Brand Management Analysis: La Trobe University Brand Equity

This report presents a brand management analysis of La Trobe University, focusing on its brand equity through the lens of Keller's Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model. The analysis begins with an overview of the CBBE model, detailing its six building blocks: brand salience, brand meaning, brand responses, and brand relationships. The report then applies this framework to La Trobe University, examining its brand identity, including its focus on brand awareness and community building. It explores brand meaning by considering the university's value proposition, particularly its focus on providing accessible and flexible education. Furthermore, the analysis delves into brand responses, evaluating customer perceptions of quality, credibility, and the emotional responses of students. Finally, the report assesses brand relationships by analyzing the university's efforts to foster behavioral loyalty and active engagement among its students. The report concludes by highlighting key strategies for strengthening La Trobe University's brand equity and enhancing its market position.

Running head: Brand Equity 1
Brand Management
Analysis with a discussion of the brand’s equity in terms of Keller's Brand Equity
Model.

Brand Equity 2
Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) Model
Creating a strong brand has been shown to provide a several financial rewards to an
organization, and has become a top priority for many organizations. The CBBE model offers a
yardstick by in which brand can evaluate their progress in their brand building efforts along with
the initiatives of marketing research. In addition, the CBBE model is able to give comprehensive
definition of covering essential topics along with the useful insights and guidelines to facilitate
marketers set decision of strategic and inform their decisions related to brand (Kapferer, 2012).
The expansion of CBBE was driven by majorly three aims. First, the model has to be well
integrated, logical and grounded. La Trobe University which currently has six campuses across
Victoria offering a diverse range of courses to satisfy many disciplines. There are no enrolled
students in the university. It has been analyzed that La Trobe is one of the top leading Victorian
Universities in research contributions (La Trobe University, 2017).
Figure 1: CBBE Model
Source: (Keller, 2016).

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There are six brand building blocks with customers have been mentioned in this pyramid. Each
block of this model is reliant upon the affluent attainment of earlier step. All steps of CBBE
model include accomplishing definite objectives with clients both existing and potential. The
first step is able to make sure recognition of the brand with customers and their mind with a
specific need of client. The second step of this model is creating the meaning of brand in the
mind and the thinking of customers by connecting tangible or intangible associations of brand.
The third step is to draw out the entire response of customer to the brand meaning. The fourth
step is to adapt brand response to create a passionate for enhancing the active relationship
between customer and the brand (Powell, 2016).
Brand Identity
Brand identity is also known as the brand salience and a highly salient brand is one that
covers both aspects of breadth and depth of brand awareness. It is an important first step of
building block but it is not usually sufficient (Darabi, Reeves and Sahadev, 2014). The main
focus of La Trobe University is on brand salience and brand awareness to enhance the
enrolments into the degree. The university creates a sense of community that is why it involves
existing and potential customers. The identity is major thing that is why it is important for the La
Trobe University to keep focus on its services and provide the student best education so that the
identity of the university will remain in the mind of student it will certainly force them to offer
other student for having course under this university.
Brand Meaning
Brand imagery is reliable on the extrinsic properties of the product and services in which
the brand try to achieve the needs of customers. It shows the thinking of consumer about the

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brand abstractly rather than what they think the brand actually does. Thus, brand imagery defines
intangible aspects of the brand and clients can make imagery associations straight from their own
experience or by hearing some other person or users. La Trobe University is focusing on those
students who want to do study further appropriately and have limited financial budget for study
(Clarke, 2009).University can define itself to provide the efficient services of courses with the
flexibility to study anywhere and anytime. (La Trobe University, 2017). This building block
covers intangible aspects of the brand are user profiles, situation of purchase, personality and
values, experiences. La Trobe University can be succeeded if it offers various scholarships for
those who secure good position in the university. It would be helpful to make the brand imagery
in the mind of customers and many students would like to prefer this university for further
education. The performance of brand defines the way in which services of university is able to
meet the need of customers. Speed, care and accuracy are major factors to influence the
performance of the product (Huang and Cai, 2015).
Brand responses
Brand responses define the attitude of the consumer towards the brand and its marketing
activities. It can be differentiated as per brand judgments and brand feelings. The focus of brand
judgment is upon the personal opinion and evaluation of the consumer. The clients of La Trobe
University should focus on the quality, credibility, consideration and superiority of the university
so that customer can get attract towards the quality and choose this university for further
education. Brand feelings refer to an emotional response ad reaction of the customers towards
the brand. The feeling in the context of La Trobe University of student would be sharing,
excitement, happiness and confidence. In the context of university, social approval happens
when the brand outcome in customer’s feeling positively about the reactions of other to them.

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The response of customer towards brand would definitely influence other to get experience of the
particular brand.
Brand relationship
Brand relationship is the last step of CBBE model which is also known as brand
resonance and it can be categorized into four groups that is behavioral devotion, attitudinal
attachment, sense of community and active engagement. La Trobe University can measure
behavioral devotion in terms of repeat purchase such as offering course on regular basis so that
after schooling student can go with La Trobe University. Behavioral loyalty is essential but not
sufficient for resonance to happen because brand is only readily accessible. The brand might also
obtain on broader implication to the client in terms of logic of community (Keller, 2016). Active
engagement occurs when customers have strong affirmation of brand loyalty. Student can choose
La Trobe University for further education and share, obtain information and updated regarding
university, and share correspondence with other brand users. It would enhance the customer
loyalty towards brand.

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References
Clarke, K, 2009, “Building CustomerBased Brand Equity in Higher Education: Applying Brand Equity
Theory to an International Higher Education Marketing Context”, International Marketing and Brand
Management – Spring.
Darabi, M., Reeves, P. and Sahadev, S., 2014, “The relationship between SMS/MMS marketing
and consumer based brand equity (CBBE)–A review and conceptualization”, Academy of
Marketing.
Huang, Z. J. and Cai, L. A., 2015, “Modeling consumer-based brand equity for multinational
hotel brands–When hosts become guests”, Tourism Management, 46, pp.431-443.
Kapferer, J.N., 2012, “The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic
thinking”, Kogan page publishers.
Keller, K.L., 2016, “Reflections on customer-based brand equity: perspectives, progress, and
priorities”, AMS review, 6(1-2), pp.1-16.
Keller, K.L., 2016, “Reflections on customer-based brand equity: perspectives, progress, and
priorities”, AMS review, 6(1-2), pp.1-16.
La Trobe University, 2017, “Courses and degrees”, retrieved on 22nd October, 2017, from:
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/courses.
Powell, S.M., 2016, “Journal of Brand Management–Year end review 2016”, Journal of Brand
Management, 23(6), pp.601-611.

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