I. INTRODUCTIONWhat is a a brand ? Why we need branding ? A brand is identified as a name, term, design, symbol or any feature that identify a seller's goods or services from those of the other sellers . Branding is the goods and/or services plus added values that provide functional, economic and psychological benefits for the end-users in term of Quality, Price and Image.Definitions of a "brand" ranged from "a unique or differentiated product" to "a consumer recognized name" to "an identifiable image or personality tied to a product". Some respondents went further to assert that a "brand" is the actual relationship that a product has with the consumer, while others were more practical ...view middle of the document...
) and also retailer's own label.(look alike products), the makers of megabrends have blinked.This is compound by the fact that brand in the 90's have been overvalued according to the accounting valuation. In April 2, 1993, when Philip Morris cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 40 cents a pack.. That was on a Friday (Marlboro Friday). On Monday, the stock market value of packaged goods companies fell by $25 billion. Everybody agreed: brands were doomed.So does all these news hinder an end to the era of megabranding ? Are brands dying and brand building is dead ? or is these an indication of a new era of brand building & managing ? and the turnaround in brand fortunes can be explained by market changes(ie: better informed & educated customers, the speedy response of imitators and increase retailing power.) couple with the generally poor brand management I will discuss the arguments for & against the statement concerning the dearth of branding.II. ARGUMENTS FOR THE CONTINUES FORCE OF BRANDING.Branding is currently at a crucial phase. The core principles of branding will remain the same but the actual execution of brand strategy will evolve to suit the changing consumer and the changing marketplace. This may involve re-evaluating the brand across all its different aspects. A brand will have to be benchmarked against the needs of the consumer within the framework of the marketplace.The Brand ExperienceA brand represents an experience for consumers and, as such, becomes less associated with an individual product or service than the brand values. company's manufacturing competencies become less relevant than its ability to understand consumers and to manage a brand. Production can always be outsourced. In practice, it means that a brand can be extended across seemingly unrelated product and service categories if it maintains the same core brand values. Virgin brand which started in record retailing, moved into the associated areas of record company, film and video before the first significant strategic discontinuity with the launch of Virgin Atlantic. Since then, the brand has been extended into soft drinks, vodka, television and radio, financial services, rail travel, clothing and cosmetics.The Differentiated BrandDifferent brands will need to use different forms of differentiation and for different consumers. There will also be a trade-off between short-term competitive advantage and long-term differentiation. Service aspects will be the key to securing brand differentiation in the future. Branding is about providing a means of differentiation. This will become increasingly vital as the market and, in particular, the competitive situation evolve. Sustained differentiation will also enable a strong defence against me-too products(imitator & look alike). A low price may become less a means of discrimination than currently. Information about pricing will be more easily available, even automated through intelligent agents. A low pr...
