You should assess how the brand aims to meet the needs, wants, desires of its target customers. The task is for you to explain the success of your chosen brand through reference to marketing concepts and theory we have covered on the course (in lectures, seminars and further reading).
It is extremely important that you do not simply describe the brand and its various activities. Instead, you need to explain the brand through reference to the concepts and theory discussed on the module.
The precise content on your analysis will depend on the brand you choose however, central to your analysis will be an understanding and identification of the brand’s target consumers and an explanation of how the brand meets the needs, wants and desires of these consumers. You should clearly identify the target consumer at the outset using relevant segmentation variables.
Potential aspects to consider within your analysis include:
- Market segmentation and the target market
- The competitive positioning of the brand in the market
- The brand’s identity – its personality, positioning, name, history and heritage, including any relevant reference to brand extension and stretching
- Product / service range offered and its alignment with the brand identity and positioning
- Pricing approaches (with links made to the brand’s identity and positioning)
- Aspects of consumers’ behaviour and decision-making processes
- Elements of functional and symbolic branding and how this links with the brand’s positioning
- Key aspects of the retail / service environment (including location)
- Characteristics of services marketing – people, process and physical evidence – explaining their relevance to the brand
- How the brand uses the principles and practice of integrated marketing communications (IMC) to communicate with its target consumers
This list is a suggestion of relevant topics. You will need to identify and focus your analysis on the key topics which are most appropriate for the brand you have chosen. Ultimately, the selection of what to include is yours – just ensure that you have achieved both breadth and depth in your analysis.
A critical element of your analysis will be to identify and discuss links between these different areas of marketing. An example of this would be: How does the brand convey it’s competitive positioning through the communications they use? Or alternatively, how does the brand identity and positioning seek to differentiate the brand from its competitors?
