Brand strategy options

Brands are very important part of our life: we can find them almost anywhere. But we should remember that truly great brands are more than just labels of products. A real brand is a very difficult, complicated thing, with its own way and history. As mentioned in the Philip Patek advertisement “You don’t own a brand. But it owns you”. And for me this is the most accurate definition of this concept “brand”, because only truly great brands can give you trust and inspire fierce loyalty. We know what a brand is about, what it means, and what it is going to deliver time and time again. In a world of endless choices, a brand can give you something to fix on – it’s a kind of beacon in the darkness and that’s why brand can tap into our emotion and inspire fierce loyalty. They are much more than just a product or service: they’re an attitude, and that’s carried through in everything about the brand.

So, what is associated with a real brand? What are the characteristics of branded goods? First of all, I think it’s high quality. If you buy a branded product there’s a guarantee that the quality is fairly good and the product is reliable.

The second characteristic of brands is that they are cool, stylish and fashionable. Most people buy brands because they want to impress other people. They want to show that they have style and good taste.

And finally, brands add a lot of color, enjoyment and fun into our life, as well as giving you the power to choose things.

As I have already mentioned brands have history. Every product and every brand, as well as a human being, passes through its lifecycle: birth or introduction to the market, growth, maturity (this is high level of development) and decline.

The product launch is usually advertised to attract the attention of the customers and to create the band image (the image of the brand in the mind of consumer, that is their ideas and beliefs about the brand).

A successful advertising campaign allows to increase brand awareness. Cinema and television are often used for this purpose, where movie stars, celebrities and sportsmen advertise a product or a brand. This is brand placement in films and celebrity endorsement.

When the brand name becomes known to the customers it may be used for other goods and services, and this is called brand stretching.

In the conclusion, I want to say that the product lifecycle may be a long one if brand-managers take care of the brand and develop brand loyalty and brand awareness of the customers. Then the brand will have a long life and may even enter the category of timeless brands.

Outsourcing production.