Basics of Brand

A brand is a symbol or a mark that helps the customers in instant recall and differentiates it thereby from the competitor products of same
nature. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines brand as follows
: A Brand name is a part consisting of a word, letter, groups of words or letters to identify a product or a service of a seller or group of sellers
to differentiate them from those of competitors.
Generic Brand: A brand name over which the original owner has lost the exclusive claim because all offerings in the associated class of
products have geneally known as the the brand name can be called a "Generic Brand". Generic brand products are often of equal quality but
lesser prices as that of a branded product.
A Brand v/s a Trade Mark: A brand that has legal protection and is granted solely to its original owner is a Trade mark. Brand preference /
Brand Loyalty: It is the degree to which customers are commitetted to a brand. It refers to the chances that a customer chooses the brand
over another brand.
Brand insistence: The customers willingness to search a brand and insisting to buy a brand is brand insistence.
Brand Equity: It is the overall value of a brand in the market
Brand awareness: Brand awareness measures consumers' knowledge of a brand's existence. The extent to which a brand associated with a
particular product is authenticated by potential and existing customers either positively or negatively is Brand Awareness. Creation of brand
awareness is the primary goal of advertising at the beginning of any product's life cycle in target markets. In fact, brand awareness has
influence on buying behavior of a buyer. Brand awareness can be measured by showing a consumer the brand and asking whether or not
they knew of it beforehand.
Brand Recall The extent to which a brand name is recalled as a member of a brand, product or service class, as distinct from brand
recognition is brand recall. For example if I am asked to name a few favourite cars I may recall Wagon R, Santro Xing, and so on Brand
recall may be "unaided" and "aided" "Aided recall" measures the extent to which a brand name is remembered when the actual brand name
is prompted. An example of such a question is "Do you know of the "Honda" brand?"
Brand Recognition The extent to which a brand is recognized for stated brand attributes or communications is Brand Recognition. It is
basically an aided recall. If a product name can be associated with a certain tagline, logo or attribute, there is presence of certain level of
Brand recognition.

The combination of all the products offered by a firms is a Product Mix. In marketing the decisions related to product mix and product lines
are very important. When we discuss product mix, we discuss all the products offered by a company. In simple words, any organization
which is selling more than 1 product has a product mix. A product line is a broad group of products, intended for similar uses and having
similar characteristics. For example Hindustan Uniliver has a broad product mix with several product lines such as Soap Line, Food Line,
Personal care Line Home Care line and so on..
The number of items in each product line is called the Product Mix length. For example Hindustan Unilever has Breeze, Hamam, Lifebuoy,
Lux, Rexona, Le sancy and Liril in its soap line. The width of the product mix refers to the number of product lines a company has. One
typical example is Amul. The product lines of Amul are Bread Spreads, Milk Drinks, Powder Milk, Fresh Milk, Cheese, Cooking, Desserts &
Health Drinks. Each line has several products to offer. You can view the product line of Amul here
There may be a number of reasons to alter either an existing product or a product line. These reasons may include supporting the marketing
strategy, Improving sales, Expansion of market share etc. The product line can be altered by altering one or more of the following attributes.
Composition of product line
Expansion or contraction of the product line
Value addition Brand Image Packaging Physical characteristics Positioning Addition of new products to a product line is expanding the
product line. The product line may be too long of reducing product line length results in more profits. The product line may be too short if
addition of new products increases profits. When a range of product line (often the price range) is increased it is called line stretching. When
a company operates at the lower end of the market and introduces new products to enter the upper market, it is called upward stretching.
This is done by introducing premium products and services. If a company working in a high end market introduces new products to enter the
lower markets as well, this is called downward stretching. Many companies start with higher end and move towards the lower end. For
example parker started selling premium pens , out of reach to many of the consumers and later the company introduced the lower end
products. The lower end market products are also called budget products. The Budget products are advertised heavily to bring the customer
to the entire product line of the company. If a company works in a moderate market and decides to survive both the low end and upper end
of the market is Two Way Stretch. There is one more concept called cannibalization. Cannibalism is the act of any animal consuming
members of its own type or kind. In marketing, Cannibalization refers to a reduction in the sales volume, sales revenue, or market share of
one product as a result of the introduction of a new product by the same producer. Introduction of diet Pepsi or diet coke may eat up some of
its sales of regular coke or Pepsi. Introduction of a new car may eat up the sales of an older model of the same car.

Convenience Goods, Shopping Goods and Specialty Goods June 5, 2010 6 Comments Convenience Goods: The items which
are bought frequently, immediately and with minimum shopping efforts are convenience goods. These include candy, ice-cream,
cold drinks, cigarettes, magazines, medicines etc. the shops which keep the convenience goods are called convenience stores.
Often convenience goods are non durable. Some common features: Generally non durable Purchased at convenient locations.
Regular and continuous demands Generally small unit of purchase and low prices Most of them are standardized in prices Sales
promotion, schemes etc. are very important. Shopping Goods: Shopping is the activity of examination and selection of the goods or
services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. The selection & purchasing is a result of a comparison of products
based upon their suitability, quality, price, style and so on.. Examples are furnitures, dresses, electronic items & appliances etc.
Most of the shopping goods are durable. Some common features: Generally durable Generally high price in contrast with
convenience goods. Comparison is main factor in making purchase decisions. Purchase is generally pre planned Retailers have
very important role to play. Specialty Goods: The specialty goods incur special purchasing efforts and the items posses some
special features. The buyers are willing to spend a lot of time & money to buy them in contrast with the shopping goods. The rare
arts collections, antiques, prestige brands, style goods, automobiles etc. are the examples. The particular hotel, restaurant, hair
salon, spa & resorts are examples of services. The comparison factor is absent in specialty goods. Some common features Limited
demand and limited number of buyers Costly products generally Sold at few places Aggressive promotion is required.

1. The 5 C's of analysis of marketing Decision making are as follows: Customer needs - What needs do we seek to satisfy?
Company skills - What special competencies do we possess to meet those needs? Competition - Who competes with us in meeting
these needs? Collaborators - Who should we enlist to help us and how do we motivate them? Context - What environmental (say,
cultural, technological or legal) factors limit what is possible? 2. The external Environment of Marketing comprises: Competitive
environment Political-legal environment Economic environment Technological environment Social-cultural environment 3.
Competitive Environment: In involves direct competition and indirect competition , Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly
etc. 4. Political-legal Environment: Rules of the game must be understood before a new marketer starts marketing. The politico-legal
environment involves: Laws and their interpretations : Ignorance of laws, ordinances and regulations or failure to comply with them
can result in fines, embarrassing negative publicity and possibly expensive civil damage suits. Designing, labeling, packaging,
distributing, advertising and promoting goods and services. The national foreign policy can dominate the international business
decisions of the local firms The political ideology of the Government can affect the international brands wanting to enter a market
The competitors who work closely with the government can help erect trade barriers for a firm Global trade organizations can
enforce trade barriers when their regulations and guidelines are not observed A host nation may levy anti-dumping duties on a
foreign firm and such a decision may be dominated by the local businesses lobbying with the government Copyright infringements,
trademark and intellectual property rights violations Direct comparative advertisements may not be allowed in few countries Use of
children is advertising and advertising to children are banned in certain countries Price regulations preempt any pricing strategy of a
firm A detailed displaying of the ingredients in product labels is mandatory in most countries The channel members are given the
additional responsibility of verifying the eligibility of the prospective buyers for certain products Use of certain raw materials or
methods of manufacturing are prohibited in certain countries Industry watch dogs and consumer groups are always on the prowl for
any unethical trade practices Each one of the above issues has serious implications for the marketer in his marketing decision
making. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and breaking of the law is an offence. 5. The Economic Environment The overall health of
the economy influences how much consumers spend and what they buy.This relationship affects marketing. All marketing activity is
directed toward satisfying consumer wants and needs, marketers must understand how economic conditions influence consumer
buying decisions. Economic environment consists of forces that influence consumer buying power and marketing strategies. They
include The stage of the business cycle, Inflation, Unemployment, Resource availability Income. 6. Technological Environment It
represents the application to marketing of discoveries in science, inventions and innovations. New technology results in new goods
and services for consumers; it also improves existing products, strengthens customer service and often reduces prices through new,
cost-efficient production and distribution methods. Technology can quickly make products obsolete, but it can just as quickly open
up new marketing opportunities. 7. The Social-Cultural Environment It involves the relationship between marketing and society and
its culture. Marketers must cultivate sensitivity to societys changing values and to demographic shifts such as population growth
and age distribution changes. It involves demography, cultural aspects, Psychographic aspects and Consumer behavior. 8.
Consumerism: Changing social values have led to the consumerism movement which is a social force within the environment
designed to aid and protect buyers by exerting legal, moral and economic pressures on business. Consumerism also advocates the
rights of the consumers such as: 1. The right to choose freely consumers should be able to choose among a range of goods and
services 2. The right to be informed consumers should have access to enough education and product information to make
responsible buying decisions 3. The right to be heard consumers should be able to express legitimate complaints to appropriate
parties be it manufacturers, sellers, consumer assistance groups and consumer courts. 4. The right to be safe consumers
should feel assured that the goods and services they purchase will not cause injuries in normal use. Product designs should allow
average consumers to use them safely. 9. Stimuli of buying Behavior The 4 ps and 4 types of Marketing environment given as
above function as stimuli of Consumer Behavior which ultimately lead to buyer's response. 10. Importance of Marketing To obtain
physical distribution function Maximise the profit of the Firm & Minimise the cost (per unit) Innovation Maximise sales Reach the
Target Consumer Goodwill creation Market Information and Research Employment Social Values Corporate Social Resposiblity
(CSR) : Optimum Use of Resources Increase in Income of nation