The Essential brand book

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The Essential Brand Book: Over 100

Techniques to Increase

Brand Value

Iain Ellwood

THE ESSENTIAL

BRAND

BOOK over 100 techniques to increase brand value

Second edition 2002

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or cism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:

criti-Kogan Page Limited

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0 7494 3863 0

Cover design by Richard Crighton

Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford and King’s Lynn

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Structuring the brand and the organization

3 Service, retail and trade branding 42

Effective strategies for different sectors

Established communication channels and techniques

Strategies for the digital economy

Brand definition

Creating a strong core DNA for a brand

7 Cognitive brand dimensions 147

Defining the rational benefits of a brand

8 Emotional brand dimensions 163

Defining the emotional benefits of a brand

12 Researching consumer behaviour 241

Evaluating the research process and methodologies

13 Corporate brand management 266

The CEO as brand manager and how to inspire every

employee to take responsibility for the brand

Brand strategy

Brand communication

Brand equity

,

Figure 0.1 Book navigation guide

THE AUTHOR

Iain has over 10 years’ international experience living and working

in Japan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and the United States as abrand marketing strategist for blue-chip companies He is a leadingstrategist at the consulting firm Prophet He has led award-winninginternational projects for clients including BT, Vodafone, SwissAirlines, Guinness World Records, Philips and the LE Group.His extensive psychological and sociological knowledge haveshaped corporate strategy and customer-focused propositions thatincrease revenue This approach has proved equally effective fordelivering internal brand campaigns that motivate and educateemployees

Iain is a regular press commentator on strategic marketing and

branding issues for The Economist, the BBC and numerous trade

magazines He is a frequent speaker on marketing, innovation andcommunications He also occasionally lectures on the MBA courses

at the London Business School (LBS)

Iain is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM),

a Member of the Marketing Society and a Fellow of the RoyalSociety of Arts (FRSA)

Prophet is a strategic professional services firm committed tobuilding and growing great brands and businesses If you wouldlike to hear more about how it can help your business, pleasecontact Iain at iellwood@prophet.com

The author would like to personally thank the following teers, business owners, colleagues, clients and friends for theirinsightful ideas and for their constant encouragement: Liza Bingley,James Cockerille, Charles Colquhoun, David Cox, RichardCrighton, Alastair Kingsland, Graham Moore, Jeremy Myerson, IanWoodhouse, Grant Usmar, Madelijne Vermeij

marke-Thanks are also due to those who were kind enough to be viewed for this project and are quoted in the text:

inter-Michael Abrahams, Abrahams Design

Anneke Elwes, brand planner

Gary Lockton, North Creative Consultancy

Celia Lury, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Will Maskell, PI3 Ltd

Jane Merriman, William Grant & Sons

Joanne Wallace, McVities

Simon Waterfall, Poke Consultancy

Professor James Woudhuysen

Peter York, SRU Ltd

Thanks to Victoria Groom at Kogan Page for those interestinglunchtime discussions and patient waiting for the final draft.Finally, many thanks to my family – Rob, Jan, Andrew and Peter –for all their care and encouragement

The brand is one of the most valuable assets that any businesspossesses:

• Branding provides the key communication with customers

• Branding creates critical differentiators in the marketplace

• Branding shapes internal company culture

• Branding leverages the intellectual assets of the business

• Branding generates increased business performance

Yet despite all these benefits, branding is still too often seen as amere tactical tool rather than a business strategy There is a hugefinancial potential for businesses that can maximize their brandequity The excellent Return On Investment (ROI) of any brandingprogramme can be seen with brands such as Orange (mobilephones), Unilever, Jaguar and Disney

Brand creation and brand management are essential for successand profitability in the business process This book provides aholistic overview of the essential leading methods of brand analysis,brand creation, brand development and brand management It is ahands-on guide for marketing and business professionals and those

in higher education

Readers gain an insight into all the components of brand ment including a wide range of business models and techniques thathelp to build strong and effective brands in the marketplace.Illustrated with specific examples, it provides a toolbox of proventechniques on how to analyse and choose the most successful combi-nation of brand dimensions on which to develop brands It is a com-panion resource for the management of all brand issues

manage-The terms ‘brand’ and ‘branding’ have become over-used duringthe last few years and have become devalued as a result This book

revalues all the management concepts of branding by dealing witheach in a distinctive chapter The book therefore covers all theessential components of brand management but ensures that theyare described and illustrated with clarity.

Who the book is aimed at

This book is aimed at everyone who comes into daily contact withbrands, products and services It is for use by those within industryand business responsible for the marketing, visual communicationand management of brands and their expression through all mediatypes The CEO is the ultimate brand manager but everyone in theorganization is responsible for delivering the brand vision

The task of managing brands is as important to niche entrepreneurs

as it is for small business owners and large corporate businesses Theincreasing professionalization of charity work means that it is equallypertinent to non-profit organizations as those who are quoted on thestock markets around the world Any group of people who provide aproduct or service to others need to communicate the availability andbenefit of that proposition to all stakeholders A strong brand acts asthe source and the medium for that communication process

How to use the book

The book is divided into four key components to make it easier tofind the material you need Each component is easy to locate by thetitles at the top of the pages Each chapter within the four compo-nents relates strongly to each other but is also interrelated to all theother chapters Those with less knowledge may wish to start at thebeginning, while those more advanced will proceed directly to the relevant chapter first The glossary at the end of the book will help

to define all the terms that are used in the book and the industry

Brand communication

Chapter 1 introduces the concepts of brands and brand ment and explains why they are so important for a business Itdemonstrates the connection between the current business model

manage-of a market and an approach to brand management This chapterillustrates the role of a brand as the key communication toolbetween the business and all its stakeholders

Chapter 2 describes the methods of brand management in thecontext of other marketing and business disciplines It demon-strates the characteristics and structuring of sole brands, validatingbrands, range brands, line brands and product brands This chapterillustrates the use of brand extensions and their hierarchiesreflecting the business organization

Chapter 3 emphasizes the unique characteristics of service, retailand business-to-business brand management This introduces theissues that impact on the branding of intangible services like time-based brand delivery It also covers the use of complex decision-making units (DMUs) within an organization and emphasizes theneed for a brand to reflect compound values and dimensions to dif-ferent audiences at different times

Chapter 4 describes the methods of communication betweenbusiness and customers It analyses the advantages and disadvan-tages of different media types, including above the line and belowthe line media There is an in-depth look at packaging and espe-cially its function in FMCG brand communication Finally, as mediaare often a bought-in service, there is an introduction to the bestway to approach and use agencies

Chapter 5 analyses the emerging new media of the Internet anddigital television and their impact and opportunities for brandmanagement It illustrates the strategic development of new mediabrandsites and highlights the key tactics for brand communication.This chapter also introduces the business model of e-commerce,intranets and extranets

Brand definition

Chapter 6 describes how the brand DNA, the essence of a brand, iscreated and refined It identifies the areas of greatest potential forspecific brand imagery and identity This chapter describes thepositioning and development of the brand proposition and person-ality It also demonstrates the tools for brand name creation andassessment, together with the process for the creation of a corporateidentity, logos and trade marks

Chapter 7 defines the cognitive or rational dimensions of a brandproposition and emphasizes their use in communication It illus-

trates the strategic and tactical uses of cognitive dimensions andtools for brand management It also introduces Maslow’s hierarchy

of needs and demonstrates its use in defining customer needs.Chapter 8 describes how the pleasure principle can be used todefine and measure deep customer satisfaction It characterizes theemotional dimensions of a brand and their ability to fulfil consumerneeds It also illustrates the strategic choices for emotional branddimension development

Brand equity

Chapter 9 clarifies the legal definitions that a brand mark andintellectual property can use for protection It characterizes the dif-ferences between a trade mark, copyright, a design patent and tradedress It describes the application process for gaining trade markprotection and illustrates the use of design elements to increase pro-tection

Chapter 10 describes the increasing use of a financial evaluation

of intangible brand assets on the balance sheet It describes thecurrent key valuation methods including the multiple criteria oftenused by leading accountants It introduces the topics of licensingand royalty agreements as another type of financial performanceevaluation

Brand strategy

Chapter 11 describes the brand planning process and introducesessential methods and tools for effective brand management Itanalyses and compares a range of strategies and tactics for brandcreation and development There is an explanation of key brandextension strategies and portfolio management tools

Chapter 12 introduces the research processes needed for standing and categorizing consumer needs It illustrates the advan-tages and disadvantages of primary, secondary, exploratory,descriptive, causal, quantitative and qualitative researchapproaches It also illustrates a large range of strategic and tacticalresearch methods and media

under-Chapter 13 demonstrates why the real brand manager is the CEOand the importance of internal brand communication It illustratesthe internal brand culture and its effect on productivity This

chapter describes why and how all employees are responsible forand can be motivated towards the delivery of the brand vision Itdemonstrates an effective internal brand communications pro-gramme.

Chapter 14 informs about the new rules for brand management

in the new economy It illustrates the opportunities for new ness models that create better customer buy-in and satisfaction with

busi-a brbusi-and It highlights the importbusi-ance of busi-an integrbusi-ated busi-approbusi-ach tonew and traditional media in brand communication

The Glossary provides a useful quick guide to check terms usedthroughout the book and industry The Bibliography referencesworks mentioned in the text and suggests works that will be invalu-able for the brand manager who wants to develop further in all thespecific areas of brand management Finally, the Index provides aquick finder for essential topics, people and processes of brandmanagement It cross-references topics throughout the book

COMMUNICATION

This first of the four parts in the book introduces the standard ating procedures for brands across key business models, marketcategories, media types and new virtual media opportunities Itcovers all the important issues of current brand managementthinking and introduces new techniques to maximize potentialgains It includes:

oper-• introduction to brand management;

• brand hierarchy and configuration;

Brand strategy

Brand communication

Brand equity

,

Figure 1.0 Brand communication

• below the line media;

• packaging;

• Internet branding;

• digital television branding

Branding is now recognized as the core tool that connects all thebusiness stakeholders through all the media channels These will bebriefly introduced to map out the connections between the laterchapters.

Why branding is important today

A survey last year by the Henley Centre revealed that the publictrust brand names such as Kellogg’s, Heinz and Marks & Spencer

more than Parliament, the police and the legal system (Sunday

Times, ‘A can of worms is a bad diet’, 5 April 1998) This research

highlights the importance of the relationship between consumersand key brands; and shows that it has strengthened to such anextent that it is now healthier than the relationship with our socialstructures This is evidence of the power of consumer culture andthe liberal free market economics of the westernized world Threetrends support this belief:

• Individualism: westernized societies recognize the tion of our personal and social identities and this encouragesself-identity construction through the consumption of materialgoods and services: you are what you buy

fragmenta-• Globalization: individual consumers are becoming a smallerpart of a much larger world and need to find easy and quickways to guide them through that world

• Symbolic experiences are increasingly in demand Consumersare buying experiences rather than commodities whose con-tents are largely image driven, intangible and symbolic

The combination of these three trends has led to a shift away fromproducer or sales led marketing towards customer focused and cus-tomer driven business models This means that understandingwhat motivates and satisfies the customer is the key to successfulmodern business practices The brand acts as the logical andprimary connection and mode of communication between the pro-ducer and the consumer For brand managers, this prioritizes themodelling of a brand personality along the format of human rela-tionships, since customers already have the skills and experience ofhow to relate to other people

Definition of a brand

There are many definitions of what a brand represents and to whichaudiences; the simplest are the following:

Product/service + Aura = Brand communication

Product/service + distinctive value = Brand equity

The distinctive value is the rational and emotional added value thatemployees and customers feel is part of their consumption of theproposition This creates a price premium for the business and addsequity to the balance sheet

The aura represents the communication of the signifying and ferentiating characteristics of the proposition

dif-At the core of all successful brands there is always a successfulproduct or service The product or service can be imagined or visu-alized as a hard, white golf ball, while the brand is a translucent,multi-coloured ball of gas the size of a large balloon surroundingthat golf ball The balloon’s membrane is the flexible personality thatcan be squeezed and changed to different accents of personalities,while the central golf ball remains The consumer’s decision to buy aspecific brand is mostly based on the character of the balloon, whilethe underlying use is often based on the character of the golf ball.The brand therefore acts as a kind of flag, waving to consumers,creating awareness of the product and differentiating it from othercompetitors This communication function is the core of brandmanagement for a business The extent to which brands can com-municate a message with the consumer is still under debate CeliaLury, sociologist at Goldsmiths College, University of London,defines a brand as a marker: ‘A marker is very different from amessage in the sense that the content of a marker is much less, butnevertheless the fact that it points to something recognizable is asimportant as the meaning in a message.’

Other commentators (Campbell, 1998; McLuhan, 1968) arguethat brands have a more significant role as the message itself Bothviewpoints stress the role of a brand in embodying shared meaningbetween the producer and the consumer This shared meaning isthe aura the brand has developed in consumer culture over time It

is the recognizability and differentiation that allows consumers tomake detailed choices between goods and services that are virtuallyidentical

Peter York, founding partner of SRU Ltd, stated, ‘A brand shouldensure a long-term and forgiving relationship with its audiences.’The emphasis on the long term is crucial for the ecology of a business:

it is easy to dilute a brand’s equity by selling down Any advantagewould only last for a short period before the brand was reduced to acommodity with little or no differentiation in the marketplace,

relying on a price as the key purchasing driver The sensitivity of a

‘forgiving relationship’ focuses on the one-to-one relationships thatconsumers have with specific brands It is a relationship in humanterms and as such can have a flowing character rather than one that isflat but steady The strength of a brand is shown when it retains cus-tomer support through a difficult period

How business models have driven brand development throughout history

The visible marking or branding of goods is a practice that is over2,000 years old The Greeks and Romans, with their sophisticatedeconomic and commercial enterprise, developed ‘maker marks’ toestablish the origins of specific goods This was required becausethe Roman Empire had expanded, creating a great distancebetween producer and consumer Previously, the producer and con-sumer would have had a personal relationship in the same village

or town, and a personal bond of trust existed The increase in tance, and greater import and export trade issues, meant that thatlevel of personal trust was impossible The consumer had to rely onthe evidence of the maker’s mark to reassure them that the goodsthey were purchasing were of the same quality

dis-The trade in goods also required the marketing of those goods in

a fledgling competitive environment This meant the distinguishing

of specific regional origins and master craftsman for the consumer.These early marks related to the types of goods on sale: a butcher’smark, a spice merchant’s mark or a carpenter’s mark These markswere often little more than a visual representation of the goods pro-vided – a hog’s head or a hammer and chisel of a carpenter Theywere the first representations of a brand mark, literal depictions butalso characterizations

The second important origin of the brand mark was the signatureapplied to a piece of work, on the base of an earthenware bowl, or amanuscript or a carved statue They all represent the identity of themaker and act, as with any signature, as an assurance, a personalrecommendation and guarantee of the goods The signature alsohelps to establish the quality of the goods in comparison with othermakers or merchants in the same field Where the symbol of thegoods, such as a jug of wine, establishes the type of goods, the nameestablishes the origin of goods (most names at that time reflected

the type of work the person did, like John Carpenter or DavidButcher) and the style or quality of the goods as well The combina-tion of these two create the tangible brand marks that we recognizetoday Celia Lury suggests, ‘Brands are a kind of marker ofexchange between producers and consumers As such they have along history from heraldic devices to guild marks or family firmmarks where the mark acted as a kind of guarantor of quality.’The practice of hand-marking goods continued throughouthistory at a similar pace until the 18th and 19th centuries whenrapid economic and industrial expansion generated mass-pro-duced items This, combined with the expansion of distributionchannels for the increasing numbers of goods, led to die-stampingand imprinting, printing of word marks and brands on goods.

It has often been stated that the 1890s were the first golden era forthe modern brand mark It was during this time that some of theworld’s most famous brand names were created and advertised tothe consumer The growth in advertising has always been closelylinked with the growth in visible branding The following werealready leading brands during the 1890s:

American Express travellers cheques

Most of these original brands were the name of the inventor orfounder of the business; as Professor James Woudhuysen, SeymourPowell Forecasting, confirms, ‘King Gillette, Mr Gillette was aroundabout a hundred years before Bill Gates and Microsoft Not only didthe brand personify the corporation, brands were themselves person-ified by individuals.’

As the 20th century developed, these original founders and theirbusinesses grew to such an extent that they became large corpora-tions The founders retired and a board of management replacedthat single vision This shifted the emphasis from a single person tothe product and the newly emerging service industries The productbecame the hero of the brand’s story and its technical (rational) per-formance was the key element of the advertising and marketing Thebusiness model of the early to mid 20th century was based largely onfast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and the growth in branddevelopment was largely championed by this sector The list belowhighlights the leading brands throughout the 20th century:

Contemporary business models and brands

The current phase of new media technologies brings with it a range

of new business models that influence how brands are developed,how they communicate with their customers and how they arebought and sold on the financial exchanges around the world.Leading examples of this include Amazon.com, which has grownlogarithmically in the past couple of years Its online bookstore haswidened its remit to travel, Zshops (clothing, toys, stamps andantiques), auctions and home improvement The brand drives cus-tomers to the site based on the Amazon attitude, not the productcategory Similarly, lastminute.com sells almost everything youwould like to buy, from holidays to gifts Freeserve.co.uk is anInternet service provider that has cornered the market for smallbusiness and home users by offering free access (apart from phonecosts) What is significant about these new businesses is that theirbrands are based entirely on an attitude rather than a category andmost of the new e-commerce brands have yet to make a profit Theirstrong IPO and stock quotations are all based on speculative futureearnings No other business model would have supported thegrowth of these brands Chapter 5 analyses these in more detail

Brand stakeholders

The brand’s role as the core of stakeholder attention has becomeincreasingly important as the level of goods and services on offerincreases and the breadth of media communicating with consumersexpands Figure 1.1, from Bernstein (1991), shows the extent of thedifferent audiences and media channels that communicate the brand.The nine media channels can also be split into above the line andbelow the line variants Television also has multiple channels, withsatellite and cable companies offering up to 300 channels in someparts of the world

All of these stakeholders need to be addressed and informedabout the brand at different times of the year, whether they are quar-terly financial results or daily customer impressions Obviously, notall the media channels will be suitable for all the audiences, but oftenthey will provide integrated solutions This inclusive approachemphasizes the holistic nature and value of a brand and leverages itsstrength to maximum effect Doing so can provide further revenue

streams and create a stronger fortress against competitive andmarket pressures Clearly, in this model the ultimate brand manager

is the CEO, who is finally responsible for the performance of thebusiness It is the CEO who is also charged with defining andensuring the long-term strategic direction of the brand It is theresponsibility of all employees to deliver that vision whether theywork in marketing, logistics, production or administration

Brands and customer loyalty

As we have seen, customer loyalty is the key to the long-termsuccess of a brand and business The promise that the brand offers

advertising

literature

personalpresentation

PRcorrespondence

product

permanentmedia

impersonalpresentation

point ofsale

brand

local

publicinternal

must be supported by the product offer in use, otherwise the brandwill quickly be recognized as a superficial gimmick Keeping thecustomer happy is the core of any business vision, but it is only now

in the 21st century that technology can really deliver one-to-onemarketing We can now hope to regain the business model of theGreek and Roman times when consumers had direct contact and adialogue with the maker or merchant

Customer loyalty is based on delivering a product or service thatpeople would like to buy and enjoy using The role of the brand is toincrease awareness of that product offer and to present its benefits

in a way that is appealing to the consumer Human nature changesvery slowly, and as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (see Chapter 7)shows, there are clearly defined stages to our mental progression.The underlying business proposition can therefore retain longevity– men still need to shave their beards every day; we still want todrink tea or coffee; we still need to wear warm clothes However,the technique of presentation of the goods and services needs to

match the Zeitgeist to be culturally relevant to the target consumer.

This is the role of a brand, and the brand personality needs to be

Summary

• Brands are important because they act as the tion tool between increasingly globally separated busi-nesses and consumers

communica-• Business models have always driven the brand ment model, from the early Romans, through the IndustrialRevolution, to the current new media businesses

develop-• A brand is the aura that surrounds a product or service thatcommunicates its benefits and differentiates it from thecompetition for the consumer

• There are nine key stakeholders of a business: internal, themedia, local, trade, general public, government, customers,financial and opinion leaders There are nine key mediachannels to reach those stakeholders: the product, adver-tising, permanent media, impersonal presentation, publicrelations, literature, point of sale materials, correspondenceand personal presentations This approach emphasizes theholistic nature of brand management and reinforces theview that the CEO is the ultimate brand manager

continually monitored and updated to ensure the closest matchbetween consumer expectations and the brand’s promise It is thecombination of the two that creates and sustains brands like Coca-Cola, Gillette, Disney and American Express.

• Illustrate the connection between marketing and branding

• Explain the different types of brand architecture

• Identify the different levels of branding

• Analyse the use of brand extensions

• Assess the balance between global and local brands

BRAND

CONFIGURATION

Structuring the brand and the organization

This chapter examines the relationship between branding and keting within companies and the consumer’s mindset Workingthrough examples of the ‘seven Ps’ of marketing, we can see howbranding complements marketing and in some cases is the majorpart of the marketing plan As we have seen, contemporarybranding has a broad function and works best when it is the respon-sibility of everyone in the company Therefore, marketing can bedefined as a focused part of that organization – the externallylooking and acting part of the company

mar-This chapter introduces the usable subdivisions of brands within

a corporation This will cover the corporate or eponymous brand,line brands, product brands and brand extensions It highlights themost appropriate use of these brand management tools in severalcase studies This chapter will also explain some of the dangersinvolved with sub-branding activities

Branding and its relationship to marketing

Whatever the size of the corporation, everyone should be focused

on creating and delivering the product or service that customerswant, at a price they are willing to pay However, in modern organ-izations the function of marketing has often been delineated fromthat of product development This can lead to a loss of focus by theinternal product development team by relying on the marketingteam to do all the brand management While a balance is accept-able, a one-sided approach that leaves attention to brand values toolate in the product creation process is not acceptable, as it will notmaximize the potential profitability of the brand

Brand management, as practised in the traditional Procter &Gamble model, was a fairly junior marketing function: brand man-agers were responsible for the delivery of market communicationsfor a specific brand or sub-brand They were used more as a mar-keting assistant who dealt with only operational issues and wasresponsible for maximizing revenue of one brand in a portfolio.Large FMCG companies such as Unilever require several brandmanagers who can individually develop a specific product brandsuch as PG Tips tea Such managers may be in competition withanother Unilever brand manager responsible for developing theBrooke Bond tea brand These kinds of corporations seek to growthe market size and maximize their overall share of the money wespend, in this case on groceries

Product managersare often the people who implement tion in product development, so they need to work closely withbrand managers to ensure any innovation is aligned with the brandpersonality For example, the Persil brand unwittingly started ashift in brand perception when a new product was introduced Ithad been recognized as the brand for ‘caring mothers’, but the newbiological action used an aggressive enzyme that ate not only dirtbut also parts of the clothing and created dermatological problems.Within a couple of washes, some clothes were in shreds, not thekind of thing that a caring mother would expect or want Persilwithdrew the brand and reformulated the product innovation toregain its brand position

innova-To ensure that product development reinforces the desired brandproposition it’s wise to coordinate and communicate the mid-termbrand vision with that of the technical development group This can

also be done at the kick-off meetings of major product ment: by including all members of the creation chain they can antic-ipate the impact of innovation on the brand and vice versa.

develop-Advertising managersplay a role in the management of mation from marketing to (usually) external agencies They have agood understanding of what the internal brand vision is and arebetter able to match those needs with an appropriate agency.Corporations often have a roster of agencies they work with forseveral projects, ensuring continuity of expression that allows theagency to develop a deeper understanding of the brand Some ofthe top have large brand planning departments that assist internalstaff or develop the formation of brand strategy

infor-The advertising manager needs to coordinate the internationalexpression of the brand, which could include securing famous localcelebrities such as Candice Bergman for Sprint in the USA orJohnny Vaughan in the UK The advertising manager needs toensure that the translation, in visual terms, of the core brand values

is appropriate in each country, possibly without developingcountry-specific solutions

Market research managers must similarly coordinate theresponses from regional markets to pre-launch materials through topost-launch dissonance surveys Again, interpreting and trans-lating the meaning of the data (rather than simply the letter of thedata) needs careful attention They may also need to research andanalyse competitive brand footprints in home and overseasmarkets to monitor differing brand propositions in separateregions

Sales force staffcan be a valuable expression of the brand and auseful source of direct customer feedback The behaviour of salespeople needs to be totally informed and aligned with the brand ifthey are to be successful Cosmetics salespeople at the counter oflarge department stores need to express what is distinctive abouttheir brand in a highly competitive and emotional marketplace Inthis case they deal direct with the public, so they can quickly findout what people expect, like and want from the brand There needs

to be a strong feedback mechanism in place, to transfer that mation back to marketing managers

infor-The seven P’s of marketing

con-of people, process and physical evidence highlights the shift in westerneconomies towards service industries, although I would argue thatbusiness-to-business or product industries also need to pay close atten-tion to the latter three The appropriately specified product should beseen as part of a continuing dialogue with the consumer and needs to

be delivered, by people, in a timely and well-supported brand tion The following sections analyse each of these elements to showhow brand management can maximize their effect at each stage

to the perception of the brand, as consumers tend to compare priceswithin a field of goods or services at the point of purchase Theydevelop an expectation (whether accurate or not) of what qualitythey can buy for what price, which includes how much extra they areprepared to pay for a premium branded product Careful brand man-agement of pricing policy is critical, so that products are not under-valued or overpriced in the marketplace.

Strong brands can create a ‘price premium’ above their tors This is the additional price the organization can charge for the

competi-‘brand’ It is a sign of the customers’ appreciation of that brand thatthey are continually willing to pay for this brand extra The return

on investment in a brand is transparently paid back though thisprice premium The Sony brand has always been able to charge typ-ically a 5–10 per cent premium compared with similar goods ofother brands This is directly related to the brand equity in the cus-tomers’ minds

I believe that some companies price their products too low andthe resulting effect is to devalue the brand in comparison withsimilar high-quality products Although it is a difficult decision tomake in a highly price-sensitive market, it is crucial to the mainte-nance of an ‘A brand’ proposition For example, Philips DomesticAppliances produces a range of excellent-quality coffeemakers forthe mass market Its competitors mostly fall into two categories andare following two different product strategies – first, other high-quality European brands such as Tefal and Braun; second, the lowerend of the market has brands like Princess, although the pricepoints for these two segments are close together The Philips brandattempts to offer the same quality as Braun and Siemens at a lowerprice, while competing well against the lower segment by offeringhigher quality for the same price The general market reaction has,

in my view, been to devalue the quality perception of the Philipsbrand from a leader such as Braun into one that is a middle brand,just above the imported brands It is easy to understand how theconsumer might think that the Philips brand is an expensiveversion of the low-quality, imported brand and offers lower qualitythan the Braun brand This situation can arise through trying toreduce prices too much, leading to an unnecessary cut in profitmargins as well If you have invested in making a high-qualityproduct, don’t allow the price level to be fixed too low, otherwisepeople will not believe that such a low-priced product could be ofhigh quality The damage to the brand in the longer term is difficult

to repair, especially as shrinking profits reduce investment and

quality It becomes a downward cycle that is likely to be filling: as profit is reduced, so are investment and product quality.

self-ful-Product

Some companies may only have one product to brand, such asApple Macintosh Others may have a collection of sub-brands andbrand extensions to manage as a large portfolio Both these types ofcompanies still need to choose whether to focus on the productbrand or the corporate brand, and we will discuss these later in thischapter

If the product is your chosen brand vehicle then it can be a erful tool The design of the product and the design of the experi-ence of using it are the key ways of expressing your brand TheApple iMac is a good example of how a company can reinforce itsbrand image through product design The company brand valuesfocus on humanizing technology by simplifying products and func-tions It developed the graphic user interface so that people couldput things in their desktop Trash bin, for instance, instead of typingprogramming language to achieve the same result

pow-Good design can play an important role in translating brandvalues into product attributes that enhance the brand experience.The colourful design of the new iMac is a complete change from thetraditional beige computer box The use of translucent, brightlycoloured plastic reinforces the shift away from a serious technicalfeeling to a fun and relaxed approach Apple has emphasized ease-of-use and accessibility-for-all, with a ‘You can be online in 10minutes’ tag line It points out that you no longer have to be a com-puter geek, but computers can be for everyone at home The marketreaction has been fantastic: it has revived the profits at Apple com-puters and the translucent, bubblegum-coloured machines are thebest and most striking expression of its brand Testimony to thissuccess is that there have been many imitators in the PC market, butbecause they superficially copy the external attributes, they do notreflect the true internal culture of those businesses and are thereforeunlikely to retain substantial benefit from these actions

The biggest advantage of using a product to focus brand values isthat people often use a product every day or even all day This meansthat the product brand experience is effective all day and every day,reminding consumers about the benefits of the brand We may wake

up to Sony (alarm clocks) every morning; have breakfast with Tefal

(toasters); drive to work with Saab (cars); Microsoft (computer ware) welcomes us to the office each day, and so on The value of adaily reminder that Microsoft makes computer software is tremen-dous for its profile and brand management.

soft-The downside to this kind of brand activity is that you have to besure that your product is fit for the task the consumer wants toachieve, that it won’t let people down If this happens, then ofcourse the consumer gets a daily reminder that your brand is notgood They also have time to build up a list of reasons why they willnever buy your brand again They may even tell their friends aboutthe poor brand experience that they’ve had to endure

Promotion

Promotion is often the core of brand management activities, andmay involve marketing, public relations, sales promotion andadvertising All these tools and many others should be used to per-suade the consumer to believe in your brand It is important tomake sure that the core message is on-brand across all these media.This does not mean that they have to be identical (although this isone strategy) but they do have to complement the brand values totheir chosen target audiences For example, a print campaign in anational newspaper will need a different tone from a TV campaign.The strengths and weaknesses of different media need to be care-fully balanced and managed The advantages and disadvantages ofthese varied media types will be expanded on in Chapter 4

Place

The place where a consumer buys a product should also help to force your brand values; this means the location as well as the type ofstore These range from the simple warehouse approach of Ikeasuperstores to the highly evolved Nike Town or the Disney stores.Retail sites engage the consumer in a carefully staged brand event, butthey are one of the most underused tools for brand development It isnot just a matter of making sure that the interior colours match the cor-porate identity: there is a huge opportunity for the consumer to expe-rience the brand in a multidimensional, multisensorial ambience.Brands that sell through other retail outlets use point of sale(POS) or point of purchase (POP) materials to define their brand

rein-message clearly amongst many product offerings Larger sions can be found in department stores where the Chanel brandwill have a dedicated counter to create its own brand experience.Packaging in FMCG goods often has to deliver that brand experi-ence and sense of place on the shelf of the supermarket.

conces-In certain sectors, the location or address of the retail site is oftencrucial to the perception of the brand Leading fashion brands knowthey must have a store on Bond Street in London or Fifth Avenue inNew York, otherwise customers will not take them seriously.Brands can use the connotations of a specific location to enrich theirbrand, so it is important to choose retail locations carefully

People

People are the greatest asset for any company: if they can be aged to express the brand at all levels, the business will benefitenormously This is especially true in the service sector, but evenbusiness-to-business branding is conducted via people

encour-People who often have to deliver a service directly to the tomer need to be aware of how they represent the company brand.They are in effect goodwill ambassadors for the brand and specialtraining sessions will help maximize this potential For example, theattitude of Post Office staff affects our perception of the Post Officebrand, as does the FedEx person who delivers business packages

cus-Process

The organization of business processes can help your brand, forexample by reinforcing brand values through timely delivery of theservice The entertaining way that Virgin Atlantic delivers its airlineservice is very different from the cheap and cheerful approach ofeasyJet and the elegant and calm manner of British Airways Virginstaff have an entertaining attitude, realizing that travellers arebored on long-haul flights, which is very different from the ‘butler’

or ‘waitress’ approach of some airlines Richard Branson, thecompany’s chairman, presents himself as a highly entertaining per-sonification of the brand through PR activities

Physical evidence

The physical elements that go to make up your product, retail, ness or service brand need to be aligned to your brand personality.This means that packaging, POS materials, even documentationshould all be harnessed to support the brand All these elementswill be examined later in Chapter 4

busi-Corporate brand

A corporate identity is the visual representation of the structure of abrand or company It defines the relationship between elements ofthe brand, product or service (This is explained further in Chapter

6 in the segment on corporate identity.) Corporate identity ists tend to segment companies into three types of structure,emphasizing the differing level of interaction between the organi-zation of the company and the expression of the brand:

special-1 sole identity company;

2 validated identity company;

3 branded identity company

Sole identity company

The sole identity company represents an organizational structurethat has a single brand proposition and personality throughout theportfolio of products (see Figure 2.2) Large conglomerations that

Blade

Blade Cosmetics

Blade Banking

Blade Travel

Figure 2.2 Sole identity company structure