Brand Equity – Brand equity stands for: the added value that a brand gives to a product. In the perspective of a firm toward the consumer, it’s also called consumer-based brand equity

1) Cognitive psychological view of brand equity:

•  Brand association
•  Brand awareness
•  Perceived value
•  Brand loyalty

2) Informational economic perspective

•  – Assets based on asymmetrical informational structure of the market
•  – Credibility: value signaling toward consumer

Product quality – there are three main ways companies can ensure their reputation and investments for high quality

•  NOT cheating: If companies cheat with information about high and low quality, they will lose return on their brand investments and the total reputation of the company.
• Marketing mix elements as signals: most companies uses advertisements and packages to provide quality signals toward the consumers who doesn’t know enough information about a product
• Umbrella branding: same name used for many products as a signal that new launched products have the same quality as other products of the brand.

Brand as signal – A brand becomes a signal when the marketing strategies of firms in the past and present are symbolizing the firm. An importance of a signal is also characterized by credibility and clarity.

Clear brand signal :    Decrease information costs

Decrease perceived risk by the consumer

Increase the consumer utility

Brand community – A community formed on the basis of attachment to a product or marquee. Recent developments in marketing and in research in consumer behavior result in stressing the connection between brand, individual identity and culture.

Community Characteristics:

• Consciousness of Kind – the existence of a common enemy against whom to unite makes this brand community particularly strong.
• Rituals and Traditions – sharing brand stories and celebrating the history of the brand
• Moral Responsibility – include looking out for and helping other members in their consumption of the brand as well as retaining old members and integrate new ones

Two examples of a good and bad brand community:

Jones Soda

The story of the company began in 1987 when company founder Peter van Stolk recognized the potential of emerging “alternative” products in the beverage industry.

The company’s start in the beverage world was not as a manufacturer of its own brand, but as a distributor in western Canada of other successful lines. By 1994, Jones was firmly established as a full line beverage distributor in western Canada, with a reputation for picking winners

Jones Soda has always been about the people and interacting with the consumer. From the ever changing photos on their labels, to their website  www.jonessoda.com.  Jones Soda has created a cult following and is a passion among soda drinkers.

Brand Community

Jones Soda is a carbonated beverage firm that solicits customer co-creation from a community of devoted fans. The firm gives its 12- to 24-year-old target consumers input into product innovations (flavors), packaging (labels, cap quotes), promotions (stickers, Web content, price points), and advertising. Through the Jones Soda Web site, consumers are asked to rate suggested new flavors and are invited to submit photos and copy that would fit in advertisements and on the packaging. Jones Soda has more than 830,000 in Facebook and more than 1,000,000 followers in twitter.

Why Jones Soda does has a successful community:

•  Custom label (exclusivity)
•  Participation in the brand (involvement)
•  Using different channels and activities
•  Interaction

Sunday night fever

1. Talent show on television (RTL 4)
2. Not successful

•  Low view ratings
•  Big competition

Why Sunday Night community is not successful:

• No website
• No platform
• Little to no use of social media
• No involvement
• No active “fans”

How have the two brands positioned their communities?

Team 8

Figen, Pim and Georgi