BE440 BRAND MANAGEMENT

Coursework Assignment (100%)

Term project and 4,500 words (+/- 10%) written report

Term project task:

Develop a new brand and branding strategy for a product or service brand in ad product or service category of your choice.

More specifically this means:

Explain and justify your choice of product or service and respective category for which you seek to develop your brand based on your personal reasons and motivations.

Research that product or service category (for which you develop your brand),d collate and analyse branding-relevant consumer and market information (that you need to understand to make your own branding decisions), as well as information about the main competitor brands in that market, segment and category (that you seek to compete against with your own brand).

Develop, present and justify your own branding decisions and solutions based on that research.

As a minimum baseline use Kapferer's (2012, chapter 7)* brand platform. - identity prism and positioning framework - as your main analytic tool for developing and presenting your brand's envisioned positioning and identity. In addition, you may use additional analytic frameworks and branding concepts and ideas introduced this term (in lectures and/or textbooks) as you see fit.

Suggest, detail and justify suitable operational branding activities and major specific steps for successfully implementing your new brand. 

Critically reflect on your personal experience of developing a brand from scratch in this way, what was good but also challenging about this experience, and what you would do differently next time.

This task requires you to:

1) Choose a feasible product or service category that you are familiar with and/or interested in and for which you see potential for a new product/service brand. Feasible means that you deem a new brand potentially viable in that category (i.e., avoid developing a "me-too" product or service brand in an already very saturated category such as sneakers, fashion, technology brands, for instance, with little potential for differentiation and success).

Otherwise, you are free to choose any product or category, for example, because of your own hobbiesl and interests, consumption, prior work experiences, family links (e.g., family business) or future career plans (e.g., setting up your own business).

However, you must not choose (or simply replicate/copy from/superficially alter) existing brands and businesses (e.g., Nike, Tesco, Coca-Cola, Samsung, Instagram, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Shein, TikTok, Netflix, Colgate, Heinz etc.).

Likewise, you must not assume to work for the likes of Coca-Cola, L'Oreal or other global corporations with well-established brands, but create a new product or service brand from scratch, based on your own analytic work, creative ideas using the branding knowledge introduced this term.

a) You may develop your product/service brand for an existing business (e.g., in the case of a family firm or a local company you are familiar with, for example) or a hypothetical/imagined one (e.g., in the case of a start-up idea you may have or for a product and service you are interested in).

b) If you develop your product/service brand for a fictional firm in a product or service category, assume realistic types of products or services that are already in existence and actual widespread use (no science fiction or technologically immature or impossible products/services, however innovative they may seem, the main point of this assessment is for you to show your branding skills and knowledge not your general technical imagination!).

c) Do not simply choose major existing businesses and products or services with their well-established brands as a blueprint for this task. Instead, seek to creatively come up with something new/different for your product/service brand (in terms of its brand identity, brand positioning and so on) in the chosen category for which you can feasibly show a need and chance of success for a new brand in that product or service category (again, your main focus should be on the brand and branding side not technical product development or business model innovation more generally).

d) If you choose an existing business (e.g. a local firm or a family firm) the same applies but you must also clearly show that you have developed a novel brand identity and positioning for it. You cannot simply make superficial changes (e.g., the logo or slogan) but otherwise base your work on that existing firm and its already existing brand. You must analyse and develop your brand identity and positioning from scratch as if it was completely new, based on your own independent and personal work, even for an existing firm and business. You must clearly justify and show the need for a substantially new brand identity and brand positioning in that case.

e) You may develop a brand for one specific product or service as well as a brand that covers a range of different products and services under the same brand too.

2) Research and analyse the chosen product or service category, including possible existing main competing brands as well as consumer trends and consumption developments, in order to identify a viable segment and target customer group for your new brand. This may involve the assessment of potential consumers/customers and their likely behaviours and preferences/motivations/expectations asl well as general trends (e.g., social and cultural) you deem relevant for the potential success of your newl brand with consumers and versus the competition. This also requires you to research existing brandsl as potential competitor brands in your chosen category and their brand identity and positioning approaches for you to be able to position and differentiate your own new brand.

3) Develop, design and justify a feasible brand identity and brand positioning for your new brand. This involves making decisions about a clear brand positioning within the chosen category for your brand based on relevant brand assets/attributes/benefits (e.g., points-of-difference/points-of-parityl versus major competing brands; unique benefit(s) that set you apart and are relevant for your targetl customer(s), etc.) vis-à-vis the target consumers and against the competing brands. It also requires youl to decide on and articulate the main tangible and intangible brand identity elements and brand assets and experiences (e.g., name, logo, slogan, colour scheme; brand promise, brand values, brandl personality, brand signature story, and functional/symbolic benefits etc.) of your brand that are consistent with and supportive of its identity and that positioning.

4) Suggest, detail and justify relevant operational branding activities and steps for your new brand that would help you to implement the brand's intended identity and positioning. This may involve questions (but is not limited to) such as: What are major brand touch points?; How should customers best experience your brand?; How would you raise brand awareness?: What metrics would you use to measure your brand's success with consumers and in the market?; How would you want to communicate your brand?; How would you want your brand to interact with, influence and acquire potential customers?; Thus, you may want to consider suitable media and distribution channels and forms, and types of brand communication that are relevant and realistic for the exiting or fictional firm (in terms of its size, locality and budget, for example) the chosen product or service category, target customers, and your brand.

5) Critically reflect on your personal experience with this project and task. You may discuss things such as positive and negative aspects of the task overall or parts of it and the way you approached them. You may also think about what you have learnt, the challenges and obstacles you faced and how you met them, what you would do differently next time, and/or how this project has helped you (or not) in your understanding of branding, your confidence in your skills and abilities and so on. There is no right or wrong to this part but you simply sharing your very personal experience with it.

Where should I start?

Use and follow Kapferer's (2012) advice on developing a brand platform. that integrates brand identity and brand positioning (all of chapter 7, pp. 149 ff.) and his general advice on brand management (chapter 6, pp. 121 ff.) and how to launch a brand (chapter 8, pp. 181 ff.). You may complement these solutions and frameworks suggested by Kapferer (2012) with additional ideas/insights from the academic brandingl literature and/or the module contents. Beverland and Cankurtaran (2024) provide you with plenty of ideas how to create and implement a brand in part II (pp. 131 ff.) of the main textbook. You may also refer to Wheeler and Meyerson (2024) for more practical examples and inspiration how to create specific brand assets and identity elements. All books are on the reading list and available via the library. Read them and make practical use of them!

For your research you may use publicly available information (secondary data) about your chosen product/service, categories, segments, consumer trends, competitor brands and so on such as trade andl professional business news media, brand consultants, other brands' websites, commercial market reports or consumer trend information (e.g., Mintel reports) or other public sources. You must not do your own primary research, though (e.g. collecting primary data based on your own survey or conducting interviews with consumers etc.)!

In addition to the branding knowledge, you gain on this module and through your reading this term, youl may draw on your general marketing knowiedge gained in module BE511 Marketing Management (orl similar) about marketing-mix decisions last year (for part 4 in particular). However, always adopt a branding perspective and focus on the brand and its implementation and not business/marketing strategy or planning ingenra!

Your final report (structure and world allocations are only indicative and for general guidance):

Your final report/term paper should include a report cover page, table of contents, a brief introduction, a concise conclusion (all these together ca 250 words**) and may be structured otherwise according to the 5 main tasks outlined above (but you are free and welcome to find your own structure as long as you cover all 5 tasks).

Part 1 (=task 1) of the report should briefly describe the chosen product category and thel reasons/motivations/justifications for your choice. Why would you want to develop a new brand for this product/service category and/or this actual or hypothetical business? (ca 250 words**)

Part 2 (=task 2) of the report should describe and present market, consumer and other information that you deem relevant for your subsequent choices in terms of brand identity, positioning, and the overall strategy for your brand. This part should also clearly identify the chosen market segment and target customers for which you develop and design your brand as well as information about the main competing brands. (ca 1,000 words**)

Part 3 (=task 3) of the report must clearly describe, present and justify the brand identity (including its tangible and intangible elements) and the brand positioning of your new brand. (ca 1.500 words*). Also, you must clearly show what the different identity and positioning dimensions of yourl new brand are and look like for your brand as per Kapferer's (2012) brand identity prism and positioning framework (all in chapter 7).

Part 4 (=task 4) of the report must suggest, detail and iustify the main branding activities and stepsl you deem suitable for successfully implementing the new brand. (ca 1,200 words**)

Part 5 (-task 5) of the report is separate from the other tasks and must contain vour personal reflection on how and what you have experienced with completing this task (ca. 300 words*).

**Again, the word count for each part is only indicative and for general guidance.

What else must you consider for the report? For part 3 and 4 you must always:

A. Clearly present your results and ideas (WHAT? and HOW?). For part (task) 3 you must include the brand frameworks used (Kapferer's brand platform, positioning and brand identity prism frameworks) and what they are for your own new brand (in terms of the different brand elements, identity dimensions etc.).

B. Explain and justify all your choices and recommendations with both relevant practical reasons (e.g., market data and consumer insights/trends as presented in part 2) and relevant academic evidence (e.g., academic research and theories) in support of your branding solutions and ideas (WHY?).

The above is important in order to show in the report that you can link and apply your theoretical and academic insights and knowledge to practical issues and problems and vice versa!

You may present both in an integrative way (covering A and B together throughout each part) or as separate sections within each part (that means you first present your decisions, solutions or recommendations and then explain and justify why they are the right choices and courses of action, for example).

You should aim to present you report in a professional, concise, structured and well-designed manner! (Forl inspiration, look at professional (brand) consultancy reports that you can often find on the websites of these firms.

You are free and encouraged to use creative means bevond text to present and illustrate vour new brand and brand recommendations such as drawings, tables, graphics, pictures, story and mood boards, or even audio-visuals (e.g., a short video clip where you pitch your brand). If that is the case, you are free to provide this additional information in the report or as an appendix to your main report, which will not count towards the overall word limit.