MODULE 3: Building strong brands

Ch 4.2 MR data
Ch. 8. Brand Research

FEATURES OF DATA
There are many types of data that can be described along several features. See the
following examples:

1. External vs. Internal Data

Internal Data - collected by businesses as a byproduct of their operations (sales data,

customer complaints, service calls); typically available within the company without
additional cost

External Data - collected from outside the business, often for specific objectives.
Examples:
- Market research reports: surveys, focus groups, observations, and experiments
- Syndicated commercial research reports: data you need to pay for
- Syndicated free data: freely available data from specific sources
- Scraped data: extracted from the internet
- Public data: government statistics, demographic information, and economic trends
External data is useful when internal data is insufficient for making business
decisions.

2. Levels of Aggregation

• Individual-Level Data: detailed, person-specific data collected via surveys or

direct interaction
• Aggregate-Level Data: summaries without individual details

For example: Scanner data can provide total store sales but not individual customer
purchase details

Examples of Aggregation Levels

(shown in Figure 4.1):
Examples of Aggregation Levels:

- Monthly/Weekly/Daily Sales: time-based summaries

- Store/Customer/Brand-Level Sales: organizational summaries
- Population/Subgroup/Person-Level Statistics: demographic summaries
3. Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Time-Series Data

Cross-Sectional Data - snapshot data collected at a specific time (e.g., one- time
surveys)

Longitudinal Data- Tracks the same respondents over time (repeat surveys)

Time-Series Data - continuous data points over time (daily sales over a year)

4. Hard Data vs. Soft Data

Hard Data -objective metrics that are observed without bias

Examples: room temperature, sales of a product

Soft Data - subjective data that may involve bias or memory effects
Examples: consumer attitudes, brand perception, or self-reported purchase amounts.

Example Question for Soft Data - “Does this brand offer high-quality products or
excellent customer service?”

Challenges with Soft Data

• Respondent definitions of terms like “high quality” or “excellent service” vary
• Researchers use scales to measure constructs (brand attitude) to ensure reliability
and validity

5. The Information Value of Data: Measurement Scales

a. Nominal Scale - labels or categories without numerical value

Examples: Gender, country

Features:
- Mutually exclusive categories
- No quantitative value or ranking
- Usage: counting instances within categories
b. Ordinal Scale - data with an order or ranking, but differences between values are
not meaningful
Examples: Rankings, Likert scales (1–10 satisfaction ratings).

Features:
- Provides relative order (“very happy” > “happy”)
- Differences between values are arbitrary and not mathematically significant
- Usage: Describes preferences or levels (education levels)
c. Interval Scale - ordered data with meaningful differences between values but no
true zero (temperature)

Features:
- Enables calculations like mean, median, and variance
- Cannot compute ratios because of the lack of a true zero
- Usage: Analysing differences or central tendencies
d. Ratio Scale - ordered data with meaningful differences and a true zero

Features:
- Supports all mathematical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division)
- Ratios are meaningful (a price of $20 is twice as much as $10)
- Usage: Measuring absolute quantities and analysing trends
6. Structured vs. Unstructured Data

Structured Data - data is pre-coded and organized into predefined formats

Example: Rating a hotel on a scale of 1–10. Responses are directly assigned
numerical values.

Unstructured Data - free-format data without predefined structure

Example: Open-ended responses

Characteristics:
- Cannot be aggregated immediately
- Requires cleaning, preprocessing, and coding for analysis
- Increasingly sourced from the internet using text analytics
7. Observational Data

Collected without asking direct questions, reducing response bias

Key types include:

a. Scanner Data - captures in-store data when products are scanned at checkout
b. Unstructured Online Data -includes consumer-generated content like comments.
Collected through web scraping and often analyzed as aggregate-level data.

c. Consumer Interest Tracking Data - Google search data, which reveals trends
through search volume for specific keywords

d. Clickstream Data - online behavior, such as website visits, page views, ad clicks,
and session durations

e. Ethnography - observing consumer behavior in natural settings. Increasingly

relies on smart devices and in-home technology to capture habits.

f. RFID Data - radio-frequency identification used to track movements or

interactions, discussed separately

8. RFID Data

RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) - system used to track and monitor items

using small, specialized technology

1. Tags: small chips attached to items for tracking, always detectable

2. Readers: devices that detect the tags
3. Software: analyzes the data from the readings
4. Sensors (optional): monitor specific conditions

How is RFID Used?

• Marketing and Operations - track how customers move around a store

• Batch Freshness Monitoring - monitor food freshness
• Medical Tags - if a patient has taken their medication
9. Machine-to-Machine (MtM) SIM Card Data

Part of the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling communication between devices,

products, and machines via embedded chips.

Examples of MtM SIM Card Applications:

- Smart Devices
- Trucks: automatically track stops, average speed
- Agricultural Machinery
Why is MtM SIM Card Data Useful?
• Real-Time Monitoring
• Predictive Maintenance
• Operational Efficiency -insights help improve performance and reduce downtime

10. Spatial Data

Data that has a spatial (geographic) aspect, where the physical location matters.

Examples of Questions Addressed:

- Does the location of a store affect consumer behavior?
- Do countries have different innovation patterns?
- What path does a shopper take through a store? (Also path data)
11. Path Data

Tracks detailed observations of consumer behavior, focusing on their movements or

attention in specific areas

Examples: Using RFID Tags, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Tracking (downloaded apps) or
embedded, Eye-Tracking, Web Browsing and Clickstream Data

12. Big Data

Big Data - defined by its size, variety, velocity, and veracity

A. Size - volume of data being too large for traditional software to handle

Components of Size:
• Large n: large number of observations (surveys with 10,000+ respondents). Twitter
data can generate millions of data points easily.
• Large p: large number of predictors (independent variables). Using millions of
features from Twitter to predict the spread of the flu.

B. Variety - different types of data (text, video, numerical)

C. Velocity - speed of data generation (billions of gigabytes created in seconds)

D. Veracity - ensuring data quality and reliability

Table 4.1: Examples of Data Sources

 CHAPTER 8

BRAND RESEARCH

Examples of theories
- Ipsos: Focuses on an attitudinal brand equity approach
- Kantar: Uses a "meaningful, different, and irresistible" brand approach

Key theories used in branding research include:

A. Law of Double Jeopardy (Macro Theory): A principle in branding analysis
B. Memory Theory: Related to how brands are remembered

Terminology
1. Brand Equity Research
- Focuses on the additional value a brand brings to a product beyond its actual
value
- We calculate one score per brand to measure (and track) the brand’s strength
(health) compared to other brands (and over time)
- Includes factors like how well consumers like the brand, emotional connection,
relevance, and uniqueness
- score is derived from a few different questions.
- primary quantitative research

2. Brand Funnel Research

- Tracks consumer engagement with a brand at various stages: Awareness,
Consideration, Purchase, Loyalty, Advocacy
- Based on primary quantitative research
- learn how is my brand doing

3. Brand Associations and Positioning Research

- Explores how a brand meets consumer needs and stands out emotionally and
competitively
- Evaluates whether the brand's positioning is relevant to consumers
- Offers insights for improving positioning if needed
- primary quantitative research

4. Brand Architecture Research

- Examines how a parent (mother) brand supports its sub-brands and vice versa
- Aims to optimise the management of a brand portfolio
- primary quantitative research
 5. Brand Tracking Research
- Monitors brand performance over time through regular evaluations
- Compares the brand against competitors at regular intervals
- done on social data
- Measure is taken on regular-basis
- Client brand & main competitors
- We track: brand equity, brand funnel, and key brand positioning items

6. Brand Mental Networks - based on primary research (can be a survey with an

openends, can be via social listening)
- What people think about my brand
- The strength of the brand’s image in their minds
- Do I have unique association vs my competitors
- Sentiment
- Whether it is in line with my desired positioning
- Can identify brand assets
THE ROLE BRANDS

1. Economic Significance
2. Why Brands Matter
• For Consumers - brands simplify decision-making by serving as mental shortcuts
or heuristics

• For Companies - brands symbolize expected outcomes, anchoring trust and loyalty
in consumers; they differentiate a company from competitors and create functional
and emotional expectations for products and services.

BRANDS THEORY AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

3 main branding theories useful for understanding brand research:

The Law of Double Jeopardy (a Macro Theory)

Explains that smaller brands face two disadvantages: they have fewer buyers, and
those buyers are less loyal.

Why? Larger brands are easier to remember (mental availability) and easier to find in
stores (physical availability)
This creates a "halo effect," helping big brands like Coca-Cola attract and retain
customers more easily
However, digital transformation allows smaller brands to challenge large ones
through targeted marketing, wider reach, and authentic messaging
 Memory-BasedTheories (MicroTheories)

Branding relies on how we store and use memories

- Episodic Memory: memories of personal experiences (drinking coffee at

Starbucks)
- Semantic Memory: connections and associations in your mind (Starbucks =
coffee, cozy atmosphere)
- Implicit Memory: automatic habits (you grab a Starbucks cup without
thinking bc you associate it with comfort)

Spreading Activation Theory

Memory works as a network of connected ideas, called "nodes."
For brands, these nodes represent associations

Example: Thinking "I need coffee" might activate the idea of "Starbucks," leading
you to recall their products

Why it matters: The more attributes (like needs, feelings, experiences) a brand is
linked to, the more likely people will buy it

Brain research: Certain areas in the brain (hippocampus) show specific neurons firing
when brand associations (like a logo) are triggered, activating the brain's reward
system
Explicit VS Implicit Memory
Explicit Memory - controlled and conscious
- Relates to logical decisions or things you consciously remember
- Example: Thinking about product features before buying
Implicit Memory - automatic and unconscious
- Relates to habits and emotions
- Example: Buying Heinz ketchup without thinking because it’s familiar from your
past

Strong emotional connections to brands (implicit memory) are more effective for
brand loyalty than purely logical reasoning (explicit memory)

Brand Architecture
Companies with multiple brands (Unilever, Google) build a structured framework for
managing them

Example: Google has over 20 brands

It includes brand’s vision, mission, personality, and target group

Brand architecture helps organize and communicate the strategy for multiple brands
in a cohesive way, ensuring they resonate with their audience.

A Commonly Used Brand Framework: The Brand Key

FIGURE 8.l - Brand Key

Central idea: Understand what the brand stands for and communicate it effectively to
consumers

Key Components:

• Essence/Brand Idea - the core of the brand, summarised in one sentence.

Example for Dove: "Restoring femininity.”

• Values, Beliefs, and Personality - what the brand represents (honesty, optimism)
• Benefits
- Functional benefits: practical advantages
- Emotional benefits: how the brand makes people feel (confidence)
• Reasons to Believe - proof the brand delivers on its promise (Dove contains
moisturising cream)

• Discriminator/USP - unique feature setting the brand apart

• Consumer Insight - understanding consumers' needs and problems
• Target - who the brand is for
• Competitive Environment - alternatives and competitors in the market
• Root Strengths - foundational values and strengths the brand builds on

Types of Brand Architectures

It’s how a company organizes and structures its brands
Each brand has a unique identity (brand key), but they must work together

Types of Brand Architectures

1. Branded House - master brand (Apple, Samsung) defines the identity for sub-
brands (iPhone, Galaxy) ; reputation spreads to all sub-brands

2. House of Brands - company owns different brands (Unilever, P&G), each with
separate identities; don’t rely on the master brand’s equity

3. Hybrid - mix where one strong "eponymic" brand supports other brands (Coca-
Cola supports Dasani)

How Equity Flows Between Brands

1. Branded House - strong "halo effect" where the master brand supports sub-
brands, strengthening both
Example: Apple’s reputation boosts iPhone sales

2. House of Brands - little connection or "echo effect" between brands; each

operates independently
Example: Dove doesn’t depend on Unilever’s name

3. Hybrid - mix where the master brand supports its key brand ("eponymic"), and
some equity flows to others
Example: Coca-Cola supports Dasani but not as strongly as Apple supports its
products.
These three brand architectures are expected to generate three distinct equity flow
patterns (see Figure 8.4).

Figure 8.5 shows research that proves all three architectures have flows that go either
way, with a balance between halo and echo.

INSIGHTS INTO BRAND EQUITY

It's the value of a brand from 2 perspectives:

1. Firm-based perspective: financial value the brand adds to a company (what goes
on the balance sheet)
2. Consumer-based perspective: how much extra consumers are willing to pay for
a product because of the brand

Measuring the Market-Level Brand Asset

The concept of brand equity is described as a revenue premium— difference
between the revenue generated by a branded product (X) and an unbranded product
(Y)
This can be calculated by comparing the volume and prices of the 2 products
Other approaches - Kamakura and Russell's use of scanner data to predict market
share based on factors like price, promotions, advertising, and product perceptions

Measuring Consumer-Based Brand Equity

We discuss the following approaches: (a) the attitudinal equity approach (b) the
conjoint approach, (c) the brand funnel, and (d) an approach based on brand
associations.

The Attitudinal Equity Approach

focuses on assessing consumer perceptions of brands in a given category.

Respondents are asked to identify the brands they consider and then rate each on two
questions:

(a) how relevant the brand is to them

(b) how close they feel to the brand

These responses are averaged for each brand.

The key idea - relative scores between brands matter, and these scores are
transformed into ranks.

The ranks are then converted into predicted market shares using a mathematical
model

The Conjoint-Based Approach

used to quantify the additional value a brand can charge over competitors. It helps
determine how much more consumers are willing to pay for a product based on brand
alone

Steps in the Conjoint-Based Approach

1. Set Up the Options

2. Create Combinations
3. Survey Consumers

In this approach, a conjoint analysis is conducted where consumers evaluate different

brand and price combinations

- For example, you'd assess how much consumers are willing to pay for your brand
compared to competitors, with varying price levels included in the study

- Consumers are asked to rate

- The data is then analyzed to calculate "utilities" for each brand and price point
- For instance, if Starbucks has a higher utility score than Green Mountain, a specific price
adjustment can be calculated

- This calculation is typically performed using simulators due to the complexity of the
analysis
Takeaway

• Conjoint analysis helps brands understand:

- How much their brand name adds to a product’s value.
- What price they can charge compared to competitors.

• It involves a lot of calculations, often done with simulators

The Brand Funnel

It helps understand brand equity by tracking how consumers move through
different stages, from knowing the brand to purchasing it.

The general rule: the more consumers who know, consider, and buy your brand, the
higher its equity.

Stages

1. Awareness - consumers must know your brand to consider buying it. Measured
in two ways:
- Unaided Awareness: which brands consumers can recall without prompts
- Aided Awareness: which brands they recognize from a list
Key Metric: The most important measure is the brand consumers mention first in
unaided awareness—this is the brand they are most likely to purchase

2. Consideration - awareness doesn’t guarantee purchase—brands must move

into the consumer's "consideration set."
- "Which brands would you consider buying?"
- When consumers think of mobile phones, most consider iPhone or Samsung first
3. Preference - consumers may consider several brands but prefer only one
- Example Question: "You mentioned considering [brand X]. Which brand do you
prefer?”

4. Purchase (Conversion) - preference needs to turn into action, but external

factors (availability, price, better competitors) may affect this

Brand Equity Via Brand Associations

ocuses on understanding what consumers associate with a brand, beyond fbasic
awareness and preference
They include

1. Functional vs. Emotional Attributes:

- Functional attributes: tangible aspects like price, taste
- Emotional attributes: feelings the brand evokes

2. Product vs. Non-Product Attributes:

- Product: color, packaging
- Non-product: brand personality, values

Based on Means-End Chain Theory - consumers value attributes → because they

provide benefits → that lead to end values

Example
- Attribute: Lane departure warning in a car
- Benefit: Helps drivers feel safer
- End Value: Security and care for family

Brand Personality

Brands can embody human-like traits:

- Sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, ruggedness
- Example: Mercedes = Sophistication; Marlboro = Ruggedness.
Why Emotional Positioning is Key

Functional attributes are easy for competitors to replicate

Emotional attributes are particularly important because, unlike functional aspects,
they are harder for competitors to replicate

Steps to Measure Brand Equity via Attributes

1. Identify Relevant Attributes - use qualitative research (interviews) to

generate a list of attributes relevant to consumers
 2. Quantify Attributes
- Respondents rate how well each attribute describes the brand using scales
- Alternative: Ask respondents to pick the attribute they associate most strongly
with each brand (faster but less detailed)

3. Assess Attribute Importance

- Use regression analysis or direct rating scales to measure how important each
attribute is to respondents
- Combine these scores into a weighted average to calculate overall brand equity

Brand equity score - how much more consumers value one brand over another,
providing insights into how likely they are to consider and purchase that brand

Brand Positioning Research

Is about ensuring that a brand is strongly and uniquely represented in consumers'
minds, with strong mental availability

Helps brands identify their competitive advantage by:

- Checking if the brand meets customer needs
- How it stand out from the competitors
- If the positioning is relevant to the consumers
A brand is considered strong if
- It occupies a clear place in the consumer's mind.
- It has strong mental availability—easily recalled when needed.
What helps a brand grow stronger? 2 viewpoints explain this.

Viewpoint 1: More Associations = Stronger Brand (Brand Density)

The more brand associations (ideas, attributes, feelings) a brand has, the stronger it
is.
How to Measure It:
- Brand Density: total number of associations consumers have with a brand
- Example Question: “Thinking of Brand X, what comes to mind?”
- Data is analyzed and visualised as a brand association map
Viewpoint 2: Relevance and Differentiation

This view suggests:

- A brand is stronger if its attributes are relevant to the consumer
 - It must stand out in both functional and emotional dimensions
Examples: Volvo = Safety

The brand must be relevant to the consumer’s needs; It should stand out even when
multiple options are available

Marketing Goal
- Track how well the brand is perceived as relevant
- Improve both functional and emotional aspects of positioning

Brand Maps
Visually depict how a brand is positioned compared to its competitors based on key
attributes
These maps are created using brand attribute ratings
A 2-dimensional map shows where brands stand relative to specific attributes and
their competitors.

Example: Chocolate Brands (Figure 8.7)

The map positions chocolate brands based on functional and emotional attributes.
Key dimensions:
- Indulge vs. Hunger Relief
- Standing Out vs. Sharing
Key Insights:

- Brand B: Positioned for indulgence.

- Brand C: Associated with sharing occasions.
- Brand F: Targets hunger relief moments.
- Brand H: Stands out for its unique appeal.
A key analysis in brand positioning research - measure the size and opportunity of
the different occasions or emotional positioning. In other words, how many purchases
are done for indulgence reasons and how many purchases are done to relieve hunger?

Occasion Analysis
- understand the size and purchase potential of different occasions (indulgence vs.
hunger relief for chocolate)
- predict potential sales increases by repositioning the brand to better target high-
purchase occasions

Brand-Tracking Research
It is a way for companies to check how their brand is performing over time.
They use this to see if their marketing campaigns are working or if they need to
change their strategy

What is Tracked?

I. Brand Equity - versus competitors

II. Brand Positioning - monitor relevance and differentiation

III. Brand Funnel Metrics - awareness, consideration, and usage

How Does It Work?

1. Repeat the Same Survey:

- Companies ask the same questions to a group of people over time
- The survey design must stay the same every time to get reliable results
2. Track Changes:
- The results are compared over time to see if there is improvement.
Why Is It Useful?

• Measures Success: if ads making people notice the brand more

• Links to Sales: if changes in consumer opinions are boosting sales
• Improves Strategy: adjust their marketing to get better results

Modern approach
To reduce costs and improve efficiency, companies are adopting more agile, social,
and automated methods:

Agile Tracking - use shorter questionnaires (under 10 minutes) optimised for mobile
devices
Social Listening - monitor consumer sentiment on social platforms like Facebook,
Instagram

Automation - automate feedback collection, analysis, and reporting via cloud-based

systems
In Table 8.6 we show a few examples of design mistakes we have seen in brand tracking
research, the impact on the results, and what was done to solve the

ISURGENT (новые и необычные бренды) BRANDS

The world today is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA)

These are new companies that disrupt traditional markets with innovative business
models, agile operations, and the strategic use of technology, social media, and e-
commerce. Airbnb, Netflix, and Monster Energy.
(это компании, которые меняют рынок, делая всё по-другому, и часто
оказываются успешнее традиционных игроков)