What is it? Why is it important

WWII forced manufacturers to perfect mass production.
The war effort required it. So in the 1950’s the explosion of new, young families gave manufacturers a ready market for mass produced goods. It seemed everyone needed all the same basics as fast as industry could produce them. Business growth fell out of an expanding market. The market grew 10%, business grew 10% just by producing.

As growth began to level in the 70’s, marketing began narrowing the focus to earn greater market share.
Mass marketing turned into segmentation where manufacturers focused on demographics, sociographics and psychographics.

In the 80’s companies were competing through diversification. Growth came from adding new products and extending product lines into new arenas. Companies began competing in each other’s backyard.
The result was burgeoning consumer choice. Consumers suddenly had lots of choices for the same product in an increasingly cluttered marketplace.

This clutter had a correspondingly negative effect on manufacturers.
With clutter, product differentiation fades. Consumers find it difficult to tell the difference between one product and another. When products get too similar, product loyalty fades.  Similar products and declining loyalty means the consumer can more easily change their preferences.  The end result of undifferentiated products is that we all become price shoppers.

Branding is a common sense approach to help consumers navigate a cluttered marketplace.  It helps consumers form product habits.  It is how consumers keep every purchase decision from being like a first time decision.

Branding is a tool to help consumers make a quick product decision when surrounded with a plethora of products with confusing or vague product claims.  It helps manufacturers differentiate when their products don’t.    

Branding is a product promise. It facilitates the sales process by pre-selling the product. The selling is in the brand and what it stands for, not necessarily in the product’s differences.

A product is a successful brand when;

• People will wait longer for it;
• Travel further for it;
• Pay more for it.

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How Branding works      Based on concepts by Ries & Ries*

Branding takes place in the mind of the consumer.
In fact, it is actually a consumer strategy.
Certainly it is crafted by the manufacturer, but it only works when it is validated and accepted by the consumer.

Successful brands are owned by the consumer.
Woe be to the company that doesn’t realize that consumer’s own the brand.
Coca Cola learned it when they changed their recipe to New Coke.
Facebook learned it when they thought they controlled their privacy policy.
Starbucks saw it when they changed their standard bold coffee to a milder blend.

Consumers own the brand.

Consumers also make the brand, because its power resides in the mind of the consumer. They want brands that:

• Are narrow in scope;
• Stand for something.
• Can be reduced to a single word or succinct phrase;

The brand becomes stronger when it is narrowly focused.
The Krispy Kreme brand was developed on fresh donuts.
The Starbucks Empire was built on strong coffee.

To work, brands need to be narrow, focused on their leadership, in a word no one else owns. Start by contracting your category – NOT expanding it. Find a category small enough to dominate.

The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope.

*Ries and Ries are one of the best Brand Agencies in the U.S. They have done groundbreaking work in identifying the key elements of a brand and developing strategies to make it work.  http://www.ries.com/aboutus.php

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5 Rules on What to Brand
Company or the Product?

Branding Rule #1: High Sales Volume…
Brand the product. Winner products should have their own brand.
Lower volume products, brand the company.

Branding Rule #2: High Competition
In highly competitive markets, focus on branding the company.
In a vacuum, brand the product.

Branding Rule #3: Advertising Support
Big budget products should be branded.
Small budget products or extensive lines are supported by the company brand.

Branding Rule #4: Market Impact
Breakthrough products and new technology should have a brand.
Commodity products should live under the company brand.

Branding Rule #5: Distribution
Off the shelf consumer products should have a brand name.
Products sold individually by sales reps should carry the house name.

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How Stratcom Can Help

Stratcom can provide a Brand Analysis to insure the brand is positioned for growth.   The emergence of SEO requires new thinking as to how the brand is applied and managed.
The Analysis takes a look at all the elements that affect successful Branding.
This Stratcom process verifies that the brand is:

• Sharply and accurately focused for the target market;
• Articulates the brand promise;
• Analysis of SEO (search engine optimization) and online performance of the brand;
• Crafts the tagline;
• Strategically positions product lines and brand extensions to increase sales;
• Reviews product and brand names for alignment and sales sensitivity;
• Develop and trade mark new product names;
• Review or develop logo designs for functionality in accordance with usage.
• Establish Brand Standards for consistent use throughout the organization.

Building Brand Equity requires an understanding of the dynamics that make branding work. Once you understand the dynamics, it is easy to do the Brand Housekeeping.

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