Brand Management can be separated into two distinct phases; strategic, and tactical. Strategic Brand Management (SBM) includes the development and establishment of the brand, brand positioning, brand equity, promotion, etc. In other words, everything needed to create and maintain a brand from a strategic viewpoint. When an OEM in the auto industry claims it practices brand management, they are usually speaking about Strategic Brand Management. How then does the “brand” and the customer input get carried through the execution of a vehicle program? Why do we have so many vehicles that seem to have forgot the “brand” and the customer?
Tactical Brand Management (TBM) is a disciplined approach to executing the marketing deliverables for a program in the proper time frame, in a quality manner. Using simple project management theories and techniques to identify marketing deliverables and measuring the throughput of the Brand Factory, an automaker stands a better chance of developing vehicles based on customer requirements.
This paper will also touch upon the difficulties associated with global brand management and further underscore the need for tactical brand management as a global imperative.