Branding
Week 1: Brand Value
Hyper connectivity and branding
Hyper connectivity = Blurring of brand boundaries (shared ownership, co-creation, control, etc.) +
the broadening of brand boundaries (what is a brand?)
Brand equity
= The added value that a brand provides to a product
A brand can be de ned as “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which
is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to di erentiate
them from those of competitors.
Customer-based brand equity (CBBE) = “The di erential e ect that brand knowledge has on
customer response to brand marketing activity” (Keller, 2016)
—> The way that we are going to look at that is based on the “Associative network memory
model”
-How is knowledge represented in the brain?
-Nodes: Stored information
-Links: Strength of association between nodes
1
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, CBBE/ Brand Resonance Model (Keller, 2016)
5A’s of CBBE (Customer-based brand equity)
1. Awareness (Salience)
- What does it take before the brand node is activated in the brain of the consumer?
2. Associations (Performance, Imagery)
- Spreading of activation: once a node is activated, via the associative links with other nodes,
other parts of the associative network are activated as well.
3. Attitudes (Judgements, Feelings)
- Once we have associations surrounding a brand, how do we feel about the brand then? What
kind of judgements and feelings arise and kind of attitudes are generated
4. Attachment & Activity (Resonance)
- Attachment is more about the internal part and Activity more about the behavioural part.
CBBE as a pyramid
- Di erent levels/ layers: They build on each other, you can only have
an associative network once the node of the brand is activated
(awareness); you need an associative network before you can
start developing evaluations (attitudes); those evaluations/
attitudes need to be very favourable before something of a
relationship (attachment/activity) can exist.
- Narrow at the top: every single new level is more di cult
to achieve.
2
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, Brand awareness (salience, level 1 CBBE pyramid)
Recall vs recognition
- Brand recall = a consumer can retrieve the brand from memory without seeing it.
- Brand recognition = a consumer can identify the brand when they see it again.
Depth vs breadth
- Depth of awareness = How strongly the brand is stored in memory (how likely is the brand to
come to mind at all?)
- strength of activation
- Breadth of awareness = This is about the range of situations in which the brand comes to mind.
- A brand with high breadth is mentally available in many di erent purchase or consumption
situations.
- Example: A sports drink may come to mind after exercise, during hot weather, or when
someone feels tired.
- Range of activation contexts
Brand associations (performance and imagery, level 2 CBBE pyramid)
Composition of associative network
- Which associations: Nodes
- Connections between associations: Links
Associations di er in strength, favourability, uniqueness.
- Point of di erence: strong, favourable AND unique
- Point of parity: strong and favourable, NOT unique
—> link to brand positioning because positioning is essentially the managerial attempt to shape
the associative network in consumers’ minds.
Brand attitudes (judgements and feelings, level 3 CBBE pyramid)
The question is no longer just: What comes to mind when people think of the brand? (Descriptive)
but: How do people evaluate the brand overall?
Brand resonance (level 4 CBBE pyramid)
- Consumer brand relationship
- Brand love
- Brand resonance goes far beyond brand attitude - it is when you’re loyal to a brand
3
ff ff ff
, Article 1: Branding in a Hyperconnected World: Refocusing Theories and Rethinking
Boundaries. Swaminathan et al., 2022.
The article argues that branding theory needs to be updated because we now live in a
hyperconnected world: people, devices, rms, and platforms are constantly connected,
information spreads instantly, and many actors in uence what a brand means. Because of this,
brands are no longer fully controlled by rms. Instead, branding is becoming more shared,
networked, and socially embedded.
Two major shifts de ne modern branding:
1. Blurring of branding boundaries
Brands are moving from single ownership to shared ownership. Consumers, employees,
in uencers, partners, communities, and platforms now help shape brand meaning and brand
experience.
2. Broadening of branding boundaries
Branding now applies not only to products and companies, but also to people, ideas, places,
and platforms. Brands also have broader roles in society, including activism, community-
building, and data responsibility.
The article is structured around three questions:
1. What are the roles and functions of brands?
2. How is brand value created or co-created?
3. How should brands be managed in this new environment?
The authors review branding from three perspectives:
Firm perspective: brands as strategic and nancial assets.
Consumer perspective: brands as quality signals and mental associations in consumers’ minds.
Society perspective: brands as cultural and social symbols shaped by communities and
institutions.
Their point is that these perspectives are still useful, but they are no longer enough on their own in
a hyperconnected world.
4
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Week 1: Brand Value
Hyper connectivity and branding
Hyper connectivity = Blurring of brand boundaries (shared ownership, co-creation, control, etc.) +
the broadening of brand boundaries (what is a brand?)
Brand equity
= The added value that a brand provides to a product
A brand can be de ned as “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which
is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to di erentiate
them from those of competitors.
Customer-based brand equity (CBBE) = “The di erential e ect that brand knowledge has on
customer response to brand marketing activity” (Keller, 2016)
—> The way that we are going to look at that is based on the “Associative network memory
model”
-How is knowledge represented in the brain?
-Nodes: Stored information
-Links: Strength of association between nodes
1
fi ff ff ff
, CBBE/ Brand Resonance Model (Keller, 2016)
5A’s of CBBE (Customer-based brand equity)
1. Awareness (Salience)
- What does it take before the brand node is activated in the brain of the consumer?
2. Associations (Performance, Imagery)
- Spreading of activation: once a node is activated, via the associative links with other nodes,
other parts of the associative network are activated as well.
3. Attitudes (Judgements, Feelings)
- Once we have associations surrounding a brand, how do we feel about the brand then? What
kind of judgements and feelings arise and kind of attitudes are generated
4. Attachment & Activity (Resonance)
- Attachment is more about the internal part and Activity more about the behavioural part.
CBBE as a pyramid
- Di erent levels/ layers: They build on each other, you can only have
an associative network once the node of the brand is activated
(awareness); you need an associative network before you can
start developing evaluations (attitudes); those evaluations/
attitudes need to be very favourable before something of a
relationship (attachment/activity) can exist.
- Narrow at the top: every single new level is more di cult
to achieve.
2
ff ffi
, Brand awareness (salience, level 1 CBBE pyramid)
Recall vs recognition
- Brand recall = a consumer can retrieve the brand from memory without seeing it.
- Brand recognition = a consumer can identify the brand when they see it again.
Depth vs breadth
- Depth of awareness = How strongly the brand is stored in memory (how likely is the brand to
come to mind at all?)
- strength of activation
- Breadth of awareness = This is about the range of situations in which the brand comes to mind.
- A brand with high breadth is mentally available in many di erent purchase or consumption
situations.
- Example: A sports drink may come to mind after exercise, during hot weather, or when
someone feels tired.
- Range of activation contexts
Brand associations (performance and imagery, level 2 CBBE pyramid)
Composition of associative network
- Which associations: Nodes
- Connections between associations: Links
Associations di er in strength, favourability, uniqueness.
- Point of di erence: strong, favourable AND unique
- Point of parity: strong and favourable, NOT unique
—> link to brand positioning because positioning is essentially the managerial attempt to shape
the associative network in consumers’ minds.
Brand attitudes (judgements and feelings, level 3 CBBE pyramid)
The question is no longer just: What comes to mind when people think of the brand? (Descriptive)
but: How do people evaluate the brand overall?
Brand resonance (level 4 CBBE pyramid)
- Consumer brand relationship
- Brand love
- Brand resonance goes far beyond brand attitude - it is when you’re loyal to a brand
3
ff ff ff
, Article 1: Branding in a Hyperconnected World: Refocusing Theories and Rethinking
Boundaries. Swaminathan et al., 2022.
The article argues that branding theory needs to be updated because we now live in a
hyperconnected world: people, devices, rms, and platforms are constantly connected,
information spreads instantly, and many actors in uence what a brand means. Because of this,
brands are no longer fully controlled by rms. Instead, branding is becoming more shared,
networked, and socially embedded.
Two major shifts de ne modern branding:
1. Blurring of branding boundaries
Brands are moving from single ownership to shared ownership. Consumers, employees,
in uencers, partners, communities, and platforms now help shape brand meaning and brand
experience.
2. Broadening of branding boundaries
Branding now applies not only to products and companies, but also to people, ideas, places,
and platforms. Brands also have broader roles in society, including activism, community-
building, and data responsibility.
The article is structured around three questions:
1. What are the roles and functions of brands?
2. How is brand value created or co-created?
3. How should brands be managed in this new environment?
The authors review branding from three perspectives:
Firm perspective: brands as strategic and nancial assets.
Consumer perspective: brands as quality signals and mental associations in consumers’ minds.
Society perspective: brands as cultural and social symbols shaped by communities and
institutions.
Their point is that these perspectives are still useful, but they are no longer enough on their own in
a hyperconnected world.
4
fl
fi fi fifi fl
