Brand Ownership
Brand Ownership means building a brand that reflects your values and persuades consumers to believe in and purchase your product.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe brand ownership and the rights of brand owners.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
- To really own your Brand, you must have a clear understanding of where your brand stands today and a concrete strategy that outlines how you wish to manage and grow your brand.
- Equally important is understanding what makes your brand different and creating clear and persuasive messaging communication targeting your end consumer.
- When you truly own your brand, your money is spent wisely on marketing that is targeted, sharp and effective because you have a sophisticated understanding of the marketplace, your product /service, your consumer base and your strategy.
- A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand by registering it to become a “Registered Trademark.”
- Also, a firm or licensor can also grant the right to use their brand name, patents or sales knowledge in exchange for some form of payment.
- Brand ownership should also be considered the responsibility of its management and employees.
Key Terms
- Brand Name: A term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers.
- Registered Trademark: Designated by ® (the circled capital letter “R”), is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office.
Brand Ownership
Brand ownership is about building, developing and sustaining a brand that reflects your principles and values and which effectively persuades consumers to believe in and purchase your product/service.
In order to really own your brand, you must have a clear understanding of where your brand stands in the marketplace today, and a concrete strategy that outlines how you wish to manage and grow your brand moving forward. Equally important is understanding what makes your brand different. You must also create clear and persuasive messaging communication targeting your end consumer. You should also develop a plan to reach your goals in a realistic and organized fashion.
When you truly own your brand, your money is spent wisely on marketing that is targeted, sharp and effective because you have a sophisticated understanding of the marketplace, your product/service, your consumer base and your strategy. This will translate into disciplined and effective brand management that will enable you to remain relevant in a rapidly-changing [and oftentimes saturated] marketplace.
Registered Trademark: The registered trademark symbol is designated by ® (the circled capital letter “R”).
Brand ownership should also be considered the responsibility of its management and employees. Steve Jobs, for example, was considered a leader in shaping the identity of Apple, which has helped fuel a very high stock price for the company. As a result, the brand image and reputation has attracted some of the world’s best talent which, in turn, has yielded an variety of innovative mobile products that will undoubtedly be marked in the history of popular consumer culture.
A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand by registering the trademark such that it becomes a “Registered Trademark.” Also, a firm or licensor can also grant the right to use their brand name, patents or sales knowledge in exchange for some form of payment.
Naming Brands
Naming a brand is crucial to a product’s reputation and success because it reflects its image and benefits in a way that can be differentiating.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Discuss the purpose of a brand name, and the process of researching and selecting a brand name
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
- Naming a brand is crucial to its reputation, development, and future success because the primary function of the brand (name and image ) is to identify the product or service in a way that it differentiates it from those of other competitors.
- A brand name reflects the overall product image, positioning and, ideally, its benefits.
- At its best, a brand can provide a carryover effect when customers are able to associate quality products with an established brand name.
- A successful brand name can enable a product to: be meaningfully advertised and distinguished from competitors, be tracked down by consumers, and be given legal protection.
- The process of naming a brand is key because it requires a systematic effort that includes generating potential brand names, screening them (oftentimes conducting market research to test their potential among consumers), and ultimately selecting the one that holds the most potential.
Key Terms
- Brand Name: A term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers.
- Market Research: The systematic collection and evaluation of data regarding customers’ preferences for actual and potential products and services.
A brand is a term, design, or symbol that identifies a commercial product or service as distinct from those of other sellers. A brand name is the part of the brand that can be vocalized. A brand name can also be a name under which a business or company operates. Naming a brand is crucial to its reputation, development, and future success because the primary function of the brand (name and image) is to identify the product or service in a way that it differentiates it from those of other competitors.
Visa Credit Card: Security chips were added to Visa credit cards as an extra security measures to protect against identity theft.
Selecting a brand name is one of the most important product decisions a seller will need to make. A brand name reflects the overall product image, positioning and, ideally, its benefits. A successful brand name can enable a product to: be meaningfully advertised and distinguished from competitors, be tracked down by consumers, and be given legal protection. At its best, a brand can provide a carryover effect when customers are able to associate quality products with an established brand name.
Tang: Tang is an individual brand that competes with Kraft’s other brand (Kool-Aid).
For example, Apple has chosen to name all of its mobile products with a lower-case i, as in the case with the iPad and iPod. Another example of a brand name is Starbucks, the coffee company which is globally recognized and chooses to name its coffee sizes in Italian.
Apple’s iPod Touch: iPod Touch is one of Apple’s mobile products named with the distinctive “i.”
The process of naming a brand is key because it requires a systematic effort that includes generating potential brand names, screening them (oftentimes conducting market research to test their potential among consumers), and ultimately selecting the one that holds the most potential. Brand names are mandatory if the manufacturer or distributor plans to produce mass advertising for their product.
But before this process even begins, a basic branding strategy must be employed where a company or seller must select from among the following three viable options to follow:
- A strict manufacturer’s branding policy under which a producer can only manufacture merchandise under his own brand
- An exclusive distributor’s brand policy where a producer does not have a brand of his own but agrees to sell his products only to a particular distributor and carry his brand name (typically employed by private brands)
- A mixed brand policy, which allows elements of both extremes (options 1. and 2.) and leads to the production of manufacturer’s as well as distributor’s brands
Brands and Brand Lines
Strong brands are a powerful asset, and can be used to extend product lines to expand the scope and distribution of the organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Identify the various ways in which organizations can expand the brand lines to capture opportunities in the market
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
- When strategically executed, a brand extension to a given product line can be an effective tool for growth.
- When an organization grows successfully in a given product line, product extensions often enable the organization to capture new markets. Pepsi and Coca-Cola accomplished this through diet sodas, for example.
- Product line extensions are a common tool for extending brand lines. An extension to a product line may differentiate to capture a niche demographic, create a low cost opportunity, or collaborate with other brands.
- It’s important to keep in mind that any new product offering attached to a given brand creates a brand risk. Any issues that arise with use of the product may damage all of the products across the brand line.
Key Terms
- spin off: A new product offering utilizing an existing brand.
When understanding the potential in building a brand, it’s useful to recognize the way in which brands can extend. Brand extensions are usually accomplished by expanding the existing product line offerings, or potentially creating new product lines with the same brand (often in complementary markets).
To provide some context, let’s define a few simple examples of spinning off a brand. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are fairly classic examples of simple product line extensions to expand the brand. Diet Coke fulfills a different need than regular Coke, in that it contains fewer calories. Through extending their product line, they now had the potential to capture health conscious consumers. Car companies are another good example. There are tons of different Toyota automobiles on the market, each catering to slightly different needs, price points, and geographies. Brand lines and product extensions are a key aspect of brand management.
Brands and Product Extensions: This simple chart demonstrates the way in which product extensions and brand lines interact from a sustainability point of view.
Brand Management
To apply concepts of product extensions by adding to the brand line, an understanding of brand management strategies is a useful starting point. Investing in an intangible asset such as a brand can be a difficult process for organizations, as the return on this investment is not realized in the shorter term. However, building a strong repertoire with the target market in a given industry, and catering the product lines to fulfill various broader or niche needs within those markets, is a powerful strategic tool.
Product Extensions
Extending brands is often accomplished through new lines of product, referred to as product extensions. When considering product extensions, it’s important to identify diverse needs that can be filled by the organization through core processes. This means that organizations must understand the needs of the market, and determine if the organization has the ability to fulfill some of these needs.
While there are countless, unique reasons to pursue a brand extension based on which industry is being discussed, there are a few common areas where extensions often occur:
Low Cost
Extending into the lower cost segment is a common move for brands as they gain power and scale in the industry. As successful companies grow in revenue and size, they often attain the ability to produce at higher scale economies. Once this is accomplished, spinning off a cheaper version of a brand is a great way to achieve higher levels of growth. Tesla is a great example of this. Tesla began by selling extremely high end vehicles, with the plan to utilize the return on those sales to begin producing higher quantities of lower cost models, all of which maintain the powerful Tesla brand.
Differentiation
A broad term, which can be applied to a variety of tactics, differentiation is all about identifying a unique need that users are willing to pay a premium for. Consider the beer and wine industry. Microbreweries have seen enormous growth (and, in turn, acquisition by big companies) in recent years. Microbreweries focus on creating a unique, specialized beer which often costs more. Due to the unique experience, local support and potential variety, customers are willing to pay a premium for a differentiated product (compared to the bigger brand names).
Co-branding
Another interesting example is co-branding. Sometimes co-branding can help an organization spread into new markets. For example, some cars come with built in surround sound systems. These cars are often partnered with strong brands, such as Bose, which provides mutual benefit and enables Bose to enter a new market. In this situation, the Bose brand is noted by car purchasers just as the car brands are considered in the context of good sound systems.
Conclusion
While extending product lines and spinning off the brand into new product formats can be a great opportunity for revenue growth, it also exposes the brand to new market forces and new risks. Careful quality control and brand maintenance is a key consideration in any new extensions to the brand. With proper execution, a brand can be a powerful asset for new product development.