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Branding

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 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.

Competing on price may increase short-term sales, but


is a dangerous strategy for anyone serious about
building a profitable, sustainable business. Brands
provide businesses with the means to free themselves
from constant price competition, increase the value of
their services, reduce their marketing costs and
develop long-term customer loyalty.

Building a successful, sustainable brand requires


careful planning and consistency. It needs a strategy.
Brand strategy is the plan that defines the ideas and
stories behind the brands, the structure and
relationship of the brands within the organization and
the core identifying elements. These can include
elements such as company and product names, tone of
voice, logos, colour schemes etc. It also provides the
framework for implementing the brands throughout the
organizations operations and for using them to
efficiently work towards the businesses goals. It's not
just a cosmetic exercise; it's a key element of
business strategy.

With a clear strategy in place, managers can make


appropriate, co-ordinated, informed decisions not just
in marketing, but in all departments from product
development through to customer service and

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recruitment. This process of embodying the brand idea
throughout the organization is what we call branding.

The beauty of branding is that by telling your


customers authentic, compelling stories, you not only
make your goods more attractive and valuable, you give
your customers something to talk about. Humans
naturally love to tell and share stories. By giving
them good stories to tell, you gain access to what is
by far the cheapest and most effective form of
promotion - word of mouth.

Few organizations manage to achieve the full benefits


of word of mouth, and worse still, for many
organizations it spreads more negative stories than
positive. To compensate for a lack of positive word of
mouth, organizations spend huge sums of money on
ineffective marketing exercises. Without an effective
brand strategy these exercises are often unfocussed,
inconsistent and unauthentic. Consequently, they rarely
pay for themselves, let alone make a profit.

To a large extent, branding is the antithesis of


marketing. Branding is the most effective way of
generating positive word of mouth, making it both
cheaper and more effective than traditional marketing
techniques.

Marketing without a clear brand strategy is a chaotic,


costly exercise that in essence is little more than
shouting and showing off about your products and
services. People don't like or trust show-offs. If you
want to make an impact, you need to talk to them like
grown ups. With exposure to thousands of marketing
messages every day, consumers have become largely
immune to meaningless promotional messages, filtering
them out and filing them in their mental recycle bins.

However, there is still a place for marketing and in


many cases, marketing is part of the branding process
as it provides a means by which to spread the brand

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story. This explains why there is so much confusion
regarding the difference between them. Marketing used
to be about the promotion of products and services.
Successful marketing now focuses on the promotion of
brands.

If an organization developed a perfect brand idea but


did nothing to promote it, then no one would ever have
heard about it. The story would never spread and the
strategy would be unsuccessful. It's therefore
important to combine the strengths of both branding and
marketing in order to reach your target market.

The most successful organizations combine a confident


and forward thinking idea with a robust and organized
strategy. They then use carefully targeted marketing to
help get their story out. The success of their brands
means that as time goes on, the need for formal
marketing reduces and the effectiveness of any existing
marketing increases, thus paving the way for increased
profits and organizational growth.

The Coca-Cola brand development strategy has been


developed to cover a vast array of important marketing
tactics. Thus focusing on affordability, acceptability,
availability, fair pricing and pervasive penetration.
Consequently, a major part of brand marketing
strategies include the assurance that availability
complements the desire for the product. To ensure that
brand identity gains successful growth, 20 odd brand
attributes are tested monthly. This is said to involve
approximately 4,000 customers. This particular strategy
for brand development certainly works and has allowed
Coca-Cola to manage and maintain its popularity and
amazing brand image. But that's far from the end of
Coca-Cola's branding strategies.

One vital necessity for successful brand marketing


strategies is to gain acceptance and Coca-Cola has more

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than gained that. This has strengthened brand loyalty
as well as being exceptionally instrumental in helping
to retain the brand image Coca-Cola wishes to present.
Coca-Cola endeavors to give the best, they go all out
to do this. This is deemed as retaining consumers by
default. Such a clever brand marketing tactic this is.
Coca-Cola also focuses on increasing purchase
frequency. They go all out to attract customers by
using a host of marketing/advertising campaigns.
They've utilized the services of celebrities all around
the globe to increase purchasing frequency. In fact
Coke-Cola had even been in the movies.

Another means of assuring purchase frequency has been


to present Coca-Cola collections series of bottles,
labels, glasses, logos etc. This aids in increasing
buyer awareness. Coca-Cola has also focused on the no
calorie beverage for the weight conscious as well. Now
consumers have more options, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola-Zero
and Coca-Cola-Classic. Ironically, the old tag line
"Things go better with coke" has certainly proved to be
the ideal drawcard. Coca-Cola showed how well, vanilla
and lemon also goes with the very poplar soft drink. So
many options consumers now have and they've never been
happier.

Coca-Cola is not your run of the mill cola company,


they have a diverse range of other products as well.
Coca-Cola deems its business as that of a "Share of
human liquid consumption." How unique is that? Many
saying that even water is seen as a type of rival. In
fact an executive from the Coca-Cola company was quoted
as saying that he won't be satisfied until all homes
have a Coca-Cola faucet! He also said "Coca-Cola's
mantra is within an arm's reach of desire." Coca-Cola
once utilized billboards, newspapers and free drink

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coupons in their smart brand marketing. Once Candler
sold the company to Ernest Woodruff, sales increased
ever more.

Coca-cola presents themselves as the number one


refreshment so well, that other companies are convinced
this is true. Another great brand marketing strategy is
when coke use negative labels on their rival's
merchandise. This has helped to put Coca-Cola in a
negative light. Advertising strategies applied by Coca-
Cola make good use of attractive packaging, appealing
word play in advertisements, catchy jingles, excellent
word phrasing. Saying that your product is the best is
one thing, but proving it is another. Coca-Cola knows
that so they enhance their popularity by having the
public's hero in the limelight showing that they drink
Coca-Cola. They have someone highly popular endorsing
their product. What better way to gain success than
this? It’s very clear to see that Coca-Cola has
achieved success beyond their wildest dreams because
they utilized the best brand strategies one could ever
think of.

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognizable brands around


the globe. Having established a leading brand that
fascinates consumers all over the world, Coca-Cola is
widely regarded as one of the most booming
organizations having achieved huge branding success.

A key element of Coca-Cola’s success can be certainly


attributed to its branding strategies. Since 1866 that
it started its operations until today that is a
powerful, globally known corporation, the company’s
brand development strategies constantly raise consumer
interest and remain highly competitive. Having achieved
impressive brand loyalty through continuous reinvention
of its brand and focus on brand enhancement.
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Its branding strategies focus on the changing market
realities and consumer sophistication that requires
different approach and brand redesigning. In the early
years, the company focused on making the brand
affordable, available and acceptable in the aim of
establishing a brand that would be instantly
recognizable and highly appreciated in consumers’
minds. Over the years, and in an effort to adjust its
branding strategies to the new consumer demands, Coca-
Cola focused on building brand identity by offering
value for price, differentiation to meet consumer
preferences, and pervasive penetration. Today, by
testing at least 20 different brands on a monthly basis
on a sample of 4,000 consumers, Coca-Cola is a
corporation with strong brand identity and brand image.

Besides, the company constantly assesses consumer


response to its brands in order to evaluate consumer
perception and find out what consumers believe about
its products. Consumers relate particular brands with
particular symbols and promises that need to be met.
Similarly, Coca-Cola is related to a particular level
of customer satisfaction that is determined by the
collective memory of its target audience.

Another important aspect of Coca-Cola’s branding


strategies is the fact that strong brands make great
sales and increase their revenues. However, Coca-Cola
has taken the extra mile by building a brand that has
managed to increase sustainable sales by attracting and
retaining the best human capital and investing in
employee relations and customer relation management.
This has enabled the corporation not only to achieve
strategic consensus and alignment at all organizational
levels, but also to trigger positive feelings in
consumers’ minds.

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Finally, strong brand image is related to brand
loyalty. The more consumer demands are satisfied, the
more consumers are attached to a brand and retained by
default. Also, Coca-Cola’s brand image entails the
purchase frequency that is boosted by effective
advertising campaigns and marketing strategies. In
doing so, the corporation expands its customer base and
enhances customer loyalty by meeting customer needs and
raising customer satisfaction.

Packaging

Packaging is the enclosing of a physical object,


typically a product that will be offered for sale. It
is the process of preparing items of equipment for
transportation and storage and which embraces
preservation, identification and packaging of products.
Packing is recognized as an integral part of modern
marketing operation, which embraces all phases of
activities involved in the transfer of goods and
services from the manufacturer to the consumer.
Packaging is an important part of the branding process
as it plays a role in communicating the image and
identity of a company.

It is the intended purpose of the packaging to make a


product readily sellable as well as to protect it
against damage and prevent it from deterioration while
storing. Furthermore the packaging is often the most
relevant element of a trademark and conduces to
advertising or communication.

A basic function of package is to protect and preserve


the contents during transit from the manufacturer to
the ultimate consumer. It is the protection during
transport and distribution; from climatic effects (heat
and cold, moisture, vapour, drying atmospheres); from
hazardous substances and contaminants; and from

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infestation. Protection is required against
transportation hazards spillage, dirt, ingress and
egress of moisture, insect infection, contamination by
foreign material, tampering pilferage etc. A package
should preserve the contents in 'Factory Fresh'
condition during the period of storage and
transportation, ensuring protection from
bacteriological attacks, chemical reaction etc.
Most products must be contained before they can be
moved from one place to another. To function
successfully, the package must contain the product.
This containment function of packaging makes a huge
contribution to protecting the environment. A better
packaging helps to maintain the quality of the product
and reachability of the product in the consumer's hand
without spillages. It gives better image to the
organization.
A package must communicate what it sells. When
international trade is involved and different languages
are spoken, the use of unambiguous, readily understood
symbols on the distribution package is essential. It is
the interest further that to get appropriate
communication to the consumer about the product, how to
use it and other utility information. Packaging
protects the interests of consumers. Information
includes: quantity; price; inventory levels; lot
number; distribution routes; size; elapsed time since
packaging; colour; and merchandising and premium data.

Packaging Can make a product more convenient to use or


store, easier to identify or promote or to send out a
message. Can make the important difference to a
marketing strategy by meeting customers' needs better.

Packaging plays a key role in brand promotion and


management. Packaging is of great importance in the
final choice the consumer will make, because it
directly involves convenience, appeal, information and
branding.

The paramount concern of packaging is the reachability


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of the product without any damage. No matter where and
how the products are transported or shipped, they
arrive at the customer's door in working condition
without need of repair or adjustment.

Packaging is especially important in certain industry


where future sales may be based largely on the quality,
integrity and performance of a company's previous
delivery.

The significance of packaging has come to be


increasingly recognized in export as well as in
marketing of a wide range of consumer goods and
industrial products within the country. The volume of
exports depends not only on the quantity of the
production and prices, but also to a substantial
extends on the standards of packaging adopted for the
products. Goods damaged in transit or arriving at the
destination in an unacceptable condition tarnishes the
reputation of the manufacturer as well as the country
as a whole, besides colossal wastage of scarce economic
resources. Further, packaging has a crucial role to
play in the fetching higher unit values for our
consumer goods (like tea and cashew) through the
substitution of the bulk packs by consumer packs. In
the recent past packaging has been increasingly
recognized as a significant factor in the nations
export promotion effort. Effort should be there to
understand the importance of packaging there by to
avoid the loss and damage cost incurred during
transport and delivery. Keep in mind that a conscious
effort on the part of marketing managers can increase
the volume of sales and there by improve the reputation
of the product and organization. 

Product positioning

In marketing, positioning means the process by which


marketers try to create an image or identity in the
minds of their target market for its product, brand, or
organization. It refers to the effort invested in
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creating an image for a given product. This image
becomes the product's assessment point in relation to
competing products as well as other products offered by
the same small enterprise.

At the heart of a firm's marketing strategy is the


selection of its target, a group of consumers with high
potential to buy its brand. These consumers may share
demographic characteristics such as age and sex, and/or
a distinctive lifestyle such as frequent travelers.
However the target is defined, the brand's positioning
must be tailored to the needs and wants of those
consumers. For example, a golf club could be positioned
to avid weekend players as a brand designed for
professionals but priced for amateurs.
A product's positioning is established relative to
competition; the idea is to convince consumers not only
that the brand is good, but that it can meet their
needs better than alternatives. One way is to focus on
points of differentiation. For example, a children's
cereal maker could emphasize that its products are just
as tasty as others but sugar-free. Another approach,
called head-to-head positioning, is when a brand is
positioned as superior on the same key attributes
offered by competitors, such as taste or freshness.
Positioning tactics usually involve all four tools in
the marketing mix. Choices in how to use product,
promotion, place and price must be coordinated and/or
integrated so as to build synergies and avoid
inconsistencies. For example, to be successfully
positioned as healthier than the competition, a sports
drink aimed at teens could be fortified with more
vitamins than any other brand, promoted by young
athletes, sold at youth-oriented events such as
skateboarding contests and offered with frequent price
discounts.
Sometimes a brand must overhaul its positioning in
order to respond to evolving consumer needs. This
change, called a repositioning, may focus on a product

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feature that was previously irrelevant. For example, a
brand of baking soda could once be positioned as the
best addition to homemade cakes. But as declining
numbers of consumers baked from scratch, it became
necessary to reposition such products as cleaning
agents. Repositioning can also be prompted by new
competitive threats or other changes in the business
environment.
Position your product by being first to market. This
first-mover strategy allows you to quickly gain market
share. Typically, customers view the first product on
the market as the leader. Once you have positioned
yourself as the market leader, you must deliver a
quality product that supports your market-leading
status. If you are first to market, but your product
obtains a reputation for bad quality, you risk
tarnishing your brand image, which can have a long-term
negative impact on sales for all products you offer.
Consider the first-mover positioning strategy if it
helps build a positive company image or allows access
to limited resources or distribution channels. For
example, if you need a raw material that is in short
supply to manufacture your new product, you can
contract the materials before your competitors know
they need the material. You can also consider a first-
movers strategy if customers are loyal or stick to
their first purchase, and there are built-in change
barriers like contracts or installation requirements.
A multi-branding strategy can help you create the
market positioning of similar products. For a multi-
branding strategy, you create multiple products you
market under different brand names. In effect, you are
creating your own competition with your own products
and disallowing space for competitors to easily enter
the market. You can differentiate the products by
price, features or quality differences. This
positioning strategy can allow you to dominate the
market by offering options for customers at all price
points and feature requirements, while obtaining

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economies of scale for your business. Consider using a
multi-brand strategy if there are low barriers for
entering your market, or if customers like to
experiment with different products or features. This
strategy works best for a product that is purchased on
a frequent basis. For example, a multi-brand strategy
could be used for a new line of hair care products
based on natural earth minerals. You could introduce
the high-end, heavily marketed product under a luxury
brand name and introduce a low-cost option under a
brand name that is barely marketed. The marketing
effort you exert for the high-end product will
translate into purchases for both products. By offering
a high-end and a low-cost product, you leave little
room for competitors to find a market niche to
introduce a third product.

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