A step‐by‐step process to build valued brands
| Published date | 27 February 2009 |
| Pages | 38-49 |
| Date | 27 February 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420910933353 |
| Author | Peter Boatwright,Jonathan Cagan,Dee Kapur,Al Saltiel |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
A step-by-step process to build valued brands
Peter Boatwright and Jonathan Cagan
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and
Dee Kapur and Al Saltiel
Navistar International Corporation, Warrenville, Illinois, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The primary purpose of this study is to illustrate an analytical method to identify tangible and intangible customer values and to translate
those values into brand identity differentiators and product specifications.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors adapt a product development analysis tool, the Value Opportunity Analysis (VOA), to the design of a
brand identity, illustrating the use of the tool in a case study with International Truck and Engine.
Findings – The paper illustrates how the VOA was used as a tool for evaluating and crafting both a brand identity, and shows how the brand identity
translates into product specifications so that products embody, communicate, and deliver the brand identity.
Research limitations/implications – Although the VOA has been used in diverse markets (business to business, consumer software, physical
product), in this article the VOA is illustrated in the context of brand identity for physical products. Future studies should illustrate how the application of
the method may vary across domains.
Practical implications – This approach will appeal to executives, brand managers and product managers who have a goal of maintaining a
differentiated brand identity and clearly delivering brand values through the products in the brand portfolio.
Originality/value – Products serve as influential sources of information about a brand’s identity. The paper treats the brand as a product to be
designed, adapting an analytical approach to translate customer value into brand identity and ultimately into the specification of the products, to
ensure that all are aligned to answer the marketplace needs in a way that differs from competitors.
Keywords Brand identity, Product attributes, Brand management
Paper type Case study
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
1. Introduction
Brand managers, chief marketing officers, and branding
academics recognize that a brand is only valuable when it
provides value to its customers. Fulfilling customer value is
not just a goal for branding, nor is it simply the “identity”
customers associate as the core representation of the
company. Rather, it is the fundamental goal for a successful
company, one that must coherently drive all aspects of the
company. Thus the identity of the brand must be inextricably
linked to customer needs, and it must be consistent with the
company’s capabilities and its branded products.
Creating a brand to fulfill customer value is a bold but
obvious goal to achieve. The challenge for small and large
companies alike is how to create a brand identity that is not
only forward-thinking enough to meet both existing and
future customer needs but at the same time is consistent with
product attributes and features. Many companies fall short on
delivering this goal because they lack formal analysis methods
to link customer needs to their brands and products, and they
lack tools to identify which customer needs best fit company
capabilities.
This article introduces a formal and repeatable process to
create brand identities that fulfill customer needs and are
consistent with companies’ products and ser vices. This
process consists of four general steps for creating or
modifying a brand identity: analysis, synthesis, translation
and implementation:
1Analysis. The analysis step provides the foundation of the
process. The tool for this step is the Value Opportunity
Analysis (VOA). The VOA, with its roots in product
development, is shown to be effective as a unique but
insightful method for identifying customer-based
branding values. It is a tool to ascertain what values the
company can offer that are consistent with customer
needs and with the value delivered by the current and
potential products. The insights from the brand-based
VOA become core to what the new band identity is or will
become. The outcome of the VOA is a set of multifaceted
and complex attributes of the brand identity.
2Synthesis. The second step is to organize that complex set
of identity attributes into an actionable mission, one that
can be understood by those within the company and can
be converted to messages for those outside (advertising
agencies, suppliers, and customers). The goal is to create
a simple continuum that clarifies the identity, gives a
range of meaning to provide depth to the identity, and
creates bounds to that range of meaning within which
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
18/1 (2009) 38–49
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610420910933353]
The authors would like to thank Mike Cerilli, Dave Allendorph, Melissa
York and Seth Orsborn for their contributions to this work.
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