Chapter 8

A brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom the firm plans on communicating and deliver brand messages. Where the firm advertises, the distribution channels are part of the brand strategy. What the company visually and verbally communicates is also part of the brand strategy.

A company’s branding strategy indicates the number and nature of both common and distinctive brand elements which would be (1) to develop new brand elements for the new products, (2) to apply some of its existing brand elements, or (3) use a combination of new and existing brand elements.

In this era, successful firms are those that know how to make decisions about how they want to brand themselves. A brand will distinguish one company from the other to be specific from its competitors. If a brand decides to brand its offerings, it must choose which brand name to use.

Three general strategies are:

Individual or separate family brand names:

If a product fails or seems to be low quality, the company’s reputation is not hurt because the brands are separate. Firms often use different brand names for different quality lines within the same product Class.

Corporate umbrella or company brand name:

Many firms such as Bralirwa (for beer and soft drinks) in Rwanda use their corporate brand as an umbrella brand across their entire range of products. In such an instance the development costs are lower and the sales are likely to be stronger if the manufacturer’s name is good.

A corporate umbrella strategy gives the firm a way of combining efforts in its branding. If a company achieves the goal of establishing a positive reputation for the umbrella, then it requires less effort to create a brand appeal for the individual brands. When a customer has a positive experience with an individual brand this can also help create a positive image of the umbrella brand in his mind.

Takeaway

Branding is one of my favorite topics in this course and I want to relate branding to the characteristics of a human being, all the way from their name, height, skin color, and temperament to mention but a few. The temperament may brand each person as an extrovert, introvert, melancholic and so on and so forth. The human traits will always distinguish us humans, no one is like another even twins. In the same way branding products brings a difference; a Gucci brand will never be the same as a Dolce Gabbana, branding will always differentiate the two. I am tempted to say that branding is that special name every person has on them.