Product and Brand Management

Brand Vs Product
In marketing, product is anything that can be offered to the market that may satisfy the need, want, and demand of a certain individual or market. It is also called as goods or service. Product is more than just a material object. It is also an inclusive package of benefits or satisfactions that the consumer or buyer may achieve upon purchase or usage. A product is the total amount of all physical, psychological, symbolic, and service attributes. Several examples of products are the following: hamburger, fries, and soft drink. On the other hand, brand is a symbolic manifestation of all the information connected with a company, product, or service. A brand is typically composed of a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images, colors, and icons. It is believe that a brand puts an impression to the consumer on what to expect to the product or service being offered. In other application, brand may be referred as a trademark, which is legally an appropriate term. In summary, a 'brand' is a symbol of a product (Coca-Cola), service (Eurostar trains), company (Campari) or even an individual (Michael Jordan) to identify what it is.

Product Attributes
Attributes refer to an object characteristics or quality. It helps to identify a particular object by its inherent characteristics. Product Attributes refers to the properties/characteristics of the product. It relates to the cost, size, and color, tangible and intangible features of the product. Tangible Product Attributes refer to the physical color, packaging etc. Intangible Product Attributes refer to the style, quality, strength etc.

Product Level
In planning its market offerings, the marketer needs to address 5 product levels. Each level adds more customer value, and these 5 constitute a customer value hierarchy: a. Core benefit: the service or benefit the customer is really buying. A hotel guest is buying rest and sleep b. Basic product: the marketer must turn the core benefit into a basic product. Thus a hotel room includes a bed, bathroom, towels, desk etc. c. Expected product: the marketer prepares an expected product, a set of attributes and conditions buyer normally expect when they purchase this product. Hotel guest expect a clean bed, fresh towels, and a relative degree of quiet. d. Augmented product: the marketer prepares an augmented product that exceeds customer expectations.

e. Potential product: it encompasses all the possible augmentations and transformations the product or offering might undergo in the future. Here the companies search for new ways to satisfy customers and distinguish their offerings.

Product Classification
Marketers have traditionally classified products on the basis of durability, tangibility and usage. Each product type has an appropriate marketing mix strategy Durability and tangibility: Products can be classified into three groups, according to durability and tangibility: 1. Nondurable goods are tangible goods normally consumed in one or a few uses, like beer and soap. Because these goods are consumed quickly and purchased frequently, the appropriate strategy is to make them available in many locations, charge only a small markup and advertise heavily to induce trial and build preference. 2. Durable goods are tangible goods that normally survive many uses: Refrigerators, Machine tools, and Clothing. Durable products normally require more personal selling and services command a higher margin and require more seller guarantees. 3. Services are intangible, inseparable, variable, and perishable products. As a result, they normally require more quality control, supplier credibility, and adaptability. Examples include haircuts, legal advice, and appliance repairs. Consumer good classification 1. Convenience product 2. Shopping Product 3. Specially Product 4. Unsought Product 1. Convenience Product:- Consumer product that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort, convenience products can be divided further into staples, impulse products, and emergency products.

2. Shopping Product:- Consumer good that the consumer, in the process of selection and purchase, characteristically compares on bases such as suitability, quality, price, and style. Example: Furniture, clothing, used cars, major appliances and hotel and motel services. 3. Specialty Products:- Consumer product with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is willing to make a special purchase effort. e.g. Specific brands and types of cars, high-priced photographic equipment, designer clothes etc. 4. Unsought Products:- Unsought products are consumer products that the consumer either does not knows about or knows about but does not normally think of buying. Industry Good Classification: It can be classified in terms of their relative costs and how they enter the production process: Materials and parts, capital items, and supplies and business services.

Product Hierarchy
The product hierarchy stretches from basic needs to particular items that satisfy those needs. Levels of product hierarchy 1. Need family: the core need that underlines the existence of a product family 2. Product Family: all the product classes that can satisfy a core need with reasonable effectiveness. 3. Product class: a group of products within the product family recognized as having a certain functional coherence. 4. Product line: a group of products within a product class that are closely related because they perform a similar function, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through same outlets or channels, or fall within given price ranges 5. Product type: a group of items within a product line that share one of several possible forms of the product 6. Item: a distinct unit within a brand or product line distinguishable by size, price appearance or some other attributes. For example, Take personal care, this is a core need. Cosmetics, skin creams, shampoos, conditioners, soaps, etc. are part of the Product Family. Hair cleaning agents are a Product Class. Shampoos are a Product Line or group of related products Dandruff control shampoos are a Product Type Clinic All Clear is a Brand A sachet of Clinic All Clear is an example of an Item.

New Product Development (NPD)

Improving and updating product lines is crucial for the success for any organization. Failure for an organization to change could result in a decline in sales and with competitors racing ahead. The process of NPD is crucial within an organization. Products go through the stages of their lifecycle and will eventually have to be replaced. There are eight stages of new product development. These stages will be discussed briefly below: Stage 1: Idea generation: New product ideas have to come from somewhere. But where do organizations get their ideas for NPD? Some sources include: Within the company i.e. employees Competitors. Customers Distributors, Supplies and others. Stage 2: Idea Screening: In idea screening company must avoid two types of errors: 1. A DROP error occur when the company dismisses a good idea. 2. A GO error occurs when the company permits a poor idea to move into development and commercialization. Stage 3: Concept Development and Testing: The organization may have come across what they believe to be a feasible idea; however, the idea needs to be taken to the target audience. What do they think about the idea? Will it be practical and feasible? Or Will it offer the benefit that the organization hopes it will? The ideas and concepts taken to the target audience are not a working prototype at this stage. Stage 4: Marketing Strategy and Development: Following a successful concept test, the new product manger will develop a preliminary three part strategy plan for introducing the new product into the market. The first part describes the target market size, structure and behavior, the planned product positioning and the sales and the profit goals sought in the first few years. The second part outlines the planed price and the marketing budget for the first year. The third plan describes the long run sales and profit goals and marketing mix strategy over time Stage 5: Business Analysis: The company has a great idea, the marketing strategy seems feasible, but will the product be financially worth while in the long run? The business analysis stage looks more deeply into the cash flow the product could generate, what the cost will be, how much market shares the product may achieve and the expected life of the product. Stage 6: Product Development: Finally it is at this stage that a prototype is finally produced. The prototype will clearly run through all the desired tests, and be presented to the target audience to see if changes need to be made. Stage 7: Test Marketing: Test marketing means testing the product within a specific area. The product will be launched within a particular region so the marketing mix strategy can be monitored and if needed, be modified before national launch.

Stage 8: Commercialization: If the test marketing stage has been successful then the product will go for national launch. There are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration before a product is launched nationally. These are timing, how the product will be launched, where the product will be launched, will there be a national roll out or will it be region by region?

Product Life Cycle

Stages and Strategies A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix. The product revenue and profits can be plotted as a function of the life-cycle stages as shown in the graph below:

Introduction Stage In the introduction stage, the firm seeks to build product awareness and develop a market for the product. The impact on the marketing mix is as follows: Product branding and quality level is established, and intellectual property protection such as patents and trademarks are obtained. Pricing may be low penetration pricing to build market share rapidly, or high skim pricing to recover development costs. Distribution is selective until consumers show acceptance of the product. Promotion is aimed at innovators and early adopters. Marketing communications seeks to build product awareness and to educate potential consumers about the product. Growth Stage In the growth stage, the firm seeks to build brand preference and increase market share. Product quality is maintained and additional features and support services may be added. Pricing is maintained as the firm enjoys increasing demand with little competition.

Distribution channels are added as demand increases and customers accept the product. Promotion is aimed at a broader audience. Maturity Stage At maturity, the strong growth in sales diminishes. Competition may appear with similar products. The primary objective at this point is to defend market share while maximizing profit. Product features may be enhanced to differentiate the product from that of competitors. Pricing may be lower because of the new competition. Distribution becomes more intensive and incentives may be offered to encourage preference over competing products. Promotion emphasizes product differentiation. Decline Stage As sales decline, the firm has several options: Maintain the product, possibly renewing it by adding new features and finding new uses. Harvest the product - reduce costs and continue to offer it, possibly to a loyal niche segment. Discontinue the product, liquidating remaining inventory or selling it to another firm that is willing to continue the product. The marketing mix decisions in the decline phase will depend on the selected strategy. For example, the product may be changed if it is being renewed, or left unchanged if it is being harvested or liquidated. The price may be maintained if the product is harvested, or reduced drastically if liquidated.

Product Mix
A company product mix has four important dimensions (i) width (ii) length (iii) depth and (iv) consistency (i) Width refers to the no. of different product lines the company carries. e. g. Procter & Gamble consisting of many product lines, paper, food, household, cleaning, medicinal, cosmetics and personal care products. (ii) Length refers to the total no. of items the Co. carries within its products lines. Procter & Gamble typically carries many bands within each line, for example, it sells eleven laundry detergent, eight hand soap, six shampoo and four dishwashing detergent. (iii) Depth refers to the no. of versions, offered of each product in the line. Thus Procter & gambles Crest Tooth Paste comes in three size and two formulation (paste & Gel) (iv) Consistency refers to how closely related the various product lines are in end use, production requirements, distribution channels, or some other way.

Product Mix Pricing Strategies

Product Line Pricing: Companies normally develop product lines rather than single products and introduce price steps. Example: A mens clothing store might carry mens shirt at three price levels: Rs. (500, 1000, 1500). Customer will associate the low average and high quality shirts with there price points. The sellers task is to establish perceived quality differences that justify the price differences. Optional feature pricing: many company offer optional products, features and services along with their main product. Example : the automobile buyer can order power window controls, remote adjustable mirrors and sun roof. Captive product pricing: some products require the use of additional products or captive products. Ex: manufacturers of razor often price them low and set high mark ups on razor blades. Two part pricing: service firm engaging in two part pricing, consisting of a fixed fee plus a variable usage fee. Ex: amusement park charging an admission fee plus fees for rides over a certain minimum. By product pricing: the production of certain goods like petroleum products and other chemicals often result in by products. If the by products have a value to the customer, they should be priced on their value. Product bundle pricing: seller often bundle products and features. Pure bundling occurs when a firm offers its product only as a bundle. For example: tour packages. In Mixed bundling, the seller offers good both individually and in bundles. When offering a mixed bundle, the seller normally charges less for the bundle than if the items were purchased separately.

Setting the Price

Step 1: Selecting the pricing objective: the company first decides where it wants to position its market offerings. The clearer the firms objective, the easier is it to set the price. Five major objectives are: survival, max current profit, max current share, max market skimming, and product quality leadership. Step 2: Determining Demand: each price will lead to a different level of demand and will therefore have a different impact on a companys marketing objective. Step 3: Estimating Cost: Demand sets a celling on the price of the company can charge for its product. Company sets the floor. The company wants to charge a price that covers all its cost, including a fair return for its efforts and risk. Step 4: Analyzing Competitors Costs, Prices and offers: Step 5: Selecting a pricing method: given the customers demand schedule, the cost function and competitors prices, the company then selects a price. The six price setting methods are:

a. Mark up pricing: the most elementary pricing method is to add a standard mark up to the products cost. Construction companies submit job bids by estimating the total project cost and adding a standard mark up profits. b. Target return pricing: in target return pricing the firm determines the price that would yield its target rate of ROI. GM has priced its automobiles to achieve a 15 to 20 % ROI c. Perceived Value pricing: it is made up of several elements, such as the image of the product performance, the warranty quality, customer support and softer attributes such as suppliers reputation worthiness etc. d. Value pricing : value pricing is not about simply setting lower prices; it is a matter of reengineering the companys operations to become a low cost producer without sacrificing quality. e. Going rate pricing: The firm bases its price largely on competitors prices, charging the same, more or less than major competitor. f. Auction type pricing: Step 6: Selecting the final price:

Consumer Adaption Process

Stages in the adoption process: Adopters of new product move through 5 stages 1. Awareness 2. Interest 3. Evaluation 4. Trial 5. Adoption Type of adopter groups: Innovators Represent a small percentage of the market that is at the forefront of adopting new products. These people are often viewed as enthusiasts and are eager to try new things, often without regard to price. While a good test ground for new products, marketers find that Innovators often do not remain loyal as they continually seek new products. Early Adopters This group contains more members than the Innovator category. They share Innovators enthusiasm for new products though they tend to be more practical about their decisions. Early Majority This represents the beginning of entry into the mass market. The Early Majority account for up to one-third of the overall market. The Early Majority like new things but tend to wait until they have received positive opinions for others (i.e., early adopters) before purchasing. Adoption by the Early Majority is the key if a new product is to be profitable.

Late Majority Possibly as large as the Early Majority, this group takes a wait-and-see approach before trying something new. Marketers are likely to see their highest profits once this group starts to purchase. Laggards This is the last group to adopt something new and in fact, may only do so if they have no other choice. Depending on the market this group can be large though because of their reluctance to accept new products marketers are not inclined to direct much attention to them

Product Line:
They are the group of product produced which, satisfies similar needs. Products are priced at different ranges, they are related but vary in size, color, features and benefits. Example: Car manufacturer producing cars according to various segments Product Line Length It is the number of products produced in the same product line. Companies seeking high market share and growth extend their product line by producing related products, whereas companies seeking high profitability produce selective products. Product line induces, Up selling making customers to move upward in their purchases. Example: Car manufactures produce cars from low range to highest range. and Cross selling. Example: Harpic produces toilet cleaner along with the brush. Product in the same product line can be lengthened by Line filling and Line Stretching Product Line Stretching Every company product line covers a certain part of the total possible range. For example BMW automobiles are located in the upper price range of the automobile market. Line stretching occurs when a company lengthens its product line beyond the current product range. The company can stretch its line down market or up market or both ways. Down Market stretch: A company positioned in the middle market may want to introduce a lower priced line for any of these reasons:

1. The company may notice strong growth opportunities as mass retailers such as Wal Mart, Big Bazaar, Best Buy and others attract a growing number of shoppers who want Value-priced goods. 2. The company may wish to tie up lower end competitors who might otherwise try to move up market. If the company has been attacked by low end competitor, it often decides to counter attack by entering the low end of the market. 3. The company may find that the middle market is stagnating or declining. Up Market stretch: Companies may wish to enter the high end of the market for more growth, higher margins or simply to position themselves as full time manufacturers. Many markets have spawned surprising upscale segments: Star Bucks in coffee, Haagen Daaz in Ice cream and Evian in bottled water. The leading Japanese auto companies have each introduced an upscale automobile namely Toyota Lexus, Nissan Infiniti and Honda Acura. It may be noted that they invented entirely new names rather than using or including their own names. Two way stretch: Companies serving the middle market might decide to stretch their line in both directions. Texas instruments introduced its first calculators on the medium price and medium quality end of the market. Gradually it added calculators to the lower end taking market share away from Bowmar and at the higher end to compete with Hewlett Packard. Product Line Filling: Maruti Suzuki is following the product line strategy of Line Filling. Line Filling is a strategy where the company introduces new products within the same (existing) price range. Maruti Suzuki recently launched a series of brands in the hatchback segment. A look at the price ranges of hatchback brands of Maruti will give you a clear picture of Line Filling. Maruti 800 - Rs 2,00,000 - Rs 2,12000 Maruti Alto - Rs 2,22,000 - Rs 2,70,000 Maruti Estilo - Rs 3,17,000 - Rs 3,98,000 Maruti Wagon R - Rs 3,18,000 - Rs 4,32,000 Maruti A Star - Rs 3,40,000 - Rs 4,12,000 Maruti Ritz - Rs 3,89,000 - Rs 5,10,000 Maruti Swift - Rs 4,06,000 - Rs 5,20,000 There are several reasons for such a line filling strategy. According to Prof. Philip Kotler, firms adopt this strategy for a. Incremental Profits b. Satisfy Dealers who complain about lost sales because of missing items in the line c. Utilize existing capacity d. Try to become a full-line company

e. Try to plug holes to keep the competitors away. Product line modernization, featuring and pruning: Product lines need to be modernized. A companies machine tools might have a 1970s look and lose out to newer styled competitors lines. The issue is whether to overhaul the line piecemeal or all at once. A piecemeal approach allows the company to see how customers and dealers take on the new style. It is also less draining on the companies cash flow but allows competitors to see changes and start redesigning their own lines. In rapidly changing product markets modernization is continuous. Companies plan improvements to encourage customer migration to higher valued and better priced items. Microprocessor companies like Intel and AMD and software companies such as Microsoft and Oracle continually introduce more advanced versions of their products. A major issue is timing improvement so they do not appear too early damaging the sales of the current line or too late after the competition has established a strong reputation for more advanced equipment. The product line manager typically selects one or a few items in the line to feature. Sears will announce a special low priced washing machine to attract customers. At other times managers will feature a high end item to lend prestige to the product line. Sometimes a company finds one end of its line selling well and the other end selling poorly. The company may try to boost demand for the slower sellers especially if they are produced in a factory that is idled by lack of demand but it could be counter argued that the company should promote items that sell well rather than try to prop up weak items. Product line managers must periodically review the line for deadwood that is depressing profits. The weak items can be identified through sales and cost analysis. Pruning is also done when the company is short of production capacity. Companies typically shorten their product lines on periods of tight demand and lengthen their lines in periods of slow demand.

Product Line Analysis

Sales and Profit: Every companies product portfolio contains product with different margins. Supermarkets make no margin on bread and milk, reasonable margin on frozen foods, and even better margins on flowers, ethnic food lines. A company can classify its products into four types that yield different gross margins, depending on sales volume and promotion; this is illustrated with the help of Laptops Core products: basic laptop computers that produce high sales volume and are heavily promoted but with low margins because they are viewed as undifferentiated commodity. Staples: items with lower sale volume and no promotion, such as faster CPUs or huge memories. These yield a somewhat higher margin Specialties: items with lower sales volume but that might be highly promoted, such as digital moviemaking equipment

Convenience items: items that sell in high volume but receive less promotion, such as carrying cases and accessories, sound cards. Consumer buy them when they buy the original equipment because it more convenient than making further shopping trips. These items can carry higher margins The main point is that companies should recognize that these items differ in their potential for being priced higher or advertised more as ways to increase their sales, their margins or both. Market Profile: from book page 323

Product Packaging and Labeling

Packaging: it is defined as all the activities of designing and producing the container for a product. Packages might include up to three levels of material primary package (plastic bottle) secondary package (in a cardboard box) shipping package. Objectives 1. Identify the brand 2. Convey descriptive and persuasive information 3. Facilitate product transportation and protection 4. Assist at home storage 5. Aid product consumption Importance of packaging: Self Service: an increasing number of products are sold on a self service basis and the effective packaging performs many sales tasks, like: attract attention, create consumer confidence and make a favorable overall impression. Consumer affluence: rising consumer values means consumer are willing to pay a little more for the convenience, appearance, dependability and prestige of better packages Company and brand image: packaging contributes to instant recognition of the company or brand Innovation opportunity: innovative packaging can bring large benefits to consumer and profits to the producers. Heinz unique, colorful EZ squirt ketchup and upside down bottle have helped to revitalize the brand sales. Labeling: label is the simple tag attached to the product or an elaborately designed graphic that is part of the package. Its main functions are It identifies the product or the brand (Frooti stamped on Mango juice) It also grades the product (canned peaches are grade as label A,B,C) It describes the product (who made it, where was it made, what it contains etc) It also promotes the product (attractive graphics)

Brand Name
Brand name is one of the brand elements which helps the customers to identify and differentiate one product from another. Brand names are not necessarily associated with the product. For instance, brand names can be based on places (Air India, British Airways), animals or birds (Dove soap, Puma), people (Louise Phillips, Allen Solly). Features of a Good Brand Name A good brand name should have following characteristics: 1. It should be unique / distinctive (for instance- Kodak, Mustang) 2. It should be extendable. 3. It should be easy to pronounce, identified and memorized. (For instance-Tide) 4. It should give an idea about products qualities and benefits (For instance- Swift, Quickfix, Lipguard). 5. It should be easily convertible into foreign languages. 6. It should be capable of legal protection and registration. 7. It should suggest product/service category (For instance Newsweek). 8. It should indicate concrete qualities (For instance Firebird).

Brand Extension
Brand Extension is the use of an established brand name in new product categories. This new category to which the brand is extended can be related or unrelated to the existing product categories. A renowned/successful brand helps an organization to launch products in new categories more easily. For instance, Nikes brand core product is shoes. But it is now extended to sunglasses, soccer balls, basketballs, and golf equipments. An existing brand that gives rise to a brand extension is referred to as parent brand. Extending a brand outside its core product category can be beneficial in a sense that it helps evaluating product category opportunities, identifies resource requirements, lowers risk, and measures brands relevance and appeal. Brand extension may be successful or unsuccessful. Instances where brand extension has been a success areWipro which was originally into computers has extended into shampoo, powder, and soap. ii. Mars is no longer a famous bar only, but an ice-cream, chocolate drink and a slab of chocolate. Instances where brand extension has been a failure arei. In case of new Coke, Coca Cola has forgotten what the core brand was meant to stand for. It thought that taste was the only factor that consumer cared about. It was wrong. i.

The time and money spent on research on new Coca Cola could not evaluate the deep emotional attachment to the original Coca- Cola. Advantages of Brand Extension Brand Extension has following advantages: It makes acceptance of new product easy. The risk perceived by the customers reduces. The likelihood of gaining distribution and trial increases. An established brand name increases consumer interest and willingness to try new product having the established brand name. The efficiency of promotional expenditure increases. Advertising, selling and promotional costs are reduced. There are economies of scale as advertising for core brand and its extension reinforces each other. Cost of developing new brand is saved. The image of parent brand is enhanced. It allows subsequent extension. It increases market coverage as it brings new customers into brand franchise. Customers associate original/core brand to new product, hence they also have quality associations. Disadvantages of Brand Extension Brand extension in unrelated markets may lead to loss of reliability if a brand name is extended too far. An organization must research the product categories in which the established brand name will work. There is a risk that the new product may generate implications that damage the image of the core/original brand. There are chances of less awareness and trial because the management may not provide enough investment for the introduction of new product assuming that the spinoff effects from the original brand name will compensate.

Brand Positioning
Positioning a brand means emphasizing the distinctive characteristics that make it different from its competitors and appealing to the public. It results from an analytical process based on he four following questions A brand for what? This refers to the brand promise and consumer benefit aspect, like Volkswagen is reliable, the Body Shop is environment friendly A brand for whom? This refers to the target aspect, like Snapple the soft drink for adults

A brand for when? This refers to the occasion when the product will be consumed , like J&B whisky caters to night owls A brand against whom? It defines the main competitors, i.e. those whose business we think we can partly capture, like Tuborg and other expensive beers thus also compete against whisky, gin and vodka Brand Positioning Strategy: A product can be positioned based on 2 main platforms: The Consumer and The Competitor. When the positioning is on the basis of CONSUMER, the campaigns and messages are always targeted to the consumer himself (the user of the product) Peter England always campaigns their product concentrating on the consumer, the user of its product. The other kind of positioning is on basis of COMPETITION. These campaigns are targeted towards competing with other players in the market. Dettol television commercials always concentrate on advertisements, which show that this product would give you more protection, then the others. A number of positioning strategies might be employed in developing a promotional program. The 7 such strategies are discussed below: POSITIONING BY PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES AND BENEFITS: Associating a product with an attribute, a product feature or a consumer feature. A common approach is setting the brand apart from competitors on the basis of the specific characteristics or benefits offered. Sometimes a product may be positioned on more than one product benefit. Consider the example of Ariel that offers a specific benefit of cleaning even the dirtiest of clothes because of the micro cleaning system in the product. Colgate offers benefits of preventing cavity and fresh breath. POSITIONING BY PRICE/ QUALITY: Marketers often use price/ quality characteristics to position their brands. One way they do it is with ads that reflect the image of a high-quality brand where cost, while not irrelevant, is considered secondary to the quality benefits derived from using the brand. Premium brands positioned at the high end of the market use this approach to positioning. Another way to use price/ quality characteristics for positioning is to focus on the quality or value offered by the brand at a very competitive price. Although price is an important consideration, the product quality must be comparable to, or even better than, competing brands for the positioning strategy to be effective. Parle Bisleri Bada Bisleri, same price ad campaign. POSITIONING BY USE OR APPLICATION: Another way is to communicate a specific image or position for a brand is to associate it with a specific use or application. Surf Excel is positioned as stain remover Surf Excel hena!

POSITIONING BY PRODUCT CLASS: Often the competition for a particular product comes from outside the product class. For example, airlines know that while they compete with other airlines, trains and buses are also viable alternatives. The product is positioned against others that, while not exactly the same, provide the same class of benefits. POSITIONING BY PRODUCT USER: Positioning a product by associating it with a particular user or group of users is yet another approach. POSITIONING BY COMPETITOR: Competitors may be as important to positioning strategy as a firms own product or services. This approach is similar to positioning by product class, although in this case the competition is within the same product category. Onida was positioned against the giants in the television industry through this strategy, ONIDA colour TV was launched with the message that all others were clones and only Onida was the leader. neighbours En vy, Owners Pride. POSITIONING BY CULTURAL SYMBOLS: An additional positioning strategy where in the cultural symbols are used to differentiate the brands. Examples would be Humara Bajaj, Tata Tea, Ronald McDonald. Each of these symbols has successfully differentiated the product it represents from competitors. Branding challenges and opportunities 1) The shift from strategy to tactics: - With the increasing pressure to generate ever-improving profitability, it is often considered a luxury for managers to develop long-term strategic plans. This is further exacerbated by short-term goal setting, which is frequently designed primarily for the convenience of the financial community. 2) The shift from advertising to promotions: - As a consequence of the increasing pressure on brand manager to achieve short-term goals, there is a temptation to cut back on advertising support, since it is viewed as a long-term brand-building investment, in favour of promotions which generate much quicker short-term results. 4) Opportunities from technology: - Brand marketers are now able to take advantage of technology to again a competitive advantage through time. Technology is already reducing the lead time needed to respond rapidly to changing customers need and minimizing any delays in the supply chain. 5) More sophisticated buyers: - In business-to-business marketing, there is already an emphasis on bringing together individuals from different departments to evaluate suppliers new brands. As inter departmental barriers break down even more, sellers are going to face increasingly sophisticated buyers who are served by better information system enabling them to pay off brand suppliers against each other.

Brand Identity
It is how an organization seeks to identify itself. It represents how an organization wants to be perceived in the market. An organization communicates its identity to the consumers through its branding and marketing strategies. A brand is unique due to its identity. Brand identity includes following elements - Brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality, relationships, and presentations. Brand identity is a bundle of mental and functional associations with the brand. Associations are not reasons-to-buy but provide familiarity and differentiation thats not replicable getting it. These associations can include signature tune(for example - Britannia ting-ting-ta-ding), trademark colors (for example - Blue color with Pepsi), logo (for example - Nike), tagline (for example - Apples tagline is Think different),etc. Brand Identity Prism:

Kapferer has developed a brand identity prism where he distinguishes a sender and recipient side, plus an externalisation and internalisation side. The 6 identity facets express the tangible and intangible characteristics of the brand and give it a unique authority and legitimacy of values and benefits . The brand identity prism represents the brand as having six sides. Each side represents a distinguishable aspect of the brand: 1. Physique: An exterior tangible side communicating physical specificities, colour, form and brand qualities. Physique is the starting point of branding and therefore it forms the brands backb one. 2. Personality: An internal intangible side which forms the character, soul and brand personality which are relevant for brands. 3. Culture: An internal intangible side to integrate the brand into the organization which is essential in differentiating brands.

4. Relationship: An exterior side with tangible and intangible areas, and defines the behaviour that identifies the brand - the way the brand connects to its customers. 5. Customer reflection: An external intangible side reflecting the custome r as he or she wishes to be seen as a result of using a brand. So called: the target outward's mirror. 6. Self-image: An external intangible side reflecting the customer attitude towards the brand. These inner thoughts connect personal inner relationship with the brand. So called: the target internal mirror The six sides are organized along a hexagon. The hexagons top part refers to those aspects of the brand which constitute the picture of the sender: physique and personality. The bottom part refers to those brand aspects representing the picture of the recipient: reflection and physique. The left half of the hexagon deals with externalization of the brands identity (reflection, relationship and physique), while the right half deals with internalization of the brand (self-image, culture and personality).

Brand Image
Brand image can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these associations, they form brand image. The idea behind brand image is that the consumer is not purchasing just the product/service but also the image associated with that product/service. Brand images should be positive, unique and instant. Brand images can be strengthened using brand communications like advertising, packaging, word of mouth publicity, other promotional tools, etc.

Brand Identity VS Brand Image

Brand Identity 1 Brand identity develops from the source or the company. Brand message is tied together in terms of brand identity. The general meaning of brand identity is Brand Image Brand image is perceived by the receiver or the consumer. Brand message is untied by the consumer in the form of brand image. The general meaning of brand image is How

who you really are? 4 Its nature is that it is substance oriented or strategic. Brand identity symbolizes firms reality.

market perceives you? Its nature is that it is appearance oriented or tactical. Brand image symbolizes perception of consumers Image is looking back. Image is passive. It signifies what you have got. It is total consumers perception about the brand.

7 8 9 10

Identity is looking ahead. Identity is active. It signifies where you want to be. It is total promise that a company makes to consumers.

BRAND PERSONALITY
Brand Personality is a set of human characteristics associated with a brand. It means assigning human personality traits/characteristics (friendly, innovative, intelligent) to a brand so as to achieve differentiation. These characteristics signify brand behavior through both individuals representing the brand (i.e. its employees) as well as through advertising, packaging, etc. Lifebuoy is masculine while Dove is feminine. IBM is older while Apple is younger, India Today is old-fashioned while Outlook is trendier. Brand Personality Dimension : The brand personality dimensions of Jennifer Aaker is a framework to describe and measure the personality of a brand in five core dimensions, each divided into a set of features. These are: 1. Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful) 2. Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date) 3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful) 4. Sophistication (upper class, charming) 5. Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)

Co-Branding
Co-branding involves combining two or more well-known brands into a single product. Used

properly, it is an effective way to leverage strong brands and has the potential to achieve 'best of all worlds' cooperation that capitalizes on the unique strengths of each contributing brand. With billions of resources being spent on advertisement and marketing of brands, many companies have joined alliances by merging their knowledge and reputation to produce new and higher quality products and services that lead to enhanced satisfaction of customers. Successful examples include Coach and Lexus, Diet Coke and Nutra Sweet, Pillsbury Brownies and Nestle Chocolate, Crocs and Disney, IBM and Intel, Sony and Kodak, and so forth. These cobrandings have created large benefits for stakeholders. Pros of Co-Branding The reasons for co-branding vary from company to company. Some of the reasons are listed below with examples. 1. Co-branding is a means of introducing ones products or service to the consumers of another product. For example, the Intel Inside promotion launched a brand that made consumers realize what was inside their IBM and Compaq computers. This movement led to almost 300 computer manufacturers co-branding with Intel. 2. Co-branding can reap benefits for a company from its partners loyal customers. In 1984, Nike got together with Michael Jordan with the rationale that all Jordan fans would feel affectionate and loyal towards Nike and choose it over its competitors. 3. Co-branding also leads to cost savings that is very important during tough economic times. This is the reason why Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are often located close by in the same area, many times sharing menu boards, staff, and counters.

4. Co-branding leads to the introduction of new products and ser vices. M&Ms and Pillsbury introduced a new cookie concept, Mattel and Compaq merged their expertise to launch a new line of interactive toys. 5. Co-branding helps in marketing complementary brands. For example in Europe, Bacardi is cobranded with Coke as it forms an ideal mix for the drink. Cons of Co-Branding 1. Co-branding can have a dilutive consequence as the benefit spreads over two brands when in actuality there is just one. 2. Co-branding poses the threat of making one brand look weak due to the fault or negligence of the other. 3. Co-branding results in new ideas for products/services, which leads to the entrance of new competitors who combine the features of both brands into one. Types of Co-Branding There are four main approaches to co-branding that companies should consider. 1. Promotional/sponsorship co-branding. Co-branding began with endorsements. This approach can be a good beginning point for organizations; the relationship is simple (fees and marketing activities), but it can result in significant brand enhancement and sometimes even an unplanned opportunity. 2. Ingredient co-branding: Partners in ingredient co-branding are usually the company's current suppliers or largest buyers. Easy access to offerings and a well-established relationship translates into a lower level of investment required than in other forms of co-branding. An ingredient brand's success relies on being distinct, either through patent protection or by being a dominant brand. 3. Value chain co-branding: Other players in the value chain can create new experiences for the consumer, which, in turn, can create a level of customer value and differentiation not possible with promotional or ingredient co-branding. There are three types of value-chain co-branding: Product-service co-branding. This approach allows partners to share industry-specific competencies while at the same time opening previously unavailable customer bases. Supplier-retailer co-branding. These relationships can range from the natural to the less obviouseven to traditional rivals, which can help both partners become better positioned against well-entrenched competitors. Alliance co-branding. Globalization and better, broader offerings through cooperation aside, forming alliances with similar companies may be crucial for rapidly consolidating industries. 5. Innovation-based co-branding. In this approach, partners create entirely new offerings to provide substantial increases in customer and corporate value. It offers the potential to grow existing markets and create entirely new ones. Because both

partners are seeking a high level of value creation, the rewards and risks are often an order of magnitude larger than those created by other co-branding approaches.

Brand Equity
Brand equity can be defined as three distinct elements: The total value of a brand as a separable asset -- when it is sold or included on a balance sheet. A measure of the strength of consumers' attachment to a brand. A description of the associations and beliefs the consumer has about the brand. Of those three concepts, the first can be classified as "brand valuation," the second as "brand loyalty," and the third as "brand description." Brand Equity as Brand Value: Brand value involves actually placing a dollar or rupee value on a brand name. The reasons for doing this are usually to set a price when the brand is sold and also to include the brand as an intangible asset on a balance sheet (a practice which is not used in some countries). Brand Equity as Brand Loyalty: Loyalty is a core dimension of brand equity and is a way to gauge the strength of a brand. It represents a barrier to entry, a basis for a price premium, and time to respond to competitive innovations. Brand Equity as Brand Description: Brand description, the final component of brand equity, concerns the actual attributes of the brand. These attributes or associations are major creators of brand loyalty. Brand Equity Model Brand Resonance Model also known as Customer based equity model by Keller. This model also views brand building as an ascending series of steps from top to bottom. According to this model, there are six building blocks of the pyramid .the model emphasizes the duality ,because it emphasizes both the rational route to brand building on the left side and emotional route to the right hand side

The first level of the pyramid deals with establishing the identity of the brand. Keller suggests a single building block for this phase and terms it brand salience. The second layer of the pyramid deals with giving meaning to the brand and here Keller presents two building blocks: brand performance and brand imagery. Brand performance is the way the product or service attempts to meet the consumers functional needs. Brand performance also has a major influence on how consumers experience a brand as well as what the brand owner and others say about the brand. Having dealt with brand identity and meaning, we move upwards to the third tier of the pyramid to develop a consumer response to the brand. Keller proposes two building blocks for this tier, namely brand judgments and brand feelings. Judgments about a brand emerge from a consumer pulling together different performance and imagery associations. These judgments combine into a consumers opinion of a brand and whilst there are multiple judgments that an individual can make, Keller believes there are four that companies must pay attention to in their brand-building efforts. They are the perceived quality of the brand; brand credibility (the extent to which the brand is perceived as having expertise, being trustworthy and likable); brand consideration (the brand must be relevant to the consumer so that they are likely to purchase or use it); and brand superiority (the extent to which consumers view the brand as being unique and better than other brands). Whereas brand judgments can be fairly logical, brand feelings are consumers emotional responses to the brand. Keller identifies six brand-building feelings that he regards as important emotions that a consumer can have towards a brand, namely warmth, fun, excitement, security, social approval and self-respect. The final tier of the pyramid deals with the consumers relationship with the brand and here Keller introduces the sixth building block which he calls brand resonance. Resonance is characterized by the intensity of the psychological bond that customers have with the brand and their level of engagement with the brand.

Brand Equity and Customer Equity Brand Equity is defined as value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth whereas Customer Equity is defined in terms of lifetime values of all customers. Brand Equity and Customer Equity have two things in common Both stress on significance of customer loyalty to the brand Both stress upon the face that value is created by having as many customers as possible paying as high price as possible.

But conceptually both brand equity and customer equity differ. While customer equity puts too much emphasis on lower line financial value got from the customers, brand equity attempts to put more emphasis on strategic issues in managing brands. Customer Equity is less narrow alternative. It can overlook a brands optional value and their capacity effect revenues and cost beyond the present marketing environment. Just as customer equity can persist without brand equity, brand equity may also exist without customer equity. For instance I may have positive attitude towards brands McDonald and Burger King, but I may only purchase from McDonalds brand consistently.

Brand Awareness
It is the popularity of a product in its category among the consumers. Brand Awareness is one of the main aspects in the process of brand building. It is nothing but the probability of a consumer to recognize a company's product among the wide array of similar products available in the market. There are two types of brand awareness: Top of mind Awareness: When a person identifies a product category with the name(s) of certain brands then it is referred as Top of mind Awareness. For example, whenever we talk about cold-drinks, the first two names that come into our mind are Coca Cola and Pepsi though there are other local brands available in the market. Aided awareness: When a person recalls a particular brand name only after seeing or hearing about the product then it is known as aided awareness.

Brand Association
Brand Associations are not benefits, but are images and symbols associated with a brand or a brand benefit. For example- signature tune Ting-ting-ta-ding with Britannia. Associations are

not reasons-to-buy but provide acquaintance and differentiation thats not replicable. It is relating perceived qualities of a brand to a known entity. For instance- Hyatt Hotel is associated with luxury and comfort; BMW is associated with sophistication, fun driving, and superior engineering. Brand association is anything which is deep seated in customers mind about the brand . Brand should be associated with something positive so that the customers relate your brand to being positive. Brand associations are formed on the following basis: Customers contact with the organization and its employees; Advertisements; Word of mouth publicity; Price at which the brand is sold; Celebrity/big entity association; Quality of the product; Products and schemes offered by competitors; Product class/category to which the brand belongs; POP ( Point of purchase) displays; etc