Global Branding

Table of contents

CONTENTS

Page No

1.

2. Executive Summary

The Evolution 2

3

-Global Brands and Globalization

3

3. Why Branding? 9

-Brand : Meaning 10

-Brand Equity 12

-Aspects of a Good Brand 13

- What makes brands great? 14

- What makes brand leaders lose their way

17

4. Why go global? 19

- Going global: the risks 20

- What principles govern and guide global brands? 21

- Global branding versus local marketing 23

5. Strategic Planning Cycles for Brands 26

6. The Brand Environment 30

- Factors that influence the brand 31

7. The Global Brand Proposition Model 32

-The internal analysis 32

-The external analysis 34

-Using the Model- a Road map 34

8. Top Global Brands 38

9. Global Branding- The future 40

-Global Strategy 41

10.

11.

12. -Global Creativity

-Global leadership

-Conclusion

Final Words

References

Appendix 42

43

44

45

46

47

Executive summary

According to the 4th law of the now classic 'The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing' by Ries and Trout, marketing is not a battle of products but of perception. Consumers don't just buy a product for its attributes. They buy it for the experience, value and the emotional benefit that the particular product provides. The product might be as good as, or better than, the competitor's; but as long as the consumer perceives the product to be not superior or not different from others, the product can't become successful.

And the only way a marketer can differentiate his or her product from its competitor is by Branding it; by giving it a distinct identity.

And in this age of merging markets, falling barriers and increased connectivity; the visibility and use of different products and services in different local and international markets have become a common phenomena. Thus the various MNC's are now increasingly fiddling with concept of GLOBAL BRANDING; a way to have a distinct identity among the consumers in the international market.

We begin our exposition on the topic by commenting upon the evolution of brands in the context of globalization. Next we delve into the meaning of brands, the 4 aspects of a good brand and why some leaders eventually or apparently lose the battle of brands. The need to have global brands and the risks and rewards of having a global brand are discussed subsequently.

The creation and application of brands require careful preparation and planning, especially when it comes to global branding. Here, we look into the strategic planning cycle of brands-the business strategy, the brand expression and the marketing of brands. Next we consider the brand environment and we follow on to the global brand proposition model where we consider the internal and external analysis of the model; and a road map as how to use the model.

We conclude our paper by first mentioning the top global brands, and then commenting upon the future of global brands and to the conclusion of our study.

THE EVOLUTION-

GLOBAL BRANDS AND GLOBALIZATION

Globalization was the battle cry of the last decade of the 20th century.

This phenomenon is not new or unique to this period. In the 19th century, colonialism was a potent force of globalization and created a multitude of cross-border trading links. For the first time, goods bearing a brand name were sent abroad in large quantities. Many of the cross-border trade links bearing branded goods, however, were limited to directly neighboring countries and to the countries' colonial empires: British brands found their way to India, French branded goods to Indochina and Dutch brands to the Netherlands' East Indies. The reasons for exporting these branded goods lay in the demand that existed in the foreign markets for quality goods -especially among the colonial populations - and the ability of manufacturers to produce goods at a low enough unit cost to be able to transport their wares halfway around the world. This was the effect of mechanization of both the means of production and transportation, and resulted in low marginal costs for each additional unit produced and shipped.

The next big spur for globalization came after the Second World War

when, often in the wake of US military forces, new consumer brands came to Europe and Asia. The difference with the colonial era was that although these were foreign brands, production facilities were largely located in the markets that they served, as were the companies' subcontractors. The reasons for arranging matters in this