Brand: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

SCORING BRAND EXTENSIONS

When identifying and evaluating brand extensions, it is helpful to have a summary tool to judge their viability. The following checklist can provide some guidance:

1. Does the parent brand have strong equity?

2. Is there a strong basis of extension fit?

3. Will the extension have necessary points-of-parity and points-of-difference?

4. How can marketing programs enhance extension equity?

5. What implications will the extension have on parent brand equity and profitability?

6. How should feedback effects be best managed?

It's also useful to employ more systematic analysis of proposed extensions. The Brand Extendibility Scorecard is designed to help marketers conduct thoughtful, thorough analysis of brand extensions. It serves as a means to an end and is designed to inform decision-making, not to provide black-and-white "go or no-go" decisions. Three of its four main criteria follow the classic "3 Cs" perspectives-the consumer, company, and competitive point of view-to judge brand positioning. The fourth criterion is unique to the Scorecard and measures brand equity feedback.

Within each criterion, there are two major factors and one minor factor. Major factors are scored on a 10-point scale, minor factors on a 5-point scale. Maximum points are awarded if the extension candidate is clearly ideal on that factor, using either company or industry measures. While scoring extensions, relative performance is important as absolute performance. Ranking extension candidates by their scores can provide a clear sense of priority. By first scoring recent successful and unsuccessful extensions for the brand and even for competitors, the marketing team becomes more familiar with the scorecard.

a) Select a brand, (and following the scoring criteria outlined above), create a Brand Extendibility Scorecard.

b) Give a brief summary as to why you scored your brand as you did.