The Improvement of Brand Equity, Awareness, and Loyalty: A Strategic Marketing Plan for Brand Development in the Automotive Aftermarket

Abstract

This paper presents a strategic marketing and advertising plan that aims to help Federal-Mogul Motorparts develop brand equity, awareness, and loyalty in the North American automotive aftermarket. The automotive aftermarket is defined as the part of the automotive industry concerned with the manufacturing, re-manufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment, and accessories, except those products that are used in the assembly of new vehicles. Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation is a global supplier of products and services to the world's manufacturers and servicers of vehicles and equipment in the automotive, light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial, marine, rail, aerospace, power generation, and industrial markets. The aim of this strategic marketing and advertising plan is to develop a strong brand for Federal-Mogul Motorparts; the new division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation. This paper begins with a review of current literature about how a company can develop a strong brand in a specific market. This literature review focuses on three main parts: 1) brand equity, 2) brand awareness, and 3) brand loyalty. Also addressed within the literature, is how a logo redesign can promote positive and negative feelings towards a brand, and how a social media campaign can contribute to the inclusion of new consumers from the millennial generation. The studies, in general, tell the story of how brand equity, awareness, and loyalty are all interrelated' and how implementation of certain market strategies and techniques directly contribute to a stronger brand, and subsequently a stronger company. The literature review is followed by a marketing plan, which includes both a situational analysis and a marketing/advertising strategy. This plan identifies macro and micro economic factors that directly contribute to overall perception of the automotive aftermarket. The trends on the market, with a focus on North America (other markets are addressed briefly), and competition within the market are also therein discussed. A perceptual map and SWOT analysis is included as well, to show the competitive nature of the market and where Federal-Mogul Motorparts stands within the market. The marketing strategies used in this plan combine traditional and modern techniques to develop a stronger brand for Federal-Mogul Motorparts. Three main strategies are discussed: 1) stronger sponsorship of sub-brands to increase equity (Champion, Wagner, Fel-Pro, ANCO, and MOOG) and advertising at sporting events to increase loyalty, 2) implementation of a stronger social media platform focused on Facebook and Twitter to reach consumers, and 3) a logo redesign to raise stronger awareness for Federal-Mogul Motorparts within the market. This paper proves that through a strong emphasis on the development of brand equity and awareness, the new segment of Federal-Mogul Motorparts will be able to develop loyalty and an overall stronger brand in the automotive aftermarket.