All about Product Branding, their evolution, importance, scope, objectives, along with SWOT.

1. Seminar Report
On
“Product Branding strategy and challenges”
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the
Award of degree of
Master of Business Administration
2016-2018
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
POORNIMA UNIVERSITY, JAIPUR
Submitted By: Submitted To:
Annu Kumari Mr. Harsh Pratap Singh
2016PUSOMMBXX04237 (Assistant Prof. of Poornima
University)

2. INTERNAL GUIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Annu Kumari student of MBA I Year (2016-18) School of
Management, Poornima University, Jaipur has completed Report of Seminar on
Contemporary Issue titled “Product Branding”
The Report has been completed under the guidance of “Mr Harsh Pratap Singh”
Assistant Professor and is as per norms and guidelines provided.
Academic Guide
Mr Harsh Pratap Singh

3. Acknowledgement
I express my sincere thanks to my Report Guide Mr. Harsh Pratap Singh Designation
Assistant Professor Department of Management for guiding me right form the
inception till the successful completion of the report.
I sincerely acknowledge him/her/them for extending their valuable guidance, support for
literature, critical reviews of this report and above all for the moral support he/she/they
provided me at all stages.
I would also like to thank the supporting staff for their help and cooperation throughout
my report.
(Signature of Student)
Name of the Student
Annu Kumari
MBA ‘K’
Roll no.- 08

4. Table of Content:-
 Introduction of Product Branding
 Concept
 Evolution
 Importance of Product Branding
 Objectives
 Role of Branding
 Scope of Product Branding
 Review of Literature
 Methodology
 Data Collection
 Challenges
 Issues of Product Branding
 Opportunities
 SWOT
 Trends of Product Branding
 Its Future
 Conclusion
 Bibliography

5. Reports on Product Branding:-
INTRODUCTION:-
Branding is a strategy that is used by marketers. Pickton and Broderick (2001)
describe branding as Strategy to differentiate products and companies, and to build
economic value for both the consumer and the brand owner.
 A brand is an identity that includes all sorts of components; depending on the brand e.g.
Body Shop International encapsulates ethics, environmentalism and political beliefs.
 A brand is an image where the consumer perceives a brand as representing a particular
reality e.g. Stella Artois Reassuring Expensive.
 A brand is a relationship where the consumer reflects upon him or herself through the
experience of consuming a product or service.
There are a number of interpretations of the term brand. They are
summarized as follows:
 A brand is simply a logo e.g. McDonald’s Golden Arches.
 A brand is a legal instrument, existing in a similar way to a patent or copyright.
 A brand is a company e.g. Coca-Cola.
 A brand is positioning. It is situated in relation to other brands in the mind of the
consumer as better, worse, quicker, slower, etc.
 A brand is a vision. Here managers aspire to see a brand with a cluster of values. In
this context vision is similar to goal or mission.
Developing new product & services involves unforeseen risks. To control the probability
of unfortunate consequences, accurate understanding of your customer requirements &
conducting proper product research and development is very necessary. No new
product/service can be successful without studying as to how it is going to work in the
market. For this, new product research needs to be done.
But not all companies are capable of conducting such extensive market research on
their own. This is what has given rise to so many product research services in India. But
then not all such services can possibly be the best, and you must choose the best one
in order to get the best new product research.
Product Services specific research at Cognus Technology
Cognus is a digital marketing company in India which provides marketing, data
processing, outsourcing and research and analytics services. We are a team of more
than 100 professionals working for business needs since last more than 10 years. We
aim at integrating new product market research which creates a profound impact on the
costs incurred on product research and development.

6. We take down your business specifications and provide you with a detailed document
containing each product design research and service strategy, trends & patterns
observed among consumers, customer value proposition, suggestions towards
packaging improvements and delivery aspect by using our exclusive product research
tools. This product and service research effectively plays a crucial role in controlling
down or up streaming the manufacturing process.
Our Product research services India:
We use some very effective tools for product research and provide a vast range of
product research services right from new product launch research till product packaging
research, some of which are listed below:
 Product design research
 Target audience research
 Product Testing
 Product concept testing
 New product launch research
 Brand name research
 Product innovation services
 Product Packaging Research
Our range of Services specific research:
A simple description of branding is the ability to identify a specific product or service.
The word branding began as a way to tell one owner of cattle from another through the
use of a hot iron stamp. Brand names and trademarks are essentially the same
concept. The word brand has evolved to include identity and affects the personality/view
of the product, service or company being branded. A brand can take many forms,
including a sign, symbol, name, and/or color combination. Brands are us ed in the
automotive industry and were originally called marques. A brand is what identifies a
product or service of a particular company. Brands also help to explain how a product
relates to its customers staff, partners and investors. Individuals who oversee a brand,
often called brand managers, strive to make the brand’s product or service relevant to
the particular product or service’s target audience. When a brand is widely known in the
marketplace, it acquires and gains brand recognition. When brand recognition is built up
to a point where a brand has a critical mass in the marketplace, it is said to have
achieved brand franchise. Companies look to branding as a value added aspect of
selling their product and services. When there are two products that resemble one
another individuals often select the more expensive branded product strictly on the
basis of quality or reputation of the brand and its owner.
Branding a service is very different from branding a product for a variety of reasons,
such as:

7.  Products are made where services are delivered
 Products are used where services are experienced
 Products are tangible where services are emotional
Products are impersonal physical items that can be evaluated before you buy them.
Services, on the other hand, are very personal. Customers don’t just buy a service, they
buy an experience.
Services don’t even exist until we buy them. There has to be a level of trust or even a
“leap of faith” from the customer before they will buy a service.
Product Branding:-
A well-known example of a major U.S. company that utilizes product branding
is Procter & Gamble with corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. They make
beauty, personal care and household products, and many of the company's popular
brands each have a dedicated website. Each product carries individualized symbols or
logos and some have advertising slogans associated with the product alone, not
mentioning the corporation or the P&G brand except in labeling.
Businesses can reap a number of rewards for marketing and maintaining
strong brands through both the approach of corporate brand promotion, product
branding, or a combination of the two. A company's rewards for possessing strong
brands include name recognition that builds trust in the product or corporate brand. This
sense of trust builds consumer loyalty that affects final choices in purchasing,
establishing a repeat customer base. Garnering a niche of a particular market share
then permits the business more leeway in increasing pricing on preferred products.
Branding is a marketing term that refers to a company's efforts to build and
maintain an image or brand identity. Product marketing occurs when a company
delivers marketing messages and campaigns to promote a particular product. In
general, branding is broader and has a long-term emphasis, while marketing for a given
product often has a shorter-term purpose. Branding
The concept of branding for a business is very similar to the idea of a person
building a reputation. A brand is the meaning behind the name, logo or other symbol
used to signify a company and its products. Companies typically try to associate certain
positive traits or attributes with it when using marketing to build a brand. Some
companies try to establish themselves as leaders in innovation, while others make
quality, high service or low costs differentiated factors of their brand.

8. The Evolution of Branding:-
People have branded their livestock to indicate ownership since ancient times. Artisans
and other merchants put their marks on their wares to indicate source, and with that, a
level of quality assurance. After that, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) originated the brand
management concept.
Other consumer packaged goods companies such as Kraft Foods, Unilever
and Nestle developed and refined the brand management discipline and job function. In
the 1990s, companies began to grasp the value of brands as assets and started
managing corporate brands at senior levels in their organizations. Then the concept of
brands and brand management migrated from products and companies to virtually
everything – universities, museums, hospitals, musical groups, restaurants, trade
associations, governmental agencies, municipalities, geographic regions, countries,
religions, individual churches and even individuals.
At first, brands were more aligned with things (products and organizations). Then
they were applied to services and experiences. After that, they were more about
concepts, ideas and images. Increasingly, they focus on values and access.
Brands have expanded from their focus on products to organizations to virtually
everything (as noted above) leading to a completely branded culture. With the increased
flux in social institutions from religions and political parties to nation states, it is up to the
individual to craft his own identity. He is increasingly using brands to reinforce and
signal his social values, lifestyle, culture and identity. So now brands are helping to
create communities based on shared values.
At the least effective level, brands claim unique attributes, functions or features. Taking
it up a notch, brands claim unique benefits. They may claim functional benefits, or better
yet, emotional, experiential or self-expressive benefits. However, more and more,
brands are standing for something. They share a set of values with their customers. So
today, the most powerful brands create communities with their customers based
on shared values, culture and sense of identity.
Importance of Product Branding:-
Branding is an ongoing and long-term marketing process. New companies try to build a
brand early and established companies try to maintain and grow the value of their
brands over time. Establishing a strong brand helps lay the foundation for company
success over time. A strong brand reputation helps a company get better results when it
attempts to market products because its brand identity has carryover effects with its
products.

9. I. Product Marketing
Product marketing generally encompasses all of the marketing and communication
messages a company delivers to promote a particular product. It begins at the
conception phase, includes research and development of the product, and culminates in
marketing to promote the benefits of the product to the company's target markets. While
branding establishes the company's general image and strengths, product marketing
conveys benefits of the given product being marketed.
Branding is the use of a name, term, symbol or design to give a product a
unique identity in the marketplace. Marketers have three major strategic options:
manufacturer branding vs. private labels; individual branding vs. family brands; and co-
branding. In addition, they must consider whether to seek trademark protection for their
brand.
II. Manufacturer vs. Private Brands:-
When a brand identity is clearly linked with the manufacturer of the product, it is called a
manufacturer brand. Also known as a national brand, marketers usually choose this
option when the firm has a strong, positive image. But some products, especially if they
are not well-differentiated in the marketplace, benefit by being associated with the store
where they are sold. For example, major drugstore chains routinely offer their own
private-label brands of staple products like pain relievers and skin cream.
Naming Your Organization or Product
To effectively promote your product, you must have a concise, yet meaningful
description of the product. This can be much more complicated than merely picking a
name. There are consultancies built around helping organizations to name or brand
their products and services. You have to be sure that you're not using a name that is
already trademarked or service marked. You should not have a name that closely
resembles an already established name in your area, or customers will confuse your
services with those referred to by the other name -- or, the organization with the other
name may choose to sue you. You need a name that makes sense locally, but if you
grow, the name will still be understood elsewhere. The name you choose for your
product will be around for a long time and can have substantial impact on how your
products are perceived. Therefore, seriously consider some basic forms of market
research to glean impressions of different names. For example, convene several focus
groups to glean their reactions to various names. Have survey cards that clients can
complete to suggest names.

10. Branding Your Organization or Product
To effectively promote your organization or product, you need to continue to establish
its strong reputation and personality, or brand, for it. To understand what a brand is,
think of some very common company names, the logos they use, the slogans it uses,
the standard colors of the logos and the types of values that it tries to convey in its
advertising. All of those together accomplish the company's brand -- so the name is
really part of the overall brand. There can be a brand for an organization and for each of
its products. Similar to naming an organization or product, the brand should be unique.
1. You need a name that conveys the nature of the service and, ideally, your unique
value proposition -- your unique value proposition is a concise description of your
product or service, how it is unique, and why people should buy from you, rather than
from your competitors.
2. You need a name and brand that makes sense locally, but will still be understood if
the program extends elsewhere. The name you choose will be around for a long time
and can have substantial impact on how your services are perceived.
3. You have to be sure that you are not using a name that is already trademarked or
service marked. You might verify this by:
a) Looking in the Yellow Pages of your local telephone directory.
b) Calling the appropriate governmental office (for example, contact the Secretary
of State’s office in the USA or contact the appropriate provincial office in
Canada) to see if similar names are registered.
c) Looking in any on-line databases of registered and applied-for names
4. You should not have a name that closely resembles an already established name in
your geographic area or service field because clients will confuse your services with
those referred to by the other name. The organization with the other name may even
choose to sue you.
5. Should you use a different name for each target market? Note that you can likely
benefit a great deal from hiring a marketing consultant to help you design and build your
marketing materials so they effectively convey the personality, or brand, of your
program and the overall organization. The consultant can help you with selection and
design of:
 Name
 Colors
 Logo (text and image)
 Business cards
 Labels
 Envelopes
 Web pages

11. Your marketing must be laser-focused. It cannot be everything to everybody. What
should your marketing message achieve?
 Image & Branding
 Recognition, Credibility & Trust
 Call to Action
Business Branding Basics
Your company is only as powerful as your BRAND. A company’s brand, like an
individual’s personality, is unique – and should clearly convey the culture of your
organization.
In a nutshell, effective branding takes:
 Strategizing about who your company is,
 Aligning your brand with the your company’s core values,
 Creating an image and advertising that is distinctive, &
 Integrating all media into an effective and memorable brand message.
These are the basics of business branding. The most successful brands maintain a
consistent voice – in the media, on the web, and in person.
What is a Brand Strategy?
Brand strategy is the who, what, why, where, and how of branding. A well-crafted brand
strategy:
 Captures your company’s personality
 Creates messaging that resonates with prospects
 Establishes your company’s competitive advantage
 Converts prospects’ interest into revenue
A good marketing firm with experience in your competitive niche can listen to key
employees (and even customers) to craft a message that clearly and succinctly speaks
to your target audience. It’s an important investment in your entire marketing effort –
and will make your future advertising expenditures powerful.
For a great example of a rebranding campaign that achieved these objectives, consider
Financial Marketing Solutions’ creative work for First Bank. These concepts can be
applied to any business in any industry.

12. The Advantages of Branding Strategy Product Recognition
As any marketing specialist knows, a good business branding strategy includes a well-
rounded, carefully crafted image that encompasses not only a logo, a slogan, and an
integrated design scheme, but also name and product recognition that keeps customers
coming back for more. When a marketer successfully combines the individual elements
of a business brand with a reputation for honesty and value, winning and retaining a
healthy market share is likely to follow.
 Instant Messaging
One advantage of product recognition related to a business brand is the ability to
communicate a marketing message virtually instantaneously. A well-known product that
is backed by a trusted brand has the power to instantly connect with potential
customers, while an unknown or generic product may not make any impression
whatsoever. For example, an outdoor sportswear company that has built its reputation
on providing rugged clothing for extreme conditions can immediately communicate
these brand messages to the consumer by showing its company logo beside a fleece
jacket. Conversely, an unknown company advertising a no-brand fleece jacket must rely
on a viewer taking the time to read the text explaining the product's features.
 Assurance of Quality
When you market an item with a strong, positive brand association, you communicate
an assurance of quality to your potential customers. Consumers are more likely to
purchase a name-brand set of tires than an unfamiliar or generic set, even if the name
brand is more expensive, as illustrated by sales statistics for 2010 that show Goodyear,
Bridgestone, and Michelin claiming over 50 percent of the United States replacement-
tire market. Often, superior sales are due to the trust and expectation of quality that the
recognized brand has established through an integrated marketing program.
 Social Factors
Social media marketing, one of the hottest venues of the decade for building a business
brand, is an ideal platform for product recognition as a key marketing strategy. By
building a following via interactive tools, such as contests, and then generating a viral
"buzz" about specific products that further the development of the business brand,
advertisers can use the momentum of social interaction to promote product recognition
and, as a result, boost sales. The more times people within the social network "like,"
tag, comment about or click on a product, the more popular it becomes, and ideally
within hours, demand for the product increases.

13.  Emotional Appeal
Targeting a customer's emotions with product names can be a key marketing strategy.
For instance, if your business manufactures sleepwear and robes, the name of each
product should reflect the comfort and warmth of a good night's sleep. Words like
"snuggle," "cozy," "fluffy," and "relaxed" could be applicable, and further a branding
strategy of a business named "Cloud Nine Creations" that appeals to people's desire for
comfort, especially if they are sleep-deprived. Creating an integrated appeal to specific
emotions promotes product recognition and sales.
Examples of Branding in Marketing:-
Branding is a marketing technique used by businesses to create a desired image for a
product or company in the minds of the consumer. Examples can demonstrate to small
business owners how to use branding effectively for their enterprise.
 Symbols
Branding often takes the form of a recognizable symbol to which consumers easily
identify, such as a logo. Common examples include the Nike "swoosh," the golden
arches of McDonald's and the apple used by Apple Computers. Logos typically appear
on all products in some form and are used in advertising and promotional campaigns.
The most successful symbols allow consumers to identify a product or company even if
the name is not visible.
 Slogans
Like symbols, slogans build a brand image. Slogans are successfully used in industries
such as insurance to make consumers associate insurers with trust, such as
"Nationwide is on your side," "You're in good hands with Allstate" and "Like a good
neighbor, State Farm is there." As with well-known logos, successful slogans become
ingrained in the minds of consumers and may remain there for as long as the company
stays in business.
 Differentiation
Companies can use branding to differentiate themselves from the competition. For
instance, a business can position itself as being an innovator, indicating that its
competitors offer the same products or services it has been providing for years. In a
time where environmental concerns are important to consumers, a business can also
attempt to brand itself as operating more cleanly and efficiently than the competition.
Another common technique is to use branding to create an image of always offering the
lowest prices.

14.  User Experience
Branding is also demonstrated by the user experience that companies attempt to
create. For example, McDonald's uses its advertising to create an image of being a fun
place for parents to take their kids, in addition to being a place to get a quick meal.
When people think of GEICO, they may think of how fast and easy it is to purchase car
insurance, and the humor used in the company's advertisements creates the image of
an enjoyable shopping experience.
Product & Brand Strategy:-
Your company’s brand includes your name, logo and slogan, but a brand is so much
more that these simple creative elements. A brand represents your company’s daily
interactions with customers and evokes emotion that calls your customer base to action.
Create crucial brand identity by writing and implementing a product and brand strategy.
Significance
A successful product and brand strategy develops brand awareness and identity that
sets your products apart from the countless others solely based on brand name. A well-
designed strategy repeatedly reminds potential and current customers why they should
purchase your product over others with similar characteristics. The brand name
compels a customer to buy a product based on his emotional ties to what the brand
implies, not necessarily quality or price; although quality and price are vital to brand life
span.
 Positioning
A brand strategy should position products relative to immediate competition. Decide
whether you want consumers to think of your product as less expensive than the
competition, higher quality than the competition or carrying more status than the
competition. These and other factors determine your brand and product position in the
market relative to your competition.
 Benefits
Implementing a strategic brand and product plan should cause consumers to have a
positive emotional association with your brand. To achieve this, a brand and product
strategy should align with core business values and mission, adapt easily to various
business and economic climates, and have clear meaning and relevance to your target
consumer base. For example, brand and product strategies designed to attract runners
and other athletes should involve activities that reinforce your brand association with
athletics and fitness.

15.  Considerations
A brand and product strategy works in close concert with other vital sections of your
business plan. Convey your brand strategy within the pricing strategy, sales and
marketing strategy and company mission strategy. These other areas of the business
plan feed off of the branding strategy. The brand and product strategy provides the
foundation that influences advertising campaigns, company literature, public perception
and customer commitment.
 Misconceptions
Small businesses often feel they lack the budget and knowledge to develop a
competitive and effective brand and product strategy. Because of this, they may choose
to simply forgo any brand planning and strategy at all. Brand strategies require market
and industry research as well as insight into the emotional needs and desires of the
target market. If you don’t have the budget to hire a consulting firm specializing in brand
strategies, you can do it yourself. Conduct customer focus groups and allow the
consumers to convey the emotions and perceptions evoked as a result of your various
branding ideas. You can use this information in conjunction with demographic data to
develop a successful strategy.
Objectives of the study of Product Branding:-
 Increase sales
 Build brand awareness
 Grow market share
 Launch new products or services
 Target new customers
 Enter new markets internationally or locally
 Improve stakeholder relations
 Enhance customer relationships
 Improve internal communications
 Increase profit
Role of Brands
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as “a name, term, sign, symbol, or
design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller
or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.”
Therefore, a brand is a product or service which help the organization differentiate their
products or services from others.

16. The differentiation of a brand can be:
1. Related to Product Performance : e.g. Gillette, Merck, Sony, 3M
1. Functional
2. Rational
3. Tangible
2. Related to Brand Identity: e.g. Coca-Cola, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Tommy
Hilfiger, Marlboro
1. Symbolic
2. Emotional
3. Intangible
Building a Brand helps both the consumer and the manufacturer creating a win-win
situation for both the parties.
Benefits of Brand for the consumer
1. It helps to identify the source of manufacturer of the product and
simultaneously assigns a responsibility towards an organization for the
branded product.
2. Experience of customers with products of same brand help them to
quickly decide whether they will want to go with their purchase
decision or not making their decision easier.
3. Brands bring with them a certain level of quality assurance.
Benefits of Brand for the firm
1. For a firm, the brand provides legal protection towards unique features
or aspects of the product.
2. Brand loyalty helps organization to retain their existing customers
when diversifying from one line of products to other. It provides
security of demand and creates barrier for other manufactures to easily
tap existing customers.

17. 3. Firms can charge a premium for owning a brand boosting profit on
every sale.
4. Product can be copied, but brand cannot. Once a brand is established,
it’s the invaluable asset for an organization.
5. A well established brand adds towards the overall value of the firm
while calculating its net worth.
Scope of Branding
A brand is a perceptual entity that is rooted in reality but reflects the
perceptions and perhaps even the idiosyncrasies of consumers. Ultimately a
brand is something that resides in the minds of consumers.
To successfully brand a product it is necessary to teach consumers:
1. Who the product is.
2. What the product does.
3. Why consumers should choose that particular brand.
A branding strategy shall be considered successful only when the consumers
have an answer to the above three questions which is strong enough to make
them believe that there are significant differences in the products or services
provided by a brand than others.
The concept of branding can be applied to:
1. Physical Goods – e.g. Parle-G biscuits, Tata Tea, Maruti SX4 etc-
2. Services – e.g. Indigo Airlines, ICICI Bank etc-
3. Stores – e.g. Future Retail, Central, 99 Store, Amazon etc-
4. Person – e.g. Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bacchhan etc-
5. Place – e.g. Gujrat Tourism, Incredible India etc-
6. Organization – e.g. The Rolling Stones
7. Idea – e.g abortion rights, free trade, or freedom of speech

18. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:-
Although there is a large body of research on brand equity, little in terms of a literature
review has been published on this since Feldwick’s (1996) paper. To address this gap,
this paper brings together the scattered literature on consumer based brand equity’s
conceptualization and measurement. Measures of consumer based brand equity are
classified as either direct or indirect. Indirect measures assess consumer-based brand
equity through its demonstrable dimensions and are superior from a diagnostic level.
The paper concludes with directions for future research and managerial pointers for
setting up a brand equity measurement system.
Successful brands are built on a foundation of meaningful brand strategy. And, that
strategy provides the framework for what your brands mean and how they should be
organized.
Oftentimes, making decisions about the future of a brand can be politically charged and
challenging for an internal team to confront on its own. It’s difficult for a company to be
objective about themselves – tenure and passion have a tendency to cloud constructive
decision-making. Here’s what our brand strategy team can do for you:
 Brand Assessment
 Brand Positioning
 Brand Messaging
 Brand Architecture
 Portfolio Nomenclature
 Rebranding
Brand Image, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty The relationship between
brand image and customer satisfaction has been studied extensively. However, a
majority of these researches were conducted in service industry, such as hotel,
supermarket and bank, etc. Whether the results generated from the service industry can
be applicable to other contexts (e.g., manufacturing industry, finance industry, real
estate industry, etc.) remains to be examined. Moreover, although the positive impact
of brand image on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty has been testified, there
still exist minor disagreements between different researches. Specifically, some studies
prove that brand image not only influences customer loyalty directly, but also impacts on
it through other mediating factors. However, some research results demonstrate that
brand image exerts no direct influence on customer loyalty, but it can impact on
customer loyalty via customer satisfaction. Future studies should further discuss the

19. interrelationships among brand image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, and
identify a more comprehensive indicator for consumer behavior.
METHODOLOGY OF PRODUCT BRANDING:-
A wide range of factors have impact upon a brand than a business strategy and
generally these factors can be divided into two categories: internal and external. Internal
factors affecting brand include business strategy, internal conventions, brand legacy
marketing mix and marketing implementation. External factors, on the other hand,
include, but not limited to category, cultural, and needs conventions.
Critical evaluation of branding strategy in a systematic manner has also been advised
by a range of secondary data authors and it has been stated that “good brand strategy
should last as long as it is best strategy possible.”
Building successful brands is not a one-size fits all activity. Brand building is both art
and science, and the method of creating brand strategy is never the same for every
brand.
Brand strategy is an obsessive and often the most misunderstood discipline in
marketing. It’s of critical importance to know beforehand what will be the most effective
strategy for building your brand. Brand owners and managers who desire brand
innovation often end up with brand imitation. In a world predisposed to sameness,
there’s nothing worse than clawing your way to the middle with a brand strategy that
doesn’t fit the realities of your business strategy.
Most contemporary brand managers would agree -– we’re way past the
traditional thinking and point of view that brand building is an activity that endows a
product or service with a catchy name, snappy slogan, pretty logo, compelling
packaging and advertising.
Brand strategy is like creating mythology — stories people care about and
remember. People don’t buy products, they buy personalities and meanings associated
with the story of those products. People will only find meanings in brands with
personality.
A brand strategy worth investing money in over the long haul has to tap into
the emotions and feelings of your target segment in ways that transcend the functional
and rational benefits associated with using the product. Depending on the nature and
culture of your organization, and the reason your brand exists in the first place, here are
four different methods for brand strategy development you may consider useful to your
strategic and creative thinking:-
1. Branding By Thinking
In this method, brand strategy is approached in a rigorous, centralized and formal
business planning process. Typically this approach is used by companies with large and
diverse product portfolios that are defined as a “house of brands”. Companies like

20. Proctor & Gamble, Coca Cola, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Gillette and GM favor centralized
planning as the cornerstone of their brand strategy.
2. Branding By Imagery
This method is usually driven by advertising agencies in a leading brand development
role and linked to creative execution of various ad campaigns. Marketers and their
agencies closely link the brand to imagery driven by the latest trends and fads in the
culture, and expressed through art directors, photographers and commercial directors.
Brand strategy is approached in a more functional manner driven by the cultural
associations customers have that are surrounding the brand image.
3. Branding By User Experience
In this method, the target customer segment perceives product quality, functional
benefits and brand image as a given. What these customers seek is an experience that
dazzles the senses, touches the heart and stimulates the mind. In this method the
customer is the most important component of the brand. Brand managers focus on
service design and usability, which are at the very core of these experiences, to drive
brand strategy.
Brands built on user experience include Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Disney, IKEA,
Costco, Tiffany.
4. Branding By Self Expression
In this method, marketers place the role of brand building as a collaboration with their
customers. Marketers innovate new meanings rather than products. Customers are
actively participating in creating the meanings associated with the brand that are a
reflection or a symbolic representation of their own personal identity or inner self. Here
the strategy is centered on “brand as a badge”.
10 METHODS OF PRODUCT BRANDING
1. Identity Design – logos, layouts, look must match your brand
2. Virtual – Search results, Social Networking Sites
3. Multimedia – videos, audios, podcasts, radio shows
4. Word of Mouth – what’s your reputation?
5. Awareness – do people know about you?
6. Personality – what are your traits?
7. People- who represents you – board members, staff, partners?
8. Experience – what is your customer experience, could it be better, different,
more impactful?

21. 9. Community – who carries out your message????
10. Word of Mouth
DATA COLLECTION:-
Data collection is based on Primary Data and Secondary Data. Data is collected from
newspapers, journals, through net and surveys. Data is collected on the basis of
studying about the product branding and their strategies.
3 Steps for Building a Brand Awareness Strategy:-
Building a strong brand awareness strategy isn’t just a great idea — a solid strategy
helps you directly impact your company’s bottom line sales figures. A great brand
awareness strategy requires a multi-faceted approach to improving brand engagement
with past, current, and future customers. In a world where 70 percent of buying
experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated, it is incredibly
important that brands establish a loyal following of active customers. To truly
understand if your brand awareness marketing tactics have actually converted loyal
followers into active customers, marketers need to first undertake three important steps:
Step 1: Segment Branding Efforts to Target Highly Specific Audiences
In a similar fashion to direct response marketing campaigns, brand awareness
strategies should continue to focus on capturing the attention of current customers.
These customers can be identified as those individuals whom have shown an interest
by visiting the company website, reading company announcements, or otherwise
indicated an intent to purchase.
To make the most of branding efforts, marketers should focus their attention on the
brand's identified target market. Through increased efforts marketers can increase
brand-awareness to a larger, more qualified audience. Audiences can be found online
via the brand website or through direct targeting on the right social media networks at
the right time.
Step 2: Use Search Result Retargeting to Establish Strong Brand
Recall
Retargeted ads are a type of digital display ad that “retargets” a user who has visited
your website or interacted with a digital asset. Using digital retargeting, especially in
display ads, can stimulate brand recall and encourage prospects to come back to your
site. There are four general ways that you can use retargeting to establish stronger
brand recall amongst current and prospective customers:
 Retarget individuals with a preliminary brand awareness.

22.  Retarget people who have previously visited your site.
 Focus on people who have opened an email.
 Track users who have searched for your product by name.
Step 3: Make Social Customer Engagement a Priority
Did you know that in 2014 92 percent of marketers agreed that social media was
important for their business? However, only 72 percent of marketers use social media to
develop loyal fans. Instead of sitting passively by while fans come to your brand's social
media accounts, you will need to proactively search for your targeted (soon to be loyal)
audience.
In 2015 and beyond, success on social media networks will require marketers to take a
proactive, rather than reactive, stance. Being proactive can help you to increase brand
awareness in your audience and the ROI of your social media marketing. Social media
listening tools and referral tracking software can help you be proactive in your social
media marketing efforts.
The 10 Most Common Branding Challenges:-
I included an epilogue that identifies 10 additional branding challenges to keep in mind
as you work to build your brand. If you are involved with building a brand or brand
portfolio, you will benefit from appraising how you are facing each of the challenges:-
1.Treating brands as assets:-
The ongoing pressure to deliver short-term financial results coupled with the
fragmentation of media will tempt organizations to focus on tactics and measurable and
neglect the objective of building assets.
2.Possessing a compelling vision:-
A brand vision needs to differentiate itself, resonate with customers and inspire
employees. It needs to be feasible to implement, work over time in a dynamic
marketplace and drive brand-building programs. Visions that work are usually
multidimensional and adaptable to different contexts. They employ concepts such as
brand personality, organizational values, a higher purpose, and in general they simply
move beyond functional benefits.
3.Creating new subcategories:-
The only way to grow, with rare exceptions, is to develop “must have” innovations that
define new subcategories and build barriers to inhibit competitors from gaining

23. relevance. That requires substantial or transformational innovation and a new ability to
manage the perceptions of a subcategory so that it wins.
4.Generating breakthrough brand building:-
Exceptional ideas and executions that break out of the clutter are necessary in order to
bring the brand vision to life. These ideas and the execution of them are more critical
than the size of your budget. “Good” is just not good enough. That means making sure
you get more ideas from more sources, and that you make sure you have the
mechanisms in place to recognize brilliance and bring those ideas to market – quickly.
5.Achieving integrated marketing communication (IMC):-
IMC is more elusive and difficult than ever in light of the various methods you have to
choose from such as advertising, sponsorships, digital, mobile, social media and more.
These methods tend to compete with each other rather than reinforce because the
media scene and options have become so complex, so dynamic, and because product
and country silos reflect competition and isolation rather than cooperation and
communication.
6.Building a digital strategy:-
This arena is complex, dynamic and in need of a different mindset. The reality is, the
audience is in control here. New capabilities, creative initiatives and new ways to work
with other marketing modalities are required. Adjust the digital marketing focus from the
offering and the brand to the customer’s sweet spot, which is to say the activities and
opinions in which they are interested or even passionate about. Develop programs
around that sweet spot in which the brand is an active partner, such as Pampers did
with Pampers Village or what Avon did with their Walk for Breast Cancer.
7.Building your brand internally:-
It is hard to achieve successful integrated marketing communications or breakthrough
marketing without employees both knowing the vision and caring about it. The brand
vision that lacks a higher purpose will find the inspiration challenge almost impossible.
8.Maintaining brand relevance:-
Brands face three relevance threats: Fewer customers buying what the brand is
offering, emerging reasons not-to-buy, and loss of energy. Detecting and responding to
each requires an in-depth knowledge of the market, plus a willingness to invest and
change.

24. 9.Creating a brand-portfolio strategy that yields synergy and clarity:-
Brands need well-defined roles and visions that support those roles. Strategic brands
should be identified and resourced, and branded differentiators and energizers should
be created and managed.
10.Leveraging brand assets to enable growth:-
A brand portfolio should foster growth by enabling new offerings, extending the brand
vertically or extending the brand into another product class. The goal is to apply the
brand to new contexts where the brand both adds value and enhances itself.
Issues in Product Branding:-
Those engaged in building and leveraging a brand should examine each of these
challenges in turn and determine which are most critical to their success. Then evaluate
the extent to which your brand is in deficit in meeting that challenge. The answers to
those questions should result in a roadmap to strengthening both your brand and your
impact.
Here is my observation of the twenty most common brand problems.
1. No one in the organization has a solid understanding of the brand’s consumers
or their needs.
2. The brand does not stand for anything and it does not promise anything. It is just
a name and a logo.
3. The brand touts a clichéd, unsubstantiated, meaningless point of difference (such
as, we are the quality leader or the service leader or the innovation leader or,
worst of all, just the leader).
4. Brand messaging is helter-skelter. That is, it varies by audience, message
vehicle, campaign, etc.
5. A crisis occurs that reinforces that the brand was never really serious about its
promise.
6. The brand becomes a “whipping boy” for some social issue. Special interest
groups that disagree with the brand’s policies target the brand for attack.
7. There is little to no awareness of the brand in the marketplace. This could be
because it is a start-up brand or because it is new to the specific geographic
market.

25. 8. The brand’s less than stellar perceptions are due to product problems. The
product may have quality problems or be inferior to its competitors’ products in
other ways.
9. Internal politics and organizational dysfunction lead to brand and customer
service dysfunction.
10.The brand and the organization behind it have rested on their laurels for far too
long, not keeping up with consumer needs and industry innovations.
11.The CEO and the leadership team do not understand brand management and do
not support it.
12.Every time the economy slows, marketing budgets are slashed, leaving the brand
vulnerable.
13.Every time a new brand manager arrives, that individual changes the brand or its
marketing campaign, whether changes are needed or not.
14.Growth pressures have forced the brand into new products or services that blur
the meaning of the brand.
15.Brand extensions have repositioned the core brand in a negative light.
16.The brand has pursued a series of price increases at a rate that far exceeds
inflation.
17.Continual cost cutting due to retailer pressures has resulted in an inferior brand
that no longer is demanded by consumers.
18.The organization proliferates brands and sub-brands with no clear differentiation
or consumer targeting.
19.The brand’s architecture is completely confused.
20.The brand’s identity is presented inconsistently in different contexts, media,
vehicles and situations.

26. Conclusion:-
Brand value can be managed just as you manage a brand of a product or service.
Brand value is all based on image or perception, an end-to-end experience, trust and a
promise of consistent value, and an emotional connection and relationship. The great
thing here is that you control your own destiny. After you have a loyal customer, a
person will leave only if you fail to deliver on your promise, if you don’t adapt to change,
or if someone else is more recommended than you are. These are all things that you
can control. You can control your own destiny.
Brand really is about fact and emotion. It’s about what you deliver and the emotional
attributes associated with it. This emotional quotient increases as the world becomes
more visual, more digital, and more connected. The ability of your personal brand to
evoke a strong, positive feeling is a key element of your brand’s equity.
References:-
1.) Barwise, P. 1993. Introduction to the special issue on brand equity. International J.
Res. Marketing 10 93-104.
2.) Beckwith, N. E., D. R. Lehmann. 1975. The importance of halo effects in multi-
attribute attitude models. J. Marketing Res. 12(August) 265-275.
3.) http://www.assignmentpoint.com/science/engineering/report-on-product-and-
branding-strategies-of-automobile-industry.html
4.)https://www.academia.edu/2344159/REPORT_ON_PRODUCT_STRATEGY_BRANDING_STRATEGY_
and_COMPARATIVE_POSITION_IN_THE_MARKET
5.)https://www.marketresearch.com/Marketing-Market-Research-c70/Advertising-Marketing-
c51/Branding-c100/
6.) A common network of functional areas for attention and eye movements. Neuron,
7.) https://www.slideshare.net/ixen/chapter-8-product-service-and-brands-building-
customer-value
8.) https://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2014/07/the-twenty-most-common-brand-
problems.html#.WOZBAqLhXIU
9.)https://www.prophet.com/thinking/2014/09/the-10-most-common-branding-challenges