BUS631: Brand Management

Review the 15 factors that create the brand experience which, when assembled, build the essence of successful brands. Create a checklist in your key terms glossary, and select the brands that achieve all 15 elements from your own consumer purchasing behavior. To really get the crux of how to apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, you will need to complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Strategic theories found in every brand manager's toolkit are listed in this chapter. As you read, add the ten key terms to your key terms glossary and organize them by strategy, execution, or collateral. Then look at the Brand Pyramid Template, start this analysis with the Brand Essence, then choose a brand you are loyal to and examine how each engages you in the loyalty loop. Next, choose a close competitor to your brand, and run the same examination. The Brand Pyramid Template strategy is often used for evaluating brand initiatives that align with the commitment to ethical practices. Use the work you started in the activity above and choose a brand that has been certified for its commitment to societal business practices (https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp). Again, look at the Brand Pyramid Template, and examine how the B Corp brand compares with a similar competitive B Corp brand. You can search the category to find the competitive brand. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions for both exercises. This time, in this exercise, substitute the B Corp brand and focus on which ethical practices create the best strategic competitive advantage.

A multi-tiered family of brands often follows different branding strategies to achieve growth among target consumers. Review the ten branding strategies detailed in this resource and choose one of these multi-tiered companies to match their brand holdings by applying one or more common brand strategies: Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, and Kraft. After completing this exercise, look at the common branding strategies. These ten branding strategies align with stages that can be used to examine how a mature brand sustains its dominant market position and market share. Research Disney, a very mature brand at 100 years old, and apply each of the branding strategies to explain how Disney successfully maintains iconic status within the leisure sector.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 1 Assessment.

Identify the differences in theories of how brand equity is experienced: Customer-Based Brand Equity, Brand Equity Perspectives, Customer Perspective (Customer-Based Brand Equity), and Employee Perspective (Employee-Based Brand Equity). Then outline and contrast the different models on how to actually measure this important asset of brand equity, summarizing the models of measurement: Aaker's Brand Equity Model, Keller's Brand Equity Pyramid, Yoo and Donthu's Brand Equity Model, Luming Wang and Adam Finn's Customer-Based Brand Equity Model, Destination Brand Equity Model, CAA Integrated Brand Equity Model, and Cross-National Brand Equity.

As defined in this section's introduction, brand ambassadors are the most important guardian of the brand. Brand loyal consumers are committed to purchasing one brand out of habit. Behavioral loyalty is habitual purchases of low-involvement goods or positive attitude. Attitudinal loyalty is willingness and intentionality toward a specific brand. After reading this article about the importance of loyalty programs in building a community of brand loyalists, match up the five factors of a successful loyalty program with either the behavioral loyalist or the attitudinal loyalist. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Consumer Journey Mapping is a multi-step process. When reviewing this chapter, take notes about the sequence of mapping and the feedback that is most relevant to brand managers. This mapping, called the input loop, is used to make revisions to consumer engagement and, most importantly, "breaks" or "celebrations" along the consumer journey that can inform your brand growth strategies.

The metrics that measure achievement from a brand perspective are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Watch this demonstration of how profitability and ROI (return on investment) measure the productivity of brands.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 2 Assessment.

A critical role of brand managers is monitoring the components of the brand architecture. The first step in analyzing the brand architecture is to conduct a brand audit. This resource describes how and why it is critical to carefully examine your company's business and marketing plans.

Strategies are visual tools brand managers rely on to identify strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. In your glossary of key theories and models, draw out The P-O-L-C Framework, both the chart and model. Then define each stage.

This article explores the relationship between customer satisfaction and brand loyalty and the mediators that exist between these constructs in the e-shopping environment that can be applied to other sectors. Apply your knowledge of brand loyalty and the process of cultivating brand loyalists to determine the impact on customer relationship management strategies.

Brand core values are found in the mission statements of all brands. Make a list of the "transformational" key terms that are common to all mission statements and core values -- these include "commitment", "inspire", "help", and "give". Look up the best mission statements for top companies like Nike and JetBlue to see how the brand core values form the strategic imperatives.

Brand managers use consumer mapping to analyze touchpoints along a consumer journey mapping. Within digital engagement, these touchpoints have been found to influence brand choice. Ultimately, consumers choose to purchase among a sea of competing brands, and each step is another reason why (or why not) one brand is chosen over another. Look at the external "third party" influences in your own decision-making and select the one that you trust more than the information marketed to you. Now, select a point along the consumer journey where the brand you have chosen might lose its influence.

Without brand image, all products are considered commodities. Using four different branded products in the same category (for example, Mcdonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or Wendy's in the Fast Food Category), use the elements of brand construction to "deconstruct" the label, packaging, logo, and all image-based elements. Compare and contrast similarities and differences. Now choose the one branded product showcasing the most memorable branded image. To experience applying the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 3 Assessment.

This chapter reading introduces you to the Boston Consulting Group model, an important strategic tool aligning SBU (strategic business units). Using your drawing and definitions of the BCG model, add descriptions to each of the four quadrants (star, dog, question mark, and cash cow). Then take real corporate brand examples and write in each quadrant why this is a star instead of a dog, a question mark instead of a star, and a dog instead of a question mark. Now that you understand how to apply the BCG model, you can apply the BCG model to a growth strategy called brand stretching. Brand stretching focuses primarily on the star and question mark quadrants in the BCG model and uses opportunistic modeling to reposition these into different quadrants. Referring back to your previous work with the BCG model, move the star to the cash cow quadrant and the question mark to either the star or dog quadrant. You may use the corporate brand from your earlier analysis or choose another corporate brand for this activity. Examples could include McDonald's' menu items or Apple products. Now explain reasons this SBU can be "stretched" into other quadrants as part of a growth strategy. Consider this, how can a star SBU develop into a cash cow, while a question mark SBU might develop into a dog or star?

Read this chapter and review the process of how a brand's architectural integrity is guided by its Product Portfolio Model. Now choose a brand that is over 100 years old. Examples include Coca-Cola, Kraft, and Mercedes Benz. For one of these brands, identify which aspects of this model were used to sustain core competencies.

Review the elements of the BCG quadrant diagram and examine how the star, dog, question mark, and cash cow are defined. This model is a business-based strategy, so review how it flows into the corporate models from this section on Brand Portfolio Management. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Brand managers rely on a subset of logistical strategies to strengthen a brand's competitive advantage. From a brand growth perspective, brand managers select one of three concentration strategies: Market Penetration, Market Development, and Product Development. Review the tactics of each of these concentration strategies along the metrics of brand management success: revenue, risk, and market share growth. To really get the crux of how to apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 4 Assessment.

The competitive environment is an external impact factor that can be examined using Michael Porter's strategy. In this resource, locate Porter's three generic strategies impacting a firm's performance. Create a chart, and then choose one of the brands you have examined in the branding section. Apply these options to each brand and conclude which is the best match. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

The intensity of differentiation plays a part in product, service, and even personal branding. Using the differentiation branding schematic, how do your skill set, experience, and offering in the area of business compare to one of your role models in the business arena (some would use Steve Jobs or another iconic leader)? Then identify the areas for points of difference. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Apply the competitive intelligence process (Figure 1) in this research article to your analysis of external factors as prescribed by Michael Porter's Strategic Theory of Brand Growth. Then superimpose the consumer journey to identify how brand managers can spot shifts in both consumer attitude and external threats. Consider reviewing the SWOT analysis as part of this examination.

Brand managers are the champions of balancing innovation and brand strategy that deliver profit, revenue, and cost efficiencies. Review this overview of how businesses as a whole use financial metrics to measure organizational performance. This review of key performance indicators introduces alternatives to evaluate a more holistic view of an organization's performance by considering different performance perspectives.

There is abundant opportunity to take a domestic brand to global distribution. However, success in international business means understanding a wide range of cultural, economic, legal, and political differences between countries. Look at critical factors contributing to global brand management and choose a global brand to investigate whether that brand was altered for different countries. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Using the ICC Code framework of Ethical Advertising described in this resource, evaluate at least three brand campaigns along the factor of Objectionable Advertising (usually in gender-specific product sectors like cars or ethnicity, as the case study demonstrates). Then review the legal oversight governing "Potentially Dangerous Products: Advertising Bans " and identify brands that have been able to overcome these restrictions.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 5 Assessment.

The PESTLE model is the most often used analysis to assist in re-launching struggling brands; it can reveal opportunities that once were weaknesses, now converted into strengths. The PESTLE model is a corporate strategy designed to maintain a brand's competitive edge. Referring back to the critical factors of criteria of external assessment, create a "know-how" chart and access national business news reporting (CNBC and the Wall Street Journal are examples). Now, scan the headlines and align an important trend factor with each one of the PESTLE factors.

The Marketing Information System (MIS) is composed of data and records, collected market intelligence, results of big data from marketing analytics "scraping", and brand research regarding consumer perceptions. Overlay the MIS construct from this chapter onto your knowledge of the product life cycle (PLC), creating a chart where the elements of the MIS market intelligence system intersect with the PLC. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Brand managers rely on qualitative research to gain insight into the dynamics of their most significant consumer segment. This research provides a real-world example of the study of "Sneakerheads", an important group of consumers within the athletic footwear sector. The research study was guided by a Consumer Behavior model called the Social Identity Theory lens. The Social Identity Theory model assesses the impact of group identity and norms on consumer behaviors' purchase intention. Read the results of this study to identify how consumer sentiment developed into this phenomenon.

Using the environmental scan diagram, analyze an emerging sector leader, such as Apple in Technology, Honda in Automotive, or McDonald's in Fast Food. Identify which external factors are the "pain points" or part of that brand's most vulnerable brand position. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included. This analysis is critical to reflecting inward on a company's strengths and, in some cases, weaknesses.

Using Porter's analysis, do a competitive intelligence analysis. Compare the technology leaders Apple and Microsoft along the oversaturated but difficult-to-enter industry with higher profits (and be considered attractive) in the industry versus the coffee marketplace with Starbucks and Dunkin with lower profits and lessening brand loyalty. Now align each industry using the critical "pain points" of each organization's internal assets and weaknesses. Consider reviewing SWOT and PESTLE charts for this last part of the activity.

SWOT is a standard assessment to identify where brands have advantages or disadvantages compared to the competition; this "reveal" is often called the gap analysis. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 6 Assessment.

Brand managers have only recently started using social media listening to gain insight into consumer brand perceptions. Therefore, the impact of social media listening on brand strategic decision-making is still being determined. This research details the significant effectiveness of social media listening (consumer "language") in describing the brand image. Create an interactive chart assessing the existing social media data collection research versus Figure 1 in this article, which tracked social media conversations. Use this comparison chart to evaluate the power of social listening as a consumer insight tool.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the primary strategy brand managers deploy to convey information to the end consumer. The use of tools such as the Internet and social media have become more important and efficient means to create a brand image and point of difference. Review the elements of the IMC and identify which tools might enhance or overlap the new model of digital marketing. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

While formal market research has historically represented consumer-centric information, social listening is now considered the most insightful. Review the model, Figure 1, the schematics of social listening, and its application to the social media platform Twitter. List the advantages and disadvantages of social listening for strategic insight, paying particular attention to the error factors discovered from this study.

Twitter is a social media sharing site considered a snapshot of consumer and industry sentiment. Review Figure 1 in this article, then identify how the collective opinion fits into the signal of opportunity. Pay attention to the secondary retweets that measure the interest level of those who have chosen to follow the tweet trails.

Research studies inform brand managers on the impact of social media response strategy and digital customer engagement. Using Figure 1 from the reading, which showcases the results of one such quantitative study, identify the factors that affect consumer response to brand image most.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 7 Assessment.

Mapping consumer response to brand tactics involves three different models. Find these models (Consumer Behavior choice, Motivational Influences, and Intentional Choice) and align these theoretical insight models with the measurement of brand loyalty discussed in unit 3.1, Consumer Mapping. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

The application of CRM provides insights into customer life-cycle management, customer lifetime value, and measuring customer profitability. Understanding how a brand is perceived internally and externally is critical to building and managing a strong brand consumer relationship (CRM). CRM focuses on using current data to enhance relationships with customers, gathering data for future marketing endeavors, and providing strategic guidance to the organization. Refer to this summary of social customer relationship management and compare it to the models discussed in the resource above. Track the nine stages of the Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) model. Identify in each stage which brand strategy best aligns to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction.

Read the theoretical basis for tracking brand equity as it relates to consumer engagement and behavior with a brand. Add the pyramid factors of Maslow's Hierarchy to your reference notes of theories. Categorize this theory in your key terms notes under Consumer Impact on Brand Metrics. To really get to the crux of how to apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

The most successful brand managers configure the target audience into distinct groups called consumer segments. These groups of consumers share the same motivation and behavior. Read this resource, focusing on 9.1, which identifies the steps to consumer segmentation-- the blueprint for target market selection. Using yourself as the consumer, choose your favorite brand and describe at least four descriptives. To apply the concepts to real scenarios in brand management, complete the exercises in the boxes. Use your notebook to create 2-3 sentence answers to the challenge questions. You must refer back to key concepts in the resource and charts when included.

Customer relationship management is the most important strategic directive pathway to brand loyalty. Review the three stages that lead to this CRM outcome: meeting and getting acquainted, providing a satisfying experience, and sustaining a committed relationship. Then pinpoint where along the customer journey these three stages should occur.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 8 Assessment.

Brand managers apply UX to many situations to gain insight into how consumers engage and gain satisfaction. Read this novel perspective on UX, which studies consumer experience within the mobile phone market. Compare the theoretical foundation in phenomenology, where individual subjective experience is the primary and natural focus of inquiry, versus the model of consumer journey discussed in section 7.3.

Brand managers utilize the UX (User Experience) to inform the analysis of factors of human behavior in efforts to both understand and quantify Customer Lifetime Value. Review the results of the systematic mapping study in this research and the researchers' emotional theory of consumer engagement. Align this perspective with the CRM study discussed in section 8.3. Does this offer a fresher touch point for understanding consumer loyalty and repeat brand purchases?

Read this comprehensive study on the UX experience within the fashion sector. Examine the research to identify how values on positive emotions influence a user's engagement toward a fashion brand. At what point in this research was the user experience enhanced (the conversion process)?

Design thinking represents a creative way for brand managers to solve a problem or develop a new idea to address the emotional perspective of the consumer. This research adds a novel twist on the traditional design thinking model. The authors propose an updated design thinking model which overlays a social justice process. Compare the original design thinking model to the proposed model, which includes the third bottom line of social consciousness. Where does the PESTLE model fit into both?

Brand managers apply design thinking, which is a user experience (UX) strategic model designed to gain insight to how consumers engage and gain satisfaction. Read this perspective on design thinking and its impact on growing brand equity. Compare how design thinking and CRM intersect when studying consumer touchpoints.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 9 Assessment.

Brand managers rely on qualitative research to gain insight into the dynamics of their most significant consumer segment. You read about the real-world example of the study of Sports Footwear Brands in South Africa. Now review the findings of this study and list five ways these results could guide a brand like Nike in its goal of athletic wear market domination.

Overlay the assumptions expressed in this article regarding the importance of including data from social media campaigns in a brand's strategic game plan. Use your notebook to create an MIS system to capture the data most important from the social media tracking of a brand.

Brand managers must understand the role governance has on digital marketing initiatives. Review the article on the effects governance has on the relationship between brand social media response strategy and digital customer engagement. Using Figure 1, which introduces a model of key components of data governance, identify the factors that have the most impact on social media governance of data collection.

Big data analytics (BDA) is similar to machine-based learning or AI (artificial intelligence). BDA is only as accurate as the coded practice of collecting consumer behavior. This research proposes a novel method to apply the collection of BDA.. Using the research model found in figure 1 of this reading, identify how the research findings using the BDA predicts sales performance. Then compare this model to the two DBA collection theories: the resource-based view (RBV) versus dynamic capability theory for best practices.

Using big data to target brand success and build equity has become valuable. Review the results of this predictive analysis research and assess how the loyalty rules were derived from this model. Was the classification of the consumers predictive or reflective?

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.

We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 10 Assessment.