Year: 2020

1. Floor brokers

They execute orders for members (brokers) and receive a share in the brokerage commission that a commission broker charges to his client.

2. Commission brokers

They execute orders of their customers by buying and selling securities on the exchange. They charge a specified commission on the purchase or sale value. A commission broker does not buy or sell securities in his own name. They deal with many clients and consequently with many securities.

3. Jobbers

They are professional independent brokers engaged in buying and selling of specified securities in their own name. Jobbers cannot deal on behalf of public and are barred from taking commission. They deal with brokers who in turn transact on behalf of the public. A jobber deals in a limited number of securities which he tracks regularly.

Jobbers generally quote two prices, one at which he is prepared to purchase and the other at which he is prepared to sell a security. This two way price is known as ‘double-barrelled price‘. The difference between the two prices is known as the ‘Jobbers turn‘. For e.g. a Jobber may quote the shares of XYZ at Rs.500-501.

This implies that the jobber is prepared to purchase the shares at Rs. 500 each and sell at Rs.501 each. The difference between the two prices is the jobbers turn.

4. Tarawaniwalas

A tarawaniwala can act both as a broker and jobber. The tarawaniwala might act against interests of investors by purchasing securities from them in his own name at a lower price and sell the same securities to them at higher prices. To prevent this, the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act of 1956 provides that a member of a stock exchange can act as a principal only for a member of a recognized stock exchange.

5. Odd Lot dealers

They specialize in buying and selling of securities in odd lots. They buy odd lot units at a lesser price

6. Badliwalas

They are financiers who facilitated the carry over business by financing carry-over transactions. They earn interest for the amount financed (badla).

7. Arbitrageurs

Arbitrageurs keep a close watch on the prices of shares in different markets. They buy shares in markets where their price is low and sells them in markets where their price is high. For e.g. if a share of XYZ is quoted at Rs.2,000 in Bangalore stock exchange and at Rs.2,100 in Madras Stock exchange, the arbitrageur will buy shares in the Bangalore stock exchange and sell them in the Madras Stock Exchange. He would be earning a profit of Rs. 100 per share.

8. Sub-brokers/Remisiers

Sub-brokers are agents of stock brokers. Since they are not members of a stock exchange, he cannot directly deal in securities. He helps clients to buy and sell securities only through the stock broker. In the Bombay Stock Exchange the sub-brokers are termed as ‘Remisiers‘. They receive a share in the brokerage commission that a commission broker charges to his client.

Eligibility requirements to become a stock exchange broker

1. Persons desiring to become brokers should clear the written test and interview conducted by stock exchanges.
2. They should possess the required financial strength to fulfill capital adequacy norms.
3. They should have the required infrastructure (buildings, computer systems, connectivity)
4. They should have the required manpower to service investors.
5. They should adhere to the code of conduct and various regulations prescribed while conducting trade.
6. They should provide regular updates to the stock exchanges regarding their net worth, information relating to directors, partners etc.

Organisation and Working of Stock Exchange:

Practically, the organisation and working of a stock exchange differs from exchange to exchange in technical details although the general pattern of all exchanges is almost the same.

The general pattern of a stock exchange is noted:

(a) Constitution:

It is an association of members which may be a voluntary and non­-profit association or company limited by shares or guarantee.

(b) Membership:

Membership is a ‘must’ for transacting business since non-members are not allowed to enter the stock-exchange. Membership is strictly limited, i.e., no one is allowed to be a member unless there is a vacancy. Membership is acquired outright by the payment of membership fees prescribed by the stock exchange.

(c) Management:

The general administration of a stock exchange is administered by a committee of management and is called by different names in different exchanges. The selected Executive Committee of different stock exchanges carries on management of their day-to-day activities through sub-committees such as Listing Committee, Defaulters’ Committee, Arbitration Committee, etc.

(d) Nature of Transactions:

Two types of transactions cash or forward are made in a stock Transactions exchange. Cash transaction is one which reveals the delivery of securities within a short time which is settled by the payment of price. This type of transaction is also known as investment transaction since it is based on bona fide intention of purchase and sale of securities. On the contrary, a forward transaction is one which reveals forward delivery contracts and fixed settlement days. It is a speculative transaction and the settlement is made by the payment of price differences.

The markets in which companies operate are highly dynamic in nature. There is constant evolution in products, introduction of new technology, government rules, regulatory framework, consumer taste and preference. Between all these companies have to devise marketing communication and branding programs, which look forward to maintaining consumer based brand equity. For example, consumer promotion activity like providing 20% extra for the said product will not create the same response but may raise expectations of 20% during the normal purchase also. Companies have to balance brand management that they are able to understand the future preference of consumer. This calls for companies to be pro-active and thinking standing on their feet.

One way of brand management over time is to strengthen brand equity by developing marketing programs, which express brand knowledge consistently as not to confuse the consumer. For example, Apple, their programs are developed to reinforce their commitment to offer world class full entertainment and communication devices, so introduction Iphone had ready acceptance from consumers. Market leader like coca-cola has constantly run marketing program even after been market leaders. However, this does not imply that same campaign is running repeatedly, rather coming up innovative strategies to reinforce brand knowledge.

Brand knowledge comes from brand attributes and brand association; if companies try to fiddle with these sources of brand equity consequences can be disastrous. In early 90s Intel microprocessor had a technical flaw but the company was not swift enough to rectify the problem, thereby damaging brand equity source of power and safety. Intel realized the importance source of brand equity and was quick in solving the problem by offering replacement. Another dilemma for companies is of choosing the right way to use the developed brand equity, normal course is to generate maximum price premium, but that should not be at cost of brand equity.

Innovation is one of the keys in managing brand and ensuring that brand remains ahead of the competition curve. If companies operating in entertainment category or matter of fact insurance do not innovate then value of their brand is lost as these categories are product driven. For example, Apple, without its innovation in the form of ipod mp3 player, apple would have found it difficult facing completion from Sony. If the company’s category is not a product driven marketing campaigns associated with brand image play an important role in sustaining the brand. For example, Pepsi, it is operating in highly competitive carbonated drinks’ category, over the years their marketing campaign is focused on their highlighting their brand position as a drink for young generation.

Every brand faces challenges as it moves in the product life cycle and at some point faces saturation. At this point, it is important to focus on expanding brand awareness that is looking for ways to generate more consumption by highlighting instance of consumption. For example, toothpaste revitalized consumption by highlighting advantages of twice daily usage. Another way to increase consumption is by highlighting diverse ways and occasion where brand can be consumed. This is more prevalent in food and beverages industry.

Along with brand awareness brand image also plays a pivotal role in revitalizing brand performance. This can be done by highlighting pointing of difference, which may have been lost in all other marketing campaigns. Another way to enhance the brand image is by adopting new brand elements like brand symbol, logos, etc., For example, Federal Express modify to FedEx as a move generating more interest in face of competition from UPS.

For companies to sustain a brand over long period of time, it is absolute essential that marketing program look at strategies around effective brand management. Effective brand management strategies constantly assess the consumer perceptions towards the brand and strive to attract her attention. Strategies have to be flexible as to maintain the pace with the dynamic environment. Only then it is possible have a successful brand.

Brand transfers are too often thought of simply as name changes, though admittedly this is the most risky facet of the change. In the customers’ minds a well-known name is linked with mental associations, empathy and personal preferences. However, a brand is made up of many components, which cannot be reduced to just one, the name. In fact, when you examine the numerous examples that have occured both in Europe and the United States, the situation is far from simple. Many of them involve other changes in the marketing mix.

Some brand changes are also product changes. What disturbed Treets fans, apart from the loss of a product they loved, was that M&Ms included two different products: peanuts covered in chocolate and a sweet similar to Smarties. It was therefore a transition from a simple and familiar situation to a totally confusing one where all references had changed, as, indeed, had the product itself.

When Shell changed the name of its oil from Puissance to Helix it also modified the characteristics of the product. However, the fact that these characteristics are ‘hidden’, hardly perceptible by the customers, meant that this was not a risky move for Shell. The change of the oil formula could be used as an alibi for the introduction of the new name.

As regards name changes, the risks associated vary immensely depending on whether we are dealing with product brands, umbrella brands, endorsing brands or source brands. Examples of the first two cases are Raider/Twix and Philips/Whirlpool respectively. The change only affects the one and only nominal indicator of the product or products. Conversely, Puissance has become Helix but still remains under the mother brand Shell. Changing a name when the product is defined by a hierarchy of brand names is far less problematic.

With self-service, visual identity has become crucial as an aid to customers to quickly pick out their brand. Distributors’ own-brands capitalise on this: their imitations, which aim at confusing the customer, rely less and less on similar names (for example Sablito against Pépito) and more and more on near identical copies of colour codes of the national brands that are targeted on the shelves (Kapferer and Thoenig, 1992).

In this way, in the UK, a fierce conflict arose between Coca-Cola and the retailer Sainsbury, whose colas totally imitated the Coca-Cola colours: red for classic cola, white for sugar-free cola and gold for sugar- and caffeine-free cola. Conversely, some brand changes are accompanied by profound modifications of the colour codes. Thus, the brown Shell Puissance 5 oilcan became the yellow Shell Helix Standard oilcan.

The long and gradual change from Pal to Pedigree was accompanied by the adoption worldwide of a new colour, bright yellow, striking and eyecatching, to reinforce the impact on the shelves. Since colour is the first thing that consumers notice in a self-service situation, how risky such modifications can be is all the more evident.

The shape of packaging is the second most important visual recognition factor. This is why, despite the savings that could have been achieved by adopting a unique European oilcan, Shell immediately refused to abandon its easily recognisable and very practical ‘spout’ can. Part of Shell oil’s added value comes from this can.

Finally, brand transitions can be accompanied by changes to the logo or trade mark as well as to visual symbols. As regards this last point, the impact of the disappearance of visual brand symbols shouldn’t be underestimated. Replacing Nesquik’s gentle giant Groquick by a rabbit in some countries for reasons of international coordination is playing with the relationship children have with Nesquik. The same applies to people associated with a brand. The disappearance of emblematic figures can have drastic consequences for a brand.

Finally, with written and musical slogans now under copyright, it has to be realised how important they are, as they are what people will remember. When Raider was changed to Twix, Mars hesitated but decided not to keep the same brand music. Music is one of the vehicles of a brand’s personality. A slogan is also, in the long run, an integral part of a brand and can now be put under copyright. The famous slogan ‘Melts in your mouth not in your hand’ was lost when Treets became M&Ms.

A branding strategy is a long-term plan for the development of a successful brand in order to achieve specific goals. A well-defined and executed brand strategy affects all aspects of a business and is directly connected to consumer needs, emotions, and competitive environments. One important element of a comprehensive branding strategy targeted to consumers is television advertising. Although it may not be right for every business, TV is the most powerful media available to advertisers and it has the potential to dramatically impact a communications campaign’s success.

Types of Branding Strategy

Now, let’s have a look at some of the types of branding strategy. A number of brands utilize these strategies, so they can be known as some of the proven strategies. You can use them for your business as well. However, you must be careful about the size of your business, your overall aims, and objectives from the brand and even the competition in the industry. This is because each strategy might be applicable in a different situation. Without realizing the contextual scenario of the brand, you cannot expect to get the best out of these strategies.

1. House of Brands

In this type of branding, you must have a number of products or services to offer to your customers. This strategy has to be used at the initial stages of the brands, but the real impact is often seen when your business becomes large cooperation. The reason for such a statement is that when you are working on a small scale, you’ll want to cross-sell the product and will tell your existing customers about the launch of new products. When you’ll promote the upcoming product with this motive in mind, you won’t be able to use the house of brands strategy to its fullest. Or you won’t be able to name it as “house of brands” initially.

House of brands is a strategy where your parent brand is different from the sub-brands produced by the company. The intention behind this strategy is that the legacy of the parent brand is not transferred to the sub-brands. Each of the products produced by the company would have a different name and a different identity. You might divert from the original idea of starting up the company. Even, the name of the strategy itself implies the standing of the brands. House of brands shows the presence of a number of brands under one main head or house. So, the advantages and disadvantages of House of brands include:

Advantage of House of Brands

• You don’t have to keep on the legacy of the parent brand or the other brands in the company
• You can easily deviate from the original idea and go for diversification
• Brand positioning is independent

Disadvantage of House of Brands

It might take extra time to establish the presence of the brand in the market

Example of House of Brands

The example of this brand strategy includes Proctor & Gamble. Proctor & Gamble produces a number of different products, but it does not use its name with any of those products. Some of the most prominent brands of Proctor & Gamble include Tide, Pampers, Ariel, Gillette, Pantene, etc. Each of these brands has its own existence in the market. Proctor & Gamble does not extend them the support to survive in the market.

A number of successful brands are following this strategy. So, you can adapt it as well, if your aim is to create individual brands.

2. Branded House

In this branding strategy in marketing, the new products and brands are seen as the branches of the main company. The individual existence of the brand is there. But it is usually taken as the name of the product, not the brand itself.

The number of products and services have to be large in number for this strategy too. However, you’ll have to make the decision about adopting this strategy when launching your second product or service in the market.

One thing that you must note here is that you’ll have to specify a separate name for each of the product that you offer, but you’ll definitely have to use the name of the original product. So, the advantages and disadvantages are the part of this branding strategy too. These include:

Advantage of Branded House

You can establish a relatively quick reputation in the market

Disadvantage of Branded House

In case the reputation of the parent brand is negative, the new brand will have to face it as well.

Example of Branded House

For this strategy, the example includes Google. We know various products of Google for different functions. But we recognize most of them as Google Products rather than the maintenance of a separate identity. The search engine “Google” email services in the form of Google Mail, Google Hangouts, Google Calendar are some of the sub-brands or categories of the main brand.

3. Product Line Extension

This type of branding strategy in marketing actually refers to the inclusion of new products in the existing portfolio of your business. If you are using the same brand name that you have already used and enter the same product category, then this strategy is product line extension.

Advantage of Product Line Extension

• You can cater more customers through the introduction of such products
• Feeling of customization can be inculcated in your audience with the introduction of specific versions

Disadvantage of Product Line Extension

Cannibalization is the problem when it comes to the product line strategy, so it can be a problem

Example of Product Line Extension

The prominent example of this strategy is the Dove Shampoo. The presence of different variants in the form of total repair, damaged hair, etc. are the extensions in the product line. Similarly, the other shampoos providing different variants for different hair types exhibit this strategy. So, you can use this strategy quite easily if it seems for your business type.

4. Brand Extension

This strategy also fits when you need to add in more products to the portfolio. Moreover, the basic difference between product line extension and brand extension is in the category of product. If you are introducing a new category with the same old brand name, then you are actually using the brand extension.

Advantage of Brand Extension

• You can capture the brand value associated with the existing brand
• You can increase the revenue stream because targeting more customers will result in more sales and thus more revenue.
• Cross-selling is often a possibility

Disadvantage of Brand Extension

You don’t get recognized exclusively for a particular product niche

Example of Brand Extension

This example below will help you in understanding this concept as well as differentiating between the two. I’ll take the example of Dove brand again. Let’s assume that Dove created shampoos before than the soap. The introduction of new variants of shampoo was the product line extension (discussed above). But the introduction of Dove Soap when Dove shampoos were already in the market is a brand extension.

5. Multi Brand Strategy

In this strategy, you need to enter the existing product category with a different brand name. This strategy actually has its role when you are analyzing conglomerates. But for simple companies, this strategy is not much practical or at least it has not been used widely yet.

Advantage of Multi Brand Strategy

You can get more sales and revenues by targeting a different segment

Disadvantage of Multi Brand Strategy

• Chances of spoiling the reputation of parent brand exist, so you’ll have to be careful about it
• Cannibalization can be a problem

Example of Multi Brand Strategy

If you have ever wondered why a large conglomerate does introduce two similar nature products, then you’ll find an answer here, in this strategy. Let’s take Lipton and Supreme as examples. Both are the products from Unilever. Any idea, why are they both introduced? No? Let me explain. Both of these brands target a different market. You can consider the market of each of these brands as their specific niches to which they are catering. At the time of introduction of both these brands, the market would have been researched by Unilever and a market gap indicating the two different niches would have been found.

In normal cases when you have just started the business or even when it is at the medium scale, you try to include more products for the same market, or you might go for targeting different market by introducing new product category. This multi-brand strategy is usually used when all the other options of expansion are exhausted.

A brand hierarchy is the systematic branching structure of a brand’s distinctive elements for it’s sub-products.

When companies begin to diversify their products, with new products and different positioning schemes, they graph a brand hierarchy to help with the identification of their products and services. A brand hierarchy helps inculcate the vital brand elements and modifications within the products.

For example, think of Amazon. Amazon provides e-books services, e-shopping services, AI products, etc. But people do not refer to Amazon for all this at once. They refer to Amazon Kindle or Amazon Prime or other hierarchies that Amazon has developed. These hierarchies contain distinctive elements through their name, logo, and brand identity that helps differentiate between the products as well as reduces confusion for customers.

Brand Hierarchy Levels

1. Corporate Brand

The highest level of the brand hierarchy is the corporate brand. This is the main company/corporate brand.

For instance, we commonly refer to Mercedes cars as part of the brand Mercedes. But the corporate brand of Mercedes is actually Daimler AG. Daimler is the over-arching corporate brand to other family brands under it.

2. Family Brand

The next lower level in the hierarchy is the family brand. It is also known as the ‘range brand’ or the ‘umbrella brand’. It is called the ‘family’ brand because it may have a range of products under it, but it is not the corporate brand.

For instance, Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans, and Daimler Trucks and Buses are the family brands to Daimler AG. Then under Mercedes-Benz Cars, they have various classes and cars.

Many times firms may not have a corporate brand over them. In such a case the corporate brand level and family brand level collapse as one. A very famous example of this is Apple Inc. It is the corporate brand and family brand for itself since:

• It has no corporate brand
• It has a range of products under it

3. Individual Brand

Individual brands are linked only to a single product category. This doesn’t mean it has only one product. It can have multiple product versions, models, colours, etc.

For instance, the Mercedes family brand has individual brands like the SL class and GLC class. So SL class is one individual brand below the family brand Mercedes.

4. Product Modifier and Descriptor

The product modifier and descriptor is the smallest and lowest part of the brand hierarchy. It helps customers identify the various products under the individual brand.

For instance, under the SL Class individual brand, there are various models like – 63 AMG, 65 AMG Roadster, etc. These models are the product descriptor. They are not further sub-divided, but they give more information about the product model and help customers differentiate between models of the same individual brand.

Brand hierarchy strategies are created when you begin to engage with multiple product lines. In such a situation it becomes stressful for a business to manage the diverse range of products, and it becomes confusing for customers. Brands also tend to take heavily passionate decisions and release distinctive ranges of products but execute the management poorly. Have a look at Sony for example. Sony has not been able to ace the tech industry despite its exceptional quality. This is largely because it uses the same corporate brand for all it’s products whether mobiles, cameras, digital books, toys, and even its music label.

Luckily, creating a blueprint for your brand hierarchy is not as hard as it may seem. Here are 3 simple steps to help you build your brand hierarchy:

1. Identify Your Product Groups

Begin with identifying what are the products or services that your brand is offering. Ask yourself the question –

Can these products be separated and segregated into categories?

The first step is all about analysing your current brand structure. To do so, you can analyse what your employees and consumers find confusing about your product range. When your brand’s name comes up are they too confused about what you sell?  Based on this analysis divide all individual products into broader categories.

For example, if you are Procter and Gamble. Your product lines are detergent, grooming products, baby care products, etc. These are far too diverse and so you must create a brand hierarchy.

2. Determine Your Levels

Now that you know about your product categories, you need to determine how many levels do you want to divide the products on. To determine your levels, make sue of two principles:

(i) Principle of Simplicity

Do not complicate your hierarchy with multiple divisions and sub-divisions. Keep it simple. If you need 2 levels, stick to 2. If you need 4 levels, stick to 4.

For instance, Starbucks sells a wide range of products like Coffee, Tea, Mineral Water, and Kitchen merchandise. Their products are different, but not majorly different. Therefore, they decided to stick to two levels. The corporate brand and the family and individual brands were combined with the products. Though a few descriptors like freshly brewed, cold brewed, etc. do exist to avoid confusion of customers.

(ii) Principle of Clarity

Make sure your hierarchy is clear. The purpose of a brand hierarchy is to minimise confusion, not create more. Let’s say your product mix constitutes mobiles, buildings, and insurance policies, like Samsung you definitely require a brand hierarchy. But if it is not very diverse, and closely related then you must have a minimum number of levels clear for your consumers to understand.

3. Creating the Brand for Each Level

Your brand hierarchy is coming alive. You have separate brand categories ready to be launched. But before you complete this, you need to plan your branding strategies for the brand at each level.

(i) Brand Elements

Create associations for your brand through brand elements. This step may be a lengthy and time-consuming step. But by creating a brand hierarchy you have given birth to smaller brands and product models under a larger corporate brand. As any new brand would require you to create the brand elements from scratch so do these new baby brands.

(ii) Principle of Commonality

While moulding your new individual brands find a common aspect for your customers to cling onto. For instance, Apple uses the alphabet ‘I’ with its products, McDonalds uses ‘Mc’ with all its dishes. Such common aspects intrigue the interest of customers and help them create associations with your products.

(iii) Marketing Strategies

A big part of creating your brand is determining the marketing channels for your brand. Will a referral marketing strategy suit your product or an influencer marketing strategy? While determining your marketing plan you will also have to make note of:

• What are your marketing goals?
• Who is your target audience?
• What are the metrics that you want to track?
• What is your budget?

Importance of Brand Hierarchy

Marketers create brand hierarchies for numerous reasons. Brand hierarchies are important because as products become more different it becomes difficult for brands to retain their product meaning for consumers and employees. Therefore, through a brand hierarchy brands can evoke specific associations across numerous products. The following are reasons why brand hierarchies have become increasingly important today:

1. Prevents Customer Confusion

When customers are offered too many choices under one brand name it creates confusion. Confused customers will never understand your offering and therefore may not buy your products at all. Through a brand hierarchy, consumers can understand what brand sells exactly what products. It simplifies the choices that consumers need to make.

2. Helps Future Business Planning

Successful branding is affected by numerous factors, but a planned out hierarchy if one of the important elements. If a proper structure is not in place, it gets hard to allocate resources and budgets. With a brand hierarchy, every new brand can build its own elements, associations, and style guide. Brand hierarchies also help plan what marketing materials and financial resources would each brand need.

3. Attracts Focused Attention

When your brands are segregated through a hierarchy you can build a specific brand strategy for each product. This way you prevent brands from competing with each other. Each brand will have its own story to tell and it’s own target audience to market to. This difference will serve as a guiding focus for the purchasing decisions of your target audience.

4. Provides a Clear Overview

Brand hierarchy is important because it helps understand a brand’s architecture from a bird’s eye view. If you have multiple products under one corporate brand with no division, your brand structure will look too unorganised and muddled. Therefore, a brand hierarchy helps in having all your specilised brands and products at one glance.

Brands are like babies, it takes a little thought and a little time to create them and then there they are, out in the world and nobody really tells you how to acclimate them or socialize them. Much the same as a small child, brands need to grow awareness and expand their appeal to specific demographics. The goal of any business or nonprofit group is to grow and either expand the customer base and increase revenue or at a minimum maximize the outreach and impact of the brand on specific markets. The way these goals are achieved is through brand positioning and marketing; but what does that mean exactly? Many people come to us asking questions about how they can begin improving local and global brand recognition and expand their sphere of influence within their target group or niche. So, we have decided to explain the ins and outs of what good brand positioning and sound marketing looks like:

Brand Positioning

At its most simple and basic level, brand positioning is a process that helps put your brand in the best possible light within your market and helps keep it in the mind of your customers. Brand positioning can also be communally known as a positioning strategy or a brand strategy.

Part of creating this roadmap to success is developing a Brand Positioning Statement. This is the Who, What, For Whom, What is the need, Against Whom do we compete, What is our Point of Differentiation and Why does the consumer care exercise. These sound like simple questions but quite often they are difficult to fine tune.

A positioning statement is quite simply how a brand aspires to be perceived in the minds of their consumers. A no-nonsense, easy to understand statement that IS NOT a tagline, nor is it a long drawn out explanation of the brand and is definitely NOT open to interpretation.

By creating this Brand Positioning statement, the goal of business marketing is to in essence own a marketing niche and be the first name customers think of – this can be for an overall brand, a single or batch of products, or some special services that are provided. For example, Nike owns the marketing niche for athletic shoes, Starbucks has a strong hold on the coffeehouse market, and Mc Donald’s, Burger King, and Chick-Fil-A have some of the strongest holds on the fast food niche.

This stronghold on their particular market is achieved by using various strategies to get their name out there in front of customers and to make their brand memorable – these include pricing, ads, promotions, distribution, services, products, packaging, customer relations, and competition. The goal is to create a strong, positive, and unique impression in the customer’s mind so your brand is what they think of first and your businesses the one they choose when they have a need that you can fill and satisfy for them. This is a key part of business marketing.

Brand positioning and marketing have to both work together in order to be successful, and they often happen some way shape or form without much effort because it is essential to any level of business success. “Brand positioning occurs whether or not a company is proactive in developing a position, however, if management takes an intelligent, forward-looking approach, it can positively influence its brand positioning in the eyes of its target customers”.

Positioning Statements

Brand positioning statements are an important part of the business plan and are part of what helps customers remember them. However, they are often confused with company taglines or slogans. There are several key differences that need to be understood in order to maximize their impact. Positioning statements are intended for use by the employers and employees within the company or the members of the group. These statements guide brand positioning and marketing procedures and methods. A positioning statement helps you make the important decisions that can directly affect your customer’s perception and view of your brand.

A tagline is an external statement that helps push the perception of the brand in the right direction. Insights from your positioning statement may give rise to a tagline, but it is important to note that they are different. A tagline is short and simple and is the ‘jingle’ that gets stuck in people’s heads. It is that quick blurb that helps with improving local and global brand recognition. Examples of popular taglines include- “We love to see you smile”, “I’m lovin’ it”, “Just do it”, and “Every kiss begins with Kay” among countless others.  It is easy to see why a good tagline helps cement your brand in people’s memory; the key is to ensure they are remembering you for the right reasons!

7-Step Brand Positioning Strategy Process

In order to create a position strategy, it is important to highlight the unique features and services that set your business or group apart from all the competition out there in your market.  Brand positioning and marketing is focused on improving local and global brand recognition and wither raising support or drawing in customers. Here are the key steps that can help you identify what your positioning in the marketplace is or should be:

• Determine what the current position of the brand is and where it needs to go
• Identify the immediate and most threatening of your competitors
• Understand how your competitors are marketing themselves and their tactics
• Compare your methods to your competitors to see how you stand out from them
• Develop a focused and value-based marketing idea for your brand
• Craft a brand positioning statement that plays to your strengths
• Test the efficacy of the positioning statement with customer recall

How to Create a Brand Positioning Statement?

This short statement sums up the entire marketing plan and focuses on your business or group. It is the small snippet that is easy to say, use, and remember that gives people an idea of who you are, what you do, and what you have to offer.  When it comes to brand positioning and marketing most businesses want to focus on improving local and global brand recognition and increasing customer support, and positioning statement make it easier for them to connect to you and your brand and helps them remember you better. There are four essential elements that make a positioning statement strong and effective:

You can establish your positioning statement by answering the following questions:

• Who: Who are you?
• What: What business are you in?
• For Whom: What people do you serve?
• What Need: What are the basic needs of the people you serve?
• Against Whom: With whom are you competing?
• What’s Different: What makes you different from those competitors?
• So: What’s the benefit? What unique benefit does a client derive from your service?

After you have thought about these seven points and considered them carefully, you can craft your positioning statement, which could look something like this:

Nordstrom’s are fashion-focused department stores for trend-conscious, upper-middle-class shoppers looking for high-end products. Unlike any other department stores, Nordstrom’s provides unique merchandise in a theatrical setting that makes shopping entertaining.

15 Criteria for Evaluating Your Brand Positioning Strategy

An intellectual and clear positioning statement is a powerful tool that helps you stay focused and helps you see what course of action you need to be following to meet your brand positioning and marketing goals. Improving local and global brand recognition helps your business or group grow and be more effective and more influential. Here are 15 you can ask yourself while checking your brand positioning strength:

• Does it set your brand apart from the rest of the competition as being better somehow?
• Does it meet the customer’s perception and expectation of your brand?
• Does it keep you focused, enables growth, or allow for expansion?
• Does it emphasize the unique value and features that would appeal to your customers?
• Does it give customers a clear idea of how you are better than your competition?
• Is it focused in towards the key group of customers you are targeting?
• Is it memorable, clear, honest, personal, and motivating?
• Is it consistent with the goals and mission statement of your business or group?
• Is it easy for the general public or those not familiar with your brand to understand?
• Is it unique in a way that would make it difficult for the competition to copy you?
• Is it designed and set up to work for both short-term and long-term success?
• Is the promise your brand presents to customers believable and credible?
• Can you and your employees embrace and live out the mission of your brand?
• Will it hold up under the force of occasional negatives or a push from your competitors?
• Will it make your brand for effective in marketing and branding?

There is a lot that goes into brand positioning and marketing and or the business or nonprofit group that is looking for ways to go about improving local and global brand recognition, these questions can help you look deeper into your game plan- which will help you see the strengths and weaknesses more clearly.

Your Brand Positioning and Customer Perspective

The ultimate goal of any marketing is to be noticed and remembered- for the right reasons. “The unfortunate reality is that no marketer has the power to position anything in the customer’s mind, which is the core promise of positioning. The notion that positions are created by marketers has to die. Each customer has their own idea of what you are. Positioning is not something you do, but rather, is the result of your customer’s perception of what you do. Positioning is not something we can create in a vacuum—the act of positioning is a co-authored experience with the customers.

Contact us today for more information about brand positioning and marketing and what steps you can take to begin improving local and global brand recognition for your brand. We would be happy to discuss how you can better prepare for the goals you have and any stormy weather that may lay ahead of you within your industry market or from your competition. We can help you identify the strengths so you can continue to build on them and help you identify the weaknesses so you can minimize them and improve upon them.

The Brand Portfolio refers to an umbrella under which all the brands or brand lines of a particular firm functions to serve the needs of different market segments. In simple words, brand portfolio encompasses all the brands offered by a single firm for sale to cater the needs of different groups of people.

Brand portfolio is generally created because each brand has certain boundary beyond which it cannot fulfill all the needs of different market segments.

The advantage of having the Brand Portfolio is that management can keep a check on all the brands as a whole and frame the policies with a broader perspective. Also, the resources can be allocated to the brand that needs the most.

The brands in the Brand Portfolio play the following different roles:

1. Flanker Brand

A Flanker Brand also known as a Fighter Brand is a new product launched in a market by the company in the same category wherein an established brand is already positioned. This is primarily done for the increased market share as well as to cater to the need of all the segments of customers. e.g. Armani’s brand portfolio is one of the best examples to explain the concept of a flanker brand. In it, the brands are distinguished on the basis of price and customer segment.

Cash Cow Brand: A cash cow brand is that product in the brand portfolio that has reached the maturity level in the product life cycle but is able to bring in profits necessary for its survival. These brands are not removed from the market because necessary cash is flowing in through its sale which is better than incurring heavy cost on the launch of a new product.E.g. The best example of cash cow brand is Gillette Company that is keeping the old brands viz. Gillette Atra, Gillette sensor and Gillette Trac II in its brand portfolio despite new razor technology such as Mach III turbo and Gillette Fusion.

Low-End Entry Level Brand: A low Entry Brand in a brand portfolio includes the product which is offered at less price. The low priced product is added to the portfolio to ensure the purchase at least once and bring the customer into the brand family. Once the customer becomes a part of the family, he is then persuaded for the purchase of the higher-priced product in near future. E.g. Hero MotoCorp explains this concept very accurately wherein low priced bikes viz. CD Dawn, CD Deluxe are added in the brand portfolio to gain the customer base along with the high priced bikes such as Karizma, Ignitor, Impulse, Achiever, etc.

High-End Prestige Brand: A High-End Prestige Brand in the brand portfolio is the product offered at a high price with the intention of creating a sense of prestige in the minds of customers. Other brands in the portfolio also get the recognition because of the premium brand and its quality do have a halo effect on each product line. E.g. Tata is the best example to elucidate high-end prestige branding.

Thus, a firm tries to have all the different brands operating independently under its periphery to protect the sources of equity by not letting customers move away due to the unavailability of their desired product.

Brand Portfolio Models

There are two types of brand portfolio model. One is the House of Brands model and the other is the Branded House model.

Under the House of Brands model, the brands within a portfolio are distinct from each other and operate independently. In many cases, consumers might not even realize that two brands are part of the same portfolio because there is little or no mention of their shared ownership in their publicly available materials. Nestle uses the House of Brands model; globally, the company operates more than 2,000 distinct brands, including DiGiorno frozen pizza and Purina pet foods.

Under the Branded House model, every brand within a portfolio retains a connection to the primary brand while operating as its own brand. An example of a company that uses the Branded House model is Federal Express, which operates FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Express.

Blended Brand Portfolio Strategy

Some companies use a mixture of the two recognized brand portfolio models. This model is sometimes known as the Hybrid House model and despite many considering Nestle to use the House of Brands model, certain brands within the Nestle house do bear the primary company’s name. These include Nestle Toll House and Nestle Crunch and with these brands in mind, some consider Nestle’s strategy more of a hybrid than a true House of Brands strategy.

Another famous company that uses the Hybrid House model is Microsoft. Although Microsoft operates numerous brands under its name, like Microsoft Office and Microsoft Azure, it also operates the more independent Xbox brand.

Developing a Brand Portfolio Strategy

Regular brand portfolio analysis is necessary for any company to successfully operate multiple brands. Brand portfolio analysis is more than assessing how each of a company’s brands is performing; it requires regular assessment of the markets in which the company operates and those it would be strategic for the company to expand into. When PepsiCo acquired Quaker Oats, it did so to acquire Quaker’s sub-brand Gatorade and follow the market’s trend of favoring sports drinks over sodas.

Other considerations to make when developing a brand portfolio strategy are:

• The market’s needs, what consumers need and how they satisfy these needs
• How existing brands in the portfolio can be differentiated
• The role the prospective acquisition will play in the company’s portfolio
• The company’s risk tolerance and the riskiness of the proposed acquisition
• Whether acquiring a new brand can potentially hurt existing brands in the portfolio

Brand knowledge refers to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences, become associated of a customer with a business’s brand or a company. Brand knowledge is developed due to interactions in the form of advertisements, communication etc, which the company develops, and its logo and has an ambassador for representation but is truly identified by its consumers only. The consumer will develop their own interpretation of the company’s brand based on their thoughts that they go through and what they experience in dealing with the company along with their feelings about the company’s products.

Brand knowledge is the brand image, brand association etc. which a customer creates after the company has created brand awareness through campaigns. A consumer may develop a poor brand image if they have a poor experience with the company let’s say in terms of poor servicing or poor product exposure.

Brand knowledge eventually helps in creating brand equity through brand recognition.

Importance of Brand Knowledge

A successful brand is one that creates brand knowledge in the most positive way in their consumer’s minds. Brand knowledge is a unique combination of brand awareness and brand image. Brand awareness is how much a customer recalls a brand when it comes across and advertisement of it. Brand image a pool of mental imageries that influence a buyer’s purchase decision. Although different brands may mean differently to people, brand knowledge is universally a function of awareness and image.

Brand knowledge is a very delicate balance between brand awareness and brand image. Example- Tiger Woods is a classic example of high awareness and bad brand image leading to a disaster of a brand. Brand awareness consists of brand image and brand recall and is a subset of ad awareness. Brand image is a lot more challenging, because it is the influences in the consumers’ mind of both real and imaginary thoughts and feelings and shortcomings that influence the customer’s purchase decision.

Starbucks has built a strong, favourable and unique brand. Due to the unique brand experience as much as the coffee. Therefore, creating brand image means selecting the right brand elements that become an asset to the brand. They should identify and differentiate a brand and are:

• Memorable
• Meaningful
• Transferable
• Adaptable
• Protectable

Creating a strong brand identity is one of the best competitive advantages a company can have.

Difference between Brand Knowledge and Brand Equity

Brand awareness refers how well is your brand recalled by your customers because of ad awareness. In contrast, brand equity is the value addition that happens to a brand due to consequent marketing activities that have happened in the past or present.

Brand knowledge if a delicate balance between brand awareness and brand equity, hence brand equity is a subset of brand knowledge. Overall, brand knowledge has a vast impact on the consumers mind and is far more important to have a positive impact and note left on their minds.

Examples of Brand Knowledge

1. Nike products are made with cutting edge innovation and technology. Their advertisements although are kept simple thereby keeping it not so high on the brand awareness aspect from the ad awareness area. Whereas the Nike swoosh logo is one of the most identified logos across the world, giving them points(high) on brand image. Their slogan “Just Do It” is one of the most well associated slogans across brands giving them an edge over others. The moment customers start remembering these minute details about your brand is when the realisation happens that they have started associating themselves with the brand on a personal level. Nike’s association with Michael Jordan, the basketball legend led to it’s uber positive branding and hence greater brand knowledge. Nike’s innovative way of collaborations with celebrities led to greater brand identity and hence a better hold on brand knowledge by its customers.
2. For example, we take two very popular aerated drink brands which are very well known, namely Coca Cola and Pepsi. Both have the same level of of brand awareness as is shown when a consumer is asked what they remember in terms of soft drinks, the first few names if not top two would be these two brands. But if Coca Cola is being advertised by a very popular celebrity, let’s say Celebrity X and Pepsi is advertised by Celebrity Y who seems not to be as popular as his counterpart, customers tend to remember Coca cola more than Pepsi. Hence, even is Pepsi tastes better or has better sugar content, consumers prefer to have Coca Cola because of the celebrity associated with it. Taste in an attribute that comes after purchase. It is the marketing and advertising really that influences purchase in this case more. Consumers believe and are concerned that Coca Cola is a fun and trendy brand. This becomes an added advantage over its competitors. This showcases how the brand equity of both brands are different. Hence two brands may, share the same level of brand awareness, however, their level of brand equity can be very different.

Brand building is the process of generating awareness and promotion of the services of a company through direct advertising campaigns or through sponsorship. Brand building strategies bring consumers closer to the brand and provide value for them so that they can know, feel and experience the brand.

There is no one definition that actually captures the essence of brand building in its entirety. Many people think that brand building is all about communicating and exposing your brand. That is just one side of it. The best way we can define it is that it is a process of creating value to consumers.  It encompasses all things that consumers know, feel, and experience about your business in its entirety.

Having defined brand building, we shall now look at 3 popular types of brands and what they stand for.

• Service brand: this brand is built on knowledge, culture, and experience that one has with the service delivering agency/company/people. Think of Geek Squad or Molly Maid.
• Retail brand: this brand is built on a mixture of products and service experience. Think of Chick-fil-a, Kroger, or KFC
• Product brand: is built on the experience that one has with a specific product. Think of Nike, Ford, or Sony.

Having looked at the 3 popular types of brands, we shall now proceed to look at steps involved in brand building.

1. Define Your Brand

The first stage in brand building is defining your brand. This is a very critical step as it ultimately determines what your brand truly stands for. When defining your business brand, you should create a checklist of its core strengths. Similarly, if you’re defining a personal brand, you should look at the skills and expertise that you possess especially those which stand out. On the same token, you also need to know what your brand stands for and what is important for your brand (brand values). Your values should in one way or another show that you are contributing to environmental, social, and economic well-being of consumers. You may not realize some of these important aspects of brand building immediately, until you look at them objectively.

2. Differentiate and Position Your Brand

Before embarking on brand building, you have to take time to differentiate it so that you can attract attention and stand out from competitors. To differentiate your brand, you have to create a unique advantage in the mind of consumers not merely getting attention by brand building colors or logos or other superficial elements. Once you come up with a unique value proposition, you should use a good branding strategy to position your brand in a way that will help consumers see and appreciate the greater value of your brand over competing ones in the market.

3. Build and Expose your Brand

As I indicated earlier, brand building is not a one off thing. Building a unique and powerful personal or business brand takes time and consistency. To build your personal brand, you have to keep reinforcing your values and skills by taking up new roles and assignments that will give you more exposure. Alternatively, you can use promotional channels, blogs, forums, and social media (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook) to create a voice for your personal or business brand.

When building your brand, you should also endeavor to develop brand personality (what people know, think, and say about you). This is what drives or motivates people to identify with and engage with your brand.  The truth is; if you execute your brand building strategies consistently, then you will easily establish a pattern that will forever be associated with your brand name.

4. Personalize your Brand

If you want your brand building campaign or brand to be successful, then you have to personalize it. It is important to give your brand an identity. Let consumers see and experience the personality of your brand in its entirety. Look at your brand as something that a consumer wants to identify with pretty much as they would with their favorite cars, cellphones, or computers.

As you engage in brand building, you should also invite customers to be co-creators of brand values so that they can feel that they also own it and relate with it. Top brands encourage consumer-brand interaction by personalizing products to meet the needs and preferences of consumers. When you personalize your brand, you give consumers reason to participate and engage with your brand for a lifetime.

5. Review Your Brand

Your brand is not static; it will go through a range of motions in its lifetime. Depending on your brand strategies, your brand will either grow in strength, or remain dormant, or recede with time. In the brand cycle, new events, changes, and circumstances bring challenges and opportunities to enhance the value of your brand or re-establish it. All these possibilities should give you the impetus to take charge of your brand building activities.

As your brand name grows, so do the responsibilities and expectations to continue with brand building. The best way of ensuring brand growth is reviewing your activities and evaluating your successes through metrics such as levels of brand awareness and levels of engagements. Regular reviews will help you seize and exploit new opportunities while upholding your commitment to remain true to your vision and brand strategy. It will also help you steer your brand in the right direction and keep it relevant as you move into the future.

As you can see, brand building is not a one off thing. You have to define your brand, differentiate, present it, and review what your brand stands for from time to time. It is very important to be clear about your branding strategies and how you’re going to implement them.  You should also adopt brand strategies that will add value to your consumers and help them develop the right impression of your company and what it truly stands for.

Infomercials are an advertisement technique that is usually produced and paid for by a company seeking to promote its products and services. The effect of infomercials, once they reach the target market, has been quite successful and so persuasive in most countries. Today most celebrities are keen on endorsing a product for which they are paid a high amount of money. Firms put loads of money in partnering their brands with qualities such as attractiveness, amiability, and dependability.

But why endorse a product which one has not even used yet? For starters, customers derive a certain fulfillment for products endorsed by their favorite celebrities. Some would just prefer to buy a product or utilize a service endorsed by a celebrity. It is for these reasons that most companies today believe and trust that the endorsement of their products by a well-known celebrity will help sell their goods and services.

Celebrity endorsements are used by countless businesses of all shapes and sizes as a marketing strategy. While some critics state that they have little positive impact on business sales, others assert that by using them, the benefits that a company can enjoy are countless.

Here is a few reason why you should employ celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy for your products or services.

It enhances the credibility of a business

Companies enjoy enhanced credibility by choosing and endorsing the right celebrities for their products. Celebrities have their specialized niche which ranges from music and film, fitness, fashion, sports, etc. Therefore, as a business, you ought to take advantage of this and hire a celebrity whose specialization is in line with the product or service you seek to endorse. For example, a fitness trainer or author will work well at endorsing a health and fitness product or service.

So note that customers will take your business and product more seriously if the right celebrity endorses your product.

It boasts a business brand awareness

Without a doubt, celebrities are good at networking, and they also enjoy easy access to a broad network. These are persons that love to take pictures which are often spread across magazines, blogs, social media, etc. This, therefore, means that using a well-known celebrity will significantly boost your brand in your target market and beyond.

In this regard, choosing a celebrity to endorse your products could be great as this will give your product the ultimate exposure across the market. For example, if you design and sell a waist trainer and a celebrity is seen training with one of these, fitness enthusiast will want to know more about the waist trainer and the brand. Before you know it, prospective customers will be calling, tweeting and messaging asking to learn more about the product and how they can get it. Ultimately, this relates to increased brand awareness as well increased sales.

Great promotional tool

Last but not least, celebrity endorsements tend to add significant value to a company’s PR as it quickly attracts the attention of paparazzi and the media in general. As a business, the greatest tactic you can use to promote your product is by getting a celebrity to talk about it. When a celebrity does this, your product will receive media hype and lots of attention from the general public. Without all these, your company runs the risk of staying in the shadows and losing out on hugely profitable sales.

Marketing implications of Celebrity Endorsement

A celebrity endorsement provides an alternative to creative ads. Where creative ads are more prone towards logic or humour, celebrity endorsements mainly focus on the strengths of the celebrity and more often, it mainly tends to make the celebrity speak directly to the public “I use this brand, do you” and in essence the celebrity is speaking to his loyalists. “I am using this brand and so should you”.

However, the marketer also has to take care about the reputation of the endorser and should prefer to stay with a celebrity which has a stable image and not that the image of the celebrity changes every few weeks. Michael jordan, Sachin Tendulkar and Michael Schumacher are celebrities whose images are stable and are hard to change. Thus for leading organizations, they are one of the most preferable endorsers.