Creating Brand Value
- Dates: 17–20 APR 2024
- Format: In-Person Learning takes place on the HBS campus or a designated location.
- Location: HBS Campus
- Fee: $11,250

"Marketers need to understand how to co-create brands alongside consumers and how to manage digital communities."
Summary
Consumer brands are one of the most valuable sources of sustainable competitive advantage, but managing brands and achieving their full potential has never been more difficult. Today's consumers are increasingly diverse, are skeptical of marketing, and are empowered by digital technologies that easily connect them to others who share their tastes. To take full advantage of these trends, brand managers must be able to strengthen their brand through stories that spark conversations—capturing attention, generating engagement, and providing relevant meaning.
This program will build the cultural and relationship prowess today's business-to-consumer (B2C) brand managers need. You will explore branding as a collective and collaborative meaning-making process among firms, consumers, and other cultural producers, acquiring new ability to craft, communicate, and manage brands in ways that nurture relationships and create value for both consumers and your business.
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Summary
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Consumer brands are one of the most valuable sources of sustainable competitive advantage, but managing brands and achieving their full potential has never been more difficult. Today's consumers are increasingly diverse, are skeptical of marketing, and are empowered by digital technologies that easily connect them to others who share their tastes. To take full advantage of these trends, brand managers must be able to strengthen their brand through stories that spark conversations—capturing attention, generating engagement, and providing relevant meaning.
This program will build the cultural and relationship prowess today's business-to-consumer (B2C) brand managers need. You will explore branding as a collective and collaborative meaning-making process among firms, consumers, and other cultural producers, acquiring new ability to craft, communicate, and manage brands in ways that nurture relationships and create value for both consumers and your business.
DetailsExpand AllCollapse All
Establish brands that resonate with today's consumersEstablish brands that resonate with today's consumers
- Evaluate brands from the consumer's point of view to uncover their sources of value
- Employ effective brand storytelling
- Capitalize on brand influencers
- Create, crowdsource, and manage brand communities
- Build brand loyalty and optimize your customer relationships
- Ensure consumers are allies, not adversaries
Design brand strategy and manage brands for maximum valueDesign brand strategy and manage brands for maximum value
- Compete more successfully by evolving and repositioning existing brands
- Respond effectively to competing brands entering the market
- Expand your brand's profitably
- Develop an effective brand portfolio strategy
- Manage brand risk
Leverage a brand as a significant corporate assetLeverage a brand as a significant corporate asset
- Determine the value of a brand
- Invest in brands and evaluate the ROI of branding
- Build sustainable competitive advantage through branding
Build your personal brand and expand your personal and professional networkBuild your personal brand and expand your personal and professional network
- Extend your network by living and working with executives from various backgrounds and countries across the globe
- Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions
- Develop a strong personal brand
Establish brands that resonate with today's consumers
- Evaluate brands from the consumer's point of view to uncover their sources of value
- Employ effective brand storytelling
- Capitalize on brand influencers
- Create, crowdsource, and manage brand communities
- Build brand loyalty and optimize your customer relationships
- Ensure consumers are allies, not adversaries
Design brand strategy and manage brands for maximum value
- Compete more successfully by evolving and repositioning existing brands
- Respond effectively to competing brands entering the market
- Expand your brand's profitably
- Develop an effective brand portfolio strategy
- Manage brand risk
Leverage a brand as a significant corporate asset
- Determine the value of a brand
- Invest in brands and evaluate the ROI of branding
- Build sustainable competitive advantage through branding
Build your personal brand and expand your personal and professional network
- Extend your network by living and working with executives from various backgrounds and countries across the globe
- Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions
- Develop a strong personal brand
Who Should Attend
- Mid to senior-level marketing executives charged with creating, nurturing, and managing brand value
- Entrepreneurs who want to create or grow their own brands in the consumer/retail space
- Consumer and retail sector general managers engaged in growth strategy
- CEOs, CMOs, and other senior leaders who recognize the asset value of their brands and want to invest in them
This program welcomes individuals or teams. Attendance by multiple company representatives will foster collaboration and amplify the program's impact. Intact teams of 3-5 individuals will have the opportunity to work together during the program if they so choose.

Program for Leadership Development participants earn 3 PLDA Points on completion of this program.
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Who Should Attend
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- Mid to senior-level marketing executives charged with creating, nurturing, and managing brand value
- Entrepreneurs who want to create or grow their own brands in the consumer/retail space
- Consumer and retail sector general managers engaged in growth strategy
- CEOs, CMOs, and other senior leaders who recognize the asset value of their brands and want to invest in them
This program welcomes individuals or teams. Attendance by multiple company representatives will foster collaboration and amplify the program's impact. Intact teams of 3-5 individuals will have the opportunity to work together during the program if they so choose.
Program for Leadership Development participants earn 3 PLDA Points on completion of this program.
Dive Deeper into the ExperienceSee how exchange with faculty and peers yields new insights into critical business trends.Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.
Learning and Living at HBS
When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.
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Learning and Living at HBS
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When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.
Admissions Criteria and Process
Answering Your Questions
Application Submission
Application Review
Fee, Payment, and Cancellations
Answering Your Questions
Application Submission
Application Review
Fee, Payment, and Cancellations
What You Will Learn
Through a rich learning experience that includes faculty presentations, interactive case study discussions in the classroom and in small groups, and reflective exercises, you and an exceptional group of peers will explore diverse aspects of branding today. You will engage in a holistic examination of the nature of brands and how they create meaning and value for consumers, incorporating insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, religion, economics, and, of course, marketing. Cases will examine both regionally-focused and global brands.
The program will provide ample time for individual reflection or strategy meetings, in which you can work on your own or with other members of your organization to articulate key take-aways and create an action plan.
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What You Will Learn
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Through a rich learning experience that includes faculty presentations, interactive case study discussions in the classroom and in small groups, and reflective exercises, you and an exceptional group of peers will explore diverse aspects of branding today. You will engage in a holistic examination of the nature of brands and how they create meaning and value for consumers, incorporating insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, religion, economics, and, of course, marketing. Cases will examine both regionally-focused and global brands.
The program will provide ample time for individual reflection or strategy meetings, in which you can work on your own or with other members of your organization to articulate key take-aways and create an action plan.
Key TopicsExpand AllCollapse All
The value of brandsThe value of brands
- Understanding how brands create value for consumers and for businesses
- Using brands as a source of sustainable competitive advantage
- Improving brand positioning
- Exploring the role of brands in the contemporary marketplace
- Identifying the forces making brands more or less relevant to today's consumers
- Analyzing the relationship between brands and shareholder value
- Calculating the return on investment (ROI) of branding
Brand storytellingBrand storytelling
- Building, maintaining, and measuring consumer-based brand equity
- Using consumer research to inform brand strategy
- Crafting an effective brand story
- Co-creating brand meaning alongside customers
- Using cultural branding techniques to craft resonant brand narratives that connect to culture
- Creating immersive customer experiences
- Navigating the relationship between brands, social issues, and activism
Brand managementBrand management
- Identifying opportunities and challenges associated with brand extensions that bring the brand across geographic, product category, and customer target market lines
- Repositioning brands to increase their effectiveness
- Designing brand portfolio strategy and brand architecture to maximize value across a suite of brands
- Developing a global branding strategy and introducing brands to a global audience
- Preventing loss of brand equity
- Maintaining consumers' trust and loyalty during times of brand crisis
Consumer brand relationships, influencers, and brand communitiesConsumer brand relationships, influencers, and brand communities
- Building and nurturing brand loyalty
- Negotiating customer interactions via a customer relationship management (CRM) tool
- Understanding the role of brand communities, the value they provide, and the risks they present
- Building brands through influencer marketing and celebrity branding
The value of brands
- Understanding how brands create value for consumers and for businesses
- Using brands as a source of sustainable competitive advantage
- Improving brand positioning
- Exploring the role of brands in the contemporary marketplace
- Identifying the forces making brands more or less relevant to today's consumers
- Analyzing the relationship between brands and shareholder value
- Calculating the return on investment (ROI) of branding
Brand storytelling
- Building, maintaining, and measuring consumer-based brand equity
- Using consumer research to inform brand strategy
- Crafting an effective brand story
- Co-creating brand meaning alongside customers
- Using cultural branding techniques to craft resonant brand narratives that connect to culture
- Creating immersive customer experiences
- Navigating the relationship between brands, social issues, and activism
Brand management
- Identifying opportunities and challenges associated with brand extensions that bring the brand across geographic, product category, and customer target market lines
- Repositioning brands to increase their effectiveness
- Designing brand portfolio strategy and brand architecture to maximize value across a suite of brands
- Developing a global branding strategy and introducing brands to a global audience
- Preventing loss of brand equity
- Maintaining consumers' trust and loyalty during times of brand crisis
Consumer brand relationships, influencers, and brand communities
- Building and nurturing brand loyalty
- Negotiating customer interactions via a customer relationship management (CRM) tool
- Understanding the role of brand communities, the value they provide, and the risks they present
- Building brands through influencer marketing and celebrity branding
Special Program FeaturesExpand AllCollapse All
Brand Storytelling WorkshopBrand Storytelling Workshop
Members of Second City, the world's premier comedy club, comedy theater, and school of improvisation, will guide you and your peers through a series of interactive exercises designed to help you practice and perfect brand storytelling.
Personal Branding WorkshopPersonal Branding Workshop
In this exercise focused on leveraging program learnings to create your own personal brand,you will learn to be more strategic and intentional about defining and communicating your personal value proposition and managing your reputation.
Breakfast Discussions with Special GuestsBreakfast Discussions with Special Guests
Panelists drawn from a range of premier global brands will engage in a facilitated discussion of topics relevant to each day's themes.
Brand Storytelling Workshop
Members of Second City, the world's premier comedy club, comedy theater, and school of improvisation, will guide you and your peers through a series of interactive exercises designed to help you practice and perfect brand storytelling.
Personal Branding Workshop
In this exercise focused on leveraging program learnings to create your own personal brand,you will learn to be more strategic and intentional about defining and communicating your personal value proposition and managing your reputation.
Breakfast Discussions with Special Guests
Panelists drawn from a range of premier global brands will engage in a facilitated discussion of topics relevant to each day's themes.
The HBS Advantage
Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.
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The HBS Advantage
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Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.
Faculty ChairFaculty
