Brand Building

What is Brand building?

Involves all the activities that are

necessary to nurture a brand into a
healthy cash flow stream for the
company after launch

Advertising does a lot to help build

brands
Every ad contributes to make the brand what
it is in the minds of the consumer David Ogilvy
A companys brand is the primary source of
its competitive advantage and is a very
valuable strategic asset David Aaker

Building Brand Equity

Distinguish product from others in the
market Value proposition
Align what it says about the brand in
advertising with what it actually delivers
Creating the brand

Brand managers of market-savvy

companies need
Superior insight into customer needs
Ability to devise product/services that
powerfully meet those needs
Agility to redefine its offering as those
needs change
Creativity to produce exciting and
compelling advertising

Tangibles of brand equity

Shape
Colour
Size
Models
Price
Features
Benefits

Grades

Intangibles of brand equity

Company name
Brand name
Slogan and its
underlying
associations
Perceived quality
Brand awareness

Customer base
Trademarks and
patents
Channel relationships
Customer loyalty
Customer confidence
Competitive advantage

Value Proposition
Broad positioning
Specific positioning
Value positioning

Creating the brand

Choosing brand name
Developing rich associations and promises
Manage customer brand contacts to meet
and exceed customer expectations

Positioning guards

Should not be overpositioned

Should not be underpositioned
Should not be ambiguous
Should not promise irrelevant benefits
Promise should be credible

Brand Associations

owned word
Slogans
Colours
Symbols and logos

Brand Ambassadors
These are used to create the Brand
personality, just like a human being.
Therefore in some way the values and
personality of the ambassador rubs off into
the brand. Therfore the brand and choice of
the ambassador must fit.

Brand Identity

What
Brand Identity is
a unique set of brand associations
that the brand strategist
aspires to create or maintain.
These associations represent
what the brand stand for
and imply a promise to customers
from the organization members.

The importance
What are my core values?
What do I stand for?
How do I want to be perceived?
What personality traits do I want to project?

What are the important relationships in my life?

Why
Brand Identity provides direction, purpose
and meaning for the brand
It is central to a brands strategic vision
It is the driver of one of the four principal
dimensions of brand equity
Namely, Associations

The brand-as-product
Product-related associations will almost be an
important part of a brand identity
They are directly linked to brand choice decisions/use experience

The product scope

Product related attributes
Quality / Value
Association with use occasion
Association with users
Link to a country or region

The brand-as-organization
This perspective focuses on attributes of
organization rather than those of the product
Organizational attributes are enduring / resistant to
competitive claims than are product attributes
It is much easier to copy a product than to duplicate an
organization with unique people, values & programmes
Organizational attributes usually apply to set of product
class, & competitor in 1 product class may find difficult to
compete
Organizational attributes like being innovative is hard to
evaluate / communicate and it is difficult for competitors to
demonstrate that they have overcome any perceived gap

The brand-as-person
This perspective suggests brand identity thats
richer/ more interesting than one based on product
attributes
Brand personality can create a stronger brand in
several ways:
Help create a self-expressive benefit that becomes a
vehicle for customer to express his/her personality
Can be the basis of relationship between customer and
brand
Help communicate a product attribute and thus
contribute to a functional benefit

Brand-as-symbol
This perspective can provide cohesion and
structure to an identity and make it easier to gain
recognition and recall
Elevating symbols to the status of being part of the
identity reflects their potential power
Visual Imagery: Nikes swoosh, McDonalds arches
Metaphors: Energizer bunny, Rins lightening
Heritage: Amul, Aavin, Vicks, Doordarshan

The Identity Structure

The core identity

Represents the timeless essence of the brand
Associations that are mostly constant as the
brand travels to new markets
More resistant to change
Includes elements that make the brand both
unique and valuable

The core identity: Examples

McDonalds
Value Offering, Quality, Service, Cleanliness, User

Nike
Product thrust, User, Performance, Enhancing lives

Close Up
Gel form, User, Red colour

The extended identity

Includes elements that provide texture and
completeness
Fills in the picture, adding details that help
portray what the brand stands for

The extended identity: Examples

McDonalds
Sub-brands, Logo, Characters, Convenience

Nike
Personality, Logo, Sub-brands, Slogan,
Endorsers

Close Up
Mnemonic, Variants, Packaging

The identity structure

Core identity for a strong brand should be
more resistant to change than elements of
extended identity
Within a product class, a larger extended
identity means a stronger brand
One that is more memorable, interesting, and
connected to the customers life

Value Proposition

Value proposition
A brands value proposition
is a statement of
the functional, emotional and self-expressive
benefits
delivered by the brand
that provide value to the customer

Value proposition
An effective value proposition
should lead to a brand-customer
relationship
and drive purchase decisions

Functional benefits
Benefit based on a product attribute that provides
functional utility to the customer
Most visible and common basis for value proposition

Such a benefit will usually relate directly to the

functions performed by the product

If a brand can dominate a key functional benefit, it

can dominate a category
Close up and fresh breath
Surf and stain removal

Emotional benefits
When purchase or use of a brand gives a positive
feeling, that brand is providing an emotional
benefit
Emotional benefit adds richness and depth to the
experience of owning and using the brand
Most functional benefits will have a corresponding
feeling or set of feelings
Freshness and confidence, in the case of DFT

Self-Expressive benefits
A brand can provide a self-expressive
benefit by providing a way for a customer
to communicate his/her self-image
Purchase and use of brands is one way to
fulfill the need for self-expression
Feeling smart by buying Surf
The can do attitude by wearing a Nike

Self-expressive Vs Emotional benefits

Emotional Benefits
Feelings

Self-expressive Benefits
Self

Private products viz., books,

soaps etc.,

Public setting/products viz.,

cars, apparels etc.,

More transitory

Permanent, linked to
consumers personality

Act of using the product

Consequence of using the
product

Aakers model
DAVID AAKER VIEWS BRAND EQUITY AS A SET OF 5
CATEGORIES OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES LINKED TO
BRAND THAT ADD OR SUBTRACT FROM THE VALUE
PROVIDED BY THE PRODUCT OR SERIVICE TO FIRM
AND/OR TO THE FIRMS CUSTOMERS:
These categories of brand assets are:
1. Brand loyalty
2. Brand awareness
3. Perceived quality
4. Brand association
5. Other proprietary assets (patents, trademarks, channel relationships)

BRAND BUILDING MODEL

4 Steps of brand building
Brand building blocks
Brand building implications

4 Steps of brand building

Building brands, according to CBBE model, can be thought of as a
sequence of steps, in which each step is contingent on successfully
achieving the previous step:
1. Ensure identification of the brand with customers & an association
of the brand in customers mind with a specific product class or
customer need
2. Firmly establish the totality of brand meaning in the minds of
customers by strategically linking a host of tangible & intangible
brand associations with certain properties
3. Elicit the proper customer responses to this brand identification &
brand meaning
4. Convert brand responses to create an intense, active loyalty
relationship between customers & the brand

4 Steps of brand building (contd.)

These 4 steps constitute fundamental questions customers
ask about brands:
1. Who are you? (brand identity)
2. What are you? (brand meaning)
3. What about you? What do I think or feel about you?
(brand responses)
4. What about you and me? What kind of association &
how much of a connection would I like to have with
you? (brand relationship)
THERE IS AN OBVIOUS ORDERING OF THE STEPS
IN THIS Branding Ladder

BRAND BUILDING BLOCKS

Brand building blocks

4. Relationship

Resonance
Judgement

Feelings

Performance
Salience

Imagery

What about you

& me?
3. Response
What about you?
2. Meaning
What are you?
1. Identity
Who are you?

Subdimensions of brand building model

Loyalty
Attachment
Community
Engagement
Quality
Warmth,Fun
Credibility
Excitement
Consideration
Security
Superiority
Social approval, Self-respect
Primary charateristics &
User profiles
Secondary features
Purchase & usage situations
Product reliability
Personality & values
Durability & servicability
History, heritage
Service effectiveness
& Experiences
Efficiency & empathy
Style & design, Price
Category identification
Need satisfied

Brand building blocks

Salience
Performance
Imagery
Judgement
Feelings
Resonance

Brand salience
What basic function does the brand provide to
customers?
Breadth & depth of awareness
Product category structure

Brand performance
PRODUCT ITSELF IS AT THE HEART OF BRAND
EQUITY, BECAUSE IT IS THE PRIMARY INFLUENCE
ON WHAT CONSUMERS EXPERIENCE WITH A
BRAND, WHAT THEY HEAR ABOUT A BRAND
FROM OTHERS, & WHAT THE FIRM CAN TELL
CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE BRAND IN THEIR
COMMUNICATIONS:
Designing & delivering a product that fully satisfies
consumer needs & wants is a prerequisite for successful
marketing
To create brand loyalty & resonance, consumers
experiences with the product must at least meet, if not
actually surpass, their expectations

Brand imagery
Brand imagery is how people think about a brand abstractly,
rather than what they think brand actually does.
Imagery associations can be formed:
Directly: from consumers own experiences & contact with
product, brand, target market, or usage situation
Indirectly: depiction of these same considerations as
communicated in brand advertising or by some other source
of information.
4 categories can be highlighted:
1. User profiles
2. Purchase & usage situations
3. Personality & values
4. History, heritage & experiences

Brand judgement
How customers put together all the different
performance & imagery associations of the brand
to form different kinds of opinions.
4 types of summary judgments particularly important:
1. Brand quality
2. Brand credibility
3. Brand consideration
4. Brand superiority

Brand quality:
There are a host of attitudes customers hold towards
a brand, but the most important relate in various
ways to perceived quality of the brand
Other notable attitudes related to quality pertain to
perception of value & satisfaction
Brand credibility:
Perceived expertise: competent, innovative, &
market leader
Trustworthiness: dependable & keeping consumer
interests in mind
Likability: fun, interesting, & worth spending time

Brand consideration:
How personally relevant is the brand
Depends on extent to which strong, &
favourable association created as a part of
brand image
Brand superiority:
Uniqueness
Absolutely critical to building intense & active
relationship with customers

Brand feelings
EMOTIONS EVOKED BY A BRAND CAN BECOME SO
STRONGLY ASSOCIATED THAT THEY ARE ACESSIBLE
DURING PRODUCT CONSUMPTION OR USE:

Researchers have defined transformational advertising as

advertising designed to change consumers perception of the actual
usage experience with the product
Following are 6 important types of brand-building feelings:
1. Warmth
2. Fun
3. Excitement
4. Security
5. Social approval
6. Self-respect

First 3 types of feelings are experiential & immediate, increasing in

level of intensity

Later 3 are private & enduring, increasing in level of gravity

Brand resonance
RESONANCE IS CHARACTERISED IN TERMS OF
INTENSITY, OR DEPTH OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BOND
THAT THE CUSTOMERS HAVE WITH THE BRAND,
AS WELL AS THE LEVEL OF ACTIVITY ENGENDERED
BY THIS LOYALTY:
1. Behavioural loyalty
2. Attitudinal attachment
3. Sense of community
4. Active engagement
Finally, perhaps the strongest affirmation of brand loyalty is when
customers are willing to invest time, energy, money, or other resources
in the brand beyond those expended during purchase or consumption of
the brand
Strong attitudinal attachment or social identity or both are typically
necessary, however, for active engagement with the brand to occur