Brand Management: The Case of HMV - Term Paper Example

Brand management: The Case of HMV Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Overview of the problem 4 Recommended changes and repositioning strategy 5 Brand identity 5 Brand personality 6 Brand image 7 Brand stretching 7 Implementing the plan 8 Audit 9 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 12 BARTONE, C. (2011). Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative 12 Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self . journal of marketing. Vol. 75. No. 4 12 BEATH, J., & KATSOULACOS, Y. S. (1991). The economic theory of product differentiation. 12 Cambridge [England], Cambridge University Press. 12 ELLIOTT, R., & PERCY, L. (2007). Strategic brand management. Oxford [u.a.], 12 Oxford Univ. Press. 12 MOSCHANDREAS, M. (2000). Business economics. London [u.a.], Business Press. 12 TAYLOR, D. (2004). Brand Stretch Why 1 in 2 Extensions Fail, and How to Beat the Odds Chichester, John Wiley & Sons. 13 Introduction Effective brand management results into a plethora of marketing benefits to a firm. Every company has the potential to produce products that are even similar in characteristics with products from other firms. However, there are intangible aspects of the products that a given firm produces that are of value to the customer (Moschandreas 2000). In the service industry, for instance, the availability of the service is the aspect that would make many customers opt for the service offered by one firm instead of the competitors. These unique attributes added to a product are what construct the concept of brand management. In brand management, the core intention is to achieve some strategic position in the production and marketing of a particular product. A brand therefore serves the function of differentiating the product of one manufacturer from the others by adding special intangible attributes to the product Many firms today operate a wide range of product brands which is known as a brand portfolio. In a brand portfolio, brand management issues are like brand strength is bound to arise if the brand identity, image, personality, and value are not properly managed (Aaker 2009). This paper uses the case of His Masters voice a retail outlet giant in demonstrating how to effectively manage a brand portfolio. It begins by giving a brief background of the problems identified and then proceeds to make recommendations on the issues identified based on theory and practice. Overview of the problem His Masters Voice (HMV) is a company that came into existence in the year 1921. It is a brand whose reputation in the UK market and in many countries that it operates in for its wide rand of entertainment products ranging from cassettes and gaming devices to books. Since 1921, and earlier operations, the brand mainly focused in the retail of cassettes, and gramophones. Later, the company introduced DVDs and computer based gamming consoles in the fast-changing technology environment. Today, the company has diversified product brands under its corporate brand. Among the new product brands, it has launched include computer gaming software and clothing and fashion accessories. This diversification comes with challenges that include maintaining and the brand image of the firm and managing the brand portfolio created. Before the introduction of the apparels brand in the portfolio, the company was well known for its gramophones. In fact, the company gained its reputation from the sale and distribution of these items which were used in music and entertainment. Introducing a new product brand into a portfolio of brands, the possible challenges that arise include the potential customer confusion on the actual brand identity of an organization. When a brand cannot have a strong identity in the market, there are chances that the brand value will decline. A decline in brand value will translate into a small market activity for the brand and as such lower the turnover of sales. The decline can also cause a reduction on the strength of the brand in the market. This reduction in the strength will cause a consistent decline or dilution of the brand image in the market and reduce the loyalty that has been established over many years. Recommended changes and repositioning strategy The process of creating a new product line, there should involve careful planning and allocation of capacity to manage the brand stretch. To reposition the brand in the market, the changes that are recommended are given in the following aspects of the brand. Brand identity Brand identity is an internal aspect of the company that the customers of the firm derive from their interactions with the company. It is derived from the organization culture and the physical outlook of the premises of the firm in most cases. In most studies, the brands identity is given by the managerial aspects of a firm and the overall shared value that is projected from the behavior of the members of the organization (Berger, Ho and Joshi 2011). The reputation created by an identity of a brand in the mind of customers is likely to fade under two conditions. First, the reputation or identity can be affected by the inability of the brand to offer the same qualities in when brands are added to the corporate brand and second due to poor management of a brand portfolio. In the case of HMV, the company needs to focus on retaining a pre-established brand identity that has been built over time. For a long period, the brand has been well known for the high standards in the provision of cassettes and DVD of recorded music. From the companys slogan, "the top dog of music and DVDs", it is quite clear that the company bent on becoming the leader in providing recorded music DVDs. This identity must be kept consistent as it is the promise that the firm gives to its customers. Any diversion from this position will create confusion to the customers, and this will water down the ability of customers to develop and emotional connection to the business. For HMV, the promise to give its customers high-quality music DVDs and related accessories is the point of identity that connects it to the customers. This position should be consistently projected in the physical identity aspects of the organization which includes the slogan and the logos of the business (Helding, Knudtzen and Bjerre 2009). Brand personality Brand personality defines the human-like qualities that consumers of a brand are most likely to associate with and the qualities that drive them to consume a particular brand. In consumption trends research, it has been discovered that consumers tend to use products that display traits that they can associate with. Moreover, some consumers preference are directed by symbolic consumption (Baudrillard 1970). To these consumers, the products that they use convey a meaning about their personality or what they would love to be. The personality being conveyed by the product used by the consumer her is the brand personality, and it mimics human-like behavior Well created brand personality has the power to develop more loyalty and connection with the consumers than the use of traditional reward schemes. HMV uses a reward scheme that enrolls loyal customers with smart cards, and customers are given loyalty points for each purchase. This method is not effective as it is easily replicated within other organizations. The best method to deal with the aspect of loyalty is at the brand level. Through the brand personality, the company can develop more emotional connection to their market segment (Bartone 2011). The feeling of attachment ownership and emotional attachment has the potential to generate more association which leads to customers being loyal to the brand. Brand image A brand image covers the external view of the organization as perceived by the customers or members of the public and customers in general who are not part of the organization. It represents the general view of the public about the brand and combines all the aspects of a brand. For HMV to give an impressive overall brand image, the company should consider controlling its brand image to convey a positive image. Park, Jaworski and Maclnnis (1986), introduces a concept known as brand concept management that can be used by HMV in developing a positive brand image. In this concept, a brand image can be controlled through strategic actions that will lead to the company repositioning itself in the market. The process begins by selecting a brand concept, in this case, the study advises that this should be selected from the consumers point of view. The choice of image from the customers point of view would make more meaning and make the brand resonate well with the customers. This concept is then infused into the products of the company at introduction and elaborated through promotions and advertisement. To make the brand image stronger, fortification actions can be undertaken to add more value to the brand image. Brand stretching Increasing brands under the corporate brand can be difficult and challenging as it is the main cause of dilution of the strength of the corporate image and brand, in general. Therefore, the introduction of new brands in a brand portfolio should be carefully planned (Elliott & Percy 2007). HMV has a long tradition in the retail industry. Its core identity comes from the fact that the company has had a significant influence in the provision of quality music DVDs and music related accessories. Adding a fashion line to the business will, therefore, create confusion on the identity that has taken a long time to build. However, when the process of introducing the fashion brand is well handled the company can reap from the several benefits of brand extension (Taylor 2004). For the company to successfully introduce a fashion brand into its portfolio, HMV needs to assign different roles to the brands under its portfolio. In this case, the standards already set by the retail chain as a leader in the provision of high-quality music DVDs and music accessories should take the driving role. The music and DVDs brand of HMV will be the main brand that fuels customer associations of customers loyalty and the decision to make purchases from their stores. Resources in marketing communication, advertisements and any other function that improves the brand equity assets should be majorly channeled to this driver brand. This will improve the level of brand activity and generate additional resources for implementing the introduction of the fashion brand. The fashion brand, in this case, will be seen as a futuristic project that the company wants to perfect in order to create diversity in its market in the future. Implementing the plan To implement the recommendations that have been developed in the preceding discussion need careful planning. Careful planning will ensure that each marketing activity is carried out at an appropriate timeframe for its ultimate success in increasing brand equity. Before going into the introduction of the fashion line of products, it is essential for the brand to first work towards repositioning itself in the market. This involves activities that will create a high brand value or equity and increase the level of loyalty of the customers. For purposes of improving the overall image of a brand, the first process will be to create an unforgettable hallo effect on customers. This will involve activities like premise design and arrangement, the organization culture realignment, and design of user-friendly websites and other communication channels. The impact of this is to strengthen the overall corporate identity of the business. The next action is to create and sell emotions. Emotions and attachments is a critical aspect of business and aims at binding the customers of the business to the firm (Aaker 2002). In creating and selling emotions, customers are more likely to associate with a firm, and this increases loyalty levels. To achieve this, the firm will identify personality traits that their consumers prefer and implement them on their product. For HMV, the most probable culture that is associated with its products is the celebrity culture. The firm can exploit this aspect to create and sell more binding personality traits to improve the loyalty. Finally, introducing the fashion line is the last action that the company is supposed to take in repositioning itself in the market. This will ensure that the company has a strong brand association and identity that will act as a pedestal to introduce the new line of products. All this activities will be made possible through rigorous marketing communication techniques, advertisements, and promotions. Product differentiation and innovation will also assist in developing the brand as a leading brand within the industry. Audit The health status of a brand needs to be checked every time to ensure that the brands performance in the market is maintained. It is possible to achieve this on a regular and at a predetermined interval that is convenient to the firm. The main aspect that is usually investigated in a brand audit is the brand equity. Brand equity in most cases relates to the concept of value of the brand. Different schools of thought emerge in measuring the value of a brand in a market. However, the brand equity indicators are fairly related from these different lines of thought. Aaker (1996), for instance, talks about the determinants of equity to be brand awareness, perceived quality of the products, loyalty to the brand and brand associations. To measure the value of a brand in the market, it is the four distinctive assets that add value to a brand that are measures. That is the level of awareness of the brand, perceived quality, loyalty, and brand associations. According to MacDonald and Sharp (2000), consumer psychology is a driving force in making purchase information. In fact, the study indicates that customers are likely to make a purchase of unbranded high-quality products instead of branded products with low quality. This in itself is an indicator of the fact that when customers are aware of a brand then there is a high chance of the same brand having high brand equity. For HMV, the following procedure will outline a comprehensive audit of the brand that aims at determining the health status of the brand in the UK market and even worldwide. First, the brand needs to set out a framework that the audit will cover. The framework includes topics like the competition, purpose of the audit, the firms product differentiators and position in the market as compared to the competition. The framework that will be set by HMV in auditing may vary from time to time depending on the market trends and innovations, but they will guide the direction of the company audit. The next procedure is to list down the critical indicators of an up and running business. These indicators will help in determining the level of activity of the brand in the market as compared to other brands. HMV will also require the customers opinion of the products and services that it offers. This feedback can be obtained from simple feedback questionnaires filled at the store and the number of complaints registered in a season. In-house testing of a product is also a good method of obtaining an opinion about the quality of a product. From this information gathered, HMV should then proceed to make a detailed report that includes an action plan to improve the value of the brand. Conclusion In conclusion, the level of activity of a brand will be determined by the careful management of the different aspects of the brand (Garsten & De Montoya 2008)). The target of all marketers is to increase their brand value which has a significant influence on the brands equity. In a competitive environment or industry, there is need to differentiate a brand from the rival in order to gain a strategic advantage (Beath & Katsoulacos 1991). Increasing a brand portfolio should also be a subject of careful planning and action. The aim of the planning is to mitigate the negative effects that the new brand can have on the existing ones like cannibalism. In the case of HMV, forming a strong and healthy brand with a high equity is a pedestal that will ease the task of introducing other line of products to the overall corporate brand. Bibliography AAKER, D. A. (2009). Brand portfolio management strategy: creating relevance, Differentiation,Energy, Leverage and Clarity. New York, Simon Schuster AAKER, D. A. (2012). Building Strong Brands. New York, Simon Schuster AAKER, J.L. (1996). Brand personality. Journal of marketing research. Vol. 34. No. 1 BARTONE, C. (2011). Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self . journal of marketing. Vol. 75. No. 4 Baudrillard (1970) The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures, Sage BEATH, J., & KATSOULACOS, Y. S. (1991). The economic theory of product differentiation. Cambridge [England], Cambridge University Press. BERGER, J.,HO, B. AND JOSHI, Y. (2011). Identity Signaling with Social Capital: A Model of Symbolic Consumption. Pennsylvania ELLIOTT, R., & PERCY, L. (2007). Strategic brand management. Oxford [u.a.], Oxford Univ. Press. GARSTEN, C., & DE MONTOYA, M. L. (2008). Transparency in a new global order unveiling organizational visions. Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar. HELDING, T. KNUDTZEN, C.F. AND BJERRE, M. (2009). Brand management: Research, Theory and Practice. New York, Routlege. MACDONALD, E. AND SHARP, B. M. (2000). Brand Awareness Effects on Consumer Decision Making for a Common, Repeat Purchase Product: A Replication. Journal of business research. Vol. 15 No. 5 MOSCHANDREAS, M. (2000). Business economics. London [u.a.], Business Press. PARK, C.W., JAWORSKI, B. J., AND MACLNNIS, D. (1986). Strategic brand concept – Image Management. Journal of marketing. Vol 50. 135- 145 TAYLOR, D. (2004). Brand Stretch Why 1 in 2 Extensions Fail, and How to Beat the Odds Chichester, John Wiley & Sons. Read More