Brand Equity: Building the brand from the ground up

Brand EquityBuilding the Brand from the Ground Up

William Baker ConsultingMarketing StrategyCommunication StrategyBrandingAdvertising

Award Winning Author, Professor and Consultant619-402-3990, wbaker@uakron.edu

Google Scholar Page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=If0w9hoAAAAJ

Brand and Brand Equity

BrandA persuasive force which attracts or repels consumers to a firm’s offerings by augmenting or diminishing their perceived benefits

Brand EquityThe valence and strength of the brand force

Weak Brand Equity

- + Strong brand equity

Most Brands

‘Branding’ Defined

The process of creating a “relative advantage” for your brand in

the mind of the customer.

The Impact of Brand Equity

Brand Equity

Before Purchase After Purchase

Breaks Ties Enhances EvaluationCreates “Just Noticeable

Difference”

Measuring Brand Equity: Tapping Unobservable ElementsExcellent technique when consumers can evaluate the product with and without knowledge of the brand name.

Evaluation of Brand – Evaluation of BrandBrand Equity = (Brand Name Known) (Brand Name Not Known)

Brand Equity Example: Colas

Evaluation Evaluation BrandName Known Name not Known Equity

Coca-Cola 1.7 .1 1.6

Pepsi .1 -.3 .4

RC Cola -1.8 .2 -2.0

Just Noticeable Difference

Brand AObjective Performance

Brand APerceived Performance Brand Equity ‘Premium’

Just Noticeable Difference

Required Objective Performance of new brand to beat Brand A10

9

8

Elements of Brand Equity

Brand Identity: O The extent to which the brand is explicitly LINKED to a meaningful product

category, consumption goal, need and/or want.

Brand Integrity: O The extent to which the brand is perceived to meet the performance expectations of

its customers.

Brand Resonance: O The extent to which the brand emotionally connects to the customer by embedding it

in the routine and enhancing the experience of its users

Brand Identity Creation

Which identity allows the brand to best leverage its benefits and create distance from powerful competitors?

Is Excedrin?O An all-purpose pain relieverO An arthritis treatmentO A headache treatment

Does Red Bull?O Increase concentrationO Decrease sleepinessO Boost energy

Brand Identity is the foundation of the brand….It creates the context for all that follows

Identity

Integrity

Resonance

You Can’t Start Here

Identity Based Obstacles to Brand Equity

O Category Membership: The inability to ‘understand’ the general purpose of a brand because category membership is vague or confused

O Brand Salience: The inability for the brand to ‘come to mind’ prior to other, potentially equally attractive, alternatives

O Brand Position: The inability to ‘understand’ a brand’s unique qualities.

Identity Based Obstacles: Category Membership

Category Membership?I want to buy a mid-sized family sedan. Write

down three automobiles you should consider.

Identity Based Obstacles:Category Membership

Toyota Camry 18.1%

Honda Accord 17.9%

Hyundai Sonata 14.6%

Nissan Altima 13.7%

Ford Fusion 11.7%

Chevy Malibu 9.8%

Mazda 6 1.4%

Identity Based Obstacles: Category Membership

If you do not come to mind as an alternative, you can’t be considered. Simple. But, it goes much deeper

If you are not strongly linked to a specific product category or a specific benefit, your brain concludes that you are inferior alternative to those that are so linked.

OSee Mere ExposureOSee Perceptual Fluency

Identity Based Obstacles: Brand Salience

Brand Salience: Write down the first three fast food hamburger restaurants that come to mind.

Identity Based Obstacles:Brand Salience

Salience matters because humans do not optimize many decisions – salience is key in 2 out of the 3 decision approaches below:

Indifference

Satisficing

Optimizing

The Difficulty of Building a Unique Brand Identity….a unique position

O Recall that most people can tell you a lot of information about a product category, but…..

O they can tell you very little about what’s different about each

brand in the category.

JeansTablet Computers

Identity Based Obstacles:Brand Position

You must link the brand to a unique position to stand out in the mind of the consumer

If you are not so linked, consumers will confuse you with other brands or label you as a ‘me-too’ alternative.

Identity Based Obstacles: Brand Salience

Even if a brand is correctly linked and positioned in a category, our brains automatically link speed of recall and recognition to quality, importance, acceptance

Identity Based Obstacles:Brand Uniqueness

‘Brand’ Uniqueness: Write down what is unique about United Airlines.

Nothing? This is why people buy on airline tickets on the basis of price price and flight times.

The Strength of Brand Identity

The brand is clearly

linked to a category that fits the benefits it

delivers.

The brands unique benefits are understood.

The brand is tightly linked to this category.

Basic Brand Identity

Strong Brand Identity

It’s All About Expectations

ASI Satisfaction Model

Brand Integrity

Can the brand fulfill the promise of its identity?

O Does the brand perform as expected?

O Does the firm treat you as a person or an ATM?

O Do firm-customer interactions transpire as expected?

O Do complaint resolutions interactions transpire as expected?

This is the easy one

Brand Integrity

Category Expectations

Brand Promises

Customer Relationships

Basic Brand Integrity

Superior Brand

Integrity

Integrity-Based Obstacles:Category Expectations

CASE 1: “Exodus: God and Kings” created such high expectations that movie viewers were disappointed. Poor reviews and word of mouth caused U.S. ticket sales to collapse after the first week.

ASI Satisfaction ModelIf expectations exceed performance: Integrity Declines

--

-

Integrity-Based ObstaclesCategory Expectations Torpedo Line ExtensionsCase 2: Budweiser has a strong identity that creates

expectations incompatible with a craft beer….thus, trial is thwarted because the claim is not believed

Brand Integrity and Brand Promises

O Price LeaderO Lowest price for basic benefitsO Acceptable QualityO Lowest cost structure

O Performance LeaderO Superior FunctionalityO Superior Styling/DesignO Superior Innovation

O Relational LeaderO Personalized TreatmentO Customized SolutionsO Service Excellence

Brand ResonanceFrom Satisfaction to Commitment

O Brand Linked to Emotional Benefits

O Embedded in One’s Everyday Life

O Fit with one’s aspirational values and lifestyles

Causes of Brand Resonance

Fit with one’s aspirational values and experiences

Basic Brand Resonance

Strong Brand Resonance

Resonance by being embedded in one’s life and routines.

Resonance by linking brands to higher order benefits

Brand Resonance through Emotional Benefits

http://w3.ipsos.com/marketing/censydiam/our-approach.jspx

Brand Resonance through Embeddedness

Think of all the life experiences that have been associated to:

Coca-Cola

Tide

Oreos

McDonalds

Brand Resonance Through Tribal Membership and Shared Aspirations

Identify with the brand because users aspire to what it symbolizes

Under Armour: The Warrior Harley: Everything I’m not During the Week

The Brand Component Hierarchy

Brand Resonance

Brand Integrity

Brand Identity

Each Subsequent Brand Element Builds on the Previous Element

Failure at an Early Element Hinders Progress up the Hierarchy

An absence of brand resonance does not necessarily signal the core problem is resonance

Brand Equity and Relative Advantage

Marketing managers must strive to maximize each element of the brand:

Brand Identity -- Brand Integrity - Brand Resonance

Make the brand Meet or Link to the routine and a salient option exceed performance aspirations of your customere

Brand Equity and Relative Advantage

Customer Value = (1- Perceived Risk) x (Perceived Benefits – Perceived Costs)

Brand Equity

Brand DNA

The famous consultant, Scott Bedbury, attempts to summarize a brand vision with three or four words that should shape all three components of the brand

O Starbucks: relax, intellectual, social

O Nike: performance, perseverance, winning

O University of Akron: ?????