Strategic Brand Management: A Detailed Lidl GB Case Study Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of brand management strategies, using Lidl GB as a case study. It begins with an introduction to branding as a marketing tool, highlighting its importance in business practice, and emphasizing its role in building customer loyalty and brand awareness. The main body delves into key components of a successful brand strategy, including brand equity, brand positioning, and the role of consistency and emotional connection with consumers. It then explores different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy, and brand equity management, examining models such as the 'House of Brand'. The report also addresses how brands are managed in partnership, both domestically and globally, before concluding with a discussion of techniques for measuring and managing brand value, supported by organizational examples. The analysis covers Lidl GB's brand strategy, market competition, and customer perception, offering insights into the company's approach to branding and its impact on business success. The report concludes with a summary of findings and a list of references.

Brand Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
P1 Importance of branding as marketing tool and how it has emerged in business practice......3
P2 Components for the successful brand strategy for building and managing brand equity.......4
P3 Different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity
management.................................................................................................................................6
P4 Ways of managing brands in partnership and collaboratively at domestic and global level..8
P5 Different types of techniques for measuring and managing brand value with organizational
examples....................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Managing brand is the marketing tool which is used to increase the brand value of the
business. It helps in building customer loyalty and awareness of brand. It can be said that brand
is the identity of the corporation. High brand image will result in high goodwill of the company.
Lidl GB was founded in 1994 in Germany. The aim of the company is they provide good quality
of products at affordable price, company mainly purchase from local suppliers, and they wanted
to achieve sustainability and customer satisfaction (Majerova and et.al., 2020). This study will
discuss the importance of branding as the marketing tool and how it is used while doing business
practice and it will also analyse components of the successful branding strategy helpful for
building brand equity. Further it will identify strategies of portfolio management, brand
hierarchy and brand equity. This study will also discuss that how brands are managed
collaboratively and into partnership at the domestic level and at international level both and it
will find different tools for measuring brand value. The brand strategy of lidl is they use private
labels. Company's main competitors are Sainsbury, Morrisons, Tesco etc. market share of
company increasing day by day because of effective brand management. Success of company
mainly depends on good quality of products they provide.
MAIN BODY
P1 Importance of branding as marketing tool and how it has emerged in business practice.
Branding:
Branding is the approach of creating positive image of the company and publicizing its
products and services by using design, logo, strategies etc. during their marketing campaign.
Importance of branding and its emergence in business:
Branding is the marketing tool which helps in increasing the demand over particular
product in the market. Lidl GB store provide good quality at low price which has addicted
customers towards their products (What is the importance of branding in marketing., 2020).
Branding provide brand recognition to the company and brand recognition is very important if
the company want to survive for long run. Through this company is able to build brand value
which help them in generating business in the future. This is such a marketing tool which
generates new customers and retain the old one. Customer retains because the company is able to
fulfil customer demand which help the brand to grow more. Lidl GB have strong branding which

help to build the positive image of company in front of customers. After the name of company is
established in the market then word of mouth is enough for the advertisement for company.
Word of mouth is the important marketing tool and it will be done only if the customer is
satisfied with the company and that facilitate strong branding The employees of the company are
more satisfied and carry pride because they are working in such company which have strong
brand value. When employee work with branded company then it will increase their reputation,
and they will enjoy working there and that is also helpful in the career development of
workforce. If the employees are happy then they will become motivated and through that they
will work hard which will be helpful in increasing their productivity. Professional appearance
will help the company in building trust with the targeted customers and clients. As people are
attracted and wanted to do business with such company who have polished image. Strong brand
makes the company industry experts and customer also start trusting those companies. If the
company have good reputation in the domestic market then it will help the company if they want
to expand globally.
Advertising is supported by branding and the advertising strategy which is formed by the
company reflects the brand. The brand loyalty, brand helps in getting good customer loyalty and
help Lidl GB to increase sales which results in more profits (Bilan and et.al., 2019). If company
want to create new clients then need to be spread awareness with the help of advertisement.
Advertisement should be given in such a manner that attracts targeted audience and nowadays
social media is using for promotion, so Lidl GB can also use social media and post regularly on
their social media handles to attract more customers. Here the company have benefits over
quality perception as they sell high quality goods at reasonable price so this is the reason of
building strong relationship with customers. Along with this company can also give offers,
discounts or coupons to the customers as it will help in increasing company's sales. Lidl GB
marketing department taking branding very seriously when it comes to marketing because they
know that strong brand will help the company in sustainability. Brand also have such power that
it can attract other organization to do business with the firm. Brand is the magnet which attract
everything like supplier, investors, customers etc. towards the company.
Aaker brand equity model:

This model is used to measure the value of brand, creating brand awareness and build trust with
the client and customers and the company who give valuable services to the customers. Such
model is used by the company to increase their brand value (Iyer and et.al., 2020).
P2 Components for the successful brand strategy for building and managing brand equity.
Brand:
The aim behind marketing is to publicize the product so that customer make a purchase, it
can be done for single product or for product range.
Brand equity:
Brand equity refers to the level brand name is their in customer's mind. Brand equity is
established by the organization by maintaining the positive image of the company in the eyes of
customer so that they continue purchase from them and does not purchase from competitors
having similar products. Positive brand equity is build if people think good about the company
and if customers are disappointed by the brand then it builds negative brand image.
Elements of brand strategy:
Brand is the business model:
Lidl GB believes that branding is the business model where the brand potential is increased by
the company.
Brand positioning:
It refers to the product's location in the market and also the rival product location (Heding,
Knudtzen and Bjerre, 2020). Company has build effective brand strategy which can be helpful in
achieving strong brand position. Here company have to identify the opportunities into the market
as the requirement of brand varied in the market. Brand position means product position and
product should be approachable by the customers.
Brand promise:
Brand promise means that the value which is provided by the company. It helps in gaining the
trust of the consumers. Lidl GB brand promise is they provide high quality of goods and which
helps in building brand loyalty. Not fulfilling brand promise can destroy the image of the
company.
Brand standard:
Customer preference and beliefs should be fulfilled by brand, the brand personality of Lidl GB is
so strong that it is necessary for the company to build customer loyalty (Paul, 2019).

Brand perception:
Company have done surveys to know about the preference of consumer and how they have
perception towards the brand. It is very important to know the needs and wants of the customer
because it will be helpful in increasing sales.
Keep enemy closer:
It means that company should observe the activities of their competitors so that they can take
competitive advantage. Observing competitor means what they are launching or what strategy
they have adopted for promotion etc. it will help company to know the moves of rival companies
and also can learn from them.
Consistency:
Consistency plays vital role in the growth of the business like the quality of product which is
manufactured by the company should be consistent, company should never compromise on the
product quality consistency should be maintained. It helps in maintaining good image of the
company into the market.
Emotional connection:
Consumer is not the individual who only purchase products from the company, but they connect
them emotionally with the brand because it is the company only who fulfils their demand
(Leijerholt, Chapleo and O’Sullivan, 2019).
brand acrchitecture:
brand acrchitecture organizes the brand which can help the audience so that they can relate with
brand.
Lidl follow brand re positioning. It means that when changes are made according to the customer
demand.
Suggestions for Lidl brand for extending and reinforcing:
Experience of the customer develops brand equity. By seeing their advertisement customer get
idea about the products of the company. Example, Company should focus on their store because
customer recognize store as they are familiar with it. At the first stage customer do trial of the
product and if they liked the product then they become permanent customer of the company, so
Lidl GB should make sure that they give good customer experience because if the customer is
satisfied then he or she will recommend to others. Company can establish strong image in the
market through launching advanced and innovation product in the market, increase the product

portfolio because it will give options to the consumers as with the time needs of customer also
changed. The most important thing is if the company launching new products then also they
should not have compromised over quality and the standard which they have set in the
marketplace and lastly focus on maintaining good relations with customers because they can be
helpful in bringing new customers.
P3 Different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity management
Portfolio management:
It refers to selecting and controlling company's programme which help in achieving the
objectives and also helpful in analysing the risk.
House of brand model:
Under this model company market more than one brand, Lidl GB also does that which help in
building the strength and infrastructure of the parent company (Nguyen, Zhang and Calantone,
2018). This model help company in upgrading the brand value and creating customer loyalty.
Strategies of brand portfolio:
price perception of customer:
This theory means that customer has fixed price in their mind for the particular product which
can be maximum or minimum and the customer of Lidl GB also prefer that they get good quality
of product under the estimated price range. To attract more customers lidl follow low cost
strategy
Quality perception:
Customer purchases those products which help in satisfying their needs, Lidl GB make sure that
they manufacture the products according to the quality preference of the customer. If company
want to survive for long term then they have to make products which are demanded by the
customers.
Market competition:
Under this company make such marketing strategy which facilitate development and growth of
the business. It is necessary to have an eye on rival companies so that can be taken competitive
advantage. Lidl GB attract customers by providing them discounts and offers.
Brand hierarchy:
The management of brand comes under brand hierarchy, it covers all the aspects of the product
in the brand which include revenue, resources and assets.

Family branding:
The priority of every company is to satisfy customer needs. Customer get satisfied if their
demand regarding products are fulfilled (Keller and Brexendorf, 2019). Lidl GB studies market
trends through which they know about the taste of consumers so that they manufacture products
accordingly. Here advertising plays vital role that how is product is portrayed. It should be
creative so that can attract huge audience, using technology company should advertise in such a
manner that make product different.
Hybrid brand model:
It is a brand hierarchy model, when the company does not attain goals through house of brands
or branded house then company apply both of them. This model is helpful in spreading the
diversification and increasing the market share. The company has used the strength of its brand
name with variety of house brands.
Strategies of Brand hierarchy:
commercial hierarchy strategy:
It is the method under which brand name is used more at the time of doing promotion but not the
product. It is mostly used when have wide range of products under one brand. When Lidl GB
also wanted to launch brunch of products then they take help of brand name and promote brand
only. This build strong brand image.
Individual branding hierarchy strategy:
It is opposite to commercial hierarchy under this product is promoted by the company. This is
helpful in creating good image of product in the market. This build strong product image.
Brand equity management:
If refers that managing brand value is more complex, if the company has gained brand equity
irrespective of nature of business. Lidl GB has maintained the brand equity in the market.
Strategies of Brand hierarchy:
communication:
If the company want to achieve brand equity then effective communication with investors,
suppliers etc. and increasing the rate of sales in vital. Through this company can reach towards
brand equity.
Awareness:

Brand equity can also be attained through awareness related to the products which is
manufactured by the company and also promote the facilities if company is providing any
(Herrero, San Martin and Collado, 2017). The main aim behind this that customer always
remember brand name of the company.
Decision making regarding legal and ethical:
These decisions play important role in building the level of trust into the customers related to
goods of the company. If company take correct legal action according to the situation then it will
create brand equity.
P4 Ways of managing brands in partnership and collaboratively at domestic and global level
Building or managing brand is challenging task but it is the main key of success of
marketing. In regard to managing of brands collaboratively with other brands, it can be said that
it can be cost effective and time saving (Bilan and et.al., 2019). For collaboration with others for
brand managing and promotion of products, companies require less investment. Collaborative
branding is all about marketing efforts.
There are several strategies and techniques of brand management at international and
domestic level such as: brand extension, vertical extension, line extension and others. Line and
brand extension have some differences such as:
Line Vs Brand extension: In line extension brand management and promotion,
companies introduce additional items in the same product category under its same brand name
with new colour, flavour, size and others. Whereas, in brand extension companies use or develop
completely new product under its existing brand (Ahn, Park and Hyun, 2018). Brand extension is
also known as brand stretching. New product under brand extension is known as: spin off. In
regard to Lidl it is found that it has adopted both types, below the line and above the line
marketing strategy.
Strengths and weaknesses of branding:
Branding plays a vital role. Some main strengths of branding and reasons why Lidl
mainly focus on promoting or branding is: it makes people aware about products or effectiveness
of services, it increases customers loyalty, it maintains consistency in the marketplace. Along
with advantages it has some limitations of disadvantages such as: It becomes commonplace, it
can also lead to negative attributes (Johnson, 2017).
Ways of managing brand by Lidl

Influencer campaign: At domestic level, in collaborative brand management, Lidl
launches influencer campaign. It is found that at large scale of campaign it collaborated with
around 20 influencer supporting campaigns. Some well-known or popular faces such as:
Riccardo Simonetti, Patrizia Palme and others influencers will be featured on its Instagram as
well as other social media accounts. It is found that making use of these well-known faces or
influencers for its campaign helped it out in improving image and making it able to being in the
DL has adopted both a below-the-line and above-the-line competition. With the collaborative
brand management with other companies, it reached to around 11.9 people, It is also believed
that improved image can lead to increment in sales and revenue as well. After making people
aware about services and effectiveness of its products, it increased trust and retention rate.
Brand partnership: In regard to brand partnership agreement it can be said that it helps
all involved parties in promoting their products. It involves all rights, rules that need to be
followed by all involved parties. It is a mutual agreement between 2 and more than 2 companies.
All involved parties or partners help each other in increasing brand exposure, break into new
markets and adding value to products. In the context of Lidl it is found from research that it is
going to develop partnership with Mumsnet and it hopes that it will help it out in building trust in
brand. It will also help out in improving quality credentials (Prastiwi and Rohimat, 2020). So,
overall it can be said that brand partnership helps in improving image in the market and better
promotion of products in the market.
Lidl is thinking about changing its business model. It is a grocery retailer that stocks
limited assortment of services and products in its all stores. It prefers to sell mixture of private
label goods as well as branded CPG products to its customers. Its main aim is to provide value or
quality not quantity.
Recommendations: For better improvement it can be recommended to Lidl that it should
focus on providing loyalty scheme to customers whether it is in partnership or not. It is found
that it mainly focuses on pricing rather than quality so, by improving quality and becoming
customers centric, it can improve its image or manage brand.
P5 Different types of techniques for measuring and managing brand value with organizational
examples
There are several techniques and approaches that are being used by several companies for
measuring effectiveness, value of their brand, brand awareness among people, market share and

others. By measuring or knowing effectiveness of their brand, companies can develop its internal
strategies accordingly and can take advantages of competitive opportunities. Some techniques
used for measuring brand value and awareness are:
Loyalty program or club card: Tesco, that is well-known retailer of the UK, uses this
tool for measuring effectiveness of its services and value of its brand. The main priority of this
retailer is to gain customers' insight and knowing their shopping habits for increasing sales or
improving image. This tool helped this retailer out in developing performance or ways in which
it operates or runs business (Measuring Customers' Performance or Brand Value by Tesco,
2020).
Customers feedback: Another example of an effective measurement technique for brand
awareness and brad value is: Customers feedback. One of the well-known airline in the US, Jet
Blue have been awarded for the highest customers' satisfaction in North America. The reason
behind its success and this reward is an effective way of measuring brand awareness: Customers'
feedback. It is believed that direct or face to face communication with customers provide all
details regarding brand. This airline knew about its brand and customers views as what they
think about its services, where it is lacking behind and in which areas it is good (Successful
Campaigns for Increasing Brand Awareness, 2019). On the basis of feedbacks given by
customers, it made changes in its products and made them more effective. So, on the basis of this
example, it can clearly be said that measurement techniques play a vital role in improving brand.
Brand equity audit: It is an effective check up or tool that also help companies in
knowing their position in the marketplace along with strengths, weaknesses. On the basis of all
these identified areas, companies can strengthen them with effective strategies and increase
customers retention rate.
Using digital marketing:
Company is already doing marketing but should focus more on digital marketing because it is
considered advance way to carry the promotion. If company do promotion through social media
then it will helpful for the company to spread message towards large audience, as the social
media users are increasing day by day so it will be easy for the company to reach towards their
target audience (Keller and Brexendorf, 2019). It is also helpful in creating brand awareness and
will give new lead to the company which can be converted into potential customers. Promotion
through Social media is cost effective and saves time. Company should also focus on their

website because website is the online identity of the company so it should be maintained
properly. Through website customer can also make purchase which will help company in
increasing the sales.
Innovative products:
Since competition is increasing every day and customers are demanding innovative products and
for that they are ready to pay more also. So if Lidl GB want to survive for long period then they
have to more focus towards innovation and new product will also help company in beating the
competitive firm. Nowadays customers are getting more options that is why also the need for
manufacturing innovative products are on high. Modification into the products or launching new
products will helpful in retaining the existing customers and also attracting new customers. It
will also increase the purchasing intent of the customers. Modification can be made in design,
packaging, sizes etc.
CONCLUSION
Through this report it can be concluded that branding is very important for the company
if they want to increase sales or attain competitive advantage etc. it is the main marketing tool
which should be carefully managed by the marketing manager. Company is running after
branding because it built customer loyalty and increase awareness of the company within
customers. Brand strategy which are brand standard, brand positioning will help in building and
managing brand equity. This report has also analysed strategies for portfolio, brand equity and
brand hierarchy by suing hybrid model, house of brand and family product. Discussion about the
management of brands when in collaboration and partnership at local and global level. In the end
different types of techniques are evaluated which is used for measuring brand value like digital
marketing, modifying and manufacturing new goods etc.