Living the Brand through Branding

Hi Brand Enthusiasts,  Welcome back to my blog! In this post, I want to talk about managing a brand's reputation through the example of Samsung.  Since many years ago, Samsung has been the worthy rival against Apple for the market share of mobile phones. Many conversations revolved which is better; android or iOS with the two brands being the significant representations for the two interfaces. On multiple occasions with the recent one in 2019, Samsung actually beat Apple in taking the lead as the top smartphone manufacturer. Their success has a lot to do with the customers and is not by chance without any hiccup. Image: pcworld.com How Consumers Play a Part in a Brand's Reputation When we take a look at Samsung's 'The Next Big Thing is Already Here' campaign that became a hit in 2011, it clearly shows that it addresses the 'pain point' of the customers. The reason why many resonated with the Samsung ad was because they hate the long ...

Welcome back, brand enthusiasts! Integrated marketing communications (IMC) and brand orientation are two important concepts to ensure that a brand message gets communicated widely, consistently and effectively. In this post, let us look at how these two concepts are interrelated through the case example of Nikon , a camera brand from Japan that has global presence. IMC and Brand Orientation An advertisement, press release or a social media post are some output channels of Marketing Communications. IMC means a strategic network of communication across the entire marketing mix involving the 7Ps (Product, Place, Price, Promotion, People, Physical Environment and Process).  IMC can be seen as the combined effort of a brand-oriented organisation that communicates the brand message from internal to external stakeholders. According to Bridson & Evans (2004: 403-411), 'Brand Orientation' refers to the degree to which the organisation values brands and its practices are...

Starbucks has been a top-favourite mass brand for many café goers and coffee people despite some commenting on its relatively high pricing for the hand-crafted beverages. Consumers live the ‘Starbucks’ lifestyle using it as a symbol of ‘modern and chic’ for the metropolitans to hold a cup in their hands and a casual coffee place for friends gathering. The loyalty of its consumers that made them live the brand is not by chance; I think Starbucks has effectively established the 5 key variables of the most influential brand contact points which helped in building its strong consumer loyalty. And more than frequent, all these brand contact points are closely intertwined with the internal marketing to employees. Let’s take a look at the following brand contact points. 1. First contact point: As a franchise brand, Starbucks has uniform storefront displays, interior design and standardised marketing collateral. The baristas that we encounter are most likely young and bubbly staff w...