Branding - Singapore Management...

Branding

In this module, you will learn about branding, what it

can do for you and how to go about doing it.

SPRING Singapore & Marketing Institute of Singapore Copyright © 2010 All Rights Reserved

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Overview Brand Development Branding Strategies Brand Audit Measuring Efforts Protecting Your

Brand

Contents

1 What does a brand mean to me? 3

What is a brand? Why is your brand important? What is branding? Brand decision diagram

2 How can I build my brand? 8 What is brand development?

Why do you need to build a strong brand? What are perceived risks? Brand development in 6 steps Engaging a brand consultancy

3 What are some branding strategies? 23 Co-branding Secondary association Celebrity endorsement Corporate social responsibility

4 How can I find out what others think and feel about my brand? 28

What is brand audit? What is internal brand audit? What is external brand audit? How to conduct external brand audit?

5 How can I measure the results of my branding efforts? 37 6 How can I protect my brand? 41


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1> What does a brand mean to me?


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Brand

Your brand is the identity of your company and products. It can be represented by a combination of two components – visual and verbal. You will need to decide on the relationship between your company and your products. Determining this relationship right from the beginning will guide you on how to grow each brand, be it corporate or product. Two commonly used strategies are family branding and individual branding.

Family branding (or umbrella branding) happens when your corporate brand and product brands are the same. You may benefit from the „halo effect‟, with positive perceptions of your corporate brand being transferred to any new product brands you develop. You may also benefit from shared promotional costs for all your products since they carry the same brand.

Individual branding (or multi branding) happens when all your

product brands are unique and different from your corporate brand. Each product brand has a unique image and identity, and can be positioned for different markets with different selling points. Should one of your products receive bad publicity, the low association between brands will also help reduce the negative impact on the other products.

Remember that a brand is an identity. It is not a tangible object. It is the collection of perceptions in the mind of consumers and a basis of emotional and psychological relationship you develop with them.

Visual refers to what can be

seen and recognised, such as logo, colour,

font, shape, design

Verbal refers to words and descriptions, such as brand story, product name, slogan

Case Study

The Apple Family Apple Inc applies the Apple brand to all their products and maintains one single, strong brand identity. With this strategy, they are able to capture the interest of their loyal customers whenever they release new products such as the immensely popular iPad. Going Solo Unilever has created product brands such as Dove, Lux and Sunsilk, with no direct association to their corporate brand. Although these individual brands may produce similar personal care products, they are all positioned for different target markets. In this way, they do not cannibalise one another‟s sales.


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Brand

Your brand is important because it differentiates you from the competition. Your brand is made up of goodwill, reputation and public perception of how your brand is different. The better this differentiation is communicated to consumers, the more your brand will stand out among its competitors. Once established, your brand can add value to your products. When your brand is positively perceived, accepted and preferred by consumers, it can help your company achieve higher profit margins. You can escape price competition, sell your products at a premium and still attract customers. This is a result of the trust and preference they have developed for your brand.

Case Study

Introducing the iPad Over the years, Apple has managed to catapult its brand to cult status with the success of the iPod and iPhone. As a result, Apple sold 2 million iPads in the first two months of its launch, only half the time they took to sell the previous products. By leveraging on its strong brand, it has managed to re-ignite demand for the tablet computer and entice customers into paying a premium over low-cost yet functional laptops and netbooks. While other companies may not achieve such figures, it fully demonstrates the effectiveness of brand recognition, and the possibilities that lie in store for companies that invest in building their brand.

Branding B2B The same principles apply in building a corporate brand as for a consumer brand. Top management needs to set the tone on what the brand values are and what differentiates the brand. Relationship and trust building are just as important for B2B businesses, if not more so. Hence, every employee needs to believe in and live up to the brand promise.

It is crucial for you to manage your brand properly and carefully. Once it is damaged by negative publicity and sentiment, it can take years to salvage, if at all. Therefore, you need to align everyone in your organisation and inculcate in them the responsibility to uphold your brand values at all times.


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Brand

Branding involves creating and developing a specific identity, communicating values and delivering promises. To build a strong brand, you need to do branding. You have heard countless stories about successful brands in the global market. Leading brand consultancy firm, Interbrand, publishes a list of best global brands annually. Both consumer brands such as Coca-cola, McDonald‟s and Gillette, and business brands such as IBM, Microsoft and GE, make the list year after year. Why? All these successful brands, despite their differences in products, customers, industries or country of origin, have something in common. These are brands that are easily recognized and well-received and have become an integral part of their customers‟ lives. Each and every of these brands is able to offer their customers a promise and live up to it. A brand promise is about what your brand can do for your customers. It is important that you ensure that any product bearing your brand must fulfil this promise to build greater trust and confidence in your brand. See “Brand Development” to read more about brand building.

Case Study

“The World on Time” FedEx‟s brand promise is to give their customers peace of mind by guaranteeing punctuality and security in their delivery of packages all over the world. For assurance, FedEx allows customers to track the whereabouts of their packages easily online. This brand promise is communicated and reinforced through memorable advertising campaigns. By consistently delivering this promise, FedEx is continually gaining greater consumer confidence in their services.

Tip

Singapore Brand Stories The local media frequently features Singapore companies that have built strong brands. Look out for these and learn from them. You can also visit local government websites to look for brand stories of local companies.

www.iesingapore.com www.spring.gov.sg


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Brand

The following brand decision diagram guides you on reviewing your brand and explores possible ways to address challenges. Each question is followed by a “YES-NO” option. Select the most appropriate answer and follow the arrows. In the event that you are unsure or your answer is “maybe”, select the “NO” option. Each of the possible solution is provided within this module. Click on them to go directly to the respective sections.

Start

Do you want to protect

your brand?

Do you know if your branding is

consistent?

Do your intended customers know

your brand?

Do they have confidence in your brand?

Are they loyal customers?

Do you know if your branding is

effective?

Register your brand as a trademark

Create Brand Awareness

Conduct Brand Audit

Consistent?

Follow Brand Manual

(Refer to template)

Create brand credibility, build brand association, or

use branding strategies

End

Introduce brand loyalty

programme

Measure and evaluate

branding efforts

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes


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2> How can I build my brand?


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Brand

Brand development involves a series of activities designed to improve consumer perception of your brand. Successful brands do not happen by chance. These brands are carefully developed over time. Even with success, companies continue to manage and nurture their brands to ensure that they remain successful in the face of competition. You need to adopt the right strategy for your company to develop and enhance your brand. Proper brand development can help customers identify your brand and create positive feelings towards your brand. There are many activities that your company can embark on to develop your brand. You can run an advertisement campaign, create a website, print corporate materials or develop a more professional approach to building relationships. Remember that you need to manage consumer perceptions while communicating your brand. There must be consistency in the delivery of your brand message to create a holistic consumer experience. You need to constantly drive the message across to consumers that you are better than your competitors so that they can identify you, associate with you and remember you.

Case Study

Moving with the Times In its earlier days, Coca-cola was a strong believer of the 3As brand development strategy – Affordability, Availability and Acceptability. The strategy worked well for them, making Coca-cola one of the most recognisable consumer brands. However with changes in consumer mindset and increased competition, Coca-cola found the need to refocus its brand development strategy on the 3Ps – Price Value, Preference and Pervasive Penetration. Today, Coca-cola remains a global leader in the beverage industry.


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Brand

A strong brand is important to you. It can influence consumer behaviour, win loyalty and commitment from your customers and help overcome any shortfall that your products may have. A successful brand can even be sold as a source of revenue.

A strong brand is important to consumers. It helps them save time in searching and choosing products. If they recognise your brand and have had a previous good experience with your brand, they may choose to purchase your product without looking further.

Your brand may serve as an assurance of quality and reliability and reduce any risks consumers may perceive in buying a product. For example, when Apple launched the iPhone with no track record in telecommunication, consumers trusted the Apple brand and believed that they would be able to deliver the same quality they had experienced in the iPod. Trust in the brand plays an even bigger role in the purchase of an industrial product, as the value and risk involved are much higher. A plant manager would not risk his company‟s reputation or his own by buying equipment and parts from a company that he does not trust. Your brand may also reflect consumers‟ personal values. They may identify with your brand and connect with it. For example, the Body Shop is a popular brand amongst consumers who are concerned about environmental and social issues because the brand represents values they personally hold.


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Brand

Perceived risk is the level of risk a consumer perceives when they purchase a product. Negative perceptions and uncertainty are then created, whether or not this risk is factual. A strong brand can help eliminate or diminish these perceived risks. The six types of perceived risks are as follows: Functional risk is the possibility of a product not performing

according to expectation.

Physical risk is the possibility of a product having safety issues or posing a threat to the physical well-being or health of the consumer or others.

Financial risk is the possibility of the perceived value of a

product being lower than what the consumer paid for. Social risk is the possibility of a product causing

embarrassment to the consumer, especially among friends and family.

Psychological risk is the possibility of a product affecting the

mental well-being of the consumer and disrupting his “peace of mind”.

Time risk is the possibility of a product causing time to be

wasted or opportunities to be lost by failing to perform.


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Brand

There are 6 basic steps in Brand Development.

STEP 1

Brand Positioning

STEP 2

CommunicateYour Brand

STEP 3

Build Confidence

STEP 4

Establish Connection

STEP 5

Internal Branding

STEP 6

Create Brand Loyalty


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Brand

Brand positioning is about creating a position for your brand in the minds of consumers based on what you do best. With successful brand positioning, consumers will be able to recall your brand and associate it with the set of values communicated in your brand message. Before you start to position your brand, think through the following questions:

First, you need to identify your potential customers. You will then be able to position your brand to attract the right group of people. Next, you need to know who your competitors are. Identify the benefits they are offering consumers through their products. You can then benchmark, identify or create competitive advantage (see Creating Competitive Advantage) and develop superior offerings. Lastly, make sure that the performance delivered by your products must at least match, or exceed, consumer perception of your brand.

Who are your potential customers?

Who are your main competitors? How is your brand similar to or different from theirs?

What do you do best that your customers want?

STEP 1


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Brand

Competitive advantage is the edge you enjoy over other companies.

It is the reason why people choose to buy your products rather than your competitors‟. You need to constantly improve and enhance existing competitive advantages or develop new competitive advantages to make your product or brand more attractive to consumers. Below are some examples of competitive advantages. There are many more possibilities out there. You need to think innovatively to set yourself apart from your competitors.

You can create competitive advantage with product performance. The constant reinforcement of superior product performance allows your customers to associate quality and value with your brand. This perception of superior performance will then be transferred to new products you develop. For example, BMW is known for its performance with quality German engineering. This association makes it easier for BMW to introduce new cars such as the 1 series or X series into their portfolio. You can also create competitive advantage in non-product related ways, such as creating an appeal around your brand to invoke the image of a “must have” brand. For example, while not everyone would wear Louis Vuitton or a Rolex, those who do take on some of the prestige and style of these brands. This drives the buying behaviour of those in the same target segment and also those who aspire to be seen as part of this segment.


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Brand

The next few steps of brand development can be summarised into 3Cs – Communication, Confidence and Connection. Communication addresses how your brand engages consumers, which is the fundamental aspect of brand building. This involves getting consumers to become aware of your brand‟s existence, recognise it and know what product categories it covers. Confidence addresses the cognitive aspects of your brand, where consumers trust your brand because of what it stands for. Confidence can be established from past experience, feedback from trustworthy sources and what your brand conveys. Connection addresses the affective aspects of your brand, where consumers become emotionally attached to your brand because of its image or associations. Connection can cause consumers to overlook cognitive aspects or reasoning and make buying decisions based on what they like or identify with. They may choose the product even if it may not be as good as others or if there are issues or defects.

Case Study

Connecting with Apple When the highly anticipated iPhone 4 was released on 24 June 2010, hundreds of thousands of customers queued up to be one of the first to get their hands on one of them. In just 3 days, an estimated 1.7 million units were sold. Subsequently, issues with the phone started to surface – ranging from reception issues to display discoloration on its fragile casing. However, demand for iPhone 4 remained strong and 3 million units were sold in just 3 weeks. This shows that when a brand has built strong connection and trust with their customers, they are willing to overlook minor product defects and give the brand a chance to redeem itself.


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Brand

When planning the communication of your brand to consumers, you need to address these questions.

What is your brand value?

Let consumers know what your brand stands for. What are you passionate about? These values must be communicated strongly in your brand message, which must in turn be supported by the performance of your products and enhanced by your company's activities.

What is your brand message?

Think about the attitudes and perceptions you want to elicit in consumers. Your brand message must be clearly and consistently delivered to achieve this. Do not confuse consumers by sending multiple or contradictory messages through word or action that will dilute what you want to convey. This may even result in a loss of confidence and connection with your brand.

How do you gain brand recognition? Consumers need to first understand what you do. Having a strong association to a certain product category reminds consumers of your brand when they need such a product. If your product belongs to a new product category or one that is not easily understood, gain credibility and become a leader in this category by educating consumers about it. If your brand does not explicitly say what you do, highlight this by incorporating a slogan or tagline. For example, Nokia uses “Connecting People” to tell people that they facilitate human communication, rather than just manufacture mobile phones. Increase the familiarity of your brand through repeated exposure.

STEP 2

Act on It

Your Brand Manual Create your own brand manual for your employees to refer to. This will ensure that they will be able to deliver the brand message and apply your brand correctly and consistently. Use the editable template provided: Develop a Brand Identity Manual


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Brand

You need to build consumer confidence in your brand by performing consistently well. The consumer‟s assessment of your performance will determine the level of confidence he has in your brand. The actual performance of your products must reinforce your brand value and not contradict it. For example, if your brand stands for quality, make sure that consumers are able to see or at least perceive quality in your products. Always live up to your brand promise to create and maintain positive consumer perceptions.

STEP 3


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Brand

You need to think about ways to build brand association, image and personality for consumers to connect with you.

Brand Association refers to anything that connects consumers to a brand. It can be developed through elements such as product attributes, imagery and personality. This is a vital component of consumers‟ perception of your brand. Positive association encourages purchase while negative association will cause consumers to shun your brand even if they are aware of your existence.

Brand Image refers to the total impression created in the minds of consumers by a brand and all its functional and emotional associations. Your brand image needs to be favourable, strong and unique. One good way of creating a positive brand image is to contribute to society and conduct your business in a socially responsible manner. Be seen and heard favourably in the markets where you sell your products. All these will help to reinforce a positive perception of your company. See “Corporate Social Responsibility” in a later section.

Style and design are also important components in your brand image.

You should pay attention to the aesthetic design and presentation of your brand to project an image that will appeal to consumers. However, they are effective only if they reflect and emphasise your brand values and differentiation.

STEP 4


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Brand

Brand personality is the way a brand speaks and behaves. Human personality traits and characteristics are assigned to a brand to achieve differentiation. These characteristics are showcased through various brand communication channels. Below are five main categories of brand personality that some companies have built their brand image on. As you go through the list, ask yourself what are the brands that come to mind.

One-Minute Trigger

Brand Personality After you have thought about the brands that come to mind for each category of brand personality, you can Google to find out which brands have been thought to fit these personalities. For example, you may find:

Sincerity Toyota, Hallmark, Coke

Excitement Pepsi, Porsche

Competence Volvo, Hewlett-Packard

Sophistication Lexus, Mercedes, Chanel

Ruggedness Timberland, Harley-Davidson


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Brand

Internal branding is about communicating to your employees your brand promise and the attitude and behaviour expected from them to deliver on that promise.

Understand your brand. Everyone in your organisation who is handling and communicating your brand must understand it well. They must be clear about what it means and what it represents so that they can communicate the brand accurately to your customers.

Live up to your brand promise. Make sure you do not say one thing and do another. Delivering what you promised increases your customers‟ trust and confidence in your brand.

Support your brand. You must allocate sufficient resources to carry out regular brand building activities. Building a brand needs time and money so make sure you have the ability to give your brand the necessary attention to grow it.

Be patient with the brand. Brand building takes time. Do not expect overnight success. It takes time to build trust and confidence in your brand.

Manage your brand properly at all times. It is important to ensure consistency and be alert to internal or external factors that could detract you from your brand message. This ensures that your message is reinforced and that your customers will remember your brand in a positive way.

Your employees are in constant contact with your customers. Each and every employee is an ambassador for your company, your products and your brand. Motivated employees will be able to engage your customers in a more positive and effective manner compared to employees who are unhappy and disgruntled.

STEP 5

Case Study

Branding from the Inside Out In Feb 2008, Starbucks closed its 7,100 shops across America for 3 hours to conduct staff training on brewing “the perfect coffee” and transforming customer experience. It reflected on Starbucks‟ strong commitment in helping all 135,000 employees live the Starbucks brand and in equipping them to live up to the brand promise. This unwavering dedication to live up to their customers‟ expectations is vital to Starbucks‟ success.


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Brand

Tip

Lovemarks Today a few great and charismatic brands run far ahead of the pack. These brands build on respect, but they also make crucial emotional connections. They are products, services or entities that inspire loyalty beyond reason - people love and fiercely protect them. Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, calls them Lovemarks. You can Google his blog to find out more.

STEP 6

Once you have created brand awareness and positive association, the final step to building a successful brand is to establish brand loyalty. With brand loyalty, you will benefit from your customers‟ commitment to repeat purchases, reduced sensitivity to minor weaknesses, and customer retention. Recent research (Dawes, 2009) has found statistical evidence that loyal customers also tend to be less sensitive to price increases. The following are some possible strategies to encourage brand loyalty.

Increase customers‟ perceived value of your product. You can showcase testimonials from satisfied customers.

Satisfy your customers. You should surpass, or at least meet, your customers‟ expectations.

Build confidence in your brand. Perform well consistently to increase the level of consumer confidence.

Gain your customers‟ trust. Serve your customers‟ needs first and sell later. Show them how your products can meet their needs or solve their problems to genuinely impress them.

Engage your customers. After-sales communication is important and can be easily done via a phone call, an email or a postcard. Keep a database of your customers for future engagement.

Give them a reason to return. Come up with reward or loyalty schemes for your customers.

Case Study

The Tesco Clubcard In the mid 1990s, Tesco held a distant second place in the British grocery market, trailing far behind Sainsbury‟s. Then in 1995, Tesco launched a customer loyalty program – the Tesco‟s Clubcard, which allowed customers to earn points to exchange for cash vouchers. It went on to become their distinct competitive edge. Within 5 years of the launch, sales increased by 50% and by the 10th year, Tesco had 10 million registered loyalty program users. Today, Tesco is the number one player in the market with its share doubling that of its closest competitor.


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Professional field Skills required Part played in brand development

Brand audit and research

Requires market research and interview skills

To uncover what external and internal parties perceive about the brand or proposed brand

Brand strategy

Requires strategic thinking skills and business knowledge

To guide the company in pinning down the essence and personality of the brand, and then to determine the most advantageous market position for the brand against its competitors. This guides the rest of the activities below.

Brand identity

Requires creative design and messaging skills

To derive a brand look and feel that represents the enduring qualities determined in the above step, and sends it as a clear message to the target customers

Employee branding

Requires people development and HR skills

To embed into the company a brand culture based on the essence of the brand, and raise brand ambassadors who live and breathe the brand identity

Public relations

Requires communication, messaging and people skills

To build the credibility of the brand in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders by ensuring honest and interactive communication with them

Advertising

Requires creative design and messaging skills

To focus attention on what sets the brand apart from others through repeating a creative and compelling message

Intellectual Property Management

Requires legal and business knowledge

To firstly ensure that the brand and its surrounding knowledge are protected, but more than that, how it is protected and managed in a way that gives competitive advantage to the company

Engaging a brand consultancy could provide you with a useful external perspective. Should you decide to engage a brand consultancy to help you in your brand development, it helps to understand what the job entails. There are multiple skills and competencies required to develop a brand, and consultancies could offer a range of these services. The basic ones are listed below:

These are some of the questions you should ask to ensure that you are getting consultants who can meet your needs: ▪ What is the background of the team that will be working on my project? ▪ What kinds of projects have they worked on before and for which companies? ▪ Which part of the project were they involved in? (Refer to the above competencies.) ▪ What success of their client can be attributed to that project? (While this may not be

quantifiable, they should be able to share the thinking behind it. You could also seek the opinion of the client.)


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3> What are some branding strategies?


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Brand

Co-branding refers to two or more companies agreeing to place their brands on a single product or service. The joint products or services are usually marketed together. Co-branding increases the strength of the brands, making customers more willing to accept the product and even pay a premium for it. Leveraging on a more established brand or one that is well accepted by consumers helps your product gain acceptance with them. In the process, you may lower the cost of introducing your product or even borrow expertise from other companies and expand into other product categories.

Figure 1 Breyers® vanilla ice cream with

Oreo® cookies pieces.

Figure 2 Acer Ferrari smartphone

Before co-branding or using secondary association, it is important that approval is obtained from the owners of the brands that you intend to use. This is to avoid legal disputes. All parties involved must agree on how the respective brands can be used. Compliance to strict guidelines is usually required.

Tip

Ingredient Branding A popular way of leveraging on a more established brand is ingredient branding. This is when well-known materials, components or parts are used with or integrated into your product. This collaboration is highlighted, usually by listing the established brand with your own brand. For example, it is common for computer makers such as Hewlett Packard, Acer and Dell to highlight in their advertisements and label on their computer units the use of Intel processors. Even fairly unfamiliar brand such as Axioo, are able to sell notebooks by using Intel processors, which have become widely recognised and accepted by consumers.


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Brand

Tip

If your business is one that resells products or carry someone else‟s brand, whether through licensing, franchising or providing of store space, you need to think of the following: Make sure you think about ownership of intellectual property rights. How do you ensure that you are investing time and resources into something you will own eventually? Think about Performance Motors and Robinsons built their brand around reselling other products. How can you build my own brand name as a preferred distributor?

Secondary association refers to the enhancement of your brand by associating it with other entities that are positively perceived by your customers. It can enhance the credibility of your brand and invoke positive feelings.


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Brand

Celebrity endorsement leverages on a celebrity‟s popularity to enhance your brand.

This is a costly strategy and selecting the right celebrity and determining the benefits of the endorsement is not an easy task. A celebrity‟s personal image and values may be strongly associated and transferred to your brand through endorsement. It is important for you to evaluate if these image and values are consistent with your brand image. You also need to be prepared for situations where the results of the endorsement do not turn out the way you hoped. With celebrity endorsements, you can draw attention to your brand, shape consumers‟ perception of your brand and add personality to your brand. There have been immensely successful cases of celebrity endorsement.

Case Study

No Relationship’s Perfect In 2000, Jamie Oliver‟s career as a chef was taking off with a successful television programme, The Naked Chef, and bestselling cookbooks under his belt. In the same year, Sainsbury‟s, Britain‟s third largest supermarket chain, signed him on with a £2 million a year endorsement deal. It proved to be a worthy investment with Oliver helping to generate an estimated increase of £1.12 billion in sales in the first two years of his endorsement. However, things turned not so pretty in 2008 when Jamie Oliver criticized Sainsbury‟s on his show for not participating in a public debate on chicken farming. Although Oliver later apologized publicly to Sainsbury's for his outburst, the company was deeply upset by this perceived act of disloyalty from someone they were paying millions to boost their image.


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Brand

Corporate social responsibility [CSR] is an organisation‟s commitment to act responsibly in carrying out activities that affect the environment, consumers, stakeholders, employees and communities. Companies should build the CSR mechanism within the organisation with the aim to give back to society rather than seeing it as a branding tool. However, studies have shown that companies that engage in CSR have experienced increased brand value, enhanced image and even improved financial performance in the long run. CSR needs to be something that the company is passionate about, and integrated into the very way the business is run. Several well-known companies, such as Ben & Jerry‟s and The Body Shop, have championed CSR. They are recognised and rewarded for their strong corporate ethics and social responsibility.

Case Study

Caring Capitalism Ben & Jerry‟s reputation for being socially responsible was well established over the years on philanthropy, fair treatment of employees and environmental practices. You should not just claim to be socially responsible – you need to walk the talk. Ben & Jerry‟s procures fair trade ingredients whenever possible, such as free-range eggs and sustainably produced dairy products. This helps to ensure that more people are working in safe conditions, working reasonably hours and receiving fair wages. Ben & Jerry‟s participates actively in community-based development projects to look into sustainability. They also donate a portion of its pre-tax profits to corporate philanthropy.


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4> How do I find out what others think and feel about my brand?


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Brand

A brand audit is an assessment of your brand from internal and external perspectives to find out how it is being marketed and how it is being perceived by others. Brand audits have to be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the way you think you are portraying your brand is aligned with the customers‟ perception of your brand. With this exercise, gaps identified can then be immediately rectified to ensure that no damage is done to your brand and consistency can be maintained in your branding activities. A match in internal and external perspectives means that what you are trying to communicate is being accepted, understood and remembered by consumers. Any mismatch in internal and external perspectives may result in ineffectiveness or undesirable outcome for your company and brand.

Internal perspective refers to a viewpoint concerning the brand from within the company, such as the beliefs and behaviour of your employees and management. It also looks at the consistency of all communication materials bearing the brand, brand mark, brand message and brand promise.

External perspective refers to a viewpoint from outside the company, such as consumers, partners, shareholders and the media, about their perception of the brand, brand mark, brand message and brand promise.


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Brand

An important part of an internal brand audit is to look at how your brand is being communicated to employees, find out if they understand your brand and whether they know their role in disseminating the brand message. >> Believe in your brand.

Do your employees understand the brand, brand message, promise and values?

What is your employees‟ perception of your brand? Do they believe in the brand? Are they inspired to act

according to the brand values? Do the employees see management consistently modelling the

brand values? >> Communicate your brand.

Do your employees understand what the company is offering to customers through your brand?

Do they communicate your brand consistently to external stakeholders?

>> Deliver your promise.

Do your employees deliver on the brand promise? Is this behaviour consistent throughout the organisation?

Tip

Interview with Employees 1) Prepare your interview

questions and tailor them according to different employees.

2) Generate a back-and-forth conversation so that the interviewee is put at ease.

3) Your interview should be detailed and long enough such that your interviewee can feel your sincerity and effort to hear them out.

4) Make sure all your questions are answered. Guide your interviewee back on track if necessary.

5) Include open-ended conversation to gather unexpected insights.


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Brand

You will also need to look through all your marketing and corporate materials, product packaging and any other items bearing your brand.

What is your brand positioning? How do you want customers to perceive you?

What is your brand message? Is it clear and easy to understand?

What is your brand promise? Is it attainable?

Do your corporate colours complement your brand? Do the language and ideas used complement your brand? Are you using appropriate images and photos that are

consistent with your brand image? Do all your materials & packaging bear the same brand

mark and corporate colours? Is the medium you are using to communicate your brand

effective in reaching out to your intended customers?

Do your marketing activities deliver a consistent brand message?

Does the performance of your products match up to your brand promise?


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Brand

In an external brand audit, you will need to engage consumers to understand what and how they think and feel about your brand. Brand Awareness

What is consumers‟ level of awareness of your brand? Do they know your brand?

Brand Message

Are your intended customers receiving the brand message? Do consumers understand what you are trying to say through

your brand? What is consumers‟ perception of the medium you are using

to communicate your brand message? Brand Perception

What is consumers‟ perception of your brand and products? What is consumers‟ perception of your company‟s values? Is

your brand supported by your company‟s values? What do consumers associate your brand with? What are some positive signs towards your brand? What are consumers‟ expectations of your brand?


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Brand

A direct approach to external brand audit gathers direct responses on what consumers think and feel about your brand. Focus group is a popular method used to gather opinions on a company‟s products or services. It is relatively inexpensive and easy to conduct and can yield valuable information for your company to identify gaps and improve. You may follow the guidelines below on conducting your own focus group.

Define your purpose

Write a statement of purpose such as "To find out how people feel about Breyers Ice Cream.”

Establish a timeline

Preparing for a focus group requires a lot of effort from developing questions to inviting

participants. Plan at least four weeks in advance.

Identify participants

Determine the target group and number of participants. Invite a sufficient number. Not

everyone will agree to participate.

Develop questions

You will probably have time for only four or five questions. You need to have one or two

introductory questions for warm up and the remaining three to address your purpose.

Select a facilitator

Your facilitator should be able to handle outspoken focus group members, keep the

discussion on track and encourage participation. Appoint someone to take notes.

Choose the location

Make sure the setting is comfortable and encourages conversation. Participants should be

able to see one another.

Conduct the session

Start by introducing the participants and the purpose of the session. Ask the questions and

manage the flow of discussion. Wrap up by thanking everyone and asking for final inputs.

Write a report

Write a summary as soon as the session is over to avoid memory lapses. Analyse the summaries for

key findings and prepare the report.

Tip

Tips for Conducting Focus Groups 1) Your focus group session

should not be more than an hour or so. Remember that the average adult‟s attention span is only 20 minutes.

2) Your questions should move from general to specifics.

3) You may wish to prepare a script outlining the sequence of events to facilitate the session. It will also help you stay on track and on time.

4) Limit the number of participants to 8 ~ 12.

5) Be appreciative of your interviewees. Remember they are your customers. Thank them for their time and give each participant a token of appreciation. This could be cash or a sampling of your product.


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Brand

As with a focus group, you need to define your purpose and identify your interviewees to conduct personal interviews with.

Suggest a date and time for an interview session for each participant instead of leaving it open-ended. This facilitates the fixing of appointments and gives you greater control over the period during which all interviews can be completed. When developing the questions, remember that they should address what you seek to find. Always try to keep your questions open-ended by starting them with Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Starting a question with “Do you…” solicits a “Yes” or “No” answer. Remember that you need to open up the conversation to get people to express their thoughts freely. Record your interviews if the interviewees are comfortable with the idea and it will not cause them to be hesitant in speaking. You can then make short notes and concentrate on engaging your interviewees to get them to provide honest feedback and deeper answers. Remember that you need to ask for permission from your interviewees if you wish to record them, and give them the option of opting out if they are uncomfortable.

Tip

Tips for Conducting Personal Interviews 1) Ask the question, and then

pause to allow interviewees to gather their thoughts. Do not offer answers for them to choose from.

2) To avoid misinterpretation, summarise key points along the interview and repeat it to your interviewees to confirm or clarify.

3) While conducting the interview, be neutral, even-toned, and accepting.

4) Be appreciative of your interviewees. Remember they are your customers. Thank them for their time and give each participant a token of appreciation. This could be cash or a sampling of your product.


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Brand

Tip

Other Possible Association Methods User Association Find out the profile of typical users of your brand.

Ask about demography (age, gender, income, education etc.)

Ask about lifestyle

Usage Association Find out the reasons customers use your brand.

Ask about the occasion when your brand was chosen

Ask about the mood associated with the usage

Personality Association Find out what your brand personality is.

Ask if your brand was a person, what would its personality be like?

An indirect approach to external brand audit utilises projective techniques to uncover deep-rooted thoughts that may not surface as a result of direct questioning. It allows you to understand your customers‟ true feelings about your brand by tapping on their underlying thought processes that may not be immediately available or obvious even to themselves.

Word Association


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Brand

Analysing perceptual maps allows you to see what you need to do to strengthen or reposition your brand.

Competitors' brands placed near your brand are perceived by your customers to have similar attributes with your brand. They are your immediate competition, targeting the same group of customers for their dollar. An example of a perceptual map on soap is shown below. A consumer who wants to buy a deodorant soap with low moisturising qualities will consider Palmolive Gold, Imperial Leather, Cashmere Bouquet and even Lux. Sunlight on the other hand will not be considered due to its perceived non-deodorant quality.

Figure 3 Source: Quester, P., Neal, C., Pettigrew, S., Grimmer, M., Davis, T. & Hawkins, D. (2007).

Consumer behaviour: Implications for marketing strategy

Identify two most important

attributes of your product

and label them as the x & y axis.

Mark the ends of the x & y axis

with the extremes of

their corresponding

attributes.

Get participants to list all brands

in the same product

category and position them

on the map

Analyse the position of all

brands relative to the position of your brand


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5> How can I measure the results of my branding efforts?


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Brand

If your brand is not listed

If your brand is not listed

It is important to measure how effective and successful your branding efforts are. This is to ensure that your branding efforts achieve the intended goals of creating awareness and appealing to your customers. It also serves as a way of determining if the money spent has generated a good return on investment.

Ask the top-of-mind-awareness question. "What are the brands you

think of when I say laptops?"

Ask a more specific question, with a stronger clue. "What are the brands you think of when I say "low price"?

Ask a question that highlights a specific branding campaign of yours. "Which brand has the advertisement

with the tagline "xxx"?

If your brand comes to mind at this point, brand recall is high

If your brand comes to mind at this point, brand recall is average

If your brand comes to mind only at this point, brand recall is low


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Brand

> Brand association is another good method to find out if perceptions have changed as a result of your branding efforts. See Word Association. > Brand evaluation uses a 5-point or 7-point scale to check consumers‟ attitudes and feelings about your brand.

Please rate the following attributes of our brand from a scale of 1 to 5. Unappealing 1 2 3 4 5 Appealing Low Quality 1 2 3 4 5 High Quality Boring 1 2 3 4 5 Exciting Low-tech 1 2 3 4 5 Hi-tech Bad 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

How likely will you buy our brand in the next 6 months? Unlikely 1 2 3 4 5 Likely

How likely are you to pay more than the average market price for our brand? Unlikely 1 2 3 4 5 Likely If you rated 3 and above, how much are you willing to pay? $______


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Brand

> Blind test is a technique used to evaluate a package or product without benefit or influence of the brand name. Select consumers randomly to participate in your experiment. You may prepare samples of your product and your competitors‟ products in the following ways: a) Standard, plain packaging with no brand names printed b) Standard, plain packaging with brand names printed Get the participants to try out the samples and fill out a questionnaire on the quality of the various samples using a 5-point or 7-point semantic differential scale. Compare the change in perceived quality of each sample after the brand names have been disclosed.

Brand name disclosure induces a psychological added value on the perceived quality of products. If consumers rate the quality of your sample higher after the disclosure of brand names, then it shows the positive association your brand has gained.


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6> How can I protect my brand?


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Brand

It is important to protect your brand, even before it becomes established and well received by consumers. Leaving your brand unprotected gives counterfeiters the chance to exploit your brand and robs you of your right to take legal action against these perpetrators. You need to register your brand with the appropriate authorities to protect it. It involves conducting relevant searches on your brand name and brand mark to ensure that no one else has already used them. Once your registration is approved, you will be the sole owner of the brand and no one can use your brand without your permission. You can also take legal action against anyone who exploits your brand illegally in the country you have registered your brand in. Note that the legal recourse you can take may vary from country to country. For registration of brand, you may choose to hire an IP attorney to file the registration on your behalf or do it on your own. You can do simple registrations of brand name and brand mark on your own. For more complicated registrations such as those involving patents, it is advisable for you to seek professional advice and assistance before proceeding. Above all, you need to bear in mind that it is not the act of registration, but knowing how and what to protect in your company that gives you the legal edge over your competitors.

http://www.ipos.gov.sg/


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