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Marketing Mix, Not Branding

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www.ajbms.org Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences
ISSN: 2047-2528 Vol. 1 No. 11 [43-52]

Marketing Mix, Not Branding

Waheed Riaz
Bachelors Business Administration (Marketing)
Department of Management Sciences
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
E-mail: [email protected]

Asif Tanveer
Lecturer
Faculty, Department of Management Sciences
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Purpose of this study is to get a better understanding of the basic marketing

mix in branding perspective. Theoretical frame work presents a view of
different theories of marketing mix and theories of brand building and how
marketing mix and brand building theories are related to each other. This is a
qualitative research, with a deductive approach. The research proposes a
model linking branding and marketing mix. Theories of marketing mix and
branding are thoroughly studied and relationships are developed on the basis
of deduction and logical reasoning. The marketing mix and brand building
process are highly interlinked. All stages of brand building process are
dependent on marketing mix, which is product, price, promotion and place. To
create brands, firms need to design the marketing mix in such a way so that it
creates the desired image and position in customers’ minds and generate
positive response which then could be converted into a strong long lasting
relationship.

Keywords: Marketing Mix, Branding, Customer-Based Brand Equity Model,

Strategies

INTRODUCTION

Branding is a key to success in today’s competitive market where customer is very aware
and demands the best product that could be provided. In developing countries companies
are extensively focusing on branding their products and services because brands get more
attention from customers. Brands are commonly perceived better at satisfying customer’s
basic, social and psychological needs. Customers perceive brands as assurance of quality
and reliability.

When marketing managers think about doing branding, they find many brand building
strategies in literature. Heavy costs are associated with implementing branding strategies
and designing heavy marketing and advertisement campaigns to create desired brand image
in targeted customers’ mind. Along with heavy costs they face difficulty in understanding
and implementing complex strategies.

This study attempts to link brand building process with basic marketing mix so that the
marketing managers could get better understanding of brand building and could do
branding through strategies as simple as the four P’s of marketing.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Marketing Mix

Borden (1964) developed the concept of “marketing mix” and affirmed the idea of defining
marketing manager as “one who is constantly engaged in fashioning creatively a mix of
marketing procedures and policies in his effort to produce a profitable enterprise”. (Borden,
1964)

Now the marketing mix is defined as set of controllable marketing tools that a company
uses to create a desired response in the targeted market. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Wong, &
Saunders, 2008) . Set of these tools is generally referred to as 4P’s of Marketing, being
Product, Price, Promotion and Place. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008)
(Balachandran & Gensch, 1974)

Product

Product is some good or service that a company offers in the market. (Kotler P. , Armstrong,
Wong, & Saunders, 2008) Product is something that can be offered to the customers for
attention, acquisition, or consumption and satisfies some want or need. (Kotler P. ,
Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999).

Kotler et al (1999) suggests that a marketer should build an actual product around the core
product and then build augmented product around core and actual product. Core Product
refers to the problem-solving services or core benefits that customers are getting when they
buy some product. On the other hand, actual product refers to a product’s parts, level of
quality, design, features, brand name, packaging and other features that are combined in
order to deliver the core benefits. Augmented product means associating additional benefits
and services around the core and actual product. These additional factors could be
guarantees, after sale services, installation, etc.

Source: Three Levels of Product. (Kotler et al, 1999, Pg. 562)

Branding Strategies for Product

Kotler (2002) presents many strategies to offer a product in the market, known as Product
Branding Strategies.

Manufacturer Brand is a product that sells under the name of the producer. This is the
most common product branding strategy. The benefits and drawbacks of using this strategy
directly affect the manufacturer. Benefits of this strategy can be customer loyalty and price

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premiums while drawbacks can be high cost and long time taken for brand building.
(Kotler, 2000)

Private Branding refers to when a company produces a product on another company’s

specifications. (Gabrielsson, 2005)
When two or more brands unite in one product, it is known as Co-Branding. (Keller K. L.,
1998) Co-branding is done when joining the brands is likely to increase sales. (Kotler, 2000)

Price

Price is what a customer have to pay to acquire a product, or cost of a product to a

customer. Price is considered to be the most significant factor that affects consumer’s
choice. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999)

Pricing Strategies

Cost-based pricing is the simplest pricing strategy. Using this strategy price is set by adding
some mark-up to the cost of the product. This strategy works if firm’s prices are not too
high as compared to the competition. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2005)
Another cost-oriented pricing strategy is Break-even Pricing. Firms determine the price at
which they can recover manufacturing and marketing cost, or make targeted profit. (Nagle
& Hogan, 2006)

Competition-based Pricing is when a company sets prices in accordance with the

competition. Prices are largely based on the prices of the competitors. (Kotler P. ,
Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2005)

In Customer-value based Pricing, products are priced on the basis of perceived value of the
product. Company shall find out what value customers assign to competitors’ product and
what value they perceive of company’s product. Measuring perceived value is difficult and if
the more prices are charged than the perceived value, sales will suffer. (Kotler P. ,
Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999)

Promotion

Kotler (2002) defines promotion as the activities a company performs in order to

communicate to its existing and potential customers. Multiple channels are used to
communicate to different parties (Distributors, customers) and different means could be
used to do promotion.

Branding Strategies for Promotion

Kotler (2002) classifies promotional activities into different categories.

Advertising is a non-personal presentation of goods or services, such as T.V ads. (Kotler P. ,
Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002). Keller (1998) considers advertisement a powerful tool
to create strong associations with brands.

Personal Selling is the type of promotion in which a company representative meets

customers personally to sell a product. It is useful to understand customer needs deeply.
(Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002). According to Keller (1998) personal selling
is more customized and detailed.
Sales promotions/Trade promotions are about giving incentives to enhance sales, such as
discounts or samples. (Keller K. L., 1998). While Kotler (2002) provides various reasons for
sales promotions, he says that sales promotions to end-customers increase short term sales
and help building long term relationships, while trade promotions aimed on distributors
and retailers so they buy large volumes and advertise the product more.

If a company or a product gets positively promoted without the company paying for it, such
as in documentaries, it is called communication through Public Relations. This type of

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promotion has high credibility because it is viewed as news instead of an advertisement.

(Keller K. L., 1998)

Standardizing advertisement brings a consistency in the way a brand is portrayed. (Melewar

& Vemmervik, 2004). However Boddewyn et al (2004) argues that the companies which
follow standardization in advertisement loose competitive advantage.

Place

Place refers to the availability of the product to the targeted customers. (Kotler P. ,
Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999) A company can adopt multiple channels to get its
product to the customers. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002) These channels
can be direct and indirect. Choice of channel has strong affect on sales. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Branding Strategies for Place

Direct channels to reach customers could be company owned stores, phone and internet
selling while indirect selling could be through intermediaries such as distributors or agents.
(Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002)

Using indirect channel, company has to give up control over distribution and selling.
(Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000) Company loses control over prices charged to end
users, and how the product is being displayed. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Indirect channels should be used because intermediaries have the experience of the market,
they are may be specialized in a segment and may have scale of operations, therefore they
can add value to the product. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002).

Kotler et al (2002) calls the firms Multi- or Hybrid structures which use both direct and
indirect channels for selling.

A company having strong brand image is more likely to get qualified intermediaries, and
middlemen work more enthusiastically to promote a product with a strong brand image and
demand. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Branding

The word brand comes from the root word “Brander” which means “to burn”. The burn
marks were and still are used to tag animals so they could be identified. Today word
“Brand” is used for the same purpose, to identify and distinguish products and services.
(Keller K. L., 2008) (Cliffton & Simmons, 2004)

American Marketing Association defines brand as “a name, term, sign, symbol, design or a
combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services to differentiate them from
the competition”. While practicing managers define brands as something that creates
awareness, reputation and prominence etc in the market. (Keller K. L., 2008) Glatstein (n.d)
says that brand image is a promise that a company makes to its customers. Brand image
defines who the company is, how it operates and how it is different from its competitors.

To create a brand means ability to choose a name, logo, symbol, design or other
characteristics for a product to differentiate it from others. (Keller K. L., 2008) Brand
elements are those specialties and basic characteristics of the brand that differentiate it
from the other products in the market, these are trade mark able features of a product or
service which serve as identification. Brand elements are generally chosen on the basis of
six criteria which are Memorability, Meaningfulness, Likability, Transformability,
Adaptability and Protect-ability. (Keller K. L., 2008) Customers experience brands in many
ways such as product, price, packaging, marketing, sales staff etc. (Glatstein)

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Kotler & Keller (2006) define the Brand Positioning as “the act of designing the company’s
offer and image so that it occupies a distinctive and valued place in the targeted customer’s
mind” while Cowley (1996) says that positioning means to own a profitable and respectable
place in the mind of a customer. To position the brands, markets are divided into
homogeneous segments of the customer on the basis such as Behaviour, Demography,
Psychology and geography etc. (Keller K. L., 2008) (Kotler & Keller, 2006) Segmenting
Markets on the basis of geography is a famous approach and is used frequently. Targeted
markets are divided on the basis of nations, regions, countries, cities or neighborhoods.
Companies could decide to operate in a few geographical areas depending on the customer’s
needs and wants or they may focus on regionalizing their products. (Kotler & Armstrong,
1996)

Brand image is the set of characteristics of a brand that comes into a consumer’s mind
when recalling a brand. Keller (1998) defines brand image as “perceptions about a brand as
reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory”. Brand associations along
with brand image shape together the total meaning or the consumer’s perception of the
brand. (Belen del Rio, Vazquez, & Iglesias, 2001) (Keller K. , 1998)

Stages of Brand Building

Customer-Based Brand Equity model suggest that brand building is a process consisting of
four successive steps. (Keller K. L., 2008) These steps being 1) identity 2) Meaning 3)
Response and 4) Relationships.

At the first stage company focuses on ensuring identification and associating brand with
some specific product class or customer need, at the second stage focus is on linking
tangible and intangible brand associations with properties. At third stage company evokes
customer’s response about brand identity and meaning, while at the fourth and final stage
company convert brand response into a strong relationship. (Keller K. L., 2008)

Stages of Brand Building process, objectives of each stage and Brand building Blocks can
be explained by Customer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid.

Customer-Based Brand Equity Model

Stages of Brand Development

Branding Objectives at each
stage

Intense, Active Loyalty

Positive, Accessible
reaction

Points of Parity and

Difference

Deep, Broad brand

awareness

Source: Customer Based Brand Equity Pyramid (Keller, 2008, p.60)

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Explanation of Customer-Based Brand Equity

The first stage of brand building model is creating brand identity through deep, broad
brand awareness.

Deep, broad brand SALIENCE IDENTITY

awareness Who are you?

Keller (2008) defines salience as achieving the right identity in customers’ minds. Salience
measures brand awareness which is the ability of customers’ to recognize and recall the
brand. Brand awareness aids customers to identify what need the brand satisfies and the
product category in which a brand competes other brands. In other words “what basic
functions does a brand provide?”

Depth of brand awareness is measure of likely hood of a brand element to pop up into a
consumer’s mind, while breadth of brand awareness refers to the range of usage and
purchase situations in which a brand element comes to mind. (Keller K. L., 2008)

The second stage of the model is Meaning, where tangible and intangible brand associations
are linked with properties of the brand.

Points of Parity PERFORMANCE-IMAGERY MEANING

and Difference

Heart of brand equity is product itself as it is the primary influence on consumers’

experience of the brand, what the consumers heard about the brand and what company
communicates about its product. (Keller K. L., 2008)

Brand performance refers to the need satisfying ability of a brand and perception of quality.
Five important attributes and features of a brand performance are

1. Primary ingredients and supplementary features.

2. Product reliability, durability and serviceability.
3. Service effectiveness, efficiency and empathy.
4. Style and design
5. Price (Keller K. L., 2008)

Customers have beliefs about the levels to which the primary and secondary features of a
product operate. Measure of consistency of product performance over time is called
reliability. Expected economic life of product is known as durability and serviceability refers
to the availability of after sales services. (Keller K. L., 2008)

Effectiveness measures level of satisfaction that a brand provides while efficiency is the
response speed of service, and empathy is about trust that a service provider gains. (Keller
K. L., 2008)

Customers may have associations with the style and design of product, like color, shape,
size and material used etc. (Keller K. L., 2008)
Price creates associations in customers’ minds that how expensive the brand relatively is.
(Keller K. L., 2008)

Brand imagery is about how well a brand meets social and psychological needs of the
customers. (Keller K. L., 2008)

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At the third stage customers’ response to a brand is assessed. This response or feedback is
based on judgments and feelings of the customers about the brand.

Positive, accessible Judgments-Feelings RESPONSE

reactions

Brand judgment is customers’ personal opinion about the brand based on performance and
imagery. Four important judgments are about brand quality, credibility, consideration and
superiority. Brand feelings refer to customers’ emotional response to brand.
Transformational advertisements are designed to alter the customer perception about
actual usage experience with the brand.

At the fourth and final stage, a long term relation of loyalty is created with the customer.

Intense, active RESONANCE RELATIONSHIPS

loyalty

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

According to Customer-Based brand Equity Model, the first stage of branding is identity,
which is associating a brand to a product class or a customer need. (Keller K. L., 2008) And
describing the four Ps of marketing Kotler says that Product is something that satisfies
some customer need. A product shall satisfy the core need and contain value added
features such as design, packaging etc along with additional benefits such as guarantees
and after sale services. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999). Kotler’s core
product, that delivers some core benefits to consumers, relates itself to some customer
need, which is the first stage (Identity) of Keller’s brand building process; to associate a
brand to a customer need. From this it can be inferred that a product and a brand, both
create some Identity for themselves in minds of customers. If a core product, equipped with
features such as design, packaging, and quality and carrying additional benefits, such as
guarantees and after sale services, fairly priced, well communicated and made available to
customers, achieves a unique identity in customer’s mind, we could say that the first step of
a brand building process is offering a product. Product along with price, promotion and
place creates awareness in consumers, gets itself known, gets attention and gets some
identity.

So, creating identity while branding, is to offer a product, price, promote and place it to
create awareness and get identified.

The second step in CBEM is Brand meaning, which is linking brand associations with
tangible and intangible properties. (Keller K. L., 2008) While Price, Packaging, Promotion
and Place of Kotler’s marketing mix are the elements that associate benefits with a product
such as affordability, availability, recognizability etc and create a perception about the
product. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999). From this it can be concluded
that Price, Promotion and Place along with a product generate Brand Meaning to the
customers as they associate performance and imagery with product style and design, and
prices and promotion, especially advertisement.

At third stage, company collects customer feedback about Brand Identity and Meaning.
Brand meaning means customer’s judgment and feelings about brand’s performance and
imagery. (Keller K. L., 2008) Customers associate brand imagery with Product, Price,
Promotion and place, and evaluate performance against what they had to pay (price), what
was promised to them (promotion) and what effort they did to reach to that product (place),
so it can be deduced that at this stage customer’s response about the basic marketing mix
is being gathered and analyzed. And at the fourth and final stage, the company converts
customer’s response into a relationship. (Keller K. L., 2008). While Kotler’s (1999) definition

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of Relationship Marketing suggests that long term relation with customer can be
established by consistently delivering quality product on a fair price.

The core product with its value adding (Quality, Design, Packaging) and additional features
(Guarantees, after sale services, Installation etc) provided consistently carves basis for a
strong relationship. Hence, to establish a long term relationship it is necessary to
consistently deliver quality product on a fair price.

On the basis of these assumptions, Brand Building process could be linked to the basic
marketing mix as follows.
PRODUCT

QUALITY

CONSISTENCY
RELATIONSHIP
FAIR PRICING

PRODUCT

PRICE
FEEDBACK
RESPONSE PROMOTION

PLACE

PRODUCT

PRICE
PERCEPTIO
MEANING N PROMOTION

PLACE

PRODUCT

AWARENES PRICE
IDENTITY S
PROMOTION

PLCAE
Figure 1: AW Model: Linking Marketing Mix to Brand Building Process

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Branding as it is commonly perceived is not some extra ordinary thing. When branding, the
companies just have to use the basic marketing mix in a structured way to generate desired
brand image and response in the customers. At the first stage company can design the
marketing mix to create brand awareness, at second stage same marketing mix is used to
create a brand perception in customers’ minds. At third stage customer’s response on
company’s marketing mix is gathered and analyzed and at the fourth and final stage this
positive response can be converted into a permanent relationship by assuring the
customers that company will provide the same product with same quality, on fair prices
consistently in the future.

CONCLUSION

Branding is an important tool of success in today’s market. If a company wants to succeed

in a market, it needs to position itself in customers’ minds and create a strong brand image.
The image that insures need satisfaction, quality, effectiveness, reliability and fulfills the
social and psychological needs of people. In fact companies need to focus on all brand
elements and build strong and long lasting brands that not only excite their customers but
also bring profits to the firms.

Doing successful branding is not an easy job, it requires resources and time, effectiveness
and efficiency. It adds to the marketing costs of the company and cut down the profit
margins. Above all it needs solid planning and consistency. Marketing managers need to be
focused when they are branding their products. While doing branding practices firms
engage in heavy advertisements and promotional campaigns and forget about the core
benefits that they are supposed to provide, so when customers actually experience the
brand they get disappointed and feel betrayed, which results into loss of resources and loss
of customers for the firms.

When doing branding, firms do not have to actually practice the complex branding
strategies, and unsuccessfully implement them, but they should rather focus on the basic
marketing mix and try to make it more efficient and effective. A better product at a better
price, promoted in a better and more effective way, with a better placement could be a very
successful brand. After all, brand building is nothing but playing with the 4P’s to get a
desired response from the customers.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER STUDY

This research just interlinks brand building process to the marketing mix, there is a need to
study every aspect of branding and link all brand elements to the marketing mix. The
research is based on the deductions and logical reasoning so there exists a need to test it
against the practical marketing, the model presented needs testing in real marketing
scenarios and validity and application of the models needs to be tested from practicing
marketing managers as well as marketing researchers. Furthermore quantitative data and
evidence should be collected to support or reject the model we have presented in this
research.

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