The document provides a report on measuring brand equity for the Sony brand. It includes an introduction, executive summary, methodology, questionnaire, findings and recommendations. The findings section analyzes Sony's brand equity based on brand satisfaction, loyalty, perceived quality, personality and leveragability. It was found that customers are highly satisfied with Sony and have high brand loyalty. Sony also has strong perceptions of quality, a good personality and potential for brand extensions.

1. Praxis Business School
A Project report
for
Product Brand Management
On Brand Equity Measurement (PBM part 2)
Submitted to
Prof. Govindrajan
In partial fulfilment of the requirements of the course
Post Graduate Program in Business Management
On Sep 4th ‘2011
By
Nahid Anjum
Diya Mazumder
Abhishek Dujari
Ankit Jain
Ashwin Agrawal
Praxis Business School
Kolkata
(2010-2012)
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Contents
1. Introduction
2. Executive summary
3. Brand equity measurement model
4. Rationale
5. Research methodology
6. Questionnaire
7. Findings
8. Sony brand equity
9. Recommendations
10. References
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Brand Equity
Brand equity is the financial value of a brand which provides capital/value to products and
services. Developed brand assets in the past, enable the brand to leverage its strength and
delivers future value to the brand. Hence, brand equity plays a bridging role where it connects
the past to the future. The purpose of brand equity is to measure the value of a brand. A brand
encompasses the name, logo. Image and perceptions that identify a product, service, or provider
in the minds of the customers. It takes shape in advertising, packaging and other marketing
communications, and becomes a focus of the relationship with consumers. When consumers trust
a brand and find it relevant, they may select the offerings associated with that brand over those
of competitors, even at a premium price. When a brand’s promise extends beyond a particular
product, its owner may leverage it to newer markets. For, all these reasons, a brand can hold
tremendous value, known as Brand equity.
David Aaker defined brand equity as “A set of brand assets (or liabilities) linked to a brand’s
name and symbol that adds to (or subtract from) q product or service”.
Aaker formed his brand equity model around five categories of brand assets:
1. Brand loyalty
2. Brand awareness
3. Perceived quality
4. Brand associations
5. Other proprietary assets
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Aaker also highlights ten attributes of a brand that can be used to asses its strength. These include
Differentiation, Satisfaction or loyalty, perceived quality, leadership or popularity, perceived
value, brand personality, organisational associations, brand awareness, market share, market price
and distribution coverage. Aaker doesn’t weight the attributes or combine them in an overall
score, as he believes any weighting would be arbitrary and would vary among brands and
categories. Rather he recommends tracking each attribute separately.
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Research Methodology:
Exploratory research: It is a type of research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly
defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method
and selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Given
its fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem actually
does not exist.
Data collection- In this study internal and external source for data collection has been used. In
this process the following two types of data come into picture-
1. Primary data
2. Secondary data
Primary data- All the primary data for the purpose of the study were obtained by interviewing
the consumers with the help of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was framed on the basis of the
product and its competition. The questions were designed in a way as to elicit maximum
information and data.
Secondary data- Secondary data has been collected through books and websites.
Respondents- The respondents are consumers of all age groups.
Sample Size- The sample size was taken as 50 respondents.
Sampling scheme-
Data analysis-
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Questionnaire:
1. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate how satisfied are you with the following
brands ( If you have used them)-
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
2. Have you regretted purchasing any of the following brands?
Sony Yes/No
Samsung Yes/No
Panasonic Yes/No
LG Yes/No
Philips Yes/No
3. Have any of the following brands ever made you feel the following (1 for satisfaction, 2
for delight and 3 for ecstasy)?
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
4. For which of the following brands did you replace/or are thinking of replacing any of its
products with the product of the same brand? E.g A TV with a TV
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
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5. Rank the following brands on your perception of quality-
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
6. On a scale of 1 to 5 rates the brands on the following attributes (5 being the highest and 1
being the lowest).
Features Sony Samsung Panasonic LG Phillips
Durability
Looks
Technology
7. On a scale of 1 to 5 rates for which of the following brands are you willing to pay a
premium (5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest)?
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
8. On a scale of 1 to 5 which of the following brands charge the highest premium (5 being the
highest and 1 being the lowest)?
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
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9. On a scale of 1 to 5 rate the following brands on the basis of the given attributes (5 being
the highest and 1 being the lowest)
Attributes Sony Samsung Panasonic LG Phillips
Sincerity
Excitement
Competence
Sophistication
Ruggedness
10. If Sony were a person which of the following adjectives would best describe it?
Stylish
Intelligent
Dependable
Creative
11. Which according to you is the best match?
Amir Khan- Samsung
Deepika Padukone- Sony cyber shot
Kareena Kapoor- Sony Vaio
Akshay Kumar- LG
Ranbir Kapoor- Panasonic
John Abraham - Philips ready shave
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12. On a scale of 1 to 5 ( 5 being the highest) rate your belief on the following brand’s ability
to make great commercial vehicles.
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
13. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate your belief on the following brand’s ability
to make great FMCG products.
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
14. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate your belief on the following brands’ ability
to make great pharmaceutical products
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
15. Tagline vs Brand
Make.believe
Next is what
Sense & simplicity
Life’s good
Ideas for life
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16. Brand ambassador vs brand
Amir Khan
Deepika Padukon
Akshay Kumar
Kareena Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor
John Abraham
17. On a scale of 1-5 (5 being highest) rate the following on your perception of easy
availability of the products of the brands.
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Phillips
18. On a scale of 1-5 (5 being highest) rate how different do you consider Sony from other
brands.
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Phillips
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Findings
Brand Satisfaction
First we tried to know how satisfied the customers are with Sony brand and its products. For this
we had three questions in our survey testing the satisfaction of the customers towards the brand,
whether they regretted their purchase and how they feel about the brand.
On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate
how satisfied are you with the following
brands
Sony Samsung Panasonic LG Phillips
5
4
3 3
2
Category 1
In the above table the scores are the cumulative scores of the question asked for this parameter. It
shows that most of the customers are satisfied with brand Sony. Then the next brand by which
customers are satisfied is Samsung. LG and Phillips come after Samsung and the last is Panasonic.
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Have you regretted purchasing any of the
following brands
19
10
9
4 4
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
This chart clearly shows that the customers are highly regretted the purchase of Phillips products.
Customers of Panasonic and LG also have complains. But very less customers have regretted the
purchase of Sony and Samsung products.
Have any of the following brands ever made you
feel the following (1 for satisfaction, 2 for delight
and 3 for ecstacy)
3
2
1 1 1
Sony Samsung Panasonic LG Philips
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The above chart shows that most of the customers have the feeling of ecstasy for Sony. The next
brand is Samsung who made them feel delight. The customers have very less feeling for
Panasonic, LG, and Phillips. This is also done by cumulative scores of the asked questions.
Thus we can conclude that among the other brands customers are highly satisfied with Sony brand
and its products.
Brand loyalty
Brand loyalty was the next parameter to measure brand equity of Sony. By asking only one
question about re-purchase we measured the brand loyalty of customers towards Sony.
For which of the following brands did you
replace/or are thinking of replacing any of its
products with a product of the same brand e.g. A
TV with a TV
40
33
21
16
8
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
By the above chart, we can conclude that most of the people are agree to go for a re-purchase of
Sony products. Therefore, the brand loyalty for Sony is high. After Sony people can go for a re-
purchase of Samsung. There are very less people who want to go for a re-purchase of Phillips,
LG and Panasonic.
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Perceived Quality
To measure the perceived quality of Sony we had two questions in our survey. First, we tried to
know the perception of people in terms of the quality of different brands. Then we mentioned the
different qualities to measure each quality of each brand individually.
Rank the following brands on your perception
of quality
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
The above chart shows that people have a perception that Sony serves its products with the best
quality. The next brand is Samsung for which the perception of quality is high. It is less for LG,
Phillips and Panasonic.
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On a scale of 1 to 5 rate the brands on the
following attributes(5 being highest and 1 being
lowest)
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
durability looks technology
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
By asking to rate these brands on the basis of three attributes- durability, looks and technology
we came to know that Sony is best in durability, looks as well as technology. Samsung is next to
Sony in terms of these qualities. The other three brands are not very good in these attributes.
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Perceived value
Then we tried to find out perceived value of Sony. For this we asked two questions to our sample
to understand their perceived value for Sony products. Both the questions were on rating
therefore, the findings are in cumulative scores.
On a scale of 1 to 5 rate for which of the
following brands are you willing to pay a
premium(5 being the highest and 1 being the
lowest)
5
3 3
2 2
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
The above chart shows that most of the people are ready to pay a high premium to buy a Sony
product. Whereas for other brands they can only pay less premium.
On a scale of 1 to 5 which of the following
brands charge the highest premium(5 being
the highest and 1 being the lowest)
5
3 3
2 2
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
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Now the above mentioned chart shows that people are even agree that Sony is charging a
premium for its products. The other brands are charging lesser premium in comparison to Sony.
Brand Personality
We had three questions in our survey to find out the brand personality. We tried to know through
these questions that what people think about the personality of the brand by giving them different
attributes of personality.
On a scale of 1 to 5 rate the brands on the basis
of the given attributes
(sincerity, excitement, competence, sophisticati
on and ruggedness)
450
400
350
300 sincerity
250 excitement
200 competence
150 sophistication
100 ruggedness
50
0
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
The above chart shows that in people’s perspective Sony has high sincerity, excitement,
sophistication and ruggedness in comparison to other brands whereas in competence it is almost
equal to Samsung.
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IF Sony were a person which of the following adjectives would best describe
it
34
30
23
17
stylish intelligent dependable creative
In consumer’s point of view, Sony is recognised as stylish and intelligent brand. It is not so
creative and dependable brand.
Which according to you is the best match
38
33
21
14
8
4
Amir Khan Deepika for Kareena Akshay for Lg Ranbir kapoor John
Samsung Sony Cyber kapoor for for Panasonic Abraham for
shot Sony Vaio Philips ready
shaver
This chart shows that Kareena Kapoor is a best match to represent Sony Vaio. Aamir Khan is
also good for Samsung. Deepika is fine for Sony Cyber shot. Rest other matches are not so good
to represent their respective brands.
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Overall, we can say that Sony has a good personality with the attributes like sincerity,
ssexcitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. It is stylish and intelligent. The
advertisement of Sony Vaio is the best match to represent its style.
Brand leveragability
To find out the brand leveragability, we asked the questions related to extension of the brand.
We tried to find out the extension of Sony in the area of commercial vehicles, FMCG and the
pharmaceutical products.
On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate
your belief on the following brands’ ability to
make great commercial vehicles
4
3
2 2 2
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
It clearly shows that people agree that Sony can go for extension in commercial vehicles sector.
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On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate
your belief on the following brands’ ability to
make great FMCG products
4
3 3
2 2
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
Sony can also go for brand extension in with FMCG products according to its consumers.
On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) rate
your belief on the following brands’ ability to
make great pharmaceutical products
3
2 2 2 2
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
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In consumer’s perspective Sony brand can extend itself to the pharmaceutical sector also by
coming up with pharmaceutical products.
Thus, we can conclude that Sony is a brand good leveragability to extend itself to different sector
like commercial vehicles, FMCG as well as pharmaceuticals.
Brand awareness
We come up with some questions to know the awareness of brand among the people. It can be
understood by asking them about the taglines and brand ambassadors of all these brands.
Tagline Vs Brand
49
29
21 22
20
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
Most of the people were unable to recognize the tagline of Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and
Phillips i.e. make.believe, next is what, sense & simplicity and ideas for life respectively.
Maximum people were aware of tagline of LG i.e. Life’s Good.
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Brand Ambassador vs Brand
34
32
19 18 19
14
Aamir Khan Deepika Padukon Akshay Kumar Kareena Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor John Abhraham
It shows that most of the respondents are aware of Kareena Kapoor is the brand ambassador of
Sony and Amir Khan is the brand ambassador of Samsung. The awareness of other brand
ambassadors of the brand is very less among the consumers. Whereas very less people knows
Deepika Padukon is also a brand ambassador of Sony.
In conclusion, we can say that awareness of Sony is not that good among the people because
most of the people are not aware of its tagline and brand ambassador.
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Distribution
There was one question on availability of the products through which we tried to know about the
perception of respondents about the distribution of Sony products in the market.
On a scale of 1 to 5(5 being highest) rate the
following on your perception of easy availablity
of the products of the brands
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Sony
Samsung
Panasonic
LG
Philips
Through this chart we come to know that the distribution of Sony products is very good in the
market. It is easily available everywhere. Whereas rest of the brands are not good in their
distribution.
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Brand Differentiation
At last we tried to know from the respondents that how Sony is different from the other brands.
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being highest) rate how
different do you consider Sony from other brands
5
3 3
2 2
SONY SAMSUNG PANASONIC LG PHILIPS
Here, maximum respondents consider Sony a different brand from the others. So we can assume
that Sony is a different brand from its other competitors.
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References
Traced the price of Sony products and its competitors from the following sites for its use in Brand equity
measurement (Moran’s Model)
Price India - Latest Price, News, Reviews
LG Home Theatre Price in India
Compaq Presario 515 Laptop Price in India - Compaq 515 Notebook Cost
Compaq laptop price in India - Google Search
nikon digital camera price in india - Google Search
canon digital camera price in india 2011 - Google Search
Dell Vostro price in India - Google Search
Canon Digital Camera Price in India - Latest Canon Camera Price list
Canon Digital IXUS 120 IS Price in India
Nikon Digital Camera Price In India - Latest Nikon Prices
Price List of Mobile Phones in India August 2011-Mobile Price List
Philips laptop price india - Google Search
LG Laptop Price List India - LG Notebook PC Cost
Samsung Laptop Price list in India
Philips laptop price india - Google Search
LG Laptop Price List India - LG Notebook PC Cost
Samsung Laptop Price list in India
Sony VAIO NW laptop – Price,Features
Price India - Latest Price, News, Reviews
Sony Digital Camera Price in India - Latest Sony Cybershot Camera Price list
Sony DSC-W230 Price in India - Sony Cybershot DSC-W230 Cost
All Digital Camera Price List in India - Portable Devices
Sony Digital Camera Price in India - Latest Sony Cybershot Camera Price list
Sony Cybershot DSC-WX1 Price in India
Sony Bravia S Series LCD TV Price in India - Sony Bravia KLV-
20S400A/26S550A/32S550A/37S550A/42S550A Cost
Sony Bravia LCD TV Price - Bravia X, W, V, S and G Series Price list and Cost India
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