Brand Rejuvenation Established brands are resilient, resourceful, and elastic.

However such good health is not a permanent condition. And when brands suffer, there are three key ingredients that can cause this dilution. They are especially lethal when combined. Customers seek meaning in their choices. They need the brands they purchase to enable them to sleep better at night and to say something favorable about themselves to others. When the emotional benefits are lacking, the customer is forced to expand their consideration set. Customers seek relevancy in their choices. They need the brands they purchase to enable them to solve a problem and to satisfy an immediate need. When the functional benefits are missing, the customer is forced to expand their consideration set. Customers are consistently and relentlessly introduced to new and improved brands. Brands are born from competition and they can also die from it. When new brands reposition or replace existing brands, the customer is forced to expand their consideration set. Rejuvenating a brand requires new knowledge. The following methodology will provide a three-dimensional understanding of the current equity in the brand. Review the current business strategy: What are the products and/or services the company is offering? How many of these products and/or services are they offering? What are the costs of producing and delivering these products and/or services? And who are the primary customers for these products and/or services? Conduct qualitative research with your current and former customers: How can you refine your definition of your most desirable customer demographically, psycho-graphically and behaviorally? What do they think and feel about your brand today? Why and when do they choose your brand over competing brands? And what are the sources of trust when customers are choosing a brand in your category?

Conduct a competitive brand audit with your customers: What is the contemporary consideration set? What is the position each brand owns in the mind of the customer? Conduct a visual and editorial audit of current marketing and communications: What are you communicating to your customer about your brand? Introducing a rejuvenated brand is distinct from the introduction of a new brand in three key ways. Brand strategists understand that it is easier to put a new idea into the mind y of a customer than it is to change one that is already there. The primary task is to manage the meaning of your brand as you transition it from its current state to the desired future state. y Position your rejuvenated brand in the category in which you compete by repositioning the other brands in that category. This rearrangement of the brands will impact both the customers consideration set and their purchasing behavior. Leverage the heritage of the brand. Remind customers that you have made y and kept your promise in the past. Ensure them that you have the skills to do so today. If the rejuvenated brand exists in a family of brands, its new strong and favorable associations can enhance the equity of the other brands in that family. Finally, while adhering to best brand strategy practices is essential, the ability to imagine the future is most desirable.

Designing and Implementing Branding Strategies

Customer based brand equity is created when brand knowledge comprising of brand awareness and brand image are at highest level in customer mind. Brand awareness level is raised in customer by first understanding consumer taste, preference and present level of awareness. This analysis leads to designing of marketing programs and outcomes of those programs are also recorded. Designing of marketing programs is a complex process as it may have to encompass wide range of product and brands. Purpose of all marketing program is to maximize brand equity and also to capture or create long lasting impression in consumer mind. Branding strategies deal with creating brand names, logos, style etc. for it to

be distinguished from competitors and also whether product brand should be separate from corporate brand or a separate brand away from other individual brands. Implication of branding strategies is that it creates brand awareness for consumer to ascertain point of difference and point of similarity with competitors. Second implication is brand image for association of brand equity from brand to product.
Brand-product matrix looks to explain brand portfolio and brand extension strategies. In the matrix all products offered under different brands are represented by a row. This helps marketers understand the current brand line and explore further opportunity in expanding the product line. In the matrix all current existing brand are represented in form of column referred to as brand portfolio. The brand portfolio analysis is essential to design and develop new marketing strategies to target a given product category. Product line facilitates marketers to devise strategy with regards to future treatment for a given brand. This strategy focuses on decision, as to whether product line can be extended or new variants of existing product should be introduced. When taking brand extension decision companies needs to carry SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis to fully understand market conditions, current category structure and environmental( economic, social, political, regulatory) dynamics. This analysis will give companies product line and categories to follow active branding strategy. Active branding strategy with respect to product line involves creating multiple brands; this provides depth to the branding process. For example- car maker General Motors, it created multiple brands to expand the product class category from SUV to sports car. This sort of strategy is also used by consumer goods giant P & G and Unilever. By creating individual brands companies can create different marketing strategies. This strategy ensures no market in given industry remains un-tapped. Brand product matrix helps in showcasing different brand in any given product category. In that respect Brand Hierarchy is graphical representation of companys products and its brands. Hierarchical structure starts with corporate brand and then showcases different product category and below brands. This sort of presentation helps devise marketing strategy at many levels and forms. There is no fix way to go about formulating marketing strategy but generally it can fit into 3 categories. First strategy gives more importance to corporate brand and less prominence to product brand. Second strategy sees importance been given to two or more product brands and some highlighting to the corporate brand. Third strategy looks at promoting only the product brand and there is no mention of corporate entity at all. Another brand building strategy which has gain prominence in recent times is cause marketing or social responsibility marketing. In cause marketing company contributes some amount of revenue generate from product sales towards designated cause. For example- American Express started RED campaign along with U2 singer Bono where in 1 percent of card charges were dedicated to fight AIDS in Africa. This sort of marketing improves brand awareness as well as brand image and it can generate sense of pride not only for consumers but also for employees. There are various ways through which a successful brand build strategy can be created, maintained and enhanced. But one things which comes out from exploring different strategies is that companies have to proactive in designing marketing campaign and react accordingly to challenges of dynamic environment.

Branding: the basics

Start-up businesses
At the start of a new business you can launch your product with a brand that challenges the conventions of the sector - often called a 'challenger brand'. This is much harder to do once you're established as you have more to lose. You must think carefully about how brave and 'rule-breaking' your product or service can be by assessing the market sector from the outside, looking at the different players, opportunities or gaps in the market.

Another benefit at start-up is that the business is likely to be small and, therefore, more responsive and adaptable, with no existing processes that have to be changed to create a new brand.

Business to business (B2B)

Service businesses
You should consider how your brand is reflected in how your service is provided and how your staff interact with customers.

Service brands are built on the people who deliver them, so staff need to be trained to understand the company's culture, its 'promise' to customers and how they will put this into practice.

Co-branding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements: Co-branding, also called brand partnership,[1] is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. As described in Co-Branding: The Science of Alliance:[2]
"the term 'co-branding' is relatively new to the business vocabulary and is used to encompass a wide range of marketing activity involving the use of two (and sometimes more) brands. Thus co-branding could be considered to include sponsorships, where Marlboro lends it name to Ferrari or accountants Ernst and Young support the Monet exhibition."

Co-branding is an arrangement that associates a single product or service with more than one brand name, or otherwise associates a product with someone other than the principal producer. The typical co-branding agreement involves two or more companies acting in cooperation to associate any of various logos, color schemes, or brand identifiers to a specific product that is contractually designated for this purpose. The object for this is to combine the strength of two brands, in order to increase the premium consumers are willing to pay, make the product or service more resistant to copying by private label manufacturers, or to combine the different perceived properties associated with these brands with a single product.
Contents
[hide]

1 Intent

2 Forms

3 Examples

4 See also

5 References

[edit]Intent

According to Chang, from the Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, states there are three levels of co-branding: market share, brand extension, and global branding. Level 1 includes joining with another company to penetrate the market Level 2 is working to extend the brand based on the company's current market share Level 3 tries to achieve a global strategy by combining the two brands

[edit]Forms

There are many different sub-sections of co-branding. Companies can work with other companies to combine resources and leverage individual core competencies, or they can use current resources within one company to promote multiple products at once. The forms of co-branding include: ingredient co-branding, same-company co-branding, joint venture co-branding, and multiple sponsor co-branding. No matter which form a company chooses to use, the purpose is to respond to the changing marketplace, build ones own core competencies, and work to increase product revenues. One form of co-branding is ingredient co-branding. This involves creating brand equity for materials, components or parts that are contained within other products. Examples: Betty Crockers brownie mix includes Hersheys chocolate syrup Pillsbury Brownies with Nestle Chocolate Dell Computers with Intel Processors Kellogg Pop-tarts with Smuckers fruit Samsung hardware with Google software (eg Galaxy Nexus) Another form of co-branding is same-company co-branding. This is when a company with more than one product promotes their own brands together simultaneously. Examples Kraft Lunchables and Oscar Mayer meats Joint venture co-branding is another form of co-branding defined as two or more companies going for a strategic alliance to present a product to the target audience. Example: British Airways and Citibank formed a partnership offering a credit card where the card owner will automatically become a member of the British Airways Executive club Finally, there is multiple sponsor co-branding. This form of co-branding involves two or more companies working together to form a strategic alliance in technology, promotions, sales, etc. Example: Citibank/American Airlines/Visa credit card partnership
[3]

[edit]Examples

An early instance of co-branding occurred in 1956 when Renault had Jacques Arpels of jewelers Van Cleef and Arpels turn the dashboard of one of their newly introduced Dauphine's into a work of art.[4] A successful example of co-branding is the Senseo coffeemaker, which associates the Philips made appliances with specific coffee brand of Douwe Egberts. Other examples include the marketing of Gillette M3 Power shaving equipment (which require batteries) with Duracell batteries (both brands owned by Procter & Gamble). Co-branding can be between an organization and a product also. An example of co-branding between a charity and a manufacturer is the association of Sephora and Operation Smile: Sephora markets a product carrying the logo of the charity, the consumer is encouraged to associate the two brands, and a portion of the proceeds benefit the charity.

In the contemporary business environment, building and properly managing or sustaining brand equity has become a priority for businesses of all orientations and sizes. This is traceable to the realization that customer loyalty and, consequently, fiscal profits derive from strong brand equity. The rewards inherent in having and maintaining strong brand equity are not far-fetched. Profitable business is the result of a strong brand (The Brand is seen as the cause while an attractive and viable business outlook is the effect of a strong brand). However, a major challenge most managers face is that of being able to step back and objectively assess their brands strengths and weaknesses. Quite a number may have correct insights in one or two areas, but assessing the situation holistically, many would find it herculean identifying all the critical factors they should be considering. The reality in many an instance is that when one is deeply immersed in the day-to-day management of a brand, it becomes difficult keeping all aspects affecting the whole equity in perspective. The caveat at this juncture is that the identification of weak spots for brands does not necessarily mean identifying areas that need more attention or the devotion of more resources. Such decisions that may appear somewhat straightforward e.g. it seems we havent paid a lot of attention to innovation. Can we allocate more resources towards research and development? can lead to costly mistakes in the event that brand custodians/managers undermine other fundamental characteristics that consumers/stakeholders place much value on. Kevin Lane Keller, E.B Osborne Professor of Marketing at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, U.S.A, outlined ten of such critical indices or attributes which the strongest brands in the world have been identified to share. Now, these brand performance indices can be likened to parameters on a report-sheet or score-card against which brands are expected to be objectively measured with a view to assessing or benchmarking their performance. They are outlined below: Delivering Benefits Truly great brands excel at delivering those benefits that consumers truly desire. It is pertinent to ask the question, Why do consumers buy a product or make use of a service offering? Not because the offering is a collection of attributes but because those attributes in harmony with the brand image, service, and a host of other tangible and intangible elements create an attractive whole. Now, subjecting a number of the worlds most appreciated and successful brands to analysis, this is clearly true. Let us consider a brand such as Starbucks. It transcends an ordinary cup of coffee. Its a promise, an experience, the fulfillment of a yearning. According to Howard Schultz, now Chairman of Starbucks, he derived inspiration from the romance and sense of community he felt in Italian coffee bars while vacationing in Italy . The culture grabbed him and he immediately sensed an opportunity. Schultz says in the 1997 book he co-authored with Dori Jones Yang titled Pour Your Heart Into It, Starbucks sold great coffee beans, but we didnt serve coffee by the cup. We treated coffee as produce something to be bagged and sent home with the groceries. We stayed one big step away from the heart and soul of what coffee has meant throughout centuries. In the light of this eye-opening realization, Starbucks began and has continued to carefully concert its efforts on building a coffee bar culture. It is presently estimated that the average Starbucks customer visits a store 18 times a month and spends up to $3.50 a visit. As testimony to this, the companys sales and profits have individually grown more than 50% annually through much of the 1990s. Staying Relevant As far as strong brands are concerned, their brand equity is tied closely to the tangible, i.e., the actual quality of the product/service being offered, as well as a number of other intangibles such as user-imagery (i.e., the image of the typical individual who uses the brand). Similarly, usage imagery (the types of situations/contexts in which the brand is used), the brand archetype and personality etc. Essentially, without losing sight of their core strengths, the strongest brands stay on the cutting-edge of innovation and utility in the product arena and are able to tweak their intangibles to fit the times. A Pricing Strategy Based on Consumers Perception The right blend of product/service quality, design, features, costs and price is difficult to achieve but will be well worth the effort. Unfortunately, many managers are unaware of how price can and should relate to what their consumers think of a product or service, and therefore charge too much or conversely, too little. Proper Brand Positioning It is a truism that brands which are well positioned occupy unique niches in consumers minds. Such brands are similar to, while simultaneously being different from, competing brands in certain reliably identifiable ways. Most successful brands in this regard keep up with competitors by creating parity points in the areas where competition is trying to find advantage while, at the same time, creating points of difference to achieve advantage in some other areas. Consistency Sustenance of a strong brand is dependent on how well a balance can be struck between continuity in marketing activities. The kind of dynamism/change needed to stay relevant against the backdrop of changing moments, from market and consumer perspectives. Continuity in this context refers to guarding against the brands image not getting lost in a cacophony of marketing efforts that send conflicting messages to the market, thereby leaving consumers confused. Straightforward Brand Portfolio and Hierarchy The brand portfolio and hierarchy must equally make sense. One common challenge as far as this aspect is concerned is that many companies do not have only one brand but they create and maintain different brands for different market segments. Single product lines are often sold under different brand names. These are critical considerations that should be taken into cognizance. Utilization and Proper Co-ordination of Marketing Activities Fundamentally, a brand is made up of all the marketing elements that can be trademarked logos, symbols, slogans, packaging, signage etc. This is in concert with basic elements of the promotional mix, viz; advertising, promotions, direct marketing, activation, PR etc. Strong brands are able to meaningfully mix and match these elements to perform a number of brand related functions such as enhancing/reinforcing consumer awareness of the brand or its image and helping to protect the brand competitively. Understanding What the Brand Means to Consumers The brand managers must appreciate the totality of their brands image i.e., all the different perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors customers associate with their brand. As a result, managers are better able to make knowledge based decisions regarding the brand with confidence. Proper and Sustained Brand Support Brand equity must be carefully constructed and given impetus for sustenance. Part of the essential requirements for sustainable equity is that employees have the proper depth and breadth of awareness as well as strong, unique and positive associations with the brand in memory. A Viable Framework for Monitoring Sources of Brand Equity It has been established that strong brands routinely make good use of frequent in-depth brand audits and continuous brand-tracking studies and surveys. A brand audit is an exercise to determine the health of a given brand. Typically, it encompasses a detailed internal description of how the brand has been marketed (called a brand inventory) and a thorough external investigation and assessment of what the brand does and could mean to consumers and audiences, (a process referred to as a brand explanatory). This could be garnered through focus groups and other consumer research initiatives. Brand audits are particularly useful when scheduled and carried out periodically. It is critical for managers who oversee brand portfolios to get a clear picture of the products and services being offered, how they are being branded, marketed and how the same picture looks to the consumers out there.

B r a n d P e r f o r m an c e Mo n i t o r i ng
How to identify a true opportunity in time to capitalize on it?
One of the fundamental challenges facing organizations is that markets offer less and less time to adjust and react, while management allows less time to produce growth. As a result, simply tracking the performance of products and brands is no longer adequate to inform product, brand, and portfolio decisions.

Most traditional approaches look backward and track changes on many different aspects of customer perceptions and preferences. However, getting the voice of the customer in the hands of the decision makers can be a time intensive process, and there is no guarantee that the metrics tracked will drive better decisions.

At Optimal Strategix Group, we believe brand and environment tracking (performance monitoring as we call it) should be a prescriptive and curative undertaking, not just a tool for measuring and diagnosing problems.

Our performance monitoring methodology allows you to track what is most important to your customers when they are making a purchase decision, and puts that information in your hands nearly instantaneously.

Our unique, award-winning, leading edge research approach ensures you are gathering the voice of the customer on performance dimensions that impact sales and growth.

y y y

Real time adaptive questionnaire focuses on tracking what matters most Greater accuracy of results, supporting clear business strategies Delivers a more specific, detailed plan for growth

Keeping tracking efforts focused on perceptions, sentiment, and attitudes that impact your sales the most keeps your brand in the drivers seat. Delivering performance monitoring results using our proprietary reporting and presentation portal, each wave of results is available to you weeks sooner. This lets you act as soon as an opportunity or problem develops. You see the last waves presentation quickly populated with fresh insights, and start taking action within 24 hours.

With over 50 client engagements delivered using this technology, the time value of customer driven guidance is clear.

BRAND AUDIT A brand audit is a thorough examination of a brands current position in an industry compared to its competitors and the examination of its effectiveness. When it comes to brand auditing, five questions should be carefully examined and assessed. These five questions are how well the business current brand strategy is working, what are the companys established resource strengths and weaknesses, what are its external opportunities and threats, how competitive are the business prices and costs, how strong is the business competitive position in comparison to its competitors, and what strategic issues are facing the business. Generally, when a business is conducting a brand audit, the main goal is to uncover business resource strengths, deficiencies, best market opportunities, outside threats, future profitability, and its competitive standing in comparison to existing competitors. A brand audit establishes the strategic elements needed to improve brand position and competitive capabilities within the industry. Once a brand is audited, any business that ends up with a strong financial performance and market position is more likely than not to have a properly conceived and effectively executed brand strategy. A brand audit examines whether a business share of the market is increasing, decreasing, or stable. It determines if the companys margin of profit is improving, decreasing, and how much it is in comparison to the profit margin of established competitors. Additionally, a brand audit investigates trends in a business net profits, the return on existing investments, and its established economic value. It determines whether or not the business entire financial strength and credit rating is improving or getting worse. This kind of audit also assesses a business image and

reputation with its customers. Furthermore, a brand audit seeks to determine whether or not a business is perceived as an industry leader in technology, offering product or service innovations, along with exceptional customer service, among other relevant issues that customers use to decide on a brand of preference. A brand audit usually focuses on a business strengths and resource capabilities because these are the elements that enhance its competitiveness. A business competitive strengths can exist in several forms. Some of these forms include skilled or pertinent expertise, valuable physical assets, valuable human assets, valuable organizational assets, valuable intangible assets, competitive capabilities, achievements and attributes that position the business into a competitive advantage, and alliances or cooperative ventures. The basic concept of a brand audit is to determine whether a business resource strengths are competitive assets or competitive liabilities. This type of audit seeks to ensure that a business maintains a distinctive competence that allows it to build and reinforce its competitive advantage. Whats more, a successful brand audit seeks to establish what a business capitalizes on best, its level of expertise, resource strengths, and strongest competitive capabilities, while aiming to identify a business position and future performance.

FUNCTIONS OF BRANDS:

A brand is a consistent, holistic pledge made by a company, the face a company presents to the world. A brand serves as an unmistakable and recongnizable symbol for products and services. It functions as the business card a company proffers on the competitive scene to set itself apart from the rest. In addition to differentiating in this way, a brand conveys to consumers, shareholders,stakeholders, society and the world at large all the values and attitudes embodied in a product or company. A brand fulfills key functions for consumers and companies alike. The functions of a brand for consumers

   

Brands play a role in terms of communication and identification. They offer guidance, convey an expectation of quality and so offer help and support to those making purchase decisions. Brands make it easier for consumers to interpret and digest information on products. The perceived purchasing risk is thus minimized, which in turn helps cultivate a trust-based relationship. A brand can also serve as a social business card, expressing membership in a certain group. Premium brands, for instance, can even engender a sense of distinction and prestige. Consuming certain brands is also a means of communicating certain values. By opting for particular brands, a consumer demonstrates that he or she embraces particular values; the brand becomes a tool of identity formation.

The functions of brands from a companys perspective

    

A brand fosters brand and customer loyalty. Particularly strong brands can establish the prevalence of premium prices on the market and soften consumer reactions to price changes. Specifically brand-oriented buyers who are more concerned with brands than prices are more resilient when it comes to changes in the competitive scenario. This decreased sensitivity to price changes makes them more valuable as customers. The reduction in perceived purchasing risk lays the groundwork for a relationship of trust, giving brands a role to play in lashing customers to a company. Brands can counter the swelling ranks of trade because dealers stock their shelves and fill their order lists with products explicitly requested by consumers. Strong brands in particular keep sales levels and market share constant and considerably lessen dependence on short-term special promotions. A brand unlocks great potential in terms of licensing opportunities as well, helping companies achieve plans for international expansion. Finally, brands also offer companies potential for honing a clear profile and overshadowing the competition. Strong brands in particular can reduce the risk that new product launches will flop and can be used as platforms for successful brand stretching (also in terms of launches in completely new product segments and sectors)