This paper reports on the results of a development program aimed at using survey research data to place a financially related value on the consumer based equity of brand images and associations. We will document the empirically derived theories underlying the final system, and describe the individual components which comprise it. We will then show how by translating research data into simple descriptive concepts it can be made accessible to marketing decision makers, and hence provide a key input into strategic thinking and action.
This paper describes how Land Rover has focused on the development and application of the values of the Land Rover Brand. It highlights the need to be focused and driven by the customer, which requires the need for regular, timely and actionable consumer based research. This case study describes how by being passionate about the brand and the customer one can both survive and thrive in todays rapidly changing consumer environment.
This paper adapts aspects of the work of anthropologist Claude Levi- Strauss for use in market analysis and research. The methodology has been pioneered by the author's company, and is regularly used by them in their analytical work. The paper explains how successful brands embody myths; and outlines a technique by which this brand myth can be identified, evaluated and exploited. The technique can also be used by non-semiotic market researchers and planners as a useful tool in analysis, strategic planning and brand development.
This paper describes the strategic marketing issues facing SCA- Molnlycke's feminine hygiene business in Europe during the first years of the 1990s, a period which meant dramatic changes to the category. The aim was to create one strong Eurobrand, a very popular word in the early nineties. The work started in 1990 by building one common brand platform for two of SCA-Molnlycke's brands, Libresse and Nana. The paper describes the challenges facing the company, the analysis made, the process to develop a brand platform, examples of the end product - advertising, pack design - and finally, some of the key learning.
As environments have become more competitive, so the nature of brands has changed. To appreciate this, depth interviews were conducted with twenty leading edge brand consultants. Brands have evolved beyond their earlier role of differentiating and legal devices and a more integrated view emerged, matching manufacturers activities with consumers associations and perceptions. The experts saw a gap between theirs and managers more simple views of brands due to brand managers' lack of consumer orientation and short- termism. For consumers, experts believe brands act as shorthand devices for information and trust, facilitating purchase decision.
This essay takes up the question: "How is brand represented in the consciousness of the consumer? And on the basis of this starting point, how can the different expressions or manifestations of brand be explained?" This exploration is based upon the findings of cognitive psychology. The latter starts from the assumption that knowledge is stored in memory in the form of schemata or networks. In this sense, brands can be conceived of as complex schemata, which represent, so to speak, the mind map of the brand in question. As a result of individual value orientations and, in part, of situational needs, the mind map is translated into a functional or emotional benefit of the brand. Mind maps prove especially useful in understanding brand communications and in the development of line extensions. This paper presents the way in which the structure and contents of mind maps are established. Specific examples will be presented in order to show the usefulness of this analysis in increasing our comprehension of the interaction of the brand with a range of substantive elements, be they product benefits, advertising images, or emotional benefits.
Two views of paid-for advertising are compared. One is commonly held but unachievable. The other is more realistic. The main aim of advertising is commonly thought to be growth, but this seldom occurs. The more realistic goal is brand maintenance in a highly competitive market. The growth would come from persuading consumers to buy your brand (a strong theory of advertising), but there is little evidence of this. In contrast, brand maintenance works through reinforcement and occasional nudging (a weak theory). Persuasion would work by differentiating brands (added values) to give people reasons for choosing them. The reinforcement view accepts instead that sales differ because a large brand is salient to more people, and not because they see brands as very different. Being salient (e.g. in people's consideration sets, etc.) can be affected by Here I am type of impactful publicity, leaving longer-term memory traces and possible associations for the brand, rather than by making one brand seem preferable or better than another.
Inmarsat is one of a new genre of global, ingredient brands whose potential is being opened up by the rapidly growing use of communications and information technology. This paper considers the communication and advertising issues that arise when trying to exploit this opportunity and describes the theory and research that underpinned the final campaign.
This paper postulates that the conflict between the finance and consumer measures in an organisation can be overcome by keeping in mind the overall goals of the organisation. This goal is defined to be - Maximising Shareholder Value. The paper develops a practical framework which provides linkages between the strategic and operational brand management decisions and the end goal. This is achieved by identifying Relatable Key Result Areas for managers at different levels, which are conclusively linked to Shareholder Value through the concept of Free Cash Flows. The paper uses case studies to illustrate the same. In a scenario where the marketing and finance functionaries of an organisation are asked to march to their idea of the brand equity tune, in all likelihood, a divergence of paths and rhythm would be seen. In fact, none of us would be surprised if there is a substantial divergence in these paths. Both the functions tend to hold steadfast to their own beliefs and ideas on what brand equity is and what it means to the organisation, and this leads to the conflict of consumer measures v/s. financial measures.
Everyday Low Price (EDLP), along with Category Management, Consumer Loyalty and Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) have become the jargon words for Marketing in the mid 1990s. Everyday Low Price, an American import, was originally devised as a way of smoothing the production line process and minimising the amount of money paid out on promotion, principally within the fast moving consumer good marketplace. This paper argues that EDLP is inappropriate for the British marketplace. Both the legislative differences, the dominance of a small number of retailers, and the very low pricing in some markets indicate substantially different fast moving consumer good market conditions. Through the analysis of continuous consumer panel data, the paper examines the effect in marketplaces where EDLP has been introduced, and the subsequent effects on both the brands in question and on the cheaper budget brands and private label products. The paper also considers whether a consistent price policy, in a marketplace where promotion remains a key driver of short term share is a realistic position for a manufacturer to adopt.
Please allow us to interrupt the stable course this ESOMAR seminar has taken so far. We have not set ourselves the task of presenting you with the most advanced technologies in marketing research, neither do we intend to stun you with sophisticated attitudes to brand building. Instead we simply wish to provide an optimistic report from places, which, until not so long ago, were still very well hidden behind one famous Berlin wall. Our report claims that the theory of brand building works also in ex- Communist States! Furthermore, in the same way as in the West, it holds TRUE that no theory can be successful until it has been applied to talented and bold enterprising activities. We (myself and Tomas Tereba, co-owner of the Czech company TOMA) are very glad to have the opportunity to present to you such a success story. It is a history of a local soft drinks brand, TOMA, which has, step-by-step, gained the third position on an extremely competitive Czech soft drinks market.
In this paper we analyse which marketing-mix variables are key to sustain leading manufacturer's brands competitiveness versus retailer's brands. In order to address this issue we conducted an experiment with 454 actual consumers of the low involvement chocolate biscuit category. We studied specifically the impact of the retailer's brand product quality, branding policy, packaging appearance and price advantage on its purchase preference versus the market leader. The results are of prime significance and show in particular the pivotal role of product superiority even in a category where product differences are slight.