INDEX

Introduction
Branding-Importance in Marketing
Types of Brands
Brand Positioning
Brands - Building a Brand
Brand Management
Brand Architecture
Brand Revival
Strategies for Brand Revival
Challenges while reviving a brand
Cases of Brand Revival
Celebrity Branding
Internet Branding
Challenges
Conclusion
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
IT IS THE MATTER OF GREAT PLEASURE AND
PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT THIS PROJECT REPORT
ON PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT.

THE COMPILATION OF THE PROJECT IS A MILESTONE

IN THE LIFE OF THE MANAGEMENT STUDENT AND ITS
EXECUTION IS INEVITABLE WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF
THE PROJECT GUIDE. I WISH TO RECORD A DEEP SENSE OF
RESPECT AND GRATITUDE TO ITM EXECUTIVE-MBA FOR
THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO COURSE OF MY WORK.

I CANNOT JUST CONDONE THE VALUABLE

OPPORTUNITY GIVEN TO ME BY THE ITM EXECUTIVE-MBA
FOR COMPILING AND SUBMITTING THE PROJECT, WHICH I
FEEL IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MY VIEWS ABOUT
PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT.

I ACKNOWLEDGE MY INDEBTNESS TO VARIOUS

AUTHORS FOR MAKING USE OF VALUABLE INFORMATION
LIBERALLY.
 PREFACE
Product and Brand Management is a topic requiring deep
study and understanding for which I have tried my level
best to analyze and incorporate all the relevant
information in this project. All the material contained is
this project is true and original to the best of my
knowledge. All the pictures used in the project are for
representational purposes only.

I am greatly indebted to ITM Executive MBA for making me

understand the finer points of Marketing; And also
acquainting us with the workings of the Product and
Brand Management.

It has been a great delight for me to work on this project.

The knowledge I have gained while working on this project
will stay with me through all the years of my professional
life.
 Introduction
Brand management is a philosophy and a total approach
to managing companies, and as such includes much about
changing minds.

Brand management is the application of marketing

techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It
seeks to increase the product's perceived value to the
customer and thereby increase brand franchise and brand
equity. Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that
the level of quality people have come to expect from a
brand will continue with future purchases of the same
product. This may increase sales by making a comparison
with competing products more favorable. It may also
enable the manufacturer to charge more for the product.
The value of the brand is determined by the amount of
profit it generates for the manufacturer. This can result
from a combination of increased sales and increased price,
and/or reduced COGS (cost of goods sold), and/or reduced
or more efficient marketing investment. All of these
enhancements may improve the profitability of a brand,
and thus, "Brand Managers" often carry line-management
accountability for a brand's P&L profitability, in contrast
to marketing staff manager roles, which are allocated
budgets from above, to manage and execute. In this
regard, Brand Management is often viewed in
organizations as a broader and more strategic role than
Marketing alone.

Meaning
Brands are a means of differentiating a company’s
products and services from those of its competitors.

There is plenty of evidence to prove that customers will

pay a substantial price premium for a good brand and
remain loyal to that brand. It is important, therefore, to
understand what brands are and why they are important.

Businesses that invest in and sustain leading brands

prosper whereas those that fail are left to fight for the
lower profits available in commodity markets.

Definitions:
 Macdonald sums this up nicely in the following quote
emphasizing the importance of brands:

“…it is not factories that make profits, but relationships

with customers, and it is company and brand names which
secure those relationships”

 Jeff Bezos defines brand as:

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person.

You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well."

 Interbrand - a leading branding consultancy - defines

a brand in this way:

“A mixture of tangible and intangible attributes

symbolized in a trademark, which, if properly managed,
creates influence and generates value”.

Other definition:
 “A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a
combination of these, that is intended to identify the
goods and services of one business or group of
businesses and to differentiate them from those of
competitors”.
 Branding-Importance in
Marketing Strategy
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a
"name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them
intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group
of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.

Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not

about getting your target market to choose you over the
competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as
the only one that provides a solution to their problem.

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

• Delivers the message clearly

• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and

wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating
your brand strategies through your company at every point of
public contact.

Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers,

clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and
perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you
cannot.

A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies

day by day. It's important to spend time investing in researching,
defining, and building your brand. After your entire brand is the
source of a promise to your consumer. It's a foundational piece in
your marketing communication and one you do not want to be
without.
 Types of Brands
There are two main types of brand – manufacturer brands and
own-label brands.

 Manufacturer brands
Manufacturer brands are created by producers and bear their
chosen brand name. The producer is responsible for marketing
the brand. The brand is owned by the producer.

By building their brand names, manufacturers can gain

widespread distribution (for example by retailers who want to sell
the brand) and build customer loyalty (think about the
manufacturer brands that you feel “loyal” to).

 Own label brands

Own-label brands are created and owned by businesses that
operate in the distribution channel – often referred to as
“distributors”.

Often these distributors are retailers, but not exclusively.

Sometimes the retailer’s entire product range will be own-label.
However, more often, the distributor will mix own-label and
manufacturers brands. The major supermarkets (e.g. Tesco, Asda,
Sainsbury’s) are excellent examples of this.

Own-label branding – if well carried out – can often offer the

consumer excellent value for money and provide the distributor
with additional bargaining power when it comes to negotiating
prices and terms with manufacturer brands.
Three other important terms relating to
brands:
1. Brand Equity
“Brand equity” refers to the value of a brand. Brand equity is
based on the extent to which the brand has high brand loyalty,
name awareness, perceived quality and strong product
associations. Brand equity also includes other “intangible” assets
such as patents, trademarks and channel relationships.

2. Brand Image
“Brand image” refers to the set of beliefs that customers hold
about a particular brand. These are important to develop well
since a negative brand image can be very difficult to shake off.

3. Brand Extension
“Brand extension” refers to the use of a successful brand name to
launch a new or modified product in a new market. A successful
brand helps a company enter new product categories more easily.

For example, Fairy (owned by Unilever) was extended from a

washing up liquid brand to become a washing powder brand too.
 Brand Positioning
Positioning can be defined as follows:

“Positioning is how a product appears in relation to other

products in the market.”

Brands can be positioned against competing brands on a

perceptual map.

A perceptual map defines the market in terms of the way buyers

perceive key characteristics of competing products.

The basic perceptual map that buyers use maps products in terms
of their price and quality, as illustrated below:
 Brands and Products
Brands are rarely developed in isolation. They normally fall within
a business’ product line or product group.

 A product line is a group of brands that are closely related in

terms of their functions and the benefits they provide. A
good example would be the range of desktop and laptop
computers manufactured by Dell.

 A product mix relates to the total set of brands marketed by

a business. A product mix could, therefore, contain several
or many product lines. The width of the product mix can be
measured by the number of product lines that a business
offers.

For example Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) has a broad product mix

that covers many segments of the personal and business
computing market.

Managing brands is a key part of the product strategy of any

business, particularly those operating in highly competitive
consumer markets.

Principles
A good brand name should:

• Be protected (or at least protectable) under trademark law

• Be easy to pronounce
• Be easy to remember
• Be easy to recognize
• Be easy to translate into all languages in the markets where
the brand will be used
• Attract attention
 • Suggest product benefits (e.g.: Easy-Off) or suggest usage
(note the tradeoff with strong trademark protection)
• Suggest the company or product image
• Distinguish the product's positioning relative to the
competition.
• Stand out among a group of other brands - like that one
compared to the others.

Brands - Building a Brand

Professor David Jobber identifies seven main factors in building
successful brands, as illustrated in the diagram below:
 1. Quality
Quality is a vital ingredient of a good brand. Remember the “core
benefits” – the things consumers expect. These must be delivered
well, consistently. The branded washing machine that leaks, or
the training shoe that often falls apart when wet will never
develop brand equity.
Research confirms that, statistically, higher quality brands
achieve a higher market share and higher profitability that their
inferior competitors.

2. Positioning
Positioning is about the position a brand occupies in a market in
the minds of consumers. Strong brands have a clear, often unique
position in the target market.

Positioning can be achieved through several means, including

brand name, image, service standards, product guarantees,
packaging and the way in which it is delivered. In fact, successful
positioning usually requires a combination of these things.

3. Repositioning
Repositioning occurs when a brand tries to change its market
position to reflect a change in consumer’s tastes. This is often
required when a brand has become tired, perhaps because its
original market has matured or has gone into decline.

The repositioning of the Lucozade brand from a sweet drink for

children to a leading sports drink is one example. Another would
be the changing styles of entertainers with above-average
longevity such as Kylie Minogue and Cliff Richard.

4. Communications
Communications also play a key role in building a successful
brand. We suggested that brand positioning is essentially about
customer perceptions – with the objective to build a clearly
defined position in the minds of the target audience.

All elements of the promotional mix need to be used to develop

and sustain customer perceptions. Initially, the challenge is to
build awareness, then to develop the brand personality and
reinforce the perception.
 5. First-mover advantage
Business strategists often talk about first-mover advantage. In
terms of brand development, by “first-mover” they mean that it is
possible for the first successful brand in a market to create a clear
positioning in the minds of target customers before the
competition enters the market. There is plenty of evidence to
support this.

Think of some leading consumer product brands like Gillette, Coca

Cola and Sellotape that, in many ways, defined the markets they
operate in and continue to lead. However, being first into a
market does not necessarily guarantee long-term success.
Competitors – drawn to the high growth and profit potential
demonstrated by the “market-mover” – will enter the market and
copy the best elements of the leader’s brand (a good example is
the way that Body Shop developed the “ethical” personal care
market but were soon facing stiff competition from the major high
street cosmetics retailers.

6. Long-term perspective
This leads onto another important factor in brand-building: the
need to invest in the brand over the long-term. Building customer
awareness, communicating the brand’s message and creating
customer loyalty takes time. This means that management must
“invest” in a brand, perhaps at the expense of short-term
profitability.

7. Internal marketing
Finally, management should ensure that the brand is marketed
“internally” as well as externally. By this we mean that the whole
business should understand the brand values and positioning.
This is particularly important in service businesses where a critical
part of the brand value is the type and quality of service that a
customer receives.
Think of the brands that you value in the restaurant, hotel and
retail sectors. It is likely that your favorite brands invest heavily in
staff training so that the face-to-face contact that you have with
the brand helps secure your loyalty.

Brand Management
This involves managing the tangible and intangible aspects of the
brand. For product brands the tangibles are the product itself, the
packaging, the price, etc. For service brands (see Service Brands),
the tangibles are to do with the customer experience - the retail
environment, interface with salespeople, overall satisfaction, etc.
For product, service and corporate brands, the intangibles are the
same and refer to the emotional connections derived as a result
of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles
are therefore managed via the manipulation of identity,
communication and people skills.

Understanding Brand Management

Brand management is a process of used in marketing; in fact it
comes under one of the 4Ps of the marketing mix. This means
that the brands of the company have to be managed so as to
create a positive image about the brand and the company in the
minds of the customers. This is a difficult task and one that has to
be handled delicately. The other purpose of brand management is
to build customer loyalty by means of creating an emotion bond
between the customers and the brand itself. People in the
company responsible for brand management are the brand
managers who naturally must have an understanding of the
market and customers. Brand managers are responsible for
creating a promise through a particular brand; the promise could
be healthy food and healthy lifestyle or something on those lines.
For the brand to be successful and for brand management also to
be successful, it is important that the promise is met and
satisfied, else it is going to seriously damage the brand image.
This is what brand management is all about.

Tips for Brand Management

Here are some tips that should help in brand management:

Consistency – where brand management, brand building or

branding is concerned there should always be consistency, and it
should be consistent with the ideologies of the brand itself. People
should be consistently be able to identify with the brand.

Brand Equity – an important aspect of brand management is

brand equity. This is the monetary value of the brand. Think of
brand management as creating brand equity and making it grow.

Be aware of other brands – one idea used in brand

management is to use sub-brands, while this is good, you do not
want to confuse the customer with too many brands under one
brand name.

Do not be sidelined by profits – most companies work in a

manner where they employ different product managers, who
have to work on target basis. It is important for them to make
profits, but brand managers have to be careful so as to not get
sidelined by the money and compromise the brand image.

Be Dynamic – an important aspect of brand management is to

avoid stagnation and to be continuously changing or dynamic.
There is no place for stagnation in the corporate world or the
marketing world. Brands should continuously do something new
to keep things fresh and the customers interested.
Why should businesses try to
build their brands?
There are many advantages to businesses that build successful
brands. These include:

• Higher prices
• Higher profit margins
• Better distribution
• Customer loyalty

Businesses that operate successful brands are also much more

likely to enjoy higher profits.

A brand is created by augmenting a core product with distinctive

values that distinguish it from the competition. This is the process
of creating brand value.

All products have a series of “core benefits” – benefits that are

delivered to all consumers. For example:

• Watches tell the time

• CD-players play CD’s
• Toothpaste helps prevent tooth decay
• Garages dispense petrol.

Consumers are rarely prepared to pay a premium for products or

services that simply deliver core benefits – they are the expected
elements of that justify a core price.
Successful brands are those that deliver added value in addition
to the core benefits.

These added values enable the brand to differentiate itself from

the competition. When done well, the customer recognizes the
added value in an augmented product and chooses that brand in
preference.

For example, a consumer may be looking for reassurance or a

guarantee of quality in a situation where he or she is unsure
about what to buy. A brand like Mercedes, Sony or Microsoft can
offer this reassurance or guarantee.

Alternatively, the consumer may be looking for the brand to add

meaning to his or her life in terms of lifestyle or personal image.
Brands such as Nike, Porsche or Timberland do this.

A brand can usefully be represented in the classic “fried-egg”

format shown below, where the brand is shown to have core
features that are surrounded (or “augmented”) by less tangible
features.
 Brand Management
Research
The Market Intelligence Co. sees five main areas where
research can contribute to brand management within any
business.
1. Brand distillation : offering clarity of brand essence
and distilling its value proposition.

2. Brand execution : assisting in the development and

evaluation of communication strategies which convey your
brand both in/externally (e.g. testing brand tag lines, logos,
livery and brochures).
3. Brand change: evaluating the potential impact of a
proposed change to the brand (for example, brand livery,
positioning, message and name).

4. Brand alignment : assessing the alignment of the

brand with the business/markets to identify whether the
brand is reflected in the internal values, vision and culture
of the organisation and is suited to its target market
segments.

5. Brand performance : assessing the contribution of

the brand to the business by measuring brand awareness,
associations and competitive market positioning.

Brand Architecture
The different brands owned by a company are related to each
other via brand architecture. In product brand architecture, the
company supports many different product brands each having its
own name and style of expression but the company itself remains
invisible to consumers. Procter & Gamble, considered by many to
have created product branding, is a choice example with its many
unrelated consumer brands such as Tide, Pampers, Ivory and
Pantene. With endorsed brand architecture, a mother brand is
tied to product brands, such as The Courtyard Hotels (product
brand name) by Marriott (mother brand name). Endorsed brands
benefit from the standing of their mother brand and thus save a
company some marketing expense by virtue promoting all the
linked brands whenever the mother brand is advertised.. In the
third model only the mother brand is used and all products carry
this name and all advertising speaks with the same voice. A good
example of this brand architecture, most often known as
corporate branding, is the UK-based conglomerate Virgin. Virgin
brands all its businesses with its name (e.g., Virgin Megastore,
Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Brides) and uses one style and logo to
support each of them.

Techniques
Companies sometimes want to reduce the number of brands that
they market. This process is known as "Brand rationalization."
Some companies tend to create more brands and product
variations within a brand than economies of scale would indicate.
Sometimes, they will create a specific service or product brand for
each market that they target. In the case of product branding,
this may be to gain retail shelf space (and reduce the amount of
shelf space allocated to competing brands). A company may
decide to rationalize their portfolio of brands from time to time to
gain production and marketing efficiency, or to rationalize a brand
portfolio as part of corporate restructuring.

A recurring challenge for brand managers is to build a consistent

brand while keeping its message fresh and relevant. An older
brand identity may be misaligned to a redefined target market, a
restated corporate vision statement, revisited mission statement
or values of a company. Brand identities may also lose resonance
with their target market through demographic evolution.
Repositioning a brand (sometimes called rebranding), may cost
some brand equity, and can confuse the target market, but
ideally, a brand can be repositioned while retaining existing brand
equity for leverage.

Brand orientation is a deliberate approach to working with brands,

both internally and externally. The most important driving force
behind this increased interest in strong brands is the accelerating
pace of globalization. This has resulted in an ever-tougher
competitive situation on many markets. A product’s superiority is
in itself no longer sufficient to guarantee its success. The fast
pace of technological development and the increased speed with
which imitations turn up on the market have dramatically
shortened product lifecycles. The consequence is that product-
related competitive advantages soon risk being transformed into
competitive prerequisites. For this reason, increasing numbers of
companies are looking for other, more enduring, competitive tools
– such as brands. Brand Orientation refers to "the degree to which
the organization values brands and its practices are oriented
towards building brand capabilities” (Bridson & Evans, 2004).
 Brand Revival
Conventional marketing wisdom says that for every 100 brands
that are born upto 90 could perish. In fact the life expectancy of
many brands in countries like Japan is an average 18 months.

The stronger brands, the ones that become heritage brands and
occasionally become larger than the companies that gave birth to
them, they last longer sometimes longer than the company itself.

However old age can take a toll on brands. At times seemingly

invincible brands age too often and too soon. Dalda vanaspati,
Weston televisions, Kelvinator refrigerators, Murphy radios, Polsen
butter and Campa Cola are just some names that no longer have
the visibility in most Indian shops. However, about two- three
decades back shopkeepers could not do without these brands.

Can these brands that were snowed under in changing

circumstances be revived? Can a new proposition be built on the
old legacy? That’s where the business of brand revival comes in.
Today it is the buzz word among the corporations who are
scrambling in carrying out those old fashioned yet still effective
cost revenue analysis in seeing if they can bring back the old! To
get the heritage brands back to the market.

The reason for this is not too difficult to see. Simply because
businesses are realizing that brands have a tremendous asset
value or resale value. Also companies in a passive thought are
also revitalizing brands so that they can realize more value from
these before getting rid of these. And today if companies want to
sell off brands that make no strategic sense for them, there isn’t a
shortage of buyers for defunct brands either.

Sometimes, however, even if brands get a second chance to

prove them at the altar of consumerism it will not be a cakewalk.
That’s because a reborn brand has a much difficult task at hand
than a new brand-- new brands take off from ground zero but in
the case of a dead brand then, company relaunching it has to first
clean up the negative baggage associated with the brand’s earlier
failure before it lands on the same level as the new brand. At the
conceptual level, it is an uphill task.

E.g. -- When Dalda was introduced; it successfully entered most

customer homes as Indian households were looking for a cheaper
alternative for ghee. However, Dalda came with 2 negative labels
stuck to its neck-- it was a cheaper alternative and it was not the
real thing.

As customers started preferring healthier alternatives like cooking

oils, Dalda lost popularity. Now even though Dalda is on its
comeback trail in Indian markets, not many consultants are
impressed.
In short, they do what Lakshmi Mittal did in the steel industry,
which is to say he picks up the sick steel plants and has turned
them around.

Generally a reviving of brand is made

when:
• It is apparent to the marketer that the brand in question is
losing share because its physical qualities need a change.
• It is also possible that, in comparison to competition, the
brand is looking tired and old-fashioned, so that this could be
a reason to strengthen the brand communication.
• In addition to making changes to the product, there are
many instances of brands of products being re-launched in
the market.
• The key factors that marketers review in order to decide
whether a brand needs a revival are a decline in its market
share and the brand's strength showing a decline.
• Very often, an expensive revive fails to be successful
because it was done in a hurry or the management actually
did not take into account market research evidence that the
marketing mix was not fully satisfactory
• It could be the revive of an existing brand in order to make
the consumer look at the product in a different light
BRANDS THAT NEED REVIVAL
1. Heritage Brands
These are the brands that were the first ones to come in the
markets. They could be referred to as the pioneers of the
markets. These products are generally in the last stage or
sometimes in the second last stage of their product life cycle.
However, just as Sir Hector Laing, Chief Executive Officer,
United Biscuits plc. remarked, “Buildings age and become
dilapidated. Machines wear out. People die. But what live on
are the brands”; these brands too lived on. However, their
image among customers changes from that of a brand to a
special brand. E.g. - Hindustan Motors’ car Ambassador. It has
become a heritage car with the memories of its yesteryears.

2. Orphan Brands
Orphan brands are the neglected ones. These are the brands
that despite their high recognition factors may suffer from poor
market positioning, a lackluster business environment, or just
plain neglect from the parent.
Orphan brands also include those brands that after being
neglected have also been disowned from their parent
manufacturers. A major example that could be cited in this
regard is that of the ointment Burnol. Burnol was originally a
brand of Boots Company plc. It was bought over by Knoll AG of
Germany in 1995 and was then bought by Reckitt Piramal in
1998. It re- launched Burnol as " Antiseptic Burnol plus" in
1994, which widened its usage from minor burns category to
an antiseptic cream. Now recently, Morepen labs ltd. acquired
of the brand Burnol from Reckitt Piramal ltd. for Rs. 8.95 crores.

3. Ghost Brands
Ghost Brands are brands that are shadows of their former
selves. They may be existing in the market or even sometimes
phased out, but they continue to haunt the minds of the
consumers. These are the brands were once the top brands in
their market, but have now been overshadowed due to any of
the various reasons, such as launch of new improved products,
or change in the consumer needs or preferences, etc. They
walk the fine line between life and death, and are often
demoted to the bottom shelf, which is the death row in many
stores.

The companies, which own these brands, have four options:

Revive them,
Milk them,
Sell them, or
Kill them.

Reviving, in such cases, could be the best option as milking

them won’t yield much and eventually it would have to be
killed. Also, selling would give the producer a much lower price
as compared to the profits that the buyer could make if he
revives it. Hence, though revival involves considerable costs to
the companies, but it could yield those profits more than their
investments.
 THE PROCESS
1. Identify potential products
It is Important to identify and select the right brand to revive
and choosing the right as not all brands can be revived.
While reviving a brand many different considerations have to
be taken into the mind like the market in which the brand is to
be revived, the targeted market, and the advertising strategies.
Thus in the brand revival process the first step is by far the
most important step as all other steps are directly dependent
on the efficiency of the first step.

2. Listen to your consumers

They are the best source for information about products and
needs. The Himmel Group has effectively utilized the following
consumer research tools to gather critical information: (1)
Brand Research Cards (BRC) questionnaires and on-line
surveys used to collect consumer feedback on every product,
(2) Concept test research, (3) Focus groups, (4) Product use
research, (5) Toll free consumer hotline and consumer mail and
emails. Management read all consumer correspondence.

3. Create compelling creative

messages that strike a chord with
target consumers
Focus attention on consumer needs and wants with single-
minded, believable messages. Create an advertising "hook" (in
the case of medicines, a proprietary name for a medical
condition, and then create the solution through the Himmel
brand) and have strong brand registration. Control the creative
process and cost by utilizing In-house creative development
and production resources and contract out manufacturing of
products and utilize outside consultants for research and
development, medical expert advice, etc., to keep fixed costs
low.
4. Differentiate your product from the
competition
Discover and exploit the unique selling proposition (USP) of the
brand. Motivate consumers to choose the Himmel brand over
the competition by promoting brands 52 weeks a year. Create
an emotional connection with consumers and treat brands like
children — they must be "nurtured."

5. Advertise, Advertise, and Advertise.

Maintain a heavy investment in
advertising
There is a direct correlation between investment in advertising
and consumer awareness, brand loyalty, market share, ability
to resist price competition, and leverage with the retailer.
Maintained the frequency of advertising — advertising
frequency creates awareness and awareness creates sales by
deliver advertising messages on television, radio, etc.Control
cost and maintained efficiency by utilize in-house media buying
service.
 STRATEGIES FOR BRAND
REVIVAL
To make a brand comeback, successful, the first thing is to create
a new economic value for the customer, identify alternate
distribution channels. For instance, brands can go online, get into
new organized retail format and so on. Today, channels are
market makers. One must find alternative ways of doing the 4Ps
of marketing which may even require a modification of packaging
in certain cases.

The companies need to trace the ailments that led to the brand
becoming defunct. Brands become defunct for many reasons.
Sometimes not enough effort is put behind them when they were
first launched. Otherwise they could have been ahead of time or
not as relevant as it was conceived for. For e.g. - If a product like
a fabric softener was relaunched at present, it could find more
takers than the comeback of a “Neel” (the blue fabric after wash).

• Repositioning strategy
Sometimes global product portfolio rationalization could affect
local brands. A case in point is Kelvinator refrigerators which
were put on a slow burner after it was taken over. But
Kelvinator’s strong brand proposition--“it’s the coolest one”-is
timeless and would be equally relevant to the customers at
present.
In another instance, Dabur repackaged its Real fruit juice; the
company’s flagship product; as a natural, great tasting fruit
juice for kids. They aligned the packaging, communication and
all elements of the marketing mix to communicate the brand’s
benefit (i.e., “REAL-tastes like eating a fruit”).
Following the rules & doing the basics
right
This is the case with Lifebuoy, a brand that although did not
disappear from shop shelves, but nevertheless made a
successful comeback. From just being a carbolic soap which
would be used in office toilets and dhabas, Lifebuoy has come
to be‘family bathe soap’. They played by the rules to win. For
instance, the carbolic soap form of Lifebuoy had reached a
state of maturity. As the strong brand started to plateau, the
company started to revamp and reposition it. Importantly the
relaunch of Lifebuoy was backed by consumer insights and
significant marketing spends, both of which are completely
essential.

• Having new applications

Brands can also be revived by the marketers by developing or
inventing some new and innovative uses of their product. This
worked wonders for the US based Arm & Hammer, a baking
soda company. For years the company stuck to its core
business baking soda and marketing it as it is; but then
customers frequently baked at home. As lifestyles became
hectic, baking became a hobby and sales suffered. The
company took its core product baking soda and put it into new
applications. At present it marketed it as it could not only be
used for baking but it is also a treat cleanser and odour killer
and can kill odour in refrigerators. All this exercise helped the
brand to remain contemporary.

• Finding New segments

Sometimes just finding a new segment of users for the same
brand can help in a successful revival of the brand. For
instance, the largest users of are actually adults as opposed to
children. That’s because customers who grew up with video
games are continuing to play and their tribe is increasing. In
another instance, companies in US have revitalized the orange
juice industry from being only on the breakfast table to a juice
for all occasions. It’s also being touted as a healthy alternative
since it has vitamin C. With bulk of population in US being
elders has broadened the product scope and has helped it
make a comeback.

• Geographical segmentation
Even without new applications or new customer segments, a
dwindling brand in one country can find solace in another.
Companies are increasingly putting their brands into a new
country or geography where they never existed. As there is no
prior image of the brand in the new geography, the company
can market the brand in a way so as to create the image they
want customers to remember the brand as. Relevant example
in this case could be that of General Motors, who managed to
make its passenger car Buick a hit in China when the sales of
the brand were not good in the US.

• Clever positioning
Clever positioning and promotions can be deciding factors in
brand comebacks. A creative approach to communications can
revitalize the brand. E.g. -- Chewing gum brand Chiclets.
Previously a pack of Chiclets had eight pieces in a box.
Naturally the unit price was high. But price was not the
problem for the brand. No consumer would eat eight gums at a
go and when consumers put the rest into their pockets,
Chiclets would melt if the climatic conditions were unfavorable.
The recommendation was that if Chiclets had only 2 pieces in a
packet it would also bring the unit price down. After
implementing these changes, the company came with a ‘two of
you’ campaign targeted at young couples. The Chiclets case
had all the must haves for the brand revitalization: a new
economic value, new packaging and a new promise.
New strategies being
followed
Some firms offer an outsourcing service to parent
firms for the marketing and management of old
brands. The parent retains a stake in the business, so
it shares in the profit when the brands are revived.

 Saatchinvest, for example, holds a 51% majority

stake in Complan globally, but Heinz has retained a
34% share.
 Chartered brands started out with a full acquisition
strategy for orphan brands, but now take only
minority stakes in them. They, in their words, ‘take
risks, inject cash, manage the process and share the
benefits with the owners’.

Outsourcing marketing can make sense for both

parties. First, the small firm does not need to worry
about the seller refocusing on a category. Second, the
multinational does not sire a new competitor.
In nutshell, consumers will buy a brand only if they find
value and trust (which could be in the form of past
goodwill) in it. It does not matter if it has gone out of
public view for a while. In fact marketing consultants add
that as long as consumers can be convinced about the
value and as long as they connect with a brand, sales will
happen. But conditions apply. No strong negatives must
exist to be associated with a brand that’s awaiting
revival.

CHALLENGES WHILE
REVIVING A BRAND
• Understanding the market
If your product is aimed at a very specific target market then
there is a good chance that this product will require only basic
modification from country to country. If your product is aimed
at a larger, more general market, there is a higher chance that
wider-reaching changes will have to be implemented in order
to make the product suitable for mass marketing.

• Gathering intelligence
In order to achieve international success, a business must
understand its target customers, not only in measurable ways
such as education levels and income, but on more intangible
levels. While customers may not be aware of their depth of
response to design they do respond strongly to form, detail,
colour and balance. Design relates to every aspect of the
experience, visual, tactile, and emotional. While your customer
may not easily be able to articulate their feelings about these
 aspects of your product, they are nevertheless extremely
important.
When carrying out customer research it is essential that you
formulate an approach that allows you and your design team to
understand what your customers actually need, rather than
what they say they need.
Over the past decade there has been an increasing interest
from business in non-quantitative customer research. Using
techniques such as ethnography will not provide a clear set of
answers that can be presented in graphs. It is open-ended,
holistic and discovery-orientated and if used correctly will give
incredible insight and knowledge into their customers’ needs
and desires that can then be used to inform and guide the
subsequent design process.

• Understanding what you are selling

To understand what exactly a company is selling, many
companies use the strategy called 'value exporters'. These
companies have strong values that are often linked to national
characteristics. They use design as a tool to emphasize either
their national origin or the set of values that differentiate them
from other products.
Then, some companies use a strategy called 'value collectors'.
These companies may well have a strong internal culture, but
their outward style is less identifiable. They have to invest
more time and money in researching their potential markets
and then use design in order to create products to connect with
their international customers. Understanding which of these
approaches is most applicable to your product is central to your
approach to design for international markets.

Managing the design process

A marketer maybe having the most brilliantly designed
product in the world, but if he has a poor understanding of
the target audience, a poor business plan, or both; it would
fail. For good design to be good business it must be pursued
as an integral part of a wider set of activities.
For example, while a company may have invested in a
successful industrial design and engineering process it may
have failed to consider the total customer experience. This
includes how the customer becomes aware of the product - will
it be, for example, through TV advertising, product promotion
or product placement? And how will the customer take
ownership of the product? Will this be by ordering from a
catalogue, purchasing online or in store?
Considering all these areas and more leads to a significantly
improved total customer experience and the likelihood of
success is dramatically improved.
 CASES OF BRAND REVIVAL
In the span of the last decade or so many companies over the
world has taken to the route of brand revival of its either popular
brands or brands that didn’t click in its first place. These
companies have used different tactics, style, and methods to win
over the customers.
In the following pages an attempt has been made in this direction
to find out these companies, the product it relaunched and the
general perception of the people towards it.

CASE#1
Apple Computer Inc
In 1997, after reporting losses of $1billion, it was widely
assumed that Apple Computer was about to go out of business.
The company had lost its way. Its core market of creative’s and
students had become alienated and were switching over to
cheaper PC products.
 However later that year, the return of Steve Jobs as CEO
changed all this. He gave the company back its vision, and,
working with the design team headed by British designer
Jonathan Ive, he created a product driven identity for Apple
which is based around a high quality total product experience.
With the iMac, Apple redefined the home computer as a
friendly domestic object. With the iPod and iTunes music
management software, it defined the digital music market and
currently holds about 80% of the hard drive-based portable
music player market in the USA and approximately 50%
worldwide. At the end of 2005 Apple reported the highest
revenue and earnings in the Company’s history, and
international sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter’s
revenue.

Case#2
Electrolux
When CEO Hans Strasberg joined Electrolux in 2002 he took
the helm of a company in crisis. He faced spiraling costs while
its middle market products were gradually losing out to
cheaper goods from Asia and Eastern Europe. Strasberg knew
that the only way that the company could hope to survive
amidst this ferocious competition was through innovation and
design to create products with good looks and clever features
which people could understand without having to pore through
a thick users’ manual.
 To do this he broke down the traditional barriers between
departments, forcing marketing, designers and engineers to work
together in cross-disciplinary teams. These teams brainstorm and
develop new product ideas – the most successful are fast tracked
into production.
To support this drive for innovation spending in R&D has been
bumped from 0.8% of sales to 1.2% with the eventual goal of
raising to 2%. This investment is now beginning to show
returns, after dropping for two straight years annual sales rose
8% to $16.5 billion, in 2005. The number of product launches
that result in outsized unit sales is currently running at over
50% of all introductions up from around 25% previously. The
award winning Electrolux Pronto commands 50% of the USA
stick vacuum cleaner market despite being double the cost of
comparable models.
CELEBRITY BRANDING
Introduction
Indian advertising started with the hawkers who used to shout
out their goods right from the days when cities and markets
first began. Since then, Indian advertising has been converted
into a strategic tool that enhances sales, more profits and helps
in the process of brand-building and product promotion. With
this evolved a strategy that tried to benefit from the emotional
attachment of the admirers or the fans of the celebrities; in the
form of celebrity endorsement. It does help in creating instant
awareness and visibility; but for a cost.

Today, celebrity endorsement became a buzzword. Dabur

Glucose endorsed Amitabh Bachchan. T. V. S. Scooty
introduced new hoardings with Preety Zinta. Shahrukh is
endorsed in Lux, Santro etc. Vivek Oberoi is endorsed in
Babool. Aishwarya Rai is endorsed in Coca Cola ad. It looks that
without a Film or Sports star, companies don't want to give you
anything!

Why celebrities?
Why do corporate choose celebrities in their advertising?
Amitabh endorsing Reid & Taylor campaign was a much known
endorsement. The objective was to acquire faster brand
recognition, association and emotional unity with the target
group. The Reid & Taylor ad showed the highest recall amongst
fabric ads. Similarly, when S Kumar’s used Hrithik Roshan, then
the hottest advertising icon for their launch advertising for
Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 - 50 per cent less on
media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was
as high as 70 per cent.

Basically, celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of that

personality, and the hope that a famous face will provide added
appeal and name recognition in a crowded market. In the battle
for the mind, you get the customer excited by showing him a
known face, and an effective demand is created. This would
normally work best when the concerned brand has close
substitutes, or has a need for differentiation, or requires quick
entry in a short lifecycle category.

The trouble with celebrity branding

There are several viewpoints for troubles with celebrity
branding as given below.

1. One problem that the company faces from the advertisers'

point of view is that the celebrity being "larger" than the brand.
For example, in B. P. L. ads Amitabh Bachchan overshadowed
the company.

2. The other problem is that of duration of endorsement and a

possible mismatch between the celebrity's life cycle and that of
the brand. Owing to unavailability of dates, sometimes long-
term contracts are signed, but the celebrity's life might be over
 soon. For example Vinod Kambli came in many ads at his time,
which was running even after he was not in the "Team India".

3. Multiple endorsements is even other problem. That is called

'lazy advertising'. There is unfortunately a limited pool of
celebrities who can influence consumers. So you have the
same celebrity endorsing several categories, as in Amitabh
Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, who are over-exposed.
Consumers may be confused in recalling the ads when they
remember the ads.

Celebrity Branding Conclusion

For advertisers, everything depends upon customers and the

company's budgets. Celebrities do wonder – no doubt! But, the
company has to pay a huge cost too. Though some problems
are there, it is believed that celebrities work far better than the
traditional models.

INTERNET BRANDING
The advent of the Internet technology has made available to man
a virtual highway, a free medium to cross over, without leaving
the base domain. The options to using the facility and optimizing
the benefits are all free, and there are no set or pre-determined
maps involved.

With information and technology only a click away, it is intriguing

that the Internet and technology marketing avenues are still so
underutilized. This is primarily due to the fact that the technology
harnessed is now not only free, but also sadly taken for granted.
This has resulted in the subsequent loss of strong-hold and
potential power. This complacency probably springs from the
notion that man knows and has tried everything and now, there is
nothing further left to do. This is where the magic of internet
branding makes its presence known, by addressing the requisite
for a domain name, a web site and e-mail, for a business or
personal pursuit to flourish.

The speed at which changes within this new avenue unfold, it is

little wonder that it keeps getting reinvented and furthered every
second! Most of the web sites operative today are redundant and
many, too old to be fixed or totally unfit to ensure business
targets and special industry-specific requirements. Today, the
technology gurus have redefined the approach, to make it more
lucrative. This is achieved under new rules of Internet branding
that are designed to address the current online business needs
under e-commerce protocols. The internet branding services offer
customers around the world complete access to products,
services and a thorough understanding of core corporate
management areas.

The internet branding services are able to efficiently incorporate

new changes and revolutionize the method and message delivery
package. The entire gamut is designed to ensure that the
business witnesses a smooth transition, which doubles the profits.
New internet branding techniques involve a dedicated system of
developing a powerful and unique URL that is backed by
trademark protection. For proper implementation, the entire
organization, at all levels, is required to first understand the effect
of successful Internet branding. The concept is best understood
and applied with streamlined educational support. The various
strategies to counter the e-commerce challenges and new
technologies enable the team to stay ahead of the curves!

Internet branding literally harnesses the intricacies globalization

and expands your local market base. The concept is your ticket to
opportunity and a huge international market. You are able to
identify the potential customers searching for you as their
resource base and step out from behind the computer. Most
online business web sites carry confusing marketing messages,
which are targeted to multi group audiences and a combined,
rather than dedicated effort. In this wholesale approach, the poor
customer is simply shut out. Dedicated internet branding enables
the business to be correctly highlighted amidst the fancy slogans
and effectively translate technology issues.

Corporations very often promote ideas in strange color schemes

or single color motifs. Instead of wasting time, money and energy
towards this kind of kinky color-specific branding theme to
marketing problems, the internet branding option should be
considered for its functionality. With internet branding, the
concentration is on the business message and identity and not on
the creation of spinning, flashy sites. The concept allows
entrepreneurs to cash in on the rewards that accompany correct
and simple content, instant accessibility and a concise URL.
Internet branding enables the businessman to expose the
business to a wider and more profitable global customer base.

The adherence to the international rules and standards and the

development of a clear corporate image and identity allow the
entrepreneur to tap and navigate global e-commerce. Internet
branding helps the business to function without constraint or any
restriction. The strategy also helps with reputation management,
which is very critical in today’s internet market place. Any
damage to the brand, online or the absence of a strong and
positive online brand ensuring strategy for the company leads to
the potential risk and loss of business. It has therefore become a
necessity to understand and adopt internet branding, both on and
off line. With the dedicated approach of the concept, the online
presence of any business venture can be turned into a successful
brand experience, for the company, as well as the client.

Challenges
There are several challenges associated with setting objectives
for a brand or product category.
• Brand managers sometimes limit themselves to setting
financial and market performance objectives. They may not
question strategic objectives if they feel this is the
responsibility of senior management.
• Most product level or brand managers limit themselves to
setting short term objectives because their compensation
packages are designed to reward short term behavior. Short
term objectives should be seen as milestones towards long
term objectives.
• Often product level managers are not given enough
information to construct strategic objectives.
• It is sometimes difficult to translate corporate level
objectives into brand or product level objectives. Changes in
shareholders' equity are easy for a company to calculate. It
is not so easy to calculate the change in shareholders' equity
that can be attributed to a product or category. More
complex metrics like changes in the net present value of
shareholders' equity are even more difficult for the product
manager to assess.
• In a diversified company, the objectives of some brands may
conflict with those of other brands. Or worse, corporate
objectives may conflict with the specific needs of your brand.
This is particularly true in regard to the trade-off between
stability and riskiness. Corporate objectives must be broad
enough that brands with high risk products are not
constrained by objectives set with cash cows in mind (see
B.C.G. Analysis). The brand manager also needs to know
senior management's harvesting strategy. If corporate
management intends to invest in brand equity and take a
long term position in the market (i.e. penetration and growth
strategy), it would be a mistake for the product manager to
use short term cash flow objectives (ie. price skimming
strategy). Only when these conflicts and tradeoffs are made
explicit, is it possible for all levels of objectives to fit together
in a coherent and mutually supportive manner.
• Brand managers sometimes set objectives that optimize the
performance of their unit rather than optimize overall
corporate performance. This is particularly true where
compensation is based primarily on unit performance.
Managers tend to ignore potential synergies and inter-unit
joint processes.
 CONCLUSION
Brands must make the product relevant and meaningful for the
target customers. It must enhance the product over and above
the basic generic level. A product that comes off the assembly
line tends to be merely a physical object. Branding pushes the
product into a perpetual realm by integrating what it is. Branding
gives the customers reasons to buy and use the products. Brand
rejuvenation gives a second life for a brand.

More than 80% of the brands that are launched die off, a mere 8%
of these brands, which are retiring, try to rejuvenate/ revive the
brand. Today Brand Revival is in very high demand as companies
realize that building a brand would take ten times more money
than reviving an existing brand. New product development tries
to create brand equity from a blank sheet of paper. But it can
frequently be more rewarding to start with a sheet already written
on, with a hidden message we can decode for a relatively small
investment.

Many companies have identified the necessity of Brand Revival

and entrepreneurs have brought in “Brand Spas” to rejuvenate,
indulge and refresh the brands. While understanding the
importance of brand revival

Most dead brands died not with a bang but a whimper. This paper
has examined the revitalization of established brands; a topic that
has been overlooked for too many years. Brand managers have
numerous options for revitalizing the sales of an established
brand in a mature category. The strategies suggested here
present opportunities for many managers to salvage and leverage
the equity that has been built over the lifetime of the brand.
Brands die because of neglect and consumer indifference.

In this context what we basically identified as the reason why

brand revival is a big hot topic on the mind of the corporate world
now and not 10 years back has been the mental block of “taking
out from the dustbin concept”.

Several companies particularly the big MNCs, FMCG haven’t even

thought of giving many of their failed brands a second chance
which if they had would have catapulted their brands into world
class brands

In this paper we have examined and discussed many cases where

in the brands that were once written off have been successfully
revived and now they are hugely successful in the market

As part of our effort in getting the material, reading and

understanding the matters concerning the brand revival process
we have in this process identified and extracted a basic check list
or the points that the marketer has to keep in mind while reviving
a brand.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Websites:
• www.brandrepublic.com
• www.brandchannel.com
• Wikipedia.org
• www.designcouncil.org
• cnn.com
• www.himmelgroup.com
• www.lornamead.com

Articles:
• Venkatesh Babu; “Issues in brand revival”
• “Nurturing brands back to health”; Indian Management-
Journal of AIMA
• www.findarticles.com
• www.yahooanswers.com
• www.rediff.com
• icmr.icfai.org