Analysis of the Body Shop Brand in Relation to the CBBE Model - Case Study Example

Name: Topic: Analysis of the Body Shop brand in relation to the CBBE model Institution: Date of submission: Instructor: Introduction The power that brands hold is very crucial in the current age businesses and are primary linked to the notion of relationship marketing[Hel14]. It is not surprising how the role that brands play is increasingly being important, especially in marketing. A brand can be simply defined as a vendor’s promise to convey a specific set of services, features and benefits to the consumer. Often, a brand will include a clear logo, color schemes, symbols, fonts and sounds which are developed with the aim of representing the implicit ideas, values as well as personalities[McK13]. It assists an organization to clearly communicate necessary images on the quality, uniqueness and features of its products offerings that sets it apart from other organizations. Building a strong and unique brand which communicates the best among many is not an easy task. There are various parameters that customers assess in judging a certain brand which should be taken into. The importance of branding to an organization or any other seller of a product cannot be downplayed. It is a manner of promoting recognition since people are busy and always seem to observe familiarity[Kel01]. Consumers are most likely to select a product or service whose brand they clearly recall, had previously used and remember being satisfied with all it entailed. In addition, consumers get to cling on the identity that a brand offers, which translates to loyalty. The customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model is brand-building model that was developed to map out brand equity, defining what it is, how it is supposed to be built, measured as well as how it should be managed[Kel011]. It is comprehensive, knowledgeable and actionable. It is based on the fact that a brand’s power resides in the product’s customers. Thus building a strong brand entails ensuring that consumers link the desired attitudes and perceptions to the products and services being offered. The aim of this report is to give a clear analysis of the Body Shop brand in relation to the CBBE model. Body Shop is an international cosmetics company founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon[The12]. It is well known to be a massive producer of beauty products that are absolutely natural. The company has its headquarters in Little Hampton, England and is currently partly owned by L’Oreal Group Company. Consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) of Body Shop According to CBBE, building any strong brand entails a chain of steps, whereby every step is a reliant of the previous step. These steps include establishing a clear brand identity, creating the suitable brand meaning, eliciting accessible and positive brand responses and lastly establishing brand relationships with the consumers[Kuh04]. The achievement of these stages encompasses the establishment of six brand-building blocks .These include brand performance, brand salience, brand imagery, brand feelings, brand judgments as well as brand resonance. The most valuable of the all is brand resonance, which occurs after all the others have been established. This is because with factual resonance, consumers get to express great loyalty to the brand at hand, sharing the experiences with others. This means that firms which achieve brand resonance always reap much benefit. For instance, they are able to achieve greater price rewards and more effective and efficient marketing programs. A pyramid is often used to illustrate the various steps and the brand-building blocks that have to be put in every step, as shown below: Figure 1: Customer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid The analysis of the Body Shop branding in relation to the CBBE model clearly shows how the various brand- building blocks are achieved in each step of brand building. The first step, which involves the achievement of the appropriate brand identity, involves the creation of brand salience[Sta07]. Brand salience is related with how well a consumer is able to recognize or rather recall the brand[Tay07]This includes being able to link the brand name, logo, symbol and sounds to particular associations in their memory. Precisely, the building of brand awareness entails making sure that the consumer is fully aware of the service or product category in which the involved brand competes. A study conducted through interviewing and administering questionnaires to various consumers of Body Shop products illustrated that the respondents clearly recalled the brand as well as recognized the logo very easily due to the fact that they had adequate knowledge of it[Sta07]. Many respondents had previously used a Body Shop product. This proves that the brand has strong positive brand equity as well as the breadth, as purchases similar to the brand were made in comparison with its competitors in the market. Brand salience is a crucial initial step in building the brand equity, though it is not satisfactory by itself[Tay07]. The meaning of the brand comes into consideration for most consumers of a product. The creation of the brand meaning, which is the second step in the CBBE model, involves the establishment of the brand image (the characteristics of the brand and what it stands for in the consumers’ minds). Brand meaning can be generally distinguished according to the functional considerations and the imagery-related considerations. Therefore, brand meaning consists of performance and imagery, which are some of the brand-building blocks[Kal12]. Imagery is an aspect of brand meaning whereby the importance is linked to the degree at which the brand meets the psychological as well as the social needs of the consumer. For the Body Shop, the respondents tend to associate the users of the brand to those customers who prefer products made from natural ingredients[The11]. The brand, which has five values (protect the planet, support the community fair trade, defend human rights, against animal testing and active self-esteem) create a desirable image of Body Shape as it promote life and the social lives of the consumers. In addition, the brand portrays an image of freshness by the use of the green color. Brand performance on the other hand is the prime influence of what the customers experience with a certain brand, including the information they get from the others about the brand[Kel011]. It also includes what the firm informs the consumers regarding the brand. The level of the consumer’s experience with the brand should be at its expectation level or should even exceed .Body Shop is deliberated to having average prices for most of its products, although some are a little bit expensive. In addition, its product packaging is green and thus goes hand in hand with the fact that its products are made up of natural ingredients[The11].The products also have a good and natural smell, an aspect that is greatly preferred by many customers. The third step in brand building is eliciting accessible and possible brand responses. Brand responses can be seen as how the consumers respond to the brand including its market activity, that is, their thoughts and feelings regarding the brand. Brand responses can be notable in terms of brand feelings and brand judgments[McK13]. Brand judgments put their focus on the consumers’ individual opinions and assessments involving the brand. In the creation of a strong brand, four kinds of brand judgments are crucial. These include brand quality, its credibility, its consideration and its superiority. The study done on Body Shop branding confirms that its superiority lies on its ability and focus to produce diverse and natural products. Thus, most customers have positive thoughts regarding it, especially due to its stand against animal testing and environmental conservation[The11]. The emotional reactions and responses of consumers is what are termed form the brand feelings. The feelings can be either positive or negative, and may relate to the societal currency that is evoked by the brand[Sta07]. The six crucial types of brand feelings include security, excitement, warmth, fun, self-respect and social approval. Body shop brand is described to evoke feelings of social approval due to its focus on social and environmental issues. Various consumers rely on the firm’s skin products which are made in consideration with different skin types[Sta07]. As a result of this, many consumers express great satisfaction with the brand. This is emphasized by the fact that the Body Shop store is also convivial and comprehensive, ensuring people have a range of products to choose from. The last step in brand-building, according to the CBBE model is the establishment of brand relationships with the customers. It focuses on the level and nature of identification that the consumer has with the brand. The brand-building block that is highly expressed in this stage is brand resonance. This refers to the nature and type of relationship which the consumer has with the brand and the degree to which they feel they are in synchrony with it. It is characterized by the depth of the bond between the brand and the customer and the resulting customer actions that pertains to that loyalty. Brand relationships can be said to involve two angles, which are intensity and activity. Intensity refers to the degree of attitudinal attachment while activity refers to how often the customer purchases and uses the brand, including other engagements that are not linked with the purchase. Body Shop has loyal customers who are known to repurchase various products of the brand[The11]. This is due to the fact that the customers feel that the band provides all that they require in the cosmetic category. The firm also promotes its brand on social media sites whereby it creates a community of consumers who buy their products, thus encouraging loyalty. In addition, it informs its consumers on the new products in the market as well as the improvements made on certain products through emails, keeping them well knowledgeable. Conclusion Branding can be compared to the ancient coat of arms which various families had associated with their names. It inculcates respect, wealth as well as fear. Works Cited Hel14: , (Helin, 2014), McK13: , (McKinsey Marketing and Sales Practice, 2013), Kel01: , (Keller, 2001), Kel011: , (Keller, 2001), The12: , (The Body Shop International , 2012), Kuh04: , (Kuhn & Alpert, 2004), Sta07: , (Staisch, 2007), Tay07: , (Taylor et al., 2007), Kal12: , (Kalakumari & Sekar, 2012), The11: , (The Body Shop International , 2011), Read More