The conventional view that leading brands maintain their market leadership for long periods of time may be inaccurate. Strategic decision makers can no longer assume they will be able to retain their companies' brand leadership over decades. In fact, studies of brands show that consumers are finding it harder to distinguish among competing products. With this in mind, answer the following questions:

(a) What type of resources are brands?

(b) What are the implications of these statements for internal analysis?

(c) Could brands ever be the ultimate competitive weapon? Why or why not?

(d) Could a brand ever be a weakness? Explain. LO1