Brand is the crystallization of the psychological, physiological and comprehensive positive feelings and evaluations of the target consumers and the public on certain things. People and landscapes, artists, enterprises, products, trademarks and so on can all develop into brand counterparts. When we talk about brand in marketing, we refer to the narrow sense of commercial brand, that is, the crystallization of the public's comprehensive feelings and evaluation of a specific business person, including products, trademarks, entrepreneurs and enterprises.
The so-called brand strategy is a kind of enterprise management strategy that the company takes brand as its core competitiveness and obtains differentiated profits and values. Brand strategy is the product of market economy competition. In recent years, some enterprises with advanced consciousness have used the sharp weapon of brand strategy to gain competitive advantage and gradually develop and grow. The essence of strategy is to mold the core expertise of enterprises, thus ensuring the long-term development of enterprises. Today, with highly developed science and technology and rapid information dissemination, products, technologies and management know-how are easily imitated by opponents and hardly become core expertise. Once the brand is established, it is not only valuable, but also unrepeatable, because the brand is a consumer cognition and a psychological feeling, which cannot be easily imitated.
The content of brand strategy
The so-called brand strategy includes six aspects: brand decision-making, brand mode selection, brand identification and definition, brand extension planning, brand management planning and brand vision establishment.
Branding decision-making solves the problem of brand attributes. Whether to choose a manufacturer's brand or a dealer's brand, or to create a brand or join a brand, we must solve this problem before the brand is created. Different brand management strategies indicate different paths and fates of enterprises, such as choosing the integration of production, supply and marketing of "IKEA" or taking the joining trip of "McDonald's". In short, different brands have their specific adaptability in different industries, different enterprises and different stages.
The choice of brand model solves the problem of brand structure. Whether you choose a comprehensive single brand or a diversified multi-brand, a joint brand or a main and deputy brand, although there is no good or bad brand model, they all have certain industry applicability and timeliness. For example, when Toyota entered the high-end car market in the United States, it did not continue to use Toyota, but established a brand-new independent brand Lexus. The purpose of this is to prevent Toyota from giving Lexus a low-end impression and make it a high-end car brand comparable to BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Brand identification defines the connotation of brand, that is, the brand image that enterprises want consumers to identify with, which is the focus of brand strategy. It standardizes the brand's thoughts, behaviors, appearances and other internal and external meanings from three aspects: brand mental identity, behavior recognition and symbol recognition, including core recognition with brand core value as the core and basic recognition composed of brand promise, brand personality and other elements. For example, in 2000, Hisense's brand strategic planning not only clarified the brand core value of Hisense's "scientific and technological innovation, building a century-old trust", but also put forward the brand concept of "innovation is life", determined to shape the brand image of "scientific and technological pioneer who challenges the scientific and technological peak in the new century and is committed to improving people's living standards", and at the same time launched a brand-new VI visual identification system. Through a series of marketing communication with brand core value as the commander-in-chief, it has changed the vague and chaotic brand image in the past and become a leading "technology flow" brand in the home appliance industry with clear brand recognition.
Brand extension planning is a clear definition of the future development field of the brand. Make clear which fields and industries the brand is suitable for development and extension in the future, so as to maximize the brand value on the premise of reducing the risk of extension and avoiding brand dilution. For example, the unified use of "Haier" brand in Haier household appliances is a successful example of brand extension.
Brand management planning is to protect the brand construction from the organizational structure and management mechanism, establish a vision for brand development on the basis of the above planning, and clarify the goals and measurement indicators of each stage of brand development. Enterprises become bigger and stronger by strategy. "People who have no long-term worries must have near worries." Solving strategic problems is the basic condition for brand development.
Representative brand strategy
The establishment of brand strategy should focus on the competitive strength of enterprises. Merchants should flexibly explore appropriate strategies according to their own situation, industry characteristics, market development and product characteristics. Below we will analyze some representative brand strategies in detail.
Single brand strategy
Single brand, also known as unified brand, refers to the situation that all products produced by an enterprise use one brand at the same time. In this way, a kind of strongest brand structure synergy is formed between different products of the enterprise, so that brand assets can be fully enjoyed in a complete sense. The advantages of a single brand strategy are self-evident. Merchants can concentrate on shaping a brand image, let a successful brand accompany several products, and let each product enjoy the advantages of the brand. For example, the well-known "Haier" is the representative of a single brand strategy. Haier brand topped the list for four consecutive years with a brand value of 70.2 billion yuan in 2005, which was 22.2 billion higher than the second place. In 2005, Haier ranked 89th among the top 500 brands in the world. Haier Group began to promote private brand strategy from 1984, from product brand to enterprise brand to social brand, and has now successfully established a well-known image of "Haier". Haier's products have developed from a single refrigerator in 1984 to more than 96 categories of products in 15 100 specifications, including white goods, black goods and beige goods, and have been exported to more than 100 countries and regions all using a single "Haier" brand. Not only that, Haier has also been used as a corporate name and domain name, achieving a "trinity". As consumers, we can extend Haier's concept of "sincerity forever" to any commodity under its name. A successful Haier brand makes thousands of Haier products become famous brand products, and the advantages of a single brand strategy are fully displayed.
Another advantage of a single brand is the low cost of brand promotion. The cost here not only refers to the cost of marketing and advertising, but also includes the cost of brand management and the clarity of consumers' cognition. A single brand can better reflect the will of enterprises, easily form the core elements of market competition, avoid confusion among consumers, and also need coordination among brands.
Of course, as a single brand strategy, there are certain risks. There is the advantage of "one glory * * * glory", and there is also the danger of "one loss and one loss". If there is a problem with a commodity under a certain brand name, then other commodities attached to the brand will inevitably be implicated, and the whole product system may face a major disaster. As a single brand, it lacks differentiation and difference, and it is often impossible to distinguish the unique characteristics of different products, which is not conducive to the development of different types of products by merchants, nor is it convenient for consumers to make targeted choices. Therefore, "sub-brands" often appear in a single brand.
Sub-brand strategy
The specific way to adopt sub-brand strategy is to take a successful brand as the main brand, cover the series products of the enterprise, and give different products a charming name as sub-brand to highlight the individual image of the products. Take Haier as an example. Although Haier uses the same trademark on all products, in order to distinguish each other's characteristics, it is divided into the "pilot series" of variable frequency door-to-door refrigerators. Frequency conversion refrigerators "Prince Charming Series" and "Color Crystal Series"; Computer refrigerators "Digital Prince Series" and "Space Prince Series"; Mechanical refrigerators "Super Energy Saving Series", "Golden Commander Series" and so on. Therefore, there are 15 sub-brands under Haier's name alone. Using sub-brands in household appliances industry has become a common practice in the industry, effectively dividing the functions and characteristics of different products, making the characteristics of each group of goods show their respective capabilities, and at the same time making up for the shortcomings that a single brand is too simple and not vivid.
multibrand strategy
Multi-brand strategy refers to an enterprise operating more than two independent and unrelated brands at the same time. As we all know, the function of trademarks is to distinguish different commodity producers or service providers for the same commodity or service. An enterprise that uses multiple brands, of course, not only has the function of distinguishing other commodity producers, but also has the function of distinguishing its own different commodities. Multi-brand strategy has created an independent growth space for each brand.
The advantages of multi-brand are obvious. It can divide products according to different functions or prices, which is beneficial for enterprises to occupy more market share and face more consumers. They seem to be competitive, but in fact it is very likely to strengthen the overall competitive strength and increase the overall market share; Avoiding the influence of product performance, such as extending the brand of sanitary products to food, is psychologically difficult for consumers to accept. Moreover, multi-brands can spread risks, and if one commodity has problems, it can avoid hurting other commodities.
Its disadvantages are: high publicity cost, financial resources and manpower are needed to build a well-known brand, and high investment is needed if multiple brands are to be successfully built; Self-competition among multiple brands; The cost of brand management is too high, which is easy to cause confusion among consumers.
The representative who adopts multi-brand strategy is Procter & Gamble. The principle of P&G is: If there is still room in a certain market, it is best that those "other brands" are also P&G products. Therefore, P&G's multi-brand strategy makes it have a very high market share in various industries. For example, in the American market, P&G has 8 brands of washing powder, 6 brands of soap, 4 brands of shampoo and 3 brands of toothpaste, and each brand has different characteristics. Taking shampoo as an example, the familiar "Rejoice" is characterized by softness; Pan Ting attracts the public with comprehensive nutrition; Head & Shoulders has a good anti-dandruff effect; Sassoon emphasizes brightness. Different consumers can choose freely on the shelf of shampoo, but they are not separated from P&G products.
Procter & gamble's strategy is not only to use different trademarks on different kinds of goods, but also to use different trademarks on the same kind of goods because of different functions. Of course, she also paid a high market cost and management cost. However, it cannot be said that P&G is successful. With a glorious history of nearly 170 years and about 300 brands, it cannot be said that it has created a miracle of brand strategy. In the multi-brand strategy, some enterprises do not use functional division, but grade division, that is, the same commodity uses different brands, but the quality and grade are not the same. For example, L 'Oré al chose to distinguish based on rank. Lancome and biotherm are its high-end products, while Yuxi and Maybelline are its relatively low-end products. Perhaps even the ladies who are keen on make-up may not know that the four brands mentioned above belong to L 'Oreal, and they all occupy their own market share and have different levels of consumers. Some people can't help asking why we all know that Rejoice, Pan Ting and Head & Shoulders are all products of P&G, but few people know the relationship between Lancome, biotherm, Yuxi and Maybelline. The reason is that P&G used the "endorsement brand".
Endorsement brand strategy
When using its brand, P&G will not forget to point out "the quality products of Rejoice Using". Endorsement brand is attached to the product and runs through the whole company brand and project brand. The management of endorsement brands is implemented in all aspects of the value chain to ensure that development projects can become the distinctive features of the company that distinguish it from other brands.
Why does P&G use endorsement brands, but L 'Oré al doesn't? In fact, careful analysis shows that not all P&G brands adopt brand endorsement. SK-II and Olay are also P&G products in the field of beauty, but they don't need to endorse brands. It is because Procter & Gamble has become the representative of mass consumer goods in people's minds, and it appears in many fields such as washing and bathroom. If used in high-end cosmetics, it is likely to affect the value of these products. For another example, Pinke potato chips are also products of P&G, and it will not use the endorsement trademark of P&G here, because it will remind consumers of well-known P&G products such as shampoo and washing powder when buying potato chips, which is likely to affect their image in the public. So is L 'Oré al. L 'Oré al Paris can only be regarded as a mid-range brand in the field of cosmetics. It is obviously inappropriate to endorse it on high-end products such as Lancome. Therefore, in this case, merchants adopt the strategy of diluting the overall brand, so that these high-end brands can establish their own image and build their own territory with a better image. Through this strategy, the overall competitive strength has been enhanced, and consumers of different grades have also been taken care of.
Matters needing attention for enterprises to create their own brands
1. Brand positioning. Good brand positioning is half the success of a brand. Brand positioning is to let consumers clearly identify and remember the characteristics and core values of the brand. In product research and development, packaging design, advertising design and other aspects, we should pay attention to brand positioning. For example, Shufujia's brand positioning is "sterilization". For years, Shu Fujia's advertisement has been "sterilization". By deepening the memory of consumers again and again, we finally achieve the goal of choosing Shufujia if we want to "sterilize".
2. Strategic planning. Enterprises should enhance their brand image through brand planning and strategic planning, improve consumers' awareness and loyalty to products, and establish a good brand image of enterprises. First of all, quality strategy is the key and core of brand strategy, quality is the life of products, and strict quality management is the primary condition for developing, maintaining and developing famous brands. Secondly, the market strategy is the basis of implementing the famous brand strategy, and the market-oriented concept must be established to implement the market strategy. From product development to marketing, we must firmly grasp the theme of market changes and meet customer needs to the greatest extent.
3. Vigorously publicize. For small and medium-sized enterprises, it is very important for consumers to identify with their brands in a short time through publicity. In the process of publicity, it is necessary to highlight brand positioning and core values, identify the emotional intersection between products and consumers, and let consumers have a sense of cognition about products in a very short time.
In short, in the process of choosing brand strategy, enterprises should fully consider their own advantages and characteristics and choose the brand that is most suitable for enterprise development. Only in this way can they embark on the road of successful brand management.