Brand Management Course Review

Course Overview

• Focus on brand management with a strategic emphasis.
• Topics include building, measuring, and managing brand equity.
• Explore different branding strategies and evaluate brand lifecycles.
• Recommended textbook: Keller, K. L. & Swaminathan, V. (2020). Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 5th ed. Pearson, UK.

Course Learning Objectives (CLOs)

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Define what a brand is and understand the significance of brand equity in organizations.
• Recognize the role of brand management within organizations.
• Appreciate the scope of different brand strategies.
• Evaluate a brand's effectiveness and its strategic position.

Course Delivery

• Weekly Lectures: Thursdays, 13:40 – 15:30, GBLT2.
• Weekly Tutorials: 4 tutorials, each lasting 1 hour, starting from week 3.
• Refer to course schedule for detailed topics of the tutorial sessions.

Course Schedule

Course Assessment Schedule

Communication

• With Students: Via Nuku, Email, Phone for emergencies.
• With Course Staff: Email is preferred:
  • val.hooper@vuw.ac.nz (Office RH 1101)
  • martyn.gosling@vuw.ac.nz (Office RH 1104)

Student Representative

• Opportunity for students to represent their class to improve learning experiences at VUW.
• Benefits include Class Rep certificates and growth opportunities.

Lecture 1: Introduction to Brands and Branding

Meaning of “Brand”

• Origin: Old Norse “brandr,” meaning to burn.
• A brand can be a name, term, sign, symbol, or design intended to identify goods/services from competitors (American Marketing Association).
• Brands encompass reputation, prominence, and customer relationships – essentially a promise to consumers.

Branding Truths

• Branding exists in the consumer's mind; choices affect branding.
• Brand equity is significant; brands in the 1980s often exchanged hands at over 30 times their market value.

Definition of a Product

• A product is anything offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.
• Branded products have unique features distinguishing them from competitors.
• A brand gives products meaning beyond their functionality (includes goods, services, ideas, people, etc.).

Levels of Product Meaning

1. Core Benefit - Fundamental need satisfied by the product.
2. Generic Product Level - Basic version that meets the need.
3. Expected Product Level - Attributes expected by consumers.
4. Augmented Product Level - Attributes/benefits that differentiate the product.
5. Potential Product Level - Future possible enhancements.

What Can Be Branded?

• Products, services, commodities, people, organizations, ideas, events, and geographic locations can all be branded.

Consumer Impact of Brands

• Brands serve as shorthand for making product decisions and help identify product origins.
• They also reduce risk and enhance perceived quality.

Risks Associated with Branding

• Functional Risk
• Physical Risk
• Financial Risk
• Social Risk
• Psychological Risk
• Time Risk

Manufacturer Benefits from Branding

• Quality signal, differentiation, and legal protection.
• Branding can increase demand reliability and create competitive advantages.

Challenges and Opportunities in Branding

• Increase in information access and technological advancements.
• Market pressures, consumer behavior changes, and evolving competition.

World’s Most Valuable Brands (2023)

• Apple: $241.2 B
• Google: $207.5 B
• Microsoft: $162.9 B
• Amazon: $135.4 B
• Facebook: $70.3 B (21% decrease)
• Coca-Cola: $64.4 B
• Disney: $61.3 B
• Samsung: $50.4 B (5% decrease)
• Louis Vuitton: $47.2 B
• McDonald's: $46.1 B

Preparation for Next Week

• Read Chapter 2
• Begin consideration for Assignment 1 topic.