Brand Image and Brand Positioning

Of iPhone

(A Course Assignment for the Course Consumer Behaviour)

Prepared For:
Professor. G.M. Chowdhury

Prepared By:

Group Name: ARROW

Student Name Student ID Sign
S M Mahabub Alam 2009-1-95-131
Mahmudul Hasan 2009-2-95-086
Md. Golam Mostafa 2009-3-95-066
Md. Mahbub Ali 2009-3-95-029
Parag Datta 2009-2-95-111
Sazid Zaman 2005-3-95-043

Submission Date: Feb 14, 2011

East West University

Contents:

1. Brand Image ……………………………………………………………..

1.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………

1.2 Brand Image vs. Sales …………………………………………………..

1.3 iPhone Brand Image Survey ……………………………………………

1.4 Brand Image of iPhone …………………………………………………..

1.5 Findings ……………………………………………………………………...

2. Brand Positioning …………………………………………………………..

2.1 Background …………………………………………………………………. 4

2.2 Definition …………………………………………………………………….. 5

2.3 Brand Positioning Process ……………………………………………….. 5

2.4 Measuring Brand Positioning ……………………………………………… 6

2.5 Brand Positioning of iPhone ……………………………………………….. 6

3. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 8

4. Article Review 1. ………………………………………………………………… 9

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 5. Article Review 2. …………………………………………………………………11

6. Attachment …………………..……………………………………………………13

1.Brand Image:
1.1 Introduction: Brand image is the current view of the customers about a
brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target
customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held
about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers’ perception about
the product. It is the manner in which a specific brand is positioned in the market.
Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. Brand image is
nothing but an organization’s character. It is an accumulation of contact and
observation by people external to an organization. It should highlight an
organization’s mission and vision to all. The main elements of positive brand image
are- unique logo reflecting organization’s image, slogan describing organization’s
business in brief and brand identifier supporting the key values.

Brand image is the overall impression in consumers’ mind that is formed from all
sources. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these
associations, they form brand image. An image is formed about the brand on the
basis of subjective perceptions of association bundle that the consumers have about
the brand. Volvo is associated with safety. Toyota is associated with reliability.

1.2 Brand Image Vs. Sales:

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1.3 iPhone Brand image survey

Apple's iPhone was the leading Smart phone during the month of July, and sales
equaled the leading feature phone “the LG Chocolate” according to a sales survey.
Market researcher iSuppli classifies the iPhone as a crossover phone, with attributes
that put it in competition both with smart phones and with feature phones. While the
iPhone has some features associated with smart phones, users cannot load third-
party software onto the product, which is a key requirement to qualify for smart-
phone status. iSuppli defines feature phones as handsets that have rich functionality.

iSuppli also published an aggressive sales prediction for the iPhone: 4.5 million units
for the year 2010. The firm also predicted that the iPhone, or some successor, would
sell 30 million units in 2011, based on "consumer demand, Apple's brand image and
industry anticipation (www.isuppli.com).

While the speed of the iPhone's ascent to the top of the smart-phone and feature-
phone charts is remarkable, it's equally amazing that Apple achieved this in the face
of numerous, well-entrenched competitors. iSuppli's U.S. Consumer Panel Survey
also revealed other facts about American iPhone purchasers, including:

- Approximately 57 percent of iPhones bought in July were purchased by U.S.

consumers 35 years of age or younger

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- Most iPhone buyers were men in July, with 52 percent of purchasers being male
and 48 percent female
- Nearly two-thirds, or 62 percent, of iPhone buyers in July had a four-college degree
or more education
- One quarter of consumers who bought iPhones switched to AT&T service. AT&T is
the exclusive provider of service for the iPhone

1.4 Brand Image of iphone:

A brand audit done in 2009 (http://www.slideshare.net/KyleL1/iphone-

brand-audit-2) shows that

• The iPhone’s brand image was found to be strong amongst consumers by

testing the strength, favourable and uniqueness of those associations. It
was found that differences in responses correlated with whether respondents
were users or non-users of the iPhone. Thus, differing evaluations of the
iPhone’s attributes and features could be explained by whether or not
consumers use the iPhone.
• The iPhone’s brand equity is high overall. Brand awareness is quite high
meaning consumers are very familiar with the iPhone. This is due to high
awareness depth and breadth: strong brand recall and recognition exists
amongst all respondents, which is indicated by the ease by which consumers
can retrieve the iPhone from memory, as well as identify the iPhone and
discuss its attributes and benefits. In addition, consumers connect the iPhone
to a wide range of purchase situations and consumption possibilities.

1.5 Findings:

The iPhone’s brand image is quite strong. Consumers in general perceive it to be an

“innovative”, i.e. technologically sophisticated phone that is easy to use and is
generally used by young outgoing people who are technologically-savvy. However,
favorable and uniqueness of the iPhone’s brand image did not perform consistently
well, particularly on affordability. Uniqueness and favorable of associations differed
between users and non-users. This could be due to different lifestyles and needs,
which result in different evaluations of the iPhones attributes and benefits.

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2. Brand Positioning

2.1 Background: Positioning is a concept in marketing which was first introduced

by Jack Trout (“Industrial Marketing" Magazine- June/1969) and then popularized by
Al Ries and Jack Trout in their bestseller book "Positioning - The Battle for Your
Mind." (McGraw-Hill 1981)

This differs slightly from the context in which the term was first published in 1969 by
Jack Trout in the paper "Positioning" is a game people play in today’s me-too market
place" in the publication Industrial Marketing, in which the case is made that the
typical consumer is overwhelmed with unwanted advertising, and has a natural
tendency to discard all information that does not immediately find a comfortable (and
empty) slot in the consumers mind. It was then expanded into their groundbreaking
first book, "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind," in which they define Positioning as
"an organized system for finding a window in the mind. It is based on the concept that
communication can only take place at the right time and under the right
circumstances" (p. 19 of 2001 paperback edition).

2.2 Definition: A brand’s position is the set of perceptions, impressions, ideas and
feelings that consumers have for the product compared with competing products.
Positioning is defined as the way by which the marketers create impression in the
customers mind.

Positioning is not created by the marketer or the individual brand itself, but by how
others perceive it. In fact, Kosgrove says that the brand is not created by the
marketers, but rather by the customer. Marketers don't create the positioning; rather,
they create the strategic and tactical suggestions to encourage the customer to
accept a particular positioning in his or her mind.

2.3 Brand Positioning Process: Generally, the brand positioning process

involves:

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 1. Defining the market in which the product or brand will compete (who the
relevant buyers are)
2. Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product
'space'
3. Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of
each product or brand on the relevant attributes
4. Determine each product's or brand’s share of mind
5. Determine each product's or brand’s current location in the product space
6. Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes (referred to
as an ideal vector)
7. Examine the fit between:
o The position of your product or brand
o The position of the ideal vector
8. Interest and started a conversation, you'll know you're on the right track.

2.4 Measuring of Positioning:

Positioning is facilitated by a graphical technique called perceptual mapping, various

survey techniques, and statistical techniques like multi dimensional scaling, factor
analysis, conjoint analysis, and logic analysis.

Brands can be positioned against competing brands on a perceptual map. A

perceptual map defines the market in terms of the way buyers perceive key
characteristics of competing products.

The basic perceptual map that buyers use maps products in terms of their price and
quality, as illustrated below:

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 Figure: Perceptual map

2.5 Brand positioning of iPhone:

Using product differentiation, we are positioning the iPhone as the versatile,

convenient, value-added device for personal and professional use. The marketing
strategy will focus on the convenience of having one device for communication, but
also music, pictures, and video, and full Internet access. The iPhone will be promoted
as both professional and hip. The price of iPhone is relatively higher than other
phone in the market and the quality of iPhone is high. From the perceptual map
iPhone positioning is on premium brand.

A new study of 14,701 customer reviews spanning 108 mobile phone models
revealed that Blackberry phones gained ground by exceeding customer expectations
8% more than Apple iPhones.

(Source of the study: http://blog.amplifiedanalytics.com/2010/11/blackberry-torch-vs-

apple-iphone-4-battle-for-customer-perception/

Data source: consumer-generated reviews published through November 15, 2010 on

multiple popular public sites.)

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The most interesting rivalry is developing between the latest popular offerings:
Blackberry 9800 Torch and the iPhone 4-32GB. Torch is opening a significant lead in
perception of Reliability and Customer Support. On the other hand, iPhone delights
their customers with screen quality, design and software stability.

Figure: Comparison iPhone vs. Blackberry

3. Conclusion: Understanding customer behavior is a fundamental element of

strategic planning for most organizations. Sometimes there is a gap between what

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organizations think about their customers and the expectations of customers, in fact
an organization. Moreover, the cognitive aspects of consumer behavior among
consumers who are heavily influenced by (1) the availability of options and (2) the
impact of media and advertising on their preferences.

As a smart phone iPhone consumer perception is good enough and it’s positioning is
on premium brand. In this competitive market, they need to understand customer
behavior more deeply and meet the consumer expectation to become the market
leader.

(Total words: 1499)

4. Article Review: 1
Introduction:

The review is on the article titled “The effect of Brand image on overall satisfaction
and loyalty intention in the context of color cosmetic” by Stephen L. Sondoh Jr.,
Maznah Wan Omar, Nabsiah Abdul Wahid, Ishak Ismail and Amran Harun all
are from different Malaysian Universities. The article was published in the Asian
Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, 83–107, January 2007.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of brand image benefits on
satisfaction and loyalty intention in the context of color cosmetic product.

Summary of the study:

Literature review of Brand image:

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A company or its product/services that constantly holds a favourable image by the
public, would definitely gain a better position in the market, sustainable competitive
advantage, and increase market share or performance (Park, Jaworski, & MacInnis,
1986).

Different hypothesis established by the authors:

H1: There is a positive relationship between brand image benefits and loyalty
intention.

H2: There is a positive relationship between brand image benefits and overall
satisfaction.
H3: There is a positive relationship between overall satisfaction and loyalty intention.
After setting up of the above hypothesis the authors conducted surveys on 97
Malaysian women and used various cosmetic brands as the subject of the study such
as Maybelline, Revlon, L'oreal, Avon, Estee Lauder, Lancome, etc.

The authors identified there are five dimensions in brand image benefits: experiential,
symbolic, social, functional and appearance enhances.

Result of hypothesis testing:

The statistical results showed that two brand image benefits, i.e. appearance
enhances and functional have significant impacts on loyalty intention. The others, i.e.
symbolic, experiential and social benefits have negative effects on loyalty intention.

Findings:

 Findings in this study revealed that Color cosmetic users would be more loyal
to that particular cosmetic brand when they are satisfied.

 In order to maintain and build loyalty customers, marketers must focus on

efforts to improve satisfaction among its customers.

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  The small sample size used limit the ability to generalize what is found in this
study to the general industry, hence the result cannot be said generally
accepted.

 Although students have been categorized as potential actual users, the fact
that they may not be the ultimate users remains and may have an impact on
the study's results.

 This study stressed on too many color cosmetic brands. It would be better to
focus on not more than three brands.

Conclusion:

The study has shown that, with regard to satisfaction and loyalty, it is important for
companies to measure customers' satisfaction in order to analyse their product or
service image performance and whether their satisfied customers are willing to
recommend their branded product to others as well as having the intention to
purchase their product/services in the future.

(Article source: http://web.usm.my/aamj/12.1.2007/AAMJ%2012-1-6.pdf )

5. Article Review 2:

Introduction:
The review is on the article titled “PRODUCT POSITIONING: A COMPARISON OF
PERCEPTUAL MAPPING TECHNIQUES” by Chiranjeev S. Kohli and Lance
Lancaster who are Associate Professors of Marketing at California State University,
Fullerton, California. This journal was published in “Journals of Marketing Research”
on 16th November 2009

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This paper presents an overview of perceptual mapping, explains the conceptual
foundation, and compares three widely used techniques -- factor analysis,
discriminant analysis, and multidimensional scaling. Differences in these analytical
techniques are highlighted, with implications for marketing managers.

Summary of the study:

Product positioning has been defined as the act of designing the image of the firm's
offering so that target customers understand and appreciate what the product stands
for in relation to its competitors. Perceptual mapping refers generally to techniques
used to graphically represent this product space.

In this journal three frequently used perceptual mapping techniques: Were discussed.

Factor Analysis: Factor analysis is essentially a data reduction technique in which

the objective is to represent the original pool of attributes in terms of a smaller
number of underlying dimensions or factors. After the factors have been identified,
the brands' ratings on these factors are used to position the brands in perceptual
space.

Discriminant Analysis: Discriminant analysis also requires that respondents

provide attribute ratings. In discriminant analysis, sets of observations represent
different "groups." As its name suggests, discriminant analysis will identify those
underlying dimensions, which are most useful in discriminating among groups.

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS): MDS enables us to map objects (brands), such

that the relative positions in the mapped space reflect the degree of perceived
similarity between the objects (the closer in space, the more similar the brands).
When the map has been generated, the relative positioning of the brands, together
with knowledge of the general characteristics of the brands, allow the analyst to infer
the underlying dimensions of the map.

Findings:

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This article has presented a brief overview of three methods of analysis frequently
used in product positioning research: (1) factor analysis, (2) discriminant analysis,
and (3) MDS. Conditions favouring the use of factor and discriminant analysis are
generally opposite to those favouring MDS. Factor analysis and discriminant analysis
are both data reduction techniques, and both are useful in condensing a large
number of product attribute measures into a smaller set of meaningful underlying
dimensions.

Conclusion:
The study has shown that MDS differs from both factor and discriminant analysis in
that, under the first method, consumers make overall similarity judgments of brands,
whereas under the latter two methods interval scaled ratings must be provided for
each product attribute. Accordingly, MDS is particularly useful in instances where
consumers naturally tend to make overall similarity judgments or in circumstances
where attribute data are sparse.

6. Attachment:

The original document for article 1 and 2 has been attached here.

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