Branding Plays an Important Role in Marketing

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P1 Importance of Branding

Branding is a useful marketing technique that is used by company in order to gain competitive position in the market by using unique name or logo. It is important for any company to have a brand name as it helps in identification of company by distinguishing it with other competitors. Thus, branding helps in enhancing sales and profitability of company by clarifying customers about quality that the company offer to its customers. Apple is able to gain competitive advantages in global market as company focus was to build strong brand image by providing quality products and services to its customers.

Branding increases Business value: Strong and well establish brand image helps in increasing value of business as employees, customers, supplier and investor are aware of brand image of the company. They are aware about quality of product and services, company give to its customers to satisfy their needs in effective manner (Shabbir, Khan and Khan, 2017). For example: Apple company has well-establish brand image give more leverage to company in industry thus helps in increasing value of business in the market. Thus, it can be stated that strong brand image of Apple helps in enhancing value of business and its sales and profitability.

Generates new customers: Strong brand image implies that company has created positive impression in the mind of customers thus they like to purchase company product as compared to another. As people are aware of quality of products that company offers it helps in generating new customers. For example: Strong brand image of Apple helps in generating new customers because of word of mouth promotion by its existing customer about the quality of product company render. Thus, it can be stated that brand image of company not only attract existing customers but helps in generating new customers in the market.

Improves employee satisfaction: Strong brand help in satisfying needs of employees, as they are proud of working in such enterprise, which has well-establish name in market (Nyadzayo, Matanda and Ewing, 2016). They enjoy working with such reputate company thus it helps in increasing productivity and performance of employees. For Examples: Apple has a reputable brand in the market that motivates employees to work effective for growth and expansion of business. Employees of Apple have feeling of belongingness with company thus provide quality services and products to its customers and helps in achievement of organisational goals.

Helps in advertisement: Brand helps in advertising company’s product and services by using logo or name at the packaging or back of product. Unique logo or symbol helps in differentiating company product from other competitors in the market. For example: Apple by using its logo at the back of product is able to advertisement its existing product and helps in promoting new product developed by company.

Helps in business expansion: Strong brand helps in expansion and growth of business in the industry by using well-established brand image in the market. Company can use well-established brand image to promote new product or to enter into new market. For Examples: Apple is able to successfully launch its latest iPhone 11 Pro by use of establish brand image of the company. Thus brand image of Apple helps in promotion of new launch product and expansion of its business in the market.

Keller's Brand Equity Model

This model was developed by Kevin Lane Keller that explains that to build strong brand image, company has to shape its customer thinking and feeling about its product. Apple uses Keller's Brand equity model to build strong brand equity to retain its customer’s satisfaction and loyalty. There are four steps that are followed by the company to build strong brand equity of company:

Brand identity: In its first goal of company is to make aware customers about brand name of the company by recognition and differentiating with other companies (Bapat, 2017). Company aware about it by using social media such as Facebook, Instagram. Company also ensure positive perception of brand in minds of customers. Every individual in today's world is aware of apple brand name that is iPhone and the quality offered by company to its customers. Thus, apple is able to create positive image of its brand name in minds of customers.

Brand meaning: After creating awareness among people about brand name it should make effort to explain people what it stands for. It is able to defines its meaning by providing quality product and world-class customers services. There are two key factors in building strong brand name performance and imagery. Apple is well-known for satisfying needs of customers by offering product that have unique features, durable and have stylish design. Company is also create good customer experience by offering quality services to its customers.

Brand Response: It such a stage where customer judge company product or express their feeling and experience about the product. Company take continuous feedback from customer through online sites thus solve their problem effectively. Customers have judge company product on the basis of quality, credibility and superiority and company have get good response on basis of judgement.

Brand resonance: It is the last stage in creating strong brand equity by building relationship with customer for repeated sales of products. Apple has achieved this stage as it able to make repeated sales by building and maintaining customer’s loyalty.

Why and how brand has emerged in business practices

Brand evolved as company product and services range expands and 20 years were taken by company to establish its brand image in the market. Company first launch iPod then iPhone, iPad, Apple pay and Apple Watch and so on. Brand face number of challenges while building its image but it able to establish strong brand by maintaining customers satisfaction. Company by fulfilling its promise to provide unique and standard quality of products and services to its customers is able to expand its business in the market. Brand name helps in differentiate company product and services from other competitors and to enhance its sales and profitability.

P2 Key Components of a Successful Brand Strategy for Building and Managing Brand Equity

Brand equity refers to total value of brand that means it reflects the way customers see, feel about particular brand and it can be measured by market price, profitability and demand of products. There are various components of brand Equity such as:

Brand Awareness: First step in developing brand image is creating awareness about company products and services in the minds of customers (Paul, 2019). It reduces efforts of marketer as if people are aware of brand name of company it can easily influence customers to make purchase. For example Apple in its initial stage of brand establishment creates awareness of its brand name among customers by using logo at back of the product.

Brand Association: In this stage company build strong relationship with customers so that they can relate company brand with themselves. Brand association is crucial in order to make repeated sales by retaining customer satisfaction and loyalty. It helps company in creating barriers for new entrances and leverage brand in the industry as customers highly prefer a particular brand. For Example: Apple has make effort to build strong relationship with customers by fulfilling its promise to offer continuous quality and unique product to its customers. Thus, help company in repeated sales of its product and retention of customers.

Brand experience: It is sum of customers experience with overall company, its brand and product and services. It includes experience of customer before sales and after sales of product to its customers (Grubor and Milovanov, 2017). Customers consider such brand superior which provide good brand experience by offering quality products to them. For Examples: Apple focus was to satisfy needs of customers beyond their expectancy for this it ensures that it provide quality services to its customers. Apple mobile phone are highly unique and offered specialized features that helps in provide good experience to its customers.

Perceived Quality: Company by fulfilling its promise is able to build strong brand equity as customers prefer such brand that stays on its words. It also helps in growth and success of business in long run as company has effectively satisfied needs of customer. For example: Apple by continuously innovating in its technology and research and development department is able to fulfil its promise to offer product that have unique features. It also offers after sales services to its customers that help in retaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. Thus, it helps in increasing sales and profitability of the company.

Brand loyalty: This element also helps in building and managing brand equity of company as in it customer prefer particular brand over similar product in the market. It promotes repetitive sales and is a good method for advertising products of company (Romeroand Yagüe, 2016). It also helps in reducing marketing cost of company thus enhances sales and profit margin. For Example: Apple is able to attract existing as well as new customer base by building and maintaining its brand loyalty to provide qualitative products and services to its customers. It can also easily introduce or launch product by using well- establish brand image of the company and loyalty of its brand.

Brand preference: Company should make effort that customers prefer their brand over other competitor brand. Apple offers innovative and unique product influence customers to prefer its brand over another.

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P3 Analyse Different Strategies of Portfolio Management, Brand Hierarchy and Brand Equity Management

Brand strategies are action plans of company that helps in gaining competitive advantages in the market thus helps in growth and survival of business in long run. It helps in building and maintaining strong brand image of company in the market (Steenkamp, 2019). Brand strategies are used by company in order to distinguish itself from other competitors in the market. It helps in increasing sales, profitability and market share of the company.

Portfolio management: It refers to management of company investment in such a way that maximizes rewards and minimizes risk and it is done by evaluating various investment and choosing best among them. There are two types of Portfolio management such as active and passive portfolio management:

Active Portfolio management: In this company hires manager or broker to purchase or sell stock by use of specific index. It in manager pay close attention to market trends, economic condition and other factors that affect company. Thus, such process helps in boosting potential return higher than other methods in which investment is chosen by seeing securities listed on particular index.

Passive Portfolio management: It is also known as index fund management it is created to track return form particular investment by use of market index or benchmark (Bertilsson and Rennstam, 2018). Purpose of passive portfolio management is to generate same return as chosen index from other securities. Thus, it helps in maximizing return with minimum cost as they it is safe approaches and easy to understand.

Apple has chosen Active Portfolio as it helps in taking advantages in uncertain market as the manager deeply analysis different investment of company. Thus, it helps in maximizing investment return and minimizing risk of company. Company is able to outperform from specific index because of highly knowledgeable and skill manager that has deeply analysis and evaluate investment opportunities.

Brand hierarchy: It is collection of brand strategy of the company that display number and nature of distinct and common brand within organization. In it company decide whether to use single brand for all product range or to use distinct name for each category or combination of both. There are various brand strategies that company can adopt such as:

Branded House: It is also known as mono brand portfolio such strategies are used by company that want to assign corporate brand name to all its product range (Huarng and Roig-Tierno, 2016). It provides various benefits to the company such as reduces cost of marketing, can easily launch new product, create awareness among customers. Certain risk is also involved such as reputation risk which means if problem in one product occur it will affect to entire brand.

House of Brand: This approach is most used by company as separate or individual brand name is created by company for each product. Some company uses individual brand but at the same time also disclose parent company identity by using logo, name or symbol at the packaging or back of the product. Other may not disclose parent company name due to some specific reason or strategies.

Sub branding: Some companies plan to use mix branding strategies thus product may have more than one brand name. It provides opportunities to attract new customers by creating sub brand of main brand as it has ability to develop and maintain relationship with new customers.

Endorsed brand: In it new brand can use of master brand such that both master brand and sub brand exist independently. It does not expose company to reputation risk and it can also create distinctive identity and market presences.

Apple has use endorsed brand strategies to save itself from reputation risk and dilution risk and can easily promote its new brand by creating its own distinctive identity and market presence. Both master brand and sub brand can exist independently and have distinct target audience thus able to attract large number of customers and expand its market share.
Equity brand management: It is essential for company to manage its brand equity to grow and expand its business worldwide. It refers to customers feeling and perception about company product, services and brand name (Osuna Ramírez, Veloutsou and Morgan-Thomas, 2017). Apple focus is to build and manage equity brand thus satisfy needs of customers by continuous innovation in its products and technology. Keller brand equity model:

Brand identity: Customers are fully aware about well-established brand image of Apple in the market and its product and services in which it deals. By advertisement its product through hoarding and offering promotional offers.

Brand meaning: Company by providing quality products able to explains its meaning. Consumer known about the quality and unique features, continuous innovation of products offered by Apple to its customers.

Brand response: People react positively towards product and services offered by company and think apple is reputable company that provide qualitative services to its customers Company is able collect feedback from customers through social sites.

Brand resonance: Company is able to make repetitive sales by maintaining quality of product and building strong relationship with customers. It is able to retain customers by building strong relationship with them.

Also Read:- Foreign Direct Investment and Emerging Markets

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P4 Brands Managed Collaboratively and in Partnerships

The emergence of technology enabled solutions in global platform has enhanced the competitive growth among companies in volatile business environment. Benefits and scalability of technology in brand management is extensively important for companies. Developing an adaptive and flexible approach by leveraging technology is very important for companies to grow in volatile business environment where consumers look for new brands. It is important for brands to enhance their performance on global platforms by collaboratively working in domestic market and international markets (Naveed, Ahmad and Hamid, 2019). Global brand management needs to develop proactive discipline towards their business linking various initiatives to develop their company on domestic levels and international countries. It has evolved into a complex and ever-changing discipline where multinational companies are expanding their business through online commercial advertisements with partnerships, mergers.

Apple and IBM gorge global partnership to transform company’s mobility

The partnership between two companies aims to redefine their working standards for higher productivity levels, to address the key mobility challenges in competitive industry. It aims towards higher profit margins for companies and spark true mobile-led business change, by offering new IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, device management security, analytics and mobile integration (Ahn, 2019). The partnership allows exclusive combinations and advantages for technology users which draws distinct strengths of each company. IBM's big data and analytics capabilities with the power of more than 100000 IBM industry, highly skilled domain consultants and software developers behind it, fused with legendary consumer experience and goodwill of Apple globally. This hardware and software integration and developer platform will allow companies to achieve new arenas of business growth along high levels of efficiency, effectiveness in high profit margins growth and enhanced strong goodwill among consumers.

Apple and Salesforce partnership

Apple and Salesforce has announced a strategic partnership between the companies to bring the customer relationship management platform and iOS,the worlds most advanced operating system, enabling [powerful new mobile apps for business. Companies together are defining new era of mobile innovation with the native apps on iOS, and empowering millions of people with high technical knowledge and skills to access high-tech equipment’s. Companies together though partnership will ensure consistency in brand positioning, adapting high brand commination strategies for attracting consumers. Integrating local marketing strategies into global brand strategy has enabled companies to facilitate exchange of knowledge.

Importance of Brand extension- Brand extension leverages the reputation and popularity of well-known product already established in the market share with strong goodwill among consumers to launch a new product by company. There should be strong association between the 2 products with strong identification between them for customers to strongly adopt. Brand extension can be performed by companies in following ways:

• Brand stretching (vertical extension)-It refers to strategy when company sense an opportunity in other value segments of market where customers market is highly growable. Value conscious segments in market share are the main attracting new group of customers. An upward vertical extension can improve the brand image positively to a great extent, I Phone users who look for innovative technology can be targeted with this strategy (Arifoglu and Tang, 2019).
• Brand extension-It refers to expansion of brand into new territories or markets where there is competitive growth and the values and aspirations of new customers match with the characteristics of brand. IPhone by extending its brand business to international markets, where there lies huge opportunities of young generation using Apple company phones.
• Line extension- It refers to launching new variant for the expansion in an existing product line by company for customer segments who look for new benefits offered by the brand. It revives the interest of customers by offering new desirable attributes in product and enhances the brand value (Deepak and Jeyakumar, 2019). IPhone by launching new models adds exciting variety for technology lover customers who look unto Apple Company.

Importance of brand leveraging for companies-Brand leveraging provides the consumers with highs sense of familiarity along with the positive brand characteristics and attitudes into a new product category. Strong brand leveraging techniques perceives instant recognition of new segments of customers to the brand, aiming to gain high customer satisfaction levels for continuous growth in industry. It is an important form of marketing technique used by company to introduce new product in market-share. Consumers with favourable brand opinion are likely to get themselves introduce to new variant which possess similar attribute and quality levels (Garanti, and Kissi, 2019).

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P5 Techniques for Measuring and Managing the Brand Value

A strong and enduring brand value is of vital importance for company growth and expansion in market share globally. High brand value gives leverage and competitive advantage to brand expansion and company goodwill through large level customer satisfaction. There are various techniques for measuring and managing the brand value in relation to developing strong enduring performance levels (Iglesias, Markovic and Rialp, 2019).

Goodwill and the value of brand- It is one of the most intangible asset for company to retain long term growth in the market growth which also allows to measure the brand equity levels. Apple has achieved strong goodwill among its consumers globally with the high quality of services, variety of products for people who look for different advanced technological products.

The 3 key elements for companies to create a valuation structure for measuring brand value are:

Financial forecasting of future.

Revenue associated with brand by analysing the statistics though various metrics

Role of the brand performance in the overall revenue for company.

Measuring brand value and cash value-The financial reports of company provides significant report with the performance of all brands and assess the various new opportunities for enhancing brand performance levels(Keller and Brexendorf, 2019). It is important to calculate the statistics of market growth by brand how much it is able to reach among the targeted customers. Company aims to reach high profit margins with strong brand value to occupy high competence ion volatile business environment. Apple by measuring the brand value and cash value asses the future potentialities for growth and it can reach to new customer segments.

Consumer awareness- It is an important measure to manage the brand value and assess how much popularity the brand possess among the consumers. The accountability of brand value is an important point to retain consumer loyalty for long term sustainability in the industry. As there is high competition in industry with the emergence of new brands coming up in technology sector every day among highly globalized market. It is highly necessary for Apple to keep the consumers satisfied with high technology quality in iPhones, and strong after sale services (Rahman, Rodríguez-Serrano and Lambkin,2019).

Preference metrics- It refers to metrics which measure the brand competitive position in market growth and how it has been able to create benchmark among competing brands. Consumers generally have various levels of preference which ranges from general awareness’s about the brand characteristics to building strong loyalty towards company. iPhone has created high level of loyalty in the consumers with supreme quality of technology and high customer satisfaction services.

Financial metrics- It refers to metrics through which financial parameters of market share can be measured by company. Revenue generation capabilities and how much premium price brand can command among the consumers to gain high competitive growth with high performance levels and increased profit margins. This measure facilitates the company to assimilate the accurate financial value of brand equity and how it can reach high profit margins in future by expanding in new arenas of services and products.

Profitability levels- Company need to check their profitability levels while analysing the brand value and how much it has been able to spread within the consumer market. There is a high cost attached to branding and marketing of products and brands by company which needs to be successfully met for long term cost efficiency. It is necessary measure to check brand equity and the overall value it has achieved among consumers (Yakimova,Owens and Sydow,2019). High profitability levels are an imperative sign which signify the strong performance levels brand of company is able to achieve. Apple by analysing the profitability levels in the IPhone sales and the various other brand products it offers to consumers check the brand value and overall equity generation in the brand performance standards.

CONCLUSION

From the above report it can be concluded that branding plays important role in marketing of company product and services. It can also be explained that key components of successful brand strategy helps in building and managing brand equity. Company by choosing appropriate portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity management is able to build strong brand image in the market. It can also be concluded Apple by making partnership and collaborative at domestic and global level is able to expands its market share and was able to attract new customers. At last, it can be concluded that different techniques for measuring and managing brand value helps it in achievement of organisational goals.

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