A brand is the personification of a company, its line of products and services or the company as a whole. A brand is the medium through which the consumers relate to a certain company (Elliott, Percy and Pervan 2015). It is the basis on which a company gains productivity in its regular nature of operations. The success of a company in developing a brand image determines the efficacy of the brand and helps in the development of brand equity (Severi and Ling 2013). The latter is the commercial value that a company is able to derive as a result of successful implementation of the brand image. It is the goodwill that the company has been able to develop as a result of successful communication of the brand. There are stages of development of a brand. The stages are development of objectives of the brand, followed by conducting research, segmentation, transforming the vision of the company into value for the customers. The ultimate stage in the development of the brand is the development of the marketing strategies that will be liable for communication of the objectives or motives of the brand to the customer community. Development and management of a brand over time is purely the role of the marketing departments of companies. The aim of the paper is to justify the importance of a brand with the help of a brand equity model. Furthermore, the role of the marketing department of the company will be evaluated which will be responsible for the development of a said brand.

Discussion

Brand and brand equity

A brand acts as a unique identity of a company as a result of which they are able to establish a position in the industry that they operate in (Dolbec and Chebat 2013). The brand that a company has been successfully been able to establish with the help of successful integrated marketing communication is one of the most important grounds under which a brand is recognised. A brand acts a medium through which a company establishes emotional connection with the individuals in a market that a company operates. One of the main aims of a brand are to establish themselves in order or deliver value to the consumers of the community. However, it should be clarified that brands are not legal trademarks, but determines the way a company or some of their product or services is related to by an individual. A particular brand can be identified with the help of a unique name, symbol, logo, colour patter, a catchy tag line, musical jingles and even the combination of all the mentioned factors (Brown 2016). Branding refers to the development of a product with the help of the brand power that a company has (Brown 2016). Brand equity refers to the additional value endowment that the bran is able to gain as a result of the values and impressions that are associated with the value and belief mechanism of the consumer community (Brown 2016). It should be recognised by the companies that the sustainability of a brand is in the hands of the customer community. The latter is highly influenced by word of mouth and has high affiliation with the degree of difference that arise between the perceptions of two or more consumers. It can be said that a company or a brand has been successful in development of brand equity if they are able or successfully position themselves in the minds of the customers which makes them relatable. Brand equity is a ground which determines the effectiveness of a company in gaining high customer loyalty and help the company survive in markets that are competitive.

Benefits of branding

Branding has been incorporated into the nature of operations of organisations in the modern business environment (Chiambaretto, Gurău and Roy 2016). The aim of the companies is to establish a successful brand image as it comes with certain advantages that helps the company in order to stay competitive and derive success in the long run. Following are the advantages that are associated with a successful brand.

Awareness: In the industry that is highly competitive, having a successful brand image implies that a company will have the ability to generate high revenue as a result of the brand value that they have been successful in establishing.
Loyalty: With development of a successful brand image, a brand is able to maintain a loyal base of customers who return to the company.
Differentiation: In markets that are competitive, successful brand images helps a company to differentiate their products or services even if they are homogeneous in nature.
New product development: The introduction of newer products in the line of companies with established brands help in easing the process of entry of the product or service.
Competitive advantage: A company that has a successful brand value is privileged with the ability to attract increased acceptance from the consumers as a result of which they have a competitive advantage in the industry.

Brand equity Model

The brand model of Vodafone will be evaluated in the following section. The model that has been chosen for the following section is Aaker’s Model of brand equity which is an assimilation of brand loyalty, awareness and associations (Çifci et al. 2016).

Figure: Aaker’s Model of brand equity

Vodafone is a company that has been able to derive success from the successful brand image that they have been successful in developing. With the high frequency of promotional activities that has been carried out by the company, the company has been subject to high levels of awareness in the market that they are operating in, have been able to associate high quality with the services that are offered, increased number of associations with the brand and have been recognised as the major sponsors of events including the Olympic games on several occasions. As a result of the successful brand development and glocalisation the company has been able to gain an international stature which has resulted in the high brand loyalty.

Brand reinforcement

Vodafone has been subject to high degree of success as a result of the successful strategies that they have been able to implement. However, the rising amount of competition has out the sustainability of the company in jeopardy. Hence, the following should be strategy should be taken to reinforce the position of the company;

Carry out market research to identify trends.
Incorporate technological innovation.
Formulate strategic alliances.
Alter the image of the brand through effective positioning.

Role of Marketing

The role of the marketers of a company is to successfully establish a connection between the consumer community and the company (Petek. and Ruzzier 2013). One of the major roles of the marketing departments is to communicate the motives of an organisation to the consumers. Hence, the latter should be educated about the prevalent marketing condition which would help them in developing strategies through which they would be able to get hold of the pulse of the market that they are operating in. The goal of the marketing division of the marketing department of an organisation is to establish a position in the minds of the consumers. The indirect goal of the marketing division is to generate revenue for the company that ultimately contributes to the long term sustainability of the organisation.

Brand Portfolio and hierarchy management

Introduction

Vodafone has been recognised as one of the most successful telecom companies in the world (Singh 2014). The company has carried out intensive marketing activities as a result of which they have been able to attain acceptance from the consumer community across various countries in the world. The company was previously known as a Hutch and the change of name of the company is evidence of the rapid adaptation that has been carried out by the company in order to stay updated with the current and modern trends in the market. The company has been able to gain acceptance as a result of the high levels of adaptation and effective marketing communications that has been carried out by the company. It can be said that the nature of operations of an organisation is highly influenced by the structure of the organisation. The hierarchy that exists in the organisation is responsible for the nature of operations that are carried out in the organisation. Furthermore, the company has been able to develop their portfolio that helps the company in increasing the acceptance that the company is subject to.

Brand Portfolio

A brand portfolio refers to the array of products that are present within the main brand. The aim behind creation of a brand portfolio is to develop strategies for the applicability of the brand in catering to the different segments of customers that they offer their services to (Shah 2015). A company should have the proper ability to effectively manage its brand portfolio as that is supposedly aligned to help the brand in achievement of sustainability in the long run. Companies develop their branding strategies with the help of an array of strategies known as brand portfolio strategy. Brand Portfolio strategy refers to the effective management of the resources that help in the effectively using and developing the strategies associated with the development of a brand. The latter revolves around the actual value that the company delivers to the consumers. The brand portfolio strategy depends on factors such as market access, efficiency of investment, the customer relationships and the potential of the brand. While developing a brand strategy companies should be careful as successful implementation of the same depends on the effective management of the assets and the capital of the company. Depending on the nature of operations of the company the portfolio of the brand should be developed. The resources that are in possession of the company highly influences the development of the portfolio strategy.

Vodafone have been successful in development of a brand portfolio (Nargis and Khan 2013). This has helped the company in carrying out the strategies. The company has included the following into the portfolio in order to boost their effectiveness in the industry that they operate in. Following are the constituents of the portfolio of the company;

Voice calling services
Messaging services
Broadband services
Provision of Wi-Fi Routers and other services
Advertising on digital and mobile platforms.
Data plans
Mobile phone broadband
Exclusive Smartphones under partnership.

The company also provides services such as providing solutions to organisation in terms of customer service support and provision of corporate internet services. Hence, the healthy brand portfolio has also contributed to the success of the organisation in gaining acceptance from the consumer community. As mentioned before, the structure of an organisation determines the nature of operations of an organisation. Following are the hierarchical structures of Vodafone based on regional segmentation.

Figure: Geographical hierarchy of Vodafone

Functional segmentations are associated with each of the geographically segmented units of the company. There are departments within each of the geographically segregated divisions such as handsets, laptops or netbooks, desktops and fixed lines, mobile phone operators, broad bands and corporate networks.

With the segmentations that have been made in each branch that the company is operating in, they have been successful in carrying out and implement strategies that has been responsible for the equity that they have been subject to while operating in the industry that is deemed to be dynamic in nature. The company has been successful in identifying the needs of each of the possible segments that are presents in the consumer community. Hence, it is the aim of the consumer community has been justified as a result of the high levels of differentiation that the company has been able to carry out. High products and service diversity has been the main motto of the company moving forward as a result of which the company has incorporated high degrees innovation and have catered to the needs of the consumers. Furthermore, the company has developed alternatives with which it targets all of the identified groups of consumers. Flexible pricing and flexibility in service is one of the key aspects that the company has been successful in contributing to as a result of which they have been successful in gaining effectiveness.

Brand Extension and leverage

There are various products that fall under the portfolio of the company as a result of which the company has been subject to a considerable amount of appreciation in the consumer community. The brand that has been selected in the following section is Vodafone telecom as result of the success that the brand has experienced throughout the different sect9rs that they have operated in. The telecom services of Vodafone are the most popular and the main services that are offered by the company and hence, the strengths and weaknesses of the said department will be adjudged in order to gain understanding the effectiveness of the brand in satiating the motives of the organisation in satisfying the needs of the consumer community (Adjei and Denanyoh 2014).

Following are the strengths of Vodafone Telecom services;

High network coverage: The brand has been recognised for the effectiveness in the operations that they have been able to attain while operating in the highly competitive telecom industry. The company has made serious amends in order to cover the maximum amount of area. This has been done to provide the customers flexibility to roam freely without thinking of losing networks coverage. It is the aim of the company to maximise their profitability and in the form of a CSR activity from the part of the company.
Speed: The Company has carried out innovation over time and have been able to adapt over time. The industry that the company is operating in characterised by high degree of innovation as a result of which the companies compete extensively against each other. Vodafone has updated over time and has successfully launched 2G, 3G and 4G services. The company is currently working on development of 5G capabilities.
Customer service: being recognised as one of the biggest and one of the most successful telecom companies in the world comes with certain advantages. In order to sustain the advantages that are sustained by the company, a company has to ensure that they maximise the benefits that they provide the customers. Hence, the company has been able to incorporate 24 hours customer services. The latter have been implemented into the operations of the company as a result of the aim of the company to satiate the grievances and complaints of the customer community.
Value for money: Unlike various telecom companies, Vodafone has been able to keep the promises that they make. As a result of the same, the services offered by the company have been recognised to provide value for money. There are numerous tariff rates that the customers can choose from and the benefits of the consumers have been realised to be the most important aspect of the business that has been recognised by the company as a result of which the company has been able to retain customers over a long period of time.
Glocalisation: Vodafone has been able to gain a global stature of operations. The multinational company has carried out research in terms of what they need to implements in order to get acceptance from the consumer community. The company has been able to develop marketing tactics and advertising campaigns that has resulted in effective communication that the company has been able to successfully achieve with the consumer community. Communication is one of the most important factors that must be considered by companies who aim to satiate the aims of the customer community. They have been successful in identifying the regional issues and have capitalised to the same which has resulted in development of high customer loyalty in every market that the company operates in.

Following are the company’s weaknesses;

Conference calling: The latter is a feature that is not available on the network. While big players in the industry have been able to introduce and maintain conference calling facilities over the years, Vodafone has managed to somehow ignore the need of the same.
Cost: Even though the company operates in a oligopolistic market, the costs that are associated with the services charged by the company are higher than that of its competitors. The additional price has resulted due to the brand image that the company has been able to create however, this acts as opportunity loss that the company is subject to on capitalisation on the mass market.

In order to tackle the said disadvantages, the company should carry out the following;

Study the behaviour of the consumers which will help the company in identification of the needs of the latter.
Reduce the price of the services which will allow the company to gain a competitive advantage in terms of gaining effectiveness in the consumer community.
Introduce three way calling or conference calling options as that is one of the services that is missing from the company portfolio.

Collaborative agreements

Collaborative agreements refer to partnerships that a company might formulate in order to increase their market exposure and provide solutions that would not have been possible if the company operated alone. It has been found that the company has formulated partnerships with organisations such as DELL, Cisco, Ciena, Google, Microsoft, Huawei and others. The collaborations that the company has been able to formulate with these organisations have given a capability to the company to enhance the efficiency of companies in catering to services for organisations such as provision of network security, corporate solutions, and formation of networks for different companies. The company also were in a collaborative partnership with blackberry as a result of which at one point the devices could be directly purchased from the website of the telecom operator. Collaborative partnerships help organisations to gain increased amount of awareness in the markets and help the companies in increasing the market penetration that would not have been possible if the company has operated as a sole company. Vodafone has used the expertise of the aforementioned to experience the mentioned advantages.

Measuring and managing brand value

Vodafone is the company that has been selected for the following section. Even though the ultimate motive of the company is to achieve corporate governance through generation of profit that the latter will be able to produce only if they are able to generate revenue while operating in the highly competitive markets. The company has been subject to the appreciation of the consumers as a result of the high degree of development that the company has been able to incorporate in terms of development of the brand value, awareness, market share, attitudes and consumer purchase behaviour.

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be adjudged with the help of a SWOT analysis that would help in evaluating the current nature of performance of the organisation. Following is the SWOT analysis that will help in developing understanding regarding the company’s internal and external nature of operations.

Strengths

Effective organisational structure, resulting in smooth flow of communication in the organisation.
High levels of effectiveness in portfolio development
Flexible price schemes and tariff rates.
Effective segmentation as a result of which the company has been able to successfully target the consumers of the community.
High number of collaborations that the company is crying out to increase exposure and profitability.
Goodwill and brand image that the company has been able to develop is high as a result of which the company has been subject to favourable outcomes in the industry that they have been operating in.
High number of services and products are available in the product line of the company.

Weaknesses

The tariff plans that the company are offered by the company are expensive even if there are different price segments that the company offers their products to.
Lack of B2C collaborations that the company has been able to establish. The collaboration with Blackberry is now unpopular as a result of the decline of blackberry.
Ineffective PR campaigns
Although the company is customer oriented, there is lack of control and customizability that is available for the customers of the company.
In efficient website which does not help the cause of the company in providing best customer experiences.

Opportunities

Repositioning in countries or markets that are characterised by high degree of competition. The company can offer services at subsidised prices which would help the company with the aims of repositioning.
Entry into less competitive markets that would help the company in satiating its internal needs as well as the needs of the consumers.
The network coverage of the company can be improved with the help of collaborative associations. The aim of the company would be to increase the amount of revenue that is generated by serving more people and by increasing the network coverage.
Capitalising on 4G capabilities would help the company in increasing the effectiveness that the company would ensure while carrying out business in the competitive industries across countries.
Capitalising on Rural market of countries with high number of rural areas would help them in development of initiatives through which they would be able to develop a base of subscribers.

Threats

Availability of players in the market who cause threats to the market share of the company.
Lack of differentiation
Falling market share of the country in countries such as the United States and India, and fall of market share all across Europe.
The evidence of cell number portability that would reduce the existing base of customers that the company has.
Availability of consumers in every market that the company is operating in. The competitors are established and provide tariff rates that are much lower than what is offered by Vodafone.

The total amount of profit that the company has been able to earn in the financial year end of 2019 amounted to $14.7 million which is a marginal rise from last year’s performance of $14.1 million. However, the revenue that was generated by the company fell by $0.9 million if compared to the values of last year. The current strategy that has been employed by the company is to cater to the needs of the consumer by shaping the nature of operations of the business in a consumer centric way. However, it has been found out that the company have relied on their brand image way too much as a result of which they have forgotten about the competitive prices that the company needs to provide in order to gain a competitive advantage in the markets that they are spread across. As mentioned earlier there are various prices at which the services are offered to the consumers. However, lack of affiliation that the company has with the needs of the customers has made the operations of the company ineffective to a degree.

One of the main issues that are being faced by the company is with the lack of participation in the price competition that exists in every market that the company operates in. The company should incorporate pricing strategies that help the company obtain a competitive edge while operating in such industries. However, the marketing strategy of the company is one of the best in the market. The iconic “ZOOZOOs” marketing campaign were highly successful so were the campaigns with the pug “Goes wherever you go” to communicate the network coverage that the company has. The company has been positioned in the minds of the customers as company who has been reliable in providing services for decades and that is the reason behind the sustainability of the company. It is perceived that there is a niche value that is associated with the company, thus they have been able to justify the high prices that the company has been providing in the market that the company is operating in. It is just due to the positioning that the company has been able to carry out through the effective advertising that the company has been able to sustain itself till date.

REFERENCES

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Singh, P.N., 2014. Verizon acquired Vodafone: Analysis of market reaction. Industrija, 42(3), pp.163-182.

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Posts

Brand Development and Sustainability

Table of Contents

Building and managing brand over time

Introduction

Discussion

Brand and brand equity

Benefits of branding

Brand equity Model

Brand reinforcement

Role of Marketing

Brand Portfolio and hierarchy management

Introduction

Brand Portfolio

Brand Extension and leverage

Collaborative agreements

Measuring and managing brand value