8.6: Branding

Brand strategy is “the entire experience your prospects and customers have with your company, product or service. Your brand strategy defines what you stand for, a promise you make, and the personality you convey.”^[1]

Branding is an essential tool for marketing. Consumers relate so strongly to brands that you can show them just the brand logo, and they can recall everything they know about the brand. Visit the World’s Most Recognizable Brand Logos on the Canva blog to see if you can recognize the company with its brand logo.

Below is a list of some brands that have become so popular that they are used to refer to common products.^[2]  For example:

• Kleenex, which is a brand name, has become synonymous with facial tissues. It is often used to refer to any type of facial tissue, regardless of the brand.
• The Q-Tips brand is often used when people refer to cotton swabs.
• You might think you are riding around on a Jet Ski, but if it’s not made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, it’s just a personal watercraft.
• Chapstick is a brand name of a lip balm produced by Pfizer.
• Xerox has been trying to stop people from calling photocopying “xeroxing” for years.
• Google is the world’s largest and most powerful search engine.
• What we refer to as a “Band-Aid” is actually a bandage. Band-Aid became a trademark of Johnson & Johnson in 1920 and has dominated the wound care market ever since.

Branding Strategies

Companies can adopt one of three major strategies for branding a product:^[3]

1. With private branding (private labelling or store branding), a company makes a product and sells it to a retailer who, in turn, resells it under its own name. A soft-drink maker, for example, might make cola for Walmart to sell as its Sam’s Choice Cola.
2. With generic branding, the maker attaches no branding information to a product except a description of its contents. Products are sold without a widely recognized brand name, often with plain packaging and minimal marketing. Customers are often given a choice between a brand-name prescription drug and a cheaper generic drug with the same formula.
3. With manufacturer branding, a company sells one or more products under its own brand names, such as Apple, Nike, or Coca-Cola. Adopting a multiproduct-branding approach, it sells many products under one brand name. Food-maker ConAgra sells soups, frozen treats, and complete meals under its Healthy Choice label. Using a multi-branding approach, the company assigns different brand names to products covering different segments of the market. Automakers often use multi-branding. The Volkswagen group of brands also includes Audi and Lamborghini.

Refer to Table 8.2 for a comparison of differences between branding strategies.

Branding is used in hotels to allow chains like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton to offer hotel brands that meet various customers’ travel needs while still maintaining their loyalty to the chain. The same customer who would choose an Extended Stay hotel with a full kitchen when on a long-term assignment might stay at a convention hotel when attending a trade show, and then stay in a resort property when travelling with their family. By segmenting different types of hotel locations, amenities, room sizes and décor, hotel chains can meet the needs of a wide variety of travellers. In the past decade, “soft” branding has become common to allow unique hotels to take advantage of being part of a chain reservation system and loyalty program. For example, Marriott has over 100 affiliated independent hotels in its Autograph Collection. Loyalty programs are heavily used in the hospitality industry, especially airlines and hotels, as part of their Customer Relationship Management programs. Loyalty programs are often targeted at high-value business travellers with less price sensitivity. They achieve loyalty status and perks while travelling, as well as earning points to use for personal travel rewards. Once a loyalty program member obtains elite status with significant associated perks such as guaranteed room availability, airport club lounge access, etc., the customer is much less likely to use other brands.^[4]

When consumers have a favourable experience with a product, it builds brand equity. If consumers are loyal to it over time, it enjoys brand loyalty. To get an idea of how valuable brand equity is, think for a moment about the effect of the name Dell on a product. When you have a positive experience with a Dell product—say, a laptop or a printer—you come away with a positive opinion of the entire Dell product line and will probably buy more Dell products. Over time, you may even develop brand loyalty: you may prefer—or even insist on—Dell products. Not surprisingly, brand loyalty can be extremely valuable to a company.

Each branding strategy suits specific market needs, allowing businesses to cater to varying consumer priorities, such as cost, trust in a brand, or exclusivity.

Packaging and Labelling

Packaging can influence a consumer’s decision to buy a product or pass it up. Packaging gives customers a glimpse of the product, and it should be designed to attract their attention, with consideration given to colour choice, style of lettering, and many other details.

Labelling not only identifies the product but also provides information on the package contents: who made it and where, or what risks are associated with it (such as being unsuitable for small children).

Packaging and labelling can provide many benefits for companies, including:^[5]

• Advertising: Packaging and labelling can be used to convey an advertising message.
• Consumer trust: Attractive packaging labels can help build trust in the product’s quality and contents.
• Product safety: Labels can help protect products and keep them safe.
• Product identification: Packaging and labelling can help consumers quickly identify a brand.
• Shipping efficiency: Clearly printed labels can help eliminate confusion during shipping.
• Competitive advantage: Packaging and labelling can help a company differentiate itself from competitors.

Media Attributions

“Brands” by B. Jordan on Flickr; CC BY.