Year: 2020

Co- branding is the utilization of two or more brands to name a new product. The ingredient brands help each other to achieve their aims. The overall synchronization between the brand pair and the new product has to be kept in mind. Example of co-branding – Citibank co-branded with MTV to launch a co-branded debit card. This card is beneficial to customers who can avail benefits at specific outlets called MTV Citibank club.

Co-branding can be defined as a partnership between the marketing activities of at least two or more different brands which are also independent providers of products and services. This type of marketing strategy can involve various types of marketing activities like advertisements or sponsorships. This association will be beneficial for all the brands involved when they are aligned rather than when those products are promoted individually.

Types of Co-Branding

Co-branding strategy is basically of two types ingredient co-branding and composite co-branding.

1. Ingredient co-branding

Ingredient co-branding makes use of a popular brand to serve as an important element in the production process of the other popular brand. This basically deals with the development of brand equity for those parts and materials that are included in other products. The underlying constituent brand is a subordinate to that of the primary brand. For example, Dell computers utilize a co-branding strategy with Intel processors. Ingredient brands are normally the biggest buyers or current suppliers of the company. Through this type of branding, the company can produce products of better quality gain more access to distribution channels, implement superior promotional activities and real greater profits.

2. Composite co-branding

This type of brand strategy utilizes two renowned brand names in such a way that they collectively provide a distinctive product or service which could have been very difficult to produce individually. Successful composite co-branding is dependent upon the favorability of the brands serving as ingredients as well as also upon the extent of complementarities between the two.

Examples of Co-Branding

Nike and Apple

This is a very good example of successful co-branding. Nike determined that their customers who are runners like to listen to music when they exercise or want to track their progress. This led the company to form a partnership with Apple so that customers can do both. Nike also produced footwear under the title Nike and Apple manufactured a chip that is fitted within the shoes for recording the progress of the user when it is activated on their iPhone or iPod. This microchip will display user statistics like time, distance and speed along with the number of calories burned.

MasterCard and Apple Pay

Both MasterCard and Apple have joined hands in making transactions cashless. MasterCard became the first credit card company which supported Apple Pay. This provided Apple with a generous customer base along with tweaking its service along with providing MasterCard brand new feature and function which was exclusive to its customers. After this Apple has also formed an alliance with other credit card companies in order to expand the customer base.

Advantage of Co-Branding

• Generation of royalty income
• Sharing of risk
• Increased trust of customers over the product
• Increased income from sales
• Technological benefits
• Wider scope because of joint advertising
• Increased access to new financial sources
• Better image of the product through the association with other renowned brands

Disadvantage of Co-Branding

• Ingredient brands go about without being noticed because the communication is diluted which would have otherwise worked for the brands independently.
• If the vision, values, and ethics of the ingredient brands are different, the partnership may fail in future.
• Seeking an alliance with wrong brands will not provide customer value and will be unable to meet their expectations which will result in product failure.

Most evaluations of Brand Equity involve utility estimation. Specifically, we attempt to measure the value (utility) of a product’s features and price level and also measure the overall utility of a product when including brand name. The difference between total utility and utility of the product features is the value of the brand.

According to a customer-based brand equity perspective, the indirect approach to measuring brand equity attempts to assess potential sources for brand equity by measuring consumer mindset or brand knowledge.

The indirect approach is useful in identifying what aspects of the brand what aspect of the brand knowledge may potentially cause the differential response that creates brand equity in the marketplace. Because any one measure typically only captures one particular aspect of brand knowledge, multiple measures need not to be employed to account for the multi-dimensional nature of brand knowledge:

Brand awareness can be accessed through a variety of aided and unaided memory measures that can be applied to test brand recall and recognition; brand image can be assessed through a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. We next review several these various approaches.

1. Qualitative Research Techniques

There are many different ways to uncover and characterize the types of associations linked to the brand. Qualitative research techniques are often employed to identify possible brand associations and sources of brand equity. Qualitative research techniques are relatively unstructured measurement approaches whereby range possible consumer responses are permitted.

Consider the following three qualitative research techniques that can be employed to identify source of brand equity.

(i) Free Association

The simplest and often most powerful way to profile brand association

involves free association tasks whereby subjects are asked what comes to mind when they think of the brand without any more specific probe or cue than perhaps the associated product category (e.g. “what does the Relox name mean to you?” or “Tell me what comes to mind when you think of Rolex watches.”)

(ii) Projective Technique

Uncovering the sources of brand equity requires that consumers’ brand knowledge structures be profiled as accurately and completely as possible. Unfortunately, under certain situations, consumers may feel that it would be socially unacceptable or undesirable to express their true feelings.

Projective techniques are diagnostic tools to uncover the true opinions and feelings of consumers when they are unwilling or otherwise unable to express themselves on these matters.

(iii) Ethnographic and Observational Approaches

Fresh data can be gathered by directly observing relative actors and settings. Consumers can be unobtrusively observed as they shop or as they consume products to capture every shade of their behavior. Marketers such as Procter & Gamble seek consumers’ permission to spend time with them in their homes to see how they actually use and experience products.

2. Quantitative Research technique

Although quantitative measures are useful to identify and characterize the range of possible associations to a brand, more quantitative portrait of the brand often is also desirable to permit more confident and defensible strategic and tactical recommendations.

Quantitative research typically rings out some type of verbal responses from consumers, quantitative research typically employees various types of scale questions so that numerical representations and summaries can be made.

Quantitative measures are often the primary ingredient tracking studies that monitor brand knowledge structures of consumers overtime.

(i) Awareness

Brand awareness is related to the strength of a brand in memory, as reflected by consumers’ ability to identify various brand elements (i.e., the brand name, logo, symbol, character, packaging, and slogan) under different conditions.

(ii) Recognition

In short recognition processes require that consumers be able to discriminate a stimulus a word, object, image, etc. as something they have previously seen. Brand recognition relates to consumers’ ability to identify the brand under a variety of circumstances and can involve identification of any of the brand elements.

(iii) Recall

Brand recall relates to consumers’ ability to identify the brand under a variety of circumstances. With brand recall, consumers must retrieve the actual brand element from memory when given some related probe or cue. Thus brand recall is a more demanding memory task than brand recognition because consumers are not just given a brand element and asked to identify or discriminate it as one they had or had not already seen.

(iv) Image

Brand Awareness is an important first step in building brand equity, but usually not sufficient. For most customers in most situations, other considerations, such as the meaning or image of the brand, also come into play. One vitally important aspect of the brand is its image, as reflected by the associations that consumers hold toward the brand. Brand associations come in many different forms and can be classified along many different dimensions.

Brand equity is the value of your brand for your company. It’s based on the idea that a recognised brand that’s firmly established and reputable is more successful than a generic equivalent. It’s based on customer perception: customers will tend to buy a product they recognise and trust. When a brand is recognised and trusted to the point that the customer recognises it and feels a deep psychological bond with it, your brand equity is valuable indeed.

Here are four steps towards building your own brand equity.

1. Build greater awareness

You need to make sure your customers recognise your brand identity when they’re looking for goods or services, and that they perceive it in the way you intend. There are several ways you can do this:

• Using the same logo or image to ensure your branding is consistent
• Great customer service
• A heart-warming story behind the brand
• Keeping the brand in front of your market
• Providing ongoing value
• Keeping in touch via email or newsletters
• Tap into social media and share blogs, tweets, Facebook groups, Instagram photos

Word of mouth, positive customer experience and targeted marketing all help you develop greater brand awareness.

2. Communicate brand meaning and what it stands for

There are two things to bear in mind here: how well your product meets the needs of customers and its social and psychological aspects. A company that produces a useful product, and genuinely commits to social or environmental responsibility will attract customers and employees who share those values. And who will be sufficiently connected and enthusiastic to be advocates. IKEA, for example, has invested in sustainability throughout its entire business operation: 50% of its wood is from sustainable sources, 100% of its cotton is Better Cotton standard and 700,000 solar panels power its stores. With feel-good eco-credentials like these, spending a Sunday afternoon assembling an IKEA flat pack seems more a pleasure than a chore when the product comes from such a reputable brand. 

3. Foster positive customer feelings and judgments

When customers have a warm feeling towards your product, they’re more likely to become loyal customers and pass the word on. Judgments are made about a brand’s credibility, capability, quality, relevance to need, and superiority over the competition, so it’s important to maintain the integrity of all of these. Positive feelings can be excitement, fun, peer approval, security, trust, self-respect.

A brand that can maintain positive judgments and feelings is onto a winner. For example, the Apple iPad: did you think you needed one before you saw one and appreciated its capabilities? Now, for many of us, it’s our computer, games console, TV, radio, alarm clock, mobile bank, messaging service… we love our iPads.

4. Build a strong bond of loyalty with your customers

This is powerful, yet the most difficult aspect of brand equity to attain and maintain. Customers have formed a psychological bond and feel attached to your brand and make repeat purchases. They may feel part of a community with fellow consumers and act as your brand ambassadors by engaging in social media chats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, online forums and even events. Brand equity connection that borders on customer evangelism is valuable.

Measure brand equity

There are three core brand equity drivers that you need to track: financial, strength and consumer metrics:

1. Financial metrics

The C-suite will always want to see a positive balance sheet to confirm that the brand is profitable and viable. You should be able to extrapolate from the data market share, profitability, revenue, price, growth rate, cost to retain customers, cost to acquire new customers and branding investment. You can use solid financial metrics data to demonstrate how important your brand is to the business and secure higher marketing budgets to continue growing.

2. Strength metrics

Strong brands are more likely to survive despite change and deliver more brand equity, so it’s essential you measure its strength. You’ll need to track awareness and knowledge of the brand, accessibility, customer loyalty and retention, licensing potential and brand ‘buzz’. As well as surveys that use open text questions, social media monitoring will be able to give you a picture of how your brand is known and loved (or not).

3. Consumer metrics

Companies don’t build brands, customers do, so it’s essential that you track consumer purchasing behaviour and sentiment towards your brand. Track and measure brand relevance, emotional connection, value and brand perception through surveys and social media monitoring. The right text analytics software that can interpret open text comments is particularly useful here to gather sentiment and suggestions.

Brand equity is defined and a comprehensive framework is described that incorporates recent theoretical advances and managerial practices in understanding and influencing consumer behavior. This framework identifies sources and outcomes of brand equity and permits tactical guidelines as to how to build, measure, and manage brand equity, as will be developed further in other sections of the paper.

Customer-Based Brand Equity

Understanding the needs and wants of consumers and customers is at the heart of marketing. A brand equity framework should therefore recognize the importance of the customer in the creation and management of brand equity. Accordingly, customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand. A brand is said to have positive customer-based brand equity when customers react more favorably to a product and the way it is marketed when the brand is identified as compared to when it is not (e.g., when it is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product). Accordingly, the key to branding is that consumers perceive differences among different products in a category. As noted above, brand differences often are related to attributes or benefits of the product itself. In other cases, however, brand differences may be related to more intangible image considerations.

There are three key ingredients to this definition “differential effect,” “brand knowledge,” and “consumer response to marketing.” First, brand equity arises from differences in consumer response. If no differences occur, then the brand name product can essentially be classified as a commodity or generic version of the product. Second, these differences in response are a result of consumer’s knowledge about the brand. Thus, although strongly influenced by the marketing activity of the firm, brand equity ultimately depends on what resides in the minds of consumers. In other words, “customers own brands and your brand is what customers will permit you to have.” Third, the differential response by consumers that makes up the brand equity is reflected in perceptions, preferences, and behavior related to all aspects of the marketing of a brand (e.g., product evaluations or choice, recall of copy points from an ad, actions in response to a sales promotion, or evaluations of a proposed brand extension).

Sources of Brand Equity

Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer has a high level of awareness and familiarity with the brand and holds some strong, favorable, and unique brand associations in memory. The latter consideration is critical. For branding strategies to be successful and brand equity to be created, consumers must be convinced that there are meaningful differences among brands in the product or service category. The key to branding is that consumers must not think that all brands in the category are the same.

Thus, establishing brand awareness and a positive brand image in consumer memory in terms of strong, favorable, and unique brand associations produces the knowledge structures that can affect consumer response and produce different types of customer-based brand equity. In some cases, brand awareness alone is sufficient to result in more favorable consumer response, e.g., in low involvement decision settings where consumers are willing to base their choices merely on familiar brands. In other cases, the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of the brand associations play a critical role in determining the differential.

Benefits of Brand Equity

Customer-based brand equity occurs when consumer response to marketing activity differs when consumers know the brand from when they do not. The actual nature of how that response differs will depend on the level of brand awareness and how favorably and uniquely consumers evaluate brand associations, as well as the particular marketing activity under consideration. A number of benefits can result from a strong brand, both in terms of greater revenue and lower costs for the firm, including the following:

• Greater customer loyalty
• Less vulnerability to competitive marketing actions
• Less vulnerability to marketing crises
• Larger price margins
• More inelastic consumer response to price increases
• More elastic consumer response to price decreases
• Greater trade cooperation and support
• Increased marketing communication effectiveness
• Possible licensing opportunities
• Additional brand extension opportunities.

Brand Identity

A brand identity is a set of tools or elements used by a company to create a brand image. A brand image is a customers’ perception of the brand consisting of various associations related to it and memories about interacting with it. A brand identity and its elements stem from a company’s mission, brand value proposition, long-term goals, competitive position on the market, and relevance to the values and interests of the target audience. These factors have a foundational nature and, in the branding process, describe what a company wants to communicate. Meanwhile, a brand identity describes how these foundational elements are communicated. The most commonly agreed upon elements of a brand identity usually include:

• A brand name
• Colors and graphic styles
• A tagline or a slogan
• A logo and a wordmark and their variations
• A voice and a tone
• A style and a typeface

These elements can be grouped differently, and there are a lot of opinions as to which specific brand elements should be included in this list and in which order they should be presented. These differences are usually explained by the context in which a brand identity is being discussed and the perspective of a particular expert. For example, a designer who is developing a brand identity for an existing company would omit a brand name and a tagline from his creative process and would put more emphasis on its visual part. In contrast to that, a fuller span of brand identity elements is usually involved during the process of creating a new brand, rather than rebranding an existing product or company.

A brand’s attributes are a set of labels with which the corporation wishes to be associated. For example, a brand may showcase its primary attribute as environmental friendliness. However, a brand’s attributes alone are not enough to persuade a customer into purchasing the product. These attributes must be communicated through benefits, which are more emotional translations. If a brand’s attribute is being environmentally friendly, customers will receive the benefit of feeling that they are helping the environment by associating with the brand. Aside from attributes and benefits, a brand’s identity may also involve branding to focus on representing its core set of values. If a company is seen to symbolise specific values, it will, in turn, attract customers who also believe in these values. For example, Nike’s brand represents the value of a “just do it” attitude. Thus, this form of brand identification attracts customers who also share this same value. Even more extensive than its perceived values is a brand’s personality. Quite literally, one can easily describe a successful brand identity as if it were a person. This form of brand identity has proven to be the most advantageous in maintaining long-lasting relationships with consumers, as it gives them a sense of personal interaction with the brand. Collectively, all four forms of brand identification help to deliver a powerful meaning behind what a corporation hopes to accomplish, and to explain why customers should choose one brand over its competitors.

Importance:

• Credibility and Trust: Having a brand identity doesn’t just make a product more memorable; it makes the brand more authoritative in the marketplace. A brand that establishes a face, and maintains that face consistently over time, develops credibility among its competitors and trust among its customers.
• The “Face” of Your Business: For all intents and purposes, a brand’s logo is the “face” of the business. But that face should do more than just look cool or interesting a logo’s contribution to brand identity is associative, too. It tells the public that this image means the name of the company.
• Advertising Impressions: A brand identity is a template for everything that would include on an advertisement for the business whether that ad is in print, online, or a preroll commercial on YouTube. A brand with a face and industry credibility is well prepared to promote itself and make impressions on potential buyers.
• The Company’s Mission: When an identity is created for a brand, it’s giving it something to stand for. That, in turn, gives the company a purpose. Almost all companies have mission statements, right? However, that can’t be done without giving the brand an identity.
• Generating New Customers and Delighting Existing Ones: A brand identity one with a face, trust, and a mission attracts people who agree with what the brand has to offer. But once these people become customers, that same brand identity gives them a sense of belonging. A good product generates customers, but a good brand generates advocates.

Advantages of having a strong brand identity

• Improves brand Personality
• Drives the Vision of the Company
• Improves the work culture of the company (clear goals)
• Maintains the positioning and even improves it
• Immediate connect with customers

Disadvantages of brand identity

• Brand identity plays a crucial role in any organization and if not handled properly, it will showcase that the company is not in touch with the realities of the market and its current trends.
• If a company is unable to form a favorable brand identity, it may lose its positioning in the market.
• The inability to understand the market sentiments can have contrary affects and may lead to loss of sales and less revenues.

Brand Image

Brand image is a consumer’s interpretation of your company and its products and services. It takes form inside the consumer’s mind based on their experiences and interactions, as well as their perception of your company’s mission and values. A strong brand image can create brand recognition and encourage the formation of a loyal client base that can provide a company with profits for years to come.

Dimensions:

Brand identity is composed of various shares that trigger particular responses in consumers in addition to filling the afore-mentioned functions. These shares build on one another; the more shares a brand has, the stronger and more positive the relationship with consumers.

Mind

At the very lowest level, mind share must be created in the consumer consciousness (cognitive level). This means that, as a complex perceptual and conceptual construct, the brand evokes an internal neural representation in the minds of consumers, leaving behind certain brand impressions.

Heart

This refers to the emotional relationship a consumer should develop with a brand. Heart share is less a matter of a product’s functional utility and more a matter of its symbolic attributes. The buyer of a Ferrari, for instance, will not develop affection for the car based purely on functional attributes, but rather as a result of the values associated with the brand and the brand environment it operates in.

Buying intentions

Brand identity must trigger a buying intention share in consumers. After all, despite the importance of a brand’s mind and heart share, it only makes sense for a supplier to invest in brand identity if consumers will also want to buy the brand.

Self

Brand identity contributes to self-share, which means that the brand functions as a manifestation of the self, a tangible expression of self-image within the social environment. In this context, brands serve self-expression and self-design purposes, differentiating the individual within the social group. Brands can easily serve similar ends in the realm of business-to-business, where they bolster self-image in terms of a company and its functions.

Legend

Here, the brand shares in the existential search for meaning conducted by a consumer in a world enlightened to the point of meaning-lessness and takes on a virtually religious character. This aspect sheds light on the cultural-sociological proposition that brand management is worshiping the customer. Brands allow consumers to achieve social position or status, to partake of cultural expression, to create mythology and shape meaning, and as a result, to weave themselves into the social and metaphysical fabric of the world. In this context, a loyal customer is a member of a community and an individual loyal to that community not just a customer who makes repeat purchases. A brand is a tool for building a sense of community and belonging, for building the community itself.

Importance:

Establishes credibility

A good brand image can help a company establish credibility within its industry. It requires earning the respect of consumers and competitors through quality, consistency and honesty. There are many ways that brands establish credibility, such as:

• Providing expert testimony about products or services
• Answering customer feedback.
• Being honest with consumers
• Addressing issues quickly
• Comparing products and services with competitors
• Becoming a thought leader in the industry
• Protecting customers’ information
• Focusing on quality
• Taking a stance on social issues

Consumers may trust brands that are more credible and open about their operations. When they perceive a brand as the most credible option in the industry, consumers may be more likely to support the brand over its competition.

Increases referrals

When customers have a positive brand image of a company, they may be more likely to refer its services or products to others. Referrals are an important part of growing the brand’s audience, and trusted friends and family can serve as a credible source of information for many people. Sometimes, a potential customer simply needs a positive mention from a trusted friend to decide to support a company.

Makes a good impression

Making a good first impression is important, especially in business. Consumers will create an impression or brand image of your business based on factors such as messages and values communicated through your website, customer service, social media posts and even your company logo. How consumers see your company, even on a superficial level, leaves an impression. You want all points of contact with potential customers to leave a positive impression.

Creates recognition

A recognizable brand can attract new customers and establish itself as a key component of a specific industry. For example, if customers think of your brand as honest, supportive and innovative, those are the attributes they associate with each of your products or services. They might describe the brand as honest, supportive and innovative when discussing it with others or writing reviews. Their positive opinions about your company also make it easier to introduce new products under the same brand. The new items immediately have a good image since they’re affiliated with your strong brand.

Establishes professionalism

A brand’s image can also help it appear professional and organized. If a brand’s image is clean, consistent and organized, customers might think the brand embodies professionalism. Along with credibility, professionalism may help customers trust the brand and create expectations for service and products. Those expectations, when met by the brand, can help increase customer confidence and potentially their loyalty to the company.

Most Common Branding Challenges

1. Treating brands as assets

The ongoing pressure to deliver short-term financial results coupled with the fragmentation of media will tempt organizations to focus on tactics and measurables and neglect the objective of building assets.

2. Possessing a compelling vision

A brand vision needs to differentiate itself, resonate with customers and inspire employees. It needs to be feasible to implement, work over time in a dynamic marketplace and drive brand-building programs. Visions that work are usually multidimensional and adaptable to different contexts. They employ concepts such as brand personality, organizational values, a higher purpose and in general they simply move beyond functional benefits.

3. Creating new subcategories

The only way to grow, with rare exceptions, is to develop “must have” innovations that define new subcategories and build barriers to inhibit competitors from gaining relevance. That requires substantial or transformational innovation and a new ability to manage the perceptions of a subcategory so that it wins.

4. Generating breakthrough brand building

Exceptional ideas and executions that break out of the clutter are necessary in order to bring the brand vision to life. These ideas and the execution of them are more critical than the size of your budget. “Good” is just not good enough. That means making sure you get more ideas from more sources, and that you make sure you have the mechanisms in place to recognize brilliance and bring those ideas to market quickly.

5. Achieving integrated marketing communication (IMC)

IMC is more elusive and difficult than ever in light of the various methods you have to choose from such as advertising, sponsorships, digital, mobile, social media and more. These methods tend to compete with each other rather than reinforce because the media scene and options have become so complex, so dynamic, and because product and country silos reflect competition and isolation rather than cooperation and communication.

6. Building a digital strategy

This arena is complex, dynamic and in need of a different mindset. The reality is, the audience is in control here. New capabilities, creative initiatives and new ways to work with other marketing modalities are required. Adjust the digital marketing focus from the offering and the brand to the customer’s sweet spot, which is to say the activities and opinions in which they are interested or even passionate about. Develop programs around that sweet spot in which the brand is an active partner, such as Pampers did with Pampers Village or what Avon did with their Walk for Breast Cancer.

7. Building your brand internally

It is hard to achieve successful integrated marketing communications or breakthrough marketing without employees both knowing the vision and caring about it. The brand vision that lacks a higher purpose will find the inspiration challenge almost impossible.

8. Maintaining brand relevance

Brands face three relevance threats: Fewer customers buying what the brand is offering, emerging reasons not-to-buy, and loss of energy. Detecting and responding to each requires an in-depth knowledge of the market, plus a willingness to invest and change.

9. Creating a brand-portfolio strategy that yields synergy and clarity

Brands need well-defined roles and visions that support those roles. Strategic brands should be identified and resourced, and branded differentiators and energizers should be created and managed.

10. Leveraging brand assets to enable growth

A brand portfolio should foster growth by enabling new offerings, extending the brand vertically or extending the brand into another product class. The goal is to apply the brand to new contexts where the brand both adds value and enhances itself.

Brand Opportunities

1. Customize your office space

Customers and employees interact with your brand whenever they’re in your office. That’s why your office space offers a great opportunity to reinforce your brand image.

2. Leverage the networks of your most satisfied customers

Much like employees, satisfied customers can have a huge impact on how others see your brand. From word of mouth and social media to online reviews and testimonials, consumers have an ever-expanding range of opportunities to share their thoughts about your company. Channel your happy customers’ positive vibes by encouraging them to provide testimonials, refer your product to their friends, and share your content on social media.

3. Be strategic and creative on social media

Most companies use social media these days, but not always as effectively as they could. Don’t overlook the power of leveraging influencers, running paid campaigns, and sharing content that your customers find valuable.

4. “Get out, join, and volunteer”

When building a personal brand, people are often advised to get out into the world by volunteering, networking, and joining groups. The same strategies can work for building your company’s brand. Make connections with stakeholders and relevant groups and businesses as a way to convey your company’s image to others.

5. Harness the power of video

Especially with the rise of mobile, video is an incredibly powerful branding tool. It offers a unique and dynamic format for connecting with current and future customers.

Retailer

Retailers are basically sellers, who are at the end position of any business management system and who sell the products to customers. They are direct representative of the consumers, that is, they help the manufacturers to know about the need and requirements of the consumer. They are ‘a business or person that sells goods to the Retailer consumer, as opposed to a wholesaler or supplier, who normally sells their goods to another business’.

Generally, a retailer buys a small quantity of items from a distributor or a wholesaler, in order to gain profit, which would coincide with their business objectives. They purchase the products at a competitive prize from the suppliers and market them according to their benefits. They are generally shopkeepers, who make the product available to the consumers.

Distributor

A distributor is one who distributes the goods, products and/or services to the respective authorities, which may include any one, the retailer, supplier, etc. In business, a distributor acts as an ‘an entity that buys non-competing products or product lines, warehouses them, and resells them to retailers or directly to the end users or customers’. They provide strong manpower and cash support to the supplier or manufacturer’s promotional efforts.

They supply the services such as product information, estimations, technical supports, after-sales services and credits to the customer. They also supply goods directly to the stores or other businesses, who sell to the consumers. Their distribution of products takes place in channels, which are interdependent organizations and are designed by firms with the help of proper path-orientation. They also maintain an exclusive buying agreement, which limits their participants and enable them to cover a certain territory.

The product life cycle is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix.

In today’s competitive market, it’s like a war to make good space on the retailer’s shelf. All this indicates that product visibility should be improved; its look should be innovative, premium and eye-catching. So the consumer attracts towards it and raises his hand to pick it up.

By keeping in mind that the brand value correlates with the consumer perception of that particular brand. As Tom Peter said “Perception is reality”.

Brand can be successfully revamped by adapting current styles, while celebrating its history. Correct positioning and appropriate application of marketing mix will enhance the brand value.

Investing capital, time and human resource on relaunching and rebranding exercise, if done thoroughly, is never fruitless; actually it’s a big bang for your marketing strategy and for the business.

7 Advantages of Product relaunch & rebranding

1) Consumer Awareness: By relaunching a product in the market, consumer will be curious and excited to know that what is NEW. It will create awareness and consumer will be informed about the characteristics of the products and the marketing campaign through different mode of channels will be a reason to highlight it.

2) 2nd chance to make a good impression: After completing the product life cycle or a 1st product launch failed, the consumer Product Company is more focused to improve the product quality, design and formulation to compete in the market and to create good brand image and give an impression of a premium product.

3) Acquire more market share: Product is coming with new features and relaunch campaign will give awareness to the consumer. All this effort will help to acquire more market share with the improved product, and will be a boost for revenue generation.

4) Clear the confusion of brand image: A clear product positioning can solve the problem of brand image. Brand identity is very important factor to be unique in the market and to target the audience. Brand image can be develop through specific and targeted marketing campaign by holding an authentic product theme.

5) Mid to Premium Market: One of the interesting stages is transition from one market to another market segment, already having a certain middle level customer, plus now with the premium look and improved formulation, product is shifting to premium market to gain more revenue.

6) Brand Extension: Products relaunch and rebranding usually extend the life cycle of the brand itself. It’s an old brand name with new features, it helps to improve the brand image and consumer acceptance, and extend the brand life.

7) Consumer benefit: To compete in to the market, the companies improve their products by visibility and by characteristics. So ultimately consumer will get the premium product. As consumer not only pays for the product, they value the overall experience of the product.

Revitalizing a brand requires either that lost sources of brand equity are recaptured or that new sources of brand equity are identified and established. According to the customer-based brand equity framework, two general approaches are possible:

1) Expand the depth and/or breadth of brand awareness by improving brand recall and recognition of consumers during purchase or consumption settings

2) Improve the strength, favorability and uniqueness of brand associations making up the brand image. This latter approach may involve programs directed at existing or new brand associations.

With a fading brand, the depth of brand awareness is often not as much of a problem as the breadth consumer tend to think of the brand in very narrow ways. Strategies to increase usage of and find uses for the brand are necessary. Although changes in brand awareness are probably the easiest means of creating new sources of brand equity, a new marketing program often may have to be implemented to improve the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of brand associations. As part of this re-positioning, new markets may have to be tapped. The challenge in all of these efforts to modify the brand image is to not destroy the equity that already exists.

The brand regeneration takes place in that, the marketing schedule is changed and secondary brand associations are established. This enables to resurface the sources of brand equity. If brand awareness is also lagging behind the characteristics of the brand itself, the company should investigate newer ways to communicate the product with the potential customers and reach out closely to the point of purchase. There are also many cases where the product is under-performing due to multiple problems with the brand image. It might be the lack of strength, favorability over other competitors, uniqueness and brand perceptions. The brand therefore needs to concentrate on the points-of-differences (POD) in order to remove itself from the clutter, differentiate the brand and include itself in the consideration set of consumers.

A number of different possible strategies designed to both acquire new customers and retain existing ones are possible. Different possible strategies are also available to retire those brands whose sources of brand equity have essentially “dried up” or who had acquired damaging and difficult-to-change also must be considered. Enhancing brand equity over time also requires that the branding strategy itself may have to change somewhat. Adjustments in the branding program may involve brand consolidations (where two brands are merged), brand deletion (where brands are dropped), and brand name changes.

The brand has to be revitalized because of the following reasons:

1. Increased Competition in the market is one of the major reasons for the product to go under the brand revitalization. In order to meet with the offerings and technology of competitor, the company has to design its brand accordingly so as to sustain in the market.
2. The Brand Relevance plays a major role in capturing the market. The brand should be modified in accordance with the changes in tastes and preferences of customers i.e. it should cater the need of target market.
3. Nowadays Globalization has become an integral part of any business. In order to meet the different needs of different customers residing in different countries the brand has to be revitalized accordingly.
4. Sometimes Mergers and Acquisitions demand the brand revitalization. When two or more companies combine, they want the product to be designed from the scratch in a way that it appeals to both and benefits each simultaneously.
5. Technology is something that is changing rapidly. In order to meet with the latest trend, the companies have to adopt the new technology due to which the product can go under complete revitalization.
6. Some Legal Issues may force a brand to go under brand revitalization such as copyrights, bankruptcy, etc. In such situations, the brand has to be designed accordingly, and the branding is to be done in line with the legal requirements.

Brand development is maintaining the consistency in terms of quality, value and trust that consumer finds in the company. Brand is a perception on consumers’ mind. Today market is flooded with competition and none of them is lagging behind in delivering the promises that they make to their respective consumers.

Importance of Brand Development

Brand development is a continuous process which helps a brand grow in the market. There has be a constant plan to develop a brand further, be contemporary and yet be useful to a customer. Brand development has following 4 phases:

1. Brand strategy

How to take your brand into the market? Making brand communications more effective. Brand development can undertaken by enhancing communication strategies for a brand.

2. Brand Identity

Brand identity communicates the company’s vision and mission via Brand. From beginning to end, making brand more memorable.

3. Graphic design

Graphical designs, color schemes, logos etc. differentiates a brand from the competitor and shape consumers’ perception positively, and helps in brand development.

4. Brand management

Just like a stock portfolio, managing the investment done by the company in the brand. Hence, brand management is an effective way of managing the entire life of a brand.

Effectiveness of brand development is also measured by a tool which is known as brand development index (BDI).

Brand Development Model

A Brand Development Model is a diagnostic tool that integrates many proven metrics into a framework that guides strategy. Marketers need to consider six stages of development for a brand, each equating to a different marketing priority, starting with creating basic awareness and concluding with building customer loyalty. The following identifies these stages, recommended metrics, and strategy implications for brand management.

Stage 1: A Brand should be Recognizable

Half the battle in building trust is for buyers to recognize the brand, or say “Yah, I’ve heard of them”. The standard measure for this stage is aided awareness. A weakness in this stage implies a need to get the name out, and can be addressed through advertising and publicity to boost name recognition. It may be hard to imagine a large company like a Fortune 500 with such an issue, but some of Rockbridge’s clients operate in niche markets that are defined by lifecycle, such as higher education services or mortgages, and have low name recognition among first time buyers.

Stage 2: A Brand should be Memorable

Once a brand has recognition, the next logical step is to become salient or “top of mind”, so that buyers may consider it as part of their evoked set of purchase options. The best measures for this stage include unaided awareness and top-of-mind awareness (mentioned first) within a product or service category, and perceived level of familiarity. The implication for brands with weakness in this stage is to educate the market about the brand, such as the type of products or services the brand offers.

Stage 3: A Brand should be viewed with Favor

In addition to awareness, a brand should be viewed as meeting the needs of potential buyers and be respected by influencers. This includes a basic trust of the brand as well as belief in its value proposition. A classic measure for gauging this stage of development is an excellence rating (e.g., a scale ranging from poor to outstanding), but the inclusion of “best in class” status and brand momentum metrics provides additional context and variation for tracking. Brands lacking in this area are advised to build trust and respect in messaging. The message may be tangentially related to the value proposition, emphasizing features such as community involvement or concern for the environment, or it may directly establish credibility for the brand in its ability to meet needs, such as stressing its track record or reliability.

Stage 4: A Brand should be Distinctive

When prospective buyers are ready to act, they will choose a brand that fulfills a promise they desire, but this credibility is not sufficient alone to drive choice. The brand promise must be distinctive and unique, or the brand identity will be vague and the brand will become commoditized. Consumers perceive brands at a functional and emotional level. The functional has to do with various promises, such as offering value, having high quality, or being relevant to like minded customers. The emotional delves into aspects of brand personality, such as being edgy, playful, masculine or serious, attributes that can be developed from projective qualitative techniques (e.g., if this brand were a person, what kind of car would they drive?). A solid and tested approach to measurement in these areas is to quantify image by rating the brand and its competitors on a series of carefully selected image attributes. A chief goal for marketers is to position their brand through communications that stresses attributes that drive purchase intent and are unique to the brand. Working with perceptual maps that provide a visual “war map” and with quadrant maps that reveal strengths and weaknesses, marketers can craft and test a message strategy. Over time, the progress in execution of the strategy can be assessed by tracking changes in the image dimensions that are core to strategy.

Stage 5: A Brand should be Preferred

Deep awareness and a clear and distinct value proposition should translate into preference among prospective buyers. Many solid metrics can be used, but two key ones are preference from a set of choices and a measure of behavioral intent qualified with a time frame or context (if you were to buy one today…). If preference is low even if consumers believe in a unique value proposition, the logical strategy is to encourage trial in order to shift purchase inclinations. Many products and services involve habitual buying patterns – for example, a traveler may like one hotel brand but routinely book a competitor, so a special promotion may disrupt the pattern and change preference.

Stage 6: The Market should be Consuming the Brand and be Satisfied

It should be obvious that the best communications strategy can not overcome the fact that a product is inferior or service is poor, while an excellent product may build its own momentum through referrals. The short term outcome of low satisfaction is that repeat purchasing will drop and the brand will have detractors. The long term impact of satisfaction is that the reality of the product or service will drive the perception. Thus, brand equity measurement is not complete without questions about consumption, satisfaction, and willingness to recommend. If the brand suffers in this area, don’t blame the agency. Work needs to be done to improve product or service quality.

To sum it up, there are many facets to brand equity, including awareness, attitude, image, preference and satisfaction. All of these areas need to be considered in order to craft the appropriate marketing strategy for developing a brand. Some brands may merely need to raise awareness of their name, others may need to work on building confidence, while still others may need to work on differentiating themselves from competition.

A solid system for measuring and diagnosing brand equity includes a wide range of measures, including usage and satisfaction. Experienced researchers know what measures to use and how to weave them into a survey to minimize bias. Working with such information, savvy marketers know how to craft a message strategy and direct resources to develop a brand over time.