BRAND

MANAGEMENT
The American marketing association
defines a brand as : “ A name, term, sign,
symbol or design, or a combination of
them, intended to identify the goods or
services of one seller or group of sellers
and to differentiate them from those of
competitors”.
Branding Terms

 Brand WHAT AM I?
 Brand Name
 Brand Mark
 Trademark
 Trade Name
 Brand management
 Is the application of marketing techniques to a
specific product, product line, or brand.
 It seeks to increase a product's perceived value to
the customer and thereby increase brand
franchise and brand equity.
 Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that
the level of quality people have come to expect
from a brand will continue with future purchases
of the same product.
 The value of the brand is determined by the
amount of profit it generates for the manufacturer.
 BRAND
  
 Definition

Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of

these, employed in creating an image that identifies a
product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time,
this image becomes associated with a level of credibility,
quality, and satisfaction in the consumer's mind
(positioning). Thus brands help harried consumers in
crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain
benefits and value. Legal name for a brand is trademark and,
when it identifies or represents a firm, it is called a brand
name.
 BRAND
 A Brand could be any word, term, sign or symbol that identifies
and distinguishes one product form another

 For example:- It could be

 A word with no meaning related to the product it represents
Viz., Nirma, Titan, vimal, charms, Konica etc.,
 The name of the manufacturer of the product viz., Bajaj,
Godrej, Tata, kirloskar etc.,
 A combination of numerals and alphabets viz., Mera No. 1,
No.10, Rx 100, LIV 52.
 A word who meaning suggests some functions or quality of
the product. For ex:- Brand names like Quick Fix (Adhesive),
Band-Aid (Bandage), Duroply (plywood), Sunflame (Gas
Stove) etc indirectly indicate the use of the product.
 BRAND

 Similarly, Brand names for cosmetics should preferably suggest

beauty and glamour. Brand names for food products could convey
a message of taste or Health.

 Companies not only need to create customers, but also keep them;
and to keep customers, one need to create customer loyalty. To
create customer loyal this personality is what is called as a brand.
Value of Branding

 To Buyers

 To Sellers
From consumer’s point of view

 Identification of source of product

Assignment of responsibility to product maker
Risk reducer
Search cost reducer
Promise, bond, or pact with maker of product
 Symbolic device
 Signal of quality
From manufacturer’s point of
view

  Means of identification to simplify handling &

Tracing
 Means of legally protecting unique features
 Signal of quality level to satisfied customers
 Means of endowing products with unique
associations
 Source of competitive advantage
 Source of financial returns
Product Mix
 The assortment of products that a company
offers to a market
 Width – how many different product lines?
 Length – the number of items in the product mix
 Depth – The no. of variants offered in a product
line
 Consistency – how closely the product lines are
related in usage
Success rate of new products
 The success rate of new products is very
low – less than 5%. ‘You have to kiss a lot
of frogs to find a prince.”
 Product obsolescence is rapid with
improvements in technology
 Shorter PLCs
Product Line decisions
 Product rationalization
 Market rationalization
 Product line length
too long – when profits increase by dropping a
product in the line
too short – when profits increase by adding
products to the product line
 Line pruning – capacity restrictions to decide
Branding Decision
 To Brand or not to Brand: Today branding is
such a force that hardly any thing goes
unbranded.
 Consumers want brand names to help them to
identify quality differences and shop more
efficiently.
 Distributors and retailers want brand names
because brand make the product easier to
handle, hold production to certain quality
standards, strengthen buyer preferences and
make it easier to identify suppliers.
Branding Decisions

Brand Re-
Branding Brand Sponsor Brand-Name Brand Strategy position
Decision Decisions Decisions Decisions Decision
Individual Names
Manufacturer
Brand Blanket Family Line Extension
Brand
Or name Brand Extension Reposition
Distributor
No Brand Separate Family Multi Brands No Reposition
(Private)
Name New Brands
Brand
Company individual Co-brands
names
Brand Sponsor Decision
 A manufacturer/company has several
options with respect to brand
sponsorship.
 The product may be launched as a
manufacturer brand (sometimes called a
national brand)
 A distributor brand (also called reseller or
private brand)
 Although manufacturers brands dominate,
large retailers and wholesalers have been
developing their own brands.
Brand Name Decision
 Blanket Family: It has advantage, development
cost is less. Because there is no need for
‘name’ research or heavy expenditures to
create brand name recognition
 Sales of new product is are likely to be strong if
the manufacture name is strong
 Example: Campbell soup introduces new soups
under its brand name with extreme simplicity
and achieves instant recognition
 Kissan jam introduces new jams under its
brand name.
Brand-Name Decision
 Individual names:A individual brand name
strategy permits the firm to search for the
best name for each new product.
 A new name permits the building of new
excitement and conviction (firm belief)
 A major advantage is that the company not
tie its reputation to the products acceptance.
 If the fails or appears to have low quality it
does not hurt the companies name.
Brand Name Decision
 Separate Family name: Separate family names
for all products. When a company produces quite different
products it is not desirable to use one blanket family
name.

 For example. Matsushita decided to use

1. Panasonic- name for audio visual products
2. National name for household offerings
3. Technics name for hi-fi products.
Brand Name Decisions
 Company individual name
Company name combined with
individual product names.
 Example - Tata Motors for automobiles
 Tata Tea for Tea drink
 Tata Salt for salts
Brand Strategy Decisions
 The company has five choices when it
comes to brand strategy the company can
introduce
 Line extension
 Brand extension
 Multi-Brands
 New Brands
 Co brands
 line extension
 Example - new flavours, forms, colors,
added ingredients etc.
 Line extension – Colgate
 Colgate Dental cream, Colgate Gel,
Colgate Calciguard, Colgate Total, Colgate
Sensitive. Colgate Herbal.
 Brand Extension
 A company may use its existing brand
name to launch new product in other
category

 Example : Maggi noodles, Maggi Kecthup,

Maggi Soup.
 Multi-Brands
Company establishes different brand
names for its same product category .

for example
Seiko lasalle for high priced watches and
Seiko pulsar for low price watches.
 New Brands
 When a company launches new products
in new category, it may find that none of
the current brand names are appropriate.
 CO-BRAND
 In which two or more well known
brands are combined in an offer each
brand sponsor expect that the other
brand will strengthen preference or
purchase intension
 Example: Citi Bank with visa Credit
Card.
 Brand Repositioning
 Companies need to periodically audit their brands strengths
and weakness, company will occasionally discover that it
may have to reposition the brand because of changing
customer preference or new competitors.

 Ex- Seven-Up it positioned as a cola soft drink and it failed

to acquire market, next reposition itself as non-cola drink
and featured as youthful and refreshing drink.
Degrees of Brand Loyalty

Recognition
 BRAND RECOGNITION

 Stage of brand acceptance at which the

consumer knows of a brand but does not
prefer it to competing brands.
Degrees of Brand Loyalty

Preference

Recognition
 BRAND PREFERENCE

 Stage of brand acceptance at which the

consumer selects one brand over
competing offerings based on previous
experiences with the brand.
Degrees of Brand Loyalty

Insistence

Preference

Recognition
 BRAND INSISTENCE

 Stage of brand where the customer

refuses to accept any other brand except
the preferred brand.
 BRAND EQUITY
 “ Brand equity is a set of assets ( &
liabilities) linked to the brand name &
symbol that adds to ( or subtracts from )
the value provided by a product.

 Brand equity is a set of assets thus

management of brand equity involves
investment to create and enlarge the
assets.
 BRAND EQUITY
  
 Brand's power derived from the goodwill
and name recognition it has earned over
time, and which translates into higher
sales volume and higher profit margins
against competing brands.
Brand Equity

STUDENTS

THE 4
ELEMENTS
OF
BRAND
XEROX EQUITY
 THE 4
ELEMENTS
OF
Brand BRAND
Name XEROX EQUITY
Awareness
 Brand
Loyalty

THE 4
ELEMENTS
OF
Brand BRAND
Name XEROX EQUITY
Awareness
 Perceived
Brand
Quality
Brand
Loyalty

THE 4
ELEMENTS
OF
Brand BRAND
Name XEROX EQUITY
Awareness
 Perceived
Brand Brand
Quality Associations
Brand
Loyalty

THE 4
ELEMENTS
OF
Brand BRAND
Name XEROX EQUITY
Awareness
Brand Equity
The World’s Most Valuable Brands
Brand Value
Brand (in millions)
Coca-Cola $47,978
Marlboro 47,635
IBM 23,701
McDonald’s 19,939
Disney 17,069
Sony 14,464
Kodak 14,442
Intel 13,274
Gillette 11,992
Budweiser 11,985

Source: “Most Valuable Brands,” Financial World, Sept-Oct, 1997, p. 62.

Selecting a Brand Name
 Easy to Say, Spell, and Recall
 Major Benefit(s) Indicated
 Suggest Product’s Use(s) and Special
Characteristics
 Avoid Negative/Offensive Connotations
 Distinctive
 If Applicable, Must Be Compatible With All
Products in Its Product Line
 Can Be Used and Recognized in All Types of Media
Brand Name Protection
 Registration
 Guard Against Generic
Use
 Protect Against
Counterfeiting
Advantages of branding
 Easy for the seller to track down problems and
process orders
 Provide legal protection of unique product
features
 Branding gives an opportunity to attract loyal
and profitable set of customers
 It helps to give a product category at different
segments, having separate bundle of benefits
 It helps build corporate image
 It minimizes harm to company reputation if the
brand fails
 TRADE MARK
 Distinctive design, graphics, logo,
symbols, words, or any combination
thereof that uniquely identifies a firm
and/or its goods or services, guarantees
the item's genuineness, and gives it
owner the legal rights to prevent the
trademark's unauthorized use.
 MEANING OF TRADEMARK
 When a letter , a word , a name , a symbol , a
sign , a design , a picture or a combination of
any two or more of these is get registered it is
called trade mark.

 In other words , it can be said that a trade mark

is a brand under legal protection.

 A manufacturer may use different brands for his

different products but he may use the single
trademark for all the products being produced
by him.
DIFFERENCE b/w BRAND &
TRADEMARK

 Difference b/w Brand and Trademark can

be explained on the following bases –

1. Registration – It is not compulsory to get

brand registered , while it is legally
compulsory to get a trademark
registered . The reality is that the
registered brand is trade mark.
DIFFERENCE b/w BRAND &
TRADEMARK
2. Legal Protection – A Brand can be used
by many manufacturers but a trademark
cannot be used by any other
manufacturer . It can be used only by the
manufacturer who has got it registered.

If a Manufacturer copies the Trademark

of any other manufacturer , legal action
can be taken against him.
DIFFERENCE b/w BRAND &
TRADEMARK
3. SCOPE – The Scope of brand is limited ,
while the scope of trademark is very
wide .
A business and industrial enterprise can
use different brands for its different
products but it can use a single
particular trademark for all his products.
DIFFERENCE b/w BRAND &
TRADEMARK
4. Identification – A Brand is generally a
symbol of the qualities of the products,
while a trademark is generally a symbol
of its enterprise.

5. Nature – All the trademarks are brands

but all the brands are not trademarks.
WHY DOES BRANDING
BECOME CRITICAL ?

BUYER BEHAVIOR
 BUYER BEHAVIOR
 Consumer decision making varies with
the type of buying decision . The
decisions are very different.

 Henry Asael distinguished four types of

consumer buying based on the degree of
buyer involvement and the degree of
differences among brands.
COMPLEX BUYING BEHAVIOR
 Complex buying behavior involves a
three –step process
1. The buyer develops beliefs about the
product.
2. He or she develops attitudes about the
product.
3. He or she makes a thoughtful choice.
COMPLEX BUYING BEHAVIOR
 Consumers engage in complex buying
behavior when they are highly involved in
a purchase and aware of significant
differences among brands.

 This is the usually the case when the

product is expensive , bought
infrequently, risky and highly self-
expressive –like an automobile, Hi
fashion Garments.
COMPLEX BUYING BEHAVIOR
 The marketer of a high –involvement product
must understand consumer’s information
gathering and evaluation behavior.

 The marketer needs to differentiate the brand

features, use print media to describe the brand
benefits , and motivate sales personnel and the
buyer acquaintances to influence the final brand
choice.
 DISSONANCE – REDUCING
BUYER BEHAVIOR
 Sometimes the consumers is highly involved in
a purchase but sees little differences in brands.
The high involvement is based on the fact that
the purchase is expensive , infrequent and risky.

 In this case , the buyers will shop around to

learn what is available . If the consumer find
quality differences in the brands , he or she
might go for the higher price. If the consumer
finds little difference , he or she might simply
buy on the price or convenience.
 DISSONANCE – REDUCING
BUYER BEHAVIOR
 After the purchase , the consumer might experience
dissonance that stems from noticing certain disquieting
features or hearing favorable things about other brands and
will be alert to information that supports his or her decision.

 In this example , the consumer first acted, acquired new

beliefs, then ended up with a set of attitudes.

 Marketing communications should supply beliefs and

evaluation that help the consumer feel good about his or her
brand choice.
HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVIOR
 Many products are bought under conditions of low
involvement and the absence of significant brand
differences.

 Ex: consider salt , consumers have little involvement in

this product category . They go the store and reach for
the brand , If they keep reaching for the same brand , It
is out of habit , not strong brand loyalty.

 There is good evidence that consumers have low

involvement with low-cost frequently purchased
products.
HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVIOR
 With these products , consumer behavior does not
pass through the normal sequence of belief ,attitude
and behavior.

 Consumers do not search extensively for

information , evaluate characteristics and make a
decision . Instead they are passive recipients of
information in television or print Ads.

 Ad repetition creates brand familiarity rather than

brand conviction.

 After purchase , they may not even evaluate the

choice.
HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVIOR
 For low-Involvement products , the buying
process begins with brand beliefs formed by
passive learning and is followed by purchase
behavior , which may be followed by evaluation.

 Marketers of such products finds its effective to

use price and sales promotion to stimulate
product trial.

 Television advertising is more effective than

print because it is a low-involvement medium
that is suitable for passive learning.
 VARIETY – SEEKING BUYING
BEHAVIOR
 Some buying situations are characterized by low-
involvement but significant brand differences.

 Here consumers often do a lot of brand switching . Think

about cookies , has some beliefs about cookies , chooses a
brand of cookies without much evaluation , and evaluates
the product during consumption.

 Next time , the consumer may reach for another brand out of
a wish for a different taste.

 Brand switching occurs for the sake of variety rather than

dissatisfaction.
 VARIETY – SEEKING BUYING
BEHAVIOR
 The market leader and the minor brands in this
product category have different marketing
strategies. The market leader will try to
encourage habitual buying behavior by
dominating the shelf space , avoiding out-of-
stock conditions, and sponsoring frequent
reminder advertising.

 Challenger firms will encourage variety seeking

by offering lower prices , coupons, free samples
and advertising that presents the reasons for
trying something new.
 Four techniques to try to
convert a low-involvement
to high involvement
 low-involvement to high
involvement
1. They can link the product to some
involving issue. Ex: Crest is linked to
avoiding cavities.

2. They can link the product to some

involving personal situation. For
instance – by advertising a coffee brand
early in the morning when consumers
want to shake off sleepiness.
 low-involvement to high
involvement
3. They might design advertising to trigger strong
emotions related to personal values or ego
defensive.

4. They might add an important feature .(ex:

fortifying plain drink with vitamins).

These strategies at best raise consumer

involvement from a low to a moderate level ;
they do not propel the consumers into highly
involved buying behavior.
 BRAND IDENTITY
 

 Visible elements of a brand (such as

colors, design, logotype, name, symbol)
that together identify and distinguish the
brand in the consumers' mind
 BRAND IDENTITY

 Brand Identity as defined by Aaker is the

sum of the brand expressed as a product ,
organization , person and symbol.

 Aaker states that brand identity is a

function of these four dimensions.
 BRAND AS PRODUCT
 Brand as product deals with the acceptance of the brand as
a product itself .

 For its price , NIRMA is seen as a good product . BMW or

BENZ are basically seen as good products besides being
good brands.

 Apparel brands like levis , lee , wrangler , nike , reebok

,Peter England , Allen Solly , Raymonds , Reid & Taylor etc
are good products besides being good brands
 BRAND AS ORGANIZATION
 Brand as organization emphasizes that a
brand is successful among other things
because of the organizational values it
upholds .
 3M , ZARA ,ARMANI, MADURA , ARVIND
and MARICO in India have brought in a
series of successful products because of
their commitment to innovation, has
innovative and often successful offerings
in a wide variety of products.
BRAND AS PERSON

 Brand as person deals with the question

“what happens to this brand when it
becomes a person ?” By implication ,
DENIM Talc would be seen as
‘Masculine’ , SUNSILK shampoo as
‘feminine’ and PEPSI as ‘young and
vibrant’
 BRAND AS SYMBOL
 Brand as symbol deals with heritage and
what the brand stands for.

 For instance , COKE symbolizes the

American Dream , ARMANI Symbolizes
the ITALIAN FASHION etc.
 BRAND TESTING
 Brand of a product plays an important role in
marketing the product . If the brand gets
popularity among consumers , the demand of
the product increases and if the brand does not
become popular, the demand of the remains low
and the enterprise does not get required
success in the marketing efforts.

 Brand testing is a technique for knowing it.

 BRAND TESTING
 Some of the important techniques of brand
testing are as follows.

1. MEMORY TEST- under this technique of brand

testing few brand names are selected and the
target customers are selected from different
spheres of life , these brands are presented
before the target customers . After some time
again the target customers are invited and the
efforts were made to understand the brands
recollected by the target customers and which
is most liked by these customers . The same
brand is selected .
 BRAND TESTING
2. PREFERENCE TEST- The brands are presented
before the target and they are requested to
memorize these brands in order of preference .
The brand which is most preferred by most of
them is finally selected.

3. LEARNING TEST – The brand names are

selected and presented before the target and
are requested to pronounce and re-write these
words . The word which is most correctly
written and pronounce by most of the people is
finally selected.
 BRAND TESTING
4. ASSOCIATION TEST – some brand
names are selected and presented
before the target , these target are
requested to tell or write a name of the
brand which strikes on their mind first.
The name which is written or told by a
maximum number of these target is
finally selected.
 BRAND TESTING
5. UNIQUE TEST – under this technique of brand
testing , the producer selects only one brand name
for his product and request the target to inform the
names of some other products which may confuse
them with this name . Final selection of brand
name is made on the basis of the analytical study
of the replies collected for this purpose.

There are five techniques of brand testing and

producer may select any of these techniques for
testing the brand for its products.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 Developing a name for your company or
product is crucial in brand building. It's
not a process to take lightly, nor is it wise
to rush to a decision because letterhead
needs to be printed or the website is
ready to launch.

 Here are 11 tips to help you successfully

develop a brand name
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 1. Don't describe—distinguish. The biggest
mistake companies make is being too
descriptive with their names. A name should
not attempt to simply describe; it should have
the ability to suggest the essence (the unique
characteristics) of your company. To be
effective, a name must have brand potential.
A name that is narrow or too descriptive does
not have the depth or dimension to become
an effective brand.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION

 2. CEO involvement is key. Because

selecting and adopting a new name is a
highly emotional and political decision, you
will not succeed without support from the top.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 3. Avoid alphabet soup. Names that are
composed of initials are meaningless. They
get lost in the marketplace clutter and they
are extremely costly to support and promote.

 Unless you are a GE or an IBM with millions

to spend on advertising, avoid initials. Real or
invented words are many times easier for
consumers to remember.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 4. Research cannot replace decision-making.
While research is a valuable tool to test for
unforeseen red flags in a potential new name, there
is a tendency for many to fall back on research to
select the name. No one understands your
organization and your positioning objectives better
than you do.

 Don't allow popularity to determine the name. The

most popular name is not necessarily the strongest
name for the long-term.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 5. If it's comfortable—forget it. Everyone
else will. The most successful names over
the long-term are often those that are initially
the most controversial (think Google, Yahoo!,
and Ikea). When you select a name, you are
looking for something to punch through the
marketplace clutter, not add to it. Overtly
literal meanings can sometimes limit growth
and show a lack of company creativity.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION

 6. Keep it brief. One word brands are most

effective. Lengthy, multiple word names lead
to truncation. When people abbreviate your
name, you lose control over your brand.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 7. Employee contests don't work. While they are
often well-meaning, they do not result in names that
are based on the appropriate strategic rationale.

 8. It's about strategy, not emotion and politics.

Many clients are surprised that selecting a name is
such an emotionally charged decision. Naming
decisions are fraught with politics, turf issues, and
individual preferences. Stick to the strategy and do
not allow the lowest common denominator solution
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 9. Manage the decision-making process. There is
always someone who will try to derail the process.
Determine at the outset who the decision makers
will be, and then work diligently to keep the
decision-making process on track.
 10. Always be prepared for leaks. It is very difficult
to keep a new name a secret. At the beginning of
the naming process, prepare your press release and
press kit in the event of a leak.
 SELECTING BRAND NAME
DECISION
 11. Don't expect unanimity. In the first few
weeks following introduction, there is often a
lot of discussion and publicity about a new
name. Familiarity breeds comfort. As people
become more familiar with the name, they will
become more comfortable with it.
 logo

 Recognizable and distinctive graphic

design, stylized name, unique symbol, or
other device for identifying an
organization. Also called logotype, it is
affixed, included, or printed on all
advertising, buildings, communications,
literature, products, stationery, and
vehicles.
 SYMBOL

 Mark, sign, or word that indicates,

signifies, or is understood as representing
an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols
allow people to go beyond what is known
or seen by creating linkages between
otherwise very different concepts and
experiences.
KEY WORDS IN BRAND
MANAGEMENT
 BRAND ARCHITECTURE

 Brand Architecture is the structure that

organizes the brand portfolio. It defines brand
roles and relationships among a company
brands.
 BRAND AUDIT
 A brand audit assesses the health of a brand.
typically , it consists of a brand inventory and a
brand exploratory .

The brand inventory is a detailed internal description of

exactly how the brand has been marketed.

The brand exploratory is an external investigation of

what the brand means to consumers ( through focus
groups and other marketing research techniques).
 OVERVIEW
 In the 20th century, as the bargaining power shifted from
manufacturers to retailers, one thing remained constant
throughout: importance of brands and branding. Supported by
rising disposable incomes of middle class families and the desire
of individuals to exude a particular identity, brands proliferated in
the marketplace from the 1950s. This phenomenon was carried
into the 21st century, as companies used branding as the
primary tool to combat the dilemma of product commoditization.
Strong brands do represent an opportunity for companies to
charge a premium price and add to the bottom-line. But with an
ever-increasing number of brands out to grab customer attention,
the difficulty of building strong brands has escalated and at the
same time the effectiveness of traditional branding efforts has
nose-dived. Today, innovative and customized branding efforts
have become the name of the game.
 Case Title: Louis Vuitton: The Making of a Star Brand
 Publication Year : 2004
 Authors: Devangana Sisodia, Sumit Kumar Chaudhuri
 Industry: Retailing
 Region:France
 Case Code: BBP0003
 Teaching Note: Available
 Structured Assignment: Available

 Abstract:
Louis Vuitton (LV), the trendsetter in manufacturing high quality expensive leather accessories and cases,
is the most profitable luxury brand in the world. After Marc Jacobs took over as the Creative Director of LV
in 1997, its brand image underwent a complete transformation. By 2004, LV was bringing in 60% of
LVMH's US$2.47 billion operating profits and was much ahead of its competitors like Gucci, Richmont
and Prada.
 Pedagogical Objectives:
 To discuss the strategies that Louis Vuitton adopted to upscale its image and metamorphise itself into a
star brand.
 Keywords : Louis Vuitton(LV); LVMH (Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton); Star brand; Branding strategy;
Brand development; Luxury brand; Marc Jacobs; Innovations in the material used by Louis Vuitton; LVMH
sales in 2003; Growth Strategies Case Study; LVMH sales by Business Group
 OVERVIEW
 One of the most important aspects of strategy in modern business is
‘Branding’. Throughout most of the twentieth century, the Western
brands were dominant. The American and European companies were
the first to realize the power of strong brands and invested heavily in
building them. The Japanese followed suit, with Sony leading the way.
The companies in the Eastern world, which, until then, had served as
low-cost manufacturing bases for Western companies, were the next to
catch on. For instance, Samsung of South Korea, which was once
known for low-cost and low-quality products, benchmarked its top rival
and invested heavily to reinvent its brand. China’s Lenovo took the
route of purchasing established brands (Compaq) to strengthen its
brand portfolio. Original equipment manufacturer, BenQ of Taiwan,
invested the profits from its current business into building its own brand
and thereby took the risk of directly competing with its current
customers (like Dell, IBM, etc.).