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Week 2: Product Life Cycle Framework and Brand Vision
Week 2: Product Life Cycle Framework and Brand Vision
When the brand vision clicks, it will reflect and support the business strategy, differentiate from competitors, resonate with customers, energize and inspire employees and partners, and precipitate a gush of ideas for marketing programs.
—David Aaker, It Starts With a Brand Vision
Maximizing the success of a brand often includes taking into account the framework of product life cycle and the overall brand vision. Think about the companies with enduring presence in their respective fields. Whether it is an airline like United Airlines or a tech company like Google, both brand vision and product life cycle play an integral part in the success of the brand. What are the strategies that help companies account for the ever-changing landscape and create a brand that is built to last?
This week, you will evaluate a company’s branding vision based upon user categories. For the Course Project, you will develop a comprehensive context for your brand strategy audit by assessing the brand architecture and vision of the company chosen in Week 1.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Evaluate a company’s branding vision based upon user categories
- Assess brand vision of a single brand’s architecture within a selected company
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required Harvard Business Review resources, select the article link and navigate to the relevant article or go back to Blackboard and select Harvard Business Articles from the course navigation menu.
Required Readings
Geracie, G., & Eppinger, S. D. (Eds.). (2013). The guide to the product management and marketing body of knowledge (ProdBOK®). Carson City, NV: Product Management Educational Institute.
- Chapter 4, “What Is Product Management?” (pp. 37–42)
Avery, J. (2016). Brand Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture. Harvard Business Review.
Collins, J.C., & Porras, J.I. (2009). Building Your Company’s Vision. Harvard Business Review.
From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation: The Strategic Process of Growing and Strengthening Brands by Hao, A., in Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 21/Issue 4. Copyright 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Reprinted by permission of Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Moon, Y. (2005). Break Free from the Product Life Cycle. Harvard Business Publishing.
Required Media
Optional Resources
Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. (2014). Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Discussion: Aligning Brand Vision and Users
Brand vision is an articulated description of the aspirational image for the brand. This description represents a model for brand managers to coordinate and assess marketing strategies. By establishing a concrete ideal, brand managers can ensure clear alignment between the current and future engagement with target market and users.
United Airlines is a company with a clearly communicated brand vision, focusing on customer-oriented service (“Our United Customer Commitment”, 2015). This vision involves a connection between United’s aspirations of the past—“Fly the Friendly Skies”—to a renewed commitment for the future. This strategy communicates a clear message to both consumers and employees, thereby enhancing both external and internal marketing strategies.
To prepare for this Discussion, review the Readings and Media focusing on United Airlines’ brand vision and consider which of the following user categories you fit into: United Airlines Brand User, Competitor Brand User, or Prospective User.
By Day 3
Post an evaluation of United Airlines’ branding vision based on your self-identified user category. Your evaluation should address the following:
- Identify your customer (user) category (current United Airlines customer, a competitor airline’s customer; or a prospective customer of any airline).
- Respond to the question associated with your self-identified user category.
- United Airlines Brand Users: Does the United Airlines brand vision align with your experience with this airline? Explain.
- Competitor Brand Users: In what ways does the United Airlines brand vision align with your experience with other airline carriers? In what ways does it not align?
- Prospective Users: If you were in a position to choose an airline for your first air travel experience, how does this brand vision appeal or not appeal to you as a prospective traveler?
Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s resources and any additional sources.
Refer to the Week 2 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.
By Day 5
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in the following ways:
- Compare your initial posting with that of your colleague from another user category, including how your experience(s) and alignment with United Airlines are similar or different.
- Provide an example of how alignment between user categories might complement the overall brand vision of United Airlines. Explain.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what insights you gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 2 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 2 Discussion
Course Project: Brand Strategy Audit
Thus far, you have submitted an initial description and rationale for your chosen brand for the Course Project. Now, you will start digging into the beginning stages of assessing the brand as a whole. The first step is to take a look at the brand architecture—or the way the company’s brands are structured. Specifically, you will focus on your chosen brand within the context of that structure. How is it faring currently? What are the opportunities to be had, and what can be done to improve?
Brand Architecture
This week, you will complete the “Brand Architecture” component of “The Brand in Context” section of your Course Project paper. To do so, you will complete the following:
Brand Architecture (2–3 pages)
- Summarize the brand vision for your selected brand.
- Assess the brand vision within the identified brand architecture.
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the brand? Explain.
- Are there any local and global issues relevant to the brand vision?
- How does your brand fit with the broader brand portfolio?
- How well can the brand be leveraged if expansion into new markets or channels is desired?
- Does the brand have a growth strategy? Explain.
Note: Please refer to the Course Project Overview document, provided in Week 1’s Readings, for more information.
Refer to the Week 7 Course Project Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.