Brand Equity
Brand equity is referred as the commercial value that is the outcome of the customer’s perception of the brand name of a particular product or service. It describes the value of having a well-established and well-known brand name; developed on an idea that brand name can generate more revenue for the products. Dove’s success stands due to the differentiation process that the company followed to increase its brand equity from 2004 (Romero and Yagüe, 2016). The campaign gave woman a feeling of identification and association with the brand and its products. Women could identify with images they were seeing in the advertising campaign which resulted in the willingness to pay high price for the brand (Elliott and Percy, 2007). An organization’s brand equity is generally made using the financial accounts of the company on the basis of brand equity evaluation where the consumer’s equity for a specified brand is distinguished from the other brands.
There are mainly two sources of brand equity that are Quantitative Technique and Qualitative Technique.
Qualitative technique employed for identifying probable brand interactions as well as sources of brand equity. This technique is relatively measured unstructured methods whereby a range of probable customers’ responses are allowable (AAKER, 2016). There are mainly four types of ways to do the qualitative research that are free association, experimental methods. Projective techniques and brand personality as well as values.
Quantitative techniques are useful for identifying as well as characterize the range of probable interactions to a brand and a more quantitative representation of the brand is demandable to allow much more defensible and confident planning as well as tactical recommendations. This technique is the primary approach in order to record analysis that portrays the knowledge of brand structures of customers over time (BILGILI and OZKUL, 2015). There are mainly four types of ways to do the quantitative research that are awareness, image, recall as well as recognition.
For Dove, measuring or analyzing brand equity is of supreme significance for understanding the customer’s mind as well as recent stage of brand knowledge between customers as this understandings lays substance for formation of communication strategies of marketing. Dove able to analyze that how much marketing programs have achieved in modifying buying behaviors of customers (Elliott and Percy, 2007). The primary measurement approach is basically conquering the responses of the customers in a normal questionnaire format. Under this approach, the customers are asked for expressing perceptions and views in relation to a brand and products and at the same time entire experience in utilizing a service. During the primary research the customers are asked that what comes in mind first while hearing the brand name. Here, the response of consumers can be a good significant of single person emotional interaction with the brand. Same as qualitative research, quantitative research are also used to analyze the brand awareness which is a part of brand knowledge as well as try to find out the understanding the customers opinion of the brand (Florek and Kavaratzis, 2014). Qualitative techniques are established for understanding the brand image, brand relationship and associations worth regards to consumer’s loyalty and even brand response regarding the purchasing decisions.
Brand positioning is basically the method of positioning the company’s brand in the mind of customers. Brand positioning is described as the positioning strategy as well as brand strategy. This idea is applied only for identifying as well as for attempting to own marketing niche for product, services or a brand by utilizing several strategies that also includes promotions, pricing and mainly competition (Fu, Ding and Qu, 2007). Dove main target is women as research shows that mainly 80% of all buying decision are actually made by women. By keeping this fact in mind, Dove try to concern for women of all age group and at the same time always try to market the product for them in a quite excellent way (Romero and Yagüe, 2016). Dove also launches a beauty campaigns namely, Real Beauty Campaign under which they gives a message that is company will make them beautiful and younger. This brand is mostly positioned as a personal care beauty product. Dove even positioned in a way, that it encourages women everywhere from the work to feel good about themselves. Dove has also positioned itself for helping people to be beautiful as they always want to be. Dove also promoted products in a way that, their mean theme is softness in the product (Janiszewska and Insch, 2012). In each and every advertisement of Dove, they give messages regarding its softness and smoothness, for this they use the logo of ‘Go Fresh’.
Points of parity are usually the functionalities or any other marketing elements that are not unique to the brand and might be shared by some of its competitors as they mostly include the basic necessities for a brand to be considered in a particular category (Srivastava and Thomas, 2010).
Points of Difference are the term used for the outcome of product differentiation. As due to the overwhelming variety of products or services on the market, those who are stand out in some different form are noticed by the customers (AAKER, 2016).
From the conduction of the primary research, it could be finding that consumers are completely aware of Dove’s brand image. In the question about the awareness of the brand, almost all the respondents knew the brand name. It was found during the questionnaire that majority of the target customers are in the age bar of 21-30 years. They have a perception of the brand as the luxury soaps. Dove holds the majority of the market of this age bar. People reviewed that the Dove has a high position in terms of softness and score very high on differentiation quotient. They have a very positive feeling about the quality of the product of Dove. They think that Dove serves the purpose of both the Soap and Moisturizer. People are very confident about the quality of the product as compared to its competitors. The company also scores a positive rating in terms of brand promise.
The beauty bar soap of Dove is very popular among the peoples who have dry skins. During the questionnaire, majority of the respondents have replaced their soaps with Dove beauty care soap and are happy with their decision. It also showed that people who are engaged with the specified brand are not in mood to change it. They are very loyal to the brand which is a very positive sign for the company. In terms of value section, the self-assured feeling about the brand was rated quite highly by the attendants of the questionnaire. They felt that confidence about any brand is the ultimate importance for them to choose them. A lot of the respondents felt that the dove beauty soap makes them look better and they are more confident with it. They feel that the usage of brand makes them look more confident and gives a positive effect on their work. The product gives sense of assurance to them. They feel that they are doing right things and have taken a right decision added to the Dove sense of security and self-assuredness.
Brand equity is basically the concept and views which people have for a brand or for a company. The concept of brand equity is regarding the relationship and connection to the customers, thus, the main significant way any company can improve its brand equity by many ways, but here, Dove uses three ways for improving as well as leveraging its brand equity that are brand extension, line extension and brand stretching (Kapferer, 2012).
Brand extension- Brand extension is the use of a developed brand name in new commodity categories. The category under which the brand is being extended may be related and unrelated to the presence commodity categories. Dove uses brand extension because it helps in reducing risk regarding new products and is less expensive that alternative launch strategies (Keller, 2013). Consumers appear for attributing the class integration the company has of the real brand to the new product. By using brand extension way, dove has less advertising, promotional and selling costs.
Line extension- dove uses line extensions because it is useful for reaching to the new consumer segment which mainly searches for the new advantages and facilities in new products (BILGILI and OZKUL, 2015). As for example- launching a new shampoo of Dove like, Dove instant repair shampoo, aimed at customers searching solution for a itchy scalp, dry scalp under the present shampoo brand name makes sense (Liu and Fan, 2013). Line extension is also useful in order to revive customers’ interest in a poor product category as in some categories varieties are much more demandable attribute for the customers.
Brand stretching- Dove sense a chance in the premium and value segments of the market apart from its present markets. The firm enters in those premium as well as value segments and these movements are known as up scaling and downscaling (Riezebos and Grinten, 2012). Dove Company involves in brand stretching for the reason that present markets may get saturated. Even, the firm sense new chance in the market’s premium and value segments.
References
AAKER, D. (2016). BRAND EQUITY & ADVERTISING. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: PSYCHOLOGY Press.
BILGILI, B. and OZKUL, E. (2015). BRAND AWARENESS, BRAND PERSONALITY, BRAND LOYALTY AND CONSUMER SATISFACTION RELATIONS IN BRAND POSITIONING STRATEGIES (A TORKU BRAND SAMPLE). Journal of Global Strategic Management, 2(9), pp.89-89.
Elliott, R. and Percy, L. (2007). Strategic brand management. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Florek, M. and Kavaratzis, M. (2014). From brand equity to place brand equity and from there to the place brand. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 10(2), pp.103-107.
Fu, G., Ding, J. and Qu, R. (2007). Ownership effects in consumers’ brand extension evaluations. Journal of Brand Management, 16(4), pp.221-233.
Janiszewska, K. and Insch, A. (2012). The Strategic Importance of Brand Positioning in the Place Brand Concept – Elements, Structure and Application of the Positioning Statement. JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, 5(1), pp.9-19.
Kapferer, J. (2012). The new strategic brand management. 1st ed. London: Kogan Page.
Keller, K. (2013). Strategic brand management. 1st ed. Boston: Pearson.
Liu, H. and Fan, L. (2013). Interaction Mechanism and Strategy of Brand Relationship and Brand Extension. Open Journal of Business and Management, 01(03), pp.55-58.
Riezebos, H. and Grinten, J. (2012). Positioning the brand. 1st ed. London: Routledge.
Romero, J. and Yagüe, M. (2016). Marketing assets: Relating brand equity and customer equity. Intangible Capital, 12(2), p.591.
Srivastava, R. and Thomas, G. (2010). Managing brand performance: Aligning positioning, execution and experience. Journal of Brand Management, 17(7), pp.465-471.
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