MARKETNG 2506 - Building & Managing Brands

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

A company's brand will often be amongst the most valuable of their assets. Even startup companies and individuals need to be conscious of what their brand stands for. The 'Brand Manager' in a large company is responsible for the maintaining and growing the value of the company's brand. This course prepares student for this role, for 'products' that may be a good or a service, a tangible or an intangible. Industry standard brand metrics are used as an introduction to practical measurement and management and the course advances to the theory of brand equity, points of parity and points of difference. Brand co-creation is explored, with particular reference to social media marketing such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. The leveraging of brand equity into brand extensions (as with Virgin) is evaluated as a form of growth strategy.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code MARKETNG 2506
    Course Building & Managing Brands
    Coordinating Unit Marketing
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites MARKETNG 1001
    Incompatible MARKETNG 3505
    Course Description A company's brand will often be amongst the most valuable of their assets. Even startup companies and individuals need to be conscious of what their brand stands for. The 'Brand Manager' in a large company is responsible for the maintaining and growing the value of the company's brand. This course prepares student for this role, for 'products' that may be a good or a service, a tangible or an intangible. Industry standard brand metrics are used as an introduction to practical measurement and management and the course advances to the theory of brand equity, points of parity and points of difference. Brand co-creation is explored, with particular reference to social media marketing such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. The leveraging of brand equity into brand extensions (as with Virgin) is evaluated as a form of growth strategy.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Dean Wilkie

    Course Coordinator and Lecturer in charge: Dr Dean Wilke
    Location: Room 10.11, Nexus 10
    Telephone: 8313 7112
    Email: dean.wilkie@adelaide.edu.au

    Tutors: Liam Moss and Gergia Wastell
    Your tutor is your first point of contact. They will be available during tutorials to answer any questions. Please use this time to ask questions.

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of this course, you will be able to

    1. Discuss the role of branding in creating strong brands;

    2. Identify and explain strategies that build brand equity;

    3. Demonstrate how knowledge of branding can be applied to marketing;

    4. Display critical thinking and problem solving skills;

    5. Gain, evaluate, and synthesize information and existing knowledge from a number of sources and experiences;

    6. Prepare a professional, logical and coherent brand development report within a specific context.

    University Graduate Attributes

    No information currently available.

  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Text Book:  Aaker, D. A. 2014. Aaker on branding. 20 principles that drive success. New York: Morgan James Publishing.
    Available as an eBook through the library.

    Recommended Resources
    Moser, M. 2003. United We Brand. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.

    Sharp, B.  2012. How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

    Uncles, M.D., 2011. Perspectives on Brand Management. Tilde University Press, Prahan.

    Online Learning
    All the information (course slides. recordings and case studies) will be uploaded on Myuni
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course involves a dual education program. That is, it seeks to incorporate part theory and part practical with primary research data. The reason for this is that we seek to expose students to techniques used in practice as well as challenge many myths that exist within brand management.

    The course entails pre-recorded modiles and 1-hour tutorials over the semester. Modules will be released sequentially commencing in Week 1 and will conclude in Week 12. Tutorials will commence in Week 2 and conclude in Week 12. Please attend the tutorial you are enrolled in. Attendance will be taken and participation marks will be allocated.

    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures and tutorials. Tutorials are an important component of your learning in this course. The communication skills developed in tutorials by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most
    important by the Business School and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Schedule
    Week No. Topic and Tasks
    Week 1 Getting to know branding using numbers, history, and key concepts of branding

     (3hr lecture)
    All Module 1 and 2 videos No tutorials but the some of the results from the survey will be discussed.
    Week 2 Building a strong brand: The 10 C.O.M.P.O.N.E.N.T.S
    All Module 3 videos
    Reading: Text Chapters 1 & 2
    Pre-tutorial activity: (1) List the behaviours of successful groups, and (2) List what you think better group assignments will contain.
    Tutorial Activity: Discuss group project.
    Week 3 "What's in it for me" - Understanding the brand offer
    All Module 4 videos
    Reading: Text Chapters 6, 7 & 8. Chapter 2 from Rosenbaum-Elliot et al. (2007).
    Pre-tutorial activity: Consider the 10 C.O.M.P.O.N.E.N.T.S. for a brand and fill in the activity sheet

    Tutorial activity: Discuss the importance of the 10 C.O.M.P.O.N.E.N.T.S and assess how a
    brand may strengthen these
    Week 4  Mid-semester online class 
    No readings due to Mid semester s. Note: Due to mid semester test, attendance to tutorials this week is optional. We will be reviewing brand surveys in class
    Week 5 What strong brands have but weak brands do not - The brand vision and narrative
    All Module 5 videos
    Reading: Text Chapters 3, 4 & 5, and Mike Moser chapter on personality.

    Go through the library website and get Means-end paper by TJ Reynolds et al (1995), paper by Urde, Mats on Core value-based corporate brand building." (2003).
    Pre-tutorial activity: Collect the means-end chain of three category
    users. Tutorial activity: Discuss qualitative research techniques and
    the means end chains
    Week 6 The biggest determinant of performance - Finding the best position
    All Module 6 videos
    Reading: Text Chapter 9,
    Rossiter brand positioning chapter
    Pre-tutorial activity: Based on the current products and advertisements of your brand, write a positioning statement.
    Tutorial activity: Review positioning statements.
    Mid-Semester Break
    Week 7 Designing marketing programs to build brand equity
    All Module 7 videos
    Reading: Text Chapter 10, 11, 12. Chapter 8 Riezebos (2003)
    Pre-tutorial activity: Review three recent advertisements from a competitor and try and
    determine their positioning.
    Tutorial activity: How to evaluate a brand creative
    Week 8 Brand growth and revitalisation (Part 1) - Threats to brand relevance and the role of line and brand extensions
    All Module 8 videos
    Reading: Text Chapter 18 & 19
    Pre-tutorial activity: Find information (e.g., market share, category growth) that indicates what is going in the category. Is the brand growing (declining)? And is the category growing (declining)? (Hint: A good place to start is with text books in the library. Often the case
    studies will involve a brand or a key competitor).
    Tutorial Activity: What is the issue facing the brand?
    Week 9 Brand growth and revitalisation (Part 2) - The role of secondary brand associations
    All Module 9 videos
    Reading: Text Chapter 16
    Pre-tutorial activity: Revise your positioning statement and come ready to brainstorm
    opportunities.
    Tutorial Activity: Using your positioning to choose growth opportunities.
    Week 10 Different types of brands - The importanceof being first, the market leader, or a challenger
    All Module 10 videos
    Chapter 5 from Kompella (2014)
    Tutorial Activity: Brand Development report ‘snap-shot’
    Week 11 Applications and implications from having an understanding of brand performance measures
    All Module 11 videos
    Chapter 6 Perspectives in Brand Management
    Tutorial Activity: Discussion on cross purchasing of brands
    Week 12 Closing observations
    All Module 12 videos
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Due Weighting Learning Outcome
    Mid-Semester quiz (Individual Assessment)

    Week 4

    15% 1,2,3,4,5
    Brand Development Project
    (Assessment in four parts)

    Part 1: Survey design 7.5% 1,2,3,4,5
    Part 2: Data collection Nil 1,2,3,4,5
    Snap Shot week 10, in tutorial Nil 1,2,3,4,5
    Brand development report 22.5% 1,2,3,4,5
    Tutorial Participation (Individual Assessment) Ongoing 10% 1,2,3,4,5
    Final Exam (Individual Assessment) TBA 45% 1,2,3,4,5
    Assessment Related Requirements
    To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 50% must be obtained in the final exam, as well as a total of at least 50% overall. Students not achieving the minimum total final exam mark will be awarded no more than 49.
    Assessment Detail
    The assessment components are as follows.

    Mid semester online quiz   - (weight = 15%)

    The mid semester quiz will be based on concepts from the readings, lectures and issues raised in class discussions. True false, multiple choice and short essay questions can be expected.

    The mid semester quiz will be conducted on Friday the 26th of March between 7am and 7pm (lecture time). It will be an online
    test so you do not need to come to uni, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you have reliable connection to the internet. Furthermore, this will only be available at this time as this ensures that everyone has the same opportunity. If we had it during tutorial times, people with tutorials later in the week would have more time to prepare than those who have tutorials on a
    Monday. Please take this as advanced warning to save this date for those who may anticipate a conflict with other commitments. Also note that tutorial attendance is optional this week.

    Brand Development Project (Weight = 30% in total)

    The brand management concepts discussed in the course contain a broad range of concepts, theories, topics and examples from
    various industries. To demonstrate your understanding of these, you are required to conduct a brand development report on a chosen brand. The first two parts will require you to work in a group consisting of approximately 5-6 members and you are free to choose the composition of your group (as long as they are members of your tutorial class). The third and fourth part can be in the same group or a smaller group of two members, again they must be from of your tutorial class. The third part is optional for those students who wish to seek some early feedback on their report.

    Part 1: Survey design (group project).  (Weight = 7.5%) Due April 9th, 2021

    An important part of building and managing brands is gathering information about the consumer, the competitors, as well as
    identifying any problems/opportunities facing a brand. To assist in this, we have a survey framework for students to use (See MyUni for supporting documents and files), which will provide the information needed to complete the Brand development report. In groups of between 5 and 6 students, your task is as follows;

    ·        After Week 3, you will be given a list of 10 product/service categories. As a group, decide on which category you will base the survey on.
    ·       You will then need to modify the survey template (on MyUni called “Brand Survey Template”) to suit the product/service category. This will involve a number of things such as adding the relevant brand names. Of particular importance when making these modifications is the choice of attributes and benefits used to assess what is important to consumers when making a purchase decision (Question 9 in the template). The reason this is important is that it will guide the recommended positioning of the brand, which is the most important strategic part in building and managing a brand.

    ·        To assist in the selection of attributes and benefits, please consider the following.
    1.   Using the means-end laddering technique on a small group before completing this will help you ascertain a list of attributes and benefits that are important when buying from the category.
    2.   Consider the current and past advertising appeals of a number of brands in the category. These will give you an indication of the benefits promised and the attributes that give consumers a reason to believe the brand can deliver the benefit.
    3.   You needto have a mix of functional, emotional, social and experiential benefits. A lot of groups get into trouble by only considering functional benefits. Remember, most people buy for the emotional, social and experiential benefits, but justify it through the functional.

    ·        Finally, you can add questions to the survey if you like, but please do not delete any.  

    What is due?

    ·        A copy of your proposed survey in Microsoft Word or as a PDF and submitted to Turnitin with a 1 to 2-page justification for the attributes and benefits used in the survey.


    Part 2: Data collection (group project). (Weight = 0.0%)

    An important part of the survey is getting a sample of reliable respondents. The task in this part is to simply recruit respondents.
    Ideally, groups will gather around 50 valid respondents, at a minimum a group needs 25. The validity of a response can be checked by a number of factors such as the speed of response, the pattern of answers, and a number of manipulation checks inserted into the survey.

    Part 3: Snap shot presentation. (Weight = 0.0%). This assessment is optional.

    To assist you with the brand development process, in Week 10 you can present a very ‘short, sharp and shiny’ overview of the
    brand and the progress. This progress report will then enable us to provide you with valuable feedback.

    The third (and fourth) part can be in the same group or a smaller group of two members, again they must be from of your
    tutorial class. Please not, if you choose to do the assignment in a smaller group, the expectations will be the same as groups with more members even though the workload will be more.

    You are restricted to 3 slides and 5 minutes. We are also limited to time so only 7 presentations are allowed within the tutorial. If you want to present, please inform the tutor and it will be a first in, first served policy. Remember, you can also talk to your tutor during the weekly consultation times.

    Part 4: Brand Development report.  (Weight = 22.5%) Due 7th of June (11:59pm) 2021.

    The brand development report is an important assessment as it will help demonstrate your understanding of the brand-related concepts discussed throughout the semester. It will be a video recording of a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation. In conjunction with the submission of your recording (video with audio), you must also provide a copy of your PowerPoint presentation so we can view both simultaneously when assessing your work.

    With such an assignment, you will find that there is so much that you can say, however a common problem is that many assignments fail to communicate a strong, focused, and logical brand review. Part of the reason for this is that during the semester we will discuss a number of concepts and tools. You need to remember that these tools and concepts can help you, but they can also distract from your story. What is important is understanding how and when to apply these. Which of these concepts and tools assists your review and which do not? Below is a basic structure and a number of things to consider.

    1. Start with an overview - the objective of the overview is to provide the reader of a clear understanding of what is coming. Better answers often;
    · Provide a brief overview of the brand’s history in a way that assists in understanding the brand’s current position and/or opportunity.
    ·  Set up the problem or opportunity facing the brand with evidence.
    o   You will get much of this information from your survey results and completing parts 2 and 3. I also want to stress is that you should be able to find a lot of great information regarding sales and market share trends from reviewing secondary information sources. This information really helps set up the problem / opportunity (e.g., is the category growing or declining, is the brand growing or declining faster than the category)
    · Contain a brand positioning statement so that when the reader goes through the document, they get a sense of why the brand is pursuing such strategies and can easily assess whether your recommendations are consistent with this.

    2.   Market and Consumer review - the objective of this section is to become familiar with the consumer and the competitive dynamics between brands. When considering the competitive dynamics, most categories have a high number of competitors, therefore you need to identify those competitors that are most relevant to your chosen brand. A great way to find this out is through the quadrant analysis as it will help you understand which brands are targeting the same position. Also, a duplication of purchase table (discussed in Week 11) will highlight which brands share the same consumers. In completing this section, consider the following;
    · A reviewof the  marketing environment and the competitive dynamics within the category. What do the “Four Trends” (discussed in Week 11) tell you? Is there a “Challenger” brand in the category, which will be discussed in Week 10?
    · Evaluate each brand's positioning (i.e., are they relevant, unique, believable? How many reasons to believe do they have?). How does this affect your chosen brand? Remember to use your quadrant analysis for this.
    · How is each brand trying to grow / stay relevant? New products, through the marketing mix, and/or secondary associations? Where are the key competitors in the brand relevance quadrant? And what does this mean for your chosen brand? Review the brand funnel analysis for each key competitor and see if it tells you anything you can capitalise on.
    · Better answers will evaluate and synthesise information from a variety of sources including secondary such as marketing magazines.
    · Provide a description of the consumer. What are their needs and desired benefits? What do they think and feel for each brand in the category? Understanding the means-end chains of consumers will assist with this.
    · Are they loyal to any brand? Are the majority of consumers light or heavy users? The “Four Trends” will help with this. And what does this mean for how your chosen brand must grow?

    3. Brand review - the objective of this part of this assignment is to provide an in-depth assessment of the chosen brand. There is a huge overlap with the market and consumer review. My advice is to make sure that there is a logical flow between the sections and that you are not repeating information
    · How is your chosen brand trying to grow / stay relevant? Is it working? A great way to understand the issues facing a brand is to conduct a brand funnel analysis.
    · Review the role of the brand's marketing mix. Examine the media habits of you’re the consumers that use your brand. Do they follow the brand on social media? Would they be willing to join an online community?
    · Identify the sources of brand equity for each brand. More specifically you will need to understand the strength, favourability, and uniqueness of the associations each brand has.

    4. Brand Plan – Stretching the Brand

    This part is forward-looking. Using the understanding gained from the first two parts, key issues or opportunities will emerge. Your task is to develop a recommended plan of action for your chosen brand. This not only involves a recommendation of the desired brand image, but also managing the growth of the brand - owning the positioning, product development, improving engagement etc. Things to consider;
    · Think strategically / big picture. Do they need to address a declining trend? Or do they need to build barriers?
    · Does the brand need to strengthen its position? Move towards a new positioning?
    · Once the strategic is done, you then need to think of how you would use line / brand extensions to achieve this?
    · Are there any recommendations at a tactical level (names, logos, designs, packaging, communications, etc.)?
    · Are there any brand energisers (i.e., secondary associations) that the brand should consider?

    The final report should cover the three areas outlined.

    As discussed, the final report will be a video recording of a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation. You may think that 15 minutes is a challenging time limit, this means that you need to tell a focused story. To do this I recommend the following steps;

    1.    Of the key issues and opportunities, identify just one or two that really need to be addressed? These are the issues or opportunities that will have the biggest impact on the brands performance.

    2.    Review the overview, market, consumer and brand review sections and remove whatever information that does not relate
    to these one or two issues/opportunities. Leaving this irrelevant information
    in will only distract the reader.

    3.   Once all this has been completed, watch the presentation and see if it tells a strong, focused, and consistent story.


    Supplementary material 
    • A copy of your PowerPoint presentation.
    • So you do not fill the 15 minutes up with images, graphs and tables, be selective with what you use, but also put any relevant info you wish to show in the appendices and refer the viewer to them.
    • Provide a reference list of where you got all your information.
    • Ensure your (and each group member's name) is on the cover as well as the date, the course name and the assignment topic
    are clearly identified on the front cover using the University’s Assignment Cover Sheet.
    • If you did the assignment in a group, after the appendices you need to put together a summary of the contribution each
    student made to the project. This may include the sections that each student wrote or outline the responsibilities of each member.


    Submission

    The assignment is to be submitted electronically through the Turnitin application on Blackboard, on or before the due date of the 7th of June (11:59pm) 2021.


    Tutorial Participation   10%

    A mark is awarded for active tutorial participation and attendance. Students are required to not only attend tutorials but to read and be prepared for case study discussions, and to take an active part. The activities have been set up to not only help understand the topics each week, but also to help collect information for the group project. The work from these activities may be collected for the purpose of reviewing the level of participation.



    Final Examination (TBA)  45%

    The final exam will be based on concepts from the readings, lectures and issues raised in class discussions. Multiple choice and short essay questions can be expected.

    Submission

    No information currently available.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

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