Why Brands Matter

Question 1

What is the difference between a product and a brand?

Answer 1

Product: anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a need or want

Brand: a name, term, symbol, design, or combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller to differentiate them from those of the competition

Question 2

What are the three characteristics of a brand?

Answer 2

1. Brands can have rational/tangible appeal
2. Brands can have symbolic/emotional/tangible appeal
3. The brand resides in the mind (and gut) of the consumer

Question 3

What is a brand element?

Answer 3

a name, logo, slogan, symbol, packaging design, colour, sound/jingle, or other attribute that identifies a product and distinguishes it from all others.

Question 4

How does a brand element compare to a brand

Answer 4

Brand element: a name, term, symbol, design, or combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller to differentiate them from those of the competition

Brand: a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product or individual

Question 5

What type of product is a swimsuit and what is a branded example

Answer 5

Physical product - speedo

Question 6

What type of product is an airline and what is a branded example?

Answer 6

Service - Air France

Question 7

What type of product is a singer and what is a branded example?

Answer 7

Person - Drake

Question 8

What type of product is a non-profit and what is a branded example?

Answer 8

Organization - Heart & Stroke

Question 9

What type of product is a social cause and what is a branded example?

Answer 9

Idea - anti-bullying

Question 10

What are 2 reasons brands matter

Answer 10

1. consumer
2. firm

Question 11

Why do brands matter to consumers?

Answer 11

1. Functions provided by the brand to consumer
2. Brands can signal product characteristic /attributes
3. Brands can reduce risk in product decision

Question 12

What are functions provided by brands to consumers?

Answer 12

1. Identify source/maker of the product
2. simplify product decisions
3. lowers search cost for products internally and externally
4. helps set reasonable expectations about what consumer may not know about the brand

Question 13

How do brands signal product characteristics to the consumer?

Answer 13

Search goods: can evaluate product before purchasing

Experience goods: have to experience the product to understand value. Can’t observe in advance

Credence goods: products that you only learn about when you need that service (tooth filling, insurance)

Question 14

Types of risk in product decisions?

Answer 14

• function
• physical
• financial
• social
• psychological
• time

Question 15

Why do brands matter to the firm?

Answer 15

• simplify product handling and tracing
• help organize inventory and accounting records
• offer the firm legal protection for unique features or aspects of the product
• provide predictability and security of demand for the firm and create barriers to entry for competitors
• provide a powerful means to secure competitive advantage

Question 16

Why must you educate consumers to brand a product?

Answer 16

You have to teach consumers who the product by:

• Giving it a name and using another brand element to help identify it
• What the product does and why consumers should care

Marketers must give consumers a label for the product and provide meaning for the brand

Marketers can benefit from branding whenever consumers are in a choice situation

Question 17

The strongest brands are…?

Answer 17

1. Best known
2. Highly regarded
3. Maintaining brand relevance and differentiation are important to the success of the brand

Question 18

What are the steps for strategic brand management process?

Answer 18

Identifying and developing brand plans
(mental map, points of parity, brand mantra)

Designing and implementing brand marketing program
(mixing + matching of brand elements, leveraging secondary associations)

Measuring and interpreting brand performance
(brand value chain, brand audit, brand tacking)

Growing and sustaining brand equity
(Brand architecture, brand expansion strategies)

Question 19

What does a brand equity measurement system involve?

Answer 19

1. Brand audit
2. Brand tracking studies
3. Brand Equity management system