Brand Building Strategies - Dissertation Example

Brand Building Strategies Introduction: Marketing Communication tasks were in existence since time immemorial. However, the seriousness of the field was established much later. Even in the recent past, the words marketing communication and advertising were used interchangeably and it is absolutely justified because advertising was the most commonly used means of mass communication. However, the field of marketing communication has undergone a drastic change in the last two decades. Companies are increasingly focusing on building strong brands and finding new ways to reach its target audience (Egan, 2007, p.2). Today’s customers are much more knowledgeable and this has been made possible because of the wide access that internet provides. Recent years has seen a dramatic change in the way brands are trying to reach its audience. Companies are using wide variety of media starting from print, television, radio, social networking sites, blogs to reach its audience. The world has become a global village and there’s a level playing field. The concepts of mass marketing are becoming a passé. Marketers and advertising agencies are finding it extremely difficult to establish their mark. Advertising, Sales Promotions, direct marketing, public relations individually cannot successfully reach the audience effectively. One to One marketing rather than one to many concepts are increasingly gaining popularity (Schultz et al, 1993). Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the latest buzz word among marketers around the globe. IMC is a holistic approach to all forms of communication. It means looking at things from a customers perspective. It is the way by which all traditional channels of marketing communications are integrated to gain maximum consumer impact. It further needs to be supported by excellent marketing strategies. . It has become a strategic tool for brands to gain competitive advantage. In today’s world a companies success depends on its ability to create strong brands which can be achieved through integrated marketing communication (West Virginia University, n.d.). What is Marketing Communication? Marketing Communication refers to all the activities that a marketer undertakes to reach its target market segment. It is a tool for persuading the customers about a product or service. It helps the marketers to reach and register their brand in the customers mind (Jain, 2008) Integrated Marketing Communication(IMC): Integrated Marketing Communication is a process of coordinating all marketing communication tools into a unified one to deliver one unique, powerful and consistent message to the target audience. IMC follows a Pull strategy where every decision is looked from a buyer’s perspective instead of the traditional Push system which focused on the products. The concept of IMC is based on how a buyer reacts to stimulus, process information and brands. Understanding consumer behavior is a critical element of IMC. An understanding of consumer behavior helps a marketer to develop an effective communication plan. IMC takes into account both online and offline sources of communication. The offline sources are the traditional sources like television, print media, radio, direct sales, sales promotion, public relations. Online sources refer to sources like internet marketing, search engine optimization, social websites, interactive channels, blogs etc. Integrated marketing communication is a communication process where all the above mentioned sources are used together to deliver a consistent message to the target group. It helps in creating synergy. Branding: Branding is the process by which a product or service tries to occupy a unique place in the consumer’s mind. It is a tool by which companies can beat competition by increasing customer loyalty. Branding helps in differentiating a companies offering from its competitors. Increased consumerism, globalization has given rise to opportunities as well as competition. Brands can be built based on four basic principles. They are product differentiation, knowledge, relevance and esteem. Surpassing all the four is an image of a brand as being consistent. The brand should sincerely express what it stands for, what are its values, how is it different from its competitors (Chiaravalle, Schenck, 2006, p30). Hierarchy of Effects Model: The Hierarchy of Effects model provides a framework for understanding how a brand is formed through marketing communication. Marketers who understand consumer better would create stronger brands. [Source: First Choice in Health] Awareness: The first step towards creating a brand is to make the consumers aware of the brand. The market is initially unaware of the brand and a communication strategy towards actually registering the brand name in the consumers mind must be formulated. Knowledge: The second stage involves providing more information about the brand. In this phase the brands core values has to be communicated to the consumers. The market must understand the difference between this brand and its competitor brands. The brand thus needs to occupy a particular position in the customer’s mind. Preference: In today’s highly competitive world “Me Too” strategies are common. The same product and services are offered by many brands. In this stage a brand tries to build preference for itself. Conviction: Only building preference is not sufficient for a brand. Marketing communication has to develop conviction for the brand among the customers. It is only then that the target market may decide to buy it. Purchase: The final step is to actually make the customers purchase the product. In spite of having liking, conviction, customers may not buy a product. The marketer needs to convert these prospects into buyers by offering discounts, providing additional benefits etc. The first three phases are achieved first followed by the subsequent phases. While the lower phases can be achieved easily, the subsequent phases are difficult to achieve (First Choice in Health, n.d.). Critical Analysis: the Hierarchy of Effects model helps in deciding hoe the marketing communication strategy should be designed. It identifies the steps that the customers must be taken through to change their attitude from unawareness to purchase. Secondly customers can be at different levels of the model and hence the communication has to be decided accordingly. For example a new technology product like Apple iphone at its introduction stage was in the first stage where it was trying to make the customers aware of the product. Apple has successfully passed through all the stages now and hence its marketing communications would be more towards conviction and purchase. Black Box and Consumer Behavior: The Black box model is shown in the figure below. The model tries to identify how a buyer’s characteristics decide the way he reacts to market and other stimulus. The various stimulus goes into the customers “black box” to elicit different responses. It’s the way a buyer perceives the stimulus, which guides his choice of brand. [Source: Tutor2u] The factors that affect how a customer would respond to the black box can be understood from the diagram below. Marketers must understand what lies within the consumer’s black box . [Source: Western Washington University] Critical Analysis: Everyday customers are involved in some purchase or the other. It is thus very important for marketers to find out why, how, where, when and what customers buy. Marketing stimuli are under the control of marketers whereas other stimuli depends on external factors. In addition to this buyer characteristics are determined by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors. An example would help in clearly understanding the concept and we consider Harley Davidson. Americans do not buy a Harley Davidson but they buy a lifestyle. A Harley is associated with independence, liberty and power. American society is known as a free society where people are independent, has an affinity for powerful vehicles. This is the typical character of an American which is important for building a brand. The customer’s black box contains a product which is powerful, a symbol of freedom. The company keeps upgrading its showrooms and always tries to find new ways of promotions. It organize a camps where all Harley owners meet and travel a part of the city in their bikes. Harley also manufactures its accessories which has become a major style statement in U.S.. These are the marketing stimulus from Harley Davidson. Thus Harley exploits all sources of marketing communication i.e. it follows an integrated marketing communication strategy for its branding The other stimulus may be the fact that America is economically strong and Americans are technology freaks. All these factors combined results in a customer choosing Harley Davidson. Brand Building Strategies: Brand building is based on understanding of two basic drivers of consumer needs. A buyer seeks to satisfy two benefits from a brand. Functional Rational Emotional Brands are formed from a mix of functional, emotional and rational benefits that a buyer sees in a brand. Functional values refer to the quality of the product or service that a brand promises. Functional benefits are short lived and less sustainable in today’s market which is customer driven. High quality products or great service are expected from every brand because of the intense competition that exists in the market. The success of a brand is dependent on how well it can emotionally appeal to the buyer, because customer loyalty can only be ascertained by emotionally appealing to the buyer. For example Marlboro cigarette has a strong flavor which is a functional benefit, but the real success of the brand comes from a feeling of independence and spirit of strength that is associated with the brand. The packaging which is in red and white enhances the strength of the brand (Issac, 2000). A brand which satisfies both the drives of the buyer will be successful. Rational drivers address the cognitive needs of a buyer. It purely considers the functional needs of a buyer. As quoted by Philippe, “The world wants water not taps, the world wants warmth not heater.” Rational drivers may be based on quality, taste, look, design, value, technology etc. For example a Dove launched its brand purely based on rational benefits of “moisturizing plus cleaning. Subsequently the marketing communications were directed accordingly based on purely rational drives. The communication had to pass from awareness stage to buying stage (Ellwood-a, 2002, p147). In addition to the rational needs a buyer also seeks emotional benefits from a brand. There are four aspects of associated with emotional drives. They may be categorized as ideological, cultural, sociological and psychological. A marketer needs to understand these factors very well and develop a suitable marketing communication strategy keeping the above factors in mind (Ellwood-b, 2002, p163). .When a brand moves above rational drives and tries to position itself on emotional drives, its choices increase. For example a pen mainly satisfies rational needs of a buyer. However if it can be positioned emotionally in a consumers mind then the company can sell it at a higher price. Mont Blanc brand is a classic example of the above. It follows an Integrated Marketing communication strategy to brand itself. The IMC approach of Mont Blanc is as follows: Product: Mont Blanc pens are very elegant and classy in design Price: They are priced very high since it positions itself as a high quality, high status product. Place: Mont Blanc pens are available only in boutiques, jewelry stores and other exclusive stores. Promotion: Mont Blanc combines its advertising, promotions, personal relationship strategies to deliver one unique message to its target market (Brooks, n.d.) IMC in Brand Building: The change from traditional marketing communication strategies towards Integrated Marketing Communication is one of the most significant developments of the twentieth century. Consumer sentiments have changed with respect to attitude, lifestyle, preference, technology etc. Cable television’s are being replaced by satellite televisions, conventional formats like print, television, radios are being replaced by internet, out of home media is gaining wide popularity. Advertising is failing to register a brand in consumers. Market clutter is on a rise given the increased competition. Consumers are not responding to traditional formats. Hence there is a need to integrate all the traditional formats and deliver one unified message to the audience. Market structure has changed from manufacturers to retailers. Database marketing is becoming increasingly important (Belch, 2003, p 11). The examples below would clearly reveal how IMC can be used for brand building: McDonald: McDonald integrates the five means of communication to build and sustain its brand. It combines advertising, promotions, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing to communicate one unique message to its target group (McDonalds, n.d.) As part of promotional campaign McDonald has entered into ten year contract with Disney. Its Beanie Baby promotions continue successfully. It continues its happy price menu to woe its target market. It takes care of the public relations by continuous training and motivation of its staffs. It uses direct marketing to target kids in areas where their population is high. The clown and other cartoons are used to target the kids. Nike: Nike’s integrated marketing communication strategy also uses all the4 P’s to create a powerful brand. Product: Shoes, apparels, sports accessories and fitness equipments are the products offered by Nike. All of them are related to sports and fitness. Price: Nike targets the premium segment and hence its products are priced high. Place: Nike is available at its exclusive outlets and select multi brand stores. It sells its products through independent distributors and subsidiaries. The location of the stores is also carefully chosen since it has to be in line with its image as a premium brand. Hence the stores are located at prime commercial areas and malls. Promotion: In keeping with its image as a premium brand, Nike undertakes expensive promotional campaigns. It sponsors the Brazilian soccer team, Lance Armstrong for cycling, O’Neal for basketball and others. It also sponsors events like The Golden West Invitational and Hoop it Up. Thus it is clear that brand Nike focuses on integrated marketing communication to brand it. IMC in Brand Maintenance: Maintaining and sustaining a brand is equally difficult as building a brand. Maintenance of a brand is dependent on how well it connects with the brand. For example brands like Apple, Nike, Motorola, and Toyota constantly make changes to maintain their brand essence. It helps them in retaining their pool of existing buyers as well as in acquiring new buyers. The changes made to the brand must be communicated to the buyer. The brand shouldn’t lose its impact and get lost in the clutter. In order to do so changes made in the brand has to be backed by effective marketing communication so that buyer’s know that the brand is continuously improving. It is only then that consumers will stick to the brand. For example Nokia launches new products constantly. They support it by effective integrated marketing communication. They use print, television, blogs, social networking to make the buyers aware of the new launch. The most effective tool for Nokia is word of mouth publicity which helps it in maintaining brand loyalty. Conclusion: Integrated marketing communication is the most effective weapon for building a brand. The terms branding and marketing communications are interrelated and interdependent. Building a brand requires a thorough understanding of consumer behavior. A marketer who understands consumer behavior can develop effective marketing communication strategies. The Black Box model provides a framework for understanding how a purchase decision is influenced by market stimulus and other external stimulus. An understanding of the black box of the consumer helps the marketer to develop communication strategies accordingly. After a marketer understands consumer behavior, he needs to focus on how a brand is formed in the consumers mind. The Hierarchy of Effects model helps a marketer understand the Brand building process. Initially marketing communication is directed towards making the consumers aware of the brand and it ends with the buyer actually purchasing the brand. Traditional methods used for marketing communication can no longer ensure success for a brand. The brand has to be registered in the target audiences mind by integrated marketing communication. Integrated marketing communication helps in achieving synergies which produces an impact on the target audience. Recommendations: The recommendations are as follows: The first step towards branding is, understanding of consumer behavior. Any branding activity should be preceded by a thorough analysis of consumer behavior. The probability of a brand to be successful depends significantly on the depth and understanding of the marketer about his target group. Hence marketers should conduct extensive, in-depth market research on consumer behavior first. Secondly marketers should understand the way a brand makes its place in a consumers mind. He should understand the buyer’s perceptual mind. The marketing communications should be devised accordingly which creates maximum impact. Finally traditional marketing communication strategies are not sufficient for effective branding. An integrated marketing communication approach has to be taken up by every company to ensure maximum impact. Marketers should continuously look for new channels of communication. Social marketing, blogs, internet marketing, out of home advertising and other new formats must be exploited to the fullest. References: Belch. 2003. Advertising and promotion: an integrated marketing communications perspective. Tata McGraw-Hill Brooks, M. No Date. Emotional Benefits: How To Use Them To Promote Your Brand. [pdf] Available at: http://www.mb-journal.com/2004_Q3/SoundAdvice_11.pdf [Accessed on April 6, 2010]. Chiaravalle, B. Schenck, B.F. 2006. Branding for Dummies. For Dummies. Egan, J. 2007. Marketing Communications. Cengage Learning EMEA. Ellwood-b, I. 2002. The essential brand book: over 100 techniques to increase brand value. Kogan Page Publishers First Choice in Health. No date. Before consumers become aware of a company and its products and/or services they generally pass through a series of stages. The hierarchy of effects model. [Online] Available at: http://marketing.firstchoiceinhealth.org/2007/09/26/the-hierarchy-of-effects-model/ [Accessed on April 6, 2010]. Issac, B. 2000. Brand protection matters. Sweet & Maxwell. Jain, S. 2008. Integrated marketing communication: trends and innovations. Global India Publications Pvt. Ltd. McDonalds. No Date. Marketing Objectives .Marketing At McDonalds.[pdf]. Available at: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/static/pdf/aboutus/education/mcd_marketing.pdf [Accessed on April 6, 2010]. Schultz, D.E, Tannenbaum, S.I, Lauterborn, R.F. 1993. Integrated marketing communications. McGraw-Hill Professional West Virginia University. No Date. IMC Defined. What is IMC. [Online]. Available at: http://www.imc.wvu.edu/about/whatisimc.php [Accessed on April 6, 2010]. Tutor2u. No Date. Introduction. buyer behaviour - stimulus-response model. 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