International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume III, Issue X, October 2016 | ISSN 2321–2705

Branding and Models of Branding

Sweta Menon
Research Scholar, Pacific University of Higher Education and Research University, Udaipur, India

Abstract: This article highlights the origin of Branding. It of Branding has been undergoing several changes over the
explains the importance of branding in today’s world. It details years.
out two important branding models which are in use in various
firms for creation of brands. The models described in this article As said by Philip Kotler, ―Over the past ten years, our
are the Brand Equity Model by David Aaker and Kevin Keller’s understanding has changed to encompass the fact that a brand
Customer-Based Brand equity Model (CBBE). It shows the is everything, and everything can be branded. That includes
different elements of these two models in great detail. individual people!‖ In fact, Kotler went on to suggest that just
Key words: Branding, David Aaker, Kevin Keller, Brand equity, like companies have marketing plans for their products and
Models. service, even people will start to have their own marketing
plan. This will be a plan for how you reach out to the right
he term branding comes from the Old Norse ―Brandr‖ people, across the right networks, what your message will be,
T which means to burn. Cattle, slaves, and timber were
burnt or branded with the markings or symbols of the owner
and how you will be perceived by different people.
The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called Brand
using a hot iron rod. The concept of branding was essentially Management. Brand Mangers seek to make their product or
to depict ownership, in particular things which had value, this service relevant towards their target audience. Brand
practice dating back to 2000 B.C. The transition from management includes all activities which are aimed at
―ownership‖ to ―creation and selling‖ started to evolve in the maintaining and improving the brand in the minds of the
1800‘s. customer. Brand Managers use several Branding models,
The credit of crating the first modern brand goes to an English which help to increase brand value and make a brand connect
artisan by the name of Josiah Wedgewood [1730-1795]. Born with its target audience.
into a family of potters, Wedgewood was a pioneer in I will be highlighting 2 important and existing Branding
industrialization who greatly improved the quality of the Models in this article:
crockery of his day. Christened ‗Queen‘s Ware‘ after Queen
Charlotte, his goods were of such superior quality, they I. THE FIRST MODEL IS THE BRAND EQUITY
stimulated demand and commanded a premium price - MODEL BY DAVID AAKER
―Wedgewood‖ became synonymous with ―Quality.‖
Brand Equity in Marketing refers to the premium / higher
In today‘s world branding is used to brand the products that a value a well-known brand will command as compared to a
company sells, services they give or even an organization lesser known brand from their consumers. Brand Equity is one
itself. Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other of the components which leads to higher financial value to the
feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct brand and makes the brand one of the most valuable assets of
from those of other sellers‖. (American Marketing the organisation owning them.
Association, 2012) A brand is used as a tool used to promote
products and services and thus secure profitability for the David Aaker defines brand equity as a set of brand assets and
firm. liabilities linked to a brand name and symbol, which add to or
subtract from the value provided by a product or service.
From a consumers‘ point of view brand stands for promise, Another aspect of the definition of brand equity that he
quality assurance and creation of an experience. It lends presented was the argument that brand equity also provides
trustworthiness to the products or services bought by the value to customers. It enhances the customer‘s ability to
consumers and help them make the right purchase decisions. interpret and process information, improves confidence in the
A brand creates an emotional connect of the consumer with purchase decision and affects the quality of the user
the product or service. experience. The fact that it provides value to customers makes
it easier to justify in a brand-building budget.
However, one has to remember that every company tries to
create a successful brand and compete against each other to David Aaker‘s model provides one perspective of brand
establish their brand name in the minds of the consumer. equity as one of the major components of modern marketing
Advertising, promotions, packaging, positioning all go a long alongside the marketing concept, segmentation, and several
way in creating a brand image in the minds of the consumer others. His model suggested that brand equity has four
and ultimately leads to brand purchase. However, the concept dimensions—brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand
associations & other proprietary assets and perceived quality,

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each providing value to a firm in numerous ways. Once a process information about a brand. A brand association links a
brand identifies the value of brand equity, they can follow a brand to its attributes, beliefs and attitudes as compared to that
brand equity roadmap to manage that potential value. of competing brands. A brand must aim to have positive
associations, in order to gain the trust of consumers and
The following diagram shows the various components of the
enable them to differentiate the brand from others available.
Brand Equity Model as explained by David Aaker. The details
The concept of ‗Brand Positioning‘ also forms a sub category
of the same in my understanding are as explained below.
of brand associations as it helps a brand create a separate and
Figure 1: Brand Equity Model by David Aaker distinct identity in the minds of the consumers.
Consumers form associations of a brand by all means of
communication they receive, whether intentional or not. It
could be interaction with company employees, advertising,
publicity, news, public relations, direct marketing, word of
mouth, quality of product, benefits, pricing, competitive
offerings, etc. A company generally uses the concept of
‗integrated marketing communications‘ to present a common
picture about a brand from all points of contact and create a
positive association.
As mentioned above, though they are not ‗reasons-to buy‘,
ultimately positive and strong associations go a long way in
inducing the consumer to buy a brand, when the need arises.
Brand associations also create a strong foundation for the
company and help the company to launch new product
extensions. For example, Marico Ltd has extended its
traditional coconut hair oil into other hair based products like
A) Brand Associations & other Proprietary Assets –
gels, creams and Parachute advanced cooling oil. Now the
One of the proprietary assets of an organisation is the company has extended Parachute's ‗purity and value-for-
competitive advantage that it has over its competitors. A money attributes‘ to skin care and face wash segment. The
competitive advantage goes a long way in helping the brand company can benefit with increased revenue due to these
establish a strong base in the market and outperform its brand extensions made possible due to favourable associations
competitor in the long run eventually. It will help a brand to with the mother brand.
stay ahead of its current and future competitors and may lead
B) Perceived Quality –
to acquiring a Market Leadership position in the industry.
This will help in increasing the brand value and higher brand Perceived quality refers to the quality associations of the
equity. brand. It is the opinion of a consumer about the brand‘s ability
to match their expectations based on previous interaction with
As Michael Porter states, competitive advantage can either be
the firm or brand. It is an intangible component and it is often
in terms of lower cost or in terms of differentiation. The goal
based on judgment of the consumer. The process of branding
of Cost Leadership Strategy is to offer products or services at
and developing strong brand imagery goes a long way in
the lowest cost in the industry. Take the example of global
increasing the perceived quality of a brand. Higher the
retail giant Wal-Mart. It aims at being the lowest cost provider
perceived quality, there is a higher likelihood of the
by ensuring cutting costs through economies of scale. This
consumers‘ willingness to buy the brand.
form of advantage has definitely given an edge to Wal-Mart
worldwide. The goal of Differentiation Strategy is to provide For example, when a consumer wants to buy a car he
a variety of products, services, or features to consumers that perceives the quality of the car from his judgment based on
competitors are not yet offering or are unable to offer. his past experience as well as information he possesses.
Starbucks differentiates itself on its quality of products and However, the touch, feel, looks of the car along with a test-
the high-end experience it provides. With this strategy it has drive experience adds to his perception about the brand of car
been able to diversify in more than 50 countries of the world. he evaluates for his purchase decision. On the basis of this
perception, he makes a decision regarding buying a particular
Brand associations are those attributes of a brand, which come
brand vis-à-vis the others in the same segment.
to the mind of a consumer when they think about a particular
brand. For example, the swoosh of Nike, the polka dotted girl However, after purchase of the product the consumers check
of Amul, the signature tune of Nescafe, or the blue colour of the reliability and performance of the products. In other
Pepsi all create associations when we think of these brands. words, consumers compare the perceived quality of the brand
Associations are not ―reasons-to-buy‖ but provide to the actual quality of the product or service. This can either
acquaintance and differentiation that‘s not replicable. As lead to 3 situations:
mentioned in the model, they help consumers retrieve or

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1- Perceived quality = Actual quality Customer A high brand awareness and recognition helps a company to
satisfaction launch subsequent products in the market. Take the case of
2- Perceived quality > Actual quality Customer delight ‗Apple‘ as a brand. The consumers‘ are anticipating the
3- Perceived quality < Actual quality Customer launch of the awaited I-phone 6. Even before the product is
dissatisfaction or dissonance launched in the market, there are a set of consumers who want
to definitely buy it. This is how companies achieve success
C) Brand Awareness- and profitability in the long run. It will not be wrong to state
that Brand awareness is one of the crucial creators of ‗Brand
Brand Awareness refers to the extent of recognition of a brand
Asset‘ for an organisation. It thus becomes an inseparable part
by its potential customers. It also refers to its correct
of ‗Brand Equity‘ Model.
association to a particular product category. When a new
product is introduced, the main aim is to create brand D) Brand Loyalty-
awareness. Until the consumers are aware of the existence of
Brand Loyalty is explained as a consumers‘ commitment
a brand, they will not demand the same. A brand is generally
towards the brand and repeat purchases of the brand over a
communicated to a consumer through and array of media like
period of time. Brand loyalty merely does not involve
television, radio, newspaper, outdoor advertising and digital
retaining existing consumers, but also involves acquiring new
marketing among others. Creation of brand awareness is
ones. Brand loyalty directly results in improved equity for the
extremely crucial in product categories which have a number
brand. Brand loyalty is a combination of several factors like
of competitors. The companies have to spend a huge amount
customers‘ perceived value, brand trust, customers‘
of their marketing budget in creating awareness in the market.
satisfaction, repeat purchase behaviour and commitment.
This has to be a continuous effort as the brand name has to be
Though repeat purchases are the visible results of brand
in the memory of its consumer for its success.
loyalty, the other dimensions stated above play an important
Brand awareness can be measured by two concepts – Brand role in building of brand loyalty among users.
recognition and Brand recall. In case of brand recognitions, it
In the above example of purchase of ‗Lays‘ based on recall, if
means the ability of the consumers to identify a particular
Lays is not available at the shop and the student agrees for
brand based on their previous experience. It however, does
another competing brand, it would reflect poor commitment
not imply that the consumers must be able to remember the
and poor loyalty for ‗Lays‘. On the other hand, if the student
brand name. On the other hand, brand recall requires testing
insists on buying ‗Lays‘ and moves to the next shop for the
the memory of the consumer in terms of correctly retrieving
same brand, he reflects a high amount of commitment and
the brand name when a product category is mentioned.
brand loyalty for ‗Lays‘
For example, a student visits a mom and pop store to buy
This is accounted by the fact that customers become more
some chips to satisfy his craving for the same. He looks at the
profitable the longer they remain with the firm. The customer
various chips packets displayed on the store which include
loyalty improves the firm‘s profitability due to reduced
Parle‘s, Balaji, Haldiram, Pringles, Lays, etc. Now based on
operational costs, price premiums which the consumers‘ are
the past experience, he picks up a packet of ‗Lays‘ and
ready to pay and the referrals to other potential customers.
purchases the same. This is mainly due to brand awareness
Word of mouth marketing by loyal customers is one of the
and recognition of the same as compared to competitive
best forms of marketing for any firm for prospective
brands. Another scenario would be of a student going to a
customers.
small local shop (with limited display) with the need to buy a
packet of chips. The student immediately demands a packet of Loyal customers are more open to new products launched by
Lays from the shopkeeper, without looking at the options the company in form of Brand Extensions. They are the first
available. This is due to the brand awareness generated and adopters of these products, as they already trust the brand.
the brand recall of the same by the consumer. In both the The 20-80 rule of customer loyalty states that 20% of the
cases advertising plays a major role for aiding the ‗Top of customers‘ account for 80% of a firm‘s purchases. This shows
Mind‘ awareness for the consumer to buy ‗Lays‘. that Brand Loyalty cannot be left to fate. A brand has to make
conscious efforts to engage with the customers and create a
Brand awareness is not a standalone aspect; it is in fact strong
long term relationship with them.
linked to brand associations. A consumer form brand
associations and perceives brand quality on the basis of their A brand should build a foundation of loyalty. This can be
brand awareness and previous interaction with the brand. done by segmenting the market properly, acquisition of the
Most of the consumer decision-making models like AIDA, right kind of customers, effective tiering of customers and
Consumer Adoption Model, Hierarchy of effects Model, delivering quality service. Brands need to create loyalty bonds
Innovation Adoption Model, etc. mainly talk about ‗Brand to deepen customer relationships and reward customers‘ for
Awareness‘ as the first parameter or the first step of consumer their loyalty to the brand or firm. At the same time, the firm
decision making process. This leading to familiarity, liking must reduce the churn drivers. This can be done by addressing
and preference for the brand, which ultimately results into churn drivers and implementing complains handling and
buying behaviour. service recovery.

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Conclusion: A) Step 1 – Who are you? (Brand Identity)

David Aaker‘s Model of Brand Equity is widely used by The key component at this stage is to develop a brand identity
Marketing Organisations even today. Companies do realize in the minds of the consumer. This stage aims at developing
that the components listed by David Aaker for creation of ‘Salience’ i.e. the customer needs to identify the product
Brand Equity - brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand category the brand belongs to and have as fair idea of the
associations & other proprietary assets and perceived quality needs it can satisfy. To establish this, the main branding
are the building foundations of a brand. Only strong brands objective would be to develop a deep and broad awareness of
can be successful in the competitive modern world of today. the brand. The brand must be able to generate brand
recognition and brand recall at the decision making time of
II. THE SECOND MODEL IS THE KEVIN consumers.
KELLER‘S CUSTOMER – BASED BRAND
This stage involves creation of brand associations in the mind
EQUITY MODEL (CBBE)
of the consumers‘. These involve creation of brand name,
Kevin Keller developed this model, which is a part of his logo, colour associates, mascot if any, tagline, brand symbol,
popular textbook ‗Strategic Brand Management‘. As the name etc. These associations act as memory clues for the consumer,
suggests, this model is customer based. Keller believes that at the time of the decision making process. Only brands in the
Brand equity can be created by providing the right experience memory of a consumer become part of the consideration set,
to your customer. The brand needs to shape up how the when a product need arises. Hence creating brand awareness
customers think and feel about the product. Marketing and and associations are the most crucial steps in creation of brand
branding specialists need to manage the thoughts, feelings, salience, ultimately leading to brand identity.
beliefs, perceptions and opinions customers carry about a
The concepts of STPD, i.e. Segmentation, Targeting,
particular brand. The higher the positive experiences created,
Positioning and Differentiation can be applied at this stage of
higher will be the brand equity. A high brand equity results
marketing. Before introduction of a brand, the market should
into brand loyalty and better brand sales.
be clearly segmented. The right target audience needs to be
The Models is also referred to as ‗Brand Resonance Model as selected. This is mainly done by matching the expectations of
it seeks to build a strong connection between the brand and the consumers and the delivery of the brand. To create a clear
the customer. The model states that brands with high identity, the brand must be positioned well in the minds of the
resonance have benefits like increased brand loyalty and consumer by creating a Unique selling Proposition (USP) of
reduced vulnerability to competitive marketing activity. The the brand. It is essential to differentiate your brand from the
model lists down 4 steps, which should be followed by brand competitors, for easy recognition and recall by the consumers.
to build brand resonance and increase brand equity.
Let us take an example here. A woman wants to take up
The figure below depicts Keller‘s Brand Equity Model. It ‗running‘ as an outdoor activity from the perspective of
shows a series of steps to develop brand resonance and also fitness. She also wants to participate in short-distance
states the branding objective at each stage. The model is marathons of 5 kms and 10 kms to test herself. She therefore
explained below as per my understanding. realizes the need of a comfortable and good pair of running
Figure 2: Customer-Based Brand Equity Model (CBEE) by Kevin Keller
shoes. The main brands that come to her mind and become a
part of her consideration set are Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Puma,
Fila and Asics. These brands are the main sports brands which
are recalled by her and the decision to purchase one of this
will be taken. These brands top the list due to the brand
awareness created by them and strong associations to the
category of sports and fitness linked to them.
This stage can be compared to the ‗Brand Associations‘ and
‗Brand Awareness‘ components of the ‗Brand Equity Model
of David Aaker‘ as seen above.
B) Step 2 – What are you? (Brand Meaning)
This stage aims at establishing a brand meaning for the
consumer. The consumers must be able to understand what
your brand means and what it stands for. The main building
blocks at this step are ‘Performance’ and ‘Imagery’. To
The four steps represent the basic questions in consumer‘s achieve this, the branding objective is to create point of parity
mind relating to a brand. As shown, these four steps lead to and difference. Mere imagery is not sufficient; the brand also
six building blocks to reach the top of the pyramid and create needs to deliver as per its promise in order to establish
brand resonance. resonance with the customer.

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Understanding and creating a brand image is very crucial. It is Product reliability, serviceability and durability – reliability
important to know, what a brand stands for in the minds of the refers to the consistence in brand performance over a period
consumers. Though the imagery of the brand is required, it of time. Durability would mean the economic life of a product
needs to be backed by experience through brand performance. and serviceability relates to how easily the easy of servicing,
The brand associations formed by the consumers contact and repairs and after sales service provided by the brand.
experience of the brand help in formation of Brand Meaning.
Service effectiveness, efficiency and empathy – service
Let us consider these parameters of ‗imagery‘ and effectiveness means the extent of satisfaction of customers
‗performance‘ in greater detail: after service provision, efficiency refers to responsiveness in
terms of time, speed, etc and empathy reflects the care of
Brand Imagery: It refers to the intangible aspects of a brand.
customers and the trust evoked by the brand.
It mainly deals with the method in which a brand aims to
satisfy the social and psychological needs of a consumer. It Style and design – reflect the aesthetic components of the
comprises of sub-components such as: brand and are the most tangible. The look, feel, smell, texture,
shape, size, colour play an important role in the consumer
User profiles – means the type of people and organisations
decision making process.
using the brand. It involves the demographic and
psychographic segmentation understanding of the brand. Price – is one of the most important aspects of performance.
Consumers‘ generally form perceptions and expectations of a
Purchase and usage situation – refers to the time and place
product on the basis of the price it commands in the market. A
when the brand is purchase, where it is purchased and if it is
right pricing strategy goes a long way is generating brand
used for regular, occasional, formal, informal situations, etc. It
equity in the long run.
talks about the behavioural characteristics of the target
audience. A strong brand imagery backed by good brand performance
helps in the creation of a strong, favourable and unique
Personality and values – brands like people possess values.
association for the brand. This is the base of the customer
Keller talks about several aspects of brand personality such as
based brand equity model.
sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and
ruggedness. The values of the consumers‘ must match with Let us take the above case of buying running shoes, where the
the brand personality in order to create brand – consumer brands in the consideration set were Reebok, Nike, Adidas,
bonding. Puma, Fila and Asics. Each of these brands is considered as
sports brand. However, there are differences in their
History, heritage and experience – mainly talks about the
perceptions. Nike with it‘s swoosh has a distinct brand
history and heritage the brand carries over the years and the
identity and is the market leader in the category. It is followed
impact it has on the perceptions of consumers.
by Reebok and Adidas. While Nike and Adidas, covers the
Brand Performance – It refers to the tangible aspects of the entire gamut of sports like basket ball, running, tennis,
brands. It mainly concerns the functional needs satisfied by football and training, brand like Asics are restricted only to
the brand. The most important component of brand equity is running, Fila and Puma to training. Now they are trying to
the ‗product‘ itself and how it delivers. Brands set consumer enter multi sport category the perceptions are formed. On the
expectations by means of awareness, associations and creation basis of this the lady, who wants to buy running shoes now
of brand imagery. Brand performance is the litmus test of the narrows down her set to only Nike, Adidas and Asics.
same. The brand must definitely at least meet the expectations
Brand imagery and performance can be compared to
of the target customer, if not exceed the same. Only when
‗perceived Quality‘ in David Aaker‘s Brand Equity Model.
these expectations are met, it results in the customer
satisfaction and then in development of loyalty. A brand must C) Step 3 – What about you? (Brand Response)
aim to satisfy the utilitarian, aesthetic and economic needs and
This stage depicts the consumers‘ response towards the brand.
wants of customers.
Its main building blocks are ‘Judgements’ and ‘Feelings’. It
Keller listed the following sub-components of brand explains how consumers think and feel about the brand. The
performance: main objectives of branding at this stage are to generate
positive accessible reactions. These reactions are from the
Primary characteristics and secondary features – refers to the
consumers‘ and reflect their views which arise from their
satisfaction of the core benefits of the product, which is its
‗head‘ or ‗heart‘.
primary characteristic and the provision of ancillary benefits
as part of secondary feature. For e.g. when you check into a In other words, this stage is the outcome of the previous 2
hotel, a clean and hygienic room is a primary feature, whereas stages mentioned above. Once a brand has developed an
a complementary tray of cookies and coffee is a secondary identity and also has established a meaning in terms of
feature. imagery and performance, the views and opinions of the target
audience at large matter the most. This stage mainly captures
this response from the consumers.

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Let us look at the 2 main sub-components of ‗Judgements‘ Fun – feelings are amusement, joyfulness, playfulness,
and ‘Feelings‘ in details cheerfulness and light heartedness which are directed towards
the brand.
Brand Judgements: On basis of their personal opinion and
experience as well as contact with the brand, consumers‘ tend Excitement – brands can generate a feeling of excitement
to make judgements relating to the brand. These mainly among consumers along with the feeling of being sexy, cool
originate from the mind of the consumer, i.e. it is a though and alive.
about opinion of a customer. Keller in this model has
Security – brands may help consumers get rid of their
summarised the brand judgements into four categories as
problems and thus generate a feeling of safety, protection,
under, written in an ascending order of its importance. They
comfort and self-assurance.
are stated below:
Social Approval – when the brand satisfies the social
Brand Quality – the quality of the brand is the most important
acceptance needs of a consumer, it reflects social approval. A
point of judgement. Ultimately consumers form opinions on
brand purchased by a consumer may be acknowledged by
brands on the basis of the quality it delivers. The perception of
others and may also become a symbol of his / her social
value and satisfaction mainly arise from quality of the brand.
status.
Only if the quality of the product is satisfactory, will the
consumers go for repeat purchases and also recommend the Self Respect – is generated when a consumers‘ feels better
same to others. about their own self by usage of the brand. The brands may
help boost their confidence, looks or even a sense of
Brand Credibility – as a concept extends beyond and brand
accomplishment.
and reflects the credibility of the company or the organisation
behind the brand. It refers to the extent a brand is credible Consumers‘ responses, whether they are from their ‗head‘ or
mainly on 3 dimensions – brand expertise which includes ‗heart‘ need to be positive in association. Only then they will
competence and innovations, brand trustworthiness that talks have a positive impact on consumer responses, i.e. their
about the brand being sensitive to the needs of the customers behaviour.
and brand likability which refer to the brand being fun and
worth the time and effort. In the above example, about the purchase of running shoes,
the woman will form her brand response on the 3 shortlisted
Brand Consideration – is the actual response of consumers. It brands, i.e. Nike, Adidas and Asics. Her judgements and
reflects if the brand is in the consideration set of consumers or feelings for the brands will create her response. In terms of
not while making a purchase. The brand may have a high judgement, she has equal quality perceptions for all the
awareness and also may be considered as credible, but if it brands. However, she feels Nike and Asics are more credible
does not figure in the consideration set of consumers, it will in terms of running. They become a part of her immediate
not generate brand equity. The brand has to be relevant to the consideration. In terms of feelings, design and styling
needs of the customers and thus be in their consideration becomes important for social respect and approval. She feels
when required. Brand consideration is directly related to the that Asics has good running shoes, but they lack the fun and
strong and positive brand associations the brand has been able excitement. Hence, on the basis of these perceptions, she
to generate. decides to buy Nike running shoes.
Brand Superiority – mainly reflects the competitive advantage D) Step 4 – What about you and me? (Relationships)
a brand has as compared to other brands in the same category.
The final step of the model talks about the ultimate
It determines the extent to which a brand is unique and
relationship between the customer and the brand. This
distinct in the minds of the consumer. Again the positioning
measures the bonding of the brand with the customers and is a
of a brand and brand associations go a long way in
determining brand superiority. true reflection of consumers‘ continuity with the brand and
allied products. ‘Resonance’ reflects the nature of
Brand Feelings: They are the consumers‘ emotional reactions relationship that a consumer develops with a brand and
and responses to the brand. It reflects how the consumers feel whether the brand is in sync with the customers‘ needs. The
about the brand from their ‗heart‘. The consumers‘ feelings extent of customers‘ bonding with the brand determines brand
could be mild, intense, negative or positive depending on the resonance. The main branding objective at this stage is to
communication of the brand and resulting perceptions. Keller establish a deep and permanent loyalty among customers.
has categorized these feelings into the six categories as given Brand Resonance is characterised by the intensity of depth of
below: the psychological bond between the brand and the customer
the level of activity engendered due to this loyalty. Keller
Warmth – refers to the soothing feelings that a brand
further breaks up brand resonance into the following four
generates from a consumer. Consumers may feel warm
categories:
hearted, sentimental or affectionate towards the brand.
Behavioural Loyalty – it measures the repeat purchases of
customers and the share of category accounted to the brand.

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The higher the brand loyalty, higher is the profitability as Figure 3: Sub-components of the six building blocks in (CBEE) by Kevin
Keller
loyal customers help in reducing marketing costs, are immune
to price changes and are the brand ambassadors through their
word of mouth campaigns.
Attitudinal Attachment – towards the brand is necessary for
strong brand resonance. The positive association one carries
regarding the brand and its reflection on brand attitude by
consumers‘ is a powerful measure of attitudinal attachment.
Consumers who love the brand or cannot part with the brand
as considered as being attached to the brand in the true sense.
Sense of Community – identification to a brand community is
a social phenomenon, where consumers feel affiliated and
connected to other people using the same brand. It could be a
part of social or reference group, where many individuals buy
the same brand to have a sense of community with their
counter parts.
Active Engagement – the strongest measure of brand loyalty
is when the customers are willing to invest time, money and Conclusion:
resources into the brand and which extends beyond purchase
and consumption of the brand. They are willing to be part of Keller's Brand Equity model highlights four key levels to
other activities of the brands like attending events, being part create a successful brand. These four levels are:
of brand clubs, receiving brand updates, interact on websites, 1. Establishing proper Brand identity.
participate in brand chat rooms, etc. In the true sense, the
customers become brand ambassadors and brand evangelists. 2. Creation of relevant Brand meaning.
It reflects the strength of customer – brand bonding. 3. Generating the right Brand responses.
Brand Relationships are reflected by 2 dimensions - ‗Activity‘ 4. Developing Brand relationships with customers.
and ‗Intensity.‘ Behavioural loyalty and active engagement
reflect the ‗Activity‘ a consumer has with the brand. This Within these four levels are six building blocks that further
activity can be in terms of usage or indirect interaction with help with brand development. These six building blocks are
the brand. ‗Intensity‘ is measured by the attitudinal salience, performance, imagery, judgments, feelings, and
attachment and community sense with the brand concerned. resonance. In short the Brand Resonance Model states that
Brand resonance is at ‗top of the pyramid‘ and the ultimate improving the brand equity directly depends on how
aim of any brand. In our running shoe example, the lady consumers‘ think, feel, act and engage with the brand.
finally makes a decision and purchases Nike shoes. If she is
satisfied with the brand and further starts loving it with each REFERENCES
running experience, she will like reach a stage of brand [1]. David Aaker (1991), Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press,
resonance, with brand loyalty and engagement with Nike. New York
[2]. Kevin Keller (2001), Building Customer – Based Brand Equity
The diagram below gives a summary view of the sub- Model : A blueprint for creating strong brands, Working paper,
components of the six building blocks – Salience, Report No. 01 – 107, Marketing Science Institute
Performance, Imagery, Judgement, Feelings and Resonance as [3]. Keller‘s Brand Equity Model, Mind Tools
[4]. Siina Hietajarvi (2012), Thesis, Rovaniemi University of Applied
explained above. Science

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