Tuesday, August 4, 2009

...Understanding what they are..

Brands....

Interesting incidents that my professor Quotes in the Consumer Behaviour class made me venture into a writing a blog.

Brands-Brands everywhere, anywhere I look,

Is it correct to link every concept to a book?

I don’t know what the Kotler wrote, neither did it ever went down my throat...

But I must not refrain myself to quote,” Brands are the ones that everywhere Float”.

Now let’s see what brands mean:

B- Breach R- Robust A- And N-Natural D-Demographic S- Segments

Wow! So are all brands able to do that? Surprisingly and historically, most have succeeded in their attempts. Brands like Reid and Tailor, BMW, IBM, Microsoft, Intel are to name a few, who have created a space for themselves in the market.

Branding is a strategy that companies follow so as to differentiate their products in terms of brand Value. UMBRELLA branding is one such concept where products are branded under one parent brand name. An example could be the strategy that the car manufacturer Mazda follows.

There are others who are trying to move away from the umbrella to selling brands on unique names. For example, NOKIA, that is coming up with series like N, E etc.

Did you know that there is also A “NO BRAND” Strategy: A strategy where the company refrains from branding the product?

"No-Brand" strategies, examples include the Japanese company Muji, which means "No label" in English (from 無印良品 – "Mujirushi Ryohin" – literally, "No brand quality goods"). Although there is a distinct Muji brand, Muji products are not branded. This no-brand strategy means that little is spent on advertisement or classical marketing and Muji's success is attributed to the word-of-mouth, a simple shopping experience and the anti-brand movement {Source: WIKIPEDIA}

From the time we get up, till the time we go back to bed, we see thousands of brands, but why is it still that whenever we think of a product, only a particular brand comes to the mind. You think of cold drinks, Coke is the first thought. Think of washing powder, Surf is the word (confirm it from your Mom). What is it that this brand has done that the others could not?

1. Is it the name, which leaves the impression? Or

2. Is it the brand loyalty that has been created through the years? Or

3. Is it the First mover advantage thing? Or

4. Is it the frequency of ads that we come across daily of a brand? Or

5. Personal Experience with the brand.

Whatever it is, it surely is a complex thing. The one who breaks it, gets to conquer the Branding world.

Comments Invited!!