Marketing Management

Carla Hawkins
Marketing Management Final Examination
December 4, 2010

MBA Marketing Management Final Examination

Question 1: Explain product image significant of “Branding” as presented in the recommended text book/lecture.   Give a practical example on how to develop and position a named product brand of your choice.

      Brands offer a variety of benefits to customers and are valuable assets that must be managed carefully. The key is that customers must be able to identify the differences among brands in a product category.   Let’s take a moment to truly define brand. According to the text book, brand is a name, term, symbol or a combination that identifies the good or service of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.   Simply put and explained in class lectures, brand means what differentiates one product or service from another.

      The challenge for marketers in building a strong brand is ensuring customers have the right type of experiences with products to create the brand knowledge needed when it comes to branding. Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand. I have learned that product image affects the purchasing decision and how it is positioned affects it even greater. This is why branding is such an important part of marketing and sales.

      My product brand choice is Mary Kay Inc. According to its website, www.marykay.com, Mary Kay has been listed as number one on the Brand Keys 2010 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index in both the Cosmetics (Mass Merchandiser) and Moisturizing Skin Care (Mass Merchandiser) categories! I have personally worked for this organization and although you cannot find it in stores and have to order online or through your consultant, the branding of the various products is so strong until people prefer it over the cosmetic products that are easily assessable in their neighborhood supermarket.

      I would take the Mary Kay product brand... [continues]

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