BUILDING A BRAND FROM SCRATCH Brand Building Strategy for Beginners

Prof. Rutu Mody-Kamdar Assistant Professor in Marketing Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (Deemed University)

FOREWORD Brand Management is an important topic in Marketing Management, both for academicians and more so for professional practitioners in live marketing. Branding adds great value to a product and is therefore an intrinsic aspect of a product strategy. All management institutes have realized the importance of this subject, and have introduced a separate course on Brand Management in their MBA (Marketing) syllabus. Ms. Rutu Mody-Kamdar, one of our youngest and energetic faculty members in the Marketing area, has been teaching this subject in her MBA classes. She has extensively studied the topic and her class students have appreciated the depth and devotion with which she has been teaching the course. Now she has put all her conceptual teaching material in the form of a booklet for all those who have interest in the subject of Brand Management. This booklet would be of special interest to students, faculty members and even marketing practitioners. I have great pleasure in releasing this book Building a Brand from Scratch: Brand Building Strategy for Beginners, which is a treatise on Brand Management. She has covered various dimensions of the area like brand definition, brand positioning, brand associations, brand image and brand identity. NMIMS appreciates the efforts put in by her in producing this valuable publication and hopes that she will continue to do further research in this area in greater depth. I personally wish her all the best in her academic career with NMIMS.

Dr N. M. Kondap Vice Chancellor NMIMS Deemed University March 7, 2005

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INTRODUCTION Branding can be called both an art and a science. Branding is a science- A science that seeks to peek into the minds of consumers and create offerings that cater to their individual and aggregate needs, wants and desires. However, this extremely soft area of branding, is difficult to identify and classify clearly. Consider the following: Brands are about consumers and their minds, their extremely volatile minds. None of us can claim to be a champion of the human mind as yet. There is indeed no computer on earth as yet that can claim to clone the processes of the mind and its volatile nature. The mind is still being understood. The only reality around in our lives is change. This all about change that is an amorphous process in the mind of the consumer. This change is seldom a continuous trend. It is as discontinuous as it can get. There is seldom anything predictive about the pattern of this change in the consumer mind and mood. It is as maverick as the consumer is! Branding, when studied from the perspective of the quantitative technique and parameters that are empirical and scientific, is a theory that is never really alive. Not as alive and kicking as the consumer is! Yet, lets look around at our brand-centred establishments. Every corporate worth his corporate culture and coat is into the realm of the science more than the realm of the art. Much of the time, the hard area in branding dominates the soft. Look at branding as an art then. As a qualitative technique! As a soft-skill operating in a soft terrain. The soft terrain of the ever-changing human mind. A terrain that depends on the apt and adequate understanding of the human mind at that point of time. A skill that depends on the ability of the reader of the mind of the consumer. A skill that centres itself on the realm of consumer insight that is truly soft and real. Not hard and quantifiable, but soft and somewhere there. This soft-skill is, therefore, the essence of understanding the consumer and the brand. And this is precisely the skill that modern corporates have shunned for long. Consumer insight and the soft arena of reading it as precisely as possible is the only true blue cutting edge of branding; therein lies the advantage for corporations in future. The case is clear then. Branding is certainly much more of an art than a science. Get in there with your artistry. Get in there with your heart and everything soft about you in the understanding of the consumer. Excerpt from The Soft Art Behind The Hard Sell IndiatimesIndiatimes- Business of Management Harish Bijoor

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TOPIC INDEX

1. Chapter 1: Brands and Brand Building 2. Chapter 2: Gaining Customer Insights 3. Chapter 3: Brand Positioning 4. Chapter 4: Brand Identity 5. Chapter 5: Articulating Brand Identity 6. Chapter 6: Executing Brand Identity 7. Chapter 7: Extending Brand Identity 8. Chapter 8: Reviewing Brand Identity 9. Conclusion 10. List of References

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CHAPTER 1 BRANDS AND BRAND BUILDING Brand So, how does one define the oft-used word- Brand? Branding has really been around for centuries as a means of distinguishing the goods of one producer from the other. The word brand is derived from the word brandr which means to burn, as brands were means by which owners of livestock would mark their animals to identify them. According to the American Marketing Association (AMA) a brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differntiate them from those of competition. Technically speaking, this definition of brands seems sound, but it is limiting in many ways. This definition indicates that whenever a company launches a product and attaches a name, term, sign or symbol, it is creating a brand. These, however, are only brand elements, being simply, only an expression of what the brand really stands for symbolically. For example, Lux beauty soap uses its brand name, symbols and images of young actresses to symbolize a far deeper image of beauty, glamour and success. Hence, the name, logo, packaging and endorsers have only been used as an expression to the deeper, more symbolic meaning of a Lux soap. People do not perceive the world as it is. Their internal mental image of the world, at times, differs from the external physical world. The reality for an individual is perceived. The objective reality of a product matters little; what matters is a customers perception of a product or a brand. Brands are symbols, which stand for something in a prospects mind. It carries a meaning behind it. Symbols work by stimulating the cognitive process. The consumers perceptual process is nothing but making sense of the symbols present around them. Therefore, figurative aspects like the name, colours, logo and packaging are symbols that the marketer uses to communicate their intentions to the customers. Slender tall bottles are used to connote feminine qualities. Colours are not really only colours. They are used to connote certain moods and values. Red packaging connotes warm, hot, where as blue and green packaging may connote cold, calm, cool. Brands names are also only titles that are given to the brand. A word is a signifier that marketers employ to facilitate communication about brands. The word helps in identification, but moreover, acts as a symbol. Therefore, elements such as the name, logo, colours etc. are only the signifiers. Signifying, at a deeper level, the intentions of the brand manager, and symbolizing the often intangible meanings of the brand.

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Another interesting perspective of brands is that brands are the human face to the product-consumer relationship. They create and bring humanity to the organization. They unite people, i.e. companies, consumers and stakeholdersbrands form an emotional connect with people. Brands are essentially about people, and therefore are living, vivid memories that people carry in their minds. All of us have carried living images of brands such as Raymonds, Cadburys, Surf, and many other stalwart brands. The complete man of Raymonds, or the exuberant girl running on the cricket field for Cadburys, or the smart Lalitaji of Surf have all entered our lives, and have redefined our relationship with these brands and the manner in which we use them. Products versus Brands A product is a physical entity that lives in the real world. A brand is a perceptual entity that lives in the consumers mind. It is important to effectively differentiate between a product and a brand. According to Philip Kotler, the marketing Guru, a product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. Kotler defines five levels to a product, which are as follows. The following concept is explained using the example of airlines. 1. Core Benefit Level: is the fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by consuming the product or service. e.g. the basic need of transportation is being addressed by an airline 2. Generic Product Level: is a basic version of the product containing only those attributes or characteristics absolutely necessary for its functioning but with no distinguishing feature. e.g. the airline with a basic seating and pilot 3. Expected Product Level: is a set of attributes or characteristics that buyers normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product. e.g. people expect an airline with an airhostess, hot food, drinks, inflight entertainment and service. 4. Augmented Product Level: includes additional product attributes, benefits, or related services that distinguish the product from competitors. e.g. the airline may have special loyalty programs, or special airport lounges to augment themselves. 5. Potential Product Level: includes all of the augmentations and transformations that a product might ultimately undergo in the future. e.g. the airline may introduce a special home pick up facility for passengers in the future

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Potential Product Augmented Product Expected Product

Generic Product

Core Benefit

Kotler also points out here that competition between products essentially takes place at the product augmentation level, because most companies can build satisfactory products at the expected product level. At this stage, let us revisit the meaning of branding: A brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products designed to satisfy the same need. Hence, in accordance to the concept proposed by Kotler, brands emanate mainly at the augmented product level, where each product tries to augment itself beyond its basic product offering. This augmentation could be either very large, as in the case of Mont Blanc pens, where an ordinary product like a pen is given a larger than life status, or it could be small, as in the case of Ad Gel Pens, where the brand is not emphasised on much, and there is no significant augmentation in the form of branding taking place.

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BrandOrganisational Associations Country of origin

Product

Emotional Benefits

Scope Attributes Uses Quality Self Expressive Benefits

Brand Personality

Brand customer relationships

As shown in the diagram above, the dotted line expressing the depth of branding that can be applied to the core product. This depth signifies the extent of augmentation that can be applied. The differences that are identified at the time of augmentation could be rational and tangible (closer to the core product), or could be symbolic, emotional and intangible (further away from the core product). One marketing observer puts it this way: More specifically, what distinguishes a brand from its unbranded commodity counterpart and gives it equity is the sum total of consumers perceptions and feelings about the products attributes and how they perform, about the brand name and what it stands for, and about the company associated with the brand. Brands are also known to move from Product Feature propositions to Functional Benefit propositions to Emotional Benefit propositions. Hence a brand such as Kelloggs, when it was first launched in India, centered its proposition around Iron as a product feature, where Iron shakti was identified as a major selling point. At this stage, Iron was the product feature around which the proposition was centered. Over time, Kelloggs moved on to talking about improved memory for the child, which was a functional benefit that the Iron ingredient provided. Over time, the brand now talks about intelligent child, far superior than peers which is an Emotional benefit which appeals to the hearts and minds of all mothers who want to see their child

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excel. While progressing through these stages, it is imperative to keep these basic questions in mind: a. b. c. d. What attributes are embodied in the product or service? What advantages does it incorporate? What benefits does it provide? What obsessions does it represent?

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Why Brand? An obvious question here is that why are brands important? Should companies really invest that much of time, money, energy in building their brands? This question can be answered mainly from two perspectives, i.e. the Consumers and the ManufacturersConsumers Manufacturer Means of identification Identification of source or product Assignment of responsibility to product maker Risk reducer Search cost reducer Promise, bond Symbolic device Signal of quality Means of legally protecting unique features Signal of quality level to satisfied customers Means of endowing products with unique associations Source of competitive advantage Source of financial advantage

An obvious question is. Why are brands important? What functions do they perform that make them so valuable to marketers? One can take a couple of perspectives to uncover the value of brands to both consumers and firms themselves. Consumers Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or distributor. Most important, brands take on special meaning to consumers. Because of past experiences with the product and its marketing program over the years, consumers learn about brands. They find out which brands satisfy their needs and which ones do not. As a result, brands provide a shorthand device or means of simplification for their product decisions. Housewives who are used to particular brands of household products, would comfortably buy the same brand month after month, without bothering to change their brands. If consumers recognize a brand and have some knowledge about it, then they do not have to engage in a lot of additional thought or processing of information to make a product decision. Thus, from an economic perspective, brands allow consumers to lower search costs for products both internally (in terms of how much they have to think) and externally (in terms of how much

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they have to look around). Based on what they already know about the brand its quality, product characteristics, and so forth consumers can make assumptions and form reasonable expectations about what they may not know about the brand. The meaning imbued in brands can be quite profound. The relationship between a brand and the consumer can be seen as a type of bond or pact. Consumers offer their trust and loyalty with the implicit understanding that the brand will behave in certain ways and provide them utility through consistent product performance and appropriate pricing, promotion, and distribution programs and actions. To the extent that consumers realize advantages and benefits from purchasing the brand, and as long as they derive satisfaction from product consumption, they are likely to continue to buy it. These benefits may not be purely functional in nature. Brands can serve as symbolic devices, allowing consumers to project their self image. Certain brands are associated with being used by certain types of people and thus reflect different values or traits. Consuming such products is a means by which consumers can communicate to others or even to themselves the type of person they are or would like to be. Pulitzer prize winning author Daniel Boorstein asserts that, for many people, brands serve the function that fraternal, religious, and service organizations used to serve to help people define who they are and then help people communicate that definition to others. As Harvards Susan Fournier notes: Relationships with mass (market) brands can soothe the empty selves left behind by societys abandonment of tradition and community and provide stable anchors in an otherwise changing world. The formation and maintenance of brand product relationships serve many culturally supported roles within postmodern society. Brands can also play a significant role in signalling certain product characteristics to consumers. Researchers have classified products and their associated attributes or benefits into three major categories: search goods, experience goods, and credence goods. With search goods, product attributes can be evaluated by visual inspection (e.g., the sturdiness, size, colour, style, weight, and ingredient composition of a product). With experience goods, product attributes potentially equally important cannot be assessed so easily by inspection, and actual product trial and experience is necessary (e.g., as with durability, service quality, safety, and case of handling or use). With credence goods, product attributes may be rarely learned (e.g., insurance coverage). Because of the difficulty in assessing and interpreting product attributes and benefits with experience and credence goods may be particularly important signals of quality and other characteristics to consumers for these types of products. Brands can reduce the risks in product decisions. Consumers may perceive many different types of risks in buying and consuming a product. For example, if I were to evaluate and buy a car for the first time;

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Functional risk: The product does not perform up to expectations. (The car breaks down often and gives me problem in performance) Physical risk: The product poses a threat to the physical well being or health of the user or others (The car may increase my risk of having mishaps and accidents on the road) Financial risk: The product is not worth the price paid (The other brand of car was better value for money) Social risk: The product results in embarrassment from others (The car does not live up to my social standards) Psychological risk: The product affects the mental well being of the user (The car is constantly keeping me worried of added fuel expenditure) Time risk: The failure of the product results in an opportunity cost of finding another satisfactory product (I am wasting too much of my time in deciding which car to buy) Although there are a number of different means by which consumers handle these risks, certainly one way in which consumers cope to buy well known brands, especially those brands with which consumers have had favourable past experiences. Thus, knowing that Maruti is a good, trusted and well established brand, will help me in eliminating the amount of risks perceived, and will aid my final decision. Thus, brands can be a very important risk handling devices. Firms Brands also provide a number of valuable functions to firms. Fundamentally, they serve an identification purpose to simplify product handling or tracing for the firm. Operationally, brands help to organize inventory and accounting records. A brand also offers the firm legal protection for unique features or aspects of the product. A brand can retain intellectual property rights, giving legal title to the brand owner. The brand name can be protected through patents, and packaging can be protected through copyrights and designs. These intellectual property rights ensure that the firm can invest in the brand and reap the benefits of a valuable asset. As noted earlier, these investments in the brand can endow a product with unique associations and meanings that differentiate it from other products. Brands can signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product again. This brand loyalty provides predictability and security of demand for the firm and creates barriers of entry that make it difficult for other firms to enter the market. Although manufacturing processes and product designs may be easily duplicated, lasting impressions in the minds of individuals and organizations from years of marketing activity and product experience may not be so easily reproduced. In this sense, branding can be seen as a powerful means of securing a competitive advantage. In short, to firms, brands represent enormously valuable pieces of legal property, capable of influencing consumer behavior, being bought and sold, and providing the security of sustained future revenues to their owner. For

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these reasons, large earning multiples have been paid for brands in mergers or acquisitions. The price premium paid for companies is often clearly justified on the basis of assumptions regarding the extra profits that could be extracted and sustained from their brands, as well as the tremendous difficulty and expense of creating similar brands from scratch. Thus, much of the recent interest in brands from senior management has been a result of these bottom line financial considerations. For a typical fast moving consumer-goods (FMCG) company, the vast majority of its corporate value is made up by intangible assets and good will- net tangible assets may be made up by brands. Brand Building Strategy- An Overview

Consumer Insights

Brand Positioning Defining the Frame of Reference

Brand Identity Deriving the Core Brand Values

Articulating Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Elements

Executing Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Marketing Programs

Extending Brand Identity Creating Brand Extensions

Reviewing Brand Identity Evaluating Brand Equity

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CHAPTER 2 GAINING CUSTOMER INSIGHTSConsumer Insights

Brand Positioning Defining the Frame of Reference Brand Identity Deriving the Core Brand Values Articulating Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Executing Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Marketing Programs Extending Brand Identity Creating Brand Extensions

Reviewing Brand Identity Evaluating Brand Equity

Consumer Insights The first stage in the brand building strategy is to first understand customer insights. A brand lives in the customers mind in the form of a universe of associations. So, when you are confronted with the word, Bajaj, immediately a universe of associations spring to the mind- key concepts being scooter, motorcycles, hamara bajaj, value for money, Indian etc. Semantic memory is one important aspect of consumer knowledge. It refers to how to store the meanings of verbal material in the long-term memory. Semantic memory works in the form of networks. The network has nodes and links or connections. Nodes represent the semantic concepts, and the connections represent the relationship between them. For example, consider the diagram below:

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SOAP FRESH LIME LIRIL WATERFALL

BATHING

All brands are stored in a similar form in a consumers mind. A variety of information is generally stored in an associative network of this kind. For example, the brand name, product category, use experience, visuals from the advertisement, people associated, feelings generated etc. Development of a correct associative network is at the heart of any brand building exercise. Customers discriminate against other brands in the category because of the created network of associations. For a powerful brand, a good product needs to be supported by the right knowledge structure. When something undesirable gets connected with the network by way of a new node, the brand suffers in the marketplace. For example, when Tata Indica was first launched in the market, the car did not perform well functionally. Due to this, certain bad associations were inextricably linked to the product, and the sales suffered until the company decided to launch a new version of the vehicle. So was the case with Limca, when the BVO controversy erupted. Limca was seen to be containing a harmful chemical used as an agent. The result, a node with a strong connection got attached to the hub-Limca. These associations make consumers dislike the brand. Create Network Structure Hence the key to making a strong powerful brand is to create a solid and appealing associative network structure for the brand. It is also known that strong brands are generally preferred in the marketplace. Which is why a Coke, Nike, Levis, Gillette etc are strong preferred brands in the marketplace. Customers ask for these brands rather than others. Their success lies in their ability to be chosen above other brands. The customers choice is really an exercise in elimination. The essential questions surrounding the concept of choice are why and how a brand is chosen while others are rejected. Consider the diagram below:

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Decision Making Process

All Brands

Known Brands

Unknown Brands

Acceptable Brands

Unacceptable Brands

Indifferent Brands

Overlooked Brands

Purchased Brand

Not Purchased Brands

A pioneering framework illustrating the decision making process suggests that the consumer moves through the four stages of 1) Problem Recognition 2) Search and Evaluation 3) Purchasing Process and 4) Post Purchase Behaviour. Once the problem is recognised by a consumer, he or she starts searching and evaluating brands. At this stage, certain brands are eliminated from the list, and certain brands short-listed for purchase. As shown in the diagram above, brands that are known move into a consumers consideration set. Out of these, certain brands are acceptable, certain brands are unacceptable, some are ignored and some of the brands may have been overlooked. For example, when a consumer wants to buy a watch, he may face the following situation:

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Total Brands: Titan, Timex, Maxima, Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Lancer, Omega, Rolex, HMT, Patek Phillipe, Tag Heuer etc. Known Brands: Titan, Timex, Maxima, Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Omega, Rolex, HMT, Tag Heuer Unknown Brands: Patek Phillipe, Lancer Considered Brands: Titan, Timex Unacceptable Brands: Maxima, Seiko, HMT Ignored Brands: Tag Heuer, Rolex Overlooked Brands: Citizen, Casio Purchased Brand: Titan Not Purchased Brand: Timex The implication for a brand manager is that marketing efforts must focus on placing the brand in the known set, thereafter in the acceptable set and thereafter in the purchased category. If the brand fails to get into the consideration set, the marketer loses the opportunity to succeed. Hence, at the stage of Search and Evaluation the brand must hit the consumer with the right kind of knowledge structure or associative network memory model, to be considered for purchase. The power of the brand lies in what customers have learned, felt, seen, and heard about the brand as a result of their experiences over time. In other words, the power of a brand lies in what resides in the minds of customers. The challenge for marketers in building a strong brand is ensuring that customers have the right type of experiences with products and services and their accompanying marketing programs so that the desired thoughts, feelings, images, beliefs, perceptions, opinions, and so on become linked to the brand. Brand knowledge is the key to creating brand equity, because it creates the differential effect that drives brand equity. What marketers need, then, is an insightful way to represent how brand knowledge exists in consumer memory. Consistent with the associative network memory model, brand knowledge is conceptualised here as consisting of a brand node in memory with a variety of associations linked to it. In particular, brand knowledge can be characterized in terms of two components: brand awareness and brand image. Brand awareness is related to the strength of the brand node or trace in memory, as reflected by consumers ability to identify the brand under different conditions. Brand awareness is a necessary, but not always sufficient, step in building brand equity. Other considerations, such as the image of the brand, often come into play. Brand image can be defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. In other words, brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for consumers. Associations

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come in all forms and may reflect characteristics of the product or aspects independent of the product itself. For example, consider the brand Amul. If someone asked you what came to mind when you thought of Amul, what might you say? You might reply with associations such as butter, milk products, taste of India and so forth. Your brand image for Amul can be made up by the associations that came to your mind. Through skillful marketing, Amul has been able to achieve a rich brand image made up of a host of brand associations in the minds of at least some consumers. Different consumers might think of different associations for Amul. Other brands of course, will be characterized by a different set of associations. For example, McDonalds marketing program attempts to create brand associations in consumers minds to quality, service, cleanliness, and value. McDonalds rich brand image probably also includes strong associations to Ronald McDonald. golden arches, for kids, and convenient, as well as perhaps potentially negative associations such as fast food. Coca Colas marketing program strives to link brand associations in consumers minds to refreshment, taste, availability, affordability, and accessibility. Whereas Mercedes Benz has achieved strong associations to performance and status. To build a strong brand, the customer needs to hold strong, unique and favourable associations in his memory. On some cases, brand awareness alone is sufficient to result in more favourable consumer response, for example, in low involvement decision settings where consumers are willing to base their choices merely on familiar brands. In most other cases, however, the strength, favourability, and uniqueness of the brand associations play a critical role in determining the differential response making up the brand equity. If the brand is perceived by consumers to be the same as a representative version of the product or service in the category, then consumers response to marketing for the brand would not be expressed to vary from when the marketing is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed product or service. If the brand has some salient, unique associations, then consumer response should differ. For branding strategies to be successful and brand equity to be created, consumers must be convinced that there are meaningful differences among brands in the product or service category. The key to branding is that consumers must not think that all brands in the category are the same. Thus, establishing a high level of brand awareness and a positive brand image in consumer memory- in terms of strong, favourable, and unique brand associations- produces the knowledge structures necessary for building a strong brand. Brand Awareness Brand awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall performance. Brand recognition relates to consumers ability to conform prior exposure to

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the brand when given the brand as a cue. In other words, brand recognition requires that consumers can correctly discriminate the brand as having been previously seen or heard. For example, when consumers go to the store, is it the case that they will be able to recognize the brands as one to which they have already been exposed? Brand recall relates to consumers ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or a purchase or usage situation as a cue. In other words, brand recall requires that consumers correctly generate the brand from memory when given a relevant cue. For example, recall of Kelloggs Corn Flakes will depend on consumers ability to retrieve the brand when they think of the cereal category or of what they should eat for breakfast or eat for breakfast or snack, either at the store (when making a purchase), at home (when making a consumption choice), or wherever. As is the case with most information in memory, it is generally easier to recognize a brand in a store than it is to recall it from mere memory. The relative importance of brand recall and recognition will depend on the extent to which consumers make product- related decisions with the brand present or not. For example, if product decisions are made in the store, brand recognition may be more important (and easy) because the brand will actually be physically present. Outside the store or in any situation where the brand is not present on the other hand, it is probably more important that the consumer be able to actually recall the brand from memory. For this reason, brand recall is critical for service and online brands. Consumers must actively seek the brand and therefore be able to retrieve it from memory when appropriate. Establishing Brand Awareness How do you create brand awareness? In the abstract, increasing the familiarity with the brand through repeated exposure creates brand awareness, although this is generally more effective for brand recognition than for brand recall. That is, the more a consumer experiences the brand by seeing it, hearing it, or thinking about it, the more likely it is that the brand will become strongly registered in memory. Thus, anything that causes consumers to experience a brand name, symbol, logo, character, packaging, or slogan can potentially increase familiarity and awareness of that brand element. Examples include a wide range of communication options such as advertising and promotion, sponsorship and event marketing, publicity and public relations, and outdoor advertising. Moreover, it is important to visually and verbally reinforce the brand name with a full complement of brand elements (e.g., in addition to its name, Britannia uses the Britannia logo and its distinctive music to enhance its awareness in multiple ways). Although brand repetition increases the strength of the brand and thus its recognizability, improving recall of the brand requires linkages in memory to appropriate product categories or other situational purchase or consumption cues. In particular, to build awareness, it is often desirable to develop a slogan or jingle that creatively pairs the brand and the appropriate category or purchase or consumption cues (and, ideally the brand positioning as well, in

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terms of building a positive brand image). Additional use can be made of the other brand elements- logos, symbols, characters, and packaging. The manner by which the brand and its corresponding product category are paired (e.g., with an advertising slogan) will be influential in determining the strength of the product category links. For brands with strong category associations (e.g.Cadburys Chocolates), the distinction between brand recognition and recall may not matter much- consumers thinking of the category are likely to think of the brands. For brands that may not have the same level of initial category awareness (e.g., in competitive markets or when the brand is new to the category, eg. Hyundai Getz cars), it is more important to emphasize category links in the brand to the proper category or other relevant cues may become especially important over time of the product meaning of the brand changes (e.g., through brand extensions or mergers or acquisitions). In short-, brand awareness is created by increasing the familiarity of the brand through repeated exposure (for brand recognition) and strong associations with the appropriate product category or other relevant purchase or consumption cues (for brand recall). Brand Image A positive brand image is created by marketing programs that link strong, favourable, and unique associations to the brand in memory. Besides marketer- controlled sources of information, brand associations can also be created in a variety of other ways: by direct experience; from information communicated about the brand from the firm or other commercial or nonpartisan sources (e.g., Consumer Reports or other media vehicles) and word of mouth; and by assumptions or inferences from the brand itself (e.g., its name or logo) or from the identification of the brand with a company, country, channel or distribution, or some particular person, place, or event. Marketers should recognize the influence of these other sources of information by both managing them as well as possible and adequately accounting for them in designing communication strategies. Strength of Brand Associations Making sure that associations are linked sufficiently strongly to the brand will depend on how the marketing program and other factors affect consumers brand experiences. Associations will vary in the strength of their connection to the brand node. Strength is a function of both the amount, or quantity, of processing that information receives as well as the nature, or quality, of that processing. The more deeply a person thinks about product information and relates it to existing brand knowledge, the stronger the resulting brand associations. Two factors facilitating the strength of association to any piece of information are the personal relevance of the information and the consistency with which this information is presented over time. The particular associations that are recalled and salient will depend not only on the strength

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of association, but also on the context in which the brand is considered and the retrieval cues that are present that can serve as reminders. Marketing communications programs attempt to create strong brand associations and recalled communication effects through a variety of means, such as using creative communications that cause consumers to elaborate on brand- related information and relate it appropriately to existing knowledge, exposing consumers to communications repeatedly over time, and ensuring that many retrieval cues are present as reminders. Favourability of Brand Associations Choosing which favourable and unique associations to link to the brand requires careful analysis of the consumer and competition to determine the optimal positioning for the brand. Favourable associations for a brand are those associations that are desirable to consumers and are successfully delivered by the product and conveyed by the supporting marketing program for the brand (e.g., such that the brand is seen as highly convenient, reliable, effective, efficient, colourful, and so on). In terms of desirability, how important or valued is the image association to the brand attitudes and decisions made by consumers? Desirability depends on three factors: (1) how relevant consumers find the brand association, (2) how distinctive consumers find the brand association, and (3) how believable consumers find the brand association? Creating a favourable association also requires that the firm be able to deliver on the desired association. In terms of deliverability, the main question is, what would be the cost or investment necessary and the length of time involved to create or change the desired association(s)? Deliverability also depends on three factors: (1) the actual or potential ability of the product to perform, (2) the current or future prospects of communicating that performance, and (3) the sustainability of the actual and communicated performance over time. Uniqueness of Brand Associations Brand associations may or may not be shared with other competing brands. The essence of brand positioning is that the brand has a sustainable competitive advantage or unique selling proposition that gives consumers a compelling reason why they should buy that particular brand. These differences may be communicated explicitly by making direct comparisons with competitors, or may be highlighted implicitly without stating a competitive point of reference. Furthermore, they may be based on product- related or non- product- related attributes or benefits. In fact, in many categories, nonproduct related attributes, such as user type or usage situation, might more easily create unique associations (e.g., the rugged western image of Marlboro cigarettes or the rebellious nature of Axe deodorants). The existence of strongly held, favourably evaluated associations that are unique to the brand and imply superiority over other brands is critical to a brands success. Yet, unless the brand faces no competitions, it will most

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likely share some associations with other brands. Shared associations can help to establish category membership and define the scope of competition with other products and services. Research on non-comparable alternatives suggests that even if a brand does not face direct competition in its product category, and thus does not share product-related attributes with other brands, it can still share more abstract associations and face indirect competition in a more broadly defined product category. Thus, although a railroad may not compete directly with another railroad, it still competes indirectly with other forms of transportation, such as airlines, cars, and buses. A maker of educational CD- ROM products may be implicitly competing with all other forms of education and entertainment, such as books, videos, television, and magazines. For these reasons, branding principles are now being used to market a number of different categories as a whole- for example, banks, furniture, carpets, bowling, and trains, to name just a few. A product or service category can also be characterized by a set of associations that includes specific beliefs about any member in the category, as well as overall attitudes toward all members in the category. Those beliefs might include many of the relevant product- related attributes for brands in the category, as well as more descriptive attributes that do not necessarily relate to product or service performance (e.g., the colour of a product, such as red for ketchup). Because the brand is linked to the product category, some category associations may also become linked to the brand, either in terms of specific beliefs or overall attitudes. Product category attitudes can be a particularly important determinant of consumer response. For example, if a consumer thinks that all brokerage houses are basically greedy and that brokers are in it for themselves, then he or she probably will have similarly unfavourable beliefs about and negative attitude toward any particular brokerage house simply by virtue of its membership in the category. Thus, in almost all cases, some product category associations that are linked to the brand will also be shared with other brands in the category. Note that the strength of the brand associations to the product category is an important determinant of brand awareness. Thus, it is important to associate unique, meaningful points of difference to the brand to provide a competitive advantage and reason why consumers should buy it. For some brand associations, however, consumers only need to view them at least as favourably as competitors. That is, it may be sufficient that some brand associations are seen as roughly equal in favourability with competing brand associations, so that they function as points of parity in consumers minds to negate potential points of difference for competitors. In other words, these associations are designed to provide no reason why not for consumers to choose the brand. Assuming that other brand associations are evident as points of difference, more favourable brand evaluations and a greater likelihood of choice should then result.

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Neither all brand associations will be deemed important and viewed favourably by consumers, nor will they equally valued across different purchase or consumption situations. Moreover, not all brand associations will be relevant and valued in a purchase or consumption decision. The evaluations of brand associations may be situation- or context- dependent and vary according to the particular goals that consumers have in that purchase or consumption decision. An association may be valued in one situation but not another.

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CHAPTER 3 BRAND POSITIONINGConsumer Insights

Brand Positioning Defining the Frame of Reference Brand Identity Deriving the Core Brand Values

Articulating Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Executing Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Marketing Programs Extending Brand Identity Creating Brand Extensions

Reviewing Brand Identity Evaluating Brand Equity

Brand Positioning Brand positioning is at the heart of marketing strategy. Kotler defines brand positioning as the act of designing the companys offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers minds. Thus, positioning, as the name implies, involves finding the proper location in the minds of a group of consumers or market segment so that they think about a product or service in the right or desired way. Positioning is all about identifying the optimal location of a brand and its competitors in the minds of consumers to maximize potential benefit to the firm. A good brand positioning helps to guide marketing strategy by clarifying what a brand is all about, how it is unique and how it is similar to competitive brands, and why consumers should purchase and use the brand. Positioning is more akin to a frame of reference that we are creating for the brand. It is a platform, or space that the brand occupies, which ultimately lodges in the consumers mind. Hence, it follows directly from the powerful consumer insights derived, and leads to the development of a sharper brand identity.

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Deciding on a positioning requires determining that frame of reference by identifying the target market, the nature of competition, and ideal points-ofdifference and the ideal points-of-parity in their brand associations. In other words, it is necessary to decide (1) who the target consumer is, (2) who the main competitors are, (3) how the brand is different from these competitors and (4) how the brands is similar to these competitors.

(1) Target Market Identifying the target consumer market is important because different consumers may have different brand knowledge structures and thus different perceptions and preferences for the brand. Without this understanding, it may be difficult to be able to state which brand associations should be strongly held, favourably and uniquely. A number of considerations are important in defining and segmenting a market and choosing target market segments. A market is a set of all actual and potential buyers who have sufficient interest in, income for, and a access to a product. In other words, a market consists of all consumers with sufficient motivation, ability, and opportunity to buy a product. Market segmentation involves dividing the market into distinct groups of homogenous consumers who have similar needs and consumer behavior and thus require similar marketing mixes. Defining a market segmentation plan involves tradeoffs between costs and benefits. The more finely segmented the market is, the greater the likelihood that the firm will be able to implement market programs that meet the needs of consumers in any one segment. The advantage of a more positive consumer response from a customized marketing program, however, can be offset by the greater costs from a lack of standardization. (2) Nature of Competition It is difficult to disentangle target market decisions from decisions concerning the nature of competition for the brand because they are often so closely related. In other words, deciding to target a certain type of consumer often, at least implicitly, defines the nature of competition because certain firms have also decided to target that segment in the past (or plan to do so in the future) or because consumers in that segment already may look to certain brands in their purchase decisions. Other issues can be raised, however, in defining the nature of competition and deciding which products and brands are most likely to be seen as close substitutes. For example, the nature of competition may depend on the channels of distribution chosen. Competitive analysis considers a whole host of factors including the resources,

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capabilities, and likely intentions of various other firms to choose markets where consumers can be profitably serviced One lesson stressed by many marketing strategists is not to be narrow in defining competition. Often competition may occur at the benefit level rather than the attribute level. Thus, a luxury good with a strong hedonic benefit (e.g., segment D car) may compete as much with a vacation as with other durable goods (e.g., furniture). Points of Parity and Points of Difference Once the appropriate competitive frame of reference for positioning has been fixed by defining the customer target market and nature of competition, the basis of the positioning itself can be defined. Arriving at the proper positioning requires establishing the correct points-of-difference and points-of-parity associations. (3) Points-of-Difference Associations Points of Difference (PODs) should be strong, favorable, and unique brand associations for the brand. They may be based on virtually any type of attribute or benefit association. All that ultimately matters for an attribute or benefit association to become a point of difference is that it becomes a strong, favorable, and unique association in the minds of consumers. That is, PODs are attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. Although a myriad of different types of brand associations are possible candidates to become points of difference, brand associations can be broadly classified in terms of either functional, performance- related considerations or abstract, imagery- related considerations. The concept of PODs has much in common with several other well known market concepts. For example, it is similar to the notion of unique selling proposition (USP), a concept pioneered by Rosser Reeves and the Ted Bates advertising agency in the 1950s. The original idea behind USP was that advertising should give consumers a compelling reason to buy a product that competitors could not match. With this approach, the emphasis in designing ads was placed on communicating a distinctive, unique product benefit (i.e., the ad message or claims) and not on the ad-creative benefit (i.e., the ad created or executed). In other words, USP emphasized what was said in an ad as opposed to how it was said. As a result, ads singlemindedly hammered the key consumer benefit. Consumers actual brand choices often depend on the perceived uniqueness of brand associations. Creating strong, favourable, and unique associations is a real challenge to marketers, but essential in terms of competitive brand positioning. Points of difference may involve

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performance attributes (e.g., the fact that Britannia singles cheese has 1 glass of milk) or performance benefits (e.g., the fact that Whirlpool refrigerators announce their fast cooling features). In other cases, PODs involve imagery associations (e.g., the western imagery of Marlboro cigarettes). Many top brands attempt to create a point of difference on overall superior qaulity, whereas a positioning strategy adopted by a number of other firms is to create a point of difference for their brands as the low- cost provider of a prodcut or service. Thus, a host of different types of PODs are possible. (4) Points- of- Parity Associations. Points of parity (POPs), on the other hand, are those associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands. These types of associations come in two basic forms: category and competitive . Category points of parity are those associations that consumers view as being necessary to be a legitimate and credible offering within a certain product or service category. In other words, they represent necessary but not necessarily sufficient- conditions for brand choice. These attribute associations are minimally at the generic product level and most likely at the expected product level. Thus, consumers might not consider a bank truly a bank unless it offered a range of checking and savings plans; provided safety deposit boxes, travelers checks, and other such services; had convenient hours and automated teller machines; and so forth. Category POPs may change over time because of technological advances, legal developments, and changes in customer needs, but the attributes and benefits that function as category POPs can be seen as the green fees to play the marketing game. Note that category POPs become especially critical when a brand launches a brand extension into a new category. In fact, the more dissimilar the extension category, the more important is to make sure that category POPs are sufficiently well established . The implications of this realization for the introductory marketing program for an extension are clear. In many cases, consumers might have a clear understanding of the extensions intended point of difference by virtue of its use of an existing brand name. Where consumers often need reassurance, however, and what should often be the focus of the marketing program, is whether the extension also has the necessary points of parity. Competitive points-of-parity associations are those associations designed to negate competitors points of difference. In other words, if in the eyes of consumers, the brand association designed to be the competitors point of difference (e.g., a product benefit of some type ) is as strongly held for the target brand as for comeptitors brands and the target brand is able to establish another association as strong, favorable, and unique as part of its point of difference, then the target brand should be in a superior competitive position. In short, if a brand

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can break even in those areas where their competitors are trying to find an advantage and can achieve advantages in some other areas, the brand should be in a strong - and perhaps unbeatable competitive position.

Points of Parity versus Points of Difference To achive a point of parity on a particular attribute or benefit, a sufficient number of consumers must believe that a brand is good enough on that dimension . There is a zone or range of tolerance or acceptance with POPs. It does not have to be the case that the brand is literally seen as equal to competitors, but consumers must feel that the brand does sufficiently well on that particular attribute or benefit so that they do not do not consider it to be a negative or a problem. Assuming consumers feel that way, they may often be willing to base their evaluations and decisions on other factors. Points of parity are thus easier to achieve than points of difference, where the brand must demonstrate clear superiority. Often, the key to positioning is not so much in acheieving a point of difference as in achieving necessary of competitive points of parity.

Yellow

Food Heart AttackSUNDROP

HealthySAFFOLA

Little KidCartwheels

Refined Oil Fitness

Positioning Guidelines The concepts of points of difference and points of parity can be inavluable tools to guide positioning. A number of considerations come into play in conducting positioning analysis and deciding on the desired PODs and POPs and the resulting brand image. Two key issues in arriving at the optimal competitive brand positioning are (1) defining and communicating the

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competitive frame of reference and (2) choosing and establishing points of parity and points of difference. 1. Defining and Communicating the Competitive Frame of Reference A starting point in defining a competitive frame of reference for a brand positioning is to detrmine category memebrship.Membership indicates the products or sets of products with which a brand competes. Choosing to compete in different categories often results in different competitive frames of reference and thus different POPs and PODs. Communicating category membership informs the consumer about the goals that they might achieve by using a product or service. For highly established products and services, category membership is not a focal issue. Target customers are aware that Coca-Cola is a leading brand of soft-drink, that Kelloggs Corn Flakes is a leading brand of cereal. There are many situations, however, in which it is important to inform consumers of a brands category membership. Perhaps the most obvious situation is the introduction of new products, where the category membership is not always apparent. This uncertainty can be especially true for high- tech products. Brands are sometimes affiliated with categories in which they do not hold membership rather than with the one in which they do. This approach is a variable way to highlight a brands point of difference from competitors, provided that consumers know the brands actual membership. The preferred approach to positioning is to inform consumers of a brands membership before stating its point difference in relation to other category members. Presumably, consumers need to know what a product is and what function it serves prior to assessing whether it dominates the brands against which it competes. For new products, separate marketing programs are generally needed to inform consumers of membership and to educate them about a brands point of difference. For brands with limited resources, this implies the development of a marketing strategy that establishes category membership prior to one that states a point of difference. Brands with greater resources can develop concurrent marketing programs in which one features membership and the other the point of difference. Efforts to inform consumers of membership and points of difference in the same ad, however, are often not effective. There are three main ways to convey brands category membership: communicating category benefits, comparing to exemplars, and relying on the product descriptor. To reassure consumers that a brand will deliver on the fundamental reason for using a category, benefits are frequently used to announce category membership. Thus, industrial motors might claim to have power, and analgesics might announce their efficacy in reducing pain. These benefits are presented in a manner that does not imply brand superiority but merely notes 29

that the brand possesses these properties as a means to establish category POPs. To provide supporting rationale so that consumers believe that a brand has the benefits that imply membership in a category, performance and imagery associations can be used. An Ready to Eat packaged food brand might attain membership in the Ready to Eat category by claiming the benefit of great taste and might support this benefit claim by possessing high quality ingredients (performance) or by showing users delighting in its consumption (imagery). 2. Choosing Points of Parity and Points of Difference Points of parity are driven by the needs of category membership (to create category POPs) and the necessity of negating competitors PODs (to create competitive POPs). In terms of choosing points of difference, broadly, the two most important considerations are that consumers find the POD desirable and believe that the firm has the capabilities to deliver on it. If both of these considerations are satisfied, the POD has the potential to become a strong, favorable, and unique brand association. 3. Establishing Points of Parity and Points of Difference Creating a strong, competitive brand positioning requires establishing the right points of parity and points of difference. The difficulty in doing so, however, is that many of the attributes or benefits that make up the POPs or PODs are negatively correlated. That is, if consumers mentally rate the brand highly on one particular attribute or benefit, they also rate it poorly on another important attribute. For example, it might be difficult to position a brand as inexpensive and at the same time assert that it is of the highest quality. Moreover, individual attributes and benefits often have positive and negative aspects. For example, consider a long - lived brand that is seen as having a great deal of heritage. Heritage could be seen as a positive attribute because it can suggest experience, wisdom, and expertise. On the other hand, it could also be easily seen as a negative attribute because it might imply being old fashioned and not contemporary and cutting edge. Unfortunately, consumers typically desire to maximize both of the negatively correlated attributes and benefits. The challenge is that competitors often are trying to achieve their point of difference on an attribute that is negatively correlated with the point of difference of the target brand. The best approach clearly is to develop a product or service that performs well on both dimensions. Thus, the ability of BMW to establish their straddle-positioning image of luxury and performance was due in large part to product design and the fact that the car was considered both luxurious and high performance. Separate the Attributes An expensive but sometimes effective approach is to launch two different marketing campaigns, each one devoted to a different brand attribute or benefit. These campaigns may either run concurrently or sequentially. For example, Head and Shoulders met success in Europe with a dual campaign in which one ad emphasized its dandruff removal efficacy

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while another ad emphasized the appearance and beauty of hair after its use. The hope is that consumers will be less critical when judging the POP and POD benefits in isolation because the negative correlation must be less apparent. The downside to such an approach is that two strong campaigns have to be developed not just one. Moreover, by not addressing the negative correlation head on, consumers may not develop as positive associations as desired. Leverage Equity of Another Entity The brand can borrow or leverage the equity of well known and well liked celebrities to lend credibility to one of the negatively correlated benefits. Brands can potentially link themselves to any kind of entity that possesses the right kind of equity a person, other brands, event, and so forth as means to establish an attribute or benefit as a POP or POD. Self branded ingredients may also lend some credibility to a questionable attribute in consumers minds. Borrowing equity, however, is neither costless nor riskless. Redefine the Relationship Finally, another potentially powerful but oftendifficult way to address the negative relationship between attributes and benefits in the minds of consumers are to convince them in fact that the relationship is positive. This redefinition can be accomplished by providing consumers a different perspective and suggesting that they may be overlooking or ignoring certain factors or other considerations. 4. Upgrading Positioning over Time The previous section described some positioning guidelines that are especially useful for launching a new brand. With established brands, competitive forces often dictate shifts in positioning strategy over time. Updating positioning involves two main issues. The first is how to deepen the meaning of the brand to tap into core brand values or other, more abstract considerations (laddering). The second is how to respond to competitive challenges that threaten an existing positioning (reacting). Laddering Although identifying PODs to dominate competition on benefits that are important to consumers provides a sound way to build an initial position, once the target market attains a basic understanding of how the brand relates to alternatives in the same category, it may be necessary to deepen the meanings associated with the brand.

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CHAPTER 4 BRAND IDENTITYConsumer Insights

Brand Positioning Defining the Frame of Reference Brand Identity Deriving the Core Brand Values Articulating Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Executing Brand Identity Expressing through Brand Marketing Programs Extending Brand Identity Creating Brand Extensions

Reviewing Brand Identity Evaluating Brand Equity

Brand Identity In the previous section, we have defined Brand Positioning and its role in brand strategy. Brand Positioning is the first step that a brand should take in order to define its frame of reference for the consumer. Hence, it needs to clearly identify the target consumer, competitors, points of parity and points of difference that a brand should maintain. Metaphorically speaking, brand positioning is defining the outer framework or boundary for the brand in question. It is like giving the outline boundary on a canvas. What you eventually paint on a campus can be defined as the actual character or identity of the brand, which will be discussed next. The Oxford dictionary defines identity as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is; the characteristics determining this. The concept of identity has been widely used n the context of humans. Identity card is particularly employed as a devise to establish the identity of the owner. It describes who the person is. Military history is replete with instances where

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spies were sent to enemy territories to uncover battle plans and dig enemy strengths by camouflaging their identities. They attempted to establish in the enemys territories what they were not by adopting their dresses, accents, languages, mannerisms, etc. The key consideration to their success was how effectively they established what they were not. The whole establishment of spying is based on a critical understanding of who you are the real identity and what you want to be perceived as the brand identity perceived by the perceiver. In other instances, the task is exactly opposite to what we have in spying endeavours. Now days, in offices, where a large number of people work, identity becomes an important issue. It is for the safety and proprietary reasons that only legitimate persons should be allowed to gain entry. Establishing what/who a person is can be done in a number of ways dress, language, code, mannerism, identity card, palm scanning and other electronic mechanisms. Here, in these instances, the idea is to establish congruence between who you are (not, who you are not in spying) and whom you are perceived as. That is to eliminate the possible discrepancy, which may arise between whom, the person is identity and who he has been received as decoded identity. The key to establishing correct identity lies in avoiding things, which may throw the decoded identity out of its intended realm, and thereby creating problems in gaining entry. Identity implies what a person or thing is. Appreciation of this is critical because it draws a separating line as to what a person or thing is not. Accordingly it is easier to determine what is in and in sync with the identity and what is not. Many a times decision-makers responsible for steering the brand do not have any idea as to what the brand is. The result they end up taking decisions, which impact the brand adversely for they, lack ideas about what is legitimate and what works in the interest of the brand. Consider the following: Cinthol, once a very powerful brand has been subjected to several damages because of typical mistakes that brand managers committed. It is the absence of understanding, may be, about what the brand is that has led to the present situation. The soap was initially positioned as containing a deodorizing agent, which would boost the confidence of the user. In the first moves, Cinthol changed its track and went on to acquire a masculine image with up market hero/hunk user profile. The brand ambassadors hired for the job were Imran Khan, Vinod Khanna and later Akshay Khanna. As usually happens, the brand got entangled with HLLs rival Liril. It is the rising popularity of Liril that forced Godrej to position its Cinthol head on with Liril as a freshness soap with lime associations. In fact the brand communications depicted a slice of lime and a water fall which were very similar to those conveyed by Liril for years. If one removed the brand name from the advertisements and television commercials it would have been near impossible to identity the true sponsor. The brand further saw a spate of extensions Cinthol Cologne, Cinthol Lime, Cinthol International. The focus shifted from brand user to brand ingredients and attributes. It seems, that the brand suffered because of the absence of a charter-

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guiding brand decisions. The actions of the managers have left the brand weak and vulnerable. Limca reigned the undisputed ruler of the lime drink market for decades. The slogan Lime n Lemoni Limca clearly focused on the unique lemon taste. The thick cloudy drink formulation gave customers the taste they preferred. The result, it always out competed its rival, mainly Campa Lemon flavour with a great margin. But in the last couple of years frequent tinkering with the brand position has rendered the brand weak. From Lime and LemoniLimca went on to focus on thirst to suggest itself as a great thirst quencher. The brand communication stressed on isotonic salts the drink contained to offer better thirst quenching properties than the other brands. Then came the take it easy campaigns depicting funny adult situations. During the last couple of years, the brand has not been adequately supported by adequate media spending. The result, Limca from being a leader has been reduced to a brand very few people ask for. May be it is the only earlier loyal customers who reach out to the brand nostalgically to taste the Lime and Lemoni flavour. Bata for Indian middle class consumers meant shoes that last. It has unique value for money position firmly etched in consumers mind. Like many other brands, Bata also took severe beating when brand stewards took decisions, which did not match with the brands core spirit. In the late eighties and early nineties, Bata brand began to alienate from its core when management began to stretch the brand upwards. The result, Bata shoes began to be adorned with brands, which displayed price tags not within the reach of its core customers. The much hyped European Collection Hush Puppies and Marie Claire Julio, Westminster range gave a shock to the typical Bata buyers. While the high price customers never made Bata shoe stores their destination. For them Bata still meant an ordinary mens shoe. The result, the brand began to disenchant its current customers while the premium shoe buyer was never charmed by the Bata name. It is only lately that Bata has reverted back to its core by launching shoes with rubber soles and the Bata Gold ranges in order to reaffirm its commitment to value for money and durability proposition. Now Bata is beginning to secure and hold over its intended customers. Brands are the connecting links between the marketers and the customers. But this connection often suffers at the hands of so called people responsible for steering the brands. The lack of vision, competitive pressure and often short term orientation drive brand marketing efforts. Larry Light once observed, Brands do not have to die. They can be murdered. And marketing Draculas is draining the very lifeblood away from brands. Brands are being bargained, belittled, and battered. The wounds are inflicted on brands by reckless decision. Brands suffer on account of: Brand campaigns, which do not carry through in an unchanging core, which must remain permanent. For instance the waterfall and Liril girl is inseparable from what Liril is all about.

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Brand sponsoring event, which does not go with its essence. Many a times a highly exclusive brand may associate itself with popular sport or event to gain awareness or recall as a short- term goal. Excessive reliance on promotions and price discounting. A brand may choose someone as an ambassador who does not fit with the overall brand architecture. Blind line extensions to secure temporary gains in market by cashing in on market shifts and trends. Pushing the brand beyond its legitimate territory by brand extensions. For instance, Ponds once tried unsuccessfully to extend their brand name into the toothpaste market. At the root of such decision-making is usually is lack of appreciation of what a brand is what is its identity. Hence, what is within legitimate scope and what is not is important. The only way a synchronization in marketing efforts could be achieved is by developing a statement about brand identity. Brand identity would provide guidance and direction to brand managers. It would demotivate brand managers into doing things, which may boost on brands short term performance at the cost of its long - term health. Aaker defines brand identity as a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain. These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers from the organisation members. What a brand stands for is a crucial question. It determines the basis on which a brand seeks to create a relationship with customers. At its core lies the value proposition. What is its unique focus? How does it differ from the rest in the class? Brand identity is an insiders concept. That is, crucial decisions are for the brand manager to make. The public faade of identity is brand image. Brand image is the decoded version of brand identity. Brand managers first ideally define identity involving difficult questions about a brands essence, soul, values, and visions. It is not a tactical task. It is a strategic exercise. The purpose is to spell out the brands domain. What is it that it seeks out to perform and achieve externally in the customers life? What are compelling reasons embodied in its essence that would attract customers in spite of a large number of apparently me too brands in the category? What are its bonding agents? In the current times of easy resource availability and barrier free marketing environment it is much easier to create products. In fact, most of the new launches in many marketing areas prima facie appear to be brand launches but a closer examination reveals the truth to the contrary. The products by compulsion arrive in the market place with a name but they carry a hollow centre. These launches tend to be limited to product level of a

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brand. That is, the managers at the backside in their companies do not seem to have a clear idea about brand identity. What are the qualitative and epistemological aspects of brand? What is its philosophical core? What is its mission and where is it going? What are the competitive struggles and pressures to survive which force firms to get into reactionary marketing? The competitor moves are copied without paying much attention to reason and logic. The result is a barrage of brand launches without identities. The key sign of this is the creation of a plethora of marginal brands that start their life at the product shelf at a retailers outlet and continue to vegetate for long periods. The process is quite similar to human existence. Procreation adds millions to the worlds population but very few make a mark, while the rest remain as a faceless crowd. The people who have made a mark in human history are the ones who had a firm grip on their identity who they were and what their mission was. A brand is a mission of its creator. It is very rare that a brand could be created without a mission. What does this mission signify? It is what lies at the core of the brand. Consider an unbranded cigarettes and a pack of Marlboro. What does the brand add to the product? It is something which can be called Marlboro ness. In a similar vein take the case of a heavy motorcycle and a similar bike with the Harley name on it. Immediately, the product is transformed. It acquires a large meaning. The brand has added Harley ness. It is this ness that is at the heart of the brand identity system. The brand creator is one who has an idea about this ness, which forces him/her to create the brand. A brand without this just cannot break away from product boundaries. All the powerful brands of the world possess this unique - ness which forms the fundamental basis of brand relationships with the customers. The development of the brands unique ness needs confronting many fundamental questions/issues. These issues define brand identity for the people behind the brand. The conceptual clarity must be achieved with respect to what the brands spiritual centre is? With what missions the brand has come into existence? What is its long - term vision? What are the key values that epitomise the brand? What is its legitimate territory? What the entire brand can become and what all it cannot? What are its essential truths? The identity serves to guide all brand-related efforts. It is a blueprint for action for brand stewards. It is the brand identity that makes the fundamental difference. The identity is a brands DNA configuration, a particular set of brand elements, blended in a unique way, which determines how that brand will be perceived in the marketplace. In the world of communication many a times confusion prevails around the concept of brand identity and image. Brand identity concerns the strategic and more core issue of what the brand is. It is the driver of marketing efforts including product launches, extensions, and communications. All these acts are essentially brand expressions. The brand manifests its identity in these behaviours. External signs of brand product, symbols, visual images, communication, etc., - all have their roots in brand identity. They all emanate from one single source. Identity is something that precedes all this. It essentially deals with what is to be communicated, portrayed or expressed. It

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is signified. The visible actions/efforts that generally keep people busy are essentially signifiers. Appreciation of the difference between the signified and signifier is what differentiates effective brand navigation from the ineffective one. Most of the times, people responsible for brand management are just able to touch the periphery and get trapped in the maze of less strategic issues concerning brand management. This can be observed by examining how firms manage campaigns. Many a times brand campaigns change. But along with them the brands core is also torn and changed. Nothing gets carried over from old to new campaigns. In fact if the campaigns are intended to promote the same brand, something must remain constant. The epicentre or brands essence must not change. The campaign change my permit freedom in message and media tactics, but the brand essence or identity which inspires the campaigns must remain constant, otherwise it could easily destroy what is intended as a brand and what is received by the market as a brand. The brand managers would not resort to subjective notions while providing briefs to client servicing from the advertising agencies. Thus people in custody of a brand may change, but still continuity could be maintained. The best example of continuity is observable in the brand McDonalds. The brand is sold all over the world in different countries with highly heterogeneous social and cultural environment. Since the brand has to connect with a diverse set of audience like Chinese to French to Americans to Indians, it does not completely give in to change. The communication execution does differ from one country to another, yet the essence of is left untouched. The brand is a great puller all over the world. This is the beauty of brand identity. The concept of brand identity has been theorized to a great extent. Several academicians and brand scholars have developed highly specialized models to understand and articulate brand meaning to a product. Here, let me explain two of the most popular models/views of thinking on brand identity, i.e. David Aakers Brand Identity Model and Jean Noel Kapferrers Brand Identity Prism. The Brand Identity Planning Model of David Aaker The brand identity planning model provides a tool to understand, develop, and use the brand identity construct. In addition to the brand identity itself, it includes two other strategic brand components, (i) the strategic brand analysis and (ii) the brand identity implementation system, which are discussed next.

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BRAND IDENTITY PLANNING MODEL- DAVID AAKERSTRATEGIC BRAND ANALYSIS Customer Analysis Competitor Analysis Self Analysis

Trends Motivation Unmet needs Segmentation

Brand Image/Identity Strengths/Strategies Vulnerabilities Positioning

Existing brand image Brand heritage Strengths/Strategies Organisation values

BRAND IDENTITY SYSTEMS Extended Core

Essence

Brand as Product Product Scope Product Attributes Quality/Value Uses/Users Country of origin

Brand as Organisation Organisation Attributes Local v/s Global

Brand as Person Personality

Brand as Symbol Visual imagery and metaphors

Value Proposition Functional

Emotional

Self-Expressive

Credibility

Brand-Customer Relationship

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Strategic Brand Analysis To be effective, a brand identity needs to resonate with customers, differentiate the brand from competitors, and represent what the organization can and will do over time. Thus the strategic brand analysis helps the manager to understand the customer, the competitors, and the brand itself (including the organization behind the brand). The customer analysis must get beyond what customers say to what lies underneath what they do. Creative qualitative research is often useful toward this end. Another challenge is to develop a segmentation scheme that can drive strategy. To do this, the manager must discover which segmentation variables have real leverage and understand the size and dynamics of each segment. The competitor analysis examines current and potential competitors to make sure that the strategy will differentiate the brand and that communication programs will break away from the clutter in a meaningful way. Studying competitor strengths and strategies as well as positions can also provide insight into the brand-building task. The self-analysis identifies whether the brand has the resources, the capability, and the will to deliver. The analysis needs to uncover strengths, limitations, strategies, and values of the organization that is creating the brand. Ultimately, a successful brand strategy needs to capture the soul of the brand, and this soul resides in the organization. Brand Identity The figure provides an overview of brand identity and its related constructs. Note that there are twelve categories of brand identity elements organized around four perspectives the brand as product (product scope, product attributes, quality/value, use experience, users, country of origin), organization (organizational attributes, local versus global), person (brand personality, customer-brand relationships), and symbol (visual imagery/metaphors and brand heritage). Although each category has relevance for some brands, virtually no brand has associations in all twelve categories. Note also that the brand identity structure includes an essence, a core identity, and extended identity. A good brand essence statement does not merely string a set of core identity phrases together into a sentence, since this would provide little value beyond the core identity. Instead, it provides a slightly different perspective while still capturing much of what the brand stands for. The brand essence can be viewed as the glue that holds the core identity elements together, or as the hub of a wheel linked to all of the core identity elements.

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The brand essence should have several characteristics. It should resonate with customers and drive the value proposition. It should be ownable, providing differentiation from competitors that will persist through time. And it should be compelling enough to energize and inspire the employees and partners of the organization. (Even an understatement such as It simply works better or Take a different road, however, can be inspirational to those who take it seriously and recognize its challenge.) Strong brand essence statements usually have multiple interpretations that make them re effective. For Nike the brand essence might be Excelling, which could encompass such diverse components of the Nike identity as technology, top athletes, aggressive personalities, the track shoe heritage, and sub brands like Air Jordan, as well as customers who strive to excel. For American Express, Do more expresses the thrust of the organization that walks the extra mile, a product set that offers more than competitors, and a customer base that is not satisfied with a conventional lifestyle but engages in more and different activities. The brand essence is distinct from a tagline. When searching for a brand essence, it is counterproductive to evaluate candidates on whether they would make good tagline. A brand essence represents the identity, and one of its key functions to communicate and energize those inside the organization. In sharp contrast, the tagline represents the brand position (for communication goals), and its function is to communicate with the external audience. A brand essence should be timeless or at least expected to be relevant for a long time period, while a tagline may have a limited life. Further, a brand essence is likely to be relevant across markets and products, whereas a tagline is more likely to have a confined arena. Though it might seem efficient to have a brand essence statement that also functions as a tagline, insisting that statement candidates meet both criteria as diverting at best (and counterproductive at worst). Typically, the core brand identity will require from six to twelve dimensions in order to adequately describe the brands aspiration. Because such a large set is unwieldy, it is helpful to provide focus by identifying the core identity (the most important elements of the brand identity). All dimensions of the core identity should reflect the strategy and values of the organization, and at least one association should differentiate the brand and resonate with customers. The core identity is most likely to remain constant as the brand travels to new markets and products if customers perceive the brand according to the core identity, the battle is won. The core identity usually has two to four dimensions that compactly summarize the brand vision. It often is useful, however, to provide even more focus by creating a brand essence: a single thought that captures the soul of the brand. In some cases, it is not feasible or worthwhile to develop a brand essence, but in others it can be a powerful tool.

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The extended brand identity includes all of the brand identity elements that are not in the core, organized into meaningful groupings. Often the core identity is a terse description of the brand, and this terseness can generate ambiguity; as a result, brand implementation decisions benefit from the texture and completeness provided by the extended identity. Moreover, there are useful elements of the extended identity (such as the brand personality and a specification of what the brand is not) that do not usually fit comfortably into the core identity. Brand Identity Prism of Jean Noel Kapferrer The Prism of Identity A six sided prism may represent brand identity diagrammatically:

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BRAND IDENTITY PRISM- KAPFERRER

PICTURE OF SENDER

Personality Physique

TION EXTERNALISATION

INTERNALISATION

Culture

Relationship

Reflection

Self-Image

PICTURE OF RECEIVER

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Physique A brand first has a physique a combination of independent characteristics, which may be either prominent (springing readily to mind when the brand is mentioned) or dormant (though nevertheless distinguishable). Cadburys chocolate evokes the picture of foil wrapped chocolate in a distinct purple and white wrapper. Ford Ikon car spells out superior performance and energy, Whirlpool Air Conditioner talks about ultra fast cooling etc. Physique is the brand basis. Taking the analogy of a flower stem, without the stem the flower dies it is its independent tangible support. This is the traditional basis of communication, corresponding to brand know-how and standard positioning. It derives its features from certain key or prominent attributes of the brand. Physique is a necessity, but not, of itself, sufficient, forming only the first stage in brand construction. Personality A brand has a personality. It acquires a character. If, as often happens we identify the brand with a person, we gradually form a picture of that person by the way in which he speaks of products or services. Raymond is a dis