Managing Products & Brands

A product has….

• Core customer value– Benefits

• Associated Services (augmented product)– Financing– Warranty– Support

What is a Product?

• Tangible good• Idea• Service• Person

Types of Consumer Products

• Convenience• Shopping• Specialty• Unsought

Convenience

• Relatively inexpensive• Little shopping effort• Without much planning• Require wider distribution

Unsought Products

• Known but not actively sought• New products• Products we don’t wan to think about

Shopping Products

Homogeneous• Similar• Look for lowest price

Heterogeneous• Different• Price, quality varies• Personal benefit

More expensive than convenienceFound in fewer stores

Specialty Products

• Extensive search• Reluctant to accept substitutes• Selective, status advertising• Limited/exclusive distribution

Managing the product

• Product item

• Product Line– Closely related products

• Product Mix – all the products sold

Managing Products

• Width/Breadth– Number of product lines

• Product Line Depth– Number of products in a product line

• Changes– Increase/decrease breadth• Eliminate/Add a Product line

– Increase/decrease depth• Eliminate/Add a product item to a Line

Managing Products

• Product Modification– Changes one or more of a product characteristic• Quality• Functions• Style• Planned Obsolence

Managing Products

• Repositioning– Changing consumers’ perceptions of a brand– Changing target market

Branding

• And we are back to telling our story• Brand is more than a story; there are elements• Brand is– Name, term, symbol, design, or combination that

identifies a seller’s products and differentiates them from competitors

– Brand Name: can be spoken (GM)– Brand Mark: elements that cannot be spoken

(Chevy symbol, Apple’s apple)

Importance of Branding

• Establish Brand Equity– Value of company and brand names– Measured on awareness, perceived quality, brand

loyalty– Can leverage equity to sell other products

Why Brand?

• Facilitates Purchases• Establish Brand Loyalty• Protect from Competition• Protect from Price Competition• Reduce Marketing Costs

Branding Strategies

• Ownership• Name• Brand Line Extension• Co-branding• Licensing

Ownership

• Manufacturer Brands• Private Label brands– Premium– Generic– Copycat– Exclusive co-brands

Manufacturer vs. Private

Manufacturer• Advertise to consumer• Strong consumer loyalty• Attract new customer’s• Enhance store• If bad customer experience

with product does not affect store

Private• Higher profits• Drop other brands in favor

of own• Ties customer to store• Control of distribution

Name

• Individual– Products vary enough to have own name– P&G different detergents

• Family– Selling different products under same brand name• Jack Daniel’s• Absolute• Tide

Co-branding

• Two or more brand names on a product or its package

Brand Line Extension

• Use brand name for different product line• Line extension– Use of brand name within same line

Licensing

• Contractual agreement• Allow a firm to use brand name, logo, etc. for

a fee• Common in toys, apparel, and video games.

Packaging

• Primary package– The one the consumer uses

• Secondary package– Wrapper/Exterior– In line with Branding– UPC symbol– Attracts attention– Differentiate from competition

• Labeling– Persuasive– Informational– Greenwashing

Packaging Functions

• Contain and protect product• Promote product• Facilitate storage, use and convenience• Facilitate recycling and disposal