Market Positioning & Brand Equity

JWI 518 Marketing in a Global Environment, week6 summary, 11/18/12
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This was an exciting week of learning core marketing concepts such as techniques for successful positioning and creating brand equity that I knew practically nothing about. I have gathered numerous take ways as shown below that I can apply in my current and future jobs at many levels.

The DQs made me think about brand positioning and the use of social media to take marketing to the next level. I also learned the difficulties inherent in measuring the effectiveness of the techniques. But as one of my class mates pointed out, a van with cup cakes, with just tweets to advertise, was successful in generating awareness and so I am  beginning to believe in social media.

Keller's "Maintaining a strong brand means striking the right balance between continuity and change" resonates with me.

Dr DP

JWI 518 Marketing in a Global Environment, Week6 Summary

I. Marketing Strategy at GE (Jack Welch video, Week6)
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Marketing strategy was not around formulaic 4Ps and 5Cs.
It was about meeting consumer needs.
Tell consumers and business customers what we had to meet the needs.
The goal was to build a great brand, do lots of brand advertising.
Come out with new products, advertise the hell out of them to go right at what the features that we brought out.
Gain share, gain reputation as innovator and build the brand all the time

II. Marketing Products vs. Marketing Services (Jack Welch, video Week6)
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Marketing services is tougher than marketing products
Products: easy to show the absolute Aha, what they bring to consumer eg. Apple's iPod; GE's jet engines at forefront of technology.
Service contracts not easy to advertise eg. selling a strong service organization's ability to maintain the engine for 20 years.
Services are more often sold as a follow on to a product offering.
In product sale, have a relationship with customer, build a long term services contract.
eg. Home Protection business - product sales person establishes relationship with consumer, signs multi-year product

III. Market Positioning  (week6, Lecture1)
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Goal: Create a customer perception that your product is the best and grab market share
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(1) Recognize that Customers have a ladder of preference.
Brands that occupy one or two top positions on a ladder have tremendous advantage.
(2) Positioning is based on attributes, benefits, uses, quality, hipness, ease of use, customized experience, relative to competitor
(3) Seven steps to differentiate your product from competition and grab market share
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(i) Analyze competitor's product for back door vulnerability
(ii) List all potential problems of your competitor's product.
(iii) Create ads messages that emphasize competitor's problem.
Use humor. Never attack directly. Focus on one disadvantage of a rival and one advantage of the firm.
(iv) Show how your product does everything you competitor's does but without the problems
(v) Move up a new ladder in the consumer's mind.
(vi) Keep at it - repeat constantly over time until sales figures show you have moved up the ladder; research
(vii) Look at your own product - where are you vulnerable ? where can a competitor out-position you ?

IV. Brand Equity (week6, lecture2)
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Goal: Create a strong brand to earn customer's enduring devotion and profits
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To charge more, create loyal customers, fend off competitors
To navigate through changes and shifts in marketplace and product life cycles

(i) Brand Equity is the added value a brand image gives to a product or service
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- It influences company's sales, market share, profits, stock price, pricing.
- To differentiate among choices, people use brands' perception, image of quality & performance, loyalty; the way brands make them feel, think and act
- Brand equity is composed of assets and liabilities
- Elements of brand equity: brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived loyalty, brand associations, other brand assets eg. patents & trademarks
- Brand equity is built through marketing choices and each element of product's message:
Brand's name, logo, tag line, symbols
Characters, spokespersons, celebrity endorsers
Advertising themes, packaging, signage
Customer service
- brand image leads to brand promise which generates brand equity

(ii) Brand audit
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- done to understand the most current image buyers have of the brand
surveys, focus groups, internet visits, sales data

(iii) Brand portfolio
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Line extension - derivative products
Flanker brand - low cost version of core brand
low end entry level brand - attract new buyers; create satisfaction; trade up
Cash cows - high profit margins; support less profitable brands & new products
Prestige brands - create positive halo around the firm; high performance high price; nice market

(iv) Integrated marketing strategy
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- Define target group of customers
- understand consumers' perceptions about the brand
- understand promises buyers want the brand to make
- create messages to create and reinforce a core image: Design every marketing message (through TV, print, internet, PR) to make the same promise & create same image of the brand
- image leads to brand promise which generates brand equity

V. Brand Report Card (Keller, HBR 2000)
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Top 10 attributes of a strong brand are:
(i) Delivers benefits customers desire: creates engaging customer experience eg Starbucks
(ii) Stays relevant: brand elements modified to fit constantly eg Gillette
(iii) Priced based on consumer perception of brand value: premium vs staple eg. Procter & Gamble  "everyday low pricing"
(iv) Is properly positioned: clearly communicates similarities & differences eg Visa
(v) Is consistent: marketing communications dont sent conflicting messages eg. Michelob beer
(vi) Fits sensibly into brand portfolio: brands work logically together eg. High end Banana Republic; Basics - Gap ;  Old Navy - mass market
(vii) Has integrated marketing strategy: all marketing activities and channels communicate same message about brand & strengthen brand identify eg. Coke - originality, classic refreshment
(viii) Has meanings managers understand: Managers know consumers' different perceptions of brand eg. Gillette manual razors & Braun electric razors
(ix) Receives sustained support: companies consistently invest in building and maintaining brand awareness
(x) Is constantly monitored: Formal brand-equity-management system eg. Disney over exposure of characters
Maintaining a strong brand means striking the right balance between continuity and change.