Concept and Strategies of Branding, Concept of Brand Equity

Branding

There are millions of goods and services available all over the world, each claiming to be the finest in its respective field. But not all of those goods are equally well-liked. Few products—those with names, logos, or slogans—are recalled by customers by name. Customers do not remember every product. These goods provide consumers the emotions they want to feel. Branding plays a role in the product's popularity and market recognition. Building a reputable and loyal brand may take months or even years. Branding is not a process that can be completed fast. Packaging and labeling provide charm to the product, while branding gives it personality. Effective labeling and packaging serve as marketing tools that aid in the sale of the goods.

Simply said, branding is the process of creating a distinctive name and image for a specific product in the consumer's mind, primarily through advertising campaigns. A brand is a name, symbol, term, design, or a mix of these elements that is used to identify a product, a family of products, or all of the items produced by a company. Branding is an important element of product planning process and an important and powerful techniques for marketing and selling products.

Elements of Branding

The brand is made up of a variety of elements, including trade names, trademarks, brand marks, and brand characters. These components come together to create a company's corporate symbol or name.

• Brand Name: Additionally known as Product Brand. Any word, phrase, set of letters, or combination of these elements can serve as a brand name for any good or service. For instance, Pepsi, the iPhone 6, etc.
• Trade Name: Corporate Brand is another name for trade name. It both identifies and promotes a business or a section of a certain corporation. Examples of trade names include Dell, Nike, Google, etc.
• Brand Mark: It could be a special symbol, color, font, or other design feature. Brand Mark can be recognized visually without needing to be called out loud. Apple's apple or Coca-cursive, Cola's for instance
• Trade Mark: A term, name, symbol, or a combination of these is a trade mark. Government protection is provided for it legally. No other corporation is allowed to use these logos, such as NBC's colorful peacock or McDonald's golden arches.
• Trade Characters: People, animals, animated characters, objects, and others who are utilized in advertising for a product or service and become linked to it. Keebler Elves, for Keebler cookies, as an illustration.

Branding Strategies

Different branding methods are used by marketing companies to achieve their aims and objectives in sales and marketing. The following list includes some of these tactics:

• Brand Extension: In accordance with this technique, a company's existing brand name is utilized to advertise a new or enhanced product inside its product line. This tactic is employed by marketing companies to reduce the expense and risk associated with launching new products. A product line that is overextended runs the danger of losing its distinctiveness.
• Brand Licensing: This method states that some businesses permit the use of their trade name, brand name, or trade character by other businesses. Such authorization is regarded as a valid license agreement, for which the licensing company is compensated with a royalty. This technique is used by the business to broaden its sources of income, improve its public image, and boost sales of its flagship products.
• Mixed Branding: Some manufacturers and retailers typically employ this tactic to market their goods. A product can be produced by a national brand manufacturer to be sold under the name of another company. In this way, a company might increase its product mix through private brands while preserving brand loyalty through its national brand. Private brand sales can boost revenue without harming the sales or reputation of the company's societal brand.
• Co-Branding: In this strategy, one or more brands are joined to produce a product or offer a service in order to capitalize on the goods and services of other businesses in order to attract new clients and boost sales for both businesses' brands.

Concept of Brand Equity

Brands consist of more than simply names and symbols. They play a crucial role in the organization's interactions with customers. The brand embodies the sentiment of the customer as well as their expectations for the new product's performance and all that the good or service means to them. In the end, the customer's perception of a brand matters.

Brand equity must be high for a brand to be effective. Brand equity refers to the favorable difference that brand recognition makes in how customers react to a company's goods or services. The extent to which a consumer is willing to pay more for a brand is one way to evaluate brands. According to one study, 40% of consumers claimed they would pay a 50% premium, whereas 72% of consumers pay a 20% premium for the brand of choice compared to the nearest comparable brand.

One of the most important and valuable assets for the company is a brand with significant brand equity. Brand valuation is the process of determining the total monetary worth of a specific brand. However, according to one estimate, Microsoft, IBM, and Coca-Cola each have a brand worth of $57 billion, $56 billion, and $67 billion, respectively. A brand with high brand equity contributes to the company's various competitive advantages. A strong brand is necessary, but what it actually signifies is a lucrative group of devoted customers. Building customer equity should be the correct marketing goal, and brand management is one of the key marketing techniques.

Reference

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2013). Principles of Marketing. Chennai: Pearson India Education Services Pvt Ltd