THE PROCESSES OF BUILDING BRAND EQUITY Anantha Nag.M.

This pape !"#$ines the !"n!ept%a& ' a#e(" ) "' !%st"#e *$ase+ $ an+ e,%it- ./e&&e 0 12234 an+ si5*stage #"+e& "' $ an+ e6"&%ti"n .G""+-ea 0 12274 t" +e6e&"p the p "!esses "' $%i&+ing $ an+ e,%it-. F"!%ses "' $ an+ e,%it- $%i&+ing a e s%ggeste+ '" ea!h stage. Key words: brand equity, brand knowledge, brand evolution

INTRODUCTION Successfully building, managing, and tracking the brand equity of brands are main goals of brand management. The brand strategies are flexible to fit the increasing competitive market and customers brand knowledge. !t is more and more difficult to maintain the customer s brand loyalty. Thus, it becomes crucial to understand brand equity and brand building processes more thoroughly in order to help brands succeed. Keller "#$$%& proposed a detailed conceptual model of customer'based brand equity "(igure #&. )owever, this framework did not indicate the processes of brand equity building. This paper employs a six'stage model developed by *oodyear "#$$+& and proposes the focuses of brand equity building in each stage. BRAND EQUITY Keller "#$$%& defines customer'based brand equity as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. )e developed a framework "(igure #& of brand knowledge which can be divided into two components, brand awareness and brand image "a set of brand associations&. ,rand awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall performance. ,rand image is defined as -perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory.. ,rand associations can be classified into three categories: attributes, benefits, and attitudes. /ttributes are distinguished according to how directly they relate to product or services. 0ne kind of attributes is product' related attributes such as the ingredients or functions of product or service. The other kind of attributes is non'product'related attributes such as price information, packaging or product appearance information, user imagery, and usage imagery. ,enefits are the personal value consumers attach to the product or service attributes, for instance, functional benefits, experiential benefits, and symbolic benefits. ,rand attitudes are defined as -consumers overall evaluations of a brand.. (urthermore, Keller "#$$%& also discussed the favorability, strength and uniqueness in the conceptual framework of the customer'based brand equity.

(igure #: 1imensions of ,rand Knowledge

Source: Keller"#$$%&, 2onceptuali3ing, 4easuring, and 4anaging 2ustomer',ased ,rand 5quity, 6ournal of 4arketing, 7ol. 89, 6anuary #$$%, :age.9

PROCESSES OF BUILDING BRAND EQUITY *oodyear "#$$+& proposed a six'stage model of brand development. This paper employs the model and suggests brand equity building in each stage "Table #&. Stage 18 Un$ an+e+ G""+s !n the first stage, -goods are treated as commodity goods or cases where consumers are reluctant to make brand distinctions, for example, toothpicks, clothes pins. !n this stage, consumer s memory network consists primarily of a node identifying the product category. Such goods are often seen in developing countries. !nformation about the product is generally limited to product uses. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. 2onsumers have little brand knowledge of the product. ,rand equity barely exists in this stage. Stage 98 B an+ as Re'e en!e !n the second stage, -increasing competitive market forces product manufacturers to differentiate their goods from others. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. The customers are still learning about the product and the first type of knowledge is product'related information. The goal of brand management is to place the brand as having unique functional benefits, i.e. to identify the brand;s functional benefits with a distinctive name thereby differentiating it from other brands. !n this stage, -consumers are linking various brand nodes to the product
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category in memory and expanding the network associated with each brand. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$=2ohen and ,asu, #$$9&. !n this stage, brand equity building is focused on brand awareness, product'related attributes, and functional benefits. 5nhancing the strength of brand associations is the main purpose of marketing mix. Stage 38 B an+ as Pe s"na&it->hen many product manufacturers make the same claim of rational?functional attributes, differentiation among brands encounters difficulty. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. -2ustomers select brand personalities consonant with the emotional values of the brand and the target consumers; lifestyle. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$, /aker, #$$+&. Therefore, marketers begin to create their brands personalities. -The values of the brand change from instrumental to symbolic and facilitate expression of self or help people represent their past history. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$= 2siks3entmihalyi and @ochberg')alton, #$A#&. Thus, the personalities of the consumer and the brand begin to merge and the value of the brand has become self'expression. :roducts and brands are also used by cultures to express cultural principles and establish cultural categories. !n this stage, management should pay constant attention to the market to create the right personality for the brand and to update it when needed. Bon'product'related attributes "usage imagery& and experiential benefits are cores of brand equity building and emphasi3ing the uniqueness of brand associations is the main task in this stage. Stage :8 B an+ as I!"n !n this stage, *oodyear "#$$+& believes consumers Cown the brandC, because they have the knowledge of the brand and use its symbolic benefits. 4anagement connects the brand with a particular value and usually extends the perception of the brand globally. ,rands are denoted by physical symbols, such as 2oca 2ola s hourglass bottle "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$& and 4c1onald s 4 sign. -These icons make the identification of symbolic brands easier no matter what the local language is. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. Some associations such as 4ichael 6ordan and Bikelead to an important set of secondary associations of a -highly positive nature. in which all become winners "Krishnan, #$$+&. Thus, in this stage, symbolic benefits, non'product related attributes "user imagery&, secondary associations are used to construct the brand equity. Stage ;8 B an+ as C"#panThe brands have composite identities and there are many communication channels between the consumers and the brands in this stage. -*rowing penetration of the !nternet allows more consumers to find out what they want to know about brands, rather than what marketers want to say. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$= 4itchell, #$$9&. -2onsumers become more energetically involved in the brand creation process in building their attitudes toward the brand. 0n the supply side, markets are likely to become more fractured, as needs'based segmentation becomes more common. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$= :iercy, #$$9&.
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-@ather than support an array of individual brands, management is shifting toward greater use of corporate branding. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$= de 2hernatony, #$$+& -in order to provide an umbrella of respect for the firm;s portfolio of brands. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. Thus, second associations such as company and attitudes toward the brands are developed in this stage. Table #: :rocesses of building brand equity
Stage # B an+ing Te # Dnbranded E5p&anati"n "' B an+ing Te #s 2ommodities :ackaged goods 4aEor proportion of goods in non' industriali3ed context 4inor role in 5urope?DS/ Supplier has power < ,rand as @eference ,rand name often name of maker Bame used for identification /ny advertising support focuses on rational attributes Bame over time becomes guarantee of quality?consistency ,rand /wareness ',rand @ecall ',rand @ecognition ,rand /ssociations '/ttributes: :roduct'@elated ',enefits : (unctional Strength of ,rand /ssociations % ,rand as :ersonality ,rand name may be Cstand aloneC 4arketing support focuses on emotional appeal :roduct benefits= advertising puts grand into context F ,rand as !con 2onsumer now ;owns; brand= brand taps into higher'order values of society /dvertising assumes close relationship Dse of symbolic brand language 0ften established internationally 8 ,rand as 2ompany ,rands have complex identities 2onsumer assesses them all Beed to focus on corporate befits to ;diverse; consumers !ntegrated communication strategy essential through'the'line + ,rand as :olicy 2ompany and brands aligned to social F ,rand identity "Kapferer ,#$$9& ,rand /ssociations '/ttitudes 'Secondary associations "company& ,rand /ssociations '/ttributes: Bon':roduct'@elated "usage imagery& ',enefits : 5xperiential Dniqueness of ,rand /ssociations ,rand /ssociations '/ttributes: Bon':roduct'@elated "user imagery& ',enefits : symbolic 'Secondary associations B an+ e,%it- $%i&t in the stage ,rand equity barely exists in this stage

and political issues= 2onsumers ;vote; on issues through companies= 2onsumers now ;own; brands, companies and policies

(avorability of ,rand /ssociations

Source: 2ombination of *oodyear "#$$+& and Keller "#$$%& models

Stage 78 B an+ as P"&i!-!n the final stage, the brand and company become closely identified with social, ethical and political issues. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$= *oodyear #$$+&. 2onsumers commit to those brands and companies who share their views. -The crucial risk involving in social, ethical or political issues is distancing consumers who do not like the firm;s standpoint. ,efore firms leap into this stage, they must consider whether their history will support a brand as company stance. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. -The brand image at the end of the evolutionary process is highly similar to what Kapferer "#$$9& calls brand identity. "4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. !n this stage, companies choose a standpoint to attract the favorability of brand associations of the potential customers. CONCLUSION -!t is highly unlikely that all companies will choose to push their brand concepts throughout all six stages of brand evolution. (or most firms, stages three or four will probably be the apex of their brand development. Stages 8 and + may be perceived as too risky."4c5nally, de 2hernatony #$$$&. This paper combines Keller "#$$%& model and *oodyear"#$$+& models to illustrate what dimensions of brand knowledge should be built or emphasi3ed in different stages. The contributions of this paper are giving Keller "#$$%& model a dynamic view of brand equity building and a practical value to *oodyear "#$$+& model. @ecommended future researches are empirical studies of the brands evolving with brand equity building. LITERATURE
/aker, 6ennifer "#$$+&, C1imensions of ,rand :ersonality,C 6ournal of 4arketing @esearch , %F "/ugust&, %F9' %8+. /aker, 6ennifer "#$$+&, C1imensions of ,rand :ersonality,C Journal of Marketing Research, %F "/ugust&, %F9' %8+. ,elk, @ussell >. "#$AA&, C:ossessions and the 5xtended Self,C Journal of Consumer Research , < "September&, #%$'+A. 2ohen, 6oel and Kunal ,asu, "#$$9&, C/lternative models of categori3ation: toward a contingent processing frameworkC, Journal of Consumer Research , #%"4arch&, F88'F9<. 2siks3entmihalyi, 4ihaly and 5ugene @ochberg')alton "#$A#&, CThe 4eaning of Things: 1omestic Symbols and the SelfC , 2ambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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