Brand Relationships -Branding Strategy

8/12/2019 Brand Relationships -Branding Strategy

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Are Brand Relationships ReallyLike Human Ones

Do brand relationships really adhere to the human pattern,in which the best relationships are the most intimate,emotional, and engaged ones?

Brands are relationshipsbased not on emotions but on

satisfying t ransact ions.Success is based on utility and performance and themeeting of expectations.

What do people really want from their bank?

What do people really want from their cable company?

Are they truly seeking an emotional connection, or are theylooking for a well and expertly managed transactionalrelationship?


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Consumer get delighted when a brand delivers more thanexpected.

Do emotional connections lead consumers to buy brands,or do successful transactional experiences help create anemotional bond?

The advantages of optimizing the transactional experiencefor both consumers and marketers are obvious:

To the consumer, a successful transaction is a promise

kept. Successful transactions are concrete, not ethereal orhypothetical. They operate in the very emotional andimportant dimension of delivering the value consumersexpect for their money.

For marketers, optimized transactional relationships helpmelt away the anxiety that surrounds a purchase. Inaddition, when a company consistently keeps its promises,the consumer rewards it with loyalty, referral, and evenadvocacy, effectively creating a consumer-brandpartnership.


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When a brand unfailingly delivers on consumerexpectations, it positions itself to generate word-of-mouthrecommendations creating the spontaneous peer-to-peer connections that increase intimacy, relevance, and

credibility. So we come to the second part of this equation the

brand experience.

Focus on the Experience and Deliver

The degree to which the consumer's experience with a

brand matches or exceeds their expectation determinescustomer loyalty and profitability.

Within most companies today, marketing communicationshas little influence over the actual product or serviceoffering. In many cases, they are managed through

corporate operations, finance, and other departments thatdo not even face the customer.


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Branding StrategiesPRODUCT BRANDING

This is of the type one-brand one product. In terms of customerperception and information processing, the most effective way todesignate a product is to give it an exclusive name, which would not beavailable to any other product.

In the product branding strategy the brand is promoted exclusively sothat it acquires its own identity and image. This way the brand is able toacquire a distinct position in the customers mind.

P&G have been follower of the product branding strategy. P& G s intobaby care, beauty care, feminine care, health care, fabric care, homecare, food and beverages, etc. Its brands are stand alones; people donteven know that they all share a common root in P&G.

Fabric Care: Tide Detergent

Hair Care: Head & Shoulders, Rejoice Baby Care: Pampers

Another advantage is that with an identifiable brand uniquely positionedand directed at a segment, the firm is able to cover an entire marketspectrum by making multiple brand entries.

The drawbacks of product brands are essentially cost based. Creating

individual brand is costly exercise.


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LINE BRANDING Line extensions occur when a company introduces

additional items in the same product category under the

same brand name such as new flavors, forms, colours,

pack size and so on.

E.g. Colgate has a whole range of dental care products.

Colgate Total, Colgate Gel, Colgate toothpowder, as well

as the various toothbrushes.

Line branding strategy illustrates how well cultivated brand

can be extended on to a host of related products under a

common concept. This strategy seeks to penetrate the

cus tomer rather than penetrat ing the market.


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BRAND EXTENSION

A company may decide to use an existing brand name tolaunch a product in a new category either related or

unrelated. Brand extensions, which are a popular means of

introducing new products to the marketplace, fall under theOne brand all products type of brand strategies.

E.g. Honda uses its company name to cover differentproducts viz. automobiles, motorcycle, lawnmovers etc.

The different types of brand extensions are:

Product form extension:

Product launched in a different form usually means line

extension rather than brand extension. For e.g. liquid milkand dried milk may not be perceived as the productcategory. Similarly chocolate bars and chocolate powderbelong to different product categories.


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Companion Product:

Brand extension is in the form of companionproducts is perhaps the most common. The idea

perhaps is to capitalize on product complementarily.The consumer may view both products jointly andhence, provide scope for launching brand extension.

E.g. Dove (Shampoo & conditioner)

Customer franchise:

A marketer may extend a product range in order to

meet the needs of a specific customer group. Forinstance, a company may launch a variety ofproducts meant for e.g. nursery going schoolchildren.


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MULTIBRAND

Many brands achieve distinction in the form of a

unique attribute, benefit or feature, which getsuniquely associated with the brand. In such

situations the company can work backwards to

launch different products, which essentially cash in

on this distinction. For example, Parachutemay have the expertise of

coconut nourishment in customers mind over time.

This would give the company Maricothe opportunity

to launch a variety of products exploiting this

distinction.


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UMBRELLA BRANDING

This again is of the type One brand all products. Anumbrella brand is a parent brand that appears on a numberof products that may each have separate brand images.

e.g. Videocons range of home appliances airconditioners, refrigerators, televisions, washing machines,etc.

Phillips also has a whole range of home appliances underthe brand name Phillips-the mixers, irons, televisions, etc.

Umbrella branding scored well on the dimension ofeconomics. Investing in a single brand is less costly thantrying to build a number of brands.

The brand bestows the new product advantages of brandawareness, associations and instant goodwill.

The main danger associated with umbrella branding is thatsince many products share the common name, a debaclein one product category may influence the productsbecause of shared identity.


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ENDORSEMENT BRANDING

Endorsement branding strategy is a modified version of

double branding. It makes the product brand name more

significant and corporate brand name is relegated to alesser status. It is only mentioned as an endorsement to

the product brand. By and large, the brand seeks to stand

on its own.

E.g. Kit Kat gives the signal that it belongs to Nestle Dairy Milk conveys that it belongs to Cadburys.

Cinthols communication stresses that it is a Godrej

product.

Documents

Brand Relationships -Branding Strategy