"Branding"

                                                                         "Branding Equity"

Branding Equity has many definitions, the most simple one is that brand equity is the value added by the brand to the product.  As stated in our text.  Prophet.com says that brand equity has four dimensions - brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations, and perceived quality, each providing value to a firm in numerous ways.  Once a brand identifies the value of brand equity, they can follow the brand equity road map to manage that potential value.

The introduction of brand loyalty to the model was and still is controversial as other conceptualizations position brand loyalty as a result of brand equity, which consist of awareness and associations.  To buy a brand or place a value on it, the loyalty of the customer base is often the asset most prized, so it makes sense to include it.  Brand equity also provides value to customers.  It enhances the customer's ability to interpret and process information, improves confidence in the purchase decision.  This model provides one perspective of brand equity as one of the major components of modern marketing alongside the marketing concept, segmentation, and several others.  

Source: prophet.com