2.8 Brand position 12
2.9 Communication Program 13
2.10 Brand Leverage 13
2.11 Important Factors For Building Strong Brands 14
Chapter 3 15
ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY CURRENT SITUATION 15
3.1 External Environment Analysis 15
3.1.1 Macro Environment 15
3.1.2 The Industry Environment 17
3.2 Internal Analysis 20
3.2.1 Company Overview 20
3.2.2 Company Performance 21
3.2.3 Strategic intent 22
3.2.4 Company Structure 24
3.2.5 Company resources and core competencies 24
3.3 SWOT Analysis 30
Chapter 4 31
Company’s Brand Management 31
4.1 LiOA’s Positioning 31
4.1.1 The AVSs Market 31
4.2 Brand Analysis 32
4.2.1 The origin of the name 32
4.2.2 LiOA symbol 32
4.2.3 Trade mark protection 33
4.2.3 Advertising activities 33
4.3 Brand Management 34
4.4 Brand Leverage And Extension 34
4.4 The Company’s Brand Intention 35
4.4 Conclusion 35
Chapter 5 36
findings OF the Customer survey 36
5.1 Overview of the Sample’s Characteristics 36
5.2 Consumers’ Brand Awareness and their Behavior 36
5.2.1 Brand awareness 36
5.2.2 Brand choice 37
5.2.3 Factors Affecting Consumers Choices of AVS Brand 38
5.3 Questions Relating To LiOA Products 39
5.3.1 LiOA name 39
5.3.2 Country of origin 40
5.3.3 LiOA knowledge information sources 40
5.3.4 LiOA usage 41
5.3.5 Consumers’ evaluation of LiOA AVS 41
5.3.6 Price of LiOA AVSs 42
5.3.7 LiOA shops convenience 42
5.3.8 LiOA advertisement contents 42
5.3.9 LiOA promotion program 43
5.4 Conclusion 43
Chapter 6 45
Developing a Branding strategy for LiOA 45
6.1 Developing LiOA Brand Identity 45
6.1.1 The brand as a product 45
6.1.2 The Brand-as-organization 46
6.1.3 The Brand-as-person: Brand personality 46
6.1.4 Band as a symbol 46
6.2 Brand Value Proposition 46
6.2.1 Functional benefits 46
6.2.2 Emotional benefits 47
6.2.3 Self-expressive benefits 47
6.3 Brand Anatomy of LiOA 47
6.4 LiOA Brand Position 48
6.5 Branding activities in line with its intention strategies 48
6.5.1 Consolidate LiOA brand name in the North 48
6.5.2 Expand its market share and brand awareness in the South 50
6.5.3 LiOA expansion to other foreign markets 51
6.5.4 LiOA CABLE branding 51
Chapter 7 52
Conclusion and recommendations 52
7.1 Conclusions 52
7.2 Recommendations 53
References 55
APPENDIX 1
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 The Brand Position Trap 8
Table 3.1: Vietnam’s Economic Indicators 15
Table 3.2: Summary of the Business Opportunities and Threats 20
Table 3.3: LiOA AVS Current Product Line 21
Table 3.4: Sales Performance of Nhat Linh Co. Ltd., 1996-2000 22
Table 3.5: Summary of the Company’s Strengths and Weaknesses 29
Table 3.6: SWOT Analysis Summary 30
Table 5.1: Factors Affecting Consumers Choices of AVS Brand 38
Table 5.2: Respondent’s Evaluation of LiOA AVSs 41
Table 5.3: Respondents’ Evaluation of LiOA Advertisement Contents 43
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Research Framework 2
Figure 2.1 A Brand Is More Than a Product 6
11
Figure 2.2: The Brand Management Process 11
Figure 2.3 : A Variety of Ways of Leveraging Brand 13
Figure 3.1: Changes in Foreign Direct Investment 16
Figure 3.2: Nhat Linh Company’ s Organizational Chart 24
Figure 4.1 LiOA Logo 33
Figure 5.1: Respondent’s Awareness about AVS Brands 37
Figure 5.2: Brand Selection of Respondents 37
Figure 5.3: Information Source for Knowing LiOA 40
Figure: 6.1 LiOA Brand Anatomy 48
Figure 7.1 The Proposed Model for Strategic Brand Management Process 54
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale of the Research
In a market economy, the success or failure of the companies depends largely on how
companies fulfill consumers’ needs and wants. If the products or services meet the consumers’
needs (physical and emotional), consumers will be satisfied. Once they are satisfied with the
products, they will continue to buy or refer to other consumers by means of “word-of-mouth”.
As a result, the companies will enjoy a long-term profitability and customer’s loyalty.
In a fierce competition environment, companies must compete with each other in terms of price,
quality, services, technology, innovation, and brand name, etc. To differentiate their products
from other competitors, companies often create brand names for their products or their
corporate. Consumers are made aware of the products by their brand names with unique,
distinctive and particular characteristics. In this case, the choice of a customer for a product,
then, is a result of brand recognition for quality or uniqueness of the company’s offer.
Therefore, branding has become an essential means for companies to compete with other
competitors. In case of wide product portfolio, “branding” even replaces “marketing” activities.
Many companies recognize that branding is the most effective weapon to win consumers’
purchasing decision. Indeed, attracting consumers becomes a very difficult task for any
company in a highly competitive market.
Although a company gets many benefits from its brand name, it is not easy to create and
maintain a strong brand. To understand more how a company builds and manages its brand to
get the full benefit from that, a study into the case of LiOA brand at Nhat Linh Co. Ltd., an auto
voltage stabilizer (AVS)manufacturer is carried out.
1.2 Problem Statement
To compete with other competitors in automatic voltage stabilizer market, Nhat Linh Company
has to build its own brand name and manage it well. This study will see how the Company
manages its brand as an effective weapon to compete with other competitors.
1.3 Objectives of the Research
This study focuses on analyzing brand management of the Company. Its specific objectives are:
• To analyze the external market environment of the auto voltage stabilizer industry and the
Company situation.
• To analyze the current Company branding management process .
• To survey customer’ attitudes towards the Company’s brand/products.
• To recommend a brand strategy and marketing communication program for the Company.
1.4 Research Methodology
The conceptual framework of the study can be illustrated by the Figure 1.1
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Figure 1.1: Research Framework
Data collection: Data for the study were collected from two sources:
• Primary data: The primary data were gathered through direct in-depth interviews with the
Company’s Board of Directors, Marketing Managers, and other key staff members of the
Company. In addition, a survey by questionnaire was conducted to evaluate the consumers’
attitudes toward the Company’s brand/products. The number of questionnaires sent out was
200. Both buyers and non-buyers of the Company’s products are respondents of the survey.
• Secondary data: relevant data on the current market and possible target market of the
Company and competition were collected from public media, the Ministry of Planning and
Investment, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, from the Internet, and other
sources.
Data analysis:
Qualitative analysis was done for secondary data and primary data collected from interviews.
Quantitative analysis was done for primary data collected from the questionnaire survey in
order to evaluate consumer’s brand awareness, factors affecting their purchase decision, and
their attitudes towards LiOA’s AVS products. The software SPSS 10.0 was used to process
quantitative data.
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SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Company Branding
Company Branding
Consumer Survey
Consumer Survey
Literature Review
Literature Review
Develop a Branding Strategy
Develop a Branding Strategy
Conclusion &Recommendations
Conclusion &Recommendations
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Research
Though the Company’s products are available throughout the country, the customer survey was
done in Hanoi and its vicinity only, as Hanoi represents one of the two main markets of the
AVS products.
The research have some limitations due to following reasons: (i) Relevant data collected from
different sources may be inconsistent. (ii) It is difficult to get some sensitive information from
the Company’s managers. (iii) It is difficult to get an overall picture of the attitude of
consumers throughout the country towards the Company products when the customer survey is
only conducted in Hanoi.
1.6 Structure of the Research Report
The research report will be organized as follows:
Chapter 1: A general introduction, comprising rationale, identification of the problem,
objectives, methodology of the research study and its scope and limitations.
Chapter 2: Literature review.
Chapter 3: Analysis of the external environment and the Company’s strengths and weaknesses.
Chapter 4: The Company’s current branding situation.
Chapter 5: Findings of the survey on customer’s attitude towards the Company’s product.
Chapter 6: Developing a branding strategy for the Company.
Chapter 7: Conclusion and recommendations.
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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
An increasing number of the world’s most influential companies have recognized the enormous
value of their brands. Well-developed bands have become an effective strategic weapon to win
consumer’s heart and mind. This applies for all companies, big and small alike.
Branding has become much more important recently because of the proliferation of choice that
is made available to consumers. To have competitive advantage within the whole industry, the
successful corporation should have not only good quality of products, services above other
competitors but also good image in the consumers' mind. That is brand name. Brand name
makes the company’s product distinctive from those of competitors.
This chapter will review the literature involving building and maintaining brand. The chapter
will also highlight the importance of branding in the marketplace.
2.2 What is a Brand?
There are many definitions of “brand”. Following are some of them:
Kotler (2000) defines a brand as “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of
them, intended to identity the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competitors.”
According to Hankinson and Cowking (1996), a brand is a simply a product or service
which can be distinguished from its competitors. The distinctiveness reflects a brand’s
positioning relative to the competition and by its personality. Successful brands are those
which meet the needs and aspirations of a defined target market.
Kapferer (1992) makes a clear distinction in writing that, “products are what the company
makes; what the customer buys is a brand.” Therefore brand can be understandable as the
product in the customer viewpoint. A brand is landmark. Buyers are actually purchasing a
position in the minds of potential customers be in the stalls or in the royal circle.
Arnold (1992) comments that brand is the personality or identity of a product, range of
products or an organization, derived from consumer perception of both tangible and
intangible attributes. Brands are recognized and understood on an emotional level, in a way
that most of their founders would find astonishing.
Tennant (1994) also has a similar definition of a brand as a sign of identification, the label
that differentiates your product from those of your competitor. A brand also can act as a
type of shorthand encapsulating the key features of the product such as its image, use and
price in an easily recognized and remembered form.
In short, all these authors agree that a brand identifies the seller or maker. Like identification
cards, it is a way of differentiating the company’s product from those of another company. This
becomes the increasingly important issue in fiercer competition nowadays, where consumers
always have a greater choice of offers.
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2.3 The Importance of Brand Name
2.3.1 The main contribution of brands
As stated earlier, many companies have recognized brands as a powerful strategic weapon.
Power brands can provide their owners with considerable rewards if handled correctly and
managed sensibly. They can ensure a growth in market share and corporate profitability.
Stobart (1994) points out three reasons why brands play an important role to their owners:
• To serve as a focus for consumer loyalty. Thus, they can be developed into assets that
generate steady and reliable streams of cash flow. They help to guard against competitive
encroachment.
• To capture the promotional investment put into it. Enormously valuable brands like Coca,
Kodak, Pepsi and Marlboro are still benefiting massively from the past huge advertising.
This ability to capture promotional investment is in direct contrast to what happens with
generic goods or commodities, which have no brand name or image.
• To be of critical strategic importance to their owners. In fact, brands enable manufacturers
to communicate directly with consumers regardless of the actions of the middleman. This
communication gives their producers power toward retailers.
Temporal (2000) indicates the benefits of power brands towards companies and consumers
as bellows:
The market power of brands: Here are some ways in which strong brands can transform
ordinary businesses into elite ones
• Survival in adverse condition
• Longevity
• Transportability across national cultures
• Greater distribution power
• Crossing market boundaries
• Staff motivation, recruitment and loyalty
• Moving away from commodity status
The financial rewards of brands: Powerful brands provide long-term security and growth,
higher sustainable profits, and increased asset value because they achieve:
• Competitive differentiation
• Premium prices
• Higher sales volumes
• Economies of scale and reduced costs
• Greater security of demand
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