Strategic brand management book. Translator: Mr. Dr. Ahmed Rosta

Part I – Socio-cultural meaning of brands
A summary of the first chapter

In building brand value, mentality is more important than reality. And since brands exist only in the minds of customers, brand management is generally called mind management. Brands can be divided into functional and emotional categories. A function that lives up to its promise to function properly.

Classic purchase process: (suitable for high conflict times)
1- Recognizing the need/time opportunity to feel the distance between the current situation and your ideal situation. 2- Obtaining information may be obtained from an internal investigation or an external investigation of the surrounding environment. The results show that even for expensive goods, most consumers visit only one store. 3-Evaluation of options The consumer must decide which of the evaluation criteria to use. Consumers substitute some tangible attributes for intangible attributes. Decision making principles are divided into compensatory and non-compensatory categories. 4-Purchase A set of factors interfere with the predetermined purchase intention and the actual purchase. The main factor is time, by which the longer the time between the formation of a purchase and its implementation, the more opportunities there will be for the influence of unexpected factors in changing the initial intention.

However, in many cases, a conscious purchase intention is not formed before the purchase action. 5- Consequences of purchase, is the consumer satisfied with the product or not? (Based on compliance with initial expectation)

A summary of the second chapter

Primary and secondary emotions: Primary emotions (surprise-anger-fear-hate-sadness-pleasure) constitute the main part of our human existence, and secondary emotions are obtained through experience and cultural patterns and social structure, and their stimulus is experience.
An important issue that has been used in the conceptualization of emotion and in most consumer research refers to its personal phenomenon and individuality, while in fact many important aspects of emotion are social.
Emotions are not internal events but communicative actions expressed towards specific audiences. This is why understanding the socio-cultural environment in which the brand is marketed is so important. One of the social roles of advertising is to teach consumers how to feel about goods and services, and this manifests itself in the movement toward “emotionalization” of many product groups. Care should be taken to ensure that the emotional strategy used is culturally appropriate.

Since the affectiveness of choosing from feeling is an instantaneous process. Marketers are urged to ensure that there are no barriers to immediate purchase.

A summary of the third chapter

In postmodernism, the consumer never decides to buy only because of the features of the product, that is, what it actually offers, but also considers their symbolic meaning, that is, what it expresses. Symbolic meanings work in both external and internal directions. The external direction and the construction of the social world means the social symbol of brands, we can communicate with other people in such a way that we can show ourselves in the way we want to be seen.
These meanings may be related to a particular way of thinking or accepted by many other people. For example, using recyclable envelopes may say, “I care about the environment.” Possessions can also be part of a complementary self-presentation process where people who perceive themselves as lacking personal qualities try to fill this void using symbolic resources.

Symbolic meaning – advertising and brands:
Advertising is recognized as one of the most powerful and valuable sources of symbolic meanings. Advertisements not only help to change and transfer cultural meanings for the consumer, but also introduce the cultural meanings derived from the consumer’s view of the world, which are manifested in promotional products. Of course, the practical experience of a brand through purchase and use in the life cycle is superior to the mediated experience of advertising, and both types of experience are valued through social interactions, especially for brands with a social symbol position. Brands in an ever-changing world promise stability and this reassurance determines their added value. Trust in a brand is largely a result of providing lasting benefits over time.

A summary of the fourth chapter

The role of brands in social differentiation:

A means of differentiating the social status of consumer groups

A means of cultural differentiation of consumer groups

A means of differentiating the taste derived from education-income-lifestyle and… consumer groups

A means of gender differentiation of consumer groups

The role of brands in social unity

Brands play a role in building-maintaining and communicating among members through brand communities-new tribes and subcultures. As a primary brand strategy, the brand owner can build a community around the brand that leads to long-term brand loyalty.