Topic 5 - Branding and Brand Management

Benefits of brands to buyers:

- Provides lear information about quality and performance

- Speeds up decision making and identification

- Helps the customer to identity products and brands

- Tends to increase choice and variety

Benefits of brands to sellers:

- Can be legally protected

- Increases the efficiency of tracking, ordering, distributing etc

- Can become basis of loyalty

- Assits in marketing segmentation

- Provides a capacity for multiple positions

When marketed effectively brands tend to lead to better recognition, performance, customer loyalty and category membership. They will convey meaning as attributes, benefits, values, personality and uses. There is also a brand hierarchy:

1. Corporate Brands (Commonwealth Bank)

2. Family Brands and Product Class (Colonial; Comm Sec. Comm Insurance)

3. Product Brands:

- Product line (Flexible lifetime Super)

- Product type (Balanced Growth)

- Product item (Australian Equities)

Defining Brand Essence and Values:

The essence of a brand needs to be the central theme and overriding/main characteristic. Core values are other important factors that are essential in maintaining brand reputation and dynamics. For example, BMW brand essence would be driving pleasure and the core values would be BMW Dynamics, Civilised and Cultured.