Brand Management Strategies and Techniques

Brand Management
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Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Section 1..........................................................................................................................................4
LO1 Demonstrate an understanding of how a brand is built and managed over time.....................4
P1 Explain the importance of branding as a marketing tool and why and how it has emerged in
business practice..............................................................................................................................4
P2 Analyze the key components of a successful brand strategy for building and managing brand
equity...............................................................................................................................................7
Section 2..........................................................................................................................................9
LO2 Analyze how brands are organized in portfolios; how brand hierarchies are built and
managed...........................................................................................................................................9
P3 Analyze different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity
management.....................................................................................................................................9
LO3 Evaluate how brands are leveraged/extended over time domestically and internationally...15
P4 Evaluate how brands are managed collaboratively and in partnership both at a domestic and
global level.....................................................................................................................................15
LO4 Evaluate techniques for measuring and managing brand value over time............................18
P5 Evaluate different types of techniques for measuring and managing brand value using specific
organizational examples................................................................................................................18
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................20
Reference List................................................................................................................................21
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Introduction
As industries continue to expand and focus more on their sales growth, there has been a huge
uproar in various fields regarding making one’s organization futureproof. Although such an idea
prompts companies to undertake aggressive measures, from a business point of view it seems
absolutely critical. With the increase in industry rivalry at almost all levels of businesses,
companies now look to manage their brands with the ulterior objective of protecting it from
disarray. In doing so, they make use of various theoretical as well as practical methods so that
they can ensure the company’s longevity.
In a highly competitive environment, brand management has become increasingly important. It is
defined as the process of maintaining and upholding one’s brand so that consumers are always
confident of the various products and services that an organization might be offering. There are a
number of important factors to keep in mind when managing a brand. Aspects such as cost,
customer satisfaction, etc., come into play with proper brand management. This study will look
at the various factors related to proper implementation of various brand management techniques
and theories.The two brands that have been selected for use as reference are Apple Inc. and Nike.
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Section 1
LO1 Demonstrate an understanding of how a brand is built and managed over time
P1 Explain the importance of branding as a marketing tool and why and how it has
emerged in business practice.
Branding has emerged as one of the most essential aspects of the business strategy. This
marketing process is often considered to be merely a promotional function. Managers involved
within a successful marketing firm should understand branding is about publicity of products’
image, a supplementary process, which could be isolated from the core business of product
management. In this case, branding strategies and management of Dove will be analyzed. All the
specifications are analyzed in detail below,
Importance of branding as a marketing tool
According to McDonald and Wilson(2016), various marketing strategies commence with the
value proposition, the different kinds as well as amounts of value that an organization wants
consumers to receive form the market offering. This value proposition also addresses vale as
considered by the organization as well as seeking to create into the service they offer
(testconso.typepad.com, 2018). With development in branding concept, it becomes an important
tool for organizations to convey their core messages and motives. Through the brand dynamics
pyramid importance of branding as a marketing technology could be assumed. The brand
dynamics pyramid is listed below,
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Figure 1: The brand dynamics pyramid
(Source: Vasileva, 2016)
According to this above-mentioned pyramid, it could be perceived that customers are the integral
part of branding as a marketing tool. In the first phrase an emotional and rational attachments to
one brand becomes prominent with the consumers in exclusion of other competitive brands. In
the advantage phrase, customers felt to have a rational bonding with a particular brand.
Performance stage indicates to the fact that acceptable service or product performance is
appropriate to achieve customer attentions (Vasileva, 2016). Relevance indicates that all the
services and efforts are projecting customers’ needs. Presence stage indicates to the fact that
there is an active familiarity regarding their upcoming brand and product established by the
organization. All the levels involved in the brand dynamics pyramid reflects that branding as a
marketing tool is important for establishing customer relationship from weak relationship to the
level of strong relationship.
Emergence of branding concept in business practices
Emergence of branding concept along with strategies in business practices has two major part
namely, past and contemporary situation in branding. Details of each stage is attached below,
Formatting and past stage of branding
Batey (2015) has mentioned the fact that Branding, as any type of concept, has developed over
time: from the time when a sheep of one group initiated to be branded to differentiate them from
other group in order to enter in the contemporary era, when each thing from food to flower, is
branded. The formatting stage is concisely divided in to stage namely “Branding before the
1970s”,“Branding in the 1970s and 1980s”, and “Branding in the 1990s”. In the first stage,
three core branding concepts and theories has evolved despite the resistance of consumer
movement as well as Clayton Act. These theories are segmentation strategy, brand loyalty and
lifestyle concept of branding. According to Moriarty et al., (2014), segmentation concept reveals
that in a particular area there are different types of customers with their various demands over
products. On the other hand, brand loyalty though a debatable issue reflects the fact that
consumers are loyal to the brands related to household products around 90%. The lifestyle
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branding concept is reflective of customers’ lifestyle in services and products (Hampf and
Lindberg-Repo, 2011).
Next stage in emergence of branding states that against the topical issue of branding in the prior
era, this time branding correspondences immaterial value of services and products in comparison
of market competitors’ products. The macro marketing concept has become prominent in this
stage, which involves product positioning concept in branding. The last stage in this era unfolds
mathematically representation of brand equity(Hampf and Lindberg-Repo, 2011).
Current branding situation within business practices
The current era in branding states concepts of brand identity, corporate social responsibility and
Country-of-Origin (COO). The brand identity, Wheeler(2017) stated by provides guidelines to
what parts of a particular brand must be kept the same and which elements should be modified to
better. On the other hand, Powers and Greenwell (2017) have states that celebrity endorsement is
one of the remarkable concept of branding in this era. The above-mentioned organization (Dove)
also involves this kind of celebrity endorsement in their product branding strategy. The other two
strategies are reflecting the sustainability as well as consumer protection policies in
organizations.
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