Page 307 - Marketing Management

284 PART 4 BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

Strong Brands: A, B, C, & D Strong Brands: A, B, C, & D
Flavor Flavor
Customer Segments Customer Segments
Ideal Points: 1, 2, & 3 Ideal Points: 1, 2, & 3
D D
B
3 B 3

1 1
Traditional Contemporary Traditional Contemporary
Image A Image Image Image
A A’

2 2
C C A''

Light Light
Flavor Flavor
|Fig. 10.1a| |Fig. 10.1b|

(a) Hypothetical Beverage Perceptual (b) Hypothetical Beverage Perceptual
Map: Current Perceptions Map: Possible Repositioning for Brand A

Consumers in Segment 3 prefer beverages with a strong taste and traditional imagery. Brand D
is well-positioned for this segment as it is strongly associated in the marketplace with both these
benefits. Given that none of the competitors is seen as anywhere close, we would expect Brand D to
attract many of the Segment 3 customers.
Brand A, on the other hand, is seen as more balanced in terms of both taste and imagery.
Unfortunately, no market segment seems to really desire this balance. Brands B and C are better
positioned with respect to Segments 2 and 3, respectively.
• By making its image more contemporary, Brand A could move to A’ to target consumers in
Segment 1 and achieve a point-of-parity on imagery and maintain its point-of-difference on
taste profile with respect to Brand B.
• By changing its taste profile to make it lighter, Brand A could move to A’’ to target consumers in
Segment 2 and achieve a point-of-parity on taste profile and maintain its point-of-difference on
imagery with respect to Brand C.

Deciding which repositioning is most promising, A’ or A’’, would require detailed consumer
and competitive analysis on a host of factors—including the resources, capabilities,
and likely intentions of competing firms—to choose the markets where consumers can
profitably be served.

Brand Mantras

To further focus the intent of the brand positioning and the way firms would like consumers
to think about the brand, it is often useful to define a brand mantra. 17 A brand mantra is an
articulation of the heart and soul of the brand and is closely related to other branding concepts
like “brand essence” and “core brand promise.” Brand mantras are short, three- to five-word
phrases that capture the irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand positioning. Their purpose is
to ensure that all employees within the organization and all external marketing partners under-
stand what the brand is most fundamentally to represent with consumers so they can adjust
their actions accordingly.