Brand Management Strategies: Building and Leveraging Brand Equity

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Brand management
Word count: 5, 016

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................4
Provide an understanding of how brands are build and managed over time...................................4
P1 evaluate the significance of branding as a marketing tool and the ways in which it has
incorporated itself in the business practice..................................................................................4
P2 evaluate the attributes that are needed to build a successful brand strategy to maintain
brand equity.................................................................................................................................5
M1 & M2 discuss with the help of various models and theories how brands are managed over
time..............................................................................................................................................5
LO2..................................................................................................................................................7
Evaluate how brands are managing their portfolio and how brand hierarchy build are and
managed...........................................................................................................................................7
P3 & M3 evaluate various strategies of brand equity, brand portfolio management and brand
hierarchy......................................................................................................................................7
LO3................................................................................................................................................10
Evaluate how brands are leveraged over time globally.................................................................10
P4 delineate the ways in which the brands are managed and associated in partnership at
national and global levels..........................................................................................................10
M4 evaluate the techniques used to leverage brands.................................................................11
LO4................................................................................................................................................12
Delineate techniques to measure brand and manage it over time..................................................12
P5 evaluate and measure brand value with specific examples..................................................12
M5 delineate various uses of measuring brand value and the ways in which it helps to build a
strong brand...............................................................................................................................13
D1 critically analyze a comprehensive understanding of branding...........................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
Brand management is the evaluation of the how a brand is perceived in the business market. To
be successful in the market it is very essential to develop a good image of the brand within the
market. For this report, the organization the organization chosen as a brand is British foods.
British food is a brand situated in UK which is a food-processing brand. It is running very
successfully on a global level. In this report, we are going to discuss the significance of branding
and how important it is as a marketing tool (Keller et al, 2011). Then, the key attributes of
building a successful brand strategy will be discussed followed by delineating how brands are
managed over time with the use of some framework, models and theories. Further, an analysis
will be made on various strategies that are used in portfolio management, brand equity and in
brand management via various models.

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LO1
Provide an understanding of how brands are build and managed over
time
P1 evaluate the significance of branding as a marketing tool and the ways in
which it has incorporated itself in the business practice
Branding is the process of creating a unique image in the mind of a person for a particular
company or brand that sets it apart from the other brands existent in the market. Branding a
company or its products makes it easier for the general public and the customers to identify your
brand in a pool of brands and distinguish it from other brands (Kimpakorn and Tocquer, 2010).
Once a brand is built it is very significant for the company to maintain a consistent image in the
eye of the customers because branding sets a level where the customers see your products to be
of high quality and unique that only your brand is providing or may providing the same products
with a better quality and a better price. British food has a strong brand image in the market
because it has created awareness in the market about it products and the services they offer to the
customers. Hence, just building a brand is not enough an awareness and identification of the
brand within the business market and among the customers is the main idea of developing a
brand. To make a brand popular and known to the customers it has to be marketed well in the
market.
Branding can be used as an important marketing tool in developing an image in the market and
make its products known to the customers. To do this, the brand needs to be advertised,
promotional merchandise should be done, and the company should build a strong logo or image
that represents the company out in the market.
Significance of branding
Branding can be used an important marketing tool for it to be recognized in the market
successfully. It helps to enhance the value and reputation of the company. By the practice of
branding it is only becoming popular among the customers but also between investors and they
start seeing your brand as something big and something worthy of which later will bring in
investments to your brand. The process of branding helps the company to get a brand
recognition by which it becomes known and popular among customers and investors that a
brand like British food exists in the market. To develop a strong and an easy brand recognition
British foods should develop a logo that is easy to memorize and easy to locate with no much
complicated symbols or logo (Meskendahl, 2010). Branding helps to enhance the business
value because to will help British foods to provide more leverage to the company in the coming
time. This is because these days’ people trust the products that are branded because they are
trustworthy and have high quality. Once the company is successfully established and known to

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the customers it generates more potential customers to the company thereby enhancing the sales
and profit to the company.
P2 evaluate the attributes that are needed to build a successful brand strategy
to maintain brand equity
All the companies want to be successful in the business market and enhance the list of other
potential customers with time. For this the brand as British foods needs to build a successful
brand strategy that will help them get deeply established in the market. But to achieve this,
British food needs to developed strong strategies that will help them achieve their goal. To
achieve this, there are various attributes or key components that need to be utilized or looked
upon to build a successful brand strategy. The key components are discussed below.
 Brand loyalty is got from the customer’s side or the attachment that the customers have
towards the brand because of the reasonable price of the products, the high quality of
products that they offer to the customers and the superior customer service they provide.
All of these add to the attachment of the customers towards a brand that helps to build a
strong bond between the customers and the brand.
 Brand quality, if British foods are providing high quality products to the customers then
the customers obviously will come back for more (Müge Arslan, and Korkut Altuna,
2010). This will not just build trust among customers but it will also enhance the list of
potential customers to your brand.
 Brand awareness can be done by building effective strategies to make your brand
recognizable within the business market. Only then the customers will know your brand
and will opt for products from your brand.
 Brand associations are a stronger way of establishing your brand in the minds of the
customers. Strong associations will help the brand to have a strong effect on customers
and it will add meaning to the brands that are associated.
 The proprietary assets will help British foods to build the competitive side of the brand
and be open to opportunities that are coming in. this criteria involves the attributes that
provide protection to the company in terms of trademark, patent rights, intellectual rights,
establish relations etc.
M1 & M2 discuss with the help of various models and theories how brands are
managed over time
Branding is associated with various theories and models that help British foods to inculcate
strategies through these models and apply it in their organization. To understand in detail how
brands are managed over time we will use the Keller’s brand equity model. Keller’s brand equity
model is also known as customer-based brand equity.

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Fig: Keller’s brand equity model. (Source: www.marketing91.com)
The model is expressed in four stages which are known as the brand equity pyramid. The four
stages of the model are brand identity, brand meaning, brand response and resonance.
Brand identity: This is the first step of the model where the customers perceive your brand and
they distinguish it from the other brands that are already present in the market. This is the stage
where the brands defines itself in the eye of the customers and make them aware of the brand.
Brand identity is very important to be built because only then the customers will know a brand
like British foods even exists. In this stage, the brand is only going to build its identity to make
the customers aware of the brand.
Brand meaning: Once the identity of the brand is set in the customers mind then the customers
will want to know more about the brand and know what kind of products the brand is offering to
the customers. The customers would want to know if the brand that is come up in the market is
reliable and the kind of customer service they offer to the customers etc.
Brand response: Once the customer has trusted your brand and brought a product from your
brand the customer is likely to build expectation from the brand in terms of purchase of products.
If the brand is successful in fulfilling the expectations of the customers then the customers get
bound with that brand and they become one of the potential customers of that brand (Jonas,
2010). If the products offered by the brand are better than what the customer had expected then
the customers will do word of mouth marketing to other people in the market about the brand
and its products.
Brand resonance: there are very less number of brands that make up to this level of the
pyramid. This level signifies a huge social and psychological bond between the customer and the
brand that has developed over time. At this point of time, the customers are extremely satisfied
with the products that are served by the brand and they opt and buy products only from this
brand and do not switch to any other brand.

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LO2
Evaluate how brands are managing their portfolio and how brand
hierarchy build are and managed
P3 & M3 evaluate various strategies of brand equity, brand portfolio
management and brand hierarchy
For brands to be successfully established in the market it needs to create a strong portfolio
strategy which is the most crucial part of maintaining a brands identity. The product value of the
brand will be enhanced when it is associated with a brand and its value increases. This is also
connected to the quality of the products that the brand is offering the customers with, the cost-
benefit ratio, and the brand attitude towards the environmental issues going on in the society.
The brand portfolio of a company is a very strong medium that goes beyond the hierarchical
setup of the other competitive companies that are selling the same kind of premium products to
the customers. Keller has defined the brand model equity model in about four stages. The
framework of brand architecture is explained in about two models that consists of the brand
awareness in the market and second is the image of the brand in the market. The brand awareness
is every necessary to be brought about because without which the customers will not be able to
locate your brand in the market.
The model for understanding brand equity is been explained by David Aaker. The five
elements of the model help to understand and apply brand equity within British foods to manage
the brand successfully. The five stages of the model are brand awareness, brand loyalty,
distinguished brand quality, association of brands and proprietary assets.

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 Brand loyalty is got from the customer’s side or the attachment that the customers have
towards the brand because of the reasonable price of the products, the high quality of
products that they offer to the customers and the superior customer service they provide.
All of these add to the attachment of the customers towards a brand that helps to build a
strong bond between the customers and the brand (Jara and Cliquet, 2012).
 Brand quality, if British foods are providing high quality products to the customers then
the customers obviously will come back for more. This will not just build trust among
customers but it will also enhance the list of potential customers to your brand.
 Brand awareness can be done by building effective strategies to make your brand
recognizable within the business market. Only then the customers will know your brand
and will opt for products from your brand.
 Brand associations are a stronger way of establishing your brand in the minds of the
customers. Strong associations will help the brand to have a strong effect on customers
and it will add meaning to the brands that are associated.
 The proprietary assets will help British foods to build the competitive side of the brand
and be open to opportunities that are coming in. this criteria involves the attributes that
provide protection to the company in terms of trademark, patent rights, intellectual rights,
establish relations etc.
Fig: David Aaker brand equity model. (Source: www.slideshare.net)
Model for brand portfolio strategy
To develop a brand portfolio a four step model is used. The stages of preparing a brand portfolio
are prepare, plan, execute and harvest. These frameworks and models are applied to the brand
strategy that makes it feasible for the brand to establish itself and follow the process of the model
to become successful in the business market (Ha et al, 2010). The process is further divided to
make the process feasible for the brand. It helps to prioritize the goals of the organization such as
British foods, it will help to bring about strategic changes within the organization, it will clearly
help to analyze and identify the goals of the organization, and it authorizes the funding requests,
and selects the terms of benefits and costs.

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Theory for brand hierarchy
The hierarchy of effects theory is an advanced advertising strategy used by organizations that
enhances the sales of the British foods greatly. This model helps to build awareness among the
customers about the brand and its products and distinguish itself from other brands in the market.
The hierarchy of effects theory has about six stages that help the company to establish
themselves in the market strongly.
Fig: Hierarchy of effects theory. (Source: gimmecca.wordpress.com)
 The first stage of this theory is that British foods needs to develop awareness about their
company within the market and the company should ensure that the customers know the
brand.
 The products that are sold by British foods should be present everywhere in the market
and the information about the product should be available online or through other sources
for customers to compare it with the companies that are offering the same kind of
products.
 The products and services that is been sold to the customers by British food should be
liked by the customers only then the customers will be willing to buy products from your
company.
 Once the customers are convinced to buy products from British foods then preference
should be given only to your brand than the other brands that are already present in
competition.
 The conviction stage is the stage where the doubt of the customers to buy from your
brand should turn into actin and people should purchasing products from your brand.
 Purchase stage is the most significant stage of the consumer cycle where the company
needs to ensure that the customer experience is good and the customers should be happy
to buy products from your company.

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LO3
Evaluate how brands are leveraged over time globally
P4 delineate the ways in which the brands are managed and associated in
partnership at national and global levels
Brand association or collaboration is the strategic alliance between two or more brands to create
a specific and unique product that will help both the brands to attain a competitive advantage in
the market. With the growing competition in the market it has become very essential for every
brand to create and serve something new to the customers will they are willing to buy. The
online media has made it easier to access the brand value and market share of each company that
opens the brand as an open book to the customers. Since the businesses are both working online
and offline in this century it is so easy for customers to compare the products that are being
served by various companies at competitive prices and quality to the customers. For a brand to
stand out in the market and for the customers to opt for only a single brand to buy products from
it si very essential for a brand to have a very strong brand image in the market that will help them
ace the competition going on in the market (Freeman, 2010). For this reason the brands are
associating and collaborating with each other to form a strong brand image that will be easily
recognized in the market and people will be willing and curious to buy products from such
brands. Because when two big brands collaborate together it creates an even bigger and stronger
brand that can beat the brand image of single operating brands. There are many live examples
that can be taken for brand collaboration such as uber and spotify, Nike and apple, ford and
tinder etc.
Managing brands at national and global level
The brands have to be managed at both national and global levels for it gain a strong brand
image and awareness globally. To manage the brand both at global and domestic level the
consistency of the brand has to be maintained. To be able to manage it globally it needs to sync
with the rules that are persistent in that particular country to be able to stand strong against its
competitors in the market legally. It needs to create brand awareness at a global level so the
company and its products are recognized everywhere in the market. British foods have a strong
collaboration both at national and global level by creating a strong support of customer’s
dominance at both places. Sustainable development is the key for brands like British foods to be

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able to abide by the ongoing changes in the market and create a consistency at both national and
global level.
M4 evaluate the techniques used to leverage brands
Brands that want to build brand equity often collaborate with brand that has a strong brand image
in the market. The main purpose of using the strong brands name is to use the brand image of
that company to sell the products of your brand which will be sold at a higher range because of
the company is collaborated with another stronger brand. This will not just help the brand to sell
the products in the market successfully but also will reduce the costs of building a new brand and
going through the entire process of creating a brand identity within the market.
Brand extension is one of the techniques that are used to add the products of a different brand to
the same category that the brand is serving or add to an additional category of the products in
other brands name. the brand that needs to collaborate with the other brand first needs to do a
good amount of research one the existing line of products the company is serving the customers
with and only then add related products that will match the line of the products that are already
served to the customers in that brand name (Fournier and Avery, 2011). The main advantage of
launching the products within the existing line of products is it avoids or reduces the risk of
failure of products within the market.
Line extension is another technique that is used to reach out to customers with different
categories of products that have been added in the brand. For instance, there might be another
food processing brand like Tesco who wants to collaborate with British foods because both the
companies are serving the same industry. This will enhance the customer interest when two such
bug brands collaborate together it helps to attract more customers by this method.

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LO4
Delineate techniques to measure brand and manage it over time
P5 evaluate and measure brand value with specific examples
Customers often buy products that are branded because it withholds quality in it which is what
the customers need. Hence, even if the price of the products are high people will still end up
buying it because all they need is quality and the trust that has been built over years of purchase
from the same brand (De Chernatony, 2010). To measure the brand value International
organization for standard has set up various standards that need to be followed by every brand.
The standards are measured by three principles namely by doing a financial analysis, legal
analysis and behavioral analysis.
 The behavioral analysis of the brand is done by measuring and testing the behavior of the
brand and its bonds with its customers. By this, the contribution of British foods to the
market can be accessed and it will also help to understand the market share of the
company. The evaluator will know and access reasons as to why the stakeholders and
investors will choose British foods over other competitors from the market and what
makes British foods stand out than its competitors.
 Legal analysis helps to draw a distinction between the trademark, the brand and its assets.
The protection of the company of British food is tested in this method and effects of this
method are checked and analyzed. The evaluator should check id the company is
protected by legal protection and its effects if it is not.
 Financial analysis is the most accurate method of measuring the brand value of British
foods. It is tested by four methods namely the cost market is tested, economic and
formulary approaches are performed.
 Brand survey will also help an evaluator understand where the brand stands in the market
and the kind of products it is serving its customers with.