What do you think of when you read the following descriptions: the golden arches, a rainbow-colored apple, and a young girl walking in the rain with an umbrella? You probably think of McDonalds, Apple Computers, and Morton Salt. What do you think of when you hear these brand names? Do you have any positive or negative attitudes about these companies? How did you adopt your impressions? More than likely, "branding" is the answer. Companies need to stand out now, more than ever. One way to do this is through branding, but where do you begin? Furthermore, what can you improve? Who do you put in charge? How can you stand out? And what medium do you use to generate maximum awareness? Strategic Brand Management will answer these questions by introducing you to the basics of branding and the three most important components: the brand manager, the brand, and the consumer. In this series, you will construct and implement a strategy to build valuable brand equity for your product and company. In order to reinforce your brand, you will analyze and utilize the creative elements that make great brands successful. After establishing a foundation, you need to generate awareness for your brand. This is accomplished by choosing a marketing strategy and implementing it through an integrated marketing communications plan. You will learn how to analyze the principles behind evaluating your brand's effectiveness. Finally this series will conclude with strategies for managing and maintaining your brand's equity.

All of these courses use real-life examples to help you demonstrate and apply this information. By the end of this series, you will analyze your current brand and apply helpful strategies to conceive, improve and maintain a valuable, long-lasting brand for your company and your products. It's impossible to guess the amount of money McDonalds spent in order to teach consumers to associate its name to a simple pair of golden arches, but few can argue that it was not money well spent. Here is how it paid off: instant recognition, a loyal customer base, and the largest fast-food restaurant chain in the world! Can you attain this type of recognition and success with your brand? Certainly!