Therefore, Thwart (2010) argues that, a brand can be considered as a present asset and a relatively stable true cash flow. The marketing advantages of strong brands will be discussed according to the order of the ops of marketing. The ops comprise Product, Pricing, Place and Promotional marketing activities. The marketing advantages for strong brands in terms of the product are numerous.
First of all, consumers perceive a higher degree of quality from strong brands in comparison to weak brands (Fingers, Kahn and McAlister 1992).Strong brands are easier to recognize than unknown brands for the consumer and as a result, strong brands are often Included in the hooch set to reduce the perceived risk consumers might experience when dealing with uncertainty due to lack of prior knowledge of the product category. Hoer and Brown (1990), argue that brand recognition in situations like these might be the strongest cue for making a purchase decision. Equally important, strong brands often experience more success from brand extensions.
Not only are strong brands less vulnerable to negative perception of the extended product, the 'halo effect', the positive associations with the parent brand, often Influence consumers' opinions about the newly introduced brand extension. The parent brand could be considered to be the flagship brand and is highly resistant to dilution of other potential negative effects due to negative experiences with an extension (Reorder, Looked and Joiner 1998). As a result of the aforementioned perceived quality, strong brands are less vulnerable to low-pricing strategies of competitors.According to Kent and Allen, (1994) consumers are willing to pay a price premium for a strong brand. However, once a consumer has learned about a brand, "It Is more difficult to change how the consumer thinks about that brand" (Hoofer and Keller 2003 p. 35).
An Illustration Is provided by Shirtwaist and Raja (1991 they state that brand loyal households are influenced little by price sensitivity. Tells (1988) argues that strong brands receive more attention, comprehension and retention from consumers in comparison to weaker brands.Kent and Allen (1994) support this position and add that consumers indeed pay more selective attention to advertising for well-known brands. Whereas repetitive advertising for weak brands Is considered to have negative effects, strong brands, on the opposite, do not experience any negative effects from repetition Calder and Stendhal 1980). In the same way as consumers perceive higher quality from strong brands, retailers that want to be perceived as high-quality retailers, will want to include strong brands in their product offerings (Montgomery 1975).
A strong brand Is a brand that people know about, I. . Brand awareness. Marketing activities related to strong brands are deferent from marketing activities relating to new or brand managers of a strong brand have, may deviate from the objectives of brand managers of an unknown brand. Consumers have many brand associations in their brains when it comes to strong brands.
Brand associations may also vary in their level of abstraction, ranging from concrete and specific (for example, product attributes) to more abstract and general (for example, overall brand attitudes)" associations (Hoofer and Keller 2003 p. 22). Hoofer and Keller (2003) also state that strong brands have a better developed 'consumer knowledge structure', I. E. Brand associations will be associated with the brand only. As opposed to weak knowledge structures, "associations may end up being stored under the product category and not the specific brand" (Hoofer and Keller 2003 p.
424). Brands with a read number of associations, I. E. Strong brands, are more often included in the consumer's consideration or choice set.Therefore it can be stated that strong brands benefit from the associations consumers already have.
Advantages are relative; therefore the researcher will also discuss the advantages of weak brands, unknown or new brands. "Once a brand has established itself in the consumers' minds, it is difficult to change how consumers think about a brand" (Hoofer and Keller 2003 p. 435). Also, introducing new product features takes up for a large part of consumers' perception (Millions and Simonton 1996).The impact of advertising is greater when advertising for a new brand (Derail 1995), comparative advertising for new brands especially make a lot of progress. New brands will, in time, be perceived as more or less similar to the brand it was compared with (Psychotherapy 1998).
An initial purchase of a new and unknown product always involves risk. Therefore, advertising the qualities, but moreover the warranties of a newly branded product is especially important and have a relatively large impact on consumers' perception I. E. Received level of quality (Blair and Inns 1998). In brief, strong brands, I.
. Brands that enjoy high brand awareness and recognition, have many advantages in the competitive market place. Again, the quality level of products is perceived as high and extending the brand involves, compared to weaker brands, less risk. Furthermore, loyal consumers of a brand are not price sensitive and strong brands have easy access to retailers' shelves.
Lastly, advertisements of strong brands receive more attention from the target audience.Question 2: The Consumer Based Brand Equity Model Flicked (1996) argues, that brand equity consists of the brand value (the total value f a brand as a separable asset), brand strength (the strength of consumers' attachment to the brand) and brand description (the consumers' associations and beliefs regarding the brand). Asker (1991; 1996) states that brand equity is based on brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. Blackstone (1992), adds to this knowledge that the brand relationship, the trust and customer satisfaction with the brand is an important variable.
Keller (1993) supports Shaker's position by stating that brand awareness and brand associations are indeed important for measuring brand equity, but can be defined as brand knowledge. Leonard Berry (2000) adds to existing knowledge that brand awareness and brand meaning are of great importance for measuring brand equity. Keller, Aparia and George's (2008), combined this knowledge and developed a Customer Based Brand Equity Model (CUBE) which will be described in this part of the coursework. The "consumers invariably ask about brands - at least implicitly if not explicitly' (Keller et al 2012 p.
5). The model has to be applied from the bottom to the top, each block needs the foregoing block as support. The order of the blocks is crucial since brand meaning cannot be built, without awareness and responses cannot exist without having created the right meaning and a relationship cannot be established without having developed the proper responses. The researcher will explain each block while applying it to Pate Philippe.
The model can be found in appendix 1 . "Brand salience relates to aspects of the awareness of the brand" (Keller et al 2012 p. 6). It answers the consumers' question Who are you? Brand awareness, in turn, relates to the ability of consumers to recall the brand in a variety of situations and the associations the rand invokes. Keller describes this as the 'breadth' and 'depth' of brand awareness. The depth of brand awareness refers to the ability to recall a brand in a variety of situations and to the ease with which this happens.
People who are knowledgeable about this product category will definitely know Pate Philippe.Breadth of brand awareness refers to the "range of purchase and usage situations in which the brand element comes to mind" (Keller et al 2012 p. 68). Pate Philippe will not often come to mind in the average consumers' mind, since the brand is targeting high-earning nonusers. Those who do know about the brands within this industry will most likely think of UP since the brand has been in existence for a very long time and is a respected business in the industry. This structure of this product category is hard to define, since the competing brands and products do not necessarily satisfy the same need, desire or want.
The consumer's personality is a factor that, in this industry, determines the need to be satisfied because this product has more intangible benefits than tangible product characteristics. Brand equity consists of three major aspects, the strength of the associations, the affordability of the associations and the uniqueness of the associations; and should always be created in that order. The uniqueness of the associations is worthless if the associations are negative, and the affordability and the uniqueness of the associations are both worthless if the associations are weak. Therefore, this block is the second 'brand building block.
Performance relates to the actual product itself. It reflects the consumers' opinion after purchasing the product. The consumer measures the quality, reliability, durability serviceability, style and design. The consumer measures these aspects and relates them to the price the consumer paid for it.
Pate Philippe is one of the most expensive brands in the industry and focuses on delivering supreme customer care and perfection of their products. "Brand imagery deals with the extrinsic properties of the product or service, including the ways in which it attempt to meet customers psychological or social needs" (Keller et al 2012 p. 2). In contrast to Performance, Imagery is all about the intangible benefits the product offers. Brand imagery results from either direct or indirect experiences. Direct experiences are first-hand encounters with a product, target market or usage situation.
Indirect experiences consist of the same pillars, but the information obtained comes from another person (Keller et al 2012 p. 72). The model depicts four different categories; user profiles, purchase and usage situations, personality and values and history, heritage and experience. The people who purchase a UP watch are most likely high earning goods.Consequently, the user profile of UP watches, brands the product and brand accordingly. The purchase and usage situations are closely aligned with the user refill.
Purchasing a UP watch enables users to express themselves or celebrate a life-event. A study conducted by Kananga Park suggests that "The results indicate that the high involvement type leads to higher satisfaction even though this type shows the lowest use frequency' (1997). The brand personality could be defined as an independent, family-owned, passionate luxury watch manufacturer that tries to achieve perfection in terms of quality.The heritage of the brand, the ability to survive in today's market as a conventional, family-owned company improves the trustworthiness of the company. Customers' personal opinions and evaluations; the consumers' responses come from both the cognitive associations with the brand, as well as the emotional associations. The brand response should be positive, and accessible in a variety of situations.
Consequently, this is the third 'brand building block and is divided into two subcategories, 'Judgments', which refers to the cognitive associations and feelings', which refers to the emotional responses.UP is known for its high quality, durability and expertise (Adler 2011). UP buys its own watches at auctions to enrich their own museum. The passion the brand expresses, the competence of manufacturers and the ability to repair watches that are over a hundred years old accounts to the brand's credibility.
UP is not relevant for the majority of the world's population. The people who do have the intention to purchase a luxury watch should include UP in their consideration set. Being included in the consideration set depends on the associations, both emotional and cognitive and the brand awareness.Pate Philippe can be considered as a superior watch manufacturer. Its quality is unprecedented, their slogan emphasizes the quality of he product. "Pate Philippe is often best known for its ubiquitous (and to some eyes excessively sentimental) ads of impossibly well-groomed fathers and sons and its tagging reminding people who buy a Pate Philippe that they never actually own it, they're merely looking after it for the next generation" (Adler 2011 p.
4). "Customers' emotional responses and reactions with respect to brands. Feelings can be mild- intense, negative or positive.Warmth, fun, excitement, security, social approval and self-respect. Responses need to be positive and accessible" (Keller et al 2012 p.
76). From the six feelings commonly associated with a brand, UP should induce 'social approval'; "consumers have positive feelings about the reactions of others" (Keller et al 2012 p. 76). Resonance could be broken down into four consecutive components. It "Refers to the nature of the relationship and the extent to which consumer feel 'in sync' with the brand" (Keller et al 2012 p.
79). Behavioral loyalty refers to the 'share of category requirements'.
