STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT:Setting Objectives, Crafting a Strategy, The Brand Mission

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Brand Management (MKT624)

Lesson 6

STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT

Mission

A mission statement speaks of the present form of business, the products it is dealing in, the

customers it is serving, and the areas in which it is operating etc. In other words, a mission is all

about achievement of present objectives.

It also talks of the commitments and values that are needed to let the company achieve its

objectives. It does not speak beyond that. But, the process of strategic management does not

stop there. It makes it imperative that managers see beyond the mission, or the present, to

determine a long-term direction that the company must take for tomorrow. Nothing is static.

The dynamism of the market necessitates that managers must see the impact of:

· changing technologies

· changing lifestyles

· changing needs of customers

· changing benchmarks of quality, and

· changing competition and overall conditions

They have to make some fundamental choices about where they want to take the company and

how that evolution and transformation will take place. Such choices form their vision of the

company and supplement present company mission with factors like

· future business makeup

· product line, and

· customer base

These factors form the foundation for brands and branding. They are closely intertwined and

lead you to form the right branding strategies. It is from that point of view that brand managers

must understand the subtleties of the vision and the mission of the company.

In case a company's mission statement talks not only about its present, but also future, then the

mission merges into the strategic vision and we can say the mission is future-oriented. Mostly

company mission statements are more concerned about their present business than their future

one.

The conceptual distinction between vision and mission, therefore, remains relevant. A clear

vision of future business and strategic direction is a prerequisite to strategic leadership. It steers

the whole company toward the desired destination.

Nothing could direct the company better toward that destination than having good strategic

leadership. And, nothing could give brand managers better insights into developing brands that

really fit into the strategic vision of the top management.

Setting Objectives

After vision and mission are in place, the next step is converting those statements into specific

objectives. Performance of all managers is measured by the level of achievement of those

objectives.

Any organization setting itself ambitious and bold objectives become aggressive in its pursuits.

Ambitious and bold should not be misinterpreted as unrealistic. Organizational capabilities

must be considered before setting realistic objectives.

Targets

Toward achievement of objectives, all managers across the company must get targets

that can be measured. Targets broken into divisions, departments, and then units

develop a result oriented work culture. It improves work performance with no confusion

about who is supposed to do what and who is stepping on whose toes!

Brand Management (MKT624)

The collective achievement of targets helps the company to achieve its mission and

assure fulfilling its vision.

Types of Objectives

Following are the two major types of objectives set in a typical organization1

· Financial Objectives

· Strategic Objectives

Financial Objectives deal with

· Revenue growth

· Earnings growth

· Return on investment

· Dividend growth

· Share value appreciation, and

· Positive cash flow etc.

Strategic objectives deal with

· Winning greater market share

· Overtaking competitors on quality

· Staging innovations

· Cutting costs

· Creating and sustaining technological leadership, and

· Capturing growth opportunities etc.

Both financial and strategic objectives are set in short and long term basis. The job of managers

is to achieve both in order to improve competitive strength of the company. While short range

objectives keep the managers involved in accomplishing the mission, long range objectives

prompt them to think what to do next to achieve company's vision.

Crafting a Strategy

Strategy is crafted in compatibility with the stated objectives. Objectives are the "ends" and

strategy is the "means" to achieve those ends. Strategy deals with "whether to" and "how to"

areas of the management process and seeks answers to the following kind of "whether to" and

"how to" questions.

· Whether to concentrate on one business or diversify?

· Whether to serve a large number of customers or operate in a niche?

· Whether to have a narrow product line or a wide one?

· Whether to achieve competitive advantage through lower costs, better quality, or unique

features?

· How to respond to competitive pressures?

· How to respond to changing preferences?

· How big a geographic market should be?

· How to grow the organization in the long run?

The "whether to" and "how to" aspects relate to branding strategies as much as they do to

overall business. If you come to think of it, many of the questions fall within the area of brand

management.

Implementing Strategy

The fundamental is to assure "what are and should be" the means at management's disposal to

achieve what is envisaged. Implementation is all about what must be done to achieve the

desired performance goals by putting strategy at work.

Brand Management (MKT624)

Proficient execution consists of the following key aspects

· Building an organization and developing a culture of motivating people by instituting

reward systems.

· Developing budgets and steering resources into strategy critical areas of success.

· Installing information and operating systems.

Evaluating Performance

What has been set as objectives and targets have got to be evaluated to see if management is

really moving along the path it envisioned for itself! Movement identical with the planned path

is generally not possible. If performance is above par, then it is not bad. If not, then the

following questions have to be considered:

· Change of strategic direction

· Business to be redefined

· Vision changed; narrowed or broadened or revised altogether

· Performance standards to be lowered or raised

It is clear that all the above considerations relate modifications and adjustments in the strategic

frame work.

The Brand Vision

An understanding of the strategic management process makes it amply clear that a company

cannot carve its future path without accounting for its brand(s). Brands lay the foundation for

fulfillment of the vision and they also serve as the keystones for sustaining that fulfillment.

If brands help the company achieve its strategic and financial goals, then a brand vision must

flow out of the company vision. The overall vision must specify the way the management looks

at the brand future in the long run.

Brand future refers to

markets and market segments to be served

quality improvements to be achieved

envisioned changes to be met

investments to be made, and any other factors that address brand movement in times to

come

The Brand Mission

Clarity of vision leads management to state the mission, that is

· What customers the company serves?

· Why it serves?

· What geographical areas it serves?

· What benefits it provides?

· What kind of results it envisages to achieve:

o Sales

o Profits

o Market share

Values

Values are a set of virtues employees should share. Those are described as2

· integrity

· trust

Brand Management (MKT624)

· honesty

· commitment to quality, and teamwork etc

The vision and the mission for the brand are embedded in the values a company has and

cherishes. The conduct of a company in relation to the market and all stakeholders is a

reflection of the values the company harbors. You must have heard about Japanese work ethics

having deep roots into the Japanese cultural values. All their businesses, therefore, are an

evidence of those values in the form of good quality products.

It has been observed that companies that explicitly state their vision, mission, and values to

uphold what they want to achieve in the short and the long run are successful in

· Having high market shares

· Good profitability

· Good level of leadership

And, hence, succeed in fulfilling their mission and vision.

Why brand vision?

Scot Davis makes a statement that not many companies go by the process of having a vision2.

Such companies are committed to brands but leave much to be desired, he maintains.

Subsequently, they keep changing strategies, as desperate moves, from time to time with the

result that the brand never gets the desired support.

Lack of proper support could be

· Less market investment

· Less manufacturing investment

· Less human resource investment

The net result is that the company cannot fulfill what could have been the right vision and

mission, a sure indication that it is not upholding what should have been the right values. You

may like to relate this with brand future discussed above and then develop linkages between the

two.

Summary

Vision relates the future; mission is all about the present. The strategic management process

starts with a company having a vision about where it wants to reach in foreseeable future. The

vision is then transferred into the mission of the company, which essentially is the company's

ability to reach for the immediate goals relating the present and immediate short-term period.

Strategies are the game plans companies need to have to defend themselves against the ever-

present hostile competition. The defensive mechanism is translated in terms of different

strategies to accomplish the mission and lay ground for fulfillment of the vision. It needs to be

clarified that offensive strategies, at times, provide the companies with the best defense, lest

you misunderstand that strategies are always defensive.

The company vision leads to brand vision and mission. Coupled with good values on part of all

employees, companies move to accomplish their missions and fulfill their visions.

Since brand vision rolls out of the overall company vision, it is of high significance to learn

how it happens and why there are tremendous consistencies between the two.

Bibliography:

1. Thompson Strickland: "Strategic Management - Concepts and Cases"; McGraw Hill (37)

2. Scot M. Davis: "Brand Asset Management Driving Profitable Growth through Your

Brands"; Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint (38)

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