Research Project Proposal (in brief)

IMPACTS OF CORPORATE BRANDING ON FOOD & BEVERAGES INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

The purpose of this research project is to examine corporate brand strength of food & beverages

industry in Pakistan. The Primary objective of this study is ‘Measuring the degree of corporate

brand strength of a firm in the food and beverages industry.

I will identify the corporate brand factors which influence the overall corporate environment of

business. Four factors, i.e. brand knowledge, perceived quality, brand positioning, and brand

identity. I will use empirical research design for my studies. In order to collect the data, a highly

technical instrument will be developed, covering the maximum possible outcomes under the light

of literature review and in accordance with the current corporate business environment of food

and beverages industry in Pakistan. It will cover more or less four dimensions (i.e. brand

knowledge, brand identity, brand positioning and perceived quality). Each dimension had two to

three items which lead to the main dimension. The content validity and the internal consistency

of that instrument will checked with pilot testing of the instruments. I will use multi stage

stratified sampling for collecting data. For analysis of data SPSS Statistical software will be

used. The results and findings will be beneficial for the food and beverages industry of Pakistan

in terms of improvement in quality, sales and growth of their products.

Introduction

Today, company′s real value lies outside the business itself, in the minds of potential buyers

(Kapferer, 1992, p. 9). This is reflected in the value of brands, which are the anchors of

company’s value. Products are introduced, they live and disappear but brands endure (Kapferer,

1992, p. 17). The term ``brand’’ holds multiple meanings. According to John Murphy, founder of

Inter brand (Ingham, 2003), a brand is not only an actual product, but also the unique property of

a specific owner. The main issues are how a company can build, nurture and use a brand in order

to obtain and sustain the competitive advantage in the marketplace.

In its branding strategy, a company has a number of different options for branding. These can be

divided into four different categories: corporate brands (e.g. British Airways), individual brand

names or product brand, companies, product brands (e.g. Mars company and the chocolate bar)

and manufacturer’s name and reputation (e.g. Marks & Spenser/St Michael) (Melewar and

Walker, 2003, p.161). While in service marketing the company brand is the primary brand, the

product brand is referred to as the primary brand in packaged goods marketing (Low and Lamb,

2000, p. 355).

The value of a brand is based on a number of dynamic variables including the competitive set,

category strength, differentiation, relevance, management ability, corporate strategy, existing

intangible and tangible assets, etc. Not only do these variables change regularly, but also the

centre of company’s attention changes depending on the requirements of the business. Therefore,

it can be concluded that the brand value is some sort of relative measure, contingent on

circumstances and perspective. Ultimately, the audience is the one that “attaches” value to a

brand (Woods, 1998, p. 9) not consultants, or the manager himself/herself.

Company which owns the brand “enjoys” the benefits not available to companies which do not

own it. One of them is that a company, through brand, acquires a good communication tool. This

communication is not one-way. This means that enterprises are good “communicators” only if

they are good listeners of what customers have to say. In addition, successful brands are the

outcome of good communication. The direct result of good communication between a company

and a customer is the brand loyalty. It is a consequence of trust, on which the relationship

between the company and the customer is based on. Trust building requires long-term

concentration. It takes money, patience, knowledge and the most important: it takes time. Losing

the trust costs a lot more: net present value of all future net earnings from the brand (Yates,

1999). Therefore, a smart player in the market cannot afford to lose the trust of a customer. That

is why many companies are investing significant amounts of money into both products and brand

management.

In Pakistan, there are so many business organizations in the various fields of life having the

corporate brands. But the most prominent corporate brands are in the food and beverages

industry i.e. Gourmet, Nestle, Mitchell’s, Shezan, Murree Brewery, and Shakerganj etc.etc. The

current study is to investigate the corporate brand strength of the different companies in the food

and beverages industry of Pakistan by taking the response of its determinants like brand

knowledge, perceived quality, brand positioning and its identity.

Problem Statement:

“I am to investigate the strength of corporate brand in the food and beverages industry of

Pakistan.”

Objectives of the Study:

The Primary objective of this study is ‘Measuring the degree of corporate brand strength of a

firm in the food and beverages industry. The objective is further divided into sub objectives,

which are as under,

 To identify the main factors of corporate branding in the food & beverages industry.

 To identify the most common and influential factors among corporate branding in the

food & beverages industry.

 To assess the effect of age, education, income, gender, frequency of shopping, family size

on corporate branding.

 To suggest appropriate measures enhancing the corporate brand competition in a positive

way.

Significance of the Study:

The study will also provide information that would add to the understanding of the various

corporate branding aspects and likewise branding. The research studies will be valuable for firms

to develop positive corporate branding climate in order to encourage the branding level among

the food and beverages industry and ultimately having the high quality output.
It may play its optimistic role in order to develop the quality corporate brand especially in

present circumstances in which the firms are threaten of imported and foreign firms. This study

may also contribute towards developing and improved version of branding policy which may

help in establishing sound corporate brand image in the society.

Scope of study:

In Pakistan food and beverages industry is growing very fast and growth rate is increasing day by

day. Our research will help food & beverages industry about corporate branding perception and

its role in current industry.

Our study helps the companies about brand building and brand importance in this industry. It will

also guide them about customer perception about brand knowledge, brand positioning, perceived

quality and brand identity.

Variables

To measure the corporate brand strength I select four variables

Brand knowledge

Perceived quality

Brand positioning

Brand identity

Brand knowledge:
Brand awareness, In general, means the extent to which a brand associated with a particular

product is documented by potential and existing customers either positively or negatively.

Creation of brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising at the beginning of any product's

life cycle in target markets. In fact, brand awareness has influence on buying behaviour of a

buyer. Brand awareness can be measured by showing a consumer the brand and asking whether

or not they knew of it beforehand

Perceived quality:

Perceived quality is one of the key elements of the brand equity since it is proven that this

element is associated with the price premium, price elasticity, brand usage and stock return

(Aaker, 1996, p. 109). As such, this element can be applicable to all brand types, across products

and markets. It is also very important to notice that this element “works” only if I compare the

brand in question with the competitive brands. The other issue is that loyal customers are usually

prone to overestimate the quality of their favourite brand to other brands.

Brand positioning:

One of the most important aspects of a brand positioning in the product category is how different

or similar the brand is perceived to be in comparison to other brands in the product category

(Sujan and Bettman, 1989, p. 454). Therefore, brand positioning influences the purchasing

decisions in away that consumer sees the brand as unique, true and the one which meets his/her

needs.

Brand identity:
The concept of the brand identity originates from the corporate identity concept. The

metaphorical use of the notion “identity” in the corporate context suggest that companies can be

described through specific characteristics, due to the similarity with human beings (Karjalainen,

2003, p. 3). This was the starting point for the Aaker’s brand personality concept. According to

Gagliardi (2002, p. 33) brand reflects the values and beliefs of the “brand originator” who is

rooted in a particular culture. Therefore, brand can be perceived as the representation of the

values, which are specifics to a certain company. This stands for both product and corporate

brands.

Hypothesis:

Ho1: All the items relating to Brand Knowledge, Perceived Quality, Brand Positioning and

Brand Identity are equal to the Average i.e. µ = 4 (at seven point liker scale)

Ho2: There is no difference between male and female perception about the corporate brand

strength i.e. (Male) = (Female)

Ho3: There is no difference among the various classes of age, income, shopping frequency,

profession, and family size about the perception of corporate brand strength i.e.