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Branding
Marjorie Rosenberg

Aims Tasks
 to understand terms about  to discuss ideas about branding and
branding offer your opinion
 to be able to discuss the  to fill in word partnerships into a text
concepts of branding about branding
 to be able to recognise different  to match statements about brands to
branding strategies the branding strategies or terms
 to be able to implement different  to work in groups on branding
branding ideas strategies
 to hold a mini-presentation to express
your ideas

This activity can stand alone activity or be used together with Business Advantage Upper-
intermediate, Michael Handford, Martin Lisboa, Almut Koester, Angela Pitt, Unit 10 or with
Cambridge English for Marketing, Nick Robinson, Unit 6.

Level
Upper-intermediate (B2)

Timing
50–55 minutes depending on the size of the class. This should include checking the
answers.

Lead-in (10 minutes)

Students work in small groups and discuss questions about the concept of branding. They
offer their opinions on brands and discuss their personal approach to branding as well as
what they think the role of a company is.

Reading and Vocabulary (10 minutes)

The students read a leaflet on a branding seminar and fill in the missing vocabulary. Check
the answers in open class and clarify any questions they may have.

Discussion (5 minutes)
Students discuss the idea of an image created by a brand and concepts that were
introduced in the article. They also try to find examples for some of the concepts mentioned.
This is done in open class.
Note: Brand extension means using an existing brand and extending its name and image to
new or modified products. An example here would be Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero,
all of which make use of the name ‘Coke’. Brand stretching happens when a company
branches out into a new area. Daewoo, a South Korean automobile manufacturer, began to
produce household appliances such as microwave ovens which were also sold under the
Daewoo name. Problems can arise with this strategy if the new products do not represent
the same quality as the original, then the entire brand can suffer although the original
product line is still a high quality product.

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Matching (10 minutes)

Students read ten statements and match them to the brand strategies or terms mentioned.
When they have finished they try to think of more examples of these strategies or terms.

Group work and mini-presentation (15–20 minutes)

Students work in groups of three or four and choose a product and create various branding
ideas for it. They should also come up with a slogan and an advert and then present their
ideas to the class.

Follow-up
Students find one of their favourite brands on the internet and look for the various strategies
used by the company to promote it. They make notes and can report back on what they
found to the class.

Reading and vocabulary key

1 brand strategy, 2 brand evolution, 3 brand positioning, 4 brand audit, 5 brand architecture,
6 brand personality, 7 brand equity, 8 brand champion

9 brand awareness, 10 brand loyalty, 11 brand power, 12 brand leader, 13 brand extension,
14 brand stretching, 15 brand switching, 16 aspirational brand

Matching key
1 brand equity
2 brand extension
3 own brand
4 brand personality
5 brand positioning
6 brand loyalty
7 brand counterfeiting
8 brand stretching
9 stand-alone brand
10 brand-conscious

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Branding
Marjorie Rosenberg

Aims Tasks
 to understand terms about branding  to discuss ideas about branding and
 to be able to discuss the concepts of offer your opinion
branding  to fill in word partnerships into a text
 to be able to recognise different about branding
branding strategies  to match statements about brands to the
 to be able to implement different branding strategies or terms
branding ideas  to work in groups on branding strategies
 to hold a mini-presentation to express
your ideas
Lead-in
Work in small groups and answer these questions.
 What do you think of when you hear the word ‘brand’?
 What do you think makes a brand special?
 How can a brand be hurt or damaged?
 Do you prefer to buy brand items or do you buy generic ones?
 What makes brands more expensive than generic products? Is there a difference in the
product themselves?
 What can a company do to create brand loyalty?

Reading and Vocabulary

Read the leaflet from a seminar on branding below. Fill in the missing words to make word
partnerships with brand.
evolution audit architecture champion personality equity positioning strategy

One-day branding seminar

Companies interested in promoting their brands have to consider both internal and external
factors, both of which will be dealt with in this seminar. In the morning we will discuss what
can be done within the company, such as how to develop a detailed plan for successful
marketing and development of the products, in other words a (1) brand_______________.
This is closely related to (2) brand __________, which is the process of improving the brand
or the customers’ opinion of the brand due to changes in the market. Another decision a
company must make is (3) brand ___________ which deals with how the brand is marketed
in relation to its other products and competitors’ products. Before a company can undertake
some of these activities it is may be necessary to undertake a (4) brand___________, a
detailed examination of all the activities relating to successful marketing of a brand as well as
the (5)brand _______________, the way the company organises and names its products to
show customers where their differences and similarities lie within its own portfolio. We will
also give you tips on how to create a true (6) brand______________, a set of characteristics
that consumers then connect with your brands and look closely at (7) brand
_____________, the value of the particular brand for your company. In many cases it is
helpful to appoint one manager in charge of a brand, a so-called (8) brand_____________.

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Now complete the rest of the text.

leader switching aspirational awareness stretching power loyalty extension

The afternoon will move on to the factors outside the company. Here we will look at ways in
which you can increase (9) brand_____________, the degree to which people are familiar
with your products. Once a company has mastered the ideas behind this it is then possible to
work more intensively on (10) brand____________, maintaining customers who always buy
the brand. This can also make the ability of a brand to attract a share in its market or
(11) brand______________ stronger, a situation which is ideal for a company and can
eventually lead to having the most successful brand in the market or the
(12) brand______________. The strength of a brand also makes it possible to make use of
a strategy called (13) brand______________ or using an existing brand to introduce new or
modified products or services or even (14) brand___________, the introduction of seemingly
unrelated products from your company which sell because of the brand name. We will also
discuss how to prevent your customers from changing to other brands or
(15) brand______________ and finish off the day with ideas for creating a truly
(16) ___________brand, a brand of goods that people believe is of good quality and will
make them feel successful if they own these products.

Come along for an informative and inspirational day and see how important branding can be
for your company.

Discussion questions
Work in small groups and discuss these questions.
 How much influence do companies have over their brand image?
 Which of the ideas in the seminar leaflet were familiar to you?
 Can you give any examples of the techniques mentioned?
 What is the main difference between brand extension and brand stretching?
 What problems can brand stretching lead to?

Matching
Read these short descriptions and match them to the words about brands. When you have
finished, you can offer more examples of these terms.

brand loyalty brand personality stand-alone brand brand extension own brand
brand equity brand-conscious brand positioning brand stretching brand counterfeiting

1 People are willing to spend more money on particular brands such as Microsoft or Apple
products rather than buying generic ones.

2 Candy manufacturers (chocolate bar manufacturers) have gone into creating ice cream
products with the same name and flavours as the candy bars (chocolate bars), such as the
Mars Ice Cream Bar.

3 Most supermarkets in the UK sell products with their name on them for somewhat lower
prices than products from other manufacturers.

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4 The Virgin brand has developed a reputation for being reliable and good value for money.

5 Cars such as Alpha Romeo, Mercedes Benz or Lexus are considered to be top quality
products with high price tags and bought by a particular group of customers whereas other
models are known to be less expensive and meant for the mass market.

6 There are customers who insist on drinking Coca-Cola and cannot imagine ordering
another brand of cola drink.

7 Fakes and copies which look like original products are sometimes sold by street vendors.

8 Some companies have begun to successfully launch products unrelated to their core
business by using their name as Yamaha, a motorcycle manufacturer did when they began
producing musical equipment such as electric pianos.

9 The Xbox from Microsoft is not directly connected to their most popular products which
mainly consist of computer hardware and software packages.

10 There are customers who would never consider buying generic clothing or accessories
as they are sure that products with brand names are of higher quality and give status to
those who wear them.

Group work and mini-presentation

Work in groups of 3–4. Choose a type of product and decide on these factors:
 Create a brand name
 Think about the brand personality and develop the characteristics of the product
 Create a slogan for your product
 Create an advert for your product
 Come up with ideas to create brand awareness and brand loyalty
 Think about how you can employ brand extension and brand stretching

Put your ideas together into a mini-presentation. Present your ideas to the class.

Follow-up
Look up the website of one of your favourite brands and make notes on the different
strategies used by the company to promote it. Be prepared to report back to the class.

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