Marketing
Pushkar Kulkarni
Marketing
• Topics Covered:
– Branding
– Business Strategy
– Promotions
Quick -update
• Do You Know?
BRANDING
Branding
• WHAT IS BRANDING
• Brand: A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design which is
intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of seller
and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
• “A mixture of tangible and intangible attributes, symbolised in a
trademark, which, if properly managed, creates influence and generates
value”.
• Branding Definitions:
• Brand: Any name term symbol sign design sound or unifying combination
of these that identifies one product from another competitive products.
• Brand Name: The verbal part of the brand
• Logo: A brand name or a company name written in different /distinctive
way.
• Trademark: A legally protected brand name or brand mark. A regitered
trademark gives a marketer proprietary rights to a symbol or name.
Branding
• Service Mark: Provides the same identifying function for services that a
trademark provides for goods. It can also be legally protected by
registration.
• Generic name: Describes a product or a item that is actually a brand
name but has now become part of our standard vocabulary (kerosene,
Xerox, linoleum, etc)
• A brand is an even more complex symbol. It can convey up to six levels
of meanings:
– Attributes: Brings to mind certain attributes about the product / service. E.g: Apple
– Technology
– Benefits: Attributes must be able to translate into functional & emotional benefits.
E.g: Nokia – Long lasting battery
– Values: The brand also says about the product’s values. E.g: Iphone, I pad: Luxury,
expensive
– Cultural: Represents certain Culture. E.g: Starbucks
– Personality: A brand can pose certain personality. E.g: Blackberry
– User: The brand suggests the kind of consumer who buys or uses the product. E.g:
Product & Service Brands
• Product & Service Branding:
• Product brands are original brand carriers for physical goods. These
brands focus more on the features, appearances of the product.
Packaging plays an important role.
• Service brands (intangible) are much less numerous than their
product counter parts. Service brands focus more on customer
experiences.
• Certain service brands, such as retailing, actually sell products but
brand itself is the store, not the product it sells. E.g: Shopper Stop,
Central, etc.
• Global Brands
Branding Options
• Individual Brand names: Adopt individual brand names of individual products.
Each brand gets promoted individually. Normally effect on one brand does not
hamper another brand. However, at times individual branding increases the
cost to the company. E.g: HLL’s products: Lux, Hamam, Lifebuoy, Surf, Rin, etc.
• Family / Umbrella Brand: Different products of company marketed under same
brand name.Benefit of this umbrella brand is promotion becomes easy. People
can trust various products under a reputed brand name. However, if one
product suffers others get affected. E.g: Amul:- Milk, Butter, Ice cream, Lassi.
Chitale Products. TATA.
• Company Name as Brand Name: Companies like Samsung, Philips, LG, use
their company name as brand name for products. Normally companies with
good reputation and goodwill in market can reach its customers easily.
• Distributor’s Brand / Store Brand / Private Label: Small Scale manufacturers or
companies with large manufacturing capacities but having a strong brand
presence prefer the branding to be left with the middlemen or distribution
channels. E.g: Spencers, Shopper Stop, etc selling locally made products under
their brand name. Advantage in this option is producer saves money on
marketing. Disadvantage risk of getting out of market easily.
Brand Positioning
• Certain points to be considered before brand
positioning
Brand Positioning
• Brand positioning is owing a piece of consumer’s mind
• Positioning is not what you do to a product
– It’s what you do to the mind f the prospect
• Brand positioning must make sure that:
– Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ?
– Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ?
– Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses ?
– Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products ?
– Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact
with the consumer ?
– Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals ?
– Is it able to support and boost up the organization ?
Why… Brand Positioning
• The assault on our mind…
– The media explosion
– The product explosion
– The advertising explosion
• So little message gets through that you ignore the sender &
concentrate on the receiver
• Brand Positioning involves identifying and determining points of
similarity and difference to ascertain the right brand identity and
to create a proper brand image
Source: (http://www.slideshare.net/sjhus/brand-positioning-presentation)
How… Brand Positioning
• The easy way to get into person’s mind is to be first. E.g:
Xerox, Kodak, Sun TV, etc
• Develop a unique method / idea to get into the mind of the
people. E.g: radio mirchi
• Understand the product and read the mind of people
• The basic approach is not to create something new or
different, but manipulate what’s already in mind
What you need … for brand positioning
• Understand the role of words and how they affect people….
• Be careful of Change
• Need Vision
– a long term not technology based or Fad
• Courage: To slug it out when others wait and watch
• Simplicity: Not complicated or convoluted
• Subtlety: Unique position
• Patience: Geographical roll out / Demographic /
Chronological
• Global out look: Taj Mahal Tea.
Guidelines
• Start by looking not at the product but at the position in the
market that you wish to occupy, in relation to competition. E.g:
7 ups, Mountain Dew.
• Think about how the brand will answer the main consumer
questions:
– What it will do for me what others will not? Audi cars.
– Why should I believe you? E.g: Colgate doctors’ stats
• Try to keep it short and make every word count and be as
specific as possible. E.g Adidas: Forever Sports.
• Keep the positioning up-do-date .
– Give as careful consideration to change as you did to the original
statement
• Look for key Insight !
– An accepted consumer belief.
Error in Brand Positioning
• There are various positioning errors, such as-
• Under positioning-
– This is a scenario in which the customer’s have a blurred and unclear
idea of the brand.
– Failing to present a strong central benefit or reason to buy the products
– Occurs when customers cannot readily identify the brand or brand’s
features. E.g: Local Solar lights.
• Over positioning-
– This is a scenario in which the customers have too limited a awareness
of the brand.
– Marketers make the product too special, so the potential customer
group becomes too small.
– It means that the buyers believe that the product is meant for a very
selected group E.g: BlackBerry
Errors in Brand Positioning
• Confused positioning:
– This is a scenario in which the customers have a confused opinion of
the brand.
– By claiming two or more benefits that contradict each other
– Too many benefits or claims, or when brand attempts to position in too
many segments.
– Example: NeXT Computers
• Doubtful Positioning:
– This is a scenario in which customers do not accept the claims of a
brand.
– Claiming a benefit that customers will doubt that the brand can actually
deliver
– E.G: Fair & Handsome Cream
Tasks
• Position following products in minds of people
• CareerVarsity
• Wasup Application
