An Analysis of the Fundamentals of Marketing (part 38)

Branding (part B)

by

Charles Lamson

Brand Decisions

Companies must make a number of decisions with respect to their brand strategy.

Choice of Presentation Format

The presentation format to be used is important. The following constitutes a simple menu.

• Company brand. In this case the company uses the corporate name as the focus for all external communications, through advertising, products and letterheads, e.g. companies such as Coca-Cola, Heinz and ICI.
• Individual brand. Here the company behind the brand maintains a low corporate profile with respect to customers and focuses on the creation of strong brand identities. A prime example in the market for detergents, where P&G and Unilever dominate the UK market, although this is disguised by the focus on competing brands.
• Mixed format. Sometimes referred to as an endorsed brand. This is where the brand identity is displayed prominently but the corporate identity also features, e.g. Kellogg's with Kellogg's Cornflakes, Kellogg's Rice Krispies, etc.

The presentation formats mentioned above may be made more complex by building in other elements. Through the cowboy, Phillip Morris uses a brand user strategy to promote Marlboro. Another format is the product class or brand family, e.g. Matsushita markets its electronic products under four brand families: National, Panasonic, Technics and Star.

Companies have made use of nationality and building corporate and brand identity. For example, it is reputed that 'Sony' was developed as a name not because of what it meant (it did not mean anything), but because it was thought to be a name that might appeal in the West. Using the same logic in a reverse direction, the British chain of electronic retailers, Curys, chose the Matsui brand name, as it was felt that British consumers would identify it as being of Japanese origin (it was not).

Eight Steps to Building a Brand

The following describes an idealized notion of what ought to be done in building a brand.

• Identify the brand position. What are the brand's values? Where does it stand in the mind of the customer? What differentiates it from others?
• Gap analysis. Following a SWOT analysis (a study undertaken by an organization to identify its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as its external opportunities and threats) - are there opportunities for brand extensions, i.e. by adding in additional products under the brand umbrella, or might these act to dilute the brand?
• Develop the brand property. The brand property is that element that is 'unique, memorable and indissolubly linked to that brand and no other' (Barry Day, vice-chairman, McCann-Erickson, in Clark, 1988). The brand property does not lie in the intrinsic nature of the product, e.g. a sweet fizzy drink. Through such a process, the fizzy drink becomes 'the real thing', Coke.
• Test alternative propositions. Once developed, brand propositions may be tested with small groups of customers from the target segment, their reactions noted and changes suggested and implemented.
• Make the 'go/no-go' decision.
• Construct the implementation plan. This involves a consideration of the 4 Ps (price, product, promotion and place) in relation to the brand. All these decisions will defer to the notion of 'brand property' and the target market segment which has been identified for the brand.
• Implement the plan.
• Monitor the plan. Go back to the beginning - identify the brand position.

In the next post recent ideas about brands are discussed, including brand congruity, personality and community. This view is compared with a behaviorist explanation of brands and brand loyalty.

*SOURCE: FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING, 2007, MARILYN A. STONE AND JOHN DRESMOND,  PGS. 205-206*

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