Now, let’s say you enter an electronics store to buy an iPod. The salesman shows you an iPod look-alike Mp3 player with same features, same colour options and same accessories to that of an iPod. In fact, he will also give you a reasonable discount on it. The only catch is, it does not have an Apple logo on it and it does say it is an Apple product. Will you buy it? Chances are you won’t. That my friend is the ‘Power of Branding’.
So what is branding? Is it just the name or a logo of a product? Or is it advertising or selling products in a different way? There is no clear cut definition of the term brand or branding. Many authors and brand experts have different way describing the term and each definition looks correct if we look in its context. (This is what I like about marketing! Interpret the way you want.)
According to me, Brand(ing) is all about creating an experience, an aspiration, an emotional connect and a sense of belonging for the consumers with the product or service. Brands should stand for their values and deliver consistently on their promise.
Coca Cola is more than 150 year old young brand. Three ex-CEOs of the company are no more but this brand still lives on and is the number one soft drink across the globe. Just think about it, the company sells just ONE COLA DRINK and it is the number one brand in the world. So what does Coca Cola do differently from another other cola brands? Why is Coca Cola a world class brand? Is it the best cola drink in the world? Certainly not. But what it does with its brand is certainly the best among its competitors.
I think to make a world class brand a company needs to have few ingredients. These ingredients are essentially what existing global brands display and what the brand manager should keep in mind to take make his brand a world class brand.
Brand speaks for itself…
This is by far the most important factor for any brand. If the brand does not deliver on the functional attribute, it will not succeed even if you pump in millions of dollar on branding and communication. In fact, if the functional feature of your brand is unique, powerful and simple then I believe that half of your job is done.
Brands like Apple, Google, Amazon, Toyota and Sony are leaders in their product categories because their products are so cutting edge and at the same time so simple to use that the customers turn into fans and they become the spokesperson for the brand.
What’s in a Name…
‘Nothing’ if you ask Shakespeare but ‘Everything’ if you ask any Brand Manager. Brand Name, Tagline, Logo, Mascots and other such brand elements are an important brand constituent for every brand. These brand elements help consumers connect with the brand and hence have to be kept simple and easy to identify with. These constituents stand for the values and proposition the brand promises to deliver.
Companies and brand managers have to be very careful while dealing with these brand elements. These elements are like the pillars for the brand and they do not change in whichever country they are present.
Nokia’s “Connecting People” slogan or Nike’s ‘Swoosh’ symbol or Microsoft’s Windows Logo are some of the examples which are synonym with the company name and do not change in any of the markets.
Adapt and Adopt
It is crucial for any brand entering the new market to understand the local culture and taste of the market. The company should modify its product and services according to the local market and at the same time retain its core values. This is very difficult task for the company but will pay off if done in the right way.
McDonalds is the best example which comes to my mind when it comes adapting and adopting to local markets. In India, McDonalds does not serve beef in its burgers. Instead it offers McVeggies and Mc Aloo Tikkis which are unheard of in other parts of the globe. At the same time it retains its core value of Quick, Clean, Value for Money and Consistent quality across the outlets. This has worked wonders for the company and is clearly the number one fast food restaurant in the country, if not the world.
It’s all in the Mind… Top of the Mind
Which is the first brand that comes to your mind when you think of cars, music players, jeans, soft drinks and electronics? It is Toyota, iPod, Levis, Coca Cola and Sony. 9 out of 10 people will answer this. And this clearly shows the power of brand and the importance of brand recall. They say out of mind is out of sight. No wonder we are all bombarded with zillions of advertisements everyday.
To become a world class brand, the brand should be right on top of the consumer mind in that product category. If not number one, then certainly number two or three. This feat is achieved only when the product is delivered consistently on the attributes listed above.
Don’t Wait To Innovate
Every product has to go through its life cycle. And to ensure that the brand does not slide down it has to constantly re-invent itself. Innovation is the name of the game when it comes to brand survival. The world class brands constantly innovate with its brands and its brand elements. They spend large amount of budgets on R&D. This innovation can be new product altogether (iPod to iPhone), change in brand logo (Xerox), change in packaging (Shampoo sachets) or change in variants (iPod 8GB to iPod 16GB).
Proctor & Gamble, Sony, Apple, Nike, Google, Walt Disney are some of the companies which spend a lot on innovation and come with new products and services.
World Class Brand – ’Made in US’
If the America sneezes than the entire world catches cold. This is also true even for world class brands. Most of the global brands originate from the US. An interesting statistic is that 8 out 10 global brands are from US. (Source: Interbrand Global Brand Survey). The inference we can draw is that brands that want to be a successful world class brand need to be accepted and successful in the America. So no matter where your brands originates, it is mandatory to have your footprints in the US markets.
Besides these essential ingredients, Patience, Vision and Consistency are the key for the successful global brands.
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