how brand management works
brands have a powerful influence on customer engagement competition in the markets and the management of a company a strong master brand presence in the market differentiates a company s products from its competitors and creates brand affinity for a company s products or services a brand that has been established has to continually maintain its brand image through brand management effective brand management increases brand awareness measures and manages brand equity drives initiatives that support a consistent brand message identifies and accommodates new brand products and effectively positions the brand in the market it takes years to establish a brand but when it finally occurs it has to still be maintained through innovation and creativity notable brands that have established themselves as leaders in their respective industries over the years include coca cola mcdonald s microsoft ibm procter gamble cnn disney nike ford lego and starbucks benefits of brand managementeffective brand management techniquesbrand management may seem complex but there are a number of simple elegant techniques that make the process manageable here are some of the more effective ways brand management occurs brand management often begins with the basics and that means establishing a strong mission statement logo target audience and vision statement though these are often created by the marketing team during a company or product s infancy it is up to the brand management team to further refine and drive the branding basics as the product or company begins to be used by consumers it is critical that the brand management team strengthens the relationship between the good and user this means capitalizing on emotional stories by tapping into the human connection to however the company s products are being used often guided by social media and a website brand management must be cohesive across all media platforms this includes any televised radioed or printed advertising the more marketing channels a company has the more important it is for brand management to cohesively link these to convey a single consistent message to consumers on a related note the brand management process must be guided by a consistent use of language and tone this may be easier to convey using photos or printed advertisements however different challenges may arise if different people are managing different marketing channels as long as the receiving channels are the same across product lines the brand management team must ensure the wording and feeling behind communications are consistent all of the tips above don t matter if the internal branding and marketing teams aren t aligned therefore the brand management team must effectively implement limits and rules on how certain activities are performed for example the brand management team may restrict the use to certain fonts images designs or color schemes any deviations from these rules must be run through the brand management team for special approval brand management elementsthere are three critical elements to brand management equity recognition and loyalty though it may be difficult to quantifiably measure the benefits of each brand management plays a direct part in developing all three aspects of a brand brand management often starts with brand recognition if a company can t invoke positive emotions in consumers when they see a brand that may be no brand to manage in addition brand recognition entails ensuring that recognition of a brand invokes a favorable response instead of brand opposition this is especially important for new products being brought to market a company must decide how to best manage that brand and invest upfront capital to make the brand more recognizable on the other hand more established brands must decide how many resources to allocate to maintain or strengthen a brand s existing position brand equity is the commercial value of a product s image though a company doesn t actually receive the direct dollars of value from its products having high brand equity brand equity often translates to greater sales as consumers associate a product or brand with greater value brand equity is built over time through positive experiences associates and demonstrated value consider an example of a billboard displaying an advertisement for powerade because of the positive name association of powerade via partnerships with professional sports leagues and massive markets it may have greater brand equity than a generic brand similar to how a company may become more valuable over time as it becomes worth more a brand s value can increase over time in the same way a customer may recognize a brand and a customer may even assess strong positive value with a brand however if that customer is easily swayed to pivot to a competing product brand management has failed the objective of brand loyalty is invoke such a strong relationship between the consumer and the brand that the consumer can t fathom diverting from the brand s products whereas brand recognition occurs on the front end of brand management brand loyalty is a long term achievement that is earned in a variety of ways companies must demonstrate their products meet consumer needs in addition companies must ensure strong customer service ensures a customer has a positive experience along the entire life of the product smaller companies with lower headcount may have one dedicated team to both the creation of brand management and implementation of marketing branding strategies brand management vs marketingbrand management and marketing both appear to do the same thing after all both departments influence how external stakeholders perceive the company s or product s brands however there are subtle differences between the two 