Brand Strategy
(PBL session 6, closing trigger 5. 6.10.2014)Brand strategy is the how, what, when, and to whom you plan on communicating your product or service. (Sorenson 2012)
Brand is more than just the product; it's selling the problem your business is solving. It's how you define your position in the market compared to your competitors. You should decide which aspect is the most important about your product or service, and make it a part of every aspect of your brand communication.
With a clear brand strategy the overall brand equity gets stronger; the way people perceive or feel your product or service and how much they're willing to invest in it. The added value allows a company to charge more for their brand than other identical companies with weaker brands.
When creating a brand strategy, decisions like "is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option?" have to be made. A brand can't be both and it can't be everything for everyone.
The brand strategy brings competitive positioning to life, and works to position the brand as a certain “something” in the mind of their customers. Being an on-trend, relevant, inspiring, purposeful, innovative and community-centric brand is what makes people pay attention and remeber the brand.The elements of a brand strategy are everything from advertising and distribution channels to visual and verbal communication.
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| Marketingmo |
Succesful brands connect emotionally with their costumers. When a cusotmer has a connection with a brand they'll choose that brand over another brand's product with the same features. This is what brand strategies aim for. Look at Harley Davidson, for example; many would choose a Harley Davidson over a cheaper bike with the same features, for example. Nike vs. "supermarket" sportgear and Luis Vuitton vs. normal leather bag, are good examples, too.
Glastonbury festival has such a strong brand, emotional connection and reputation that the Glastonbury 2015 tickets were sold out in less than 30 minutes even though not a single artist to perform has been announced yet. (OConnor,The Independent, 2014)
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| Gigslutz |
Brand Architecture
Brand architecture is the strategic and logical structure for a group of brands, sub-brands and named products, a family tree so to speak. It is how an organization structures their various products, services or other entities within its portfolio and how they relate to one another.
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| Mootee |
VanAuken (2014) defined four reasons why an organisation should (or should not) choose several different brands over a single brand. Firstly, if there any channel conflict issues, if key customers who resell to the end consumer want to offer something different from competitors. Second, if similar goods are sold at different price points; separate brands, or sub-brands, create more distance between the offerings. Next, if set of products are on different scales, one upscale/prerium and other standard/value products. Lastly, if one of the brads appeals to a very different market segment than the other.
Sources
Llopis. Forbes, 6 Brand strategies most CMOs fail to execute. 3.10.2014. Accessed 5.10.2014
Marketingmo, Guides- Brand strategy. 2014. Accessed 5.10.2014
Mootee, Innovation playground. 7.9.2007. Accessed 5.10.2014
O'Connor. The Independent, Glastonbury tickets. 5.10.2014. Accessed 5.10.2014
Sorenson. HubSpot, 7 Components that compromise a comprehensive brand strategy. 8.3.2012. Accessed: 5.10.2014
VanAuken. Branding strategy insider, 4 reasons to maintain different brands. 13.8.2014. Accessed: 6.10.2014
Williams. Entrepreneur, The basics of branding. 16.5.2005. Accessed: 5.10.2014
