates an overall impact on the company name as it drives new business recognition areas
and increases the brand awareness among public.
More investments: A good brand value brings appealing investment opportunities due to its
established place in the marketplace. Once a brand has been well-established, the word of mouth will
be the company's best and most effective advertising technique foe business growth. A company with a
strong brand name gives the impression of being the industry experts and builds an image of goodwill,
trust among its potential customers, clients by the way it handles its business.
Advertising techniques: Strong advertising tools plays the role of being one of the most important
component in branding of a company as it directly reflects the brand and its desired portrayal. A strong
cohesive and appealing advertising strategy plays well for the branding goals in the organization.

Emergence of branding as business practise
It has emerged as a business practise due to the extreme importance it holds in expanding the
company's growth as it enables the customers and clients to distinguish their choices from other
completive brands in economy. A good brand image positively influences how people perceive the
company growth to be (Hou, Zhao and Zheng, 2019). A strong competitive constant brand image can
drive new business and increase awareness of your business among the target audience groups. It is the
public face of your company, its working personality in which every element of working helps to build
it. The way products of a company are wrapped and the quality of technical service company offers to
its customers build a true presentation of the brand.
Brands are managed successful over time by using application of appropriate theory, models
and concepts which company develops with time by implementing them properly.
Brand concepts
 Brand identity refers to an insiders' concept reflecting brand managers decisions of what
company wants to communicate to its consumers by the image brand provokes,quality company
develops with growth of it. It needs to focus on the authentic qualities, real value characteristics
of products and the brand promise it promotes.
 Brand image refers to the image by the quality of product services of company such as the
packaging, promotion and advertising tools brand uses to sell its products and the way it
delivers the aftersales services.
 Brand position refers to the position and value preposition company actively communicates to
its users and target audience which sets the brand apart from other competitors (Masuda, 2019).
By creating a unique brand position, company gets clear differential advantages in minds of
customers.
David Aaker model explains brand equity as a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand that
add value from the product or service under the company. Apple company uses brand personality
principle for enhancement of its products image and using the branding techniques for launching its
products (Sousa, 2017). Brand personality is something consumers can directly relate to as it increases
the equity by having a constant trait that customers look up-to. This is a qualitative value-add that a
brand gains in addition to its functional benefits. There are 5 main types of brand personalities.
Apple keeps in mind for branding its products.

 Excitement-carefree, spirited and youthful: iPhone brand has built an image of royal comfort
for the youth globally by the innovative features, quality of service apple provides for iPhone
having a youthful, secure and good technical feature along the various other products.
 Competence: Successful and accomplished iPhones are the most preferred phone among youth
who look for superior technology usage as apple has built an image of accomplished and
successful company (Silalahi, 2019).
 Sophistication: Elegant and prestigious Apple has built iPhone with sophistication and with
prestigious elegance of upgraded technology for all of its iPhone products and the services it
offers,
 Ruggedness: With a glamorous, good-looking brand image of iPhone, Apple Inc. has built a
strong company name with the strong brand it has created among the competitors in the
marketplace.
Brand personality thus results in increased brand equity and defines the brands' attitude in the
marketplace and is also the key factor of any successful marketing technique order to choose the most
suitable brand personality, companies must consider the study of these traits properly.
Analysing key components of brand strategies and brand equities
Brand strategies include building, planning and developing strategies for the organization to
accomplish future targets. Advanced, efficient planned strategies helps organization in every aspect, be
it customer's requirements or against competitors. Successful brand strategies help in eliminating
competition, and also create positive brand image and hence making company more valuable in
market-place (Gambetti and et.al., 2016). So, clearly every organization should have successful brand
strategy to guide their businesses. Some key components of successful brand strategies are as follows:-
Purpose: Although every organization's aim is to make money, but it should not be restricted to that
purpose only. Organizations should also have a unique purpose which will hit the targeted customers
hard. And that purpose should also state the potential consumers for that organization. For example,
Apple's core purpose was to revolutionize IT world.
Brand Positioning: This refers to the current market position on which your organizations stand, in
context to its competitors and in the mind of customers. This also differentiates any organization from
their competitors For example Apple is completely standing on iPhone market, they created very strong
market base for iPhones, they positioned iPhone product very well globally.

Brand Packaging: This conveys any brand/organization's image. Packaging should be unique and
should represent company's business to consumers in the marketplace. For example, Apple always
packaged their items including iPhone in sophisticated and sober way which reflects their way of
working.
Brand Characteristics: This states the personality of brand, which should relate to consumers, like
humour, creativity, smartness, innovations etc. It also refers to using appropriate logo, design and
colours, tag lines which will be ultimately guiding your business's purpose, brand image and
positioning etc (Altaf and et.al., 2017). For example, Apple uses a tag line “Think Different”, and a
logo of half-bitten apple and a very simple attractive theme and design of logo which ultimately
reflects company's attitude Their smartness and continuous innovations led them global success.
Brand equity refers to organization's image/reputation in marketplace, having good/positive
brand equity value results in attracting more consumers. Brand equity management refers to
maintaining the company's reputation or brand equity, and it is important for any organization
regardless of any size. Some key components of successful strategies for brand equity management are
as follows:-
Brand Consistency: To build a solid reputation or image of your brand, Organization should be
consistent enough, ultimately consistency is the key to the success. It contributes in adding more and
more consumers and improves brands equity (Martínez and Nishiyama., 2019). For example, Apple has
always been a consisting brand, they launched iPhone in 2007 and still it is available and is big success,
this led to their global success and huge consumer loyalty.
Products/Services Value: Brand professionals of organizations, should promise high quality products
or services, while also holding on existing customers by providing customer satisfactions. For example,
Apple always offered innovative technologies to attract more consumers and provided high degree of
customer satisfaction to retain old ones.
Collaboration: Proper branding and strategic alliances/collaborations, binds people together of
different countries with different cultures and diversities, in order to face unknown complex branding
problems For example, Apple collaborated with Microsoft in order to provide access to services of
Microsoft to iPhone users.
Social Media: At present it is a necessity to manage company’s brand equity through social media.
Brands should focus on trending on social media platforms in positive way, in order to get lots of free
publicity. This helps in connecting people across globe and making them aware of the organization's

products/services/offers/discounts etc. For example, Apple's strong social media presence led to huge
sales for iPhones, when the competition was rising.
Action and Reactions: Brands facing problems or challenges is not uncommon. This affects the brand
equity of the company, so to overcome and rise again, this all depends on brand's knowledge of
consumer reactions. Brand should consider taking feedbacks/reviews from customers and offer
delivery satisfaction and customer care if sometimes customer faces problem after buying or using
brand's services or products (Khanna, Jacob and Chopra., 2018). For example, Apple always delivered
customer satisfaction, and according to reviews and feedbacks they also modified iPhone and installed
features which were in demand.
There were some challenges too Apple had to face and also how they overcame it. Apple is an
American multinational company, headquartered in California, founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak
and Ronald Wayne in the year 1976. Apple develops and sells consumer technologies, hardware and
software, including iPhone, MacBook, and also dedicated operating system. iPhone had to face many
challenges including less storage, app compatibility between different apple devices, poor battery life
as compared to devices from different competitors. This also led to downfall of iPhones brand image.
Samsung and other Chinese brands broke the market share of iPhone. Apple overcame these challenges
by taking feedbacks and reviews from consumers, made necessary changes to iPhone. Their brand
loyalty also helped them to rise again in market share of iPhones. Apple did strong social media
marketing, offered great delivery satisfaction to iPhone users. Company offered huge replacement
price, if customer want to upgrade to new iPhone. New features, technologies were introduced in
iPhones, which competitors lacked, and with the help of all these, Apple's iPhone again became a
global success, thus increasing brand loyalty more and more.
LO2
Analyse different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity management
The brand portfolio strategy is about development of band family as per their signifiant level of roles
along with having relationship with each other in more significant manner. The company is mainly
having delivering synergy, leverage along with clarity, relevance by having effective level of
differentiation of energy.
The main level of brand portfolio strategies is being adopted by firm are-
Brand house is also been called as the mono brand portfolio as this is strategy which is being
used by the companies to have use of their corporate brand names on its all product to gains

competitive advantage along with gaining customer loyalty. With brand house strategy any sub brand
do not have any detraction from main brand. This helps in building for long level of relationship which
is considered to be easily recognizable and memorable.
As for example apple has several products' just a iPhone, mac book and iPad which is being
never differentiates from the respective master brand (Więcek-Janka and et.al., 2017.). The company
apple keep sunning the brand all through its respective main brans having perfection location of
combines logo at back of all product .
House of brands is this is approach which is being ore found to be common among the firm as
comparative to former one in implementation as brand strategies. This considerer to be more classifies
where company have its own varsity of brands which is being probably different form several other
brand falling in this category.
For examples P&G is well-known ballistically of its sub brands which is most lineality being
identifiable each have inclusion of Tide, Charming, Bounty, Pampers, and Dawn.
Hierarchy branding
It is meant to have the summarizing over brand strategy in way of displaying numbers along
with mature in common and distinctive brands which have elements which are grossing over firm.
These elders to have the revelation of product which is more expects to have developmental of bran
element. It is considered to be an attempts in more using of corporates brand equity which in order to
have creation of brand recognition.
The brand Hierarchy have various elements such as-
Corporate Brand is the practices which using the name of company as name of product brad.
It is considered t e an attempt in order to have creation of brand recognition. As for example apple has
several products' just a iPhone, mac book and iPad which is being never differentiates from the
respective master brand. The Apple brand personality is about lifestyle; imagination; liberty regained;
innovation; passion; hopes, dreams and aspirations; and power-to-the-people through technology. In
order to have legal reasoning the corporates brans is present somewhere is products.
Family Brand is the situation when the group of products has been under the same brand
names which h is different products of company are marketed under a one brand namer. The family
brand has providence of full support to company which is been applied to wide range of products in
more over to avoid two level collapse.

Individual Brand or multiple branding as in market strategy of giving product in respective
portfolio as its own unique. The company have advantage that the product is more unique along with
identity and images. On other hand there is major consideration of complexity and difficulty in order to
have developmental of separate level of advertising program. These provide a dominants position with
respects to product category so that products has subbed branding.
Modifier is the hybrid of mentioned above which is been employees to have further level of
distinguish of distinguishing to different items which have been involved ( Paul, 2019). Such shifts in
emphasis are an attempt by the firm to harness the positive associations and mitigate against the
negative associations of different brands.
The apple is using the customer based experiences to have attainment of all touch points in
order to reinforce apple brand. The company is having expansion and improvident its distributions
level of capabilities by opening around 100 of stores in retail key cities . Apple is hugely have
increased retail section of accessibility of iPads and iPods through various resellers. The company is
directly providing the prospective customer direct level of experience about brand values which is
creating stimulation and no pressure environmental amongst customer and retailers in more effective
and efficient way.
LO3
Evaluate how brands are managed collaboratively and in partnership both at a domestic and global
level
Brand extension strategy have involvement of the extension which is having involvement the
brand reputations in more way of production new services and product. With the application f brand
strategies, the company try to have proper level of appealing of customer which can be turning out the
idea stepping into completely new level of market which results in one of logical extension in more
significant way.
Line extension is one of simplest one in which the company is offering the different sized and
flavours which are related to products. This is safe form in brand extension as the company has already
developed the interest of product in more signifiant way (Nam, Joshi and Kannan, 2017. ). The apple
have use and performed well level of line extension as the company have entered computer area an
easily became renowned it. The company have line developmental of iPad, mac book, iPod and phone
all resisting in software and technology company fortuning out to famous brad which making business
more level of flourish.

Product extension is about the development of new product which is unrelated to exiting
product offering which take insides in having product extension in more proper manner. A product
extension keeps your brand consistent while giving you new ways to earn profits.
Expertise extension is leverage with the level of creditability and authority of brand to have
developmental of predict in order to have expertise level with involvement of use level of technology
implementation.
Market extension when the companies have exploration totally into new sector which is tuning
to me more tricky in order to have targeting customers as target audiences as knowing well enough
which delivers the huge level of success.
The companies have recognized the boundaries issues in which the consumer boundaries will accept
the protracts. It is also extended tie the customer believability and credibility regrading brand. On the
other hand leverage is considered be essentialist of power in the respective brand along to gain
competitive advantages in market place in significant order ( Kotabe and Helsen, 2020). The strong the
barns the company will be able to have connection's of core compensates with unique benefits in
appetizing delivery and more leverage to barns by bioengineer these level of benefits. Apples have
introduced the iPad in new market of computer hardware that has been previously in non-existent. This
is tuns out to be huge opportunity and developmental of company with setting up rand in efficient order
to have developmental in more significant manner.
Brand reinforcement is majorly having focus of brand retentions in order to main brand equity which
keeping brand more level of alive among the exiting and new target customers. The brand re-
enforcement can be done through two ways that is brand image and brand awareness in more
significant manner. The reinforcements are having inclusion on regular level of monitoring of product
at all level.
The use of apple iPad, iTunes, iPhone and iPod in havering the reinforcing the reinvigorating
the brand personality of company in signifiant manner. The product is having level of initiatives which
is going high level of relevance which is appealing as bad images in the main of customers gemstone
which is being relaxed by apple in recent years. Apple is havering level of brand awareness at the top
of all technological companies. This is having ability to their branding be simple along with
aesthetically pleasing (Tjemkes, Vos and Burgers 2017). The marketing is having ability yo an
exercising and more informative which is in way d contribution in more level of branding success.

The next is about branded revisitation is considered t be marketing strategy which is being
adopted by company to have product reaching to maturity stages of the product life cycle and due to
which the profits have been fallen in practicality. It is an attempt to bring the product back in the
market and secure the sources of equity i.e. customers. This can be done by having the solution of
increases level of product use, interacting into new market, redeposition of product which is turning out
to be more effective along with having basic level of consumerist instalment and developmental in
more effective way.
A brand collaboration sis considered to strategic operation's of partnership between brand and another
party to have the effective level of development and recognizance of company. Apple has number of
expedience of he partner over last few years the company they have collaborated are he company has
collaborated with the likes of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), SAP (NYSE:SAP),
and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO).Late last year, Apple announced that it had bagged another
white whale -- General Electric (NYSE:GE).
LO4
Evaluate different types of techniques for measuring and managing brand value using specific
organisational examples.
Brands have the primary level of functionalist to have navigation along with reassurances and
engagements which helps in having proper level f communication's in distortion imagination
associationist which have proper level of encouragements over identification of broadly customer in
more significant way. It has Basic assumption that the value of brands have to carry process of the
valuation's which is commiserated to be more important to evaluates by company in signifiant order.
Brand valuation's is defined as the process which is about having calculations of value of brad along
with amount of money which is having willingness to pays as the more level of financial value.
The ways throughout which apple can have valuation's of brand
Brand awareness is considered to be knowledges d apple products with is important parts of brand
equity the leading indications of the awareness of consumers in way to have conversation to share
(Gehani, 2016). The company can have methodologies such as the survey groups, web traffic search
volumes with regard to apple brand and products. The firm can also uses social mention and reviews in
significant way.

Preference matrices the preference of consumers is powerful in way of purchasing daily decision.
These are consideration of aspects that can be measured brand relevance and accessibility of product
among customer. The customer have belief in providing the uniqueness specific values along with
stability to target development of target market in specific way. Emotional connection's us the with
customers is key factor loyalty and brand values which is prevailing with product and services
developmental in more significant way.
Financial matrix is had major level of surrounding of brand equity which is being directly tired to
performance of sales the ways which can be used to have the magnetizing of bend equity realized to
financial aspects are through having price premium over composition along with average transnational
value. The customer have lifetime values and the rates of sustained growth which is helping company
to calculate the business in of branding in more effective way (Özbölük and Dursun, 2017 ). Apples
have introduced the iPad in new market of computer hardware that has been previously in non-existent.
This is tuns out to be huge opportunity and developmental of company with setting up rand in efficient
order to have developmental in more significant manner.
The last is output metrics in have the evaluation's of marketing material which is making measurements
to have type of assets to released market places. The output can be measured through the impact of
brand images which is major offering into market. Locals activity agave clear impacts in brand equity
which is saving clears negative impacts n business. The ways to agave determinations id the assets are
locals marketer campaign who is casualty having utilization also escalation of sale over promoted
products. The customer has the significant level of adsorption over loyalty programs.
CONCLUSION
This manual concluded that branding is an effective and important tool for marketing business
practices, and also how it has emerged in business practices. It also evaluated how brands are managed
successfully, with the help of different models, theories and concepts. It included successful business
strategies for building and managing brand equities, and has used the same with real life example of
Apple's iPhone. This report also concluded that different strategies of portfolio management, brand
hierarchy, brand equity management are critically analysed and supported with various theories,
models and frameworks. This manual also demonstrated how brands have been managed collaborative
and partnership at domestic and global level, which is supported by critically analysing and evaluating,
different techniques used by brands to leverage and extend. This manual also states different types of

techniques used for measuring and managing brand value in relation to developing a strong and
enduring brand, which are also supported by various organizational examples.

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