Nokia Brand Positioning and Strategic Management

The assignment delves into Nokia's brand positioning, leveraging the Keller's Brand Equity Model to analyze the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It also examines Nokia's strategic management practices, including its market analysis, product development, and customer needs. The assignment draws on various sources, including books, journals, and online articles, to provide a comprehensive understanding of Nokia's branding strategy.

STRATEGIC BRAND
MANAGEMENT - NOKIA

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
1. Nokia's current brand positioning as brand........................................................................1
Brand Positioning Category...................................................................................................3
Target market..........................................................................................................................3
Competitors............................................................................................................................4
Points of Parity.......................................................................................................................4
Points of difference.................................................................................................................4
Points of wow.........................................................................................................................4
2. Development of new brand positioning.............................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The age of globalisation and a highly competitive environment make it difficult for Nokia
to perform best at their capacity. It is important that Nokia uses effective brand positioning to
make their brands successful. The below report showcases the current brand positioning of Nokia
as a brand. Along with it, the report will explore Nokia's new target market and its key
competitions. The brand positioning identification in the report will explain the points of parity
(POP's) and point of differences (POD's) of the brand. The report will later develop a new brand
positioning. Also, it will identify the elements which needs to be changed and maintained with
the usage of CBBE concept.
TASK
1. Nokia's current brand positioning as brand
Brand positioning refers to make the target consumers buy your brand instead of others.
It makes sure that the activity of the brands has an aim that is common. It is directed, guided and
delivered after the observation of those reasons which leads towards these consumers buying
habits. Along with it, it focuses with the consumers point of contact.
Illustration 1: Nokia Logo
Source: Logo Showcase Nokia, 2017
Nokia was founded in 1865 in Finland. Since the year 1970, the company incorporated
itself in telecommunications industry. It developed its first product known as Nokia DX 200
which was known to be a switch for telephone exchanges during that time. In 1991, the company
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produced it's another phone Nokia 1011. Later in 2000 Nokia launched Nokia 3210 with
functions such as picture messaging and interchangeable covers. The phones of Nokia made the
organisation very popular and it became the first choice of its customers(Lasserre, 2017).
Customers worldwide were attracted towards the Brand because of its durable quality and their
stand on the test of time.
Illustration 2: Nokia's Brand Positioning
Source: Brand personality of mobile, 2015
From the above image it can be seen as the Nokia's current brand positioning explores
that the company's products are friendly, reliable and family oriented. The brand is also honest
and sincere with its consumers. It ensures that the brand is performing better in the market and
having a strong image of itself.
After the arrival of strong competitors such as Samsung, Apple, etc. entity rapidly lost its
market condition. These companies provided products which included newest innovation and
better functioning. Nokia faced profitability issues and faced a lot of losses as well. This made
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the company to create new market positioning for its brand and stand apart from its
competitors(Kotabe and Helsen, 2014).
The arrival of Android cellphones made Nokia to choose a distinctive approach rather
than becoming a part of the Android family (Brand Positioning : Nokia 3310, 2014). The
company approached Microsoft's cooperation to launch cellphones comprised of Microsoft's
software. The cellphones produced with the cooperation of Microsoft did not perform well in the
market. It made the company fall backwards again and look for other options(Tirunillai and
Tellis, 2014). Currently, Nokia has joined the Android family and has started producing products
which include the Android software to regain its market position.
Nokia's current brand positioning after its arrival into the Android market has made it
clear that the company is now creating cellphones which hold a strong competitive market and
less buying options because of its spoiled reputation. In its current positioning it is focused on
producing cellphones which are better in terms of quality and provides the same functions
provided by its competitors as well to stand in the competitive market. Along with it, the
company is promoting its products on bigger platforms of social media and advertising itself of
Television, radio, newspapers etc. to regain its brand's lost reputation(Kauppinen‐Räisänen,
2014).
Brand Positioning Category
The brand positioning category of Nokia is moderate as the company is producing cellphones for
millennials or the new generation in which it has decided to provide them with the best of the
services and functions. Nokia under its brand have launched products such as X7, X6 in its X
series and 7 and 7 Plus in its 7 series.
Target market
This time the company is set to target the Asian and European markets. Nokia is choosing
customers belonging to the new generation such as millennials, corporate workers, tech savvy
people etc. The reason behind choosing this target market is that these consumers identities are
making the organisation to constantly innovate new products. Also, constant innovation helps the
organisation to achieve its organisational goals and objective and keep developing new products
along. Its values are inclined towards regaining the company's market reputation by providing
the best products to its consumers(Bailey and et.al 2018). These products are made after
understanding the market needs of these consumers as well as their choices while buying such
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products. The company has not chosen a secondary data support this time in its brand positioning
this time. The attitudes of target market are more inclined towards its competitors such as Apple
and Samsung as they are providing new mobiles with best functioning and support(Nokia: It will
take us less than 10 years to catch Apple and Samsung. 2015).
Competitors
Its key competition includes companies such as Samsung, Apple, Honor, different
Chinese brands etc. Nokia is having strong competition because its competitors are already
having a strong consumer base and their products are widely accepted in the market. It is going
to take a lot of time for the company to regain its consumer base which it had before. Firms such
as Apple provide best functions such as phones with better camera and security and Samsung is
known for its good user interface.
Points of Parity
In its positioning the brand's new cellphones majorly include the same features provided
by its competitors. Nokia's new category products are going to include touchscreens, cameras
with same or fewer resolutions etc. Along with it, the company has found that it is important for
it to bring its products with the same functions presented by its competitors otherwise it has to
suffer from its market position. The branding sstrategy used by Nokia is developed in accordance
with observing the strategy of its competitors such as Samsung and Apple. The strategy to bring
products that provides the same function as its competitors will help Nokia to stand with its
rivalries in the market.
Points of difference
In its current brand positioning Nokia has developed marketing strategies which are
different from its competitors. Along with it, in its mobile phones the company is adding unique
features such as better screen, better camera etc. These strategies are taken into consideration to
make the brand positioning strong and efficient after observing the expectations of new
consumers from Nokia(Johansson and Carlson, 2014). The company has offered a variety of
advertisements on different channels such as Television, radio, internet etc. to promote its brand.
Points of wow
The points of wow which are observed include its newly designed marketing strategies
that helps organisation to stand in the market again and again back its reputation.
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2. Development of new brand positioning
The new positioning will help Nokia to understand its target market with a better
perspective. It is going to make sure that the Brand's new products are created after
understanding the needs and wants to its consumer markets. Below explored is the new
positioning of the Nokia's current market with the help of CBBE Branding concept:
Keller's Brand Equity model, 2017
CBBE Branding Concept
The customer based brand equity branding concept helps the organisation to understand
the needs and requirements of its consumers on which it is focusing towards. Below explored is
the CBBE concept model of Nokia:
Salience: Nokia's brand awareness is strong as consumers will tend to choose Nokia
because of its strong word of mouth and its products durability in the market. In its new
positioning the brand is producing products which are more durable and strong to maintain the
good word of mouth. It is going to make Nokia to stand apart when these consumers will make
their choices based on choosing a product which is more durable and longer lasting. Along with
it, the company will gain a better consumer advantage during these selections.
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Illustration 3: CBBE Model

The length of brand awareness of Nokia is not that strong because its such competitors
are having a large market share. Nokia is choosing to target mid-range markets in order to
compete with companies such as Apple and Samsung. The company is doing so because these
brands are having a strong hold in the market which is going to make Nokia suffer because the
products of its competitors are top choices of its consumers. It has been observed that the brand's
durability and efficient functioning is the first thing that comes into consumers mind when they
think about Nokia.
Brand Performance and Imagery: Nokia is seen to be holding its reputation as being
one of the best cell phone makers in the world. In its new positioning the company is launching a
six month campaign to promote its products and services worldwide. In these six months, the
brand's focus is on making consumers understand the brand's relaunch. Also, it will understand
what these consumers want more from the brand. This will help the organisation to regain its
image in the market. The durability of brands mobile phones is better than its competitors.
Buyers have strong feelings of empathy as Nokia is the most used brand by any household.
Along with it, the brands products price is also low compared to its competitors. As mentioned
above people tend to choose products of Nokia because of its strong durability and best services.
People of all classes purchase the phones of Nokia. It makes the company one of the leading
companies in cell phones production. The brands products are used in almost every situation by
its buyers. Also, its comeback can make the people choose Nokia instead of other brands such as
Samsung and Apple(Nokia prepares £80m brand repositioning campaign, 2017).
With the help of its famous slogan “connecting people” Nokia is having a strong
associated marketing. Today, people of all ages tend to remember Nokia with its high-quality
cell phones. It is going to help Nokia in creating a good brand positioning in the market.
Judgements and Feelings: Nokia is a well-known brand and people tend to judge it to
deliver high quality products. But after its mocked reputation the company is suffering from
wrong judgements as well, where people are considering products of Apple and Samsung instead
of Nokia because it lacks what these consumers wants. The elements such as a better promotion
and wide advertising from the current positioning need to be maintained in order to keep making
the customers aware about brands relaunch(Strebinger, 2014). Better promotion is also going to
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make the organisation understand the value of its consumers as its will lead towards gaining new
buyers. The effective marketing of new positioning can make the Nokia's comeback in consumer
markets again. Consumers are having strong feeling of association with Nokia as the company
provided them with products which were strong and affordable.
Resonance: Consumers are having a strong brand loyalty towards Nokia. Since 2003, the
company has lost its brand's reputation in smartphone markets. Even today, if Nokia comes back
with new products consumers will choose Nokia because of its strong reputation. Buyers tend to
buy products which offer better quality and durability and Nokia provides both. The elements
such as a better promotion and wide advertising from the current positioning need to be
maintained in order to keep making the customers aware about brands relaunch(Strebinger,
2014). Better promotion is also going to make the organisation understand the value of its
consumers as its will lead towards gaining new buyers. Consumers also are having strong
attitudinal attachment with the products of Nokia because of its high quality(Jung, 2014). These
all factors can make its brand positioning strong and can provide Nokia a good comeback in the
market.
The corporate social responsibilities factor that Nokia should consider is providing strong
values to its stakeholders. As the stakeholders are the most valuable asset of the organisation and
will lead it towards growth and success.
CONCLUSION
The above report discusses the current brand positioning of Nokia as a brand. From the
report it has been identified that Nokia's current brand positioning requires reformation in order
to learn more about its buyers. In includes in depth discussions of topics such as the positioning
target market, its key competitions, its points of parity (POP's) and differences (POD's). From
this, it can be understood that the brand is leading in providing products which are made of better
quality and are durable. The key findings conclude that the new positioning will help the brand
to enhance its products market and analyse the needs and requirements of its buyers.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bailey, C. and et. al 2018. Strategic human resource management. Oxford University Press.
Johansson, J.K. and Carlson, K.A., 2014. Contemporary brand management. Sage Publications.
Jung, S.C., 2014. The analysis of strategic management of samsung electronics company through
the generic value chain model. International Journal of Software Engineering and Its
Applications, 8(12).pp.133-142.
Kauppinen‐Räisänen, H., 2014. Strategic use of colour in brand packaging. Packaging
Technology and Science, 27(8).pp.663-676.
Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K., 2014. Global marketing management.
Lasserre, P., 2017. Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Strebinger, A., 2014. Rethinking brand architecture: a study on industry, company-and product-
level drivers of branding strategy. European Journal of Marketing, 48(9/10).pp.1782-1804.
Tirunillai, S. and Tellis, G.J., 2014. Mining marketing meaning from online chatter: Strategic
brand analysis of big data using latent dirichlet allocation. Journal of Marketing
Research, 51(4).pp.463-479.
Online
Keller's brand equity model. 2017. [Online] Available through
<https://www.marketing91.com/kellers-brand-equity-model/>
Marketing Management. 2016. [Online] Available through
<https://mpk732t22016clusterb.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/samsung-imagine-the-possibilities//>
Nokia: It will take us less than 10 years to catch Apple and Samsung. 2015 [Online]. Available
through. <https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/08/24/nokia-plan-challenge-apple-samsung//>
Brand Positioning : Nokia 3310. 2014 [Online]. Available through.
<http://wramarketing.blogspot.com/2017/02/brand-positioning-nokia-3310.html/>
Nokia's surprising smartphone strategy. 2016 [Online]. Available through.
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2017/02/25/nokia-8-3310-preview-mwc-strategy-
hmd//>
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Nokia prepares £80m brand repositioning campaign. 2017 [Online]. Available through.
<https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/nokia-prepares-80m-brand-repositioning-campaign/
1079542?src_site=marketingmagazine/>
Nokia logo showcase. 2017. [Online] Available through <https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?
id=658171/>
Nokia Current brand positioning. 2015. [Online] Available through
<https://www.akraino.org/logoshowcase/nokia/attachment/logo_nokia//>
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