 Welcome learners. I am Dr. Smiti Sikha Sodhuri from Prismakanta Handic State Open University. Today we are going to discuss the Unit 5 of Marketing Management course of your BBS second semester. And the name of this unit is on branding. This is the first video lecture on branding. First we will go to the outline of the presentation. After going through this video lecture, you will be able to define brand. Then you will be able to explain the basic concepts of branding. And at the end of this lecture, we will discuss about the importance of brand. So, let's start. First, what is brand? Brand is not just a trademark, product, logo, symbol or name. But it is a concept of marketable product to which relevant and unique set of associations and benefits are attached. Generally, we call that brand is an identity given to any product or services. So, these benefits can be both functional and emotional. The amount companies spend on corporate identity projects are sometimes wasted because there is no brand strategy behind them. So, Stephen King said that a product is something that is made in a factory, but a brand is something that is bought by consumers. A product can be copied by a competitor, but a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated, but a successful brand properly managed can be timeless. So, American Marketing Associations has defined branding as a name, term, symbol, sign or design or a combination of them intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. So, like some brands are very successful. Suppose, for example, Dattall, Ponce, so whenever we call that name that image comes into our mind. A brand is does a product or service that adds dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products or services designed to satisfy that same need. These differences may be functional, rational or tangible related to the product performance of the brand. They may also be more symbolic, emotional or intangible related to what the brand represents. So, sometimes the brand like the performance of the brand we can see it in terms of tangible like suppose when I say it's Sony products. So, we can see those products, but when we say like suppose Taj Group of hotels that is intangible things are associated with the brand. Now, we will go to brand architecture. It is a branding approach that explains the relationship of a corporate brand and individual brand. The type of architecture are first one is your monolithic structure. The corporate brand name appears on all products. Suppose one brand name for all the products, for example, Samsung then fixed and those structure like a particular brand name for a specific type of product. A powerful brand name with individual product name, suppose Maruti 800, then Maruti Nexa or Tata Indica, it identifies one specific type of product. Then a flexible and those structure like corporate name appears, but individual brand name dominates. Suppose Cadbury's dairy milk. So Cadbury is the corporate brand name and the dairy milk is the individual brand name of the product. Then a discrete structure. Individual brand name alone dominates with the identity. Suppose Liril close up instead of we are talking about Hindustan Unilever, we are talking about the individual brand name which dominates the market. Then product branding. Product is given exclusive name to acquire a distinct position in the customer's mind. Then a line branding. All related products of a product line are given common brand name to improve brand's market power. Suppose for example Maggie. So it gives one line of branding. Then a range branding. Many products not necessarily are complementary products, but with core competence of the company are given common name. And then umbrella branding. All products of the company are given the same name. Under the umbrella we consider the entire range of branding. So if the brand name is popular among customers and their quality is also standardized, then company adopts umbrella branding for different products. Just for example Tata. They have wide range of products, but all comes under the umbrella branding of Tata. Now we will discuss about the importance of brand. First thing is brand provides choice. Consumers prefer to have choice and brands give them a liberty to choose. As market segments are more and more, companies are finding it necessary to give different choices to different consumer segment. Brands can provide choice allowing consumers to distinguish between the various company offerings. When we enter a shop, the amount of variation in each product range is as surprising as the number of companies offering the product. So in such situation, people move towards brand as they provide them with clear choice. So when we are confused with which product we will buy among lots of alternatives, then this brand name gives us a choice. Like if we know the brand name, if we are loyal to the brand, we can easily choose that particular product. Then brands simplify decisions. The decisions to buy is made easier by brands. A person may not know a lot about every product he or she is interested, but a brand makes it easier for him to choose. Consumers can decide more quickly if they recognize the brand. Then brands give quality assurance. Consumers are likely to choose quality products and services wherever and whenever they can. Once they experience a brand, they automatically equip the experience with a certain degree of quality. A good experience makes for a good brand recall. Therefore, consumers will move towards brands that they know provide high quality standards. So when you know a brand and you have experienced that particular brand, then you will be knowing the quality of the brand. And definitely it gives you an assurance about the quality. Then brands facilitate risk avoidance. So most consumers even with slightest doubt about the performance of a product may not opt to buy it. An experience of a brand if positive gives consumers reassurance and comfort in purchasing the product even if that product is expensive. So suppose you want to purchase a car. So what you will do? You will go for a particular brand which gives you assurance. Like you know about that product or maybe like your from your peer group or someone like you have learnt about it and which will help you in reducing your risk. Then brands provide a means of self-expression. Like when we purchase a brand we always try to relate it with ourselves. So brands generate opportunities for people to express themselves in different ways. They can help people to express their socio-psychological needs. Like when we will buy some product we always sees like it should match with our social status, then our aspiration levels, then love and friendship, success and it should also match with our personality. So in this video lecture we have discussed about branding and what is brand. So brand is an identity given to any product or services. As we have discussed brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or some combination of these elements intended to identify the goods and services of one seller and it helps to differentiate them from those of the competitors. Generally brand names are unique, it should be easy to spell and related to the product. The different components of a brand like brand names, logos, symbols, package design and so on are brand elements. So the concept of branding is very vital for marketing managers. Branding is the most important key element for the success of the market. And brand offers a number of benefits to the consumers. Brands are valuable, it's intangible assets that need to be managed carefully. So in my later video lecture I will be discussing about your trademark, then packaging, labeling, all these things associated with a brand. Here for your reference I have given two books name, you can also go through those books. Thank you.