This interactive diagram consists of a range of questions, sequentially numbered. To the right of these questions are five circles. The far left circle is titled ‘Strongly disagree.’ The far right circle is titled ‘Strong agree.’ Running down the middle column of circles is a line. The activity asks you to click on the circle that indicates your agreement with the question. By clicking on the circle that indicates your agreement with the question, the line moves to that circle. Eventually be answering all the questions, the original straight line will move in various vertical ways across the screen, indicating the complete range of responses to the questions asked. A button then informs you that it should be pressed to show how your results compare to the original questionnaires sample group results. The diagram now shows a continuously running through line running down through the circles, representing the original sample group. You are now presented with two sets of lines. Your own line, representing your score to the questions. The line representing the original participants scores to the questions. The diagram allows you then to observe how your organisation scores against the original participant group in terms of marketing orientation. The questions asked in the diagram are as follows: SECTION TITLE: Intelligence Generation In this section, we meet with customers at least once a year to find out what products or services they will need in the future. In this business unit, we do a lot of in-house market research. We are slow to detect changes in our customers' product preferences. We poll end users at least once a year to assess the quality of our products and services. We are slow to detect fundamental shifts in our industry (e.g., competition, technology, regulation).We periodically review the likely effect of changes in our business envi-ronment (e.g., regulation) on customers.SECTION TITLE: Intelligence Dissemination We have interdepartmental meetings at least once a quarter to discuss market trends and developments. Marketing personnel in our business unit spend time discussing customers' future needs with other functional departments. When something important happens to a major customer of market, the whole business unit knows about it within a short period. Data on customer satisfaction are disseminated at all levels in this business unit on a regular basis. When one department finds out something important about competitors, it is slow to alert other departments. SECTION TITLE: Responsiveness It takes us forever to decide how to respond to our competitor's price changes. For one reason or another we tend to ignore changes in our customer's product or service needs. We periodically review our product development efforts to ensure that they are in line with what customers want. Several departments get together periodically to plan a response to changes taking place in our business environment. If a major competitor were to launch an intensive campaign targeted at our customers, we would implement a response immediately. The activities of the different departments in this business unit are well coordinated. Customer complaints fall on deaf ears in this business unit. Even if we came up with a great marketing plan, we probably would not be able to implement it in a timely fashion. When we find that customers would like us to modify a product of service, the departments involved make concerted efforts to do so.This exercise should have shown you how your own organisation’s level of marketing orientation compares to a larger sample. You may have found that your organisation exceeds the sample average (congratulations) or that for some questions your organisation scored lower than the average. In this instance you should ask yourself what your organisation could do to address this problem.2 Marketing and ethicsAs a manager you may have to make decisions that raise ethical issues. Ethics is an important and growing consideration within marketing, from the perspective of both marketers and consumers. The growth of fair trade and organic produce reflect customers’ willingness to spend more money for the same product if they perceive ethics have been applied to product sourcing. Marketing ethics question whether particular marketing activities can be considered morally right or wrong. As you progress through this course, you should question your ethical position regarding the examples, concepts and activities you undertake.Stop and reflectConsider these marketing examples that raise ethical issues. To what extent are they acceptable to you and why?A manager gives an extra discount to a customer who is a personal friend.An organisation charges a higher price to less wealthy customers on the basis that they buy less from the organisation. A hospital or health insurance provider refuses to provide a drug to cancer patients on grounds of cost while neighbouring authorities provide it. While some of these examples may be quite common, fairness is an issue because people are being treated differently purely on the basis of their power in relation to an organisation or its managers, or where they live. Fairness or justice is one of the key issues raised by ethics. Developing this perspective further, Marsden (2007) suggests that a consideration of marketing ethics should involve:recognising and describing moral issues that arise from marketing activitiesusing ethical theories and frameworks to critically assess these moral issuesestablishing a set of codes, rules and standards for assessing what is right or wrong regarding the marketing activity being undertaken.2.1 Ethics in practiceWhat does this mean in practice? Let us consider this case study.Case study: BAE Systems and the sale of radar systems to the Tanzanian Government[In 2010 BAE Systems, a military equipment producer, was taken to court regarding] a relatively small accounting offence admitted by BAE in relation to one contract in one country – a £28m radar deal in Tanzania in 2002.A judge has declared he was “astonished” at claims that BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest arms firm, had not acted corruptly when its executives made illicit payments to land an export contract.Mr Justice Bean said it was “naive in the extreme” to believe that a “shady” middleman who handed out the covert payments was simply a well-paid lobbyist.The judge concluded that BAE had concealed the payments so that the middleman had free rein to give them “to such people as he thought fit” to secure the contract for the company. BAE did not want to know the details, he added.Corruption allegations have swirled around the overpriced radar deal since it was signed in 2001, with former Labour [government] minister Clare Short saying: “It was always obvious that this useless project was corrupt.”(Source: Adapted from Evans and Leigh, 2010)Further information on the ethics of bribery can be found in the Guardian article ‘Bribery and disruption: British companies fuel corruption in Africa’ and the newspaper’s investigations into BAE Systems and bribery, The BAE files.The first step identified by Marsden (2007), recognising and describing moral issues, can be applied to this example which raises a number of moral issues. First, is BAE Systems right in paying the bribe or should it refuse to engage in purchasing negotiations on the basis that bribes are illegal and wrong? However, if not paying the bribe means that BAE Systems loses the contract, this may have wider implications for the organisation such as redundancies.Another issue may be what its competitors are doing. If they are all willing to pay a bribe to get a contract, why should BAE Systems disadvantage itself by not paying it?2.2 Ethical theoriesThe next step is to use ethical theories to understand these moral issues. An ethical theory is a systematic way of approaching ethical questions from a particular philosophical perspective. Western moral philosophy has developed a number of ethical approaches. Three ethical theories are commonly used in the consideration of marketing ethics: utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics. Each may lead to a different conclusion when applied to the same ethical dilemma.UtilitarianismUtilitarianism is concerned with the consequences of the decision. The quality of a marketing decision or action is assessed by looking at the consequences of implementing that decision. In deciding whether it is unethical the decision-maker will need to:assess the likely costs and benefits for each stakeholdermake a decision based on what action produces the greatest benefit for all concerned.This approach to ethical decision making is often used in public policy decisions where policy makers have to take the course of action that is likely to produce the greatest overall benefit for the greatest number of stakeholders (for example, all inhabitants of a region). In our example, BAE Systems is faced with a dilemma. If it pays the bribe it wins the contract, ensuring the growth and survival of the organisation. However, paying it may be illegal and by doing so, BAE Systems perpetuates corruption in an African state that ultimately ensures its citizens suffer from misappropriation of their money. Yet not paying the bribe may result in redundancies and how would these affect employees’ families?DeontologyDeontology is concerned not so much with the consequences of action but whether the underlying principles of a decision are right. According to this view ethically good decisions are made by adhering to key ethical principles such as honesty, truthfulness, respecting the rights of others, justice and so on. Applying this theory to BAE Systems raises a number of issues. Bribery tends to be illegal so by paying a bribe BAE Systems makes everyone in the organisation indirectly implicit in an illegal act. Also if a bribe is paid, where does the money go? Does it reinforce the status of a corrupt section of the wealthy and avoid payment of taxes? In this example, a few people would benefit from the bribe to the detriment of the wider majority of Tanzanian citizens.Virtue ethicsVirtue ethics views marketing ethics from the perspective of the moral integrity of the individual(s) involved in making the decision. A morally good decision is one that is based on the virtuous character of whoever is making the decision. Moral virtues include honesty, courage, friendship, mercy, loyalty and patience. In our example, BAE Systems’ payment of the bribe lacks any virtue (effectively reinforcing corruption in Tanzania) and little courage (paying bribes may appear to be unofficial organisation policy).It should be clear that making ethical judgements rarely involves clear decisions. Depending on the viewpoint, different ethical principles may well lead to different decisions. Often it is appropriate to look at an ethical question using different theories before making a decision. Managers in public sector organisations will often have to make difficult decisions about which stakeholder needs to satisfy when limited budgets mean not all needs and expectations can be met fully. In many public sector and internal marketing contexts the customer or stakeholder has relatively little say over the kind of service they receive. Thus, questions of an unequal distribution of power are more acute in not-for-profit and internal marketing where one or both parties to an exchange are often locked into existing arrangements and cannot walk away if they are dissatisfied with what they are receiving.Further informationFinally, if you feel that BAE Systems is in a difficult situation consider this news clip from Aljazeera. The outcome described in this clip raises serious ethical issues about the extent to which organisations can use their external environment to protect themselves.If you are reading this course as an ebook, you can access this video here: Aljazeera on Britain's dropping of BAE Systems fraud inquiry Having reached the end of this section you should be able to provide a good overview of what marketing offers an organisation and be able to indentify if your organisation is marketing focused. By engaging with the market, organisations are exposed to situations and decisions that raise ethical issues. Often the correct ethical decision is not always apparent. In conclusion marketing is about satisfying customer needs whilst making a profit.A good example of an organisation that has consistently delivered added value to its products and customers and epitomises what marketing is, is Apple Inc. Watch this short video clip of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, introducing the first iPod. What is interesting is how he carefully describes the logic for his product and the added value it offers customers while eliminating direct competition. This is an example of a true marketing genius.One factor that has contributed to Apple’s success is understanding exactly what its customers want. But how do we define a customer and how does it differ from a client or consumer? These questions are addressed in the next section.When you are ready, please move on to Section 3 Brand Basics 3 Brand basicsMarketing requires an organisation to understand who is buying its products (customers, consumers or clients) and this is achieved through understanding customer motivations. Once customer needs are understood, the organisation will segment, target and position its products and itself in the market accordingly. Complementing this is the organisation’s need to achieve a competitive advantage and understand, predict and respond to environmental changes.Once the organisation has achieved this, it then needs to consider how it applies its marketing strategy. One aspect of this is through branding. The role and use of brands have been expanding over time. Initially brands were used to show ownership or the source of the product, as a guarantee of good quality and as a way to communicate with the marketplace. Today, brand development and management is a challenging and complex endeavour in a dynamic business world with increasingly sophisticated media.In this section we will address briefly the origins of brands, define what a brand is and refer to the relevance and value of brands to organisations and consumers.3.1 The origin of brandsBrands have a long history, with their origins traced back to marks or seals that were used to specify the ownership or origin of a product. For example, in 5000 BC men drew animals in caves, giving them symbols to identify their owners (McKinny Engineering Library, 2012). By the end of the 19th century, the industrial revolution had brought an abundance and variety of organisations and products. With the emergence of competition it became increasingly important for producers to differentiate their products in the market. Consequently producers started attributing brand names to their goods to increase their consumer appeal (British Brand Group, 2012). For example, William Lever (founder of Lever Bros) made soap an attractive product for general consumption by naming it ‘Sunlight’ and packaging it in small pieces. Brands became a way to communicate with consumers in the marketplace. The proliferation of self-service in the 1950s intensified the communicating role of the brand. It was important to have an appealing and distinct product that would stand out on the shop shelves. Complementing this, growing television ownership combined with increasing consumer sophistication resulted in the need for brand communications to become more pervasive and more complex.For example, consider these three television advertisements for Coca-Cola from 1955, the 1980s and 2012:Coca-Cola advertisement – 1955Coca-Cola advertisement – 1980sCoca-Cola advertisement – 2012Notice how the first advertisement focuses on the product and its characteristics as a refreshing and energising beverage, great for a break. In the 1980s advertisement, although the product is still important, the focus is more on youth pop culture, dance and happiness. You see much less about the product’s characteristics. The final advertisement shows Coca-Cola as a global brand, highlighting its presence in worldwide events such as the Olympics.Today’s brands exist in all forms and shapes. They include product brands (e.g. Coca-Cola, Avon and Adidas), services brands (e.g. Pizza Hut and Allianz), company brands (e.g. SAP and IBM) and even virtual brands (e.g. eBay, Google).This expansion took brands from a sign of ownership and guarantee of good quality to a way of communicating with the marketplace, making the role and use of brands core to the organisation’s marketing efforts. 3.2 Defining what a brand isThe word ‘brand’ originates from the old Norse word brandr meaning ‘to burn’. It referred to the mark that cowboys would burn into their livestock’s skin to identify the owner (Keller, 2008). The term ‘brand’ was transferred and applied to business brands and is now widely used in business jargon. The American Marketing Association (AMA, 2012) defines a brand as a:Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item, a family of items or all items of that seller. If used for the organisation as a whole, the preferred term is trade name.The AMA brand definition highlights the idea of identifying the product and making it distinctive. It also suggests the different levels of application of brands: single items, family of items or even the organisation. We will consider this idea later in the course when we address brand hierarchy.In principle, a brand is created when a marketer attaches a name or symbol to a product (Keller, 2008). Yet, in practice, and from a managerial point of view, brand management is much broader. Brand management entails forming core bridges with the marketplace around awareness, image and reputation. Consequently, the term ‘brand’ also considers aspects related to the marketplace and customers’ perception of the brand. To capture this idea, the AMA (2012) considers the term ‘brand’ with a capital ‘B’ to define Brand and Branding:A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality.The AMA brand descriptions are evident in virtually all the brands to which we are exposed. Yet some brands are more appealing to us than others. Why? The answer is complex, as we will discover throughout this course. For example, the car manufacturer BMW has its own YouTube channel showing its executives discussing how they translate the BMW brand into car designs and marketing communications to create an emotional link between the brand and consumer. We can understand this brand relationship further through this video clip that discusses how emotions and experience are connected to the BMW brand features of efficiency and reliability.The BMW Brand - Emotions We can illustrate how BMW communicates its brand offering in this BMW 3 series advertisement. You may notice that the brand facets of innovativeness, reliability and consumer experience are reflected in the advertisement. The underlying idea behind the BMW 3 series is to convey sportiness and passion coupled with efficiency and impressive design.In this example, the BMW brand helps managers to define their business and product offering, allowing them to connect with the market. Brands are not only relevant to organisations but they also help consumers make product choices. By looking at the BMW 3 Series advertisement the consumer expects a reliable and sporty car.Stop and reflectWhy do brands exist?Why are they important?Think about your organisation and the brand(s) it sells. You may think that its brand(s) allow(s) your organisation to focus on higher quality standards and differentiate from cheaper offers in the market. You may also consider the extent to which the brand(s) is(are) relevant to conveying an image of quality to customers.Alternatively, think of yourself as a brand consumer. Reflect on what makes you choose one brand instead of another. You may drive a particular car brand or wear certain branded clothes because they make you feel secure and important. You may also consider how often you tend to buy the same brand. Such brand repetition shows your loyalty towards a particular brand.In the next three sections you will learn more about the benefits of brands to organisations and consumers. This will allow you to understand better the different roles that brands may have for businesses and customers.3.3 The relevance of brands to organisationsOrganisations may benefit from brands in different ways. Brands may be seen as important tools for connecting with the market but they are also a relevant managerial instrument. Using the example of Disney, the benefits of brands (Keller, 2008; Ellwood, 2002) for organisations can be summarised as:Connecting the organisation to the marketplaceBrands are a singular and unique differentiator of the organisation’s offering and constitute a powerful way to communicate with the marketplace. The unique meaning associated with a brand may instil certain customer responses such as loyalty and positive associations such as high quality or high performance. For example, the Disney brand instils customer loyalty and excitement. Driving the businessThe brand and its purpose help to define the business. Many managers use brands to define their business and shape their activities. Ultimately the brand is a key strategic tool and asset through which the organisation can differentiate itself from competitors, resulting in increased competitive advantage and generating financial value. For example, quality, creativity and great storytelling are core drivers of the Disney brand.Shaping the internal cultureDeriving from the previous benefits, brands may help to shape the organisation’s culture and, ultimately, employees’ behaviours. Clearly specifying what the brand stands for and its proposition in the marketplace helps managers and employees undertake work that contributes to supporting the brand and the organisation. Working at Disney stands for excitement and creativeness.Attracting the best employeesBrands stimulate employee attraction and retention. Strong brands allow organisations to attract the best employees and retain them. People are proud to work in organisations associated with strong brands such as Disney. Leveraging business performanceBrands drive business performance since satisfied and loyal customers are more willing to pay a premium price for a trusted brand. Loyal customers also need less marketing expenditure and give positive word of mouth. Indeed, positive brand associations and customer loyalty are known to contribute to better levels of business performance. Ultimately customer loyalty impacts on sales and, consequently, on business survival. Disney benefits from a solid base of loyal consumers who continuously buy its products.Providing legal protectionBrands also offer an organisation legal protection over what it produces, through registered trademarks, patents and copyrights, and so contribute to the organisation’s competitive advantage. In product packages the trademark and the symbol ® are often seen. Some examples of Disney trademarks are Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida, Disneyland® Resort in California and Disney Cruise Line®.3.4 Embracing brand benefitsNext we explore in more detail how Disney embraces the brand benefits. You will see how the Disney brand is an asset, serving as a source of business guidance, shaping internal culture and instilling customer loyalty by delivering an unforgettable customer experience. Such practices distinguish the brand from competing brands, giving it a solid position in the market.Case study: the Disney brandThe Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments:media networksparks and resortsstudio entertainmentconsumer productsinteractive media.The Disney brand stands for consistently delivering ‘quality, creativity and great storytelling’ (Interbrand, 2012).The Disney brand as business guidanceThe Disney brand is central to the business. The brand and what it stands for provide important business guidance and focus. The definition of the Disney brand is a compass for managers to make decisions aligned with the company’s strategic priorities:Creating high-quality family content, making experiences more memorable and accessible through innovative technology, and growing internationally.(Source: The Walt Disney Company, 2011, p. 1)Attracting the right employees and shaping internal cultureAs a consumer brand the word Disney is invaluable in attracting the right kind of employees who love the brand and want to contribute to its legacy. Therefore the brand is reflected in recruitment practices which try to match the potential employee, the brand and the experience it provides. For example, in a recruitment advertisement for cast members (employees) for Disneyland Paris you may read: Could you imagine being able to wear the beautiful costumes from the wonderful world of Disney or even be part of the magic of our parades and shows? We offer you an exclusive invitation to make these dreams come true and see the magical sparkle in our guests’ eyes, all this thanks to you and your talents, whatever they may be…(Source: Disney, 2012c)Employees receive training about the brand and its overall promise i.e. what it stands for. Employees ‘practise’ the brand and their motivation is key to the brand performance. They are compelled to consider the effect that their actions and decisions may have on the brand.The company culture is aligned with the brand promise. That is, it is aligned with the unique aspects that differentiate the brand. The company characterises its culture as entailing:InnovationCommitment to a tradition of innovation and technologyQualityStriving to set a high standard of excellence and maintaining high-quality standards across all product categoriesStorytellingTimeless and engaging stories to delight and inspireConnecting to the market through customer experience and loyaltyDisney works hard to sustain lifelong relationships with customers, continually expanding product and service offerings and maintaining its brand consistency. In particular, Disney aims to build a strong base of loyal customers. The key to brand loyalty is to understand the emotional connection that customers have with the brands and products they love and then respecting and cultivating that connection. One way to achieve customer loyalty is through the employees at Disney’s theme parks where the company offers unique destinations built around storytelling and immersive experiences for family entertainment. These theme parks are located around the world (e.g. in the USA, Europe and Asia). Walt Disney (the founder of Disney Inc.) determined from the start that, in the theme park, people would be treated not just as paying customers but as ‘guests in our own home’.Walt Disney understood that if guests knew and believed that everyone in the organisation cared about them and their business, they would be loyal to Disney forever. Consequently, Disney theme park employees are empowered to create spontaneous magical moments for guests. Some of these are orchestrated and executed on a daily basis. The magical moments are supported by different programmes/actions such as guest of the day, honorary badges and titles.For Disney employees the guest experience is most important. Positive interactions delivered consistently and sincerely (to show authenticity) on a personal level result in lasting memories and an emotional connection to the brand. (Sources: Adapted from About.com, 2012; Disney, 2012a; 2012b; 2012c; 2012d; Interbrand, 2012; Jones, n.d.; The Walt Disney Company, 2012; 2011)Stop and reflectOften organisations assimilate the brand benefits in different ways, sometimes underestimating the brand’s potential. For example, a small organisation may essentially consider its brand as legal protection and overlook some of the other benefits such as product and overall offering differentiation.Consider your organisation’s brand(s).What type of benefits do brands have for your organisation?How can those and other benefits be developed?You may have recognised that the Disney brand is not defined by its products (e.g. theme parks, television channels, etc.) but in terms of customer experiences. This connection of the brand to the market is an essential part of branding. In the next section we will look at the benefits that brands may have for consumers.3.5 The relevance of brands to consumersThere is a strong interaction between brands and consumers. We all buy particular brands and, for some products, we have a brand preference. It is in the interests then of an organisation to enhance the relevance of their brands to consumers and the wider market. To achieve this, organisations need to understand how brands are relevant to consumers.We can illustrate the relevance of brands to consumers and how organisations manipulate this to increase their market share through the example of the sportswear brand Reebok®. By the early 21st century Reebok® sports trainers were losing market share to Nike and levels of customer loyalty were low. Its brand image was further harmed by selling the brand’s running shoes at low prices in supermarkets.We will now look at some insights into why consumers seek out brand relevance, using the Reebok® brand as an example.Easier identificationBrands help consumers to identify the products/producers they like, simplifying the buying process and reducing the perception of risk in buying a new product (Berthon et al., 1999; Berry, 2000). When buying sports shoes, you can identify easily the Reebok® brand and distinguish it from any other sports brand by its unique logo. This identification provides consumers with the quality guarantee of the product and helps them make securer purchasing choices.Brands as individual expressionConsumers often identify themselves with the symbolic meanings of a brand and develop a bond with certain brands that express their personality, self-image and beliefs. By consuming certain types of products/brands consumers convey who they would like to be, contributing to their self-identity (Ellwood, 2002; Keller, 2003). For example, consumers may buy organic food to show they care for the environment and animal rights. Organisations underline this by clearly stating such aspects in the definition of their brands.Reebok® tackled its problems through a branding agreement with the rap artist 50 Cent, producing a range of fashion trainers using 50 Cent’s branded clothing range – G-Unit. The rationale was to encourage 50 Cent’s teenage fans to purchase G-Unit branded trainers made by Reebok®, as shown here with 50 Cent:This Reebok® advertisement features 50 Cent enticing teenagers to consume the G-Unit branded trainers. Note how the desired consumer identity and identification with the brand are personified in the rap artist:If you are reading this course as an ebook, you can access this video here: 50 Cent Reebok G-Unit Advert If consumers use brands to create their own sense of self-identity, it follows that consumers will use brands to distinguish themselves from other individuals. Part of prevalent culture is that we are all individuals and through consumption we express our individuality (Fog et al., 2010).You can see this individuality reflected in this Reebok® advertisement that uses the line ‘I am what I am’ while focusing on the individual, his personal aspirations and reality:If you are reading this course as an ebook, you can access this video here: Reebok AD 2012 - (I Am What I Am) Brands as social expressionVery often, to be part of a social group, consumers need to share the attitudes and beliefs of that group and, ultimately, seek allegiance by consuming brands that the group likes. The symbolic meaning of a brand is affected by the social group with which the consumer interacts (de Chernatony et al., 2011).In this Reebok® advertisement the brand becomes the stage for social interaction. With a common interest in fitness, people get together and create a sports community that allows them to integrate in this social setting.If you are reading this course as an ebook, you can access this video here: Reebok CrossFit: The CommunityStop and reflectWhat other benefits do you think brands may have for consumers?You may think about aspects such as cultural expressions that come from brands. For example, brands being reflected in pop art by artists like Andy Warhol and his Campbell Soup cans.From analysing the relevance of brands, you should now understand why it is important to manage a brand properly. In fact, as we noted in the introduction to this course, brands are valuable intangible assets. The example given earlier of how Coca-Cola outperforms its competitors in terms of brand asset values illustrates brand relevance. The underlying principle is that a branded product performs better in the market, and thus will have a positive financial impact on the organisation.To address this idea of brands as assets and their favourable impact on business performance, marketers borrowed the notion of ‘equity’ from finance. In branding terms we refer to ‘brand equity’. In the next section we explore this concept in more detail.3.6 Brand equityAaker (1991, p. 15) defines brand equity as: the set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or a service to a firm and/or to that firm’s customers.A core aspect of brand equity relates to the name/symbol. In fact one of the first identification aspects of a brand is its name or symbol. The dimensions of equity revolve around the brand name and symbol, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9 (Source: Adapted from Aaker, 1991, p. 17)