Brand equity is the worth of the brand. so these can be the Assets and liabilities associated with the brand, Name and symbols, Product/service value provided by firm to customer and the Values the brand provides the firm. here are some examples ofbrand performance .Stock market performance, Improved financial ratios, Liquidity ratio (current ratio / acid-test ratio), Profit margin analysis, Financial metrics, Market share, Price premium, Revenue, Transaction value but Brand equity is much more than financial measures and Customer perceptions are very influential

Aaker (1991) Brand Equity Model

that's why a model just as this model can be useful. Aaker develop this model l to asses the customers perception of a brand and measure brand equity . Most commonly adopted model, this model explains that Intangible assetsof a brand build brand equityandit is made up of 5 parts.

the first part is brand awareness, which looks at issues such as

Recognition& recall

Influences brand associations

customers are better at recognising brand than recall

To establish brand awareness, brands must increase familiarity through repeated exposure

brand associations

Brands strive to create strongly held association, which are unique and not shared by competing brands

Brands create favourable associations by convincing customers they possess relevant attributes an benefits

Unique associations can be harder to create but are essential for creating the USP

Strength of brand association to the product category is an important determinantof brand awareness

perceived quality

Overall quality of product/service

Quality of product/service in relation to competitors

May be influenced by abstract concepts, e.g. symbolism

Dimensions

Primary ingredient

Supplementary features

Product reliability and durability

Style and design

brand loyalty

Favourable attitude to the branddemonstrated by repeated purchase

Dependent on customer experiences with the brand

other propriety brand assets

Competitive advantage:

Patents, trademarks and other intellectual property

Access to the right distribution channels

Access to the required technology

Organisational culture

Positioning

Why do want develop a positioning? Well, it streghtnes our brand/company/organsiation. As kapferer explains "Products increase customers choice; brands simplify it". Why do you choose a Nespresso over Nescafe's Dolce Gusto? Why Tropicana over tesco's orange juice?

The aim of positioningis to create a strong purchasing rationale that offers a real or perceived advantage over competitors. It is also important to remember that positioning needs to consider how the signs from products/ services, communications and touchpoints are decoded. What does th price day about your brand or product? What does the fact that you create many innovations say about your organisation? Etc and etc

Brand Architectures

This is when a Company uses a brand image that is well-known and well-developed for a different product category. For example, Ralph Lauren used its brand name to extend into homeware. This is done to maximise market coverage, therefore increase profits.

You have the Corporate brand, umbrella brand and family brand. Thrse are Customer-facing brands; stakeholders know them by their name. could be used with a descriptioneg Heinz cream of tomatoe

Endorsed brands and sub-brands are when parent brand names give them name to endorse- ie give credibility- to the product. So think of SONY PLATSTAION, NESTLE KITKA. Individual product rbands are given , as name suggest, individual brand name. this way the parent brand name or company does not get asociatred with to get much attention to individual brand. For example , procter and Gamble's Pampers

Type of brand extensions

You have line extension which, which takes the same product category with minor changes. Coke's different favours, kit kat's different flavours for example/

Then there is Product extensions, where you create new prodict catrgoeies. And here wehave 2 types. First, there is have Complementary brand extension where the company takes two products to satisfy specific needs. Think anapple phone and apple watch. Then there's Substitute, where the products are very similar can replace each other. Think the various nike leggings. These two are often influenced by customer demanded - not always, but quite often.

Why?

Now why would you go for brand extensions or various brand Architecture?

If using the patent brand name anywhere, customers already have an awareness of the brand and this can help attract customers to the product. This can also help lower the perceived risk for customer. These strategies can hep to prolong the brand's life cycle and attract new customers

Potential issues

Btu of course, brand Architecture do come with potential issues.it canconfuse or frustrate consumers. Retailer unwilling to supply brand extension- especially if the parent brand name is not present or is very different to the product. Any failure risks negative association for the parent brand. Can cannibalise the sales of parent brand. It can reduce consumer perception/ identification with a product category and dilute brand meaning

Co-branding

this is bringing together two separate company brands to be marketed together to create a new joint offering and additional value for the customer. Creates distinctive differentiation.

the Value generated from both brands creates expected to be greater than the value generated individually. this is Usually done when net value creation is too small for setting up a new brand/join venture

Co-branding

here are a couple of co-branding so you have an idea of what it looks like. so we have game of thrones and Johnny walker getting together, creating a play on the words of the white walker. I don't know if they were the villain of the show or deanerys or the show's writers.

and then there's Louis Vuittonwho got their co-branding on with Supreme to hit at a different target market.

Pros

Add value to the brand

Share production and promotion cost

Can develop into long-lasting relationships based on mutual commitment

Increase touch points

Additional revenue

cons;

and the disadvantages of these venture are typically

Risk of negative association with co-brand

Consumer confusion of brand positioning

Promotional costs of for 'main' supplier

Ownership confusion

Opportunistic behaviour

Product placement

This is where a brand pays to be seen in a tv or movie. As you can see in this image, the james bon movies took astep further and seemed to have been funded by thesebrands! Joke aside, product placement can be powerful way to develop your positioning.

Why use this?

It is a competitive means of communication with customers/potential customers. That alptop we saw in james bond- there's only one branded one on show. You're only seeing this brand of laptop for 1.5-2 hours.

The brand image is reinforced the more a brand is seen/heard. And by being seen on TV or movies, it can san influence customer perception in to thinking the brand is well-know more than it is in reality or into thinking the brand is aspirational because ofthe characters or setting of the movie.

nostalgia (such as recreating old models or packaging) , makes you remember a brand so you may buy it or think about it

product placement can provide products for futuristic films - coke for blade runner in 1982 createda positive perception of brand in that its still there in the future.

In futuristic movies, there are opportunities to create positive perception. This si might be useful for creating next gen cars for example.prototype in films become an international shop window if youlike.

There's possible influenceon purchasing behaviour. Sideways film increased tourism to a restaurant in the movie and the sales of pinot noir increased 22%.

Country of Origin effect

This si where the rband lis linked ot the country or region it originated from. Or not! Dolmio is not an itailan brand bu tit uses Italian cues to give an Italian perception or an Italian-ness to its appeal.

Consumers can use country-of-origin cues to evaluate product quality or status acceptability. Think how we often think highly of german cars and French fashion.

As a result, Country stereotype can influence brand evaluation regardless of purchase intention or location of production . Buyers evaluate developed countries more highly than developing ones for design locations. while the reverse is true for manufacturing and assembly. The more complex the product technology, the greater the perceived importance of design / country of origin.

Other categories

There are other ways you can tap into the county of origin effect. You have Country of Manufacture , where the Product is manucfutred or HQ located (if dealing with services) . you have Country of Parts. Take at car parts: using American car parts seems to raise the image of the care more than sing car parts made in Mexico. There is Country of Design, Where product originally designed. And then finally country of assembly, where is was put together and made.

What are the Country of Origin cues?

Now for some homework. Watch this advert , and write a short list of what the country of origin cues used in this advert.

How do we develop positioning?

The 4ps or 7ps is used to guide communications with our customers- price says as much about a company or brand as where it is sold, for example. Therefore the 4ps or 7ps can be used to develop positioning.

We will look at these in a few slides.

Criticism of 4ps

however, there are some academics who argue that the 4Ps are old now- this model was create din the 1950. so some argue that this model doesn't take into account social media or some of the new technologies that define much of our modern marketing understanding or tools.

Other argue it is too simplisticthat marketing has so much nuances to think abot- customer motivation, the environment,etc. and the focus on 'product'can createan arrow perspective - focusing on theproduct can make people forget that marketing operates in a wider place and sometimes the problem isn't the product . eg,a new competitor enters the market and shifts the attitude of your product.

Why do we still use the 4ps?

it's super flexible. sure, it started f as product but we can interpret product to be a service or an idea or an event. Now, product simply refers to the offering by the organisation.

Simplicity is another one. I now we talked about it being an issue but it's simplicity actually is helpful; no other model pairs down the marketing activities as well as the 4ps (or 7ps) model does . these activities are the fundamental of marketing . as a result, they provide guidance for marketers. they act as a roadmap of what to think about and hwo to develop the marketing strategy and tactics.

with thismind, let's get a proper introduction to the 4 elements of the 4ps.

Product

Now let's have a look at the the 4ps. This is the package of benefits offering to customer and can be physical products or services. or even ideas- think of how people donate to charities because they support a cause.

Price

Price Must reflect value of the product and company. and you Must consider profit margins, competitors' prices and different price points as well.

Place

The channels to sell your product or service and Must reflect the company's values and image . you wouldn't sell an godiva chocolate in lidle for example

Promotion

Promotion serve Different purposes,they can increase awareness, build/manage a brand, attract new audiences, or develop relationships.

they also comprise of Different activities; advertising, PR and sponsorship, visual merchandising, etc

Extended marketing Mix- 7ps

because of this Criticism , the 4ps have been extended to the 7Ps. Here is the extend mix; which has other elements added to the 4ps

physical evidenceconcerned the Presentation . E.g. point of sale, posters, web page layout, store layout,social media presence

process is The intended customer experience; think of the store, website, social media

people refers to All individuals involved in the buying and selling of product. retailers, salesforce, manufacturer.

think about the marking mix (so 4ps or 7ps)fit into your essay brand.

Communications Mix

This is the basic promotional mix companies can use to effectively communicate with their audiences . Communications mix have traditionally been categorised into above the line advertising ( non-targeted and have a wide reach. So mass communications such as TV and outdoor advertising) and below the line advertising (more direct communications with customers, such as personal selling or email marketing). This categorisation is usually more to do with admin or finance purposes but do serve a purpose for creating a general understanding of the target reach of the communication mix. Above the line, for example, is focused often more on building a brand. However, below the line advertising can also be used for building a brand but does not have the same reach capacity. It all depends on what your objectives are as a company and your objectives are for your marketing campaign.

Increasingly, there are talk of though the line promotion which is a combination of the two taking advantage of both. Examples include digital marketing (where it is possible to reach a wide audience whilst still being targeted- think back to the advertising on social media feeds) and events.

As technology develops and society changes, the communication mix is continually being updated. Be sure to keep an eye out for how people communicate when you become marketers. It is important to be present where the customer is.In addition, as audiences become more fragmented which is creating more challenges for getting the message across. As a result, below the line - or personal communications- are being used more by companies. This showcases the importance of using the communication mix effectively. In order to understand how to use it effectively, we will be looking at noise and how to overcome noise.

What is the Communication Process?

if we are going to talk about communicating the message, it is vital that you understand the communication process.ie, how do we, as individuals, see a message and make sense of the message? it all starts with the source, that is the sender. the sender is giving out a message, this is the encoded message,and this can be an idea, an image, pictures. this is transmitted across whatever medium, social media, print advert, the staff , the packaging etc. this is then decoded - ie. made sense of, analysed, interpreted- before it finally reaches the receiver. a communication process is not a one-way thing though and there is the opportunity fr feedback from the receiver, so this may be that hey go buy the product, or they change their perception about a brand. but it refers to the action. and a potential issue within all this process is the issue of noise. this is the disturbances or interferences with the message, I'll talk a little more about this in a few slides.

Source characteristics

It is important to talk about source characteristics because it can have so much impact on customer awareness or behaviour, such as willingness to listen to the message

As we said in the previous slide, a aource is the where the message originates from. So usually this refers to the person or organization the message is sent from. The transfer and acceptance of a message is influenced by the perception of the source; the attractiveness, the credibility and source power.

Source attractiveness is how interesting or persuasive the source is. It can also refer to how much the receiver of the message identifies with the source. Luxury brands are often attractive because of the status symbol they offer the user, for example. But retailers may use sale staff who will appeal to the customer (the final user) too; for example, choosing sales staff that have a similar profile to their customer. Say, a car sales man who has a family with young children can appeal to an expecting couple buying a car.

Source credibility is how much confident the receiver of the message has of the source. Is the source an expert? Are they an objective opinion?Going with the car example again, Audi is seen as a car in the forefront of car technology and rigorous quality checks. As a result, Audi adverts that talk about the technicalities of the car or safety tend to be seen as a credible source

Source power is where compliance involves a real or perceived reward or avoidance of a punishment. For example,you see an advert saying switching banks can help you pay lower interest in your mortgage and decide switching would be a reward.

4 types

There are four types of communication theories. One is the Mechanistic view, whichview argues that communication is transmitted from sender to the receiver. The Psychological view considers the subjective processes involved in the way meaning is interpreted by recipients of messages (so how thoughts, emotions, etc. influence interpretation). The third type, Systems and networks, views communication to be a complex system of circulating messages which are being adapted and modified in a continual and complex process. Finally, Sociological, focuses on the social context in which communications are sent and received and how meaning is established and shared, and views communication as a socially constructed process.

There are a variety of ways in which an organisation can communicate to its audiences. The main ways are to inform, remind and persuade.

Elements of information processing

it is also useful to have an understanding how people process information. . Fill explains that mainstream psychology has movedtowards cognitive orientation. This means human behaviour is based on information-processing, problem-solving and reasoning. By extension, this explains the customers behaviour as well.

Information processing is incredibly important in marketing campaigns and marketing communication. Customers use information generated by external sources- such as advertising - and internal sources -such as memory- to transfer and process meanings or patterns. This combines to form judgments about behaviour. So the cognitive orientation considers customers to be adaptive problem solvers, who gatherinformation to form thoughts and judgments. There are several elements which influence the cognitive process, these are personality, perception, learning, attitudes and environmental factors.

Why do we need to understand these?

Why do we need to understand the Communication Process information processing? [click] Understanding these will provide organisation with insight of how customers interact with their offerings at each stage of the buying process. This way the organisation can allocate budget to most important forms of communication in terms of efficiency and effectiveness

Issues to consider: Noise

when it comes to noise, we got a few considerations. You see, Communication strategies do not just focus on the message content, but also on the execution of the message. Breaking through the clutter is essential. In a bid to achieve this, marketers use various mediaand apply creative strategies.

Noise is the blocking or distortion of the message at any stage of the marketing communication. This can take the form of a physical distortion, such as poor signal on a tv or sheer amount of posts on a social media newsfeed. It can even be the audience physically changing the tv channel. Noise can also becognitive, such as not understanding the message or being uninterested in the message.

Noise, effectively, stops the message from being understood fully by the receiver. This means the objective of the campaign could be comprised and the company not achieve what they wanted to. Marketing communications are expensive, they can cost a lot to promote and can be time intensive. Any ineffectiveness cost the company.

Communication pitfalls

In addition to noise, marketers must be aware of the mistakes that marketers tend to make. Repetition wear out can happen when the message is used too frequently. Marketers must be careful with the their repetition; at the right level, it can help get the message across and become memorable. Logos are a good example; the use of the Nike tick means you immediately know what the brand is or the tagline "should have gone to specsavers" has become so memorable to British audiences through their use of adverts. In fact, some of my friends will do something silly -like bump into a table- and actually say "should have gone to specsavers". We see that repetition can help to reinforce the company, the message, and the brand image. However, too much repetition, and it becomes an annoyance to audiences who will either switch off to the message or avoid it in another way, say switching the channel.

Brand confusion refers to the customers' uncertainty about your brand; what makesyour brand different to others, what is your core value, what are your strong points? Simply, it refers to misunderstanding brand values and benefits. there are many brands out there and this market saturation can mean it is difficult to make a brand stand out.

How to breakthrough the noise/clutter?

Let's have a look at how we can break through the noise and clutter of the business environment. As we already discussed in a previous lecture video, organisations operate in saturated markets and it canbe hard to get our message through to the target audience. So what can we do to breakthrough? What can we do to get our message across?

Over the years, advertising a has developed tactics and methods. There are many but today we will discuss the most common approaches. They are common because they are adaptable to different situations and, therefore, the best ones to learn first.Adverts can employ and adapt their creative strategy to breakthrough noise. This can be achieved with developing a unique selling proposition, developing the positioning approach, or perhaps by creating a generic brand approach. Adverts can also employ a resonance approach. Alternatively, adverts may try to persuade. The media strategy employed will be helpful in breaking through the noise as well.

Think about how whether your essay brand uses ay of these strategies to break through the noise or clutter.

Unique selling proposition

Unique selling proposition is about differentiating the brand from competitors. It can real or perceived differences. For example, champagne has be to follow a certain process and be made in a particular region to be called champagne. So why are people willing to pay more for Moet chandon and not Ruinart. I mentioned this before, that Ruinart is the oldest established Champagne house, exclusively producing champagne since 1729 but moet chandon is the perceived as the champagne brand you want to buy. It is perceived as higher quality and therefore a better brand.

Positioning approach

Positioning approach is about putting the brand ina certain way in the customers' mind. The aim is to influence the way a customer perceives the brand . For this to be effective, there must be a clear brand meaning and clear brand value. Here we have our example of Lidl who makes a clear positioning strategy based on lower prices. Lindt, on the other hand, creates a positioning strategy of master craft and artistry with their logo "master swiss chocolatier since 1845"

Generic brand approach

Generic brand approach is used when you are the best selling or best quality brand so you do not need to acknowledge the competition. You can only use this if you are truly dominating the marketing.Here we have the example of Nike, which is a brand so popular that just having the logo 'just do it'is enough for the audience to know what the brand is. LIekwise, on the left hadn side, the advert just has the Nike tick and logo but we still know what the brand is. In Nike's case, they don't need to showcase what the brand does as it is so well known. =

Resonance approach

Resonance approach is designed to evoke emotions or present situations.The focus is less on practical issues and more about tapping into customers' experiences and emotions. Like the Michelin advert here. They could have talked about the quality of their tyres but, instead, implicitly saying their quality is good by saying car safety is important.

What other ways can you communicate positioning?

Place and price can communicate messages about the brand

Impression formed by a variety of factors

Place and price create impressions, which is why they are influential. But let's take a little look at the 2 to get a better idea of why this happens

How does 'place' influence positioning?

distribution is not always about creating and upholding a luxurious brand image. Distribution is your strategic approach . Tesco created tesco metros to be easily accessible for customers living in towns- quick, frequent grocery shops on the way to home, for example , but much cheaper than a corner shop. Asda, however, prefers larger areas so they can sell everything under one roof, keep costs down and therefore be able to pass these cost down to the customer.

Amazon relies on its effective distribution system to get things delivered to you faster. this way, you will hopefully choose amazon over a 5 working day wait on a delivery.

Where you sell, what channels you use to sell, whether you use intermediaries or sell direct ...these are all choices that will affect your costs, will effect what management decision you need to be aware, will impact how customers get access to your product and hwo they may form impressions of your product.

Therefore, place is an important strategy for building your competitive positioning.

How does pricing affect positioning?

Positioning requires that all of the marketing mix variables deliver a clear, consistent and credible message with the key focus for communication being to develop a perception in customers of the value of our offering.

Other ways to break through the noise?

in addition to these creative strategies and media strategies, there are 3 other ways we can break through the noise. Product placement \, word of mouth, and Social media influencers. Let's take a look at the last two.

Word of Mouth Communications

How often have you been interested in a product or brand because someone on your newsfeed posted a picture or a comment about it? word of mouth is becoming a very effective way of breaking through noise barriers.

Word of Mouth includes online ratings and reviews,

informs consumers about the functional and symbolic aspects of a brand. It is defined by Krishnamurthya and Kumar as "Informal communications directed at other consumers about the ownership, usage, or characteristics of particular goods and services and/or their sellers".It is used by customers to form expectations of the brand. Information from word of mouth communications reduce uncertainty in their decision-making processes and thereby develop expectations of the brand

organizations try to use image management techniques to maintain and control a brand's image from their side. However, the brand image projected by a rm might not be the same brand image perceived by consumers. This is why it is important for marketers to be doing market research - at last at intervals- to evaluate perceptions and reality.

Social media influencers

Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing online customer-acquisition method, with firms increasingly budgeting for both influencer and content marketing. The biggest platform for influencer marketing, at the moment at least because these things change,can be found on Instagram.

Influencers are everyday people who have a passion (cooking, beauty etc) and tell the world about it by through social media platform. As they are popular and have many followers, influencers can shape and influence audience opinions. Influencers from participating in promotional campaigns, either by being paid to post or talk about products, or being provided with free promotional materials.

however, Customers are not as trusting anymore. they are increasingly becoming suspicious of paid for endorsements. to overcome this, Transparencyis key to success and laws are developing to include with guidelines/regulations such as print adverts would.

Why are social media influencers so influential?

They are seen as relatable, posting about their everyday life, staying connected with their followers, and able to interact directly with them. Plus, they often share the same age group, demographics, interests, and behaviors of their target audience.

Most influencers belong to the younger age group of millennials, a demographic that is notoriously difficult for marketers to reach. They're a group that places strong value on forming their own identity, often looking up to role models to shape their own behavior.

QUESTION:

Critically examine the market situation of the brand-Lucy & Yak (fashion brand) and explain how the brand built its current positioning.