Applying Theories And Concepts To The Brand: Airbnb Brand Evaluation (Essay Sample)

Airbnb Brand evaluation
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Executive Summary
The importance of brand evaluation and brand loyalty has been long acknowledged within the marketing industry. There is no doubt, the significance of branding has grown further as many business organizations have realized the importance of differentiating their brands from what their competitors are offering. Many business marketers have made establishing the factors that are most responsible for driving their brand loyalty as the major priority in their quest to push their products to higher levels in the market and among possible consumers (Botschen, Bernhart, and Promberger, 2017, p. 286).
The definition and measurement of brand evaluation and brand loyalty remain subjected to various interpretations. Some scholars view brand loyalty as a single dimension, whereas others see it as a multidimensional dimension. According to Punjaisri and Wilson (2017, pp. 91-108), branding is a multidimensional element with behavioral and attitudinal components. Drori (2015, pp.3-5), defined branding as a process of developing a unique and exceptional name and image for a product in the customers’ mind, mostly through promotion drives. Branding utilizes a constant theme which aims towards establishing a substantial and distinguished presence in the market that will appeal to, and keep hold of loyal customers.
Many recent studies attempt to examine the influence of brand relationships on customer loyalty. Ottman (2017), discussions ascertain that brand connection confirms that a customer is usually emotionally connected to a specific brand and tend to identify with it more closely every day of consuming the brand. Ottman (2017), further suggests that different customer subgroups are inclined explicitly to developing a positive relationship with the specific brand they use repeatedly. Human beings tend to form specific connection ns with their brands from their childhood. Such brans associations can subsequently last throughout adulthood.
Much research has focused on the nature of the consumer brand loyalty relationships. A common finding which was supported by Mody, Suess and Lehto (2017, pp.2377-2404.) is that stronger connections are likely to be formed between consumer and brands if the brand is closely related to the consumer self-concept or if the brand is seen as being of great importance to the specific group that the consumer identifies with. Groups in question can be informed of family, gender groups, and work environment. Different parallels are drawn with human relationships, and two-way communication is regarded as being integral to engagement.
Introduction
Airbnb has been a leading hospitality company in America thanks to its business approach and implementation of the right strategies that spearhead its brand in the market. It has taken Airbnb Company a few years to shake up the travel industry in unimaginable ways. Airbnb is well known to offer a modern, flexible, and exciting substitute for hotel vacations that young people and other high-end savvy explorers can’t get enough of (Tussyadiah and Sigala 2018). People travel, but it’s also accomplishing other feats that are just as crucial for other emerging companies in the travel industry. Airbnb company level of success has been an inspiration to the growing companies. Airbnb has managed to craft a unique and fascinating brand in the bid and essential ways which drive its vision and mission to succeed in the hospitality industry which gives the company its competitive edge.
Airbnb observed that its consumers needed a different travel experience one that will position travelers as insiders in a community rather than foreigner guests (Tussyadiah, 2016, pp. 695-708). Airbnb utilized this observation to develop a sense of localism and an obligation to neighborhoods into its branding strategies. These days, young explorers finding residing in Airbnb hotels while on vacation as a different better experience than staying in a hotel. The experience of staying in Airbnb gives them an experience that places them closer to real communities and people in the neighborhoods. Airbnb was able to create this perception through their branding.
Literature review of the theories of branding.
Developing a Strong brand for Airbnb business is something important as it plays a more significant role in the success of the company. However, it is very challenging to develop a brand that is unique, strong, and favorable. Airbnb needs to build a brand that evokes consumers’ positive emotional feelings which will make them experience and react positively to the brand’s ideas, product, or services. Li and Li (2014), discusses the positive aspects of creating a brand that evokes the customers’ desired definite knowledge structures when it comes to their feelings, attitudes, perceptions, images, and thoughts. The biggest problem remains how to build a strong brand which isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Branding principles have been using in almost all phases of life. Brands are not only used in communication with consumers, but they are also utilized in other areas of non-commercial life such as health, education, religion, and sports. Myllys (2016), in his book “the role of content marketing in company branding” illustrates how product brands, which begun as mechanisms of distinguishing one tangible product from another in a congested marketplace, have advanced into a condensed figure of tremendously dominant commercial brands. He further illustrates how modern-day brand management is progressively concerned with justifying the brand portfolio and capitalizing more on the smaller numbers of powerful brands. Not surprisingly, popular brand coverage is usually done through the media where brand academic coverage is done through the promotion and branding literature (Hajli et al. 2017, pp.136-144). Both mechanisms reflect the central position assumed by these large brands. All the same, does this mean that our general and academic interest in these brands is only applicable in large brands? Can we be able to use the different branding theories to understand more about smaller organizations and their relationships with consumers? Let take a deeper look at how we can utilize the different branding theories to understand the performance of different organizations.
Brand personality.
Brand personality can be defined as a set of human behaviors that can be recognized with a brand name. It’s something in the brand that can be related to the consumer. Brands that have a consistent set of traits that can be connected to specific consumers usually increase their brand equity. De Chernatony (2010), views brand personality as a qualitative value that a brand possesses in addition to its functional benefits.
He further describes brand personality as a system that helps a company in shaping the way customer feel and think about the product or service they offer. Airbnb’s brand personality focuses on stimulating the customer’s emotional response in a specific consumer group segment, with the aim of stirring positive reactions that benefits the organization (Souide, Kassim and Hong 2016, pp.825-845).
Examples of Brand Personalities
Brand personalities have been divided into five categories namely; sincerity, excitement, ruggedness, sophistication, and competence. Consumers will be most likely to buy a product whose brand personality matches their own. It is often possible to confuse a company's brand personality with company’s imagery but company’s imagery is a set of creative assets that connects the company’s tangible benefits of its brand. Equally, Airbnb’s brand personality directly creates an emotional relationship in the mind of the perfect customer group (Ritchie and Ritchie 2018).
Airbnb successfully incorporates various its brand personalities to appeal as sincere, exciting and competent as ways of connecting with the right customer. This helps the company in connecting its brand equity to its brand personality which defines customer attitude towards its products and services. Furthermore, Airbnb’s brand personality plays an important role in developing of successful marketing campaign. To select a perfect brand personality, companies should consider the five personality types and choose the one that best fit in their mission and vision, or a combination of several to create a unique brand.
CBBE Branding Model
The elementary principle of the CBBE model is that the power of a brand resides in the minds of its customers. The CBBE model acts as a branding ladder or building blocks to guide a firm’s marketing programs (Andreini & Bettinelli 2017). CBBE pyramid for Airbnb begins from the base of the pyramid and work its way up, building the blocks of a strong brand for the company.
Airbnb use of the CBBE model
Salience: Airbnb has high brand awareness among its customers. This awareness involves information that is mostly used in researching about the possible market in the hospitality industry. Airbnb uses its brand awareness to define its business identity that makes sure customers are aligned and associated with its specific product class and need. Additionally, the depth of the brand awareness plays a bigger role in determining the possibility of the brand to spring to mind regarding recognition of the details identified by Airbnb customer when they hear or see it. Airbnb uses this phase to propagate their brand and make it stands out among possible consumers.
Performance & Imagery: when it comes to the performance of Airbnb, it’s among the top leading vacation offering companies. It’s well known as the company that offers the best accommodation and home-made breakf...