Brand Audit

Establishing Brand Mantras

3.1

3.2

Brand Positioning Guidelines

Two key issues in arriving at the optimal

competitive brand positioning are:

Defining and communicating the competitive

frame of reference

Choosing and establishing points-of-parity and

points-of-difference

3.3

Defining and Communicating the

Competitive Frame of Reference

Determine category membership.

State its point of difference in relationship to

other category members.

3.4

Choosing POP’s & POD’s

Desirability criteria (consumer perspective)

Personally relevant

Distinctive and superior

Believable and credible

Deliverability criteria (firm perspective)

Feasible

Profitable

Pre-emptive, defensible, and difficult to attack

Competitor films

What is the differentiation in each

brand?

3.5

3.6

Core Brand Values

Set of abstract concepts or phrases that

characterize the five to ten most important

dimensions of the mental map of a brand

Relate to points-of-parity and points-of-

difference

Mental map Core brand values Brand mantra

3.7

Brand Mantras

An articulation of the “heart and soul” of the brand

Short three- to five-word phrases that capture the irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand positioning and brand values

3.8

Designing the Brand Mantra

The term brand functions describes the nature of

the product or service or the type of experiences

or benefits the brand provides.

The descriptive modifier further clarifies its nature.

The emotional modifier provides another

qualifier—how exactly does the brand provide

benefits, and in what way?

3.9

Designing the Brand Mantra

Emotional

Modifier

Descriptive

Modifier

Brand

Functions

Nike

Authentic

Athletic

Performance

Disney

Fun

Family

Entertainment

Fun

Folks

Food

3.10

Internal Branding

Members of the organization are properly aligned

with the brand and what it represents.

Crucial for service companies

3.11

Brand Audit

Externally, consumer-focused assessment

A comprehensive examination to assess the health

of the brand, uncover its sources of equity, and

suggest ways to improve and leverage that equity

3.12

Brand Audit

It includes:

brand vision

mission

Promise

values

position

personality

performance

3.13

Importance of Brand Audits

Understand sources of brand equity

Firm perspective

Consumer perspective

Set strategic direction for the brand

Recommend marketing programs to maximize

long-term brand equity

3.14

Brand Audit Steps

Brand inventory (supply side)

Brand exploratory (demand side)

Brand Audit Steps

Brand Inventory

Brand elements

Supporting

marketing

programs

Profile of

competitive brands

POPs and PODs

Brand mantra

Brand Exploratory

Awareness

Favorability

Uniqueness of

associations

Customer based

equity model

3.15

Brand Audit

Brand Inventory Suggests the bases for

positioning the brand

Offers insights to how brand

equity may be better

managed

Assesses consistency in message

among activities, brand

extensions, and sub-brands in

order to avoid redundancies,

overlaps, and consumer

confusion

Brand Exploratory

Uncovers knowledge

structures for the core

brand as well as its

competitors

3.16

3.17

Suggested Brand Audit Outline

Brand audit objectives, scope, and approach

Background about the brand (self-analysis)

Background about the industries

Consumer analysis (trends, motivation, perceptions, needs,

segmentation, behavior)

Brand inventory

Elements, current marketing programs, POPs, PODs

Branding strategies (extensions, sub-brands, etc.)

Brand portfolio analysis

Competitors’ brand inventory

Strengths and weaknesses

3.18

Brand Audit Outline (Cont.)

Brand exploratory Brand associations

Brand positioning analysis

Consumer perceptions analysis (vs. competition)

Summary of competitor analysis

SWOT analysis

Brand equity evaluation

Strategic brand management recommendations

15.19

Guidelines for Building Brand Equity

Mix and match brand elements

Create a rich brand image and high perceived quality

Adopt value-based pricing strategy

Consider a range of distribution options

Mix marketing communication options

Leverage secondary associations

15.20

Guidelines for Measuring Brand Equity

Formalize the firm’s view of brand equity

Conduct brand inventories

Conduct consumer tracking studies

Assemble results of outcome measures

Establish a department to oversee the implementation

15.21

Guidelines for Managing Brand Equity

Define brand hierarchy

Create global associations

Introduce brand extensions

Clearly establish the roles of brands in the portfolio

Reinforce brand equity over time

Enhance brand equity over time

Identify differences in consumer behavior in different market segments

15.22

Characteristics of Strong Brands

Managers Understand brand meaning and market appropriate products in an

appropriate manner

Properly position the brand

Provide superior delivery of desired benefits

Employ a full range of complementary brand elements and supporting marketing activities

Embrace integrated marketing communications and communicate with a consistent voice

Measure consumer perceptions of value and develop a pricing strategy accordingly

Establish credibility and appropriate brand personality and imagery

Maintain innovation and relevance for the brand

Strategically design and implement a brand hierarchy and brand portfolio

Implement a brand equity management system to ensure that marketing actions properly reflect the brand equity concept

15.23

Seven Deadly Sins of Brand Management

1. Failure to understand the full meaning of the brand

2. Failure to live up to the brand promise

3. Failure to adequately support the brand

4. Failure to be patient with the brand

5. Failure to adequately control the brand

6. Failure to properly balance consistency and change with the brand

7. Failure to understand complexity of brand equity measurement and management

15.24

Industrial and B2B Branding

Adopt a corporate or family branding strategy

Link non-product-related imagery associations

Employ full range of marketing communication

options

Leverage equity of other companies that are

customers

Segment markets carefully and develop tailored

branding and marketing programs

15.25

Guidelines for High-Tech Branding

Establish brand awareness and rich brand image

Create corporate credibility associations

Leverage secondary associations of quality

Avoid overbranding products

Selectively introduce new products as new

brands and clearly identify the nature of brand

extensions

15.26

Guidelines for Service Branding

Maximize service quality

Employ a full range of brand elements to enhance brand recall

Create and communicate strong organizational associations

Design corporate communication programs that augment consumers’ service encounters and experiences

Establish a brand hierarchy using distinct family or individual brands as well as meaningful ingredient brands

15.27

Guidelines for Branding Retailers

Create a brand hierarchy consisting of the store

as a whole as well as individual departments

Enhance the manufacturer’s brand equity by

communicating PODs

Establish brand equity at all levels of the brand

hierarchy

Create multichannel shopping experience

Avoid overbranding

15.28

Guidelines for Small Business Branding

Emphasize building one or two strong brands

Focus the marketing program on one or two key

associations

Employ a well-integrated set of brand elements that

enhances both brand awareness and image

Design creative brand-building push campaigns

Leverage as many secondary associations as

possible

15.29

Guidelines for Online Branding

Don’t forget the brand building basics

Create strong brand identity

Generate strong consumer pull

Selectively choose brand partnerships

Maximize relationship marketing

15.30

Future Brand Priorities

How will branding change in the coming years?

What are the biggest branding challenges? What

will make a successful “twenty-first-century

brand”?

15.31

Measuring Brand Equity

Marketers of successful twenty-first-century

brands will create formalized measurement

approaches and processes that ensure they

continually monitor their sources of brand

equity and those of competitors.

15.32

Managing Brand Equity

It will be essential in building strong twenty-first-century brands to align internal and external brand management. Internal brand management ensures that employees and

marketing partners appreciate and understand basic branding notions and how they can affect the equity of brands.

External brand management requires understanding the needs, wants, and desires of consumers and creating brand marketing programs that fulfill and even surpass consumer expectations.

Companies must also align bottom-up and top-down marketing management .