Keller's Brand Equity Model: A Study on Apple's International Marketing Strategy

This report is a study on Apple's international marketing strategy using Keller's Brand Equity Model. It discusses the different steps that Apple can take to position their products successfully in the eyes of customers and develop a strong bond with them.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

INTRODUCTION
International marketing can be defined as promotion activity
that been conducted at global level. This method is based on
expansion of company’s marketing strategy in which special
attention is been paid to marketing identification, targeting
the segment and taking decisions internationally.
Organization undertaken for the present study is Apple which
is an American multinational technology Company that
develops and designs consumer electronics, computer
software, online services etc. This present report is made on
the study of Customer based brand equity model.

Keller's Brand Equity Model
This model is also known as customer based
brand equity model. This model constitutes
many factors where particular product or brand
is influenced by customers decision.
This model also comprises of fundamental
questions which consumers asks regarding the
brand.

STEP 1: Brand Identity- Who are
You?
Apple has to create brand awareness and prominence of
product and services which they sell to their large
customers base. Mentioned company already have
developed goodwill where customers recognizes
organization products from the logo itself. Moreover,
customers have an eagerness that what new will be
introduced by the firm in coming time period.
Customers get further knowledge with the help of
internet and other social media channels for the
upcoming products and services.

CONTINUED...
Cited company in order to enhance their revenue and
productivity must know that who will be their
customers. Organization have to identify the market
and should make different market segments for their
potential customers. In this context, Apple is a global
brand and it develops products and services for the
higher income level and rich class individuals.

CONTINUED...
Apple being a dominant leader in electronics field is
getting tough competition from Samsung, HTC, and
recently from Google. Apple has to think of their
customers and also their perception with respect to
decision making so that corrective measures can be
taken into account. If organization is able to sell their
product then it means that it satisfies a particular set
of customers and this will be organization Unique
Selling Proposition (USP).

STEP 2: Brand meaning- What are
you
Apple has to communicate with their customers
that what brand means and what it stands for.
In this model, there are two blocks which
consists of performance and imaginary.
Performance states that how well Apple products
and services meets needs and demands of the
customers. These performance standards
comprises of:

CONTINUED...
 Primary characteristics and features of the product
which differentiate from its competitor's product.
 Product reliability shows the durability and
serviceability which the cited organization gives to
their potential customers.
 Style and sleek design of the Apple products
differentiate it from the competitors product.
 Price set up by organization is relatively high as it
only meets needs and demands of high class income
people.

CONTINUED...
Furthermore, imagery reflects that how well the brand
meets with customers needs. This shows that after
using the product, customer achieves social and
psychological level. Organization can develop a
positive image from an individual own experience
with the cited company product. However, Apple can
develop its image by practicing targeting marketing
or with the help of word-of-mouth.

STEP 3: Brand Response (Consumer
Reactions or Responses) – What about you?
Consumers response towards the brand falls in two
categories. One is Judgment and the other one is
Feeling. Under judgment, consumers makes opinion
regarding brand and they fall into following
categories:
 Quality- Quality given by the cited company is
absolutely superior and customers make decisions
by using product and service.

CONTINUED...
 Credibility- Customers judge the credibility on the
basis of trustworthiness, likability and also on the
basis of innovation. Mentioned company have all the
three advantages relating to their product and
services.
 Consideration- Consumers judge Apple's product on
the basis of their unique needs. Unique needs are
their basic needs as they get all the specifications and
features in a single phone to satisfy their needs and
demands.

CONTINUED...
 Superiority- Organization is having a healthy brand
image in the eyes of their potential and loyal
customers. Cited company comes with new products
every year in order to meet with the diverse needs of
the customers. Further, customers are king of the
market and they just compare the Apple's product
with that of their potential competitors like
Samsung, HTC, Google etc.

STEP 4 Consumer Brand Resonance-
What about you and me?
Brand resonance is the last deserving position which
every business enterprise wants to achieve . This is
because it is the most desirable and also the highest
level to reach position. Apple can reach to brand
Resonance when customers have a strong bond with
the organization product and services. It consists of:
 Behaviour loyalty- This helps the mentioned
company when buyers make regular or repeat
purchase.

Keller's Brand Equity Model

CONTINUED...
 Attitude attachment- Consumers loves the brand and
products which cited company delivers and they
visualize all their purchase as a special purchase.
 Sense of community- Individuals feels the sense of
community when they are associated and linked
with the cited company products and services.
Apple, in order to connect with all their customers at
a single place takes help of social media channels
which includes Facebook page, Instagram, etc.

CONTINUED...
 Consumers engagement- These are the individuals
who do not use organization products and services
but they show their active participation. For
instance, individuals participating in online chats,
marketing rallies, following organization page on
social media. This is because they are attached
towards the product but they do not have that much
of income to purchase that product.

CONCLUSION
From the above study it is clearly inferred that the
Keller's Brand Equity Model helps Apple
organization to position their product successfully in
the eyes of customers. Further, this report reflects
various steps which develops a strong bond between
cited company and their loyal customers for different
products and services. Further, this study helps Apple
to have a competitive advantage over their potential
competitors by understanding customers wants.

REFERENCES
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M. and Sinkovics, R. R., 2009. The use of partial least squares
path modeling in international marketing. Advances in International Marketing
(AIM). 20. pp. 277-320.
Czinkota, M. and Ronkainen, I., 2012. International marketing. Cengage Learning.
Kuhn, K. A. L., Alpert, F. and Pope, N. K. L., 2008. An application of Keller's brand
equity model in a B2B context. Qualitative Market Research: An International
Journal. 11(1). pp. 40-58.
Pappu, R., Quester, P. G. and Cooksey, R. W., 2005. Consumer-based brand equity:
improving the measurement-empirical evidence. Journal of Product & Brand
Management, 14(3). pp. 143-154.
Burmann, C., Jost-Benz, M. and Riley, N., 2009. Towards an identity-based brand equity
model. Journal of Business Research. 62(3). pp. 390-397.

CONTINUED...
Interbrand. 2015. [Online]. Available through:
<http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-
brands/2015/ranking/>. [Accessed on 26th October
2015].
Keller's Brand Equity Model. 2001. [PDF]. Available
through:
<http://mktg.uni-svishtov.bg/ivm/resources/Customer
BasedbrandEquityModel.pdf> [Accessed on 26th
October 2015].

THANK YOU