Brand Management

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Johnson & Wales University

Providence, Rhode Island

Feinstein Graduate School

A Written Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the MBA Degree

Course: MGMT 6035

Brand Management

Tingnan Zhang

Feb 23rd, 2015

1. The low-involvement products include the goods that do not require the assessment to be performed by the buyer at the time of the purchase decision. Therefore, brand awareness has somewhat different significance for this group of goods than for the other ones. From the perspective of a consumer, the role of the brand lies in the fact that it points to the specific properties of goods and services and significantly simplifies the process of their choice. By being aware of the brand of his favorite products, the consumer has the opportunity not to engage in a complex and confusing search procedure in the future. A simple search allows the consumer to save his money and time. In addition, the need to maintain the reputation of the brand guarantees the proper quality control from the manufacturer. Therefore, brand awareness determines the choice of particular products, including those considered low-involvement ones (Aggraval, 2008).

At the same time, brand awareness has little influence on the consumer’s decision of purchasing low-involvement products. The reason for that is the fact that the importance of a brand is manifested in its ability to affect the people. A brand is primarily a promise to the customers rather than a simple set of logos, words, images and design. A purchase of the product of a particular brand (e.g. clothes, wine, and watches) can say something about the person who buys it, including personality traits, habits and the style of life. However, low-involvement goods have little to no effect on the consumer’s lifestyle. Moreover, on the contrary to the other products, they are often purchased spontaneously, without previous planning, i.e. the consumer neither evaluates the thing he has bought nor pays attention to its brand. Therefore, in most cases, brand awareness does not play a significant role in the low-involvement purchases (Aggraval, 2008).

1. Each brand has several dimensions without existing only in one of them. It is also an image in the eyes of various target groups, such as end consumers, strategic partners, and the population in general. In particular, brand has the following dimensions (Temporal, 2010):

1. The imagery dimension of a brand determines how the brand relates to a person within the society and sets social priorities. At this stage, the social role of the brand (and, therefore, the role of the consumer) is defined, as well as the social benefits the brand may bring to the client. It includes the following major components (Temporal, 2010):

• Positioning – emphasizes the owner’s membership in a particular social group;
• Value –emphasizes something that the individual values in the surrounding society and is closely linked with the concept of motivation;
• Style – emphasizes the individuality of the person.

1. The performance dimension of a brand presents the benefits received by the consumer, describes the strong side of the product and its functional characteristics. In particular, it includes the following major components (Temporal, 2010):

• Quality – the suitability to satisfy certain requirements in accordance with the purpose;
• Durability – the ability to perform its functions without being destroyed within a specified time;
• Reliability – the absence of unforeseen and harmful changes in the quality.

Each of the brands has elements and knowledge that have already created an impression in the buyer’s mind, i.e. the so-called secondary brand associations. In the terms of brand performance, they usually include the country of origin (e.g. Swedish cars are known for a high level of safety), and licensing (e.g. the unique technology). In the terms of brand image, they include the involvement of the experts in the design of a product, as well as the celebrities in its promotion. In order to generate the new elements to be associated with a brand, it is possible to use leveraging, i.e. drawing already existing components from a well-known and successful brand. There are many options to facilitate this process, including the association with companies and countries. For example, a previously unknown company can become a secondary association in case it is presented as a partner or a subsidiary of a large brand, as in the case of Oculus VR, which is currently associated with Facebook, Inc. The same can be achieved for the country, namely China, which houses manufacturing plants of many industrial giants, including Sony and Samsung. As a result, the products manufactured by the Chinese companies are often viewed as technological and reliable (Kapferer, 2012).