Page 232 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Brand Development and Brand Strategy 201

Brand Associations
Brand associations relate to the product, service, and organization aspects
of the brand. They describe a hierarchy of benefits that a brand provides to
its customers. Brands associations are best described by the brand value
pyramid, which is illustrated in Fig. 8.4. The features and attributes layer is
at the bottom of this pyramid. Here the features and attributes are the most
essential product functions, performances, and quality levels that must be
delivered to customers in order for the brand to survive in the marketplace.
The benefits layer is at the middle of pyramid. Here the benefits are
additional functional and/or emotional benefits that the brand provides to its
customers, given that the features and attributes have been satisfactorily
provided by the brand. The beliefs and values layer is at the top of the
pyramid; this layer represents the emotional, spiritual, and cultural values
that are addressed by the brand, given that all the benefits from the benefits
layer and features and attributes layer have been provided by the brand.

Many brands may not be able to fill all the layers of the brand value pyramid.
If a brand cannot fill the bottom layer, then it cannot even deliver the most
basic benefits to its customers for this kind of product and this brand will
fail in the long run. If a brand can only fill the bottom layer, then it is a very
marginal brand, nothing special. It is an essential commodity, such as raw
cotton, raw sugar, or it is the leftmost no-brand T-shirt in Fig. 8.1, Its market

The emotional, spiritual, Most meaningful and most
cultural values being difficult to imitate, but
addressed hardest to deliver
Beliefs
and
values

The functional or
emotional benefits Benefits
provided to
customers
Easiest to
deliver, but
Features and/or
functions that least meaningful
must be Features and attributes and most easily
delivered to imitated
customers

Figure 8.4 Brand Value Pyramid (Davis, 2000)