Brand Management of Unilever: A Comprehensive Analysis

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Brand Management
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 (Building and managing brand)...................................................................................4
Introduction............................................................................................................................4
Main body..............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................8
TASK 2 (Brand portfolio and hierarchy management)..............................................................9
1. Analyse the organisation’s brand portfolio strategy..........................................................9
2. Provide an illustration of the hierarchy management of brands within organisations
portfolio................................................................................................................................10
3. Analyse strategies used for managing the equity of the brands within the organisations
portfolio................................................................................................................................11
TASK 3 (Brand extension and leverage).................................................................................13
Strengths of the brand that can be leveraged.......................................................................13
Weaknesses that may need attention providing some possible suggestions........................14
Collaborative and partnership agreements...........................................................................14
TASK 4 (Measuring and managing brand value)....................................................................15
Brand Value.........................................................................................................................15
Brand Awareness.................................................................................................................15
Market Share........................................................................................................................15
Consumer Attitudes..............................................................................................................15
Purchasing Intent..................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................18
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INTRODUCTION
Brand management is crucial for an organisation to manage and control the effectiveness of
its brand in market. In this regards, present report aims to highlight the different aspects of
brand management of Unilever. Unilever is world’s leading consumer goods company which
is operating in around 190 countries. The organisation owns more than 400 brands. Report
will include the significance branding as a marketing tool with its application in business
practices. It will highlight key components of successful brand strategy in building and
managing brand equity. Report will present different strategies of portfolio management,
brand hierarchy and brand equity management using model of Keller’s Brand equity. The
report will include the ways brand are managed in partnership and collaboratively both at
international and domestic level by illustrating the Dove brand of Unilever. The present
report will involve different techniques and methods to measure and manage the brand value.
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TASK 1 (Building and managing brand)
Brand is the power
By: ABC
Introduction
The topic will cover the importance of branding as a marketing tool in enhancing the image
and reputation of organisation in market place. It will also include the application of branding
in business activities to achieve success. The present topic will help in understanding the
effectiveness of the brand strategy in making en effective building and managing the brand
equity of Unilever in attracting the customers and increases the business profitability,
productivity and success.
Overview of the brand equity and brand management
Brand: Brand can be definers as the product, service or concept which is distinguished from
product or services in market which helps it to easily communicate and promoted in
marketplace. It can be termed as the customer’s experience from, the product and services. In
includes the symbol, name, design or sign of a business which makes a distinctive perception
in the kind of the customers which thus affect throe purchasing decision as well.
Brand equity: Managing the brand equity is important for business to enhance the sales,
productivity and profitability. Brand equity is the terms which defines the brand value and
determined by consumer perception and their experience with the brand. It can be achieved
by providing the quality services as per the requirement of the customers (Tan, Ismail and
Devinaga, 2015). In this regards, products offered by Unilever must be reliable, recognisable
and of superior quality in managing effective brand equity.
Brand management positive impact on Unilever
Importance of Branding: Being a leading a transitional consumer goods company, Unilever
has used branding as a marketing tool in effective manner. It can be said that Branding has
helped the organisation in marketing its operations and products to the customers. Branding
helps the organisation is creating perception on consumer and allows to increase the
expectation from organisation and its products (Hollebeek, Juric and Tang, 2017). Branding
has a great impact on the business related to its various activities, image and awareness.
Importance of using branding as a marketing tool to organisation is described below:
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Recognisation: Branding is important in providing recognisation to organization and its
products in marketplace. Unilever has a powerful design, logo which is common for all its
products around the world. It helps in attracting the customers by recognising the brand more
effectively and chooses the products and services over others.
Increasing value: Branding creates an opportunity for organisation in increasing its value in
market and towards consumers. This opportunity helps business to expand their operations
and profitability by providing quality products as per the customers need all over the world.
Differentiate: Branding is effective to create an image of several products offered by
Unilever that can be differentiated with others products and services. Differentiation of the
products is an effective technique for an organisation to attract the customers as market has
full of substitute products.
The stages of building a successful brand
Branding strategy: Unilever is world’s leading consumer goods company which is operating
in around 190 countries. The organisation owns more than 400 brands which are effectively
managed with its branding strategy. Having an effective branding strategy is essential for
Unilever to identify the needs of the customers in market (Uggla, 2015). This strategy will
leads to make changes in business operations to deliver the products as per the needs of the
customers in satisfy them and increases the business revenue. Brand strategy is useful in
analysing the taste, preferences and choices of the customers for the effective growth of the
business. Thus, the key elements of a successful brand strategy of Unilever are mentioned
below:
Propriety assets: It includes the intellectual property tool which includes patent, trademark
and relationship which helps the business to gain its competitive advantage in marketplace. It
is an effective way to provide protection and safety to the brand of organisation.
Target audience: it can be said as the customers who are attached with brand in terms such
as repetitive purchasing behaviour, quality, process etc. These are the customers who are
beneficial for business in terms of improving profitability and productivity. Thus, it is
essential for Unilever to get in attached with target audience in increasing the customer’s
base.
Brand promise: It can be defined as the commitment of business with its customer related to
products in marketplace. It leads to enables that organisation is offering the products of best
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quality to satisfy the needs of the customers. In addition, brand promise includes information
of the products to meet their daily needs effectively.
Role of the marketing department in creating brand equity
Branding serves as an important tool in promoting the products meaning, objectives and goals
of the organisation in market. Advertising channel and media platform helps in providing an
effective platform to spread the coherent and clear message to the customers and market
place. Working in an effective brand organisation leads to boost up the morale of the
employees and increased their motivation to work in a brand which has positive value in
market. It helps the organisation to deliver the quality products in market which satisfy the
needs and requirement to the customers in satisfying them. Branding is the effective
marketing tool in advertising through different marketing channels and platform (Chernev,
2018).
Branding is effective in making image of the organisation in market and helps in promoting
the vision, mission which increases the value of products of organisation to customers in their
day to day life.
Main body
Successful strategy for strengthen brand equity
Managing a strong and successful brand of Unilever is able to highlight its purpose, vision,
mission which leads to increase its reliability and stability. The stability of operations in
organisation leads to adopt several changes and grab the market opportunity in order to stay
competitive in business environment. It helps the business to be flexible enough in adapting
strategies to increase the profitability, productivity and operations. Brand is effective in
making business model which support the potential to attain goals and objective of
organisation (Heding et al, 2015). By applying the Keller’s Brand Equity Model the
organisation can effectively analyse the brand equity and also understand the importance of
brand equity for their brand management. This model is effective for organisation to
strengthen their brand equity.
Keller’s Brand Equity Model
This model is also known as customer base equity model which beneficial in making
developing strategies to maintain the brand hierarchy and brand equity.
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Figure 1 Brand equity model
Brand Identity: It can be termed as design or symbol which is used by organisation so that
customers can identify the facilities provided by the organisation in marketplace. In addition,
the identity is an effective way to differentiate the products from its competitors so that
consumer can choose one over another.
Brand Meaning: Brand meaning has two factors which are performance and imaginary
which is effective in communicating the organisation’s vision, mission and purpose of
business. Imaginary reflects the social and physiological needs and performance reflects the
customer demand associated with the product.
Brand Response: It includes the response of the customer’s related to the products in terms
of their opinion and feedbacks after using or consuming the product of organisation. Brand
response can be divided into two parts judgements by customers and feelings associated with
products (Dinnie, 2015). Management is accountable to address the response to customers so
that effective strategies could be made to improve the products accordingly and manage the
brands equity.
Brand Resonance: It helps in achieving the psychological bond and feelings of customer
towards the brand in order to manage and increase their regular buying behaviour. It leads to
enhance the engagement of customers with brand and creates loyal customers for business to
control the equity of brand.
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Conclusion
It can be assessed that branding is an effective marketing tool for an organisation which helps
in promoting its message objective to attract the customers and increases business
profitability. It can be analysed that brand strategy is effective in managing and building
brand equity of the Unilever in an effective manner. Unilever believes that customer’s
satisfaction is the backbone of the successful performance of the business.
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TASK 2 (Brand portfolio and hierarchy management)
1. Analyse the organisation’s brand portfolio strategy
Brand portfolio management is essential for organisation to manage strategies which is useful
in managing brand hierarchy, equity in defining the scope, responsibilities, scope, and
structure in effective manner.
Brand portfolio strategy can be termed as the grand family including the roles and
responsibilities with each other. Having an efficient portfolio strategy is effective which
assist the customers to recognise the brand effectively (Rutter, Lettice and Nadeau, 2017). It
can be said that, there are three types of brand architecture which defines the way brand will
appears to customers, these are described below:
Branded House: It is the brand architecture in which all the brands of are linked with the
parent company. These brands have same logo and design as of the parent company. For
instances, Apple has different brands like IPhone, Imac, Ipad all these products have same
logo name which helps the customers to recognise the organisation effectively.
House of brand: It includes the brand of the organisation which is independent of each other
in terms of operating, messaging, logo, symbols etc. These brands have their own distinctive
identity and their different customers. The Unilever uses the house of brad as its brand
architecture. The organisation has different names, logo, symbols and message for all its 200
brands. This approach is effective to manage large consumer companies.
Figure 2 House of Brand of Unilever
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Hybrid: This model is mixture of different tactics which is effective for diverse type of
organisation extension. For instances, there are different numbers of sub-division of brands
that are fit within Westpac management which dose not related to house of brand and banded
house approach.
In this regards, it can be said that it is very effective to have proper brand portfolio strategy
which is effective in defining the roles and responsibilities to manage it effectively.
Brand Roles: Defining the brand roles and responsibilities for Unilever is effective in
managing its several strategic management strategies in order to improve its marketing and
promotional activities. It assists in managing the products that is offered by the organisation
and satisfying the customer’s needs to strengthen the portfolio. Employees must be aware of
their roles in managing the operations and activities to manage brand portfolio in different
circumstances.
Long-term thinking: Management of Unilever is accountable to thinking for the long-term
objectives and strategy handle different resources in organisation such as machineries, raw
material and financial aspects (Banerjee, 2016). These strategies are effectual to manage the
portfolio in both present and future terms.
Customer perspective: Organisation can take decisions of its business activities to manage
its brand portfolio while effectively considering the customer perceptive. In order to control
the brand portfolio, management can use both qualitative and quantitative approach to
analyse the market trend and customer needs to manage the portfolio effectively.
Strategy: The management has to make strategies to ensure its growth and development, in
order to achieve this effective strategies are required for brand portfolio to be linked with
market standard and intensions. It helps in guiding the management in building strategies to
manage the brand portfolio and improve the portfolio products for the long-term growth.
2. Provide an illustration of the hierarchy management of brands within organisations
portfolio
Brand Hierarchy
It can be defined as the summary of the plan by management to display the numbers of
distinctive and mutual features associated with brand in terms of different products offered by
organization. It depends on the knowledge of repeating the services and also allows moving
from upper level to lower level while achieving success at each level of organisation.
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In addition to this, marketing strategies for conducting market survey, communicating to
customers and valued focused on customers is an essential way to manage the bard equity of
Unilever.
The brand constituents will be represented by covering different level of the organisation
from top to the bottom. Corporate Brand refers to the use of the business name as its brand
name so that customers can identify the brand in the market among other competitors. Family
brand only determines the one brand but for various types of product as they cover large
range of product but represented by one brand name. This is mainly related to the customer
branding which will help Unilever to create their strong relationship with customers. By
using family branding the organisation can maintain strong loyalty and trust level with the
customers. Individual brand is mainly analysed as the individual branding which is running
through single name of single brand. Sub-brands of Unilever need to create individual
identity so that they can also survive in the market by their own branding strategy.
3. Analyse strategies used for managing the equity of the brands within the organisations
portfolio
Unilever is the leading brand and have various sub-brands who are working under the brand
name of Unilever. It is essential for organisation to execute brand equity strategy which will
provide effective outcome to enhance their brand name in the market. The brand equity is
categorized as- brand association, brand loyalty, brand awareness and perceived quality.
Brand association: It is the process which helps the firms to ensure that it is related with
different activities which includes offering luxury products, sustainability, safety etc. It
assists the organisation to retrieve brand information and also helps in differentiating the
products from other products in market place. Organisation needs to consider the brand
equality requires being efficient and meaningful attracting consumers (Huang and Sarigöllü,
2014).
Brand loyalty: it is an important element in branding which defines ac customers feeling and
perception towards the products which can be analysed in terms of their repetitive behaviour,
price and quality of products. A satisfy and loyal customer will hardly choose to any other
brand. In this regards, Unilever manage the quality of the products as per the market trend
and customers requirement in different location it operates.
Brand Awareness: It includes having sufficient information of the product and organisation
to customers in marketplace. Brand awareness creates awareness of the product, its features
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and characteristics to the customers which make them recall and recognise the brand (Sallam
and Wahid, 2015). In this regards, Unilever has make different strategy in different countries
to reach the customers in urban as well as rural areas to aware the customers of their
products.
Perceived brand quality: Maintaining quality of the products is important for organisation to
be delivered the consumer so that they also perceive the same level of quality. For instance,
offering high quality products by Unilever to the consumers helps to perceive the same
quality of products as well.
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