Brand management is a wide and varied study of the various approaches organizations can take to maximize consumer awareness, engagement, retention, and loyalty. Brand management strategies are constantly evolving, and the various potential distribution channels between organizations and their consumers is also rapidly changing. The rise of social networks is an incredible opportunity for meaningful engagement with current and prospective customers, and free outlets like Youtube enable viral distribution of assets for virtually no cost (indeed, sometime for a profit!).
The reason for brand management is relatively simple. Through creating a lasting impression and meaningful relationship with users, organizations can retain customers and create brand loyalty. Brand loyalty simply means that customers, when making a purchase to fulfill a given need, will default to their brand of choice. Brand of choice is something every organization wants to be, as the cost of maintaining loyal customers is much lower than the cost of acquiring new ones.
Brand Management Strategies
Loyal customers are cheaper, and happy customers are likely to talk about the company in a positive light. As a result, building brand is a key to success in an enormous number of industries. There are many approaches to this, both traditional and modern, and understanding both the strategy and the potential tactical channels available is integral to making smart branding decisions:
- Individual Branding – This has proven highly beneficial for a number of large organizations that offer a wide variety of goods. Proctor and Gamble (P&G) is a classic example of this working successfully. P&G own the brands Dawn, Joy, Crest, Scope, Gain, Tide, Fixodent, Pepto-Bismol, Swiffer, Ivory, Olay, Old Spice, and the list goes on and on. Many of these products actually compete head to head. This strategy allows minimal risk of the parent company being hurt by an individual brand, and allows a sense of competition between brands. It also allows P&G to capture a variety of demographics simultaneously by positioning each brand to large consumer groups.
- Multi-product Branding – The inverse of individual branding in some ways, multi-product branding allows companies like Samsung, Apple, Sony, and Virgin to focus consumer loyalty on the broader parent brand. Through doing so, all investments in branding boost the brand across all product spheres. This creates some efficiency in promoting brand, but also attaches all of the risk and positioning to that one single brand name.
- Sub-branding – Something of a cross between individual and multi-product branding, sub-branding allows an organization to create relatively large sub-brands for given product groups. A good example is Honda and Acura, one is positioned in a higher price bracket yet both are Honda.
- Co-branding – As the name suggests, often companies collaborate on projects and pursue branding together. For example, Bose is often co-branded with various vehicle manufacturers. Similarly, Google is often co-branded with Samsung products. This allows each organization to benefit from each other's loyal consumer base.
- Iconic Branding (Attitude) – A bit less clear than the strategies above, iconic branding is all about building a persona. This persona tends to arise through stories, establishing a counter-culture, and building a community. Nike's brand is iconic, for example. By promoting the 'Just Do It' mentality, they sell a perspective alongside their products. Red Bull takes a similar approach, going so far as to sponsor amazing feats of athleticism and daring to demonstrate the values they represent. This type of branding is complex and extremely difficult to accomplish, but can build a powerful and loyal following.
Tactics and Developments in Brand Management
Social media has changed the landscape for branding, and at this point encompasses a critical and necessary series of channels to leverage when pursuing any of the above branding strategies. Distributing messaging and displaying the core values of the organization is both easier and more difficult than ever. In just a click of a button, organizations can make a huge impression on the general public. However, the digital landscape is noisy; being heard can be extremely challenging.
Along similar lines is social proofing. Companies like Amazon offer consumers the ability to rate a product or service, which ultimately establishes a brand quality level many others consumers will trust and see as more objective. Social proofing can have an enormous impact on the perception of an organizations brand.
Brand Touch-point Wheel
As a supplement to the various strategies listed above, these touch-points indicate where the tactics of these strategies will come into play. Understanding where the organization will be in direct communication with a prospective consumer is imperative to ensuring messaging is clean, consistent, and clear across the board.