Brand Equity
UNDERSTANDING BRAND EQUITY
ANSWERS TO TEN COMMON BRANDING QUESTIONS
Kevin Lane Keller Tuck School of Business Dartmouth College
UNDERSTANDING BRAND EQUITY
ANSWERS TO TEN COMMON BRANDING QUESTIONS One of the most popular and potentially important marketing topics to arise in the 1980 's was the concept of brand equity. The emergence of brand equity, however, has meant both "good news" and "bad news." The good news is that it has raised the importance of the brand in marketing strategy -- which heretofore had been relatively neglected -- and provided impetus for managerial interest and academic research activity. The bad news is that the concept has been defined a number of different ways for a number of different purposes, resulting in some confusion and even frustration with the term. Despite these differences, most observers are in agreement that brand equity should be defined in terms of marketing effects uniquely attributable to a brand. That is, brand equity relates to the fact that different outcomes result in the marketing of a product or service because of its brand, as compared to if that same product or service was not identified by that brand. There is also basic agreement in the following: These differences arise from the "added value" endowed to a product as a result of past investments in the marketing for the brand; there are many different ways that this value can be created for a brand; brand equity provides a common denominator for interpreting marketing strategies and assessing the value of a brand; and there are many different ways as to how the value of a brand can be manifested or exploited to benefit the firm. Beyond this general agreement, however, the specific approaches to motivating and defining brand equity can vary greatly depending on the perspective and purpose adopted. The objective of this paper is to provide a concise, up-to-date primer on brand equity. Its goal is to illuminate, clarify, and improve the ability of managers
ANSWERS TO TEN COMMON BRANDING QUESTIONS
Kevin Lane Keller Tuck School of Business Dartmouth College
UNDERSTANDING BRAND EQUITY
ANSWERS TO TEN COMMON BRANDING QUESTIONS One of the most popular and potentially important marketing topics to arise in the 1980 's was the concept of brand equity. The emergence of brand equity, however, has meant both "good news" and "bad news." The good news is that it has raised the importance of the brand in marketing strategy -- which heretofore had been relatively neglected -- and provided impetus for managerial interest and academic research activity. The bad news is that the concept has been defined a number of different ways for a number of different purposes, resulting in some confusion and even frustration with the term. Despite these differences, most observers are in agreement that brand equity should be defined in terms of marketing effects uniquely attributable to a brand. That is, brand equity relates to the fact that different outcomes result in the marketing of a product or service because of its brand, as compared to if that same product or service was not identified by that brand. There is also basic agreement in the following: These differences arise from the "added value" endowed to a product as a result of past investments in the marketing for the brand; there are many different ways that this value can be created for a brand; brand equity provides a common denominator for interpreting marketing strategies and assessing the value of a brand; and there are many different ways as to how the value of a brand can be manifested or exploited to benefit the firm. Beyond this general agreement, however, the specific approaches to motivating and defining brand equity can vary greatly depending on the perspective and purpose adopted. The objective of this paper is to provide a concise, up-to-date primer on brand equity. Its goal is to illuminate, clarify, and improve the ability of managers