Branding

Brand is the reputation of a product or service or name or emblem or person or anything which stands the same apart from the others. It gives the pride to the owners of owning the same e.g. ‘Wallmart’ brand brings image of a large chain of stores over large number of countries serving quality products, taking care of customers’ ease of shopping experience.

Paintings of ‘M.F. Hussain’ brings pride to the owner. Similarly, shoes from ‘Nike’ or leather bags from ‘Louis Vuitton’ or ‘Hidesign’ bring bride of ownership. Owners demonstrate their ownerships to distinguish themselves from others.

‘Apple’ products are craze. People are willing to wait overnight to get their first product in their hands.

All the above examples explain the power of brand carried by the products or corporate name.

Benefits of being Brand

• Brands carry premium of price of product than rest others → people willing to pay extra price / exorbitant price over others → paintings are sold in millions of dollor; diamonds are sold at unbelievable prices;

• People get satisfaction and pride by owning the branded product → how about photograph alongwith Shah Rukh Khan?

• Products are most talked about and most recommended;

• Branded products have their loyal market → products are sold seamlessly → overnight stock sale of new Apple iPhone 5S !!!

• Organisations selling branded products enjoy more profit-margin than others;

• These are role models for other organisations → other organisations try to copy / match / beat them;

• Brands set the standards for other organisations;

• Vendors want to associate themselves with these organisations and are willing to reduce their prices and accept the terms & conditions of Brands (Shopping malls want to have presence of McDonald’s, Haldiram, etc. to increase the footfall of customers → malls are willing to give extra discounts in rentals to them)

Why something / somebody recognized as Brand?

• Products as brands
  • Belonging to legends in our history (e.g. belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, sword of Tipu Sultan, etc.);
  • Carrying consistent quality;
  • Some distinction in features than others;
  • User-friendly features (Apple products, Android OS, etc.)
  • Carrying monopolistic nature (e.g. Microsoft products powering computer hardware through user-friendly proprietary softwares);
  • Endorsements of celebrities;
  • Having advertisements liked by viewers (e.g. advertisements of Idea, Zoozoo images of Vodafone, etc. created brand effects) since these advertisements have better recall value and stay in consumers’ minds for longer duration affecting the demand positively.

• Organisation as brands
  • Organisations doing well consistently in terms of growth in profits, turnover and asset value over the years (e.g. Reliance, Birlas, etc.);
  • Organisation practising fair values over the years and recognised by media, Govt. by conferring awards, etc.;

• Person as brand
  • Movies of some movie actors doing exceptionally well on theatres → actors become brand;
  • Person receiving awards for exceptional work in the industry, educating the youngsters in schools, colleges, etc.

Conflicts (Inter-departmental) / Challenges with building Brand

• Brand limits the organisation’s behaviour → certain inappropriate practices need to be stopped since that would affect Brand value (like giving / accepting bribes; dressing in a particular manner, etc.)

• Brands behave like leaders in the industry → entire thinking, working, etc. only like a leader on the move → not only for the top management but by entire organisation.

• Practising Brand activities create uneasiness in organisation’s working → requires discipline in way of working.

How to build the Brand?

• Establishing a brand is a consistent exercise and not one time effort;

• Requires involvement of entire organisation → not a single person’s effort;

• Strategies:
• Resolution of entire organisation

• to produce the goods of international quality → person from far-flung country would love the product / services if he / she makes choice independently without looking at the name of organisation → product standing tall on its own;

• that costing of the product / services would be lesser than the best of product / services internationally → would facilitate the organisation to play with the price and still earning the profits;

• behaving & thinking like a leader.

• Creating Mission Statement liked and accepted by the entire organisation which make aforesaid organisation’s resolutions possible;

• Creating better recall value of product
  • Creating logo of the organisation;
  • Creating punch-line for introducing the product / services / organisation.

• Building website which is regularly updated with
  • Product information;
  • Financial information.

• Evaluating various medias for launching advertisement campaign
  • Print Media (Newspaper or magazine or pamphlet, etc.);
  • Visual Media (TV, Internet advertisements like Google Ads, emails, etc.);
  • Audio Media (Radio, etc.);
  • Mobile Media {Mobile applications (Apps) or SMS, etc.};
  • Outdoor Media (Billboards, road shows, etc.).

• Purpose to create awareness of product and earn customer acceptability and loyalty so that he / she can recommend to others;

• Securing celebrity endorsements of products;

• Contribution towards social cause;

• Contesting for winning various awards of Trade Organisations (e.g. ASSOCHAM, CII, FICCI, etc.) locally and internationally;

• Procuring accreditation from Certification Agencies (e.g. ISO series, ISI, Hallmark, etc.);

• Organising various contests in schools / colleges / markets / shopping malls, etc.;

• Organising sports tournaments;

• Sponsoring sports players.