CHAPTER 1

Introduction to brand management and

terminologies

INTRODUCTION TO BRAND MANAGEMENT

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1.1 Introduction

The purpose of this study is to find out how effective brand

management can help maintain the success of the brand. Brand
is not only the identity of a specific product but is a
complete association of a person with the product. Recent
studies have shown that good brand management has improved the
sales and other factors of brands. So the research is carried
out to do a complete analysis of effective brand management on
brand equity and its application to a certain brand.

When customers buy your product or service, the experience

they receive is what persuades them to buy from you again, and
the excellent product and service quality is firstly supported
by its brand. Bates (2007) defined a brand as:

"A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of

the consumer".

Moreover, the American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a

brand 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
differentiate them from those of other sellers. Therefore it
makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting
your target market to choose you over the competition, but it
is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one
that provides a solution to their problem.

Brand development is surely not a very old idea in Pakistan as

it has never been completely understood by most of the
companies. Brand equity is the base of every brand and the
biggest goal it has to maintain throughout its existence,
Companies that want long-term customer loyalty and overall
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success for their brand work to achieve the most convincing,
pertinent, and reliable brand experiences for their customers.
(Bloise, 2009)

According to Walker (2008) consumer perceptions and attitudes

are measured collectively and commonly described as consumer
Brand Equity that has a direct relationship to a brand's
market position and the business results. Marketers rely
heavily on advertising as one primary means to develop and
raise Brand Equity. According to Fortune magazine (in 1997):

“In the twenty-first century, the only unique difference

between any two companies will be the brand. Brand equity
is now a key advantage.”

In the thesis, out for all the tools of brand management the
effect of only tool i.e. brand equity has been discussed.
Brand equity has further two classifications; brand image and
brand awareness. Brand image is simply the way consumers view
a brand—the perceptions a brand creates in the mind of the
consumer (Aaker 1996, Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000).
Everything related to the brand helps form the identity people
associate with the brand. Brand awareness is typically
discussed in terms of “aided” and “unaided” awareness. Aided
awareness refers to a consumer’s familiarity with a brand when
it is shown or read from a list. Unaided awareness connotes a
stronger relationship with the brand as it is defined by a
consumer’s ability to name the brand when asked about a
product category. Whether aided or unaided, awareness is
essential to the situation. Moreover there are at least three
viewpoints to observe brand equity. First one is financial
which is a way to measure brand equity is to determine the
price premium that a brand commands over a generic product.
For example, if consumers are willing to pay $100 more for a
branded television over the same unbranded television, this
3
premium provides important information about the value of the
brand. However, expenses such as promotional costs must be
taken into account when using this method to measure brand
equity.

According to Keller (1993) there are at least three

perspectives from which to view brand equity:

Financial – means that much financial outcomes improve by

applying brand equity. How much more money a consumer is
willing to pay because of strong brand equity.

Brand extensions - A successful brand can be used as a

platform to launch related products. The benefits of brand
extensions are the leveraging of existing brand awareness thus
reducing advertising expenditures, and a lower risk from the
perspective of the consumer. Furthermore, appropriate brand
extensions can enhance the core brand. However, the value of
brand extensions is more difficult to quantify than are direct
financial measures of brand equity.

Consumer-based - A strong brand increases the consumer's

attitude strength toward the product associated with the
brand. Attitude strength is built by experience with a
product. This importance of actual experience by the customer
implies that trial samples are more effective than advertising
in the early stages of building a strong brand. The consumer's
awareness and associations lead to perceived quality, inferred
attributes, and eventually, brand loyalty.

To study the effect of good brand management and how it is

going to maintain the brand equity for a product, I have
selected FnkAsia which is a fashion brand. Brand equity is a
4
very important concept for fashion brands because for them he
value that product delivers is more important the core
functionalities of the product. The concept has been studied
and applied to FnkAsia determining how it will provide value
for money to the customers through successful brand
management.

1.2 Theoretical Framework

Following variables would be used in conducting the research

process as concluded from the literature review.

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Dependent Variable Independent Variable

Brand Brand
Equity Management

H1: Effective brand management maintain strong brand equity

for FnkAsia.

H2: Effective brand management cannot maintain strong brand

equity for FnkAsia.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The purpose of the research work is to critically understand

and explore the importance of Brand management and its impact
on brand equity of FnkAsia

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 I. To understand the importance of successful brand
management and its effect on brand equity.

II. To ensure that the right brand management techniques

have been applied to the brand.

III. To see how managing the brand equity will improve the
overall sales and performance of FnkAsia.

IV. How brand awareness and brand image will help FnkAsia
to work on new opportunities.

V. How the thoughts, feelings, images, perceptions and

attitudes of a brand are controlled by brand equity
(CBBE Model).

VI. To maintain the overall reputation of FnkAsia in the

world market.

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1.4 Rationale of the Study

The purpose of conducting this research is to basically

highlight the issues of branding. To be specific I have chosen
one major factor of brand management i.e. brand equity. The
detailed concept of brand awareness and brand image has been
applied to FnkAsia to derive strong equity for it. This
research would not only help to determine how powerful brand
management can make a brand successful but also discuss the
issues about branding that have not been stressed upon before.
Also a good branding strategy for FnkAsia has been worked upon
by keeping in view its strengths and weaknesses.

1.5 Research Question

The research will be conducted to find out how some brand

elements should be applied to the Pakistani product brands and
what brand strategy should be followed ensuring the long term
success of the brand. The research is conducted for the
current Pakistani market of FnkAsia.

Hence the research question is,

“Can effective brand management help maintain the brand

equity of FnkAsia?”

Many issues can be dealt with if possible solutions are

obtained for the above research question. It will help the
Pakistani Marketers to develop a different insight about the
product success through effective brand management which will
increase the brand equity which will lead to sustainability of

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many other things like long-term customer loyalty and brand
reputation. It would be a source of foreign exchange hence
making the balance of payments of Pakistan better which is
indeed a big problem currently.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERTURE REVIEW

LITERATURE REVIEW

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A comprehensive literature review is conducted to analyze the
importance of brand management and its attributes. To further
narrow down the broad area of brand management, one of its
most important elements i.e. brand equity has studied
thoroughly. The concept of brand equity has been applied on a
fashion company known as FnkAsia.

2.1 Review of Brand Management and related

terminologies

Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to

a specific product, product line, or brand. It seeks to
increase a product's perceived value to the customer and
thereby increase brand franchise and brand equity.

Definition of Brand:

The Oxford American Dictionary (1980) contains the following

definition of the brand:

Brand (noun): It is a trade mark, goods of a particular

make: a mark of identification made with a hot iron, the
iron used for this: a piece of burning or charred wood,
(verb): to mark

Today a lot of managers agree with the concept that they

should focus on growing the overall value of their customer
relationships. This focuses upon building loyalty and
preservation, cross selling related goods and services,
broadening offerings to cater all the possible needs of a
customer are ways of adding to overall customer equity
(Blackett, 2004). Infact, the cost of winning new customers is
much more than retaining the existing loyal customers which
not only remain loyal to your product but also do free

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promotion. The major issue is that many managers agree to this
fact that retaining old customers is important as the brand
itself, yet no one is completing implementing it. Whenever
they talk, they will assure you that customers are their
priority but when you watch them act, the real story is
revealed. Brand is the main thing. Brand management is still
not given the attention that it needs in most large companies
and that focus is ever more incompatible with growth of the
company. (Blackett, 2004)

When there are a variety of choices given to the customer,

specific brands provide them a direction through a baffling
variety of choices. For example, a customer does not have to
be an expert on the complexities of internet service providers
to choose between one service supplier and another. The brand
name, the tariffs and the method of payment are all that is
required to make a genuine choice (Blackett, 2004). And as
tariffs and payment methods are almost the same among rival
companies, more or less it is the brand and its attributes
which shape the final purchase decision. The whole impact of
the core appeals of the product; the fact that how brand
equity has increased the sales of the product, has made
managers ponder over the concept of brand equity. Brands with
strong equity implant themselves profoundly in the hearts and
minds of consumers. The real power of successful brands is
that they fulfil all the requirements and expectations of the
product keeping the brand promise. As such they are a bond
between a seller and a buyer: and if the seller fails to
deliver the brand promise for a long period of time, the buyer
will go for substitutes. (Blackett, 2004)

2.2 Important definition of Brand Dimensions

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 The phenomenon of successful brand management has been
studied by many authors and marketers for a long time. Yet a
profound literature review showed that mainly the authors
Kevin Lane Keller, David A. Aaker, Jennifer L. Aaker (1997)
and Jean-Noel Kapferer (2005) has established the basis for
all successive theoretical works and research studies. So,
they can be seen as the major drivers and specialists in
separating a brand into its brand dimensions and illuminating
how these sub-factors add to the creation and maintenance of a
strong brand. Since many studies largely refer to one or more
of these previous mentioned authors, this study will also be
based on their works and especially on Keller (2008) and Aaker
(1996).

The following list contains a brief of the major dimensions

by combining the individual elements of Keller’s and Aaker’s
definitions to give a basic overview of brand management.

• Brand equity is a consumer’s subjective evaluation of a

brand. The main sources for brand equity are brand awareness
and brand image. Brand equity creates value for the consumer
as well as for the company. However, if the term brand equity
is used in this study, it is referred to as customer-based
brand equity, i.e. the assets for the consumer and not to the
brand’s financial value (Keller 2008, pp. 48 and Aaker 1996,
pp. 7).

• The brand elements and associations defined by the brand

managers responsible for the brand result in the brand
identity. Thus, brand identity reflects how the company wants
the brand to be seen by its customers (Keller 2008, p. 174;
Aaker 1996, p. 68; Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2000,
p. 23).

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• Brand knowledge, which contains brand awareness and brand
image, is the key to creating brand equity and it represents
everything a customer knows about a brand (Keller 2008, p. 51;
Keller 1993, pp.2).

• Brand awareness is the strength of a brand’s presence in

consumer’s memory and defines the ability of identification of
this brand. The two main components of brand awareness are
brand recall with its sublevels and brand recognition (Keller
2008, pp. 51 and Aaker 1996, p.10).

• Brand recognition means that the customer is able to assert

previous experience to that brand when provided with a list of
brand names and the recognition might even offer an
approximation of potential recall-ability (Keller 2008, p. 54
and Aaker 1996, p. 10).

Brand elements are defined as “those trademarkable devices

that identify and distinguish the brand.”, e.g. brand name,
URL, logo, symbol, slogans (Keller 2008, p. 176)
Beiträge der Hochschule Pforzheim Nr. 136 11

• Brand recall means that the consumer is familiar with the

brand and can recall it when the product category is given.
Moreover, if the customer can recall a brand, he or she is
definitely able to recognize it (Keller 2008, p. 54 and Aaker
1996, p. 11).

• Brand image represents the perception of a brand by its

consumer and it is reflected by brand associations (Keller
2008, p. 51 and Aaker 1996, pp. 69).
• Brand associations contain the meaning of the brand for the
consumer and reflect his perception of the brand (Keller 2008,
p. 51 and Aaker 1991, p. 109).

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• Brand personality contains the human characteristics which a
consumer associates with the brand (Keller 2008, p. 369 and
Aaker 1996, p. 141).

• Brand attitude contains the consumer’s overall opinion

toward a brand – whether it is positive or negative – which
can result in trust and loyalty when positive (Keller 1993,
pp. 7 and Aaker and Biel 1993, pp. 121).

As brand management is a broad subject so I have just taken

its one dimension to be studied that is brand equity.

2.3 The concept of Brand Equity

According to Rust & Zeithaml (1991) Brand Equity is the

customer's subjective and intangible evaluation of the brand,
above and beyond its objectively perceived value. This
evaluation is shaped by the firm's marketing strategy and
devices and is inclined by the customer through life
experiences and associations with the brand.
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While it has be completely understood that all goods and
services provide benefits (e.g., Kotler 1977; Penrose 1958),
consumer perceptions decide if a brand’s promise is most
important, and whether or not the brand has met its promise,
which cannot be determined simply by analyzing the outcome
measures based on buying behaviour. We therefore define brand
equity as the perception or desire that a brand will meet a
salient promise of benefits Operationally, we conceptualize
brand equity as a moderator of the impact of marketing
activities (products, messages, etc.) on consumers’ actions
(consideration, purchase, etc.)(Raggio & Leone, 2006)
Brand image has further two main components:

BRAND EQUITY

BRAND IMAGE

BRAND AWARENESS

Brand image is defined as consumers' perceptions as reflected

by the associations they hold in their minds when they think
of your brand. (Dolak, 2001)

Brand awareness is when customers recognize your brand as

yours. This does not essentially mean they will have a
preference for your brand, attach a high value or better
attributes to your brand, it simply means they recognize your
brand and can identify anytime.

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Brand awareness consists of both brand recognition, which is
the ability of consumers to verify that they have previously
been exposed to the brand, and brand recall, which reflects
the ability of consumers to name your brand when given the
product category, category need, or some other similar sign.
(Dolak, 2001) In his book “managing brand equity” Sexton
proposed that the customers are becoming more conscious and
knowledgeable about the products, their attributes and
pricing. Everything is transparent to them and this has given
rise to strong competition so managing brand equity over time
through strategic measures is important during the five stages
of product life cycle.

Positive brand equity vs. negative brand equity

Positive Brand equity means that that customer agrees to pay

slightly more for the known brand than for the unknown brand
because of the trust they have in the known brand’s promise.

There are two different points of views regarding the

existence of negative brand equity. One school of thought says
that the negative brand equity cannot exist considering only
positive brand equity is established by brand management
activities such as advertising, sales promotion and PR. A
second school of thought says that negative equity can occur
in some cases; due to bad reputation resulting from
catastrophic events to the brand, such as ineffective product
recall or continued negative press response. (Roberts, 1997)

In general, the term "negative brand equity" may be used to

describe a product or service where a brand has a
insignificant effect on a product level when compared to a
brand which is unknown to the customer.

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2. 4 Measuring Brand Equity

Customers are the ones who tell about the real worth of the
brand. Whether it has a positive brand equity or negative
brand equity, it is completed dependent on the customers view.
Customers decide whether the purchase they made has been
significant in satisfying their criteria or not. Although the
details of different approaches to conceptualize brand equity
differ, they tend to share a common core: All definitions
typically either directly or indirectly rely on brand
knowledge the consumers have in their minds. Individuals and
organization are the basic determinants of brand equity. In
other words, the true impact of the brand is in the minds,
hearts, thoughts, experiences and insight of the consumers and
it is forever there. This clear picture of the brand in the
mind of the consumer determines his/her reaction to its
products, pricing, marketing activities and other attributes
increasing or decreasing brand value in the process. In
addition to that customer based brand equity has been defined
as the discrepancy effect that consumer brand knowledge has on
their reaction to brand marketing actions. (Keller, 2003)

Brand awareness is not just having a slight idea about the

brand; it is about having the brand knowledge about the
thoughts, feelings, perceptions, metaphors, understanding, and
all that becomes incorporated in the minds of the consumer.
All of these types of information can be thought of in terms
of a set of associations to the brand in consumer memory.
There are many brands which we daily hear about usually
because of television advertising, billboards and banners but
not all of the knowledge is in our minds.

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Brands are evaluated using the following criteria factors
(Haigh, 1996).

1. First is that core quality of the product that

differentiates it from the rest of the products.

2. Then personal relevance that either a brand is fulfilling

what the consumer desired.

3. That extent to which the customers value and regard the

brand and think high of it.

4. It is important to know how much the consumers have

knowledge of the brand and all its attributes.

2.5 Introduction to FnkAsia

As the concept of brand equity has been applied to FnkAsia as

a requirement of this research, the following data about
FnkAsia was gathered from the official website and by visiting
the organization.

FnkAsia envisioned by Huma Adnan, hand-picks long forgotten

crafts from all over Pakistan, bringing indigenous identities
together and presenting them in global silhouettes for the
world to enjoy. One season it is the colours of the Thar
Desert that spill across its arid canvas and another season it
19
is the warm blend of woolly colours from the majestic
Himalayas. FnkAsia is all about beautiful and funky outburst
of hand-woven textile, filled in with delicate embroidery and
lavish outer bits and pieces.

FnkAsia mainly operates the following three divisions:

FnkAsia

Men’s Wear Women’s Wear Jewellery

Huma Adnan is one of the successful women who are making a

mark in the fashion industry by completing supporting and
further promoting her husband’s business. With her continuous
effort FnkAsia has been able to reach the point where it is
today. FnkAsia is a global brand with outlets in countries
like USA, UK and Dubai and is among the pioneers of online
selling of clothes in Pakistan and foreign. It is a combined
effort of Amir Adnan and Huma Adnan (husband and wife) who did
not only bring back the forgotten industry of craftsmanship in
Pakistan but also worked hard in order to take FnkAsia on a
foreign level.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF FNKASIA:

The major local competitors of FnkAsia are Cynosure, Maria B,

Generation and other stores selling kind of similar clothing
stuff and jewellery items. National competitors include
Karachi: by my off-street, HSY and Khaadi.

International competitors include Gucci, Next and Indian

designer Ritu Beri

Competitive Advantage of FnkAsia over local and national

competitors:

FnkAsia bring the colour splash from the most beautiful

villages and valleys of Pakistan from where the hardworking
labour puts in all the effort to make delicate and elegant
embroidered fabrics. The designs are very original and unique
as they are true reflection of traditional arts and crafts of
Pakistan. This has been a completely new idea as many of the
already existing ready-made garment outlets have machine work
on fabrics. But FnkAsia believes in pure originality. FnkAsia
does not only offer the clothing but also jewellery and
accessories including hand bags. Various exhibitions in
Karachi and Asian fashion week have portrayed FnkAsia as
complete soul of Pakistani traditional clothing style.

Khaadi is well-known for its handmade clothes and Karachi: my

offset is known for its fascinatingly stylish clothes. FnkAsia
has brought all these factors together and also offers
matching jewellery and handbags with the individual dresses.
The tailoring is also unique in its way and is done so as to
highlight the cultural and traditional dressing style of
Pakistan.

21
 Competitive Advantage of FnkAsia over International
Competitors:

As the name FnkAsia indicates, its speciality is the intricate

work and funky blend of colours that makes it unique from the
competitors. Taking FnkAsia global does not only provides a
chance to compete in global fashion industry in Pakistan but
also revives our culture and tradition. Ritu Beri is the first
Indian designer who is heading an Italian brand. She is a
strong competitor of FnkAsia being pioneer of this business in
India and is promoting the traditional Indian clothes on the
international level.

Resources and Competencies of FnkAsia

i. Resources

FnkAsia was commenced by two already individually successful

designers in Pakistan who further made an effort to start a
business which can revive arts and crafts of Pakistan.
FnkAsia has become successful in maintaining a decent brand
image in a short period of time. That is because of the
unique resources that it has which were made their strong
competencies.

22
 AHAN (Aik Hunar Aik Nagar) is a committee formed as a rural
enterprise moderation project. Its mission is to bring back
handiworks and skills of people of Pakistani villages; find
out the potential and polish the hidden talent of the women in
rural areas. AHAN has connection with micro financing
organization, government and private businesses, NGO’s,
educational institutions and few top designers of Pakistan.
Resources available for FnkAsia are available from both
financial capital and human capital and are sufficient enough.

ii. Competencies:

One of the greatest advantages that FnkAsia gives is the

flexible range of prices. The clothes range from 900 to 7000
that makes the clothes affordable for almost everyone who buys
readymade clothes. FnkAsia is targeting a class from age 16 to
55 and the items are available in the outlets located in major
cities of Pakistan. Also all the items including readymade
garments, bags and jewellery are displayed under one roof for
the convenience of the customers. The display is done in a way
that products are easy to see, and arrangement is funky and
attractive.

FnkAsia has excellent value chain management which has made

the only delivery service very effective. Another competitive
advantage that it has is selling its products online and
ensures timely delivery of products. The combined efforts of
200 labour staff have made the fast delivery of products
possible maintaining the brilliant value chain. The labour is
being paid with reasonable wages which makes them perform
efficiently and honestly. Therefore the stakeholder management
is made successful.

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 Being a readymade garments and accessories brand, FnkAsia
focuses a lot on innovation which is very important because
the trends in Fashion industry are changing with quick pace.
Innovation Management, originality and novelty are the core
competencies of FnkAsia. Quality and innovation is required in
Handicrafts and artefacts as well as the stitching style and
outlook needs to be different and comfortable every time. The
finishing of the product also needs quality and innovation.
For the maintenance of innovation in every step FnkAsia has
created teams of freshly graduated designers who are in charge
of individual sub-division like tunics, kurtis, skinnies, bags
and accessories. The innovation teams have given all the
rights to exercise decision making power that they have as the
empowered teams are more creative. Funds for creativity and
innovations are also being provided to ensure that work gets
done without any financial constraints.

Shaughnessy (2003) in his book entitled “The Marketing Power

of Emotion” mentions that branding is effective only when the
brand is successful in fulfilling its customer’s expectations.
What a brand offers may sometimes have nothing to do with the
core function of the product but the customers associate
themselves to it as a social status thing. Although market
exchange follows the cost-benefit principle, in that both
consumer and seller weigh costs against benefits, consumer may
have numerous intangible benefits that cannot be measured
directly. Every brand in fact has product component and an

24
equity component, though the boundary between them is apt to
be fuzzy. According to Venkatesh & Chaudhuri (2010) with the
ever-increasing lookalikes in the marketplace, Asian companies
have realised the need to differentiate themselves, not just
on quality but on their identities. From being anonymous
suppliers to established brands, Asian businesses have started
asserting their identities through strategic branding. Even
though some of the Asian brands find the phenomenon of brand
management expensive yet there are businesses with success
stories which have left no stone unturned to make their brands
successful on world level.

2.6 Application of Brand Awareness and Brand Image to

FnkAsia

FnkAsia is not very old in the market yet it has done well
in a short period of time. Still many improvements are still
to be made and many opportunities are to be worked upon to
make it top notch fashion brand in Asia. The concept of Brand
equity has been applied to it in this research. For this it is
important to determine whether people are aware of this brand
or not. Awareness further narrows down into recognition and
recall. There is a need to find out that how many people have
actually tried the product and how many would like to buy that
again based on their previous buying experience. Was the
buying worth it or not? What did they observe? How big was the
gap between expected and actual experience of purchase? This
will determine whether they will buy the brand again or not.

Brand awareness is the first and precondition dimension of

the entire brand knowledge system in consumers’ minds,
reflecting their ability to identify the brand under different
conditions: the likelihood that a brand name will come to mind

25
and the ease with which it does so (Keller, 1993). Brand
awareness can be depicted into brand recognition (consumers’
ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when given the
brand as cue) and brand recall (consumers’ ability to retrieve
the brand when given the product category, the needs fulfilled
by the category, or some other cues). Brand awareness is
essential in buying decision-making as it is important that
consumers recall the brand in the context of a given specific
product category, awareness increasing the probability that
the brand will be a member of the consideration set. Awareness
also affects decisions about brands in the consideration set,
even in the absence of any brand associations in consumers’
minds. In low involvement decision settings, a minimum level
of brand awareness may be sufficient for the choice to be
final. Awareness can also influence consumer decision making
by affecting brand associations that form the brand image
(Keller, 1998).

Then the aspect of brand image has to be applied. People pay

more for brand-name products than they do for essentially
identical products lacking brand identity. Sometimes this
surety of a brand as a signal of quality (e.g., Waves
refrigerators) However, the importance of a “brand name” is
more evident particularly in the fashion industry for which
the functionality is given less importance compared to style,
trendiness and uniqueness of products. For example if Body
Shop products are very expensive, then people who display
their consumption of Body Shop products are showing their
wealth and their high status (Bikhchandani et al., 1992;
Coelho and McClure, 1993; Bagwell & Bernheim, 1996; Frijters,
1998; Corneo and Jeanne, 1999; Bianchi, 2002).

From the marketing point of view it is said that the luxurious

or prestige goods must be expensive; the price should not be

26
less than a certain level because as the price decreases the
demand can decrease as well (Berkowitz et al., 2000; Boone and
Kurtz, 1999; Perreault and McCarthy, 2000). Giving a brand
name to certain product is not at all expensive yet it gives
the advantage to the brand’s capability to command higher
prices and reap other significant opportunities. It is not
because of something else but just the “brand name”, like just
by stitching the brand name “Bonanza” on a sweater would never
add any extra value to the product attributes but can have a
psychological or emotional impact on specific consumer. The
basic terms of brand elements are explained in a lot of brand
management books but were wonderfully described in a special
Fashion Survey issue of The Economist (March 6-12, 2004, p.7),
in which the term "brand integrity" was used instead of
"brand image".

So it is concluded from the above discussion that brand

awareness and brand image (or integrity) are two most
essential things for a strong brand. FnkAsia must clear its
message in the minds of consumer and its image should be
better than so that they get every reason to extend their
loyalty towards this fashion brand. So here I revise my
research question again:

“Can good brand management result in strong brand equity

of FnkAsia? How the elements of Brand equity will be
applied to this brand.”

27
 CHAPTER 3

Research methodology
28
 Research
Methodology

RESEARCH
QUESTION

Data Collection

29

Qualitative
Quantitative

Literature
Questionnaire Review

Analysis
Model 3. 1

3.1 Introduction
The basic purpose of this research is useful to examine,
discovering, construing and the development of methods and
systems for the advancement of creature information on a large
variety of logical matters of our planet and the universe. The
research methodology is a fundamental part to show the truism
in research proceedings. The design and methodology would be
adopted in such a way that it would have minimized biasness in
it and the true picture of the data collected from the unit of
analysis.

3.2 Type of Study

The type of the research conducted would be exploratory
research which will help to thoroughly examine the effect of
brand equity on FnkAsia. A quantitative approach has been used
for this notion to understand the topic in depth.

30
3.3 Methodology
The appropriate research methodology will help to find the
correct and will minimize the chance of error. Whilst
secondary data is collected via conducting literature review,
survey based primary data has also been collected.

Surveys were be filled by people from Rawalpindi and Islamabad

especially women as they are the direct target market of
FnkAsia. The precise research design was adopted in a way to
bring out the true picture of consumer preferences and
behaviours about the brands. Both quantitative and qualitative
data collection techniques were used properly and chances of
biasness would be minimized throughout the conducted research.

Questionnaires have been given to people with the intention to

find out the problems that are responsible for poor brand
management and also to see how managing brand equity can help
increase the value of product. These questionnaires were used
for collecting data and information from the sample
population. This tool proved extremely helpful in obtaining
information as it permitted people to express their feelings
anonymously and safely.

To have clear record of findings, 5-point likert scale

(strongly agree to strongly disagree) has been designed to
scrutinize how strongly people agree or disagree with
statement on five point scale. Every question, included in the
questionnaire and interview, has their own rating and scale.

3.4 Action
The data would be collected in the form of surveys and
questionnaires. Data will be collected from people from the
unit of analysis i.e. Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This will
yield to the qualitative data from surveys and questionnaires
31
by using symbolizing technique and assigning numbers and
ratings to the questions to calculate which factors people
mostly go for in a brand. This will help to compare the
preferences and approach of people and companies towards the
brand. Hence it can be figured out that which elements are the
best applied in my unit of analysis and how they can be more
improved to further improve the brand management.

3.5 Unit of analysis:

The selected unit of analysis for my research is

Rawalpindi and Islamabad. International models cannot be
applied to Pakistani market as it is a third world country and
no particular brand management model can be applied to it as
our economy is totally different. So the application of false
paradigm models should be avoided.

Samples have been selected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi

for surveys and questionnaires. The sample frame would be
designed so as to gather the information from different places
of the twin cities to check how customers are different from
each other when considering brands. FnkAsia target both males
and females but its focus is more on female clothing and
jewellery. So the female population would be more.

32
3.6 Instrument
The questionnaires have been given to the
respondents directly. Out of the population of twin cities,
the sample size was 100 respondents which belong from both
university students and local citizens. The available
instruments related to variables have been explored for proper
reliability and validity. A five items scale have been used
and divided into 15 statements to get a detailed view from the
respondent perspective. This approach guided me to examine
current scenario of brands and branding and how people respond
to fashion brands. It also helped to determine various
opportunities that can be worked upon for FnkAsia.

CHAPTER 4

Data Analysis and interpretation

33
 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the detailed understanding of data

collected by using the methodology described in previous
chapter. This data will help to gather major facts about
customers, uncover trends that I might not otherwise have
known existed, or present indisputable facts to support the
study.

Twelve questions were asked from the respondents out which

first two questions are designed to explore the basic
information relevant to correspondent. This introductory
information regarding the correspondents enables to determine
the reliability and viability of the data that has been
collected. Maximum effort has been made to minimize the
possibility of error.

34
4. 2 Statistical Analysis of the Data

N %
Cases
100 100.0
Valid
Excluded = 0 .0
Total 100 100.0
Table:5.1

35
4. 3 DEMOGRAPHICS

1.1 Correspondent's Age Groups

50
45 43

40
35
35
30
25
20 17
15
10
5
5
0
18-25 Yrs 26-32 Yrs 33-38 Yrs 39-45 Yrs

Interpretation: In this research, the sample size is 100

correspondents. Out of 100 correspondents there are 43% who
belong to 18-25 years age group, 35% belongs to 26-32 years
age group, 17% belongs to 33-38 years age group whereas only
5% belongs to 39-45 years age group. These percentages of
different age groups show the distribution of questionnaire.
The questionnaire was distributed among various age groups for
validity of data. It is clearly visible that most of the data
has been collected from young generation which is the direct
target market of FnkAsia.

36
1.2 Gender

80

60 71

40

20 29

0
Male Female

Interpretation: The sample size for conducting this research

in 100. Among the 100 correspondents there are 71% female
correspondents whereas 29% belong to female gender. Both
genders are given chance to express their opinion. FnkAsia
offers readymade garments for both men and women but also
jewellery for women. Therefore more chance has been given to
females to express their opinion.

37
4.4 INTERPRETATION OF MAIN PART OF RESEARCH
QUESTIONNAIRE

1.3 Do you think it a powerful brand name adds to the

value of the product?

40

35 37
Powerful BrandName 33
30

25

20

15
15
10 13

5
2
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

38
The results clearly show that a powerful brand name adds to
the value of the product. Think about all these big brands
like Gucci, Coke or P&G; the moment they launch a new product
it becomes popular worldwide. A strong brand name adds up to
the whole experience. Not only people trust these brands but
they have certain associations and emotions attached to them.
Most of the correspondents agree to the fact that brand name
is important. Pakistani specialities like gem stones, pashmina
shawls and sports goods are used worldwide but do not have a
brand name. 15% people do not believe that brand name adds up
the value rather they think that a good product does not need
anything else except the quality. Also this means that these
people are not brand oriented.

1.4 You prefer branded clothes and accessories over

unbranded clothes and accessories.

30

25 27

BrandedClothesandAccessories 23
20 22

15
15
13
10

0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

Mixed results are obtained from this study. There are 49%
people who believe that branded clothing is trendy and more
39
attractive because of brand name. These are brand oriented
people who either belong to rich class or people who feel
certain attachment with the brand and do not trust a product
easily without a reliable brand name. 23% have no opinion on
this point. This can mean that they like branded clothes but
would not always go for branded stuff either will buy whatever
suits their style and is according to the size of their
pocket. 28% people do not believe that branding makes any
difference. They are not brand oriented and would like to buy
regular unbranded stuff. Mostly students who not have a job to
afford branded clothes belong to this category.

1.5 If you have to choose between two products, you will

buy the one with a reliable brand name even when price is
slightly higher.

40

35
Brand Reliability 35
30

25
26
20

15 17
14
10

5 8

0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

Price always matters when we have to purchase a product but

there are some items for which the quality can be never
compromised even when the price is slightly higher (for eg.
electronics and food items and for some people even clothes).
40
And brand name carries the quality assurance. If you trust a
brand since long, you will definitely give preference to it
because of the quality and its benefits. 61% people are of
agree to the above points. 17% people neither agree nor
disagree which means that it might be true for certain items
and untrue for others. There are items likes electronics which
we would purchase with a reliable brand name because the
quality is important and trusting an electric appliance with
no brand name can be risky and cost more. While for clothing
or other items many unbranded products are reliable too.
Whereas there are 22 % people do not agree to pay more for two
similar products. The reason behind this is that many famous
brands manipulate the prices because of having a brand name.
It is not necessary that unbranded items are providing low
quality. Even when all rest things are same these brands would
charge slightly higher than normal as an advantage of the
popular brand name. 22% people believe that there is not point
is paying higher when you can get the similar product for
fewer prices with the same quality.

_____________________________________________________________

41
1.6 A good brand image contributes strongly to the long-
term success of the product.

60

55
50
Importanceof Brand Image
40

30
31

20

10
11
0 3
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

86% people strongly believe that a good brand image

contributes to long term success of the brand. There is a
difference between success and long term success because many
brands come and go but a few maintain equity for a long period
of time. Not to forget brand equity depends upon brand
awareness and brand image. It is important to know about a
product in order to test it and it is mandatory to have a good

42
brand image so that people are convinced to buy your product.
A good brand image means that brand has been fulfilling all
its promises and has stayed up to mark. A brand with good
brand image has a guarantee of staying longer in the market
because even if its one product has died its other new
products will earn profits. Product line extension and
replacement is also easier because people believe in the
brand. 11% people neither agree nor disagree means that they
have no clear opinion on the issue. 3% people disagree because
they might believe that some other factor is more important
for long term success of brand.

1.7 You know a fashion brand known as FnkAsia exists.

35
Awarenessof FnkAsia
30
30
29
25
25
20

15

10 13

5
3
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

Mixed response has been recorded for this question. It has

been asked to know about brand awareness of FnkAsia. 54%
people are aware of this brand. This does not necessarily mean
that these 54% will also buy the product. All the other things
43
are dependent upon brand awareness. Results have shown that
FnkAsia has got average brand awareness which means that it is
not a popular brand. 43% people still have no idea that a
brand naming FnkAsia exists. One reason is that it is new in
the market. So there is a lot of need of strong advertising to
create the awareness countrywide. As it is a fashion brand and
a luxury rather than a normal commodity, strong advertising is
required. Only then the people will try it and might recommend
it to others.

1.8 You prefer buying readymade clothes when the prices

are reasonable and brand is reliable.

45

40 42
Preferencefor buyingReadymadeClothes
35

30
29
25

20

15
15
10

5 7 7
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

71% of the correspondents would buy readymade garments if the

brand it reliable (i.e. quality is good and product meet all
the standards) and prices are reasonably. Recently the trend
of buying readymade garments has increased fast because the
population of working class has enlarged in twin cities. They
do not get time to buy the cloth material and get it stitched
so will rather prefer readymade clothing. Also people have
44
become more fashion oriented and everyone wants something
unique and different. 22% people do not agree to the above
statement. They believe in buying clothes other than readymade
because of personal choice. Many women are not comfortable
wearing readymade clothes because of the size and comfort
issue. 7% population neither agrees nor disagrees to the above
statement. Overall it has been observed that the trend of
buying readymade clothes has been increased and people are
looking for quality brands with reasonable prices for formal
as well as casual wear.

1.9 Have you ever tried any of the stuff from FnkAsia?

40

35
36
Utilityof theBrand
30
29
25

20

15 17
16
10

5
2
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

The results clearly show that FnkAsia is not catering even

half of the market. It is a fashion brand and not everyone
will go for it, yet the prices are reasonable. Chart from
question number 7 shows that 71% people prefer buying
readymade garments when the brand is reliable and prices are
reasonable. While in the above chart we see that out of 71%
45
people who would like to buy readymade garments only 33%
people have tried FnkAsia which means that it still lags
behind in the race. Again the reason that it is new in the
market; it is different than the existing clothing brands yet
not marketing the difference.

1.10 (For the ones who tried FnkAsia Products) the brand
delivered you what you have expected it to deliver
(quality, comfort, looks, and other attributes)

46
 30

25
BrandEquity of FnkAsia 24
20

15

10

1 4 1 3
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

The response to question number 7 showed that 33% people have

tried FnkAsia. Out of these 33% correspondents, 27% are
satisfied with FnkAsia. They find all the attributes fairly
good which means that they are or can be loyal customers of
FnkAsia. About 7% people disagree that FnkAsia is
fulfilling its promise. In an option to write the reasons
for disliking, two correspondents mentioned that FnkAsia
does not provide any value added services like stylo shoes
or generation. This study shows that 85% people are happy
with FnkAsia whereas 15% population is not happy with the
brand which a quite a market. Overall FnkAsia has a good
brand image amongst the people who know the brand and have
tried the products.

1.11 Suppose your favourite brand does not deliver you

what it has promised anymore. You will still continue to
buy its products just because of long time loyalty.

47
 50
45 47
40
Customer Loyaltyand Brand Equity
35
30 33

25
20
15
10 12
5
6 2
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

80% of the people disagree with to the statement. As stated in

the literature review, brand equity is a brand’s promise to
its customer. Brand promise is that either the brand is
delivering what it has been expected to deliver or not.
Obviously the brand loyalty of a product that has fallen from
its standards would be shaken up as well. It takes long to
maintain a positive brand image and obtain loyal customers but
pretty less to lose them if brand isn’t delivering the promise
anymore. A strong reason for this is that today there is a lot
of competition in the market and replacements from other
brands are ever available. So we can say that there is no
monopoly and even if there is, it cannot stay for long. 8%
people agree to the statement. These might be the people who
want to keep on giving the chance to the brand expecting that
it will rise to the standard again. Also for some people
mostly middle aged group it is difficult to switch the brands
that they have been trusting for a long time. But slowly these
people would also get rid of the brand if it is continuously
losing its quality.

48
1.12 If a brand has negative image and afterwards it
starts to improve itself will you trust its products
again?

49
 40
Impact of negativeBrand Image
35 37
34
30

25

20

15
16
10
9
5
4
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

This has been a difficult question for correspondents to

respond to so mixed opinions have been collected. 43% people
do not agree that they will trust the brand with negative
image. The reason is that it is much difficult to gain trust
then to lose it. For expensive brands like electronics or for
health & beauty brands, people are very careful before buying.
They will think twice before making any decision. If the image
is negative they would not take the risk because the
popularity of the brand is not good. Also negative word of
mouth about a brand is very dangerous and no one will dare to
buy a brand which is not trust by them or their
friends/relatives. In such case even when the brand improves
its image, it will be hard to regain the trust of the people
again. This is because most probably they will even avoid
trying the brand products which means that they cannot notice
if it has improved or not. 42% people believe that they will
try the products from that brand if it is improving its image.
They believe that a second chance should be given to the
brand. If initially it has made some mistakes it should be

50
given an opportunity to correct them. It is very difficult to
rebuild a brand image but still if they become successful with
it, the brand can be successful. 16% people neither agree nor
disagree as it is a hard decision to make. They cannot tell
whether such a brand can be trusted again or not because
people are reluctant to buy again but maybe if they buy again
they will get a good response.

51
 CHAPTER 5

Conclusion and recommendations

Conclusion

This topic for the thesis was undertaken to understand in

detail the brand management on brand equity which is the most
important tool of Brand management. Brand management
techniques have been there in the market for a long period of
time yet in Pakistan many companies ignore its proper
application. Brand management is as important as product
development itself. Many good products have been there is the
market since a long time but they have never achieved the

52
position that they should have reached in such a long time.
Managers in Pakistan still do not take it seriously and lack
expertise in brand management practices. As a result of this
no Pakistani brand is a global brand unlike India whose global
brands are there in top 500 global brands list every year.

FnkAsia is a new brand in the market and has done fairly well
in a short period of time yet it needs a lot to get be able to
compete with the best fashion brands in Asia. FnkAsia aims to
become one of the top global brands yet it has not even
covered Pakistan. For this research I have used questionnaire
as data collecting tool which showed that brand image and
brand awareness contribute most to the brand’s success. It is
seen that all the other things about products being good,
brand management has not been effective in managing the brand
equity of FnkAsia. Biggest challenge that FnkAsia is currently
facing is maintaining its brand equity. It has poor brand
awareness and a good brand image. FnkAsia has been known by
its users to provide good quality and trendy clothes and
accessories but the market it caters within the twin cities is
small. And even in that small market not everyone knows about
FnkAsia. I have even personally experienced that FnkAsia has
no strong advertising which is the prime reason for less
awareness. The brand image is good but still has a room for
improvement. It has been noticed that there is very small
quantity of people who have tried FnkAsia even when they know
that this brand exists. FnkAsia is not a highly expensive
brand like Maria B or HSY, and it directly targets the youth
as the same also says it is funky. Yet it has not been able to
attract youth to effective level who go for other brands like
Generation or Cynosure. Overall, it is a new and different
fashion brand which still need a lot to beat the bush and get
of the top.

53
 Recommendations

From the above study I have concluded that good brand

management can lead strongly to the success of the brand.
Based on my observation and understanding of the literature
review and questionnaires I would present the two main
problems:

 Weak brand awareness

 Not an exceptionally developed brand image overall

54
It is a fact that clothing and accessory items do go a long
way in settling in the minds and hearts of customers. But once
they gain brand equity they are long lived. I have come up
with the following recommendations for FnkAsia:

1. Customer awareness is most important for FnkAsia because

it is a new brand. For this they should launch seasonal
campaigns throughout the twin cities. Besides that they
can also launch a youth campaign to attract the
youngsters.

2. They are already promoting FnkAsia through fashion shows

and display in fashion week. Furthermore they can hold
exhibitions in PC and Marriot seasonally. Many stores
nowadays send texts whenever there is something new in
the market or at the time of sale. They can do that.

3. There is only one outlet of FnkAsia in twin cities and

they have a bigger market in Rawalpindi as well so
another outlet can be opened in Rawalpindi for
convenience of customers.

4. Packaging and delivery matters a lot. The packaging of

clothes and jewellery items can be improved.

5. There should be special discount for people who bring at

least 2 of their friends/relatives to FnkAsia through
strong word of mouth. This will further increase the
brand awareness.

6. Radio, Newspaper & Cable advertising.

7. Improved catalogue advertising.

8. The brand should work on its core equity elements i.e.

the major attributes which derive its maximum market
share. In case of FnkAsia it is the artistic and
55
 intricate work of the handicrafts and Khaadi which has
made it reap profits.

9. As FnkAsia has only one outlet per city, another way of

promoting is to strengthen the online selling which it
already does. Recently a brand known as BnB accessories
has been very successful will selling handbags and
jewellery through free home delivery in all over
Pakistan. In these days people do go for online purchase;
FnkAsia can also adopt that strategy of free delivery.

10. It should sell the difference. FnkAsia stuff comes in

variety with a range of prices. It should go for further
segmentation among the clothes setting up a wide range of
prices so that maximum people can go for it.

11. Promotional gifts and giveaways for raising

awareness among customers.

12. Discount cards for regular buyers.

13. FnkAsia has a good brand image. To further strengthen the

image of the brand they should ensure quality, delivery
and after sales services. The existing loyal customers
should be valued as it is hard to get new customers than
to retain existing ones.

14. FnkAsia can include the option of detailed customization

in clothing and products. Catalogues can be maintained
through which the customers can chose and order the
designs of their choice.

15. Customer feedback is never to be ignored. They should

adapt ways to collect customer’s response through which
the products can be made better. It is important the
difference between expected and perceived quality should
be minimized.

56
The above suggestions if applied can help FnkAsia build its
brand awareness which will lead to good brand image as its
core competencies are well determined. Again not to forget
that it is not quite old in the business so it will take time
to establish strong brand equity.

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