Brand Audit – Apple

The Brand Audit Project – Apple
You should pick a company that has a strategic brand issue, challenge, or opportunity.  You will be conducting research and providing a recommendation.  Your project could involve a brand extension, a brand re-positioning, or reviving a tired brand.  The project helps the student learn a systematic way to inventory current brand assets and strategy.  The audit will allow problems to be identified and priorities to be set with respect to brand strategy development and implementation.
Info for the project can be found from Web sites, advertisements, and secondary research.  The brand goals of your client brand and competitors in part can come from reviewing their annual reports and current advertising.  If appropriate, competitors’ ads should be obtained and analyzed as to positioning strategies and quality and consistency of execution.
Please type your project in a Microsoft Word Document and upload it in blackboard. It should at least be 5 pages long, double spaced, with 1 inch margins all around, 12 point Arial font, and your name at the top.
Outline

a. Brand history, heritage, and background
b. Brand portfolio: identify and evaluate the brands and sub-brands.
i. What are the organization’s brands?
ii. For each brand, what are the sub-brands?
iii. For each brand, what are the branded features, services, or components?
iv. Are there too many or too few brands or sub-brands?
v. Are brands stretched too far?
vi. Are some brands not leveraged enough?
vii. Should new brands be considered to attack new product markets?
viii. Are there opportunities to partner or co-brand?
c. Brand Assessment
i. What is the brand image / personality?
ii. What is the brand communication strategy?
iii. What advertising themes have been placed behind the brand?
iv. What are the brand elements used?: logo, colors, font style, symbols, tagline
v. What are the organizational associations?
vi. What is the customer perception?
vii. What are the functional and emotional brand benefits?
viii. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the brand?

d. Competitive analysis
i. Who are the major competitors and/or the competitor types?Identify the one major competitor.
ii. What is the image of the major competitor?
iii. What is the strategy of the major competitor?
iv. What are the brand elements of the major competitor?
v. What are the organizational associations of the major competitor?
vi. How is the major competitor perceived?
vii. What are the functional and emotional benefits of the major competitor?
viii. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the major competitor?
e. Points-of-parity
i. How is the brand similar to its competition?
f. Points-of-difference,
i. How is the brand different than the competitor?
ii. What value proposition can the brand offer that the competitors cannot?

g. Develop recommendations for a communication program for the brand.
i. You can provide suggestions as to the elements of the communication program.
– What events might be sponsored?
– What promotions can be done?
– What visual images can be created?
– What can be done to build/reinforce awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and associations?
ii. Or you can develop creative work if you wish.
– logos
– packages
– ads