Brand Strategy Evaluation

Question: Discuss about the Brand Strategy Evaluation. Answer: For many decades, MultiChoice has proudly given the best in entertainment through evolving the entertainment in television. Naspers which happened to be a mass media in South Africa in collaboration with other media companies in South Africa formed an entertainment firm know as M-Net. However, in 1993, M-Net split into two groups, and one group was tasked with airing entertainment channels, the other managed signal distribution and the operations of cell phones. South Africa MultiChoice grew out of the management division. Today, MultiChoice is a video entertainment leader in the country and has a subscription of more than five million viewers. In the late 80s there was a massive campaign by M-Net to expand and operate beyond South African borders. According to one of the visions of one of its founders, it was that the company was to rank itself as an entity of Pan-Africanism. The significant milestone came when Namibia awarded a license in 1991.The other countries soon followed the pace. MultiChoice served fully after 1994 and had subscribed more than four million viewers. MultiChoice South Africa is located in Randburg. Some of the brands aired by MultiChoice are DStv, GOtv, and SuperSport. Brand equity Brand equity can be defined as the power that a product commands from the goodwill and the identity that it has earned over time which has the effect of increasing the volume of the sales and profit margins as compared to the competitors (Aaker, 2017). In another definition, brand equity is defined from the consumers point of view where it is embedded on the attitudes of the consumers regarding the positive attributes that can be derived from using a particular brand and the favorable outcomes arising from the usage of the name. (Gunelius, 2017) Key components of brand equity Brand loyalty is a long term goal and fundamental to marketing in most firms developing a brand. It is one of the criteria used for measuring the degree of attachment that a customer has towards the product. In most cases, it is a reflection of the likelihood of a customer switching to another product in cases where there are changes in the prices or features associated with the product (Aaker, 2017).DStv has for decades developed loyalty to the brand through having products that touch and satisfy the needs of different viewers. The different packages that are charged differently ensure that there is channel for every segment of customers at an affordable price and as such the customers maintain their loyalty. It is for such reasons that DStv has a million viewers across the continent. The quality of the product as perceived by the consumers is also another fundamental element. Users will always want a product that is of high quality without any alterations that would render the commodity of poor quality (@stylehatch, 2017).MultiChoice provides adamant signals that enhance quality image of the aired channels. MultiChoice ensures constant frequency of their channels which has the effect of improving quality pictures for their channels. Brand awareness among the people is crucial in brand equity. People are satisfied and always purchase a brand they are familiar with as compared to new products. DStv is a brand that is well known due to the channels that it airs. There are channels for children making it a favorite brand for most of the television viewers. However, advertisements through social media, television, and internet about DStv have contributed in increasing the awareness of the brand. Other proprietary assets associated with the product such as the patent rights, trademarks, and copyrights. MultiChoice has been active in ensuring that its brands are not copied by other competitors in the market and as such their trademarks are distinct from the competitors and also. Licensing with the relevant authorities in the countries where they operate has minimized cases of patent rights. Brand association is also another practical element for brand equity. DStv channels that air football have been associated with the major players in football leagues which have made its fame rise. In conjunction with other key sponsors of football such as Chevrolet has made MultiChoice a channel of choice for many viewers in South Africa. Internal branding Internal branding refers to a change in the culture within an organization. In such a change; employees become centered on the customers and focus more on the business. Internal branding is focused on connecting employees with the outward brand. It goes further showing employees what is expected of them in connection to the brand and ensuring that the employees live in agreement with the company mission. Internal branding goes further as a corporate philosophy in ensuring that the corporations culture and premises are brought closer to the employees as well as the clients and has the effect of making workers representatives of the values of a company (Pullig, 2008). It is fundamental that a business defines the values and mission. The values and the missions give the direction that a company follows and the employees can get identity from such missions and values. Coca-Cola has done better in defining its mission and values, and the employees have an identity with the company, and that is ensuring that quality product gets delivered and always making the customer a priority in developing its products (Hall, 2017). Internal branding entails engaging people within the organization. The internal branding encompasses employees and in most cases gets defined by the individuals and is controlled by the employees. As such it is always important for the people to get involved. Employees feedback on how they perceive the brand and seeking their recommendations in shaping and structuring a product is necessary. MultiChoice has been conducting employee surveys and focuses groups with the aim of making employees feel that they are part of ownership so as to increase workers engagement (Hall, 2017). Internal brand should have an identity and should match with the external brand. In most scenarios, the external brand is usually defined. It has its logo, colors, and a font. An internal brand should also have the same. Making a lasting impression in the minds of the employees while in their duties will help develop internal branding. In the process of designing an internal brand, it is necessary to have a single name have a connection with the external brand. When employees understand how the internal and external brands relate to each other, it helps promote integrity among employees (Hall, 2017). Communicating the strategy involved in internal branding and embedding it is another component of internal branding. Communication entails creating a connection among employees and the brand which is something that cannot be achieved in the memos and the poster. In ensuring such a connection, employees understand their roles properly, and they know that their decisions affect the brand d irectly (Hall, 2017). Finally, awarding employees who have shown exemplary efforts and recognizing outstanding employees is part of internal branding. One of the main reasons behind the collapse of internal branding is a failure to motivate employees. It is crucial to recognize employees who have performed well in their daily duties using channels that are internal. Intranet communication can be used to share the story of the successful employees (Hall, 2017). Brand elements The identity of the brand is the way people recognize the name. MultiChoice, the provider of DStv, is one of the brands that has sourced channels from other parts of the world, has been identified as the best due to the variety it offers from children all the way to the adults. The logo of DStv is unique and cannot be compared to any other logo of a different channel (Sharma, 2017). The image of the brand is the picture that people have in their minds. It also reveals their expectations of the brand. When people are watching football from a soccer channel aired through DStv, there is a real and permanent impression derived from such a channel. In the case a channel such as National Geographic it leaves a lasting image worth not forgetting about the brand (Sharma, 2017). Brand position, on the other hand, refers to how a product is ranked in the market. It mostly defines the target group being segmented. Consumers would always want to be classified with brands that are leading in the market and in this case MultiChoice has been on the front page in the world of entertainment through brands such as DStv (Sharma, 2017).MultiChoice has lately invented other brands such as GOtv so as to increase its awareness and position itself better among the competitors. Brand experience refers to the way a consumer feels when purchasing or consuming a certain product. The sense of pride associated with MultiChoice products due to the quality and the wide range of channels as compared to other brands is overwhelming for most consumers (Sharma, 2017). Brand differentiation refers to how the product gets distinguished from other products in the market. MultiChoice has packages for every consumer depending on the target audience. It is for such reasons that a brand such as DStv gets differentiated from other competing brands (Sharma, 2017). Brand communication refers to how the message gets passed to various clients through either advertisements or other channels. MultiChoice ensures that the consumers receive important updates regarding the channels they have subscribed through either the internet in their website and also through sending text messages to their esteemed clients (Sharma, 2017). A brand can be compared to a human being who has a name, vision, culture and even personality. The creator of the brand plays the role of ensuring that it is relevant to the market and also to the target group of satisfying their needs and wants (Sharma, 2017). A brand is in one dimension a way of telling the consumers what they should expect from the product. Branding is one of differentiating a product from the competitors (Sharma, 2017). Critical evaluation of the Brand Building a strategy that translates to a successful company encompasses an honest look that enables a company to see how far they have come from and what others think of them. One of the strategies is to evaluate perceptions of the brand. Reviewing the already perceptions has the effect of improving the already existing perceptions of the product creating room for innovations and product development (culture, 2017). One of the strategies that have made DStv dominate the entertainment industry for many years is the fact that, the management always reviews the perceptions so as to accommodate changes in the new generation regarding tastes and preferences. It is also necessary to know the competitors and how they differentiate themselves from the company. It is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of competitors from the consumers perceptions. As such it helps build the profile of the enterprise and improve on the areas that are seen as ineffective and outperforming (cul ture, 2017). The process includes ranking the competitors and categorizing them in the order of competition. Exploring communication channels that are most useful to the personality of the brand is an important strategy. It entails choice of words, logos, and features of a product. The DStv logo has for decades and many generations been in the mind of the consumers through effective advertising. It is also important to screen the architecture associated with the brand. It includes the name and the logo so as to evaluate the image it has on the mind of the consumer (Keller, 2013). Branding is an important concept for any business irrespective of the size of the firm. It is through the adoption of an effective strategy that a business has a lead in competitive markets. A brand is simply the name tagged to a product that distinguishes it from other similar products in the market. In the modern world, many products are produced; it is through a branding that a commodity gets identified and has the effect of attracting consumers (Williams and more, 2017). It is a brand that a firm charges premiums that are higher after recognizing the popularity of the product in the market. References @stylehatch, S. (2017). Four Components of Brand Equity. [online] BeMoRe. Available at:https://tumblr.gobemore.com/post/30536391195/four-components-of-brand-equity [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Aaker, D. (2017). Best Website on Marketing Strategy, Marketing Plan, and Marketing Management. [online] Studymarketing.org. Available at: https://www.studymarketing.org/articles/Brand_Management /Key_Elements_of_Brand_Equity.html [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Aaker, D. (2017). What is Brand Equity and Why is it Valuable? | Aaker on Brands. [online] Prophet Thinking. 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