Concept Of Brand Management : Building A Successful Brand

Gucci, a brand known for its quality, luxurious and royal association was confronted with strategic issues which made the company take notice of its strategy of expansion and brand personality. The company was not only having concerns with their product line but they were lacking unified corporate vision and strategy after its acquisition of some major names like YSL. Due to which they started having loophole in their luxurious goods market discipline. Strategic concern for the company was how does the brand image cascade down in the target market and how does it rejuvenate itself is a management lesson.

At the apex of the market was haute couture with it very high-end “custom” product offering that catered to the extremely wealthy. Luxury goods manufacturers believed diffusion brand’s lower profit margins were offset by the opportunity for increased sales volume and the growing size of the accessible luxury market and protected margins on such products by sourcing production to low-wage countries. Eye-catching utilization of their products by prominent figures in society leads to increasing demands for luxury good items and it is a growing industry with the global luxury goods market growing 9% per year. These consumers buy their products for satisfaction and to boost their self-esteem rather than for ease or comfort. All these components blend in the context of a successful business of the luxury goods.

No two-brand identities are the same and it is crucial to consider what type of clothing the company will supply to its customers. There is a large difference in the way luxury and fast fashion brands operate which translates to how they create and maintain a brand identity. Some of the major differences are that luxury brands do not respond to rising demand because they want their product to be difficult to buy. The role advertising has for luxury brands is not to sell but to create status. Luxury brands do not use the Internet even though the importance of online coordination was just discussed. Finally, luxury brands do not look for cost reductions (Nieto). They still create an identity by creating a personality or an idea that represents the brand,

In nowadays, buying luxury brands is not only showing a sign of wealth, but also a kind of rewards for people’s hard working. Luxury products sell high market prices because of their designs, brand names, and the qualities. People want to buy luxury products because their quality is better than target brands. For example, the brand like Bottega Veneta is known for its traditional design of leather goods; their handbags are handmade in Italy. Comparing to Bottega Veneta to target brands, Bottega Veneta’s design will not easily out of style, but target brands will easily out of styles because their designs are relatively ordinary. However, in the recent year, some luxury brands’ reputation has gone done because those brands were shifting their factories to other countries and then shipping back to Italy just for the label. Technically, the phrase “Made in Italy” is not really manufacture in Italy anymore, sometimes this product 's qualities are not as good as before. There is a rising concern of whether these luxury goods really match with the expensive price tags.

In the case of outlet stores, brands are trying to sell their overstock, which has highly increased due to mass production. Not only is merchandise that was once available at a high-end boutique sold for a discount price, moreover some brands are producing some items solely for outlets (Edouard, 2006, 11). Assessing the six main facets of a luxury brand, which have been identified in a broad empirical study by Dubois/Laurent/Czellar and are considered to be global and most accurate, one can review the situation of the luxury market today. The six main facets are (Dubois/Laurent/Czellar, 2001, 8 ff.):

Burberry, founded in 1856, is a leading international luxury brand. Burberry designs, manufactures and licenses apparel and accessories for distribution through its own stores and network of prestige retailers worldwide. In early 1998, the new management team at Burberry set out its strategy to reposition and revitalise the brand, which resulted in significantly improved results and strengthened the base to build the business. With continuous growth since last five years, Burberry has faced new challenges of brand sustainability and positioning in a volatile industry (fashion) where customer behaviour is unpredictable. Thus, it requires a strategy that lays foundations for long-term growth and addresses the issues

When given a choice between a pair of Prada shoes or a pair of Puma shoes, consumers are aware that both products will provide sufficient comfort and protection to their feet. Yet, when asked in a recent visual survey, which shoe they would choose to buy, 76% of people chose the Prada brand shoe (Appendix p. 7). Given that both shoes can achieve the same purpose, one asks why have so many people chosen that particular brand of shoe over the other? When contemplating the alternative brands of each shoe, it could be suggested that effective branding has enticed consumers to prefer the Prada shoe? The following essay will discuss how branding influences consumers luxury fashion choices.

In the article “Type of Luxury Consumers”, the author, Robert Frank, tries to deal with the issue of the behaviour of luxury consumers. He introduces the readers that the consumers will spend their money lavishly to show wealth and status based on their economic ability. They are willing to buy expensive items with a good branding compared to the low-end product that lack of explicit markers. The author argues every type of luxury consumer has their own desire and taste to follow the trend and the effect of these consumers towards the brand management. The author agrees with the research made by the USC Marshall School of Business about this issue. This can be proved when his thought is always parallel with the study.

Louis Vuitton is able to “sell more while remaining fresh and retaining its cachet” in several unique ways (Kotler, Keller 296). The company first accomplished this back in 1987, when they created a category membership by comparing the brand to exemplars. That is, Louis Vuitton formed a conglomerate with the manufactures of champagne and cognac (Kotler, Keller 289). This merger placed Louis Vuitton in the prestigious and elite brand category, which helped the company to create a brand membership. This conglomerate could also be seen as a point of difference (POD) because they are creating an association with luxury goods. Moreover, the increased price strategy boosts Louis Vuitton’s image and makes the products a novelty because only the most elite consumers can afford to purchase the brand. The 60 plus hours spent on producing these items further its differentiation in the luxury handbag market. This adds quality to the product, which no other company provides. Erog, these strategies increase the company’s position within the market. Recently, the company has created POD’s by partnering with famous sports stars. In doing so, Louis Vuitton is expanding their brand image, which in turn, creates a new customer segment. Now, the brand will be associated as sporty. Whereas before, “high-fashion celebrities” endorsed the brand and the company was only known for being fashionable (Kotler & Keller). Another way the company has expanded their image and customer segments is by

Men’s apparels, leather goods, Women’s handbags or/and Women’s sunglasses. But most of them also mentioned that they are not really a brand loyalty consumer for Prada, so after they purchased one Prada item, the next purchase cycle might be really long. Surprisely, some of them are big fans for this brand and they are catching the pace of fashion. One the other hand, for those with less frequency, they said that they often browsed online, but occasionally bought luxury branding product. They thought they intended to and were fond of high-street brands for clothes and bags for daily basis. Only two of interviewees responded that they seldom bought luxury stuff online, neither did they own a Prada item. For them, luxury branding goods are not something they need at this stage of studying and they pay less attention to fashion. There was an interviewee showed that she is a big fan for Chanel, and she will buy the new season item only if she thinks it is beautiful and special.

In the contemporary business scenario and the stiff market competition, ‘brands’ are inevitably gaining importance in business perspective as the most valuable assets that can be possessed by a firm. The markets in the past were closed but now with the forces of globalization and liberalization taking over the ride, the competition prevailing in the market has boosted up significantly and hence there is a herd of marketers that are constantly yearning for portraying their product as a unique product proposition delivering most satisfaction and hence to accomplish this objective they come up with a brand. The present study explores the various facets of business activity involved with ‘branding’.

The purpose of this study is to discuss and elaborate the main issues encountered in managing brand equity. In order to achieve this purpose, we first analyse the concept of brand equity; second, we provide a comprehensive framework for managing brand equity; and finally, we distinguish different ways to leverage and measure brand equity. The concept of brand equity emerged in the early 1990s. Brand equity can be regarded as a managerial concept, as a financial intangible asset, as a relationship concept or as a customer-based concept from the perspective of the individual consumer. The main asset dimensions of brand

The brand expansion in growing market such as India and China where the potential and the growth has been exceptional and the emergence of an upper middle class rapid

Everywhere you look, you see a company’s branding; its’ in social media, its’ online, its’ on television, its’ on billboards, and its’ in magazines, etc., commonly one of the most overlooked sources of a company’s competitive advantage is their brand. There is more to branding than just the advertising that a company does or the catchy names they attach to their products. The value of a company’s brand is derived from the value the brand holds for its consumers. On one hand, branding can be extremely difficult to obtain and very expensive to establish, on the other hand, branding can be very delicate and easy to demolish. This mini concept paper will discuss my topic, the theoretical framework, the research question(s), the literature

It is not easy to build brands in today 's environment. The brand builder who attempts to develop a strong brand is like a golfer playing on a course with heavy roughs, deep sand traps, sharp doglegs, and vast water barriers. It is difficult to score well in such conditions. Substantial pressures and barriers, both internal and external, can inhibit the brand builder. To be able to develop effective brand strategies, it is useful to understand these pressures and barriers