Course description
Brands are the most valuable assets of a company. They represents a source of competitive advantage.Competitors can often duplicate manufacturing process and factory designs, but it’s not so easy to reproduce strongly held feelings, beliefs and attitudes established in the minds of the consumers about brands, refered to as brand knowledge structure. The brand knowledge structure is a source of brand equity, which has to be managed national and globally for sustained profits and market share.
In this seminar, students should will gain insights into how to build, measure and manage brand equity, especially using Keller’s brand resonance model or customer-based brand equity model. At the end of the course, students should gain improtant insights into the following topics:
- Description of brands, brand equity and the advantages of creating strong brands for consumers and the firm.
- Managing brands over geographic boundaries and market segments.
- Building brand equity through consumer brand knowldge structure.
- Brand resonance model and brand value chain
- Choosing brand elements to build brand equity
- Designing marketing programmes to build brand equity
- Integrating marketing communications to build brand equity
- Leveraging secondary brand associations to build brand equity
- Measuring sources of brand equity: Capturing customer mind-set
- Managing brands over time
This course will be presented more practically and therefore a more active, participatory and collaborative learning approach will be applied in the seminars. With this approach, we hope to appreciate, jointly create and disseminate knowledge, rather than simply transferring it.
Required textbook and recommended journals
Keller, K. L (2013). Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity 4rd Edition, Pearson Education International.
Recommended journals:
- Journal of Brand Management
- Journal of Product and Brand Management
- Brand Strategy
- Strategic Management Journal
Grading information - Passing the seminar requires the following:
- written report
- due date: 01.01.2017. Late submission will not be accepted
- presentation
- during November
Students responsibilities:
- All students are expected to attend each contact session.
- Students should pre-read on the topic of each session in order to actively participate in the group meetings and class activities.
- It is important that students arrive on time to class and do not leave early, as late entrances and early exits are disruptive to both the lecturer and fellow students.
- If students are to miss a contact session for whatever reason, they should notify the lecturer in advance.
Students will work in a team or group. Developing necessary skills to work productively with a team can be quite rewarding. If there are team problems you learn the skills to resolve them and this can be beneficial in your future working environment.
Group presentations details
Groups of three students will be formed during the first session. Topics will be slected in the first week of meeting. To cover the required course material, there would be two group presentations per week. Each group will present on their selected topics. Group members can either appoint a spokesperson or present individually.
Group assignments
For many years, Mercedes-Benz, a German car has been among the most valuable global brands. This raises a question about the sources of its brand equity. To examine the sources of brand equity, researchers use either Aaker or Keller’s customer-based brand equity (CBBE) models.
Read books, magazines, company reports and journal articles and write a report on what various authors or writers say about FIVE MAIN sources driving Mercedez Benz’s brand equity.