As marketing cannot only be concerned with satisfying customer needs but also with fulfilling their expectations and sustaining a relationship with the customers, branding has became increasingly important as it is in the very centre of marketing.
The benefits of branding has been widely documented and brands are seen as the means of establishing desired product image, identifying products and achieve price premiums. They can also reassure customers, attract repeat buyers and loyal customers.
The definition for branding by Ambler (1995):.
" a bundle of functional economic and psychological benefits for the end user, it is the aggregation of all accumulated attributes in the mind of a customer, distribution channels and influence agents weighted by their importance which will enhance future profits and cash flow-.
Ambler underlines the importance of brands as assets that are built and sustained by marketers to ensure both profit and customer satisfaction. .
Amblers perception of brand equity was first recognised by industrial markets where the small number of potential customers made it necessary for the suppliers to differentiate themselves. .
As a result of globalisation more and more companies begin to see the world as their market, brand builders look at those businesses that appear to have created global brands -- brands whose positioning, advertising strategy, personality, look, and feel are in most respects the same from one country to another. .
According to David Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler (1999) creating strong global brands takes global brand leadership. Specifically, companies must use organizational structures, processes, and cultures to allocate brand-building resources globally, to create global synergies, and to develop a global brand strategy that coordinates and leverages country brand strategies. .
Aaker and Joachimsthaler offer four prescriptions for companies seeking to achieve global brand leadership.
