Strategic Brand Management: Objectives, Equity, and Audits

Planning Objectives

• Objectives: Financial, efficiency, position, CSR, share value, markets
• Policies: Low price, quality, promotion, ethical, usefulness
• Processes: Specific action, staff evaluation, quality control, cost control, purchasing, stock inventory
• Rules: Define response, safety, sick leave, punctuality
• Budget: Cash flow, income, expenses (not always in euros)

Brand Equity

• Core: What is the customer really buying?
• Actual: Characteristics, features, quality level, name, packaging
• Augmented: Additional services

Evaluation of Brand Equity

• Cost approach
• Market approach
• Income approach

Managing Brand Equity

• Leadership: Be a dominant force
• Stability: Ability to survive
• Market: Growth prospects, volatility
• Geographic spread
• Trend: Ability to remain relevant
• Support
• Protection: Legal protection

Products and Services

• Products: Anything that is offered to a market for acquisition, use, or consumption
• Services: Products that consist of activities, benefits, or satisfactions

Types of Products

• Consumer products
• Industrial products: Raw materials, capital items, supplies & services

Brand Attributes

• Brands deliver what consumers truly desire
• The brand stays relevant
• Pricing strategy based on consumer perceptions of value
• Brand properly positioned
• Brand is consistent
• Brand hierarchy makes sense
• Brand uses a wide range of marketing techniques
• Understanding of what the brand means to customers
• Brand is given proper, sustained support
• Company monitors sources of brand equity

Brand Elements

Those devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand (Nike, swoosh, "Just do it", etc.).

• Memorable
• Meaningful
• Likability
• Transferable: Brand element used to introduce new products
• Adaptable
• Protectable: Legally protected

Brand Audits

A series of procedures to assess the health of the brand and suggest ways to improve and leverage brand equity.

• Brand inventory: Profile of how all the products & services are sold
• Brand exploratory: Understand what customers think and feel about the brand (brand image, recall)

Brand Awareness

How easily we remember the brand name (recall), or are able to recognize it between its competitors (recognition).

Brand Image

To assess customers' positive and negative perceptions of the brand (evaluate strength).

Brand Tracking

Collecting information from customers on a routine basis. Provides information to facilitate day-to-day decision-making.

Stakeholder Theory

A company should identify and collaborate with all parties who affect or are affected by its activities.