Brand Positioning

A Presentation on Brands Presented to Professor SubbaRao Presented By – Amit Sharma Roll No – 22

BRAND DEFINITION An identifying symbol, words, or mark that distinguishes a product or company from its competitors.

A brand is a complex symbol that can convey up to six levels of meaning: 1.Attributes: A brand brings to mind certain attributes. Mercedes suggests expensive, well built, well engineered, durable, high prestige automobiles. 2. Benefits: Attribute must be translated into functional and emotional benefits. The attribute “durable” could translate into the functional benefit “I won’t have to buy another car for several years.” The attribute “expensive” translates into the emotional benefit “the car makes me feel

3. Values: The brand also says something about the producer’s values. Mercedes stands for high performance, safety and prestige. 4. Culture: the brand may represent a certain culture. The Mercedes represents a German culture: organized, efficient, high quality. 5. Personality: The brand can project a certain personality. Mercedes may suggest a no- nonsense boss (person), a reigning lion (animal), or an austere palace (object).

6. User: The brand suggests the kind of consumer who buys or uses the product. we would expect to see a 55-year- old top executive behind the wheel of Mercedes, not 20 year old secretary.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP A BRAND FOR YOUR PRODUCT? Differentiation — A brand provides a clear and definitive reason for customers to buy your product. If this reason does not exist, your product is a commodity and the only measure of value is price. Small, value added businesses cannot compete on price successfully and need to incorporate some form of differentiation.

Conveys value — Consumers perceive brand name products as higher quality, more reliable and a better value than non-branded products. Generally speaking, the number-one brand in a category can command a 10% price premium over the number-two brand, and a 40% premium over the store brand. This price premium is known as a brand tax. Consumers understand that a strong brand can reduce getting stuck with disappointing or faulty products.

Builds brand loyalty — Brand loyalty is the recurring stream of profit generated by repeat and referral sales of a specific brand. Repeat sales can be as much as 90% less expensive to a company than new customer development.

Builds Pride — Branded, recognizable products invoke a sense of pride in those associated with production, promotion, sale and distribution of those products.

BRAND IMAGE Definition: Brand image is the impression left in the mind of the prospect by the brand. Brand Image is how the brand is perceived by the consumer. Brand personality is only a part of brand image. Brand personality is the cause while brand image is the effect. A brand is unlikely to have one brand image, but several, though one or two may predominate. The key in brand image research is to identify or develop the most

powerful images and reinforce them through subsequent brand communications. The term "brand image" gained popularity as evidence began to grow that the feelings and images associated with a brand were powerful purchase influencers, though brand recognition, recall and brand identity.

It is based on the proposition that consumers buy not only a product (commodity), but also the image associations of the product, such as power, wealth, sophistication, and most importantly identification and association with other users of the brand. Good brand images are instantly evoked, are positive, and are almost always unique among competitive brands.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE BRAND IMAGE:

Contents of the ad: The quality of contents,i.e.the color combination, music, background words, headline, illustration, etc. can give an intended image to the ad.eg. If wit is used then the ad can get an intelligent image.

Personalities used: The Personality of the person endorsing the brand must match with the personality of the brand eg. Sachin endorsing Adidas brand.

Symbols: The company and the brand logos should be designed for instant recognition of the brand. e.g.,. The MRF-muscled man, the Ceat tyresborn tough Rhino. The coolest one-Penguin of Kelvinator. Media used: The quality of media or programs sponsored may affect the brand image. e.g.. Raymond suiting can advertise in Business magazines but not in local magazines.

Packaging: The package is the face of the product. Therefore, it must be properly designed in order to give a rich image to the to the product. the material, color, shape, design. size, etc. highly influence the brand image.

Sponsoring of the Events: The events sponsored by the company can affect the brand image. Therefore, brands having rich image sponsor rich events. E.g.. Tennis tournaments being sponsored by the premium brands.

Distribution: The type of distribution undertaken by a company can definitely affect the brand image. E.g.. Tanishq jewelery is available at selected stores in India hence the brand gets an elitist image. After sales-service: Prompt and effective after sales service can help develop a good image to the brand in the market. E.g.. Maruti Udyog Ltd., Whirlpool enjoy a good brand image due to is network.

Product: The product itself is an important factor in developing the brand image. The product should be able to generate customer satisfaction. Price: The price factor can obviously enhance the brand image. e.g. the premium pricing done by Mercedes has helped it to develop a classy image not only for co. but also the brands.

3 COMPONENTS OF BRAND IMAGE  Attributes: When used in a market research context, they are simply properties of a given product, brand, service, advertisement or any object of interest. Much brand and market research is targeted at understanding the most significant and powerful attributes of a product/service/brand or product/service/brand class. A product, service, or brand can have many attributes including cost, value for money, prestige, taste, usability, liking ("affect") and a wide range of image or personality attributes.

Consequences: This term, consequences, suggests the effects of the brand image. Brand Personality: Brand personality is the sum total of all the significant tangible and intangible assets that a brand possesses.

BRAND PERSONALITY Five Dimensions: 1.Sincerity e.g. the Forhans Dr. 2.Excitement e.g. Josh machine-Ford Ikon 3.Competence e.g. Pepsodent 4.Sophistication e.g. Mercedes 5.Ruggedness e.g. Ceat tyres, Live-in -jeans

BUILDING BRAND PERSONALITY 1.Single Minded: The first and the foremost thing that matters in building brand personality is being single minded in communicating and preserving what might be called as core brand values. e.g. Marlboro cigarettes after having the cowboy as its symbol it never deviated from that image. The Indian brands like Lifebuoy has been consistent with its ‘Tandurusti-ki-raksha and Bournvita’s ‘Tan-ki-shakti, Man-ki-shakti Bournvita.

2. Cluster of value satisfactions: Brands with a coherent personality deliver a ‘cluster of value satisfactions’. This can be done only when each element of the marketing mix is configured to deliver a brand personality besides a brand. When its personality is managed well, a brand acquires a distinct identity. e.g. Mysore sandal, pears toilet soaps cannot be mistaken for any other soap in packed o unpacked condition. Keo Karpin hair oil pitches on mothers love, and has never changed its dark green bottle. In the same way, its difficult to imagine Lifebuoy ia anything other than a red carbolic cake. Onida carved a niche for itself with its unique negative emotional advertising and a premium product.

3.Powerful Logos: The logo used must be such that the customer should be able to associate the brand with the product. Hence, its very vital to design a powerful logo that leaves an impact in the minds of the consumer. e.g. MRF has consistently built its image through the logo of ‘muscleman’. It backed this up with aggressive advertising and reliable service. The net result is that MRF stands out as a brand in a category with tremendous clutter. Asian paints lovable mascot ‘Gattu’, its imaginative products like ‘Utsav’ and ‘Apcolite’ have given it near invincibility in the decorative paints market. Some other powerful great logos include, LIC, JW Mariott.

4. Able to Deliver something Unique: There is tremendous competition in the market. Hence the confused customer mostly prefers to buy a product which has its own USP. In other words, the brand should be so built that its differentiating factor induces the customer to buy the product. e.g. Nyle herbal shampoo, (though in some trouble now), has a strong personality. It stands on the green platform and hence it looks green in a transparent bottle. The communivation also underlines the health and freshness of green symbolised through a lady wearing a similar looking green. Amongst shampoos, it has almost cornered the word green for itself. In a similar manner the bike Hero Honda

and Yamaha stand for fuel efficiency and power respectively. 5. Quality and Reliability: Last but not the least, the two important features quality and reliability help in building a very strong brand personality. e.g. The brand names Tata and Godrej appear on so many product categories and are yet successful because they are synonymous with quality and reliability.

Brand Positioning Positioning is the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the target markets mind

• A Brand position is the part of Brand Identity and value proposition that is to be actively communicated to the target audience and that demonstrates an advantage over the competing brands.

• Positioning is a concept commonly seen in Marketing. • Positioning is the act of designing company's offerings and image to occupy a distinctive place in the target audiences mind. The essence of Brand Positioning is achievement of valued distinctions differentiation in the consumers mind.

A Few Examples Name Personality Lifebuoy Soap Price Philips 2 - in 1 Quality

Image Value for money Reliable

Leading Technologically electronics mfg superior

Kinetic Honda Gearless Ignition start Raaga Herbal Powder

Comfort comfort

Communication Traditional Shikakai BrandHygienic Name

Boost

Advertising

Energy

Promotion

energy

Little hearts

Puffed biscuits Novelty Distinct packing Heart shaped biscuits

Attractive romantic

Some well positioned Brands Marlboro

: Macho Man

Colgate

: World leader in Oral Care

Raymonds

: The Complete Man

Dettol

: Antiseptic

Liril

: Freshness

•Fair and lovely

: Fairness

•Woodland

: Tough shoes

Brand Positioning Strategy The prime prospect The competitor frame Leverageable difference The end difference

Benefits Of BPS Strengthen the current position Grab an unoccupied position Reposition, if necessary Exclusive club strategy Eg : Sam’s Club

How to determine positioning strategy?  Identify the competitors  Determine how the competitors are perceived and evaluated  Determine the competitors position  Analyze the customer  Select the position  Monitor the position

7 positioning strategies • • • • • • •

Positioning Positioning Positioning Positioning Positioning Positioning Positioning

by by by by by by by

attribute price-quality use or application product user product class cultural symbols competitors

Positioning By Product Attributes • Associating a product with an attribute, a product feature or a consumer feature. Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two or more attributes simultaneously. • 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 the 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 high benefits derived from using the brand. Premium brands positioned at the high end of the market use this approach of positioning.

• Another way to use price/quality for positioning is to focus on one quality or value offered by the brand at a very competitive price. Although price is important consideration, the product quality must be comparable to, or even better than, competing brands for the positioning strategy to be effective.] • Eg – Parle Bisleri : Bada Bisleri, same price.

Position 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 hai na” • Clinic All Clear “dare to wear black”

Position by Product Class • Often the competitor for a particular product comes from the outside the product class. For example airlines know that while they compete with other airlines, trains and buses are also available as alternatives. Manufacturers of music CDs must compete with the cassettes industry. The product is positioned against others that, while not exactly the same but provide the class benefits.

Positioning by product user • Positioning a product by associating it with a particular user or a group of users is yet another approach. • For this approach to work, the marketer has to first identify the target audience and has to make ads that are aimed to reach the specific audience. Certain niche product only have the high end users thus the ads that are made, are made in a way that they appeal more to the high end Audience. The ads of Chevrolet Optra are a good example in point.

Positioning by competitors • Competitors may be as important to the positioning strategy as a firms own product or services. In today's market, an effective positioning strategy for a product or brand may focus on specific competitors. This approach is similar to positioning by product class, although in this case the competition in within the same product category.

• Onida was postioned against the giants in the television industry through this startegy. Onida colour t.v was launched with the message that all others were clones and only Onida was the leader.

Positioning by cultural symbols • An additional positioning strategy where in the cultural symbols are used to differentiate the brands. – Examples are Humara Bajaj. – Harley Davidson

• Each of these symbols has successfully differentiated the product it represents from the competitors.

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