This document discusses brand planning and positioning. It introduces the brand resonance model, which outlines steps to build customer-based brand equity through increasing levels of brand awareness, meaning, response, and relationships. The goal is to create brand resonance where customers feel in sync with the brand. It also covers the brand positioning model, including identifying competitive frames of reference, points of parity/difference, and developing brand mantras. Tools like these can help guide strategic brand planning and implementation.

1. BRAND PLANNING
1

2. The Concept of
Customer-Based Brand Equity
Customer-based brand equity

Differential effect

Customer brand knowledge

Customer response to brand marketing

2

3. Building
Customer-Based Brand Equity
The initial choices for the brand elements

Brand name, logo, symbol, character, slogan….

Marketing and other activities and

supporting marketing programs
Products, services, communications, channels ….

Other associations indirectly transferred

to the brand by linking it to some other
entities
Other companies, brands, places, people ….

3

4. Benefits of
Customer-Based Brand Equity
Enjoy greater brand loyalty & be less vulnerable

to competitive marketing actions
Command larger margins & have more inelastic

responses to price increases and elastic
responses to price decreases
Receive greater trade cooperation & support

Increase marketing communication

effectiveness
Yield licensing opportunities

Support brand extensions

Bridge between past activities and future

direction
4

5. Three Tools to
Facilitate Brand Planning
Holistic marketing requires careful planning

and implementation.
To help guide these efforts, three models of

increasing scope are presented:
1) brand positioning model describes how to guide integrated
marketing to maximize competitive advantages;
2) brand resonance model describes how to create
intense, activity loyalty relationships with customers; and
3) brand value chain model describes how to trace the value
creation process to better understand the financial impact
of marketing expenditures and investments.
5

6. 1. Brand Positioning Model
Kevin Lane Keller, Brian Sternthal, and Alice Tybout (2002),

“Three Questions You Need to Ask About Your Brand,”
Harvard Business Review, September, 80 (9), 80-89.
6

7. Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is about how we want target

customers to think about a brand with respect to
competitors
A strong brand positioning helps guide

organizational activities by clarifying the brand’s
essence, what the brand helps the customer
achieve, and how it is unique in doing so
Everyone in the organization should understand the brand

positioning and use it as context for making decisions
7

8. Classic Brand Positioning Statement
To ___________________________________________________________________,
(Target Group/Need)
_______________is the brand of __________________________________________.
(Brand) Frame of Reference (Perceptual)
Competing Mainly With ___________________________________________________
Frame of Reference (Competitive)
that ___________________________________________________________________,
(Relevant Differentiating Benefit)
because ______________________________________________________________.
(Reason To Believe)
The Brand Character is: ___________________________________________________

9. Amazon.com Positioning
For the young at heart who value an infinite amount of
choices, Amazon.com is the virtual cookie jar, competing
mainly with all brick and mortar stores, that gives you the
perfect combination of convenience, service, selection and
price, because Amazon.com offers a truly global selection
of products.
Brand Character: Simple, Friendly, Empowering
9

10. Problems with Classical
Positioning Statement
Ignores possibility of multiple

points-of-difference
Assumes only 1 key point-of-difference

Ignores need for points-of-parity

Doesn’t provide forward-looking

growth platform
10

11. The Four Components of a
Superior Competitive Positioning
Competitive frames of reference

Nature of competition

Target market

Develop unique brand points-of-difference (POD’s)

Desirable to consumer

Deliverable by the brand

Differentiating from competitors

Establish shared brand points-of-parity (POP’s)

Negate competitor points-of-difference

Demonstrate category credentials

Brand mantras

Short 3-to-5 word phrases that capture key POD’s & the irrefutable

essence or spirit of the brand.
11

12. Coca-Cola Positioning
Competitive frame of

reference
Colas?

Non-alcoholic?

Points-of-difference

Distinctive taste profile

Optimistic view of life

Classic, iconic symbolism &

imagery
Points-of-parity

Contemporary, up-to-date

Refreshing flavor

Brand slogan

“Coke Side of Life”

12

13. Identifying & Choosing
POP’s & POD’s
Desirable? (consumer perspective)

Personally relevant

Believable & credible

Deliverable? (firm perspective)

Feasible

Profitable

Pre-emptive, defensible & difficult to attack

Differentiating? (competitive perspective)

Distinctive & superior

13

14. Identifying & Choosing
POP’s & POD’s
14

15. Principles Reinforced
By Miller Lite Launch
Both points-of-parity and points-of-difference

are needed to be well-positioned
Points-of-parity and points-of-difference are

often negatively correlated
Points-of-parity are NOT points-of-equality –

there is a zone or range of indifference or
tolerance
Points-of-parity may even need to be the

focus of marketing communications as the
points-of-difference may be a “given”
15

16. Miller Lite Update
Miller Lite had experienced flagging sales,

falling behind both Bud Lite and Coors Lite
Management decides to create a powerful

new position …
Reaffirm core duality and functional benefit of less filling

& great tasting
Reinforce strong user imagery and emotional appeal as to

uncompromising character
By addressing inherent product trade-offs

and linking performance & emotional
equities …
Sales rise 10% during 2004-2005

16

17. Accenture
Straddle Positioning Strategy
Accenture is the company that combines:

Strategic insight, vision, and thought leadership

Information technology expertise in developing client

solutions
This strategy permits:

Points-of parity with its two main competitors, McKinsey &

IBM
While simultaneously achieving points-of-difference

17

18. Accenture
Strategy
Straddle Positioning
& Vision
(WHAT they do)
Technology
& Execution

19. Accenture Straddle Positioning
McKinsey IBM
Strategy
POP POD
& Vision
Technology &
POD POP
Execution

20. Accenture
Proactive, Agile,
Straddle Positioning
& Passionate
(HOW they do it)
Approachable &
Collaborative

21. Accenture Straddle Positioning
McKinsey IBM
Proactive, Agile,
POP POD
& Passionate
Approachable
POD POP
& Collaborative

22. Accenture
High Performance. Delivered.
22

23. Communicating & Establishing
POP’s & POD’s
Create POP’s and POD’s in the face of

attribute & benefit trade-offs
Price & quality

Convenience & quality

Taste & low calories

Efficacy & mildness

Power & safety

Ubiquity & prestige

Comprehensiveness (variety) & simplicity

Strength & refinement

23

24. Strategies to Reconcile
Attribute & Benefit Trade-Offs
Design optimal product & services

Establish separate marketing

programs
Leverage secondary association (e.g.,

co-brand)
Re-define the relationship from

negative to positive
24

25. Brand Mantras
Short 3-to-5 word phrases that capture the

irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand.
Brand mantra must clearly delineate what

the brand is supposed to represent and
therefore, at least implicitly, what it is not
Brand mantras typically are designed to

capture the brand’s points-of-difference,
i.e., what is unique about the brand.
25

26. Brand Mantra Examples
Nike

“Authentic Athletic

Performance”
Disney

“Fun Family

Entertainment”
American Express

“Worldclass Service,

Personal Recognition”
26

27. Brand Mantra Criteria
Communicate

A good brand mantra should define the category (or

categories) of business for the brand and set the brand
boundaries. It should also clarify what is unique about the
brand.
Simplify

An effective brand mantra should be memorable. As a

result, it should be short, crisp, and vivid in meaning.
Inspire

Ideally, the brand mantra would also stake out ground that

is personally meaningful and relevant to as many employees
as possible.
27

28. Some Positioning Guidelines
1. A good positioning has …
• A “foot in the present” &
• A “foot in the future”
2. Evaluate POP & PODs according to:
• Desirable (consumer)
• Deliverable (company)
• Differentiating (competition)
3. Identify crucial POP’s
• Role play competitor’s positioning
• Surface & resolve potential consumer trade-offs
• Assess negative correlations & decision-making styles
4. Ensure duality
• Rational (“Head”)
• Emotional (“Heart”)
28

29. 2. Brand Resonance Model
Kevin Lane Keller (2001), “Building Customer-Based Brand

Equity: A Blueprint for Creating Strong Brands,” Marketing
Management, July/August, 15-19.
29

30. Create Brand Resonance
with Customers
Challenge is to ensure customers have

the right types of experiences to create
the right brand knowledge
Building a strong brand involves a series

of steps as part of a “branding ladder”
A strong brand is also characterized by

a logically constructed set of brand
“building blocks.”
30

31. BRAND RESONANCE PYRAMID
Branding
Stages of Brand Building Blocks Objective at
Development
Each Stage
RELATIONSHIPS: Intense,
4 What about you & me? Active Loyalty
Resonance
RESPONSE: Positive,
3 What about you? Accessible
Judgments Feelings Reactions
MEANING: Points-of-Parity
2 What are you? & Difference
Performance Imagery
Deep, Broad
IDENTITY:
1 Brand
Who are you? Salience
Awareness

32. Brand Resonance Pyramid
Terminology
Salience

Depth and breadth of brand awareness

Recognition and recall at purchase and consumption

Performance

What the brand does to meet customers' more functional needs.

Brand performance refers to the intrinsic properties of the brand in terms of

inherent product benefits.
Imagery

How people think about a brand abstractly rather than what they

think the brand actually physically does.
Brand imagery is thus more extrinsic properties of the brand.

Four important intangible dimensions are:

Type of user

Brand personality

History & heritage

Experiences

32

33. Brand Resonance Pyramid
Terminology
Judgments

Customers overall brand evaluations

How customers combine performance and imagery

associations to form different kinds of brand opinions
Feelings

Customers emotional responses and

reactions to the brand
Can be mild or intense; positive or negative; or

experiential or enduring in nature.
Can also relate to the social currency evoked by the

brand.
33

34. Dimensions of Brand Feelings
Brand feelings can be divided into two broad categories:
 Experiential – immediate, short-lived during purchase/consumption
 Enduring – private, possibly part of day-to-day life
Brands should have one, or ideally both, types of feelings
Experiential Feelings Enduring Feelings
• Warm • Sense of Security (Inner-directed)
Increasing
• Fun • Social Approval (Outer-directed)
level of
intensity
• Exciting • Self-Respect (Actualization)
Self-Respect Higher
level of
values &
Sense of Security Social Approval needs
Inner-Directed Outer-Directed

35. Brand Resonance Pyramid
Terminology
Resonance

The extent to which customers feel that

they are “in synch” with the brand
Intensity or depth of the psychological bond that

customers have with the brand
Level of activity engendered by this loyalty

Repeat purchase rates

The extent to which customers seek out brand information,

events, or other loyal customers
Etc.

35

36. Sub-Dimensions of Brand Resonance Pyramid
RESONANCE
LOYALTY
ATTACHMENT
COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
FEELINGS
WARMTH
JUDGMENTS
FUN
QUALITY
EXCITEMENT
CREDIBILITY
SECURITY
CONSIDERATION
SOCIAL APPROVAL
SUPERIORITY
SELF-RESPECT
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY
PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS & USER PROFILES
SECONDARY FEATURES PURCHASE & USAGE
PRODUCT RELIABILITY, SITUATIONS
DURABILITY & SERVICEABILITY PERSONALITY &
SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS, VALUES
EFFICIENCY, & EMPATHY HISTORY, HERITAGE,
STYLE AND DESIGN & EXPERIENCES
PRICE
SALIENCE
CATEGORY IDENTIFICATION
NEEDS SATISFIED

37. Brand Resonance Model:
Brand Building Implications
1. Customers own brands
2. Don’t take shortcuts with brands
3. Brands should have a duality
• Performance & imagery
• Judgments & feelings
4. Brand should have a richness
5. Brand resonance provides
important focus
37

38. 3. Brand Value Chain Model
Kevin Lane Keller and Don Lehmann (2003), “How Do

Brands Create Value,” Marketing Management, May/June,
26-31.
38

39. Brand Value Chain
Marketing Customer Market Shareholder
VALUE Program Mindset Performance Value
STAGES Investment
- Price premiums
- Product - Awareness - Stock price
- Price elasticities
- Communications - Associations - P/E ratio
- Market share
- Trade - Attitudes - Market capitalization
- Expansion success
- Employee - Attachment
- Cost savings
- Other - Activity
- Profitability
Program Investor
Marketplace
MULTIPLIERS
Quality Sentiment
Conditions
- Relevance - Competitive reactions - Market dynamics
- Distinctiveness - Channel support - Growth potential
- Consistency - Customer size and profile - Risk profile
- Cohesiveness - Brand contribution

40. Conclusions
Three helpful brand planning models are:

Competitive brand positioning model

Points-of-parity & points-of-difference

Brand resonance model

Six building blocks: Salience, Performance, Imagery,

Judgments, Feelings, & Resonance
Brand Value Chain

Value stages & multipliers

These models can be used …

Qualitatively to guide & interpret possible marketing

actions
Quantitatively to measure marketing effects

40