THE IMPACT OF BRAND MANAGEMENT ON BRAND IMAGE IN A MULTIPRODUCT ORIENTED COMPANY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Brand management is an important aspect of marketing activities that determines how the branded products of a firm would be well placed in the mind of the customers in a competitive market. The objective of this study is to determine the impact of brand management on brand image in a multiproduct company in Nigeria with a case study of Unilever Company Plc. The study utilizes primary data sourced from respondents with 150 sample size that was conveniently selected. Copies of Questionnaire were administered and the results were analyzed using regression. Coefficient of determination of 0.891, with p-value of 0.000 reveals that brand management variables accounts for 89.1%  changes in the variation of Brand Image while other factors accounted for 10.9 with a nearly perfect positive correlation coefficient of .994, which shows that there is a strong relationship between the brand management and brand image in the in a on brand image. Everyone is driven by brands and the values, emotions, promises and quality hidden within the brand. Brands are so much more than just a name, which has been recognized by many corporate leaders, who have adapted complex and fundamental brand management strategies to drive their companies and their brands towards success. The process of brand management has grown in importance and the way brands are managed has changed. It is not only the role of marketing department but also the top management of the company. However, brand management becomes necessary for every part, and individual employee of the company to understand.
Brand management is a widely recognized process and important factor for large corporations, but are they important for multi-product company's? Often smaller companies only focus on their core business, the part that generates revenue. They often forget or disregard their brand and managing the brand. Many multiproduct company managers do not see the true value of brands and the clear influence of them to consumer behaviour, which results in their operations and growth being stagnant and reactive instead of growing and proactive.
Multi-product company's should begin to recognize the value of their brand and truely start to manage them, in order to differentiate from their competitors and strive, even in a recession. This is especially important in an economic downturn, when consumer spending behavior is decreasing and their propensity to save has gone up. The companies that get the business of consumers in a recession are companies that consumers think are different, better and most suitable to their needs. More recently, maintained that a brand is not the name of a product. It is the vision that drives the creation of products and services under that name. That vision, a key variable of the strategy and it is called brand identity in branding