In this thesis, useful information and suggestions for building up brand identity of branded pork are discussed from the viewpoint that a product image through a brand has a greater influence on buying behavior than the function or quality of a produc...
In this thesis, useful information and suggestions for building up brand identity of branded pork are discussed from the viewpoint that a product image through a brand has a greater influence on buying behavior than the function or quality of a product.
In chapter 2, a livestock product brand is defined as 「an experiential symbol system that distinguishes the products or services of stock farms or meat distributors, differentiates one product from that of its competitors, and leads consumers to recognize its value.」
In chapter 3, problems with pork brands and marketing strategies of five leading brands are analyzed.
First, though branded pork companies are relatively small, total head of pigs raised by them account for 67.46% of all.
Secondly, the domestic market has not been formed for "box meat" established in the export-oriented industry structure. With operating profit getting worse, companies under financial pressure find it difficult to maintain pork brands.
Thirdly, 72% of the branded pork companies have adopted an individual brand strategy in their brand naming. 56% of them have used "pork" under the influence of the starters such as Green Pork and Hypork. In conclusion, branded pork companies haven't established brand identity for their own brand and have used "ME TOO" strategy imitating others.
Fourth, branded pork companies are making every effort to win trust in their brands by emphasizing freshness and functionality of their pork.
Fifth, the marketing strategies of five branded pork companies are introduced. In case of Hypork, they are striving to increase their market share as a brand leader. On the other hand, Pro Pork has selected the solid management strategy using the distribution network of NongHyup itself. Although differentiated low price positioning was successful for Fresh Pork, they are aiming to maintain the rate of their plant operation while focusing on imported meat sale. For lack of understanding on brand management, the marketing strategy of SungJin is the weakest of all five brands. The weak corporate image and low name value have led Dodram Pork to change its name to Dodram Food. They have expanded their business to catering and meat processing in an effort to diversify it.
Sixth, the brand identity strategies of five pork brands are not marked by differentiated positioning or originality.
In chapter 4, a questionnaire survey of 200 Seoul households was conducted into branded pork buying behavior. The findings of the survey can be summarized as follows.
First, consumers purchase branded pork at a NongHyup or ChukHyup market, a meat shop, or a discount store.
Secondly, most of those surveyed are familiar with the brands and 2/3 of the purchasers trust branded pork.
Thirdly, most consumers consider branded pork more expensive than non-brand, but 90% of them are willing to purchase branded pork as long as the product quality is dependable.
Fourth, consumers are most likely to receive information on branded pork through TV or radio. Those who are in their fifties and whose average monthly income exceeds three million won collect information most frequently through TV or radio.
In chapter 5, it is discussed how consumers' attitude towards a brand image, brand image recognition, and perceived product quality influence consumers' purchasing intention.
First, a brand image, brand name value, and perceived product quality are found to be highly correlated with purchasing intention, when analyzing the relationship between brand-assets constituents and purchasing intention. Thus, the more favorable a brand image is; the well-known a brand is; the higher the perceived product quality is, the stronger the purchasing intention is.
Secondly, in case of well-known brands whose assets value is high, what influences purchasing intention most is a brand image. In contrast, for brands of little note, perceived product quality has a bigger influence on purchasing intention than a brand image. Under the present circumstances when brands have become more similar and the difference of product quality or price is easily unnoticed, branded pork companies need to rebuild the brand image, that is, establish brand identity.
Thirdly, the images of five leading pork brands are analyzed in order to establish ideal brand identity. Although five leading brands have similar image maps, Hypork is considered to be expensive, exclusive, fresh, nationwide, and urban, compared with others. Dodram Pork, branded pork of a producer organization, is thought to be cheap, traditional, domestic, and rural. On the other hand, little difference in a brand image has been reported in terms of product quality.
Following problems need to be addressed for producer organizations and distributors to achieve their goal of building up brand identity.
First, branded pork companies have failed to present distinctive and characteristic identity to consumers since the introduction of brands.
Secondly, the pork industry still lags behind in coping with the suspension of the export to Japan resulting from the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. So, branded pork companies faced with financial difficulty have lost the economic ability to maintain brand strategies.
Thirdly, such inside changes of corporations as the consolidation of ChukHyup and NongHyup, and the privatization of HanNaeng have altered brand marketing strategies. As a result, consumers have lost their channel of information on brands and branded pork has failed to form consumer loyalty.
To promote the branded pork market, companies need to rebuild brand identity from a new brand-centered idea based on the strategic framework of competition, corporation, and customer. To build up brand identity, they need to improve the capacity of a corporation and develop a brand which is useful and beneficial to consumers. In addition, they should unfold a differentiated marketing strategy based on the "brand life cycle" theory.
Once brand power is established, companies should expand the brand of pork as a complex organic product so that they can make the pork industry a higher value-added business.