Page 226 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Brand Development and Brand Strategy 195

product consistency; and clean restrooms. McDonald’s emotional
benefits include friendly service and being kid-friendly.
3. Quality and performance: This aspect deals with how well and how
consistently the functional and emotional benefits are provided. For
example, fast purchase cycle time is a key functional benefit for
McDonald’s, but how fast and how consistent is a matter of quality
and performance. McDonald’s is famous for its unrivaled worldwide
product consistency, which is also a matter of quality. For products
with similar functional benefits, the performance level is dealing with
how well these functional benefits are delivered. For example,
Mercedes, Buick, and Kia all produce cars, but the performance levels
of the cars are different.
4. Uses: This aspect deals with the particular use or application associated
with a brand. For example, Gatorade specializes in providing a drink for
athletes to maintain a high level of performance.
5. Users: This aspect deals with the type of users targeted by a particular
brand. For example, Motherhood Maternity targets pregnant women,
and its products are for pregnant women.
6. Country of origin: Association of a brand with a country of origin
will add credibility if the country that the brand relates to is good in
this product area. For example, French fashion is more highly regarded
than French electronic goods.
A product-related association is an important part of brand identity. After
all, people are buying products and the benefits related to product functions.
However, if the brand identity is only associated with product attributes, it
will have serious limitations. Specifically some of these limitations are as
follows (Aaker 1996):

1. Failure in brand differentiation: A product attribute can be extremely
important to customers, but if all brands are perceived to be adequate
on this attribute, it does not differentiate the brand. For example, in the
hotel business, cleanliness is always rated as one of the most important
attributes to customers. Thus it would be appropriate for cleanliness to
be a part of Hilton’s brand identity. However, because all hotels are
expected to be clean, it will not be a brand differentiator. Without
brand differentiation, the brand name will not stand out in customers’
minds when the product is needed.
2. Easy to copy: Product functional benefits are easy to copy. A brand that
relies on the superior performance of functional attributes will eventually
be beaten, because functional attributes are transparent, a fixed target. If
the brand name does not have a psychological dimension, a low-cost
competitor could easily nudge the brand out of the marketplace.