Demonstrating passion for and commitment to the brand, both inside and outside the company.

a) Defining the Key Positioning

appreciating the role of brand positioning as the key to growth; understanding the brand’s historical development; capturing the reality of the brand - where it is today in the hearts and minds of its consumers; expressing the brand’s positioning in an accurate and inspiring way (e.g. words, visual imagery); constructing BrandKeys for competitor brands; using market research to build the Key Positioning; determining a powerful, competitive, consumer involving Discriminator; communicating the brand’s positioning across the company; managing the brand’s essence over time.

b) Developing the Key Vision

building a deep sense of the brand’s true meaning; defining brand equity drivers; anticipating the direction of competitive brand development; deciding which elements of today’s Key Positioning should change in the future; defining the vision with other professions and countries; tuning the vision to future market trends and strategies; constructing imaginative development plans to achieve the vision; ensuring individual brand development plans are consistent with portfolio strategies.

c) Formulating Key Extensions

appreciating potential line extension possibilities within the brand portfolio; recognising negative consequences of uncontrolled extensions; assessing the extent a line extension builds or borrows from the brand’s equity; evaluating the risks of cannibalisation; creating Key Extensions for each major extension; defining a clear structure for a brand’s product portfolio; clarifying the role of the master brand and its extensions in the overall category portfolio.

d) Aligning brand business plans with the BrandKey

establishing financial and marketing objectives for the brand; obtaining adequate resources to translate the brand strategy into action; developing integrated mix development plans; assessing how planned activities will contribute to the brand’s Key Vision; translating brand equity development plans in to viable financial targets and business plans.

e) Strengthening the brand mix

ensuring all brand activities build rather than dilute its equity; using consumer input to guide brand mix development; aligning brand mix with stage of market development; exploiting new communication technologies to build stronger consumer relationships and brand loyalty; protecting intellectual properties of the brand (e.g. trade marks); championing the brand within the company; constructing guidelines and toolkits to support brand activation.

f) Assessing brand health

recognising the drivers and indicators of brand health; defining benchmarks for brand performance and consumer perceptions; monitoring all aspects of brand and competitor brand performance; identifying the brand’s strengths and weaknesses; determining the key issues the brand must address; ensuring consumer brand perceptions are developing in line with the Key Vision; taking action to respond to emerging brand health issues.

Tasks:

• Read consumer research reports which deal with your brand's equity.

• Review the history of the key brands in your company or category to identify the main reasons for their success and failure over time.

• Attend research groups in which consumers are discussing how they feel about your brand.

• Carry out a critique of the BrandKey for a brand within your company.

• Draw up a BrandKey for a competitor brand.

• Carry out an audit of your brand's products, packaging, communication etc. to check their alignment with its BrandKey.

• Investigate how brands of different types are using the internet to build their consumer-based brand equity.

• Speak to your company's legal advisor to find out how trademarks can be used to protect your brand's identity.

• Analyse a brand health check report to identify the brand's strengths and weaknesses.

• Review the financial forecasts for your brand-and check the assumptions are aligned with those in its Key Vision.

• Analyse the reasons for the success or failure of your brand's previous attempts to extend its product range.