Importance of Building Strong Brand and Effective Marketing - Coursework Example

Importance of Building Strong Brand and Effective Marketing Name Institution Course Date Importance of Building Strong Brand and Effective Marketing Introduction The marketing communication environment has evolved significantly from what it was in the past. Technological advancement and the internet have changed how companies interact and communicate with customers (Keller, 2008). Yet, brand building has become an important marketing strategy for many companies across the globe. Almost all companies are aimed at building a strong brand. Brands are very valuable in any organisation. Companies often aim to create strong brands by authoring compelling brand stories (Keller, 2008). Not all organisations are able to build strong brands and effective marketing communication due to ineffective brand-building tactics and inadvertent value of the brand. It is important for companies to build strong brands and effective marketing communication in order to reach its target customers (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Some of the benefits of marketing communication include stronger customer loyalty, market extension opportunities, competitiveness and large sale margins among others (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Marketing communication is the method used by companies to inform, persuade and remind customers about a product or a service. Strong brands are able to differentiate products from identical products and ensure that customers recognise a specific product (Kotler and Keller, 2006). This paper is going to discuss the importance of building strong brand and effective marketing communication. It will discuss the elements of brand-building and will explain the connection between branding and communications. The importance of brand-building will be illustrated using example from Coca-Cola Company and Vodafone. The Role of Branding and Marketing Communication Branding and marketing communication are beneficial to both customers and companies (Kornberger, 2010). To start with, with strong brands and effective marketing communication, companies can charge more for their products since the customers are willing to pay more for brands with compelling personalities. Charging higher prices allows companies to enjoy high profit margins. In addition, marketing communication is considered a means by which companies gain customer loyalty (Kornberger, 2010). An organisation with effective marketing communication and strong brand always have repeat purchases from consumers and enjoy positive word-of-mouth which enhances the image of the company. In the side of the customers, brands and marketing techniques are seen as important sources of information about a product or service (Olins, 2000). This simplifies the buying decisions of the consumers. In addition, strong brands are a mark of quality. For instance, if a consumer has a proof that a given brand is of high quality, he or she will gain a sense of safety to try the product or service and this will increase the sales of a company (Ashworth and Kavaratzis, 2010). Moreover, strong brands and effective marketing communications tend to influence the purchasing decisions of the consumers in favour of a given product or service. Marketing communication and branding try to influence cognitive, affective and behavioural concepts of consumers. A company with a strong brand and effective marketing communication enjoy the benefit of elastic customer response to price changes (Ashworth and Kavaratzis, 2010). For instance, a company that has established a powerful brand that is perceived as the best among the competitors does not suffer much when it increases or decreases the prices of its products or services (Ashworth and Kavaratzis, 2010). Customers are able to easily adapt to changing prices when they have a strong perception of a specific brand in their minds. Strong brands do not suffer from competitive marketing actions. They have already established themselves as the best brands and any actions by the competitors do not really affect their performance (Ashworth and Kavaratzis, 2010). In addition, strong brands often increase marketing communication effectiveness (Simoes and Dibb, 2001). Due to the strength of advertised brand, target audiences may be more willing to accommodate additional communications which can positively influence their cognitive and affective reactions to the brand. The ability of companies to realize and enjoy the benefits brought about by branding and effecting marketing communication tools depends on their marketing skills, resources availability and marketplace situations (Simoes and Dibb, 2001). How Brands are built Brand can be considered as a multifaceted construct that is created in people’s mind. Consumers are the ones who create the brand in their minds (Kapferer, 2008). This means that everything that an organisation does affects their brands. Brand building is founded upon two concepts; brand identity and brand image. Building a strong brand is linked to building effective business (Kapferer, 2008). Strong brands cannot be built out of organisations that do not offer value to customers. Building brand means developing a product or a service that resonates with customers. There are four constituents of the brand including brand equity, brand image, brand positioning as well as brand identity (Semenik et al., 2012). According to Keller (2008), brand-building process involves four major steps including creation of brand identity, forming the brand meaning, stimulating consumer brand responses and shaping brand relationship with customers. Brand-building tactics contribute to the effectiveness of a brand. Each person involved in developing a brand is expected to have skills in brand building by being creative and innovative using a specific branding tool (Semenik et al., 2012). Enacting the four steps of brand-building process is a complicated and difficult undertaking. In order to achieve all for steps, it is necessary to follow six brand building blocks including brand resonance, brand performance, brand judgement, brand salience, brand feeling and brand imagery (Hullberg, 2006). A strong brand often succeeds in all the six building blocks and follows the four brand-building steps. In general, the basic premise of building a strong brand relies on how customers think, feel and act among others with respect to a specific brand (Keller, 2001). Attaining brand resonance requires companies to induce the appropriate consumers’ cognitive appraisal as well as emotional reactions (Kotler and Gertner, 2002). This requires instituting brand identity and developing the proper meaning in relation to brand imagery and performance. When an organisation creates a brand with the right meaning and identity, they can make the customers believe that their brand is significant (Kotler and Gertner, 2002). A strong brand is that which customers get so attached and passionate about until they become evangelists of the brand through sharing and spreading the word about the brand. The power and strength of a brand is vested in customers (Kotler and Gertner, 2002). It is by learning about a brand and their experiences with it that they ultimately think and act in a manner that companies benefits from brand identity. Even though companies are required to effectively design and implement efficient and capable brand-building marketing programs, the success of such programs heavily rely on the responses of the consumers (Kornberger, 2010). These responses sequentially rely on the knowledge developed in their minds about the brand. Brand/Communication Concepts Brand Identity Brand identity is considered as the connotations that the brand stands for. It is an element of branding effort and is important in successful branding (Kapferer, 2008). Brand identity is sourced from brand name and logos, history of the brand and brand creator. Anything that can signify the uniqueness and distinguishing nature of the brand constitute its identity (Kapferer, 2008). There are six facets required for developing brand identity and they include self-image, brand reflection, brand physique, brand personality, brand relationship and brand culture. Brand identity is a key concept of branding as it assists in understanding how brand resonates with consumers and explain what a brand stands for. A strong brand identity is able to assist in creating trust between a company and the consumers which differentiates a brand from the competitors (Kapferer, 2008). Brand equity Brand equity is among the most important marketing concept. Brand equity is aimed at explaining the effects of brand-building programs on both the organisation and the customers (Simoes and Dibb, 2001). Brand equity tends to capture the value added to an organisation by the brand and is considered the strength and value of a given brand. Brand equity is made up of five elements, including brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty, perceived quality of a brand and proprietary brand assets. Brand awareness entails brand recognition which determines the purchasing decision-making process (Simoes and Dibb, 2001). Brand association consists of the image of a brand on people’s minds which is associated with a number of elements such as potential benefits, values, and product features. If the brand associations are limited, a brand is considered shallow. Perceived brand quality influence the market share and ultimately increases profitability. Brand quality is communicated to the consumers through signals like packaging and price (Simoes and Dibb, 2001). Brand loyalty is the attachment of a customer to a specific brand which increases recurrent purchases. Other proprietary brand assets include patents, channel relationships and trademarks. Brand positioning Brand positioning is the arrangement of a brand to occupy a distinguishing position in consumer’s mind (Kapferer, 2008). Companies often try to develop a specific image of their brands in people’s mind in order to be competitive. Companies through brand positioning try to explicate anticipated brand identity that expresses a desired image and brings about positive brand equity. The idea of brand positioning is to own a marketing niche using strategies such as pricing, promotions, distribution and competition among others (Kapferer, 2008). Brand positioning aims at creating a unique impression about a brand in consumer’s minds so as they can identify something desirable about the brand that is different from other brands. A company can enhance its brand positioning by establishing a brand positioning statement. A brand positioning statement is aimed at communicating the brand’s unique values to target audience (Kapferer, 2008). Brand image A brand image is a mental reflection of a given brand that differentiates it from the competitors. It is the mental reflection held in consumer’s memory. The creation of brand image in consumer’s mind might be intentional or unintentional (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Brand image relies on a person’s propensity to selectively receive and interpret marketing information. Consumers tend to have both primary and secondary brand image. The primary image is influenced by marketing efforts such as direct selling and advertising while the secondary image comes about when customers try products or services under a given brand (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Primary image is formed through marketing communication while secondary is created from brand encounters. This therefore means that some brand images are controlled by companies while others are not (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Brand-building in Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola has the highest market share in the non-alcoholic beverage industry. Coca-Cola Company has utilized a number of strategies in order to become the world’s largest recognized brand (Coca-Cola Journey, 2014). The company has strong brand equity, brand image, brand positioning as well as brand identity. It has positioned itself as the largest beverage company in America. Coca-Cola has been able to do this by differentiating itself by spending large amount of capital in advertising and promotion to differentiate itself from the competitors and create a unique image of the brand (Coca-Cola Journey, 2014). In addition, it has provided different products that have given them a competitive edge over the competitors. In addition, the company has a standardized logo that differentiates it from the competitors that has been imprinted in people’s mind for many years (Coca-Cola Journey, 2014). It has maintained customer loyalty through fixed prices, unique packaging and quality of its drinks. The brand image conveyed and the availability of the products makes Coca-Cola the most bought brand. The image of the brand is created on a universal value and happiness (Coca-Cola Journey, 2014). The physical elements of the brand such as logo colour and shape make it different from the competitors. Coca-Cola’s identity is seen in the message they convey, “Coke makes you happy”. Coca-Cola communicates to people what to expect from drinking their products and differentiate it from other products (Coca-Cola Journey, 2014). The company has used the phrase “have a Coke and a smile” in order to establish its brand as an experience that brings happiness to them. In addition, in order to communicate to consumers, the company as utilized different marketing tools such as TV advertising, internet marketing, print media among others. The major marketing tool for the company is television advertisement since it is able to reach a large number of target audiences (Coca-Cola Journey, 2014). Brand Building in Vodafone Vodafone has established itself as the largest telecom operator in the world. The brand has a reputation of being the finest telecom service provider (Vodafone, 2015). Being a foreign brand, it has been able to attract customers across the globe due to its memorability and meaning portrayed through its brand logo and trade mark. The company’s log has been in existence for many years, which makes it memorable in consumer’s minds. The brand name and logo makes it likable, which has promoted brand loyalty and has increased its customer base (Vodafone, 2015). Vodafone use the same logo across the world which shows the customers that they offer the same quality of service globally. Vodafone has created an image that is understood by a larger audience. The brand positioning of the company states that “Vodafone assist people enjoy richer communication anytime and anywhere; it is reliable, easy and add great value” (Vodafone, 2015). The company has differentiated its services from the competitors on the basis of advertisement which has positioned its brand in a world class manner. Vodafone relies on advertisement campaigns to position itself in the service space by telling the customers that they respect them and are ready to help (Vodafone, 2015). Each marketing communication tool developed by the company positioned the Vodafone as a company that offers value added services in a way that is easily accessible and understandable. “Wherever you go, our network follows” is the slogan used by Vodafone which has assisted in establishing a strong brand identity (Vodafone, 2015). In addition, its slogans contribute to its brand equity since they are able to build brand awareness and contain information about the services they offer (Rajpurohit and Visita, 2011). Vodafone relies on marketing communication tools such as online advertisement, social media promotion, and print advertisement to promote its brand image. These tools are used by the company as a way of improving its customer base (Rajpurohit and Visita, 2011). The company relies on creative advertisement in order to communicate to the target audience. The company established a successful Zoo Zoo campaign which became famous among the consumers. Marketing Communication Tools for Strong Brand Marketing communication is aimed at influencing the behaviour and attitudes of consumers in favour of a given brand. There are three objectives of marketing communication; cognitive, affective and behavioural objectives (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). Behavioural objectives are aimed at engaging actions in the best interests of the customers. It can be in the form of stimulating sales or stimulating word-of mouth. On the other hand, the cognitive objective is focussed on establishing awareness about a brand and stimulating the interest of the customers in the brand (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). Affective objective is focussed on changing the attitudes of consumers and their feelings about a brand. For branding and marketing communication strategies to be effective, they must cover all the three aspects (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). There are a number of tools that can be used by marketers so as to communicate with the target audience. Some of the tools include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, sponsorship, public relation, exhibitions and trade fairs and e-commerce marketing (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). Brands are expected to create and deliver messages and information through marketing tools that are able to reach and influence many audiences. Advertising is among the most used marketing tool (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). One way of offering brand stories is through none-to-many marketing communications like advertising. Consumers are blasted with very many advertising messages. They often make purchasing decisions in accordance to the information they obtain from these advertisements. Many companies are investing a lot of money in advertisement campaigned in order to communicate to their audiences (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). However, due to the changing business environment as a result of technological advancement, companies have shifted their attention to online and internet marketing (Fill, 2009). Companies have increased their social media presence in order to expand market share and enhance their competitiveness. Every marketing tool offers some benefits to companies and it is the work of the companies to choose the best marketing tool to use. Companies should use the marketing tools that target audience are likely to pay more attention to (Rosenbaum, Percy and Peryan, 2011). Ethics in Marketing Communication Effective marketing communication should take into consideration the aspect of ethics. There are always some concerns raised in marketing since some companies often follow unethical practises when communicating their brand to customers (Fill, 2009). Marketing communication has always been alleged to create a culture of conspicuous consumption and exploiting anxieties of customers. Some marketing practices that are unethical are those that target vulnerable groups using controversial messages and those that manipulate people by concealing some information about a brand (Fill, 2009). The behaviour of an organisation with regard to marketing affects how brand is perceived. While the unethical practices might seem attractive due to its positive short-term effects, in the long run they may damage the image of the company. Therefore, for effective marketing communication, companies should ensure that they pursue marketing ethics (Fill, 2009). How Branding and Marketing Communications are linked Marketing communication tools are considered very important in creating brand equity. These marketing communication tools are necessary to build brand image and brand awareness (Fill, 2009). Marketing communication tools are used to establish point of difference and similarities with the competitors which makes put an impression in people’s mind about a brand leading to strong brand equity. One major reason for the growing significance of marketing communication is its role in creating and sustaining brand identity and equity (Olins, 2000). Brand-building has become a priority to many organisations in today’s market place. Building effective brand identity and equity necessitates the development of brands that have strong associations in consumer’s minds. Brand identity can be seen as the combination of different factors including brand name, logo, packaging and associations that come into mind about a specific brand. It entails all happenstances that consumers have with a given brand (Fill, 2009). These happenstances can be created through the use of marketing communication tools such as television advertisement, print media, internet marketing and sales promotion etc. Consumers often receive or come into contact with a brand through these marketing tools (Kapferer, 2008). There are different opportunities for contacting customers in order to offer them with information about a brand. According to customer-based brand equity model, brand equity is dependent on the brand knowledge, image and information created in the consumer’s mind by marketing communication tools such as advertisement (Kapferer, 2008). Brand knowledge is not always the factual information about a brand, but a perception and feelings about a brand created in the minds of customers. The type and effectiveness of marketing communication tool are able to influence the strength of a given brand (Kapferer, 2008). Marketing communication programs often contribute to brand equity and identity and may drive sales and profits. Marketing communication tools create awareness of a brand, connect the appropriate associations to brand in people’s mind, induce positive perception and feelings about a brand and accelerate powerful consumer-brand connection. However, in order to do this, the marketing communication tools must be integrated so as to deliver a consistent message about a brand (Kapferer, 2008). In order for a strong brand to be created, the right knowledge should be available in consumer’s minds in order for them to be able to respond positively to marketing practices. Marketing communications are able to play an important part in shaping this knowledge (Semenik et al., 2012). Conclusion Brand building is a very important marketing strategy for many companies across the globe. A company with a strong brand and effective marketing communication is able to survive in today’s competitive business environment. Branding and marketing communication are beneficial to companies as it creates customer loyalty, results to larger sales and profit margins, reduce vulnerability to competition and increases elastic customer response to price changes among others. There are four concepts of brand; brand equity, brand image, brand positioning as well as brand identity which are important in ensuring success of a company. Companies like Coca-Cola and Vodafone have been able to create a strong brand identity and image. There are a number of marketing tools that can be used by marketers so as to communicate with the target audience such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations and personal selling etc. Marketing communication tools are used to change the attitudes of consumers and their feelings about a brand, and awareness of a product or service. A strong brand is build when the consumers have the right knowledge about a brand in their mind which enables them to respond positively to marketing practices. Marketing communications is a primary element shaping consumer’s knowledge about a brand. It is important for companies to build strong brand and effective marketing communication in order to be competitive and succeed in the business environment. References Ashworth, G. J and Kavaratzis, M (eds) 2010, Towards Effective Place Brand Management: Branding European Cities and Regions, Cheltenham, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar. Coca-Cola Journey 2014, "Our Company: Mission, Vision & Values." Global. Retrieved 28th Oct. 2016 from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values Fill, C 2009, Marketing Communications: Interactivity, Community and Content: ‘Integrated Marketing Communications’ (Chapter 9), pp. 256- 286, Harlow, FT Prentice Hall. 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