BU 692u Strategic Brand Management
Spring 2005
Instructor: Dr. Hugh Munro
Office: P3046
Contact Information: Phone: 884-0710, ext 2556; email –
hmunro@wlu.ca
Instructor: Dr. Brad Davis
Office: P2012
Contact Information: Phone: 884-0710, ext.2539
Email – bdavis@wlu.ca
Course Objectives
“Everything your organization does communicates.” And, everything that is
communicated is processed and stored by consumers in a mental file: the brand.
This is not the “brand” defined by the AMA many years ago as an identification
mark used to distinguish one offering from another. It’s not recognizing the NIKE
swoosh; it’s how you feel when you see the swoosh.
Branding is the central component of marketing strategy and the dominant theme in
marketing today affecting not just Consumer Goods but also B2B, Services, and
Non-Profits. This course will give students a deeper understanding of the process of
brand building in a variety of business contexts, the integrated requirements for
effective brand reinforcement and revitalization, and the models, measures and
impact of brand equity.
Required Readings
Kevin Lane Keller, Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and
Managing Brand Equity (prentice Hall, 2nd Edition, 2003)
Evaluation Components
Brand Audit Report & Presentation (Group) – 40%
Brand Personality Assessment (Individual) – 20%
Brand Journal (Individual) – 20%
Participation – 20%
Each of these is described in more detail below.
Brand Audit Project (40% - Group Assignment)
Students will form brand management teams to work on this project. Your
assignment is to adopt a brand and conduct a brand audit. Every team must study a
different brand. Once you have formed your group send me an email with your
brand and team members and I will confirm your selection (this should be done by
the beginning of our third class). Your goal is to develop a “Brand Book”. The book
should include:
1. A brand history of the brand: origins, key stages in its growth , etc...
2. An assessment of the brand’s current status - apply the concepts of brand
hierarchy, customer–based brand equity pyramid, brand positioning and
values, and brand mantra to describe the brand’s current status (e.g.,
intended versus actual meaning and value to customers).
3. Analyse how the various branding elements (e.g., brand name, logos,
symbols, slogans, packaging, etc.) and marketing mix activities (e.g.,
integrated communications, pricing, channels) are contributing to this
current brand status.
4. Make recommendations as to how you would build and manage the equity of
this brand in the future. Support your recommendations with key concepts
discussed in the course.
The Brand Book should be a maximum of 10 typed written pages plus exhibits and
is due at the beginning of our last session. During that class your group will present
a top-line summary of your brand audit and recommendations. The report will be
worth 60% and the presentation 40% of this assignment’s contribution to your
overall grade (40% of your overall grade).
Brand Personality Assessment (20% - Individual Assignment)
Brands have been shown to have personalities and the challenge for marketers is to
shape these brand personalities so that they are aligned with those of its targeted
customers. Customers have also been shown to have different types of relationships
with brands (e.g., see Fournier’s typology in Brand Focus 9.0 in the text). Choose a
brand with significant meaning to you (one different from your brand audit) and
assess its personality using the following methods and techniques from the chapter 9
in the text:
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Use Aaker’s brand personality scale measures to profile your chosen brand
(test your ratings with those of a sample of your classmates)
Use projective techniques to create an image for your selected brand.
Specifically describe your brand in terms of the following: an animal,
activity, fabric, cologne or perfume, music, car, occupation, sport, and TV
show.
Use Zaltman’s ZMET technique to create a summary image or collage of
your brand. Test the reaction to your collage with five of your colleagues and
capture their feelings and emotions.
Use Fournier’s typology to describe the type of relationship that you have
with your selected brand.
From the above, offer some insights into how marketers can build and enhance the
brand equity for your selected brand.
Prepare a powerpoint presentation (maximum 5 slides) of your brand personality
assessment and implications to be presented in Session 3 (May 6 & 7) of the course.
Brand Journal (20% - Individual Assignment)
Because of their importance to business and to consumers there are numerous
newspaper, magazine, and journal articles written about brands. Prepare a journal
containing at least ten articles that address the topic of branding. Include copies of
the articles in your journal as well as a brief summary of the course related concepts
that they illustrate (e.g., a paragraph summarizing the concept illustrated in the
article and its implication for management). The specific articles can be discussed
during the term and linked to the topic/concepts covered in a specific session as part
of your participation. The journal itself should be completed and submitted at the
beginning of the second last class – June 18th. It would be helpful and preferred if
the journal was an electronic one so that it could be posted and shared with the rest
of the class.
Class Participation (20% Individual Assessment)
As this course is highly participative you will be expected to come prepared, to
actively engage in class discussions, bring in examples that illustrate course concepts
(as per your journal) , interact with guest speakers, and challenge each other to
enhance our collective understanding of strategic brand management. Your
assessment will be based on the value added contributions you make to participants’
learning experience.
Class Schedule, Topics, & Assignments
Session 1 - April 8 & 9
April 8 - Introduction & Overview of Strategic Brand Management
Readings: Chapter 1 (Keller)
The Catalysts for Branding (posted)
The Decline of Brands (posted)
Questions for Discussion
1. What is a brand and how is it formed?
2. Can anything be branded? Are you a brand?
3. How does branding affect customer behaviour?
4. What are the challenges to branding in today’s marketplace and what are the
implications for marketers?
April 9 - Building Brand Equity
Readings: Chapters 2 & 3 (Keller)
Questions for Discussion:
1. What is customer-based brand equity and what are the advantages to
marketers who are able to build it in their products?
2. Pick two pairs of brands in two different product categories and compare the
sources of brand equity for each pair (i.e., brand salience, brand
performance, brand imagery, brand judgements, brand feelings, & brand
resonance). What does your comparison suggest for marketers of those
products?
3. For those same pairs of brands, identify the points of parity and points of
difference and link them to their positioning strategies.
4. Which brands resonate with you? Which ones don’t? What does this suggest
for marketers?
5. Within the broad category of beverages, identify what you believe to be the
competitive groups. Label and explain the groupings. What does your
competitive grouping suggest for a brand manager competing in this broad
category?
6. Think of one of your favourite brands. Can you come up with a brand
mantra to capture its positioning?
Session 2 – April 23rd
Branding Building Strategies
Readings: Chapters 4,5,6, & 7 (Keller)
Questions for Discussion:
1. Pick two brands from the same product category and compare their brand
elements in terms of memorability, protectability, adaptability,
meaningfulness, and transferability.
2. For the same two brands examine how each of the marketing mix elements
are contributing to the brand’s equity. What issues do you see in the
marketing execution for these two brands.
3. Identify a brand that is attempting to leverage secondary associations. Are
the associations helping to build brand equity? How could the brand more
effectively leverage secondary brand knowledge?
Session 3 – May 6 & 7
May 6 – Research Methods for Brand Management
Readings: Chapters 8 & 9 (Keller)
Brand Personality Presentations
May 7 - Measuring Brand Equity
Readings: Chapter 10 (Keller)
Global Brand Scorecard (posted article)
Measuring & Valuing Brand Equity (posted article)
Questions for Discussion:
1. What are the challenges in trying to measure the value of brand equity?
2. Which of the methodologies do you feel best captures a brand’s value? Why?
3. Find an example of a recent acquisition (e.g., P&G’s purchase of Gillette)
and assess the extent to which brand equity affected the acquisition cost (try
to quantify).
Session 4 –May 21st
A – Designing & Implementing Branding Strategies
Readings: Chapters 11 & 12 (Keller)
Case/Exercise: TBA
B – Brand Revitalization
Readings: Chapter 13 (Keller)
Case:/Exercise: TBA
Session 5 – June 3 & 4
June 3 – Branding Internationally
Readings: Chapter 14 (Keller)
How Global Brands Compete (posted)
Cases: Stella Artois (Handout)
Questions for Discussion:
1. What would you recommend to develop Stella Artois as a global brand?
June 4 - Private Branding
Readings: When Your Competition Offers More Value (posted)
Walmart’s Next Victims (posted)
Case/Exercise: TBA
Session 6 – June 18th
A – Branding in B2B/ High Tech
Readings: What High-tech Managers Need to Know About Brands
Case: Silicon Graphics (Handout)
B - Branding Services/Not-for Profit
Case: American Express (Handout)
Session 7 – June 24th & 25th
Course Summary & Presentations of Brand Audit Results
Readings: Chapter 15