solved Using your HBR Coursepack, review the following core marketing reading(s):

Using your HBR Coursepack, review the following core marketing reading(s):
Brands and Brand Equity AND
Brand Positioning
The reading on Brands and Brand Equity aims to combine theory and practice by summarizing and integrating the latest theories and models in branding research and illustrating them with examples from diverse industries, including stories of both success and failure for well-known brands to which we can relate.
The reading on Brand Positioning examines the importance of brand positioning in marketing.  Effectively positioning an offering in a distinctive way determines a firm’s success or failure.  The best marketing managers understand the importance of brand positioning in creating a sustainable competitive advantage for each of their good or service offerings.   
Following your review, prepare a response to the following discussion question:
Why is branding so crucial to an organization’s success?
This initial post should be completed by Thursday at 11:00 p.m. EST.  After you submit the initial posting, return to the forum and review the findings of your classmates.  Post a meaningful comment or question (150 words minimum) to the postings of two (2) classmates.  Peer postings should be completed by Sunday at 11:00 p.m. EST.
NOTE: THE DISCUSSION SHOULD BE BASED ON THE CASE STUDIES ATTACHED. EXTERNAL REFERENCES ARE NOT MANDATORY

POST 1 
Branding is very important to any business. Its purpose is to help people and organizations recognize and understand your products and organizations. As individuals are becoming more verse with e-commerce, it is important to set yourself apart from your competition. It is much more than a name and logo design. It is everything a company believes in . like the mission statment, their morals and values.Branding shows people a snippet of what the company stands for and if their can trust them. The customer builds this trust on how well the company expresses these ideals. For example, the visual identity of a brand plays a huge role in the conversion rate. People are visual being, they love to see beautiful, vibrant colors. Other aspects would be advertising and communications, using these platforms amplify the company’s voice and branding. When a company can advertise frequently and exposing the brand’s core values this is when you would see a brand explode to new levels of success.

POST 2
Thank you. now I need responses for peer postspost from Arush:Branding is one of the important aspects when it comes to defining an organization. It helps create a strong identity and an image in the customer’s eyes. For example, the Nike swoosh, the prancing horse of Ferrari, the colliding bulls for Red Bull, and the ever-famous bitten apple of Apple. Over time, the above examples have created such a powerful brand value for its consumers, making them the top organizations in their respective fields. Why is branding so important? The reading mentions that good branding allows consumers to gain confidence in their purchases and provides a higher satisfaction from a consumer perspective (Rohit & Anat, 2019). From an organization’s point of view, good branding will allow them to increase the effectiveness of the marketing programs, enhance brand loyalty and create a significant competitive advantage. To understand why branding is crucial to an organization’s success, we need to understand the key factors that influence branding.The first factor is brand culture; organizations need to create brand culture through brand stories. To explain brand culture, let’s take the example of Nike; the first area is the firm that shapes the brand through its product. In the case of Nike, they came up with the swoosh and with the phrase “Just do it,” and through their stories, the swoosh symbolized positivity. The second area is popular culture, with top sporting icons like Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams, Lebron James, and Rafael Nadal being brand ambassadors of Nike; these icons share their stories through their product association. The third area is influencers, where through social media, influencers share their stories or product reviews to grow the culture. The fourth area is the customers, who, through their personal experience, share their stories about the brand.The second factor is brand equity. David Aaker categorizes brand equity into five parts: brand awareness. Due to the proper marketing techniques and brand exposure, consumers are most likely to use a recognized brand rather than an unknown brand, for example, Heinz Ketchup. The second part is the perceived quality; in this case, specific organizations can charge a premium price for their product due to their branding success. Due to the popularity through branding, consumers identify the price increase and perceive quality. The third part is brand association; consumers relate a particular brand to their fond memory of the past. Consumers buying their favorite players’ products is another example of brand association. The fourth part is brand loyalty, where consumers being delighted with a product helps build a strong relationship with the organization. This foundation will help organizations grow substantially. The fifth part is the other brand assets, where organizations have the edge over their competitors due to critical factors like patents and trademarks.Analyzing brand equity can be done by two standard branding models, BrandDymanics Pyramid and the Brand Resonance Pyramid. BrandDymanics Pyramid talks about multiple steps that help build a successful brand, starting with presence (the brand’s identity). The second step is to help build a successful brand is relevance(catering to consumer’s needs). The third step is performance (the product’s promise). The fourth step is the advantage ( edge over competitors). The fifth step is bonding ( building a relationship with the brand). The Brand Resonance Pyramid is talks parameter that successful organizations need to consider; the first step is the identity (can consumers relate the product to the brand). The second step is performance (can the product satisfy the consumer’s needs that they require). The third step is feelings (Is the consumer content about the product). The last step is resonance( brands relationship with the consumer).The third impact is brand value; it is a quantitative measurement of the financial value of a brand. Several firms develop models for calculating brand values for top companies through a comprehensive report. The reading talks about three firms; the first firm is Interbrands methodology, there three aspects are analyzed, the financial performance of the product or service, the brand’s role in the consumer’s purchase decision measured by Role of Brand Index (RBI), and the strength of the brand. The second firm is Brand Z; Brand Z considers two key elements, financial value, and brand contribution. The third firm is Brand Finance; this firm calculates the brand value based on the royalty relief approach. Establishing the royalty rate for a brand is done by calculating brand strength on a scale of zero to hundred, according to attributes such as financial value, brand equity, consumer connection to the brand, market share, and profitability, amongst others. (Rohit & Anat, 2019)The above factors are common measuring traits used by consumers and firms today. If an organization needs to be successful, these three factors cannot be overlooked, hence making branding a crucial aspect of an organization’s success.