what does my brand stand for?

www.forbesconsulting.com
November 2010 • Issue #5
TRENDS · INSIGHTS · METHODS
A publication of the forbes consulting group
What Does My Brand Stand For?
By Brian Sowers
UNRAVEL THE MYSTERY
Do you know what your brand stands for
in the eyes of your customers? How does
your current product portfolio support
the master brand? Is your brand’s
meaning and purpose still relevant in an
increasingly competitive marketplace?
If the answer to any of these questions
elicits an “I don’t know” response, an
examination of your brand architecture is
in order.
Having well-defined brand architecture
is a critical component of an effective
marketing strategy, as it provides the
structure for leveraging strong brands,
assimilating acquired products, and
successfully launching new products.
In developing cohesive brand architecture
it is important to follow three steps:
1. Determine what the master brand
stands for
2. Assess how well current products fit
into and support the master brand
Understanding brand architecture
3. Understand how far the master brand
can be stretched with new product
introductions
STEP 1: THE BRAND ESSENCE
How is your brand perceived in the
marketplace? The master brand serves
as the main anchoring point for all
underlying products - it provides the
credibility, relevance and differentiation
for the brand overall, as well as for the
portfolio of product offerings.
The strength of connection between
product equities and the master
brand can be assessed by comparing
the respective profiles on functional,
experiential and symbolic attributes,
as well as a variety of multivariate
techniques.
STEP 2: THE FIT
With an understanding of the master
brand, the next obvious step is to
determine how products in the current
portfolio fit in the minds of consumers.
Assessing different levels of the brand
hierarchy, as well as determining how
individual products group together,
will identify perceived sub-brand
commonalities and unique sub-brands
equities. Brand architecture also reveals
why individual brands group/don’t
group together, measures the degree
of fit, and shows the extent to which
current brands improve or “drag-down”
perceptions of the master brand. For
example, Nestlé may be best known for
chocolate candy bars like Babe Ruth, and
Butterfinger, but they also market stand
alone brands such as Taster’s Choice
coffee. So how do consumers piece
together the Nestlé brand?
STEP 3: THE STRETCH
Of course, brands are never static and
the need for new product introductions
is inevitable. Now with an understanding
of your brand architecture, your path
is clear - identify where new products
belong within the current architecture
and why. Remember that a new product
idea may fit into your current architecture
but be considered unappealing to
...continued on page 3
A QUICK REFRESHER
Although they can be used together,
Brand Architecture and Brand Portfolio
are distinct concepts. Brand Architecture
is an outward facing tool to help
customers navigate the company’s
offerings. Brand Portfolio is an inward
facing tool for the organization to ensure
that the company’s brands are effectively
targeting all key segments, working
together to maximize sales.
presenting
forbes . . .
Q.
Dear Sigmund:
Ask Sigmund
We make a popular line of hot dog brands and have done so for decades.
Our company is doing ok, but we have seen better times. All management
levels agree that we need to grow, but there is some debate over how –
expand distribution, partner for recipe inclusion, extend beyond hot dogs,
etc. Our company board is partial to extending to hot dog buns. How
do I determine what is best for the brands?
Sincerely,
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2 • Forbes 360°
Down in the Dogs
A.
A very tricky situation, indeed. I have faced a similar dilemma when
I was at the University of Vienna and asked to work on a rather
unfruitful search for proof that was never to be found. Professor Karl Claus asked
me to study the life cycle of eels. After four weeks at the zoological research
station where I dissected hundreds of eels, and starting seeing many of them
swimming in my dreams, I was still not able to prove or disprove the presence of
male reproductive organs in eels. Professor Claus was determined - he suggested
we look again at only baby eels. I suggested we take a step back.
Reader, it is easy to continue in a direction, even though there is no plan. I
suggest you gain an understanding of several aspects of the category and the
brand before deciding the future…
What do hot dog consumers think – Do they have night time visions about hot
dogs? What do they dream about having in a hot dog? Are they purchased
just for home..just for the kids..just for lunch?
What about your brands – Howare they currently perceived? What are the
unique equities? Do different hot dogs have different meanings? Remember
that the Thuringer Rostbratwurst may look like the Winzerbratwurst, but
only the Thuringer could inspire the enormous wurst-and-bun statue in
Holzhausen.
How about the marketplace fit - How would buns fit with consumers’
understanding of your current brands? What would
your brand bring to the bun category?
By pausing to take a closer look at how your
brands are seen by consumers and the
perceived benefits of each product in a line
extension, the roadmap will be clear. Eels
may still remain a mystery, but what your
brand is and what it can stand for does
not have to be ambiguous.
Regards,
THE EFFECTS OF BRAND PHOTOS
ON Attitudes & Usage MEASURES
BACKGROUND: Including digital images of branded products or brand logos has
become a common practice in web-based questionnaires on the implicit theory
that these images will improve the accuracy of aided recall measures of awareness
and usage. One hypothesis is that these images serve to jog respondent memories
of brands seen or used that might otherwise have been forgotten, and thus raise
levels of stated awareness and usage. A competing hypothesis is that these images
lower levels of stated awareness and usage by deflating the incidence of “phantom
awareness” (false positive claims of awareness and usage) by providing crossvalidating information.
RESEARCH METHOD: A total of 1,250 surveys (625 with brand pictures, 625
without) were conducted about sports drinks, using a demographically representative
online panel, with a standard security screening and a requirement that respondents
be partly responsible for household shopping decisions. Each option shown to the
respondent was selected at random and chosen to ensure an equal distribution of
each option.
SURVEY WITHOUT
Product IMAGES
SURVEY WITH
Product IMAGES
FINDINGS: The study showed that reported usage for several brands used in past 6
months was significantly higher when NO picture was shown, and significantly lower
when a picture was shown.
CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence suggests that the use of brand images helps
to reduce the prevalence of “phantom usage,” i.e., overstated usage, presumably
because brand images provide additional cues that improve respondent recall.
Although further research is needed, it appears that brand images improve the
accuracy of usage recall and should be incorporated when possible.
1 bottle = 10 respondents
Did you
?
?
know
?
Understanding brand
architecture COntinued
... continued from page 1
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21%
prefer their
Hot Dogs
boiled.
http://www.hot dogchicagostyle.com/funfacts.php
consumers, or a new offering may be extremely
appealing but not fit - in both cases, introduction may
not make sense.
These techniques will help identify which new product
introductions represent core and stretch opportunities,
as well as those that might be outside current
boundaries of the master brand. With some upfront
planning, future concept testing can even become “plug
and play”.
In an increasingly competitive and complex business
world, important (and expensive) strategic decisions
have to be made quickly. Having well defined brand
architecture can significantly increase your chances of
making successful marketing and branding decisions
using clarity and synergy.
In developing cohesive brand architecture, remember to
follow through on the three steps: brand essence, fit,
and stretch.
Forbes 360° • 3
Source: Mean ranking (5 pt scale) - The Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW)
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