ntu mba 2009 b8947 - strategic brand management - Nanyang ...

NTU
MBA 2009
B8947 - STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT
COURSE INSTRUCTOR:
Martin Roll
Business & Brand Strategist
roll@venturerepublic.com
www.martinroll.com
OBJECTIVE:
This course is designed for student with little or minimal branding experience. However,
the range of concepts and materials we will be using should provide a challenging
experience even for those of you who have branding backgrounds. The main objectives
of the course are:
1. TO DEVELOP YOUR BRAND MANAGEMENT SKILLS. This is the primary
objective of the course. The focus is on the effective management of brands in order to
enhance shareholder value and the purpose is to provide an in-depth understanding of
brand management strategies and their application. The emphasis will be on crucial brand
management issues from a real-life practitioner’s perspective to help you prepare for your
careers ahead.
2. TO UNDERSTAND AND APPLY MAJOR BRAND MANAGEMENT
CONCEPTS AND TOOLS. The course seeks to discuss and evaluate the principles and
frameworks for strategic brand management as well as their application in the real world.
The frameworks we will discuss have been thoroughly researched by both scholars and
leading practitioners. As such, these will provide you with a comprehensive toolkit to
understand the science of strategically managing brands.
3. TO HELP YOU APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING AND
BRANDS AS AN INTEGRATED PART OF A MODERN CORPORATE
BUSINESS STRATEGY. Branding has evolved from being a marketing tool to a
crucial strategic initiative. Many of the world’s leading brands actively shape their
strategies in line with their brands. An overarching objective of this course is to help you
appreciate the role of branding in today’s iconic organizations. As such, at the end of the
course students will be able to formulate and evaluate a fully integrated brand strategy.

FORMAT:
The course will consist of formal lectures, case analysis/ presentations and study group
discussions.
I am glad to work with students who are having difficulty with any aspect of the course.
Please feel free to make an appointment to come and see me. I am accessible through
email (roll@venturerepublic.com). Also, please feel free to send an email with any
questions, needs or concerns you may have.
This course is meant to be interactive, interesting, stimulating and fun!
MAIN TEXTBOOKS
Title: Asian Brand Strategy
Author: Martin Roll
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Edition: 2006
ISBN: 1-4039-9279-7
Title: Strategic Brand Management – Best Practice cases in branding (paperback)
Author: Kevin Lane Keller
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Edition: 3. edition
ISBN: 978-0-13-188865-4
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOK
This book is not mandatory for the course, but it is recommended for those who want
more subject depth and academic stimulus.
Title: Strategic Brand Management – Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity
Author: Kevin Lane Keller
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Edition: Latest
ISBN: 0-13-041150-7

REFERENCE BOOKS
These books are meant for additional reading and insights but are not part of the course.
They are a selection of my own favorite books. Keep them in your database for the future
– they may inspire you during your career path.
Title: Strategic Brand Management
Author: Kevin Lane Keller
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Edition: 2003
ISBN: 0-13-041150-7
Title: Building strong brands
Author: David A. Aaker
Publisher: Free Press
Edition: 1996
ISBN: 002900151X
Title: Brand Leadership
Author: David A. Aaker
Publisher: Free Press
Edition: 2000
ISBN: 0-684-83924-5
Title: Brand Portfolio Strategy
Author: David A. Aaker
Publisher: Free Press
Edition: 2004
ISBN: 0-7432-4938-0
Title: Spanning Silos – The CMO
Imperative
Author: David A. Aaker
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Press
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4221-2876-3
Title: Brand Asset Management –
Driving Profitable Growth
through your brands
Author: Scott M. Davis
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Edition: First edition 2002
ISBN: 0-7879-6394-1
Title: Asian Branding – A Great Way to
Fly
Author: Ian Batey
Publisher: Prentice Hal
Edition: 2002
ISBN: 0-13-066466-9
Title: Private Label Strategy
Author: Nirmalya Kumar
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Press
Edition: 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4221-2876-3
Title: Corporate Religion
Author: Jesper Kunde
Publisher: Financial Times/ Prentice
Hall
Edition: 2000
ISBN: 0-273-64380-0
Title: Consumer Behaviour in Asia
Author: Hellmut Schütte with Deanna
Ciarlante
Publisher: Macmillan Business
Edition: 1998
ISBN: 0-333-73625-7

Title: Luxury Brand Management
Author: Michel Chevalier and Gerald
Mazzalovo
Publisher: Wiley
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-470-823262
Title: Luxury Fashion Branding
Author: Uche Okonkwo
Publisher: Palgrave
Edition: 2007
ISBN: 0-230-52167-3
Title: How brands become icons
Author: Douglas Holt
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Edition: 2004
ISBN: 978-1578517749
COURSE ASSESSMENT & REQUIREMENTS
Evaluation of participants overall grade will be based upon the following components
Class participation: 20%
Case presentation: 50%
Personal assignment: 30%
The class discussions provide you with the opportunity to share your ideas and analyses
with other participants in class. The weight assigned to class participation reflects its
critical importance to the learning of everyone.

CLASS 1: BRAND LEADERSHIP – A PERSPECTIVE
Course introduction & team formation.
This is the introductory class which outlines the key concepts and tools for branding, how
it adds value to businesses and why it will become increasingly important for Asian
businesses.
The class will outline the 10 steps to build a brand and provide an overview of brand
strategy and management.
Topics:
• What is a brand? Definitions and perspectives
• The key concepts and tools for branding
• How brands adds value to businesses
• The rise of brands – the new value driver for businesses
• Overview of brand strategy and management
• Branding – the strongest value driver towards 2020
• The 10 steps to build a brand
• The role of the CEO and the executive team
Case/assignments:
Best Practice cases in branding: Accenture
Readings:
Asian Brand Strategy: Chapter 1, 2 & 9
Harvard Business Review (HBR) (Oct 2003): The Hidden Dragons
McKinsey: Can Chinese brands make it abroad?
Building customer-based brand equity, Kevin Lane Keller, Marketing Management
Douglas Holt: Brands & Branding
Suggested readings:
Strategic Brand Management: Chapter 1

CLASS 2: BRAND AUDIT, BRAND EQUITY AND BRAND VALUATION
The brand audit is the essential first step for companies in the brand building process. It is
a comprehensive process that involves four major phases: company analysis, customer
analysis, competitor analysis and stakeholder analysis. The purpose of the brand audit is
to provide the management with an overall analysis of the brand from internal and
external sources. The brand audit provides a structured framework and a firm foundation
on which companies can define brand identities and strategize their future actions.
The brand equity measure relates to how brands are driving customer demand and also
influencing long term loyalty.
The financial measure is the net present value of expected future earnings which is a
common concept in business and within the financial community.
Topics:
• The brand management model
• The brand audit
• Brand equity
• Brand valuation
• Brand metrics – methods and tools
• Measure and improve the brand ROI
Case/assignments:
Best Practice cases in branding: Starbucks, American Express
Readings:
Asian Brand Strategy: Chapter 3, 7 & 8
Brand Economics: Bringing new clarity to brand management & strategy
McKinsey: Better, Faster & Cheaper
Interbrand: Brand Valuation
Suggested readings:
Strategic Brand Management: Chapter 2, 8, 9 & 10

CLASS 3: BRAND IDENTITY, STRATEGY AND POSITIONING
A brand identity describes the company’s strategic intention for the brand, its uniqueness,
meaning and values, and basically how the brand aims at being positioned in the market
place. It projects how the company wants the brand to be perceived by customers and
other stakeholders. Brand identity is the strategic charter for the brand and links closely
to the overall business strategy.
The brand identity of a brand serves two main purposes. Internally, the identity guides all
the strategic decisions regarding the brand like the communication decisions, the
brand/line extension decisions, the brand architecture decisions, and the association and
partnering decisions. Externally, it provides the customers with a clear sense of what the
brand stands for, its essence, promises and personality – depending on how well the
company expresses and delivers on the promises from the brand identity.
Topics:
• What is brand identity?
• Developing the brand identity
• Brand essence/ Brand personality
• Attributes, benefits and values
• Points-of parity & points-ofdifference
• Brand positioning
• The value curve and its
implications
• Brand architecture
• Sub-brands
• Brand extensions & line
extensions
• Corporate brands versus product
brands
• Brand portfolio management
Case/assignments:
Best Practice cases in branding: Dockers
Readings:
Asian Brand Strategy: Chapter 6
McKinsey: Better Branding
McKinsey: Repositioning brands
David Aaker: Leveraging the Corporate
Brand
Douglas Holt: What becomes an icon
most?
Kevin Keller: Importance of corporate
brand personality
Quelch: How do global brands compete?
Suggested readings:
Strategic Brand Management: Chapter 3, 4, 5 & 11

CLASS 4: BRAND IMPLEMENTATION & MANAGEMENT
The final step in building a brand is the brand implementation process. The previous class
of brand research and brand identity will enable the company to establish the foundation
of the brand and its intended direction.
The brand implementation phase is where all the formulated strategies are put into
practice in the market place. It brings the brand to life and this is where brand
associations ultimately start to form in the mindset of customers. Successful brands align
their touch points with all stakeholders, and the class will illustrate how this is done
internally and externally.
Marketing communications is the face of a brand strategy. The class will illustrate how a
marketer translates a brand strategy into marketing communications and the steps needed
to make it successful.
Topics:
• Brand programs
• Marketing and brand tools
• Local and global relevance – the
balance
• Local, regional and global
management
• Country branding
• Touch points
• Employees as brand ambassadors
• How branding can become an
internal change agent
• Organizational alignment
• Build and sustain a brand culture
• Balancing marketing trade-offs
• Critical success factors for brand
leadership
Case/assignments:
Best Practice cases in branding: RedBull, Nike
Readings:
Asian Brand Strategy: Chapter 4 & 10
McKinsey: The evolving role of the CMO
Integrating branding strategy across markets: Building international brand architecture
HBR: Creating the living brand
HBR: Kill a brand, keep the customer
HBR: Selling the brand inside
Suggested readings:
Strategic Brand Management: Chapter 6, 13 & 14

Martin Roll
Business & brand strategist
Martin Roll is a world-renowned thought-leader on value creation through brand equity
driven by tremendous global experience and insights. He facilitates business leaders and
organizations to think bold for future strategies. By focusing on building and managing
successful businesses through iconic brands, Martin Roll helps boardrooms to enhance
shareholder value and create sustainable competitive advantage.
Martin Roll delivers the combined value of an experienced international business
strategist and senior advisor to corporate boards and marketing executives of the world’s
largest companies including many corporations in Asia. He is the founder and CEO of
VentureRepublic, a strategic advisory firm, and brings more than 20 years of
management experience. Martin Roll holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Martin Roll is not only a highly accomplished speaker and presenter but as well a
talented and well trained moderator of panel discussions and roundtables. He is a
valuable contributor to any senior management discussion on the subject of leadership,
innovation, growth, organizational excellence and brand equity, its close link to
management and how it drives outstanding performance through shareholder value.
He strides the industry-academia continuum and delivers superior value to his global
audiences. Every year, he travels 500.000 miles on all continents and speaks at more than
100 global top-level conferences and executive seminars. He is also a frequent guest
lecturer at INSEAD and other leading global business schools.
Martin Roll is the author of the global bestseller Asian Brand Strategy, a very
compelling book of frameworks for Asian branding and the winning formula for any
boardroom. Asian Brand Strategy was named “Best Business Books 2006” by
Strategy+Business magazine.
www.martinroll.com

Asian Brand Strategy
Endorsements
“Martin Roll's Asian Brand Strategy provides superb motivation and substance into Asian
brands and branding. It offers invaluable inspiration and guidance into one of the hottest
areas of marketing.”
Kevin Lane Keller, Professor of Marketing, Tuck School of Business
“As Asian firms aspire to become global and challenge the competitive landscape
dominated by Western firms, they recognize that cost and quality advantages are
necessary but not sufficient for sustained value creation. Martin Roll provides an
illuminating insight into a critical missing link - the importance of global brands. Rich in
concepts and detail this is an invaluable manifesto for Asian CEOs. A must read that will
change perspectives and priorities.”
C.K. Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor, The Ross
School of Business, The University of Michigan
“Growing presence of Asian companies in Western markets, high profile cross border
M&A, and the spreading of Asian cultural and social trends have highlighted the
potential impact of Asian brands in the global markets. But brand building has
historically not been a high priority for many Asian companies. Martin Roll makes a
compelling argument for branding to be one of the top issues for Asian CEOs to enhance
shareholder value. He provides a thoughtful set of approaches, and illustrates these nicely
with interesting cases from the region.”
Minsok Pak, Principal, McKinsey & Co.
“An insightful look into branding as a strategic tool for Asian companies - Asian Brand
Strategy by Martin Roll is a brilliant, incisive read. A treasure of ideas and case studies,
this compelling new book discusses the challenges Asian corporations face to stay
relevant in today's dynamic, global market.”
N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies Ltd.
“Branding has become a hot topic for Asian companies which are no longer able to
compete purely as contract manufacturers and now need to directly “own” the end
consumer. As shelf space in bookstores get filled with myriad books on branding as the
next best thing, Martin Roll’s book Asian Brand Strategy stands out above the pack. It
has the serious theoretical framework which underpins any real understanding of the role

of branding in business. And it has the practical pointers which make it useful for anyone
wanting to implement a brand strategy.
Roll’s five major messages – that branding can enhance shareholder value; that it must be
led by the top person in a company; that it is not simply slick advertising and PR but a
holistic integration of many business functions; that Asian companies must embrace
branding to move up the value chain, and that branding strategies can be measured
through metrics – resonate strongly within my own company and have been the key
factors for Banyan Tree’s own success in branding.
I would strongly recommend this book as compulsory reading for anyone who wants to
understand the power of branding and how to implement a practical, no-gimmicks brand
strategy.”
Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman, Banyan Tree Group
"Martin Roll has provided a much-anticipated primer on how Asian companies approach
the discipline of branding. With the focus of the world economy gravitating inexorably to
the Asia Pacific region, Asian Brand Strategy provides timely insight into the key players
of today and the global competitors of tomorrow".
Alan Lammin, Publishing Director, Asia, TIME