NUS MBA

BMA5506
Product & Brand Management
Notes from Class 1
11 Jan 2016

What is a Brand?
Brands can be people
Brands can be products
Brands can be organizations
Brands can be organized simply or with great complexity
A brand is not just
A product or service
A logo or trademark
A level or type of advertising or a tagline
All brands are promises delivering value
A strong brand reduces the perceived risk faced by the buyer.
It lowers the cost of search through recognition.
As a promise of quality, it adheres to standards.
It delivers functional benefits that are needed.
It offers emotional associations that are valued.
What do great brands have in common?
Simplicity. Singular vision. Clarity.
It delivers its promise in a simple, meaningful & relevant way.
A brand is a relationship built on a promise between a product/service and
customers.
The promise is clear, distinctive and appealing to the customer.

Are products the same thing as brands?

Products are functional, rational; offers a set of benefits & can be copied
Brands are intangible & emotional; offer a promise built on trust, consistency
& a set of expectations
Brands
Allow you to cut through in cluttered environments
Brands are authentic
Can help you create product ideas & services
Brands can help differentiate commodity products
Brand help you compete more effectively in the marketplace
What is Brand Management?
Brand Management is about building, enhancing, protecting your company /
products / services reputation in the marketplace
Brand strategy vs Business strategy
Brand Strategy a reflection of business strategy or intent
Value of a brand
Brands with strong reputation create competitive advantage that is substantial
and sustainable
A strong brand can.
Direct consumers to products that are most relevant and useful
for them (via mnemonic aid)
Guide product choice based on consumer loyalties
Enhance the value of products or services beyond their
functional attributes
Create long-term, emotional relationships with target audiences
that influence their behavior
Differentiate and build preference versus competing products
Allow marketers to charge a relative price premium
Lower both customer attrition and cost of new customer
acquisition
Attract the best talent
Allow a company to withstand crisis situations

Collection of terminology (not jargon)

Brand = Identity + Reputation
Identity The visual, verbal, audible and environmental expression of a brand
positioning
Reputation Promise + Performance:
The perceptions and feelings, as well as rational and emotional expectations,
that internal and external shareholders have of a company/division/product
Brand Promise The past, present, or future explicit/implicit commitments
articulated to all the organizations stakeholders
Brand Experience The collective experiences a customer has across all
points of contact with a companys products/services, employees,
environments and communications
Brand Strategy Brand positioning central to the business proposition and the
supporting brand attributes and architecture
Brand Attributes Reputational characteristics that define and differentiate the
brand
Entrystake attributesAttributes needed to
compete in an industry
Qualifying attributesAttributes which place a
brand among a peer group, separating them from
other contenders
Spike attributesThe few attributes with the
potential to differentiate our clients brand among
its peers
Brand Positioning The strategic intent of the brand, capturing the way we
want customers, employees, partners, investors/members and other
stakeholders to think and feel about the company/division/product. The
perceptual space the brand strives to occupy to enhance success of the
business strategy. It is the desired future reputation and personality of the
brand.
Brand Architecture Type, number, relationship, and purpose of brands
Brand equity The elements of a brand (identity and reputation) that are
perceived to add value beyond the basic functionality of a companys
products/services
Equity elements include:

Brand associations
Brand permissions
Perceived quality
Awareness and familiarity (of name,
symbology, value proposition, etc.)
Strength of loyalty/preference
Brand Management The structure, discipline, and process across the entire
organization needed to build reputation including the development and
management of brand launch programs and brand communications
Brand Measurement Processes for valuing and evaluating brands, usually
using quantitative methods

Logo A proprietary symbol/sign used to help identify a

company/division/product most often used in conjunction with a name(s)
Wordmark A signature using a proprietary typeface and/or type application
used to help identify a company/division/product used without a symbol
Example:

Brands are strategic management tools. When are brands useful?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Theres a new product/service/company and a need to name/brand it.

The brand is out-dated or the business strategy has changed.
The corporate culture is not in synch with the brand strategy/vision
Theres an opportunity in new categories or markets
The brand portfolio has too many brands & become complicated or difficult
to manage
6. Theres a need to differentiate and stand out in a competitive and / or
cluttered landscape
7. Changing customer needs require an innovative response
Typical Branding process
1. Research
2. Strategy
3. Implementation
People & culture development
Visual & verbal expression
Communication
Capabilities
Product & service innovation & development