Инновационное развитие экономики. Тенденции и перспективы

provides competitive advantages based on sustainable return on marketing budgets and investments

The brand is successfully acting business category, which means name, symbol, sign or design or combination of other properties of the product. Often the brand is viewed as a standard for product quality by which it is distinguished from similar competitive products placed on the market. Today via this category the product is identified with certain company. In the structure of its initial composition elements of additional valuesare included to the product reflected often by following formula [Demetris, 1998]:

Image = (Product + Brand name +

+ Packing process + Thematic symbolism)

Via the secret of this formula the basing structure and strategy of the company image are designed and realized. The image is multidimensional target designed to provide sustainable business success of the company for certain market.

The successful accomplishment of the branding requires brand managers to work professionally with numerous elements which reflect its identity and competitive differentiation. According to prof. Uzunova [Uzunova, 2008] among the participated in the branding process brand elements with special strategic significance and management focus are these which are pointed out in table.

Strategic elements of the brand

Among participated in the branding process brand elements with special strategic significance and management focus are the slogan, the brand image, the mascot, values/assets (brand strength and brand image).

The most important assets of each business are intangible including the consumer base (base of loyal consumers), brands, symbols and slogans, familiarity with the brand, brand associativity and brand awareness (figure). These assets, including patents, trademarks and channel relationships, are designed the brand equity and are initial source of competitive advantage and future revenues.

If the branding is examined as a process of forming of the three types values in the designing of the corporate brand identity [Urde, 2000], during the initial stages (brand offer) the organizational values have to transfer into key values, which will determine the direction of the next efforts and activities of the organization. At the next stages (brand delivery) the key values have to transfer into additional value for consumers. According to Urde [Urde, 2003] key values are extremely important for internal development of the brand, because these values enter in the base of the company culture and value system.

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Figure. Hierarchy of brand value [Urde, 2000]

Note: BE – Brand equity

Brands are successful when they provide to their consumer benefits not only of utilitarian nature. The creative marketing, which provides additional values which reflect and satisfy the social and psychological needs, enhances physical elements of the commodity and service. The aura or individuality which surround the physical product, provide higher confidence to consumers using well-known brands. The image around the brand helps consumers to form mental tablature about it. If the brand image corresponds to the consumers’ needs, values and lifestyle, they will understand it.

2. Brand identity. The brand management process begins with the generating of idea and its transforming into brand identity. The identity is a set of external brand elements – name, trademark, external appearance. Because the identity is formed by the brand owner, it reflects on how he wants the customers to perceive the brand. After the identity is provided via different means of the marketing communications of the target audience, it helps for forming of brand image in the consumers’ consciousness.

The brand identity can be defined after answer of the following questions:

What is the specific vision and target of the brand?

What makes it different?

What need the brand satisfies?

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Which are the key competencies of the brand?

Which are the signs/symbols, which make the brand recognizable? After the brand manager created the brand identity, the ideas are

transformed into strategy on the base of which the marketing manager chooses and designs positioning strategy. Via the different elements of the communication mix the positioning strategy is applied and reaches to the target audience. On the base of received information the consumers form brand image (set of associations). On the next stage the company examines this image and determines if the brand identity and the choice of positioning strategy of the previous stages are led to positive image, which corresponds to the main values of the brand. The analysis of results is a key element which helps for redefining of the identity elements.

3. Brand image

3.1.Nature. K. Keller [Keller, 1993] determines the image as a set of associations, which the consumers have for a certain brand and place which it takes in their consciousness. The image is perceived different by each customer, because people give different meanings of the same brand. The image shows the perceptions of the customers for that to what extent the brand performs the functions of the product class, its style, package, price etc. The reference of one brand image to another, forms so called “brand position”.

The designing of strong image is very difficult task. Many researchers connect the successful image of one brand with the financial prosperity of the organization [Lee, 2011]. In this meaning many authors [Barone, 2013] are united around the opinion that the success of the brand is connected with certain strong sides which the organizations has. According to S. Mudambi, P. Doyle и V. Wong [Mudambi, P. Doyle and V. Wong, 1997] the image has a significant influence on saturated markets, when is difficult to achieve advantage on base of the physical aspects of certain product or service. The image also contains iconic perceptions related to the particular characteristics of the brand [Cretu, 2007]. K. Schroff[Schroff, 2007]concludes that it is more likely customers to choose products with better image compared to cheaper products of the same quality.Brand image is the most important asset of any company which, according to R. Brestnichka [Brestnichka, 2004] allows companies to add value to the brand and to increase the price of the associated products (services).Following this logic, it can be concluded that a strong image can provide companies a significant competitive advantage.

3.2.Channels for brand perceiving. Creation, maintenance and development of the image have to be focused activity which to be implemented in the following 4 channels of perception:

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Visual – it is formed from the external image (packaging, colors, and combinations of them, interior, exterior, clothing, manners, etc.).

Verbal – includes the culture of communication (public appearances, speeches, business correspondence, interviews, etc.).

Events – includes moral and ethical side of the activity and the public behavior of the company.

Context – affects the impact of the image of others on the image of the company, its brands and/or its managers.

3.3. Types of image. In literature there are different classifications for types of image [Kressman, 2006]. Among the most common are:

Self-Image – perception of the organization for itself and its own brands. Reflects the way employees feel about the organization.

Projected Image – what the organization consciously transmitted to the target audiences for itself and thus manage impressions.

Perceived Image – perceptions, feelings and relationships which the target audiences have for the brand or company.

General image = Own image + Designed image + Perceived image.

Existing image – a way in which the brand or organization are perceived by the target audience (it is equivalent with the perceived image).

Mirror image – a way the company thinks that audiences perceive the brand or company.

Desired image (brand identity) – a way that the company would like the audience to perceive its brand or the company as a whole.

3.4. Brand image elements. The image is perceived as multidimensional construct consisting of number of elements. In a different context, elements may vary in number and content. Therefore, it is good in a specific situation first to establish the elements of the image and only then to be subject to measurement and evaluation. Set of elements (components) forms the structure of the image.

Elements of the image are:

Visual – affectsvisual sensations via information for a design, company symbolism and other carriers of graphic information.

Social – having presented to the audience social objectives and role of the organization in the economic, social and cultural life of the community.

Business image (image of the company that makes the brand) – form an idea about the company on business reputation, price, sales volume, innovation, assortment, consumer value (input / received), advertising, atmosphere, etc.

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Image of consumer of the brand.

Image of the product class to which the brand belongs.

Brand personality – the way in which the consumer perceives the brand on dimensions typical for human personality.

Product features and user benefits.

The contribution of individual components for forming the brand image is different and depends on the specifics of the brand, the product, the competitive situation and others.

3.5. Factors which affects the brand forming:

Changes in the status of the individual.

Social norms defining a limited number of acceptable behavior models in different circumstances in a particular society.

Subcultural norms that may limit the number of acceptable behavior models.

Relevant subcultures.

Referent groups with which the client is identified psychological

Configurations of larger social figures in which the reference groups are identified

Geographical subculture of the customer.

4. Brand image management. The management of the brand image is based on the brand concept, which represents the meaning of the brand, which the company orients towards the consumer needs.The concept that is selected before entering on a given market defines the scope of the positioning strategies and affects the brand image. Accordingly, the choice of the brand concept should take into account three types of needs:

Functional needs.

Emotional needs.

Symbolical needs.

Many brands choose the combination of needs, based on which they build image.The management of this image may encounter the following difficulties:

conflicting position strategies,

implies competition with more brands,

the multiple concept can lead to hampered communication and difficulties in identifying the main value of the brand.

The connection between the brand concept and brand image should be managed during the whole life cycle of the brand. At each stage of life cycle match different position strategies [Brestnichka, 2004].

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1. Stage of implementation – a set of activities for creation an image in the stage of market entry. The marketing mix performs the following tasks:

communicating of the brand image,

sales. For brands with a functional concept the mix should highlight the functional benefits and distinguish the brand from competitors.When the brands with emotional concept are considered we should be focusedon the effect of the brand on the sensory pleasures. For brands with a symbolic concept the mix should be focused on group appurtenance. Tools for building that kind of image are: preferential price and limited distribution.

2. Stage of development – the positioning strategies should focus on increasing the value of the brand image in order to strengthen its competitive advantage. Brands with a functional concept had to be oriented on specific issues (specific benefits). Possible position strategies for brands with emotional concept are:

provision of extras to the brand (e.g. accessories) to control the oversaturation,

provision of interrelated brands (each providing a different types of stimulation). Brands with a symbolic concept have to maintain group based associations by entering barriers for access for non-target users

3. Stage of approval – the goal is to link the developed brand image with the image of other products of the company so that they reinforce each other (often extension is applied). In functional brands the extension has tobe related to products with the same concept. In emotional brands the extension can be categorical, but to products with the same concept. In symbolic concept is observing a striving to build an image for style and appurtenance to certain social groups.

5. Techniques for brand image exploration. For the exploration of the brand image are used quantitative and qualitative techniques as qualitative usually precedes quantitative and serve as a basis for the development of the tools of the last.

5.1. Qualitative techniques for image exploration[Zhelev, 2000]. Qualitative techniques are direct and indirect. In direct techniques the respondents have to answerdirect open questions for examination of the brands (preferences, reasons for them, evaluation of other brands, etc.).Direct techniques have the following weaknesses:

require confidential information in which the respondent uses stamps to reply to skirt the question

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the respondents are not able to answer meaningful because they are not asked themselves and thus generate many "do not know/cannot answer" responses or invent a time

distortion of the response caused by the striving of its investigators to receive clarifications

risk of intervention of the analyzers of answers which are too short In indirect techniques there is attempt to overcome these weaknesses by:

hiding the actual objectives of the study by indirect questioning

respondents offered unclear incentives in order to be able to design their own perceptions

To the qualitative techniques for image exploration apply the following:

1."If you were in the shoes of..." – requires the respondent to put himself in shoes of a participant in certain conditions (pictures, maps, stories) and he shared the feeling which will reveal important characteristics of research image.

2."If the brand was a human being..." (personification of the brand) – explores the personality component of the brand image. It is used for product categories in which brands are hardly distinguishable on the ground of "physical attributes." Respondents are asked to describe the "personalities" of the brands tested by criteria such as gender, age, marital status, character, appearance, favorite places to visit, values and more.

3.Consumption of the brand – aims to identify the perceptions of the use of the brand – setting occasion action. Received information can be used to create effective advertising campaigns.

4.User of the brand – techniques "shopping list" and "brand portrait". The first technique involves providing shopping lists (the difference between them covers brands tested) to various respondents. After became familiar with them, respondents are asked to describe the personality of the user, which has created in their minds. In the second technique (brand portrait) to the respondents are given two lists. The first involves a variety of products from different categories, associating with brands tested. The second describes the different types of people with selected psychographic, demographic and social characteristics. The goal is each type from the second list to be correlated with a product from the first, thus obtained portrait.

5.Techniques of assimilation – the respondents must liken tested brands with different objects (professions, nationalities, animals, etc.). The profile and grading should be clearly identifiable to avoid failure of decoding.

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6. Natural map of perceptions – the respondents receive identical white sheets in the center of which is placed their favorite brand. Then they have to "scatter" in space other brands under the following conditions: the farther from the center is the brand, the less preferred is it; brands should be positioned according to that how similar (different) are they from each another. So can be measured accumulations, to create perceptual map and form the perfect idea for the brand.

5.2. Quantitative techniquesfor image exploration[Zhelev, 2000]. The quantitative techniques are among the most common and frequently used methods for measuring brand image. Their main advantages are:

they have a wider range, which provides an opportunity for the application of representative samples

they are based on probated statistical methods, which reduces the risk of subjectivism

they are highly structured and standardized which allows comparability of results

they are close to the process for making management decisions and their applicability is evident

they provide better communication because of their digital shape Marketing specialists can use the following types of quantitative

techniques:

1.Semantic differential – a set of scales by which the respondents evaluate brands examined. The scales are created by adjectives and antonyms and usually are 5 or 7 dimensional. The number of scales may be from 5 to about 40, depending on: type of study (descriptive); the complexity of the conceptual model; number of studied brands; convenience of the respondent etc.

2.Attribute scales – keywords or attributes of the image of the brands studied, which serve as evaluation criteria. Respondents should assess the extent to which individual attributes correspond to each of studied brands and to what extent own these brand attributes. Their main advantages are that they are formulating easily (no antonyms) and are easy to implement by the respondents.

3.Likert scales – (scales with statements) – they are used sets of statements and respondents should express whether they agree/disagree with them (typically used 5-point scale). A disadvantage of these is that it is possible to prioritize or to discredit some statements in the set.

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4. Technique "panoply" – the respondents receive a set of image features (panoply) and they have to draw a portrait of studied brands. The diversity of the panoply determines the accuracy of the portrait, but also can lead to difficult distinctness, for the respondent and the researcher.

6. Problems connected with the brand image exploration. The study of the brand image is accompanied by several problems, the most important of which are listed below:

1.Poor conceptualization of the image (i.e. incorrect formulation of the nature of the image) can lead to problems in the procedure for its evaluation. It is possible to overlap wrong the constructions "image" and "reputation". From the standpoint of marketing, the reputation is defined as a perception of the quality associated with a certain brand. The reputation of the brand is not necessarily associated with a particular product or service.

2.In the operationalization of the construction "image" in a particular text are experienced the following difficulties:

First. Determining the number of operationalized variables.For this purpose we use the results of previous studiesas adaptation must be made depending on the specific situation (e.g. market structure, differentiated/ standardized product, popularity of the brand and the product, etc.). Large number of variables could confuse the respondent. Then resort to methods of data reduction such as Cronbach's alpha, cluster analysis, factor analysis and more.

Second. Measurementandevaluation of theinteractionbetween the differentcomponents of theimage. To belong to one constructthecomponentshave tobecorrelatedwitheachother.It is good values for the correlation coefficients to be in the range 0.4-0.7. If they are higher than 0.7, there is the phenomenon of "multicollinearity" which distorts the study of the link between the resultant construct and justifying variables.

Third. Assessment of the importance of the individual variables. Approaches for this are following: direct (respondents are asked directly whether a variable is important or unimportant) and derived approach (via regression of assessments).

3.Appearance of the so-called "Halo effect" – it is expressed in the influence on the responses of the private questions by the answer to the general question. This puts researchers in the dilemma whether to ask general questions first and then private or vice versa. It is preferred first to ask general questions as: respondents respond in terms of their overall impression (i.e. no forced choice items) or if private questions do not cover

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