Choose a product. Conduct a branded and unbranded experiment. What do you learn about the equity of the brands in that product class?
Can you identify any other advantages or disadvantages of the comparative methods?
Pick a brand and conduct an analysis similar to that done with the Planters brand. What do you learn about its extendibility as a result?
Go to Interbrand’s Web site (www.interbrand.com). Compare the top 10 brands from the current year to the list from the previous year.
What brands entered the top 10, and which ones left the top 10? What contributed to these shifts in brand value? Which brands showed the most increases or decreases in brand value? Why?
Select a brand from Interbrand’s top 100 brand names (one which you know is publicly traded on a stock exchange). Go to a finance Web site (e.g., Google Finance or Yahoo Finance) and locate its market capitalization. Determine how much of the brand’s value is as a percentage of its market capitalization. Describe what this percentage means, and how it relates to brand valuation.
Pick a company. As completely as possible, characterize its brand portfolio and brand hierarchy. How would you improve the company’s branding strategies?
How do technology companies leverage their brand name, and what key characteristics of their brand architecture do they typically follow?
For example, contrast the brand architecture of Google and Yahoo! over the years.
Contrast the branding strategies and brand portfolios of market leaders in two different industries. For example, contrast the approach by Anheuser-Busch and its Budweiser brand with that of Kellogg’s in the ready-to-eat cereal category. What are some of the product strategies and communication strategies that General Motors could use to further enhance the level of perceived differentiation between its divisions? How can online digital marketing and social media be utilized to strengthen the distinctions across
brands within a particular portfolio?
Information to be used
Netflix: Evolving a Brand Architecture to Grow the Brand
Amedia darling for much of his company’s meteoric rise, Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix, seemingly could do no wrong. Founded in 1997, Netflix pioneered the DVD-by-mail category, successfully challenging traditional video stores and driving industry leader Blockbuster into bankruptcy in the process. Netflix’s bold formula for success included flawless service delivery combined with a state-of-the-art movie recommendation engine for users. The company even famously sponsored a contest with a $1 million prize to anyone who could make its recommendation algorithm work better.
Netflix’s foray into original programming has resulted in many hit shows such as Stranger Things.
Netflix’s business philosophy was captured by two credos found on its corporate Web site: “Avoid ‘barnacles’ that can slow down a fast-growing business,” and “Make tough decisions without agonizing and focus on great results rather than process.” Hard-charging and constantly seeking to innovate, Netflix dove in head first as streaming technology evolved online and quickly found a receptive audience ready to instantaneously download and view videos. That’s also where the trouble began.
