Key considerations for brand equity write essay help Communications online class help

What are the key considerations important in ‘building brand equity? 0 Brand Equity is a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtracts from the value provided by a product / service to a firm and its customers (David A. Aaker, 1991), it is the value and strength of a brand and can be defined as a crucial element to help differentiate one brand from its competitors.

It is a combination of the marketing and financial value associated with a brand’s strength within a specific market (Marketing Concepts & Strategies, 2012). Elements uch as brand associations, quality, loyalty and awareness help to build brand equity. These four components can influence and persuade consumers into altering or adapting their buying behaviour due to the positive reputation and recognition a brand may withhold. A brand can be defined as a set of associations that can be linked with a product range, a division or an organisation (Marketingpower. om, 2013). Market share & forecast Market share and forecast can be beneficial to an organisation in terms of measuring brand equity and identifying responsive market segments, the reasoning for this is hat by being aware of a brands position within its chosen market, organisations are able to identify how successful their products/ services currently are among segmented consumers and can also monitor and review current marketing/ advertising strategies already implemented and competition.

Market share and forecast can be extremely beneficial to an organisation, as it is a tool that can be used to measure brand equity as the success of a brand and organisation is usually reflected through its market share (David A. Aaker, 1991)331-331. Market share and forecast helped us pinpoint which segment our product was most successful within see appendix one), this then enabled us to use promotional strategies to target and position SODA to segmented consumers.

The market share of the Blackberry product SODA was higher than competitors within the ‘other’ segment in the Sonite market. The highlighted point on the graph (see appendix two) shows that we were ahead of competitors within the first round of the simulation as we had a higher %$ compared to other products. Being leaders of the market suggests that we were favourable among consumers meaning our brand awareness had increased which leads to an increase in equity.

By monitoring our forecast we were able to also determine whether advertising efforts needed to be increased and whether strategies already implemented were successful. Customers- STP & Brand Equity Frameworks In order to build a strong brand with positive equity, it is vital that organisations know what it is exactly that their consumers want, how they think/ perceive products product itself reflects the thoughts, feelings and perceptions held within the consumers mind.

By achieving this a positive effect is felt as it can lead to an increase in sales and revenue which helps to increase brand equity due to consumers being ore likely to channel their needs and wants to a product/ brand that shows it understands and meets consumer desires. The consumer-brand-equity model should be considered when building equity as it can help when segmenting, targeting and positioning brands within markets which is extremely when developing a brand and when launching a new product/ service. Segmentation deals with finding out how many people are likely to want each benefit, roughly how much they will be willing to pay for it, and where they would like to buy it from. In this way, the firm approaching a segmented market is able to offer more functional benefits and ore attention to hedonic needs. ‘ 01m Blythe, 2008). Step One- Brand identity & Brand Associationo Step one within the model stresses the importance of consumer associations surrounding a brand, organisations need to create brand salience to ensure that their products stick out within consumer’s minds.

Consumers need to be able to easily identify brands in order to build perceptions; therefore it is not only important that organisations create an identity and associations of brands but that products reflect the perceptions of targeted consumers at every stage of the buying process. Brand association is the connection consumers make with a brand, these can range from product features and attributes, symbols, place within market, sponsorships and celebrity endorsement.

To develop brand association and identity, market research is vital as by undertaking in market research, such as qualitative/ quantitative research, organisations are able to determine and compare the needs and relationships within market segments and are able to identify and communicate unique selling points 11 of products to consumers therefore confirming exactly how the product meets the consumer’s individual needs. With this communication organisations are able to build upon their brand awareness, associations and identity as positive attitudes towards the brand are established within consumer minds.

The product SOLO, being targeted at ‘high earners’ and ‘professionals’ market needed to be of a high quality in order to reach and appeal to consumers (see appendix seven). Market research was purchased during each round of the simulation in order to understand current situations of the market and changes taking place regards the buying process of consumers. A benefit of this meant that we were able to adapt and develop SOLO to romotion efforts were also increased in order to communicate with the target market segment and to promote SOLO’s identity and meaning amongst consumers.

Step Two- Brand meaning & Brand Awarenesso Step two within the model allows organisations to develop their identity and communicate brand meaning to consumers. Brand awareness is a measurement of how consumers think and feel about brands, it can be measured by brand recognition which reflects brand exposure to consumers. ‘Performance’ allows an organisation to determine how closely its brand reaches the needs and wants of onsumers; it allows organisations to manage product features, durability, reliability, efficiency, style, design and overall price. Imagery allows organisations to determine how well their brand meets social and psychological needs of consumers (David A. Aaker, 1991). Consumers who are aware of a brand are more likely to trust and purchase products over brands with less awareness due to a sense of familiarity, therefore reducing the risk of losing consumers to competitors decreases. For organisations to build upon brand awareness a wide sales base is usually helpful as it can be expensive without.

Organisations with corporate brands have greater advantage in building brand presence and awareness due to the support gained from other organisations. Another way to building awareness is through above the line media channels such as event promotions, sponsorship, sampling and publicity; these all help to create awareness due to the media coverage and links to consumer needs and interests. Within round three we increased the advertising and promotion of SODA, (see appendix nine) to engage more consumers within segments (see appendix ten).