Brand Mangt

INDEX Introduction Branding-Importance in Marketing Types of Brands Brand Positioning Brands - Building a Brand Brand Management Brand Architecture Brand Revival Strategies for Brand Revival Challenges while reviving a brand Cases of Brand Revival Celebrity Branding Internet Branding Challenges Conclusion

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IT IS THE MATTER OF GREAT PLEASURE AND PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT THIS PROJECT REPORT ON PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT. THE COMPILATION OF THE PROJECT IS A MILESTONE IN THE LIFE OF THE MANAGEMENT STUDENT AND ITS EXECUTION IS INEVITABLE WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF THE PROJECT GUIDE. I WISH TO RECORD A DEEP SENSE OF RESPECT AND GRATITUDE TO ITM EXECUTIVE-MBA FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO COURSE OF MY WORK. I CANNOT JUST CONDONE THE VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY GIVEN TO ME BY THE ITM EXECUTIVE-MBA FOR COMPILING AND SUBMITTING THE PROJECT, WHICH I FEEL IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MY VIEWS ABOUT PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT. I ACKNOWLEDGE MY INDEBTNESS TO VARIOUS AUTHORS FOR MAKING USE OF VALUABLE INFORMATION LIBERALLY.

PREFACE Product and Brand Management is a topic requiring deep study and understanding for which I have tried my level best to analyze and incorporate all the relevant information in this project. All the material contained is this project is true and original to the best of my knowledge. All the pictures used in the project are for representational purposes only. I am greatly indebted to ITM Executive MBA for making me understand the finer points of Marketing; And also acquainting us with the workings of the Product and Brand Management. It has been a great delight for me to work on this project. The knowledge I have gained while working on this project will stay with me through all the years of my professional life.

Introduction Brand management is a philosophy and a total approach to managing companies, and as such includes much about changing minds. Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It seeks to increase the product's perceived value to the customer and thereby increase brand franchise and brand equity. Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that the level of quality people have come to expect from a brand will continue with future purchases of the same product. This may increase sales by making a comparison with competing products more favorable. It may also enable the manufacturer to charge more for the product. The value of the brand is determined by the amount of profit it generates for the manufacturer. This can result from a combination of increased sales and increased price, and/or reduced COGS (cost of goods sold), and/or reduced or more efficient marketing investment. All of these enhancements may improve the profitability of a brand, and thus, "Brand Managers" often carry line-management accountability for a brand's P&L profitability, in contrast to marketing staff manager roles, which are allocated budgets from above, to manage and execute. In this regard, Brand Management is often viewed in organizations as a broader and more strategic role than Marketing alone.

Meaning Brands are a means of differentiating a company’s products and services from those of its competitors. There is plenty of evidence to prove that customers will pay a substantial price premium for a good brand and

remain loyal to that brand. It is important, therefore, to understand what brands are and why they are important. Businesses that invest in and sustain leading brands prosper whereas those that fail are left to fight for the lower profits available in commodity markets.

Definitions:  Macdonald sums this up nicely in the following quote emphasizing the importance of brands: “…it is not factories that make profits, but relationships with customers, and it is company and brand names which secure those relationships” 

Jeff Bezos defines brand as:

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well."  Interbrand - a leading branding consultancy - defines a brand in this way: “A mixture of tangible and intangible attributes symbolized in a trademark, which, if properly managed, creates influence and generates value”.

Other definition:  “A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, that is intended to identify the goods and services of one business or group of businesses and to differentiate them from those of competitors”.

Branding-Importance in Marketing Strategy 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 it makes sense to understand that 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. The objectives that a good brand will achieve include: • • • • •

Delivers the message clearly Confirms your credibility Connects your target prospects emotionally Motivates the buyer Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot. A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It's important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After your entire brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It's a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

Types of Brands There are two main types of brand – manufacturer brands and own-label brands.

 Manufacturer brands Manufacturer brands are created by producers and bear their chosen brand name. The producer is responsible for marketing the brand. The brand is owned by the producer. By building their brand names, manufacturers can gain widespread distribution (for example by retailers who want to sell the brand) and build customer loyalty (think about the manufacturer brands that you feel “loyal” to).

 Own label brands Own-label brands are created and owned by businesses that operate in the distribution channel – often referred to as “distributors”. Often these distributors are retailers, but not exclusively. Sometimes the retailer’s entire product range will be own-label. However, more often, the distributor will mix own-label and manufacturers brands. The major supermarkets (e.g. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s) are excellent examples of this. Own-label branding – if well carried out – can often offer the consumer excellent value for money and provide the distributor with additional bargaining power when it comes to negotiating prices and terms with manufacturer brands.

Three other important terms relating to brands: 1. Brand Equity “Brand equity” refers to the value of a brand. Brand equity is based on the extent to which the brand has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality and strong product associations. Brand equity also includes other “intangible” assets such as patents, trademarks and channel relationships.

2. Brand Image “Brand image” refers to the set of beliefs that customers hold about a particular brand. These are important to develop well since a negative brand image can be very difficult to shake off.

3. Brand Extension “Brand extension” refers to the use of a successful brand name to launch a new or modified product in a new market. A successful brand helps a company enter new product categories more easily. For example, Fairy (owned by Unilever) was extended from a washing up liquid brand to become a washing powder brand too.

Brand Positioning Positioning can be defined as follows: “Positioning is how a product appears in relation to other products in the market.” Brands can be positioned against competing brands on a perceptual map. A perceptual map defines the market in terms of the way buyers perceive key characteristics of competing products. The basic perceptual map that buyers use maps products in terms of their price and quality, as illustrated below:

Brands and Products Brands are rarely developed in isolation. They normally fall within a business’ product line or product group. 

A product line is a group of brands that are closely related in terms of their functions and the benefits they provide. A good example would be the range of desktop and laptop computers manufactured by Dell.



A product mix relates to the total set of brands marketed by a business. A product mix could, therefore, contain several or many product lines. The width of the product mix can be measured by the number of product lines that a business offers.

For example Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) has a broad product mix that covers many segments of the personal and business computing market. Managing brands is a key part of the product strategy of any business, particularly those operating in highly competitive consumer markets.

Principles A good brand name should: • • • • • •

Be protected (or at least protectable) under trademark law Be easy to pronounce Be easy to remember Be easy to recognize Be easy to translate into all languages in the markets where the brand will be used Attract attention

• • • •

Suggest product benefits (e.g.: Easy-Off) or suggest usage (note the tradeoff with strong trademark protection) Suggest the company or product image Distinguish the product's positioning relative to the competition. Stand out among a group of other brands - like that one compared to the others.

Brands - Building a Brand Professor David Jobber identifies seven main factors in building successful brands, as illustrated in the diagram below:

1.

Quality

Quality is a vital ingredient of a good brand. Remember the “core benefits” – the things consumers expect. These must be delivered well, consistently. The branded washing machine that leaks, or the training shoe that often falls apart when wet will never develop brand equity.

Research confirms that, statistically, higher quality brands achieve a higher market share and higher profitability that their inferior competitors.

2.

Positioning

Positioning is about the position a brand occupies in a market in the minds of consumers. Strong brands have a clear, often unique position in the target market. Positioning can be achieved through several means, including brand name, image, service standards, product guarantees, packaging and the way in which it is delivered. In fact, successful positioning usually requires a combination of these things.

3.

Repositioning

Repositioning occurs when a brand tries to change its market position to reflect a change in consumer’s tastes. This is often required when a brand has become tired, perhaps because its original market has matured or has gone into decline. The repositioning of the Lucozade brand from a sweet drink for children to a leading sports drink is one example. Another would be the changing styles of entertainers with above-average longevity such as Kylie Minogue and Cliff Richard.

4.

Communications

Communications also play a key role in building a successful brand. We suggested that brand positioning is essentially about customer perceptions – with the objective to build a clearly defined position in the minds of the target audience. All elements of the promotional mix need to be used to develop and sustain customer perceptions. Initially, the challenge is to build awareness, then to develop the brand personality and reinforce the perception.

5.

First-mover advantage

Business strategists often talk about first-mover advantage. In terms of brand development, by “first-mover” they mean that it is possible for the first successful brand in a market to create a clear positioning in the minds of target customers before the competition enters the market. There is plenty of evidence to support this. Think of some leading consumer product brands like Gillette, Coca Cola and Sellotape that, in many ways, defined the markets they operate in and continue to lead. However, being first into a market does not necessarily guarantee long-term success. Competitors – drawn to the high growth and profit potential demonstrated by the “market-mover” – will enter the market and copy the best elements of the leader’s brand (a good example is the way that Body Shop developed the “ethical” personal care market but were soon facing stiff competition from the major high street cosmetics retailers.

6.

Long-term perspective

This leads onto another important factor in brand-building: the need to invest in the brand over the long-term. Building customer awareness, communicating the brand’s message and creating customer loyalty takes time. This means that management must “invest” in a brand, perhaps at the expense of short-term profitability.

7.

Internal marketing

Finally, management should ensure that the brand is marketed “internally” as well as externally. By this we mean that the whole business should understand the brand values and positioning. This is particularly important in service businesses where a critical part of the brand value is the type and quality of service that a customer receives.

Think of the brands that you value in the restaurant, hotel and retail sectors. It is likely that your favorite brands invest heavily in staff training so that the face-to-face contact that you have with the brand helps secure your loyalty.

Brand Management This involves managing the tangible and intangible aspects of the brand. For product brands the tangibles are the product itself, the packaging, the price, etc. For service brands (see Service Brands), the tangibles are to do with the customer experience - the retail environment, interface with salespeople, overall satisfaction, etc. For product, service and corporate brands, the intangibles are the same and refer to the emotional connections derived as a result of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles are therefore managed via the manipulation of identity, communication and people skills.

Understanding Brand Management Brand management is a process of used in marketing; in fact it comes under one of the 4Ps of the marketing mix. This means that the brands of the company have to be managed so as to create a positive image about the brand and the company in the minds of the customers. This is a difficult task and one that has to be handled delicately. The other purpose of brand management is to build customer loyalty by means of creating an emotion bond between the customers and the brand itself. People in the company responsible for brand management are the brand managers who naturally must have an understanding of the market and customers. Brand managers are responsible for creating a promise through a particular brand; the promise could be healthy food and healthy lifestyle or something on those lines. For the brand to be successful and for brand management also to be successful, it is important that the promise is met and satisfied, else it is going to seriously damage the brand image.

This is what brand management is all about.

Tips for Brand Management Here are some tips that should help in brand management: Consistency – where brand management, brand building or branding is concerned there should always be consistency, and it should be consistent with the ideologies of the brand itself. People should be consistently be able to identify with the brand. Brand Equity – an important aspect of brand management is brand equity. This is the monetary value of the brand. Think of brand management as creating brand equity and making it grow. Be aware of other brands – one idea used in brand management is to use sub-brands, while this is good, you do not want to confuse the customer with too many brands under one brand name. Do not be sidelined by profits – most companies work in a manner where they employ different product managers, who have to work on target basis. It is important for them to make profits, but brand managers have to be careful so as to not get sidelined by the money and compromise the brand image. Be Dynamic – an important aspect of brand management is to avoid stagnation and to be continuously changing or dynamic. There is no place for stagnation in the corporate world or the marketing world. Brands should continuously do something new to keep things fresh and the customers interested.

Why should businesses try to build their brands? There are many advantages to businesses that build successful brands. These include: • • • •

Higher prices Higher profit margins Better distribution Customer loyalty

Businesses that operate successful brands are also much more likely to enjoy higher profits. A brand is created by augmenting a core product with distinctive values that distinguish it from the competition. This is the process of creating brand value. All products have a series of “core benefits” – benefits that are delivered to all consumers. For example: • • • •

Watches tell the time CD-players play CD’s Toothpaste helps prevent tooth decay Garages dispense petrol.

Consumers are rarely prepared to pay a premium for products or services that simply deliver core benefits – they are the expected elements of that justify a core price.

Successful brands are those that deliver added value in addition to the core benefits. These added values enable the brand to differentiate itself from the competition. When done well, the customer recognizes the added value in an augmented product and chooses that brand in preference. For example, a consumer may be looking for reassurance or a guarantee of quality in a situation where he or she is unsure about what to buy. A brand like Mercedes, Sony or Microsoft can offer this reassurance or guarantee. Alternatively, the consumer may be looking for the brand to add meaning to his or her life in terms of lifestyle or personal image. Brands such as Nike, Porsche or Timberland do this. A brand can usefully be represented in the classic “fried-egg” format shown below, where the brand is shown to have core features that are surrounded (or “augmented”) by less tangible features.

Brand Management Research The Market Intelligence Co. sees five main areas where research can contribute to brand management within any business.

1. Brand distillation :

offering clarity of brand essence and distilling its value proposition.

2. Brand execution :

assisting in the development and evaluation of communication strategies which convey your brand both in/externally (e.g. testing brand tag lines, logos, livery and brochures).

3. Brand change:

evaluating the potential impact of a proposed change to the brand (for example, brand livery, positioning, message and name).

4. Brand alignment :

assessing the alignment of the brand with the business/markets to identify whether the brand is reflected in the internal values, vision and culture of the organisation and is suited to its target market segments.

5. Brand performance :

assessing the contribution of the brand to the business by measuring brand awareness, associations and competitive market positioning.

Brand Architecture The different brands owned by a company are related to each other via brand architecture. In product brand architecture, the company supports many different product brands each having its

own name and style of expression but the company itself remains invisible to consumers. Procter & Gamble, considered by many to have created product branding, is a choice example with its many unrelated consumer brands such as Tide, Pampers, Ivory and Pantene. With endorsed brand architecture, a mother brand is tied to product brands, such as The Courtyard Hotels (product brand name) by Marriott (mother brand name). Endorsed brands benefit from the standing of their mother brand and thus save a company some marketing expense by virtue promoting all the linked brands whenever the mother brand is advertised.. In the third model only the mother brand is used and all products carry this name and all advertising speaks with the same voice. A good example of this brand architecture, most often known as corporate branding, is the UK-based conglomerate Virgin. Virgin brands all its businesses with its name (e.g., Virgin Megastore, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Brides) and uses one style and logo to support each of them.

Techniques Companies sometimes want to reduce the number of brands that they market. This process is known as "Brand rationalization." Some companies tend to create more brands and product variations within a brand than economies of scale would indicate. Sometimes, they will create a specific service or product brand for each market that they target. In the case of product branding, this may be to gain retail shelf space (and reduce the amount of shelf space allocated to competing brands). A company may decide to rationalize their portfolio of brands from time to time to gain production and marketing efficiency, or to rationalize a brand portfolio as part of corporate restructuring. A recurring challenge for brand managers is to build a consistent brand while keeping its message fresh and relevant. An older brand identity may be misaligned to a redefined target market, a restated corporate vision statement, revisited mission statement or values of a company. Brand identities may also lose resonance with their target market through demographic evolution. Repositioning a brand (sometimes called rebranding), may cost

some brand equity, and can confuse the target market, but ideally, a brand can be repositioned while retaining existing brand equity for leverage. Brand orientation is a deliberate approach to working with brands, both internally and externally. The most important driving force behind this increased interest in strong brands is the accelerating pace of globalization. This has resulted in an ever-tougher competitive situation on many markets. A product’s superiority is in itself no longer sufficient to guarantee its success. The fast pace of technological development and the increased speed with which imitations turn up on the market have dramatically shortened product lifecycles. The consequence is that productrelated competitive advantages soon risk being transformed into competitive prerequisites. For this reason, increasing numbers of companies are looking for other, more enduring, competitive tools – such as brands. Brand Orientation refers to "the degree to which the organization values brands and its practices are oriented towards building brand capabilities” (Bridson & Evans, 2004).

Brand Revival Conventional marketing wisdom says that for every 100 brands that are born upto 90 could perish. In fact the life expectancy of many brands in countries like Japan is an average 18 months. The stronger brands, the ones that become heritage brands and occasionally become larger than the companies that gave birth to them, they last longer sometimes longer than the company itself. However old age can take a toll on brands. At times seemingly invincible brands age too often and too soon. Dalda vanaspati, Weston televisions, Kelvinator refrigerators, Murphy radios, Polsen butter and Campa Cola are just some names that no longer have the visibility in most Indian shops. However, about two- three decades back shopkeepers could not do without these brands. Can these brands that were snowed under in changing circumstances be revived? Can a new proposition be built on the old legacy? That’s where the business of brand revival comes in. Today it is the buzz word among the corporations who are scrambling in carrying out those old fashioned yet still effective cost revenue analysis in seeing if they can bring back the old! To get the heritage brands back to the market. The reason for this is not too difficult to see. Simply because businesses are realizing that brands have a tremendous asset value or resale value. Also companies in a passive thought are also revitalizing brands so that they can realize more value from these before getting rid of these. And today if companies want to sell off brands that make no strategic sense for them, there isn’t a shortage of buyers for defunct brands either. Sometimes, however, even if brands get a second chance to prove them at the altar of consumerism it will not be a cakewalk. That’s because a reborn brand has a much difficult task at hand than a new brand-- new brands take off from ground zero but in the case of a dead brand then, company relaunching it has to first

clean up the negative baggage associated with the brand’s earlier failure before it lands on the same level as the new brand. At the conceptual level, it is an uphill task. E.g. -- When Dalda was introduced; it successfully entered most customer homes as Indian households were looking for a cheaper alternative for ghee. However, Dalda came with 2 negative labels stuck to its neck-- it was a cheaper alternative and it was not the real thing. As customers started preferring healthier alternatives like cooking oils, Dalda lost popularity. Now even though Dalda is on its comeback trail in Indian markets, not many consultants are impressed. In short, they do what Lakshmi Mittal did in the steel industry, which is to say he picks up the sick steel plants and has turned them around.

Generally a reviving of brand is made when: • •

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It is apparent to the marketer that the brand in question is losing share because its physical qualities need a change. It is also possible that, in comparison to competition, the brand is looking tired and old-fashioned, so that this could be a reason to strengthen the brand communication. In addition to making changes to the product, there are many instances of brands of products being re-launched in the market. The key factors that marketers review in order to decide whether a brand needs a revival are a decline in its market share and the brand's strength showing a decline. Very often, an expensive revive fails to be successful because it was done in a hurry or the management actually did not take into account market research evidence that the marketing mix was not fully satisfactory It could be the revive of an existing brand in order to make the consumer look at the product in a different light

BRANDS THAT NEED REVIVAL 1. Heritage Brands These are the brands that were the first ones to come in the markets. They could be referred to as the pioneers of the markets. These products are generally in the last stage or sometimes in the second last stage of their product life cycle. However, just as Sir Hector Laing, Chief Executive Officer, United Biscuits plc. remarked, “Buildings age and become dilapidated. Machines wear out. People die. But what live on are the brands”; these brands too lived on. However, their image among customers changes from that of a brand to a special brand. E.g. - Hindustan Motors’ car Ambassador. It has become a heritage car with the memories of its yesteryears.

2. Orphan Brands Orphan brands are the neglected ones. These are the brands that despite their high recognition factors may suffer from poor market positioning, a lackluster business environment, or just plain neglect from the parent. Orphan brands also include those brands that after being neglected have also been disowned from their parent manufacturers. A major example that could be cited in this regard is that of the ointment Burnol. Burnol was originally a brand of Boots Company plc. It was bought over by Knoll AG of Germany in 1995 and was then bought by Reckitt Piramal in 1998. It re- launched Burnol as " Antiseptic Burnol plus" in 1994, which widened its usage from minor burns category to an antiseptic cream. Now recently, Morepen labs ltd. acquired of the brand Burnol from Reckitt Piramal ltd. for Rs. 8.95 crores.

3. Ghost Brands Ghost Brands are brands that are shadows of their former selves. They may be existing in the market or even sometimes phased out, but they continue to haunt the minds of the consumers. These are the brands were once the top brands in

their market, but have now been overshadowed due to any of the various reasons, such as launch of new improved products, or change in the consumer needs or preferences, etc. They walk the fine line between life and death, and are often demoted to the bottom shelf, which is the death row in many stores. The companies, which own these brands, have four options: Revive them, Milk them, Sell them, or Kill them. Reviving, in such cases, could be the best option as milking them won’t yield much and eventually it would have to be killed. Also, selling would give the producer a much lower price as compared to the profits that the buyer could make if he revives it. Hence, though revival involves considerable costs to the companies, but it could yield those profits more than their investments.

THE PROCESS 1. Identify potential products It is Important to identify and select the right brand to revive and choosing the right as not all brands can be revived. While reviving a brand many different considerations have to be taken into the mind like the market in which the brand is to be revived, the targeted market, and the advertising strategies. Thus in the brand revival process the first step is by far the most important step as all other steps are directly dependent on the efficiency of the first step.

2. Listen to your consumers They are the best source for information about products and needs. The Himmel Group has effectively utilized the following consumer research tools to gather critical information: (1) Brand Research Cards (BRC) questionnaires and on-line surveys used to collect consumer feedback on every product, (2) Concept test research, (3) Focus groups, (4) Product use research, (5) Toll free consumer hotline and consumer mail and emails. Management read all consumer correspondence.

3. Create compelling creative messages that strike a chord with target consumers Focus attention on consumer needs and wants with singleminded, believable messages. Create an advertising "hook" (in the case of medicines, a proprietary name for a medical condition, and then create the solution through the Himmel brand) and have strong brand registration. Control the creative process and cost by utilizing In-house creative development and production resources and contract out manufacturing of products and utilize outside consultants for research and development, medical expert advice, etc., to keep fixed costs low.

4. Differentiate your product from the competition Discover and exploit the unique selling proposition (USP) of the brand. Motivate consumers to choose the Himmel brand over the competition by promoting brands 52 weeks a year. Create an emotional connection with consumers and treat brands like children — they must be "nurtured."

5. Advertise, Advertise, and Advertise. Maintain a heavy investment in advertising There is a direct correlation between investment in advertising and consumer awareness, brand loyalty, market share, ability to resist price competition, and leverage with the retailer. Maintained the frequency of advertising — advertising frequency creates awareness and awareness creates sales by deliver advertising messages on television, radio, etc.Control cost and maintained efficiency by utilize in-house media buying service.

STRATEGIES FOR BRAND REVIVAL To make a brand comeback, successful, the first thing is to create a new economic value for the customer, identify alternate distribution channels. For instance, brands can go online, get into new organized retail format and so on. Today, channels are market makers. One must find alternative ways of doing the 4Ps of marketing which may even require a modification of packaging in certain cases. The companies need to trace the ailments that led to the brand becoming defunct. Brands become defunct for many reasons. Sometimes not enough effort is put behind them when they were first launched. Otherwise they could have been ahead of time or not as relevant as it was conceived for. For e.g. - If a product like a fabric softener was relaunched at present, it could find more takers than the comeback of a “Neel” (the blue fabric after wash). •

Repositioning strategy

Sometimes global product portfolio rationalization could affect local brands. A case in point is Kelvinator refrigerators which were put on a slow burner after it was taken over. But Kelvinator’s strong brand proposition--“it’s the coolest one”-is timeless and would be equally relevant to the customers at present. In another instance, Dabur repackaged its Real fruit juice; the company’s flagship product; as a natural, great tasting fruit juice for kids. They aligned the packaging, communication and all elements of the marketing mix to communicate the brand’s benefit (i.e., “REAL-tastes like eating a fruit”).

Following the rules & doing the basics right This is the case with Lifebuoy, a brand that although did not disappear from shop shelves, but nevertheless made a successful comeback. From just being a carbolic soap which would be used in office toilets and dhabas, Lifebuoy has come to be‘family bathe soap’. They played by the rules to win. For instance, the carbolic soap form of Lifebuoy had reached a state of maturity. As the strong brand started to plateau, the company started to revamp and reposition it. Importantly the relaunch of Lifebuoy was backed by consumer insights and significant marketing spends, both of which are completely essential. •

Having new applications

Brands can also be revived by the marketers by developing or inventing some new and innovative uses of their product. This worked wonders for the US based Arm & Hammer, a baking soda company. For years the company stuck to its core business baking soda and marketing it as it is; but then customers frequently baked at home. As lifestyles became hectic, baking became a hobby and sales suffered. The company took its core product baking soda and put it into new applications. At present it marketed it as it could not only be used for baking but it is also a treat cleanser and odour killer and can kill odour in refrigerators. All this exercise helped the brand to remain contemporary. •

Finding New segments

Sometimes just finding a new segment of users for the same brand can help in a successful revival of the brand. For instance, the largest users of are actually adults as opposed to children. That’s because customers who grew up with video games are continuing to play and their tribe is increasing. In another instance, companies in US have revitalized the orange

juice industry from being only on the breakfast table to a juice for all occasions. It’s also being touted as a healthy alternative since it has vitamin C. With bulk of population in US being elders has broadened the product scope and has helped it make a comeback.

•

Geographical segmentation

Even without new applications or new customer segments, a dwindling brand in one country can find solace in another. Companies are increasingly putting their brands into a new country or geography where they never existed. As there is no prior image of the brand in the new geography, the company can market the brand in a way so as to create the image they want customers to remember the brand as. Relevant example in this case could be that of General Motors, who managed to make its passenger car Buick a hit in China when the sales of the brand were not good in the US. •

Clever positioning

Clever positioning and promotions can be deciding factors in brand comebacks. A creative approach to communications can revitalize the brand. E.g. -- Chewing gum brand Chiclets. Previously a pack of Chiclets had eight pieces in a box. Naturally the unit price was high. But price was not the problem for the brand. No consumer would eat eight gums at a go and when consumers put the rest into their pockets, Chiclets would melt if the climatic conditions were unfavorable. The recommendation was that if Chiclets had only 2 pieces in a packet it would also bring the unit price down. After implementing these changes, the company came with a ‘two of you’ campaign targeted at young couples. The Chiclets case had all the must haves for the brand revitalization: a new economic value, new packaging and a new promise.

New strategies being followed Some firms offer an outsourcing service to parent firms for the marketing and management of old brands. The parent retains a stake in the business, so it shares in the profit when the brands are revived.  Saatchinvest, for example, holds a 51% majority stake in Complan globally, but Heinz has retained a 34% share.  Chartered brands started out with a full acquisition strategy for orphan brands, but now take only minority stakes in them. They, in their words, ‘take risks, inject cash, manage the process and share the benefits with the owners’. Outsourcing marketing can make sense for both parties. First, the small firm does not need to worry about the seller refocusing on a category. Second, the multinational does not sire a new competitor.

In nutshell, consumers will buy a brand only if they find value and trust (which could be in the form of past goodwill) in it. It does not matter if it has gone out of public view for a while. In fact marketing consultants add that as long as consumers can be convinced about the value and as long as they connect with a brand, sales will happen. But conditions apply. No strong negatives must exist to be associated with a brand that’s awaiting revival.

CHALLENGES WHILE REVIVING A BRAND •

Understanding the market

If your product is aimed at a very specific target market then there is a good chance that this product will require only basic modification from country to country. If your product is aimed at a larger, more general market, there is a higher chance that wider-reaching changes will have to be implemented in order to make the product suitable for mass marketing. •

Gathering intelligence

In order to achieve international success, a business must understand its target customers, not only in measurable ways such as education levels and income, but on more intangible levels. While customers may not be aware of their depth of response to design they do respond strongly to form, detail, colour and balance. Design relates to every aspect of the experience, visual, tactile, and emotional. While your customer may not easily be able to articulate their feelings about these

aspects of your product, they are nevertheless extremely important. When carrying out customer research it is essential that you formulate an approach that allows you and your design team to understand what your customers actually need, rather than what they say they need. Over the past decade there has been an increasing interest from business in non-quantitative customer research. Using techniques such as ethnography will not provide a clear set of answers that can be presented in graphs. It is open-ended, holistic and discovery-orientated and if used correctly will give incredible insight and knowledge into their customers’ needs and desires that can then be used to inform and guide the subsequent design process. •

Understanding what you are selling

To understand what exactly a company is selling, many companies use the strategy called 'value exporters'. These companies have strong values that are often linked to national characteristics. They use design as a tool to emphasize either their national origin or the set of values that differentiate them from other products. Then, some companies use a strategy called 'value collectors'. These companies may well have a strong internal culture, but their outward style is less identifiable. They have to invest more time and money in researching their potential markets and then use design in order to create products to connect with their international customers. Understanding which of these approaches is most applicable to your product is central to your approach to design for international markets.

Managing the design process A marketer maybe having the most brilliantly designed product in the world, but if he has a poor understanding of the target audience, a poor business plan, or both; it would fail. For good design to be good business it must be pursued as an integral part of a wider set of activities.

For example, while a company may have invested in a successful industrial design and engineering process it may have failed to consider the total customer experience. This includes how the customer becomes aware of the product - will it be, for example, through TV advertising, product promotion or product placement? And how will the customer take ownership of the product? Will this be by ordering from a catalogue, purchasing online or in store? Considering all these areas and more leads to a significantly improved total customer experience and the likelihood of success is dramatically improved.

CASES OF BRAND REVIVAL In the span of the last decade or so many companies over the world has taken to the route of brand revival of its either popular brands or brands that didn’t click in its first place. These companies have used different tactics, style, and methods to win over the customers. In the following pages an attempt has been made in this direction to find out these companies, the product it relaunched and the general perception of the people towards it.

CASE#1 Apple Computer Inc In 1997, after reporting losses of $1billion, it was widely assumed that Apple Computer was about to go out of business. The company had lost its way. Its core market of creative’s and students had become alienated and were switching over to cheaper PC products.

However later that year, the return of Steve Jobs as CEO changed all this. He gave the company back its vision, and, working with the design team headed by British designer Jonathan Ive, he created a product driven identity for Apple which is based around a high quality total product experience. With the iMac, Apple redefined the home computer as a friendly domestic object. With the iPod and iTunes music management software, it defined the digital music market and currently holds about 80% of the hard drive-based portable music player market in the USA and approximately 50% worldwide. At the end of 2005 Apple reported the highest revenue and earnings in the Company’s history, and international sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Case#2 Electrolux When CEO Hans Strasberg joined Electrolux in 2002 he took the helm of a company in crisis. He faced spiraling costs while its middle market products were gradually losing out to cheaper goods from Asia and Eastern Europe. Strasberg knew that the only way that the company could hope to survive amidst this ferocious competition was through innovation and design to create products with good looks and clever features which people could understand without having to pore through a thick users’ manual.

To do this he broke down the traditional barriers between departments, forcing marketing, designers and engineers to work together in cross-disciplinary teams. These teams brainstorm and develop new product ideas – the most successful are fast tracked into production. To support this drive for innovation spending in R&D has been bumped from 0.8% of sales to 1.2% with the eventual goal of raising to 2%. This investment is now beginning to show returns, after dropping for two straight years annual sales rose 8% to $16.5 billion, in 2005. The number of product launches that result in outsized unit sales is currently running at over 50% of all introductions up from around 25% previously. The award winning Electrolux Pronto commands 50% of the USA stick vacuum cleaner market despite being double the cost of comparable models.

CELEBRITY BRANDING Introduction Indian advertising started with the hawkers who used to shout out their goods right from the days when cities and markets first began. Since then, Indian advertising has been converted into a strategic tool that enhances sales, more profits and helps in the process of brand-building and product promotion. With this evolved a strategy that tried to benefit from the emotional attachment of the admirers or the fans of the celebrities; in the form of celebrity endorsement. It does help in creating instant awareness and visibility; but for a cost. Today, celebrity endorsement became a buzzword. Dabur Glucose endorsed Amitabh Bachchan. T. V. S. Scooty introduced new hoardings with Preety Zinta. Shahrukh is endorsed in Lux, Santro etc. Vivek Oberoi is endorsed in Babool. Aishwarya Rai is endorsed in Coca Cola ad. It looks that without a Film or Sports star, companies don't want to give you

anything!

Why celebrities? Why do corporate choose celebrities in their advertising? Amitabh endorsing Reid & Taylor campaign was a much known endorsement. The objective was to acquire faster brand recognition, association and emotional unity with the target group. The Reid & Taylor ad showed the highest recall amongst fabric ads. Similarly, when S Kumar’s used Hrithik Roshan, then the hottest advertising icon for their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 - 50 per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was as high as 70 per cent. Basically, celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of that personality, and the hope that a famous face will provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market. In the battle for the mind, you get the customer excited by showing him a known face, and an effective demand is created. This would normally work best when the concerned brand has close substitutes, or has a need for differentiation, or requires quick entry in a short lifecycle category.

The trouble with celebrity branding There are several viewpoints for troubles with celebrity branding as given below. 1. One problem that the company faces from the advertisers' point of view is that the celebrity being "larger" than the brand. For example, in B. P. L. ads Amitabh Bachchan overshadowed the company. 2. The other problem is that of duration of endorsement and a possible mismatch between the celebrity's life cycle and that of the brand. Owing to unavailability of dates, sometimes longterm contracts are signed, but the celebrity's life might be over

soon. For example Vinod Kambli came in many ads at his time, which was running even after he was not in the "Team India". 3. Multiple endorsements is even other problem. That is called 'lazy advertising'. There is unfortunately a limited pool of celebrities who can influence consumers. So you have the same celebrity endorsing several categories, as in Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, who are over-exposed. Consumers may be confused in recalling the ads when they remember the ads.

Celebrity Branding Conclusion For advertisers, everything depends upon customers and the company's budgets. Celebrities do wonder – no doubt! But, the company has to pay a huge cost too. Though some problems are there, it is believed that celebrities work far better than the traditional models.

INTERNET BRANDING The advent of the Internet technology has made available to man a virtual highway, a free medium to cross over, without leaving the base domain. The options to using the facility and optimizing the benefits are all free, and there are no set or pre-determined maps involved. With information and technology only a click away, it is intriguing that the Internet and technology marketing avenues are still so underutilized. This is primarily due to the fact that the technology harnessed is now not only free, but also sadly taken for granted. This has resulted in the subsequent loss of strong-hold and potential power. This complacency probably springs from the notion that man knows and has tried everything and now, there is

nothing further left to do. This is where the magic of internet branding makes its presence known, by addressing the requisite for a domain name, a web site and e-mail, for a business or personal pursuit to flourish. The speed at which changes within this new avenue unfold, it is little wonder that it keeps getting reinvented and furthered every second! Most of the web sites operative today are redundant and many, too old to be fixed or totally unfit to ensure business targets and special industry-specific requirements. Today, the technology gurus have redefined the approach, to make it more lucrative. This is achieved under new rules of Internet branding that are designed to address the current online business needs under e-commerce protocols. The internet branding services offer customers around the world complete access to products, services and a thorough understanding of core corporate management areas. The internet branding services are able to efficiently incorporate new changes and revolutionize the method and message delivery package. The entire gamut is designed to ensure that the business witnesses a smooth transition, which doubles the profits. New internet branding techniques involve a dedicated system of developing a powerful and unique URL that is backed by trademark protection. For proper implementation, the entire organization, at all levels, is required to first understand the effect of successful Internet branding. The concept is best understood and applied with streamlined educational support. The various strategies to counter the e-commerce challenges and new technologies enable the team to stay ahead of the curves! Internet branding literally harnesses the intricacies globalization and expands your local market base. The concept is your ticket to opportunity and a huge international market. You are able to identify the potential customers searching for you as their resource base and step out from behind the computer. Most online business web sites carry confusing marketing messages, which are targeted to multi group audiences and a combined, rather than dedicated effort. In this wholesale approach, the poor

customer is simply shut out. Dedicated internet branding enables the business to be correctly highlighted amidst the fancy slogans and effectively translate technology issues. Corporations very often promote ideas in strange color schemes or single color motifs. Instead of wasting time, money and energy towards this kind of kinky color-specific branding theme to marketing problems, the internet branding option should be considered for its functionality. With internet branding, the concentration is on the business message and identity and not on the creation of spinning, flashy sites. The concept allows entrepreneurs to cash in on the rewards that accompany correct and simple content, instant accessibility and a concise URL. Internet branding enables the businessman to expose the business to a wider and more profitable global customer base. The adherence to the international rules and standards and the development of a clear corporate image and identity allow the entrepreneur to tap and navigate global e-commerce. Internet branding helps the business to function without constraint or any restriction. The strategy also helps with reputation management, which is very critical in today’s internet market place. Any damage to the brand, online or the absence of a strong and positive online brand ensuring strategy for the company leads to the potential risk and loss of business. It has therefore become a necessity to understand and adopt internet branding, both on and off line. With the dedicated approach of the concept, the online presence of any business venture can be turned into a successful brand experience, for the company, as well as the client.

Challenges There are several challenges associated with setting objectives for a brand or product category.

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Brand managers sometimes limit themselves to setting financial and market performance objectives. They may not question strategic objectives if they feel this is the responsibility of senior management. Most product level or brand managers limit themselves to setting short term objectives because their compensation packages are designed to reward short term behavior. Short term objectives should be seen as milestones towards long term objectives. Often product level managers are not given enough information to construct strategic objectives. It is sometimes difficult to translate corporate level objectives into brand or product level objectives. Changes in shareholders' equity are easy for a company to calculate. It is not so easy to calculate the change in shareholders' equity that can be attributed to a product or category. More complex metrics like changes in the net present value of shareholders' equity are even more difficult for the product manager to assess. In a diversified company, the objectives of some brands may conflict with those of other brands. Or worse, corporate objectives may conflict with the specific needs of your brand. This is particularly true in regard to the trade-off between stability and riskiness. Corporate objectives must be broad enough that brands with high risk products are not constrained by objectives set with cash cows in mind (see B.C.G. Analysis). The brand manager also needs to know senior management's harvesting strategy. If corporate management intends to invest in brand equity and take a long term position in the market (i.e. penetration and growth strategy), it would be a mistake for the product manager to use short term cash flow objectives (ie. price skimming strategy). Only when these conflicts and tradeoffs are made explicit, is it possible for all levels of objectives to fit together in a coherent and mutually supportive manner. Brand managers sometimes set objectives that optimize the performance of their unit rather than optimize overall corporate performance. This is particularly true where compensation is based primarily on unit performance.

Managers tend to ignore potential synergies and inter-unit joint processes.

CONCLUSION Brands must make the product relevant and meaningful for the target customers. It must enhance the product over and above the basic generic level. A product that comes off the assembly line tends to be merely a physical object. Branding pushes the product into a perpetual realm by integrating what it is. Branding gives the customers reasons to buy and use the products. Brand rejuvenation gives a second life for a brand. More than 80% of the brands that are launched die off, a mere 8% of these brands, which are retiring, try to rejuvenate/ revive the brand. Today Brand Revival is in very high demand as companies realize that building a brand would take ten times more money than reviving an existing brand. New product development tries to create brand equity from a blank sheet of paper. But it can frequently be more rewarding to start with a sheet already written on, with a hidden message we can decode for a relatively small investment. Many companies have identified the necessity of Brand Revival and entrepreneurs have brought in “Brand Spas” to rejuvenate, indulge and refresh the brands. While understanding the importance of brand revival Most dead brands died not with a bang but a whimper. This paper has examined the revitalization of established brands; a topic that has been overlooked for too many years. Brand managers have numerous options for revitalizing the sales of an established brand in a mature category. The strategies suggested here present opportunities for many managers to salvage and leverage the equity that has been built over the lifetime of the brand. Brands die because of neglect and consumer indifference. In this context what we basically identified as the reason why brand revival is a big hot topic on the mind of the corporate world

now and not 10 years back has been the mental block of “taking out from the dustbin concept”. Several companies particularly the big MNCs, FMCG haven’t even thought of giving many of their failed brands a second chance which if they had would have catapulted their brands into world class brands In this paper we have examined and discussed many cases where in the brands that were once written off have been successfully revived and now they are hugely successful in the market As part of our effort in getting the material, reading and understanding the matters concerning the brand revival process we have in this process identified and extracted a basic check list or the points that the marketer has to keep in mind while reviving a brand.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Websites: • • • • • • •

www.brandrepublic.com www.brandchannel.com Wikipedia.org www.designcouncil.org cnn.com www.himmelgroup.com www.lornamead.com

Articles: • • • • • •

Venkatesh Babu; “Issues in brand revival” “Nurturing brands back to health”; Indian ManagementJournal of AIMA www.findarticles.com www.yahooanswers.com www.rediff.com icmr.icfai.org