Strategic Brand Management -Essay

Your Task
Choose one of the brands from the list below. All these are long-established,
traditional brands that might be successful in their current state, but could do with a
makeover to bring them into the 21
st
century. Building on your critical evaluation of its
current strategy and the theory discussed in the module, your task is to develop a
new/updated branding strategy for the brand you have chosen. Your
recommendations must be fully justified and viable.
Choose one of the following brands:
• Brylcreem
• Bisto
• Colman’s
• Hartley’s
• Interflora
• Lyle’s Golden Syrup
• Quaker Oats
The following list might help give you some ideas to consider when analysing your
chosen brand and developing a new branding strategy for it. However, please do not
follow this slavishly – this is not a definitive list. You should only include some of the
following if relevant and your assignment need not be limited to these points:
• Brand positioning – how is the brand currently positioned and should this
position be shifted to attract a different target group?
• Pricing strategies and tactics – does the brand’s pricing strategy correspond
to its chosen market, and does it need updating?
• Product strategies and tactics – what is the current product strategy and could
it be improved (features, quality perceptions, performance etc.)?
• Channel strategies and tactics – should the brand develop better distribution
policies and partners?
• Promotional strategies and tactics – what does the brand’s marketing
communications strategy comprise and how could it be changed to alter
consumers’ perception of the brand? 2
• Secondary brand associations – could the brand benefit from association with
other brands, causes, people, etc.?
• Brand elements –do the brand element require an update and if yes, how
could that be achieved?
• Brand evolution over time – has the brand evolved successfully to meet
market changes? Should the branding strategy be based on the brand’s
heritage, or be modernised completely?
• Brand extensions – could the brand extend successfully into new categories?
Advice
Remember, the power of a brand lies in the mind of the consumer – so choose a
brand that appeals to you and inspires you to come up with an inventive new
campaign. Be creative – you do not have to go down the ‘standard’ advertising/sales
promotion route to re-create your brand. However, your recommendations must be
realistic, feasible in practice and make sense for your chosen brand. Research the
brand to see what has been done before, and if you can potentially build on that. If
you can identify any weaknesses in the brand’s current strategy, use these to argue
your case and support your own recommendations. When developing your relaunch
strategy, do not just describe the tactics (i.e. individual tools such as advertising,
direct mail, sponsorship etc.) but tell the overarching ‘story’ – the image and values
your campaign wants to convey and how they enhance brand equity.
The primary aim of the report, and a key criterion for awarding high marks, is your
ability to demonstrate that you have a sound knowledge of brand management
theory. You can do this through your analysis of your brand, but particularly through
your proposed brand relaunch. Good marks will not be awarded for assignments that
merely describe a brand’s current strategy, but do not develop justified
recommendations for a new/updated branding strategy. While the initial analysis is
important, your focus should be on your suggestions for a makeover.
I also expect you to read around the subject of brands and branding. Demonstrate
that you have done this by citing the work of scholars who have written about
brands. Try to use a minimum of six references from academic sources. You can
achieve additional marks by citing not only textbooks, but also academic journal
papers to underpin your argumentation. Finally, use references from newspapers,
company websites, market reports etc. to support your analysis of the brand’s
current strategy and to demonstrate that your recommendations are realistic and
viable.
Do not exceed the word count. I encourage the use of pictures and images to
illustrate your work – don’t forget the old adage ‘A picture paints a thousand words’.
For example, rather than describing the concept for a new advertising campaign or
package in detail, you could draft a basic layout or design (it does not have to be
perfect; this is not a graphic design assignment after all). Your assignments will be
colour-printed, so you can include visual material.

Assignment Structure
Your assignment should contain the following sections:
1. Executive Summary: This should highlight what the report is about, summarizing
your analysis and your main recommendations for the brand relaunch. Remember
the executive summary is there for the busy executive who hasn’t got time to read
the whole report.
2. Table of Contents
3. Brand Analysis: This should be a critical evaluation of your chosen brand’s
current strategy. This requires you to analyse your brand, assess its current
promotion and positioning, and identify potential weaknesses or why it needs
updating. You could use this section to demonstrate your knowledge of brand theory
by citing the work of relevant authors.
4. Recommended Brand Relaunch: This is an important section as it is here you
can demonstrate your ability to make realistic suggestions. You should devise a
coherent and viable strategy for your brand that attracts consumers’ attention,
improves brand equity and has the potential to increase market share. Remember to
fully justify your ideas. This means explaining not only why they are good, but also
recognising any potential problems, costs or weaknesses involved. Try to be as
specific as possible. If you are recommending that your brand devises a new
advertising campaign, explain or illustrate the images it should portray and where the
campaign should be placed. You could use this section to demonstrate your
knowledge of brand theory by citing the work of relevant authors.
5. Conclusion: You should use this section not only to briefly summarise your brand
analysis and recommendations for its relaunch, but also to convince the reader of
the quality of your ideas. Make a case for your suggestions, and how your makeover
strategy will enhance the brand’s equity.
5. Appendices (optional). This may be any material you feel would help illustrate or
substantiate your analysis and recommendations. Do not use the appendices to try
to overcome the word count limit.
6. References. This should only include material that you have read and cited in the
report, and should follow the Harvard referencing method (see your handbook for
more details)

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