Brand Management Through Narrowing The Gap - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Brand Management Through Narrowing The Gap. Answer: Introduction Brand is a name or symbol that provides identity to an organisation and the product it manufactures. Brand management is important for managers, as customers tend to recognise products based on the brand image (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan 2015). Brand identity helps in gaining a competitive advantage in the market. The assignment discusses the ways by which organisations can create a brand by depending on the various factors that define a brand. The assignment analysis Aakers brand identify model (ABIM) in order to understand the importance of such brands. Comparisons are made between ABIM and Keller's model in order to clearly understand the differences between the brands. Each perspective of the ABIM is analysed in the assignment in detail. Discussion on how organisations create its brand Concept of brand identity and its importance According to Vigneron and Johnson (2017), brand identity is considered as a different concept than brand image. It establishes a proper intention for branding. It can be said as a collection of various brand elements that a company creates in order to satisfy the organisational goals and attain customer satisfaction. Brand identity provides liberty to a company to choose its design, logo and the colour schemes that can attract customers to the organisation. In this regard, the benefits of brand identity can be analysed. As stated by Solomon (2014) a proper brand identity allows a company to establish itself firmly in the market. It helps in the creation of an image that is bigger than the organisation. Through brand identity, the prospects of a company increase that help it to succeed in the business world. Moreover, it helps in building loyalty and trust among the customers so that it can effectively succeed in the satisfaction of the customers. This is an important benefit for an o rganisation as a loyal customer is an important stakeholder as well as an asset (He and Lai 2014). Thus, brand identity is considered as an important aspect of an organisation. Aakers brand identity model (ABIM) Concept of ABIM David Aaker, a professor of marketing at the University of California, created Aaker's brand identity model (ABIM). The model aims to combine brand awareness with brand equity. Apart from this brand, loyalty and brand associations are also considered as part of the marketing model that helps in engaging customers and create brand loyalty. Kelley, Sheehan and Jugenheimer (2015) stated that ABIM adds up the factors that make up a brand image in an organisation. It provides for an extended identity element as it plays a key role in the success of an organisation. It also enables the brand to adapt to different products and the markets of different countries. ABIM perceives brand in four different manners. The brand is seen as individual entities that are formed together in order to provide a competitive advantage for an organisation. The four perspectives of the brand include product, organisation, person and symbol. Bravo et al. (2017) stated that this model is different from the brand equity model suggested by Keller. Keller divided branding stating that in order to build a strong brand it is necessary that the managers think as per customers. They need to maintain four essential stages that can help in the proper identification of customers and gain the loyalty of the customers. Several steps are considered that are used to create a proper brand image among the customers and gain importance in the market. However, Aaker (2013) stated that ABIM provides separate entity of branding that helps in analysing the features that are needed for creating a proper brand image. On the other hand, a different model such as Kapferers brand identity model differences between brand identity and the image. This model highlights that brand identity focuses on the company and is a production of the managerial activities. The identity provides the ultimate approval required to understand a particular brand. Brand image focuses on the target market of an organisation. It is formed mainly due to the perceptions of the customers. Thus, the varied manner in which this model describes branding has brought about many criticisms. The aspects of the prism are too complex for forming a proper opinion about branding. The reason for choosing ABIM is the fact that unlike the other two models, ABIM provides a more comprehensive and systematic approach to understand the concept of brand identity. Figure 1: Kellers brand equity model (Source: Schallehn, Burmann and Riley 2014) Figure 2: ABIM brand identity model (Source: Kelley, Sheehan and Jugenheimer 2015) Figure 3: Kapferers brand identity prism (Source: MacInnis, Park and Priester 2014) ABIM Perspective Brand as a product According to Wheeler (2017), the product is important for organisations in order to impress the customers and ensure that the financial stability of an organisation is maintained. Without proper manufacturing and selling of products, an organisation cannot exist in the modern competing market. Products are also an element of the marketing mix that marketers focus in order to gain a competitive advantage in the market. In the case of ABIM, branding is considered as a product as it provides opportunities for organisations to expand itself in the market. As stated by the perception of the brand as a product, it is seen that products consist of the scope and the attributes. These factors are important in order to understand the limitations and the features of a particular product. Based on this, marketers can decide upon the target market and sell the product as per the qualities it possesses. According to Ghodeswar (2017), the country of origin also plays a huge role in the selling of p roducts. An example can be provided in order to support this statement. Singapore Airline represents the services provided by the Singapore Airlines. Based on the type of service presented by the airline, people tend to put their faith in the airlines. The airline company flies to 64 locations around the world and uses its brand identity to gain advantage over the rivals (Singaporeair.com 2018). The perspective of the customers about the brand helped it to increase its brand equity. One of the ways by which Singapore Airlines have managed to improve its brand image is by is by providing comfortable flights on a consistent basis. ABIM Perspective Brand as an organisation As an organisation brand can be considered as a mirror image of an organisation. The features of an organisation consist of the novelty, care about the customers and the reliability of the products (De Chernatony 2016). These features are important as it helps an organisation to understand the goals and the ways by which it can be aligned with the interests of the customers. The brand identity developed by the organisation can be both global as well local. This is an important aspect as it helps in the expansion of the brand identity of the organisation. This particular perspective of a brand as an organisation can be considered as an opportunity of the organisations to present itself in the market. The culture of the organisation depends upon the brand identity it sets up for itself, thereby gaining importance in the market. An example can be considered in this regard to help in the understanding of the perspective of a brand as an organisation. An example can be provided by a non-profit organisation named Kaplan that specialises in providing higher education programs to students. The institution was founded in 1938 and since then has grown into a reputed education centre in Florida. The fact that it encourages students to pursue education reflects the cultural factor of the institute. The institute in order to ensure that the people of the country are educated and earn a proper living provides almost all levels of education (Kaplan.com 2018). This proves the branding as an organisation phenomenon as the institute uses its name in order to gain recognition in the society. According to Ferrandi, Valette-Florence and Fine-Falcy (2015), this can be considered as an important prospect for Kaplan in gaining the trust of the customers. The fame of Kaplan is not only in Asia but also in the United States. The university also publishes journals that are useful for future studies and gaining knowledge about various things in the worl d. Thus, the brand of the organisation is recognised in this manner. ABIM Perspective Brand as a person Sung et al. (2105) observed that brand as a person determines the relationship that exists between the brand and the customers. In this case, the brand becomes a part of the person and tries to manipulate its thoughts based on the customers. The advantage of this is that it can help in identifying the target market with ease. Psychologists suggest that branding is also based taking into consideration some of the attributes of a person. These attributes include sincerity of a person, the active level of an individual and the reliability of a person. It can be said that customers can connect with a brand once it feels that the particular brand represents the personality possessed by the individual. In this regard, it can be said that a particular person can also be used as a creator of the brand. Okonkwo (2016) argued in favour of this stating logo and colours not only depict a brand but a famous icon such as characters from Disney can also be considered as a brand. People can easily recognise a character like Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck as one of the Disney characters, as these are famous icons. The target market for this can be the young children that have a craze for following such icons. Thus, a company like Walt Disney use such characters as a mascot and help in creating other mascots for eventful events so that the reputation of the brand can be maintained (Thewaltdisneycompany.com 2018). ABIM Perspective Brand as a symbol Symbols can be used in order to covey various types of information. It is one method of communication that is used in order to convey a message to different people. Symbols are mainly the logo or colour that represents an organisation. According to Keller (2017), symbols help in the inheritance of the brand image and the manner in which an organisation is displayed. The symbols or logo of famous brands is not hard to be guessed by the customers. Thereby, it is important that the symbols of the organisation represent the culture and the name of the organisation. Some companies also use the symbols as a metaphor for representing the true self of the organisation. Therefore, an example can be provided in order to understand the perspective more clearly. Tiger balm is a medical item that helps people to heal from the pain. Aw Cheng Chye family manufactured the product and today it is one of the famous brands all over China. The symbol of the balm is a tiger that represents the name of the balm and provides a metaphorical implication that like tigers the balm is quick in the work that it does (Tigerbalm.com 2018). Thus, it can be said that symbols represent a hidden message of an organisation and provide an opportunity for customers to recognise the brand and remain loyal to it. Thus, this is also an important part of forming a brand identity for an organisation. Conclusion Thus, after the analysis, it can be said that branding is an important part of an organisation. The implication of brand image can help every organisation to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Branding helps in the recognition of the brand and provides opportunities for expansion into new ventures. The implementation of ABIM can help brand managers to identify the proper manner in which brands can be developed. Treating brands individually as per different perceptions can help an organisation to understand the various features that are involved while setting up a brand image. In this regard, the use of ABIM can help in creating a proper branding of a product. The examples provided show the fact that the application of ABIM can help managers to segregate the features required for creating a proper branding of a particular product. Comparison to Keller's model of brand equity sheds light on the advantages and disadvantages that ABIM possesses. It can be concluded that Kellers model follows a systematic analysis of the various stages of branding. The perception of the customers is determined by linking the products with the thoughts of the customers. Establishing an identity, identifying the meaning, analysing the response and creating relationships with the customers and brand are essential in order to create a proper image in the market. However, the application of ABIM can segregate the branding characteristic and provide a proper understanding of the implementation of branding. The organisations mentioned above use the segments in a unique manner and ensure that customers both locally and globally can gain knowledge about the type of products and services that are offered by the organisations. Hence, it can be stated that in order to identify a proper application of branding the use of ABIM is effective in the market. Reference Aaker, J.L., 2013. Dimensions of brand personality.Journal of marketing research, pp.347-356. Bravo, R., Bravo, R., Buil, I., Buil, I., de Chernatony, L., de Chernatony, L., Martnez, E. and Martnez, E., 2017. Managing brand identity: effects on the employees.International Journal of Bank Marketing,35(1), pp.2-23. De Chernatony, L., 2016. Brand management through narrowing the gap between brand identity and brand reputation.Journal of marketing management,15(1-3), pp.157-179. Ferrandi, J.M., Valette-Florence, P. and Fine-Falcy, S., 2015. 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