Brand Planning Models – Kevin Lane Keller

There are many reasons why Kevin Lane Keller is widely regarded as one of the most notable strategic brand planning and marketing thought leaders in the world today. His resume is impressive. He is currently a professor of Marketing at the prestigious Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in the United States, but as a consultant he has renowned clients such as Unilever, Disney, American Express, Proctor and Gamble, Levi-Strauss and Starbucks.

Kevin Lane Keller’s proven track record, as well as an impressive list of credentials, have lent authority to his marketing models, many of which are taught in MBA courses around the world.

In addition to all this, Kevin Lane Keller has written a series of books including well-known titles such as MarketingManagement and Cases of Best Practices in Branding. His most notable work is perhaps Strategic Brand Management (1998 and 2002, Prentice Hall), which is standard reading for marketing students on the subject of brand management. Other published works include MarketingManagement which he co-authored with Philip Kotler, who was listed in 2008 by the Wall Street Journal as the sixth most influential person in business thought.

Through this collaboration, Kotler and Keller form the gold standard in marketing management. The latest edition of MarketingManagement (published in 2009) reflects the latest changes in marketing theory and practice. Topics covered in the book include brand equity, customer value analysis, database marketing, supply chain management, segmentation, targeting, positioning, and newer disciplines like commerce. e-mail, hybrid channels and integrated marketing communications.

To be a marketing thought leader, you need to come up with a seminal thought that changes the way people think. Kevin Lane Keller’s models for brand management are used around the world and are taught in many MBA programs.

Great brands do not arise by chance. They are the result of careful and creative planning. For a brand to be successful, creative branding strategies must be developed. In an e-book titled brand planningKevin Lane Keller offers three tools or templates to assist in brand planning.

These are complementary models that complement each other in terms of size and scope. Like Russian dolls, the first model is a component of the second, and the second is a component of the third.

The three models described by Keller can be primarily summarized as the brand positioning model. This model describes how to establish a competitive advantage in the minds of customers in the marketplace. The second model is a brand resonance model that describes how to create strong and loyal relationships with customers. The third and final model is the brand value chain model that describes how to trace the value creation process to better understand the financial impact of marketing costs and investments.

When these three models are combined, they provide crucial micro and macro perspectives required for brand building. This allows marketers to create brand strategies that maximize profit and long-term brand value, while being able to track their progress as they implement these strategies.

Keller’s extensive research on understanding consumer behavior has improved the way many companies apply their marketing strategies and the way they build, measure and manage brand equity. This helps brands improve the design, implementation, and evaluation of integrated marketing programs.