Branding
Introduction
With millions of products at the marketplace it is important to ensure that your product stands out so as to remain relevant in the overcrowded marketplace. The only way to do this is to implement an effective branding strategy so as to ensure that not only does your product stands out from the rest but also meets sales targets and captures customer loyalty.In this text I discuss a brand that has strong market recognition as well as the challenges of building enviable brand recognition. I also look at the various benefits as well as challenges of building leveraging brands in a segment related to house wares and how branding can be utilized in our company’s marketing project.
An example of a brand that has strong market recognition
One well known brand that has a strong market recognition is the soft drink coca-cola. This brand has come to be known not just as a carbonated soft drink but as a way of life. from humble beginnings in 1886, when it was invented by an Atlanta based pharmacist, coca cola has come to be a brand that is easily recognizable in the market than possibly any other brand in history. Today, coca-cola’s spending on global sports rivals the spending of any other soft drink company, with estimated expenditure said to be in excess of U.S dollars 1 billion per annum in sponsorship and other deals (Kotler et al. 2008). With the name coca-cola being associated with the best carbonated soft drink in the market in the minds of most customers, it is unlikely that the brand’s recognition is going to go down any time soon. Though competition in the carbonated soft drinks market will not ease in the near future, it is clear that that the coca-cola drink’s and the other range of products associated with the coca-cola company entrenchment in the public’s consciousnesses will not fade any time soon.
The inherent challenges of building brand recognition
Brand recognition can be defined in a number of ways. According to Kotler et al. (2008), brand recognition can be said to be the extent to which a brand is recognized for its attributes or name. This recognition can be within a given class of products.Diversification of a company’s products can greatly affect a company’s efforts of brand recognition. While a company must consistently diversify its products in line with emerging opportunities in the market, it should be noted that this can jeopardize its brand recognition efforts as was the case with coca cola in the early 1960’s when Coca-cola came to be known as simply coke and by 1963 it applied this name for several of its products it was introducing in the market.The problem however was that the products designing as well as packaging differed and made these products seem like different brands from different companies. This caused a detraction from consumer recognition of these range of products as coca-cola. This problem emanated from coca-cola’s quest to diversify its product line but this caused an inconsistent look hence affecting its brand recognition. The other challenge inherent in building brand recognition includes choosing the appropriate name that consumers can easily identify with and is market specific. This is a big challenge especially for a new product. Another challenge includes the choice of symbol or logo to be used by a company. As Kotler et al. (2008) notes, a symbol constitutes any geometric shape, or any other defined image that has the ability of forming an easy to remember mental image in a consumers mind. He goes on to say that this in a big way aids brand recognition.
The challenges as well as benefits of building leveraging brands in our segment
Brand leveraging involves using the power of a brand that has been in existence to enhance a firm’s foray into a new product category (Heding et al. 2009). The benefits of applying brand leveraging strategies in this segment of house wares lies in our customers pre-existing knowledge of our products quality especially in the wholesale section. We can hence use the strength of our previous brands to launch the house wares especially in the wholesale section as mentioned above.The challenges however lie in the leverage’s ability to damage the reputation the companies other products if the new product which we are offering to the market fails. This is because with leveraging, the focus is entirely on penetrating only the categories related in one way or another to the original products of the company.
Branding strategy in GGI’s marketing projects
In order to come up with an effective branding strategy we need to identify as well as appreciate several marketing components. The first component we shall look at is our primary target with regards to the house wares. This will be an important consideration as it will create a background against which we can craft our house wares branding strategy.Next, we shall have an analysis of competition followed by the next component of product and service mix which will enable us better know the needs of the market and serve it appropriately. Lastly, an establishment of a unique selling position will ensure that we have a distinct presence in the market place that sets us apart from any other competitor.
Conclusion
An effective branding strategy will ensure that we stay ahead of the competition while providing other key benefits including product differentiation as well as promotion of brand royalty from revenues related to repeat and referral sales of our house wares.
References
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C.F, & Bjerre, M. (2009). Brand management: research, theory and practice. Taylor & Francis
Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Wong, V., & Saunders, J. (2008). Principles of marketing, 5th Edition. Prentice Hall/Financial Times
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