Role of brand elements in developing brand equity Essay

Role of brand elements in developing brand equity - Essay Example Competition is immense in current business world and prominent companies are looking for every opportunity to increase their competitive power. Brand building is one way of increasing competitive power. Branding is a process intended for building awareness about a product or service. It enhances customer loyalty towards a particular product or service. It helps a product or service to distinguish itself from other products or services. Brands have different attributes which help them to cement their place in the minds of consumers. According to Kathiravana, et al., (2010) â€Å"Brand attributes consist of ‘bits’ of information that are linked to a brand name in consumer memory and that, when combined with the brand name, make up a brand’s image†( p.21) â€Å"Brand Equity is the value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth. It can also be defined as the differential impact of brand knowledge on consumer’s response to the Brand Marketingâ₠¬  (Brand Equity - Meaning and Measuring Brand Equity, 2013). It is the value that a consumer gives to a particular brand. For example, iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia and Samsung Galaxy S3 are some of the leading smartphones available in the market at present. Apple Inc. is the second largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization and they are the most valuable technology company in the world at present. Samsung on the other hand is one of the rapidly emerging consumer electronics company in the world and its products are well accepted in the market. Nokia was the leader in the mobile phone manufacturing industry until recent times. All these factors or brand elements will influence the consumers when they go for the purchasing of a smartphone. This paper analyses the role of brand elements in developing brand equity. Role of brand elements in developing brand equity Some of the major elements of brand equity are; changing market share, profit margins, consumer recognition o f logos and other visual elements, brand language associations made by consumers, consumers' perceptions of quality and other relevant brand values (Wilson C. 2008). Brand elements such as brand names, URLs, logos, characters, slogans, jingles and packaging are playing an important role in developing the brand equity. Brand names â€Å"Consumer behaviour blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics†(Zeb et al., 2011, p.225). For example, the name Apple actually represents a fruit. However, in consumer electronics industry, Apple represents Apple Company. A fruit stall owner may not be confused when a consumer asks for Apple. Same way, an electronics product dealer may not be confused when a consumer asks for Apple. The name Bill Gates remind us about Microsoft even through there are plenty of people in that name. Moreover, the name Microsoft reminds everybody about the computer OS whereas the name Android reminds about mobile phone OS. In shor t, brand names have the ability to touch the minds of consumers in one way or another. They play an important role in identifying the brand and building brand equity. According to Mishra & Datta (2011), â€Å"Brand  Name  (BN) was seen to have a strong impact on Customer Based  Brand Equity (CBBE),  Brand  Association (BAS) and Perceived  Brand Quality (PBQ) in case of students whereas for professionals brand  name  had a stronger impact on  Brand  Awareness (BA)†(p.109). Students and professionals interpret brand names in different ways. It should be noted that students or teenagers consider the opinions of others while taking any purchasing decision. In other words, they will purchase products based on the mouth publicity. Viral marketing or