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Meaning of Strategic Brand Management
Strategic Brand Management process is a process of managing and building a better brand image. This process involves several strategies and techniques for analyzing and planning how the brand should be perceived in the market. Brand management aims at taking a company’s brand equity to great heights and adds value to the brand. It increases the perceived value of products to the customer. The overall process of Brand management involves developing a promise, making that promises and maintaining it.
This process creates a wide awareness of the brand and strengthens the brand association. Proper branding helps the company in differentiating its products from other competitors. It helps in attracting more customers and persuades them to buy the product. All this assists in developing a better relationship with the target market and builds a loyal customer base.
Brand management includes tangible elements like product, its price, its shape and color, packaging, etc. It also comprises of intangible elements like brand image, brand equity, band positioning, and associations. Strategic Brand Management Process contains the following steps.
Strategic Brand Management Process
Identify and Establish Brand Positioning and Values
The brand management process starts with identifying and understanding the position of brand that should be established. This step involves developing a company’s offers and images to counter the competition. Brand should be capable of distinguishing the company among its competitors and should affect target customers’ minds.
Identification and planning of brand use three models: Brand positioning model that tells how to maximize competitive advantages from integrated marketing, Brand resonance model that tells how to develop loyalty relationship with customers and Brand value chain which traces the brand’s value creation process.
Plan and Implement Brand Marketing Programs
After planning the brand position to be established, the brand manager is required to formulate plans and strategies and implement them to position the brand as per the planning. This overall planning process comprises of 3 steps. Firstly it involves choosing elements of a brand like its name, symbol, logo, tagline, and packaging.
These elements are noticed by customers before buying products. Secondly, it integrates the brand in marketing activities and support marketing programs. At last, it involves leveraging secondary associations like countries, characters, distribution channels, cultural or sporting events, etc. Brand is linked to all these factors.
Measure and Interpret Brand Performance
After the implementation of brand marketing programs, brand managers measure brand profitability by developing and implementing the brand equity measurement system. This system provides managers with right and timely information about brand to managers. Managers are able to take all required strategic decisions regarding the brand as and when required to benefit it.
This step measures the effectiveness of brand marketing programs. Implementation of brand equity management system involves following steps: Doing brand audits which examine the current position of the brand with respect to competitors in the market, designing brand tracking which directly collects information of brand from customers and establishing brand equity measurement system which helps in developing a better understanding of brand equity concept inside the company.
Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity
This is the last step in the brand management process and aims at maintaining and expanding the established brand equity. It is a continuous process and a challenging task for maintaining brand equity.
This step involves defining brand architecture which tells guidelines regarding brand strategy and comprises of brand portfolio and brand hierarchy, managing brand equity over time by taking marketing decisions which will benefit brand equity in the long run. It also involves reinforcement and revitalization of the brand.
