Brand Management (5 cr)

Objective

Branding is as important for culture and politics as it once was for market commodities. But what is it that makes brands and branding powerful? What explains the global diffusion of branding techniques? Or at an even more fundamental level, what is a brand? How do we go about building a brand? How do we go about managing a brand that already exists? What are the challenges that managers, marketing firms and consumers face when interacting with brands? How do different stakeholders created and maintain brands in dynamic environments? These are some of the questions that this course will attempt to answer. In this course, we will examine multiple theoretical perspectives on ‘brand’ and will understand how each theoretical approach involves a different brand management toolkit. We will approach branding from multiple perspectives – from rational branding to emotional branding to cultural branding.

To complement the theoretical foundations, we will discuss real life strategic challenges that brand and their managers face and learn from the success and failure of particular brand strategies. We will also understand how brands and brand management have evolved in the 21st century and what are the key ethical, environmental and socio-cultural implications of brand management’s evolutionary trajectory. We will explore concepts such as unique selling proposition (USP), mindspace positioning, cultural brand strategy and performance metrics such as brand equity, brand love, share of voice.

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to
• Apply appropriate branding theories and toolkits to solve practical case studies
• Critically evaluate different approaches to measure brand performance
• Align epistemological assumptions with appropriate approach
• Exhibit fluency with the building blocks of branding strategies
• Identify appropriate segmentation strategieson appropriate bases, define targets and relevant brand positioning techniques
• Understand the evolutionary trajectory of consumer brand management

The competencies to be developed in this course encompass internationality, and multiculturalism.

Internationality and multiculturalism:
You demonstrate the ability to monitor global trends and developments within the brand management domain. You stay informed about sustainable international industry standards, operate effectively, and adapt to international and multicultural work environments. You also recognize the significance of cross-cultural competency in brand management endeavours. These competencies emphasize the
importance of global awareness and the ability to thrive in diverse cultural contexts within brand management.

Content

We will examine the strategic importance of brand development in driving organizational success. The topics covered will explore the development of brand practices across key company functions and strategic corporate initiatives including: product launch, reorganization, competitive threat, identity development, communications and customer experiences.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Sufficient 1
You demonstrate theoretical and conceptual knowledge to identify and analyze brand management using the given case. You know partly how to apply information in decision making. You know the meaning of brand management in strategic management. The theory base is limited.

Satisfactory 2
You are able to select and apply appropriate approaches to analyze own brand management problems and utilize them. You write a quite modest report.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good 3
You analyze critically the problems of brand management of own organization and devise solutions to these problems and communicate them also internationally. You are able to write an almost impeccable report, which includes discussions of organizational level and/or own expertise level.

Very good 4
You analyze critically the problems of brand management of own organization and change and develop the practices of the brand management. You are able to write a quality report, which includes also international references.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent 5
You develop a new practical solution of the brand management with a connection to the strategic management of the organization. You write a high-quality, printable and reflecting report with constructive criticism, which includes several international references.

Qualifications

Early learning in IB Bachelor's degree