This document defines branding and brand management. It discusses how brands differentiate products and services, identify their source, and simplify consumer decision making. Brands can provide competitive advantages through functional or symbolic attributes. The scope of branding includes empowering products with brand value. Branding applies to physical goods, services, stores, people, places, and ideas. Developing brand equity enhances price, market share, and profitability. Managing brand equity involves reinforcement and revitalization to maintain strong consumer associations over time.

1. BRAND MANAGEMENT

2. DEFINITION
 A BRAND is a name, term, sign, symbol or design
or a combination of them, intended to identify the
goods or services of a seller or group of sellers and
to differentiate them from those of competitors.
 These differences may be functional, rational and
tangible i.e. related to the product performance, or
 These differences can be symbolic, emotional and
intangible i.e. related to what the brand represents.

3. ROLE OF BRANDS
1. To identify the source or maker ( for assigning the
responsibility for the performance)
2. To simplify the decision making and to reduce the
risk.
3. Signal of Quality
4. Competitive Entry Barrier
5. To facilitate product handling, tracing, valuation,
promotion etc.
6. Legal protection ( IPR)
 Trademark – Logo, Brand Name
 Copyright – Text, Taglines or Packaging
 Patents – Innovations , Designs, Ideas

4. SCOPE OF BRANDING
 Branding is Empowering products and services with the
power of a Brand.
 Branding creates mental structures that help customers
organize their knowledge about products or services in a
way that clarifies their decision making and in the
process provides value to the maker.
 For branding strategies to be successful and brand
value to be created, consumers must be convinced
there are meaningful differences among brands.
 Brands can create competitive advantage through
product related attributes (benefits) or through non
product related means (image).

5. APPLICATIONS OF BRANDING
1. Physical goods ( Lux , Gillette)
2. Services ( Jet Airways, ICICI Bank)
3. Stores ( Big Bazaar, Wal -Mart )
4. Persons ( Amir Khan, Anna Hazare )
5. Places ( Kerala, Las Vegas )
6. Organizations ( UNICEF, NATO )
7. Ideas ( Family Planning, Liquor free Villages )

6. BRAND EQUITY
 Brand Equity is the added value endowed on a
product or a service.
 It is reflected in a way the consumers think , feel
and act with respect to the Brand.
 It also enhances the price, market share and the
profitability of the Brand in the long term.
 It augments the perceived stakeholder value, thus
creating a goodwill for the firm.

7. BRAND ASSET VALUATION
 Brand Strength is determined by the extent of
differentiation ( degree of difference ), relevance (
breadth of a brand’s appeal ) and energy ( sense of
momentum ).
 Brand Stature is determined by the esteem (
degree of respect for the brand ) and Knowledge (
consumer’s familiarity and intimacy with the brand ).

8. CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING EFFECTIVE BRAND
ELEMENTS
1. Memorable ( how easy to recall)
2. Meaningful ( suggestive of the category)
3. Likeable ( visually, verbally and in other ways
likeable )
4. Transferable ( ability to apply to new products )
5. Adaptable ( ability to get updated with time )
6. Protectable ( legally defendable )

9. MANAGING BRAND EQUITY
1. Brand Reinforcement : constantly trying to
improve the products, services and marketing to
convey what does the brand represent, what core
benefits it gives and what makes it superior in
order to maintain a strong and pleasant
association in the customers minds.
2. Brand Revitalization : breathing new life in to the
brand in response to changing customer tastes
and preferences or in response to emergence of
new competitors / technologies.

10. BRANDING DECISIONS
1. Individual names ( P&G , HUL )
2. Blanket Family Names ( Tata, GE )
3. Separate Family Names for all products ( Aditya
Birla group : Hindalco, Ultra Tech Cement, Grasim
Suiting )
4. Corporate Name with individual product names (
Honda Accord, Sony Bravia )
5. Co- Branding ( Dell – Intel Inside , Panasonic –
Dolby, Maruti - Suzuki )
6. Brand Extensions ( introducing new products
under existing strong brand names )

11. BRAND PORTFOLIOS
 Multiple Brands are needed to pursue Multiple
Segments.
 To increase the shelf presence and to augment
retailer dependence.
 Offering an alternative to consumers who would
otherwise shift to other competing brands.
 Increasing internal competition
 Getting economies of scale / SYNERGY in
advertising, promotional efforts and in distribution
 Brand Portfolio may include some FLANKERS,
Stars, Cash Cows, Low End entry level brands (
Traffic Builders ) and some High End Prestige
brands ( Toyota – Lexus )