Pepsi Cola Brand Management 1.0 Introduction
In this modern business age bound with tight and effective competition, it is essential for businesses to develop a positive and strong image to maintain an efficient and lasting compet competiti itive ve adv advant antage age (Birtw (Birtwist istle le and and Sheare Shearer, r, 200 2001). 1). he he con consta stant nt change change in mar!et mar!etss condition, unstable nature of consumer needs and behaviours further placed pressure on businesses for the need need to maintain and sustain sustain a good brand image for its products products as to !eep them up to date in meeting the needs of the mar!ets and its consumers ("aec!el, 1##$). Brand image was described b% &eller as the 'perception of a particular brand within the mind of the consumer (1##$), while brand awareness measures the abilities of the consumers to recognie the brand through its characteristic such as the 'name, logo, s%mbol etc.(*a!er, 1##1). o build a stronger brand image than rivals b% a business re+uire efforts and various activities to place its products and services in a better position that will allow the business to eno% a degree of protection (-heverton, 2002). ood brand image will create a better consumer perception, help build customers lo%alt%, profitabilit% and less vulnerabilit% to price and mar!et fluctuations (*rslan, 2010). It is essential to understand that 'a brand represents ever%thing about a product or service to the customer/ (&otler, 200#). herefore, herefore, it is importa important nt for bus busine iness ss to ensure ensure that that brands brands are carefu carefull% ll% dev develo eloped ped,, manag managed ed and presented to the consumers consumers as to maintain a good competitive advantage advantage (&otler, 200#) epsi-o Inc., one of the maor leading global food and beverages manufacturer, distributor and mar!eter with presence in more than 200 countries with products li!e epsi cola, snac!s, chips, cereals, dair% products, rice and pasta (II, 201$). *s a global brand that competes with 'local, national, regional and global food and beverages firms, it is essential to remain compet competiti itive ve and profitabl profitablee to stud% stud% all the aspect aspectss its produc products ts brand branding ing , review review their their effectiveness for good brand image creation and sustenance (&eller, 201$). he compan% need to understand that building positive brand image for its products relies on strong 'brand awareness that will ease the path for associations (sch, et.al., 2003), this implies that for customers to create an image of the epsi brand in their minds, there is need for them to be aware of the brand first, this helps in developing a relationships between the compan%, products and the consumers (&otler, (&otler, 200#). he performance performance of the compan%s compan%s brand will be evaluate evaluatedd on the basis basis of the association association created for the brand, particularl% as related to celebrities endorsement on the epsi -ola 1
Pepsi Cola Brand Management and its impact. 2.0 Review of Literatures
2.1 Brand allister and law defined the term as the trade name used for the identification of a particular manufacturer, product or distributor (200#).* brand describe a product, service, individual or place that can possibl% be identified and improved in a manner that will allow the bu%ers to gain an 'essential and uni+ue added values/ that satisf% their needs in the best possible wa%. he success of a brand depends on the brands abilit% to maintain its added values in spite of the rivals activities and actions. (4c5onald, 1##2). he *4* (*merican 4ar!eting *ssociation) defines brand as the 'name, design, term, logo, s%mbol, attribute, +ualit% or an% specific characteristic that distinguishes the product from others and as well ma!e it recogniable (*4*,2016). Brand is a legal term and trademar! of a product that define the consumers e7perience, the feature of a product as felt b% the customer (8icholas, 1##9). *a!er (1##1) further opined that brand 'signals the source of the product to consumers, and provide protection against competitors attempt to provide identical products: 8icholas stated that 'a product can be copied b% a competitor but a brand is uni+ue/ (8icholas, 1##9). *ccording to(;I45 (;eling!ar Institute of 4anagement 5evelopment and esearch), a brand was described as a promise of certain amount of benefits, attributes or services from the manufacturer to the bu%er of a product , ;I45 further stated that brand must be reflected in these in four different manners< i.
4ust reflect the =alues (what the product stands for).
ii.
4ust reflect the -ulture (the traits and norms for which the product is !nown for)
iii.
4ust reflect the ersonalit% ( the product being )
iv.
4ust reflect the user ( for whom)
Brand can therefore be seen as 'the whole e7perience of its prospects and customers in relation to compan% produce or service/ (4>, 201$). 5e -hernaton% and 4c5onald (1##2) suggested that brands must be able to meet the consumers basic needs, retain old customers and attract new ones through enhanced customer service and become augmented in new 2
Pepsi Cola Brand Management (better) wa%s that will add more values that will help to satisf% both the functional and non? functional needs of the consumers. o succeed, it is important for a brand to offer added values to the main characteristics of the basic product as to prevent competitors from cop%ing its brand functional characteristics (5e -hernaton%, 4c5onald, 1##2). Since it is the aim of ever% business to succeed, it is therefore essential to distinguish the brand from others, abilit% to generate a stable and long?term demand for the product through adding values that will ma!e the customers bu% the products will help in building a strong and successful brand (5e -hernaton%, 4c5onald, 1##2) 2.2 Branding &otler and *rmstrong in 200# stated that 'Branding has become so strong that toda% hardl% an%thing goes unbranded/, the @& online resource for businesses also described branding as a wa% of distinctl% highlighting the differences that ma!es a product or service more attractive than the competitors, it is terminal phase of a process which consist of using a compan% resources to focus on the creation of uni+ue features that will differentiate the compan% and its products from others (-aperer (1##9), branding is more than ust assigning a name to a product but it encompasses of all what identifies the business to consumers, sum their e7periences and perceptions of the compan% and its product(s), which helps in building the customers lo%alt% (&eller, 201$). 2.$ Brand &nowledge &eller (1##A), stated that brand !nowledge consists of the 'brand awareness and image/, awareness, brand awareness is the measure of the abilit% of a potential consumer to recognie or recall a brand features when ma!ing a purchasing decision (*a!er, 1##1) and brand image/ is defined b% &eller as the set of perceptions help in the consumers memor% regarding a brand based on the associated reflection from the consumers senses (&eller, 1##$). "e further opined that brand !nowledge contains a mutuall% related information about a product li!e benefit, awareness, images, attributes, feelings, attitudes, thoughts and e7periences which all interact with customers to bring forth real understanding of the product or service. (ichards et al., 1##A).
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Pepsi Cola Brand Management
ig 1: 5imensions of Brand &nowledge (&eller, 1##$) 2.C Brand *wareness Brand awareness describes the degree at which consumers associate with a brand and the probabilit% that the% are familiar with the 'life and availabilit% of the product (4S, 201C), which includes both the 'brand recognition and recall/. Brand recognition describes the potential of the customer to recognie a prior !nowledge about a product when in contact with the brand i.e., consumers abilit% to clearl% differentiate the brand on the basis of !nowledge or information earlier noticed or heard and B rand recall is the consumers potential to 'recover a brand information from memor%/ when a signal about the product benefits, categor% or bu%ing scenario is given i.e., abilit% of the consumers to recall information about a product from memor% when given a related clue (4S, 201C). Brand awareness could either be aided (mentioning of the product categor% which provide a lead to the consumer) or top of mind awareness (this is an immediate brand recall). -reation of brand awareness re+uires a reliable brand image, taglines and slogans that is consistent and 4
Pepsi Cola Brand Management uni+ue for the brand to which the consumers can become easil% ac+uainted and familiar with (4S, 201C). 2.6 Brand Image ;ith reference to *4* (*merican 4ar!eting *ssociation), brand image is the wa% a brand is perceived b% people, i.e. the mirror reflection of a product personalit%. Brand image describes peoples believe about a brand, the customers feelings and e7pectations, &eller on his part defined brand image as an 'insight of a product as reflected b% the brand associations in customers memor% which are created through the 'brand attributes, brand benefits and brand attitudes/, It is the understanding of the consumers about a product as generated through brand related activities (*a!er, 1##1). "sieh, an and Setiono (200C), stated that a successful brand image ma!es it possible for customer to easil% understand its needs that the brand fulfils and what differentiate the brand from other competitors. It increases the li!elihood of the product being bought b% the consumers ("sieh, an, Setiono, 200C) 2.3 Brand association he brand association emanates from the customers memor% towards a brand image, which includes the benefits, brand and attitudes (&eller, 1##$). Biel (1##2) further classif% that brand association as a measure of brand image can be divided into 'commercial image, goods image and user image/ , it is a general term that represents the lin! between the customers perception and the product (-hen, 2001). Brand association is the !e% factor that drives the development of the brand relationship because it leads to customers brand lo%alt% and effective B;>4 (Brand word of mouth) that will translate to good product performance and a platform for relationship development. or instance, the epsi -ola blue colour provides differentiation and ac+uaintance thats not replicable b% the compan%s competitors to which the consumers can easil% associate (Degede, 2013). Brand associations are those attributes of a brand which come to the customers mind when the product is tal!ed about, providing 'implicit and e7plicit meanings/ to which the consumers can easil% relates or associates with (-hen, 2001). It can be seen as the customers overall evaluations of the brand that distinguishes brand from the others, these attributes are product related (ph%sical composition of a product) and non product related (li!e price, pac!aging, users etc.) (&eller, 1##$).
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Pepsi Cola Brand Management 2.9 -elebrit% ndorsements -elebrities are individuals that eno% a larger share of public recognition through their 'attractiveness, lifest%le or special s!ills or abilities/ that made them differ from the common norms, the term -elebrit% is used to describe an individual that is well !nown to the public due to hisE her achievements in areas li!e sports, entertainment or e7traordinar% !nowledge about something) (riedman, 200#). *nd ndorsement is defined as a channel of brand communication where a celebrit% acts as the products spo!esperson in certif%ing the brands claim and acclaimed benefits through hisEher personalit% or e7pertise to provide a distinct differentiation that will aid the product acceptabilit% (oll, 2003). 4c-rac!enFs described celebrit% endorsement as the process of using an individual that eno%s public recognition and attention to communicate information about the potential benefit of a product to the consumers (Galwani, 2003). -onsumers tend to develop connections with products to which the% have some sort of respect for the endorser or a celebrit% the% are willing to associate with (Bettman 200$). he celebrities fame creates attention for a brand and also helps in providing a high recall rates for products (-roft et al, 1##3). -elebrit% endorsement increases consumers attention, the public recognition attached to celebrities provides general attractive that will help persuading consumers acceptance and association to the brand (5aniger 2000), particularl% when the celebrities that endorses a brand are viewed as an e7pert in the particular area such as an athlete endorsing a trainer shoes (-hia!en 2011) or a model endorsing a ma!e?up (-hia!en, 2011). -elebrities association with a brand provides central information and media weight on the brand that can easil% be recognised and recalled in a manner that will sensitise the user to the benefit of the product (;eiss 2002). he main reason wh% companies use celebrities is purel% to use their uni+ue 'characteristics and +ualities/ to establish a good analog% about their products benefits and specialties b% positioning them rightl% in the minds of the target customers with the celebrit% personalities (;eiss, 2002). $.0 epsi -ola Brand *ssociation erformance valuations he main reasons and obectives of epsi cola to have strong branding of its product is for 'differentiating, informing, reminding and persuading -ustomers/, through the product branding activities, potential consumers are informed of its availabilit%, benefits and 6
Pepsi Cola Brand Management associated potentials to persuade their purchasing intentions, brand association allows the transmission of positive set of beliefs about the product !e% attributes (Belch, 200C). hrough a good positioning, epsi presented the brand as a refreshing carbonated beverage of the %outh, targeting %oung active adults (Interbrand, 201$) and with the benefit of 'curing thirstiness,
crave for cola placation and caffeine boost. epsi also use its global presence and
reputation to influence the consumers purchasing behaviours and the use of celebrities li!e 'Britne% Spears, Be%oncH, a% -harles, Deff ordon, 8ic!i 4ina, Bec!ham and onaldinho/, popular sports and entertainment icons as endorsers was also helpful and effective in appealing to 'the social sense of the customers. epsi cola normall% used celebrities that are !nown for fun, adventure, energ%, consistenc% and success in their various fields, which further help in dictating the particular
image the brand epsi see!s to portra% about the brand (Bail, 201$). valuating the impact of epsi -ola branding activities will be based on the impact it has on the consumers and the product, measuring the sales figures is one of the wa%s to ascertain this but a ver% difficult means of appraising branding performance, however, a model used b% a stud% conducted b% Belen del Jo ,odolfo =a+ue and =Jctor Iglesias of the department of conomics, @niversit% of >viedo, Spain evaluated the branding impact on the product performance b% assessing the social impact, status impact and competitive advantage. 1.
Social Impact: the impact will be evaluated on the basis the brandFs abilit% to communicate the desire of the consumers(Shiffman, 2000), this can be noted through the consumers feelings of b% admiration and prestige from using the product (Solomon, 1###), the social impact of the branding according to Dohnson (1###) will be based on the following characteristics:
2.
•
he brand abilit% to s%mbolise ' power and social status/
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It potential to reflect 'social approval/
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Its e7clusivit% nature
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Its abilit% to contribute 'emotional e7periences/
Status Impact. 7
Pepsi Cola Brand Management he status impact of the brand is based on the product abilit% to possess and achieve prestige and recognition among its peers, this is evaluated on the basis of the consumer response to the brand normall% regarded as brand e+uit% i.e. the differential effect of the brand !nowledge that influences consumer perceptions, behaviours and preferences, a high reaction to the product b% consumers is an indication of favourable status of the brand as influence b% the brand imager%. $. -ompetitive advantage *nother measure of the brand functions is the competitive advantages that result from the impact of the brand image, this is evaluated on the basis of 'advantages related to current performance, profitabilit% of the brand , longevit% of profits ,brand lo%alt%, low vulnerabilit% to mar!et conditions and growth potential ', the brand associations impact can be assessed on the basis of its contribution to the brands abilit% to improve its competitive advantage b% creating an edge over competitors (Koo et al., 2000). Base on the above highlighted brand performance appraisal means above, the epsi -ola brand association and its celebrit% endorsement impact will udged on the basis of the brands abilit% to create a social recognition, achieve a recognition that improves its status and increases its competitive advantage in the beverages industr%. epsi -ola has a ver% good social recognition among its target audience, good status that place it well in the sector and a good competitive advantage over its maor competitors in attracting %oung and fun loving consumers, the personalities of its endorsers (celebrities) further helped in improving its status b% association that allows consumers to relate with the product better. ecommendations *s a measure for epsi to develop and maintain a positive brand image, the brand !nowledge creation should be more reflective of the consumers needs and desires, use of real life professionals rather than ust entertainment and sports icon for endorsement will also be helpful in improving its social recognition, improve its mar!et status and competitive advantage.
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Pepsi Cola Brand Management
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