The basic types of brand strategy and its development trend
Source: China Paper Download Center [08-08-1114: 41:00]
Author: Chen Yongxing Editor: studa07 14
Abstract: Among the basic types of enterprise brand strategy, there is a continuous change range from single brand strategy to multi-product multi-brand strategy. Brand concentration through brand extension and brand dispersion through multi-brand expansion have increasingly become two major development trends of corporate brand strategy.
Keywords: brand concentration; Brand dispersion; Brand extension; Multi-brand expansion; Brand strategy; development trends
During the start-up period, the product variety is generally single, and the brand strategy adopted is often just one product and one brand strategy. However, with the increasing variety of products, the intensification of market competition and the diversification of operations, enterprises are bound to face the choice of brand strategy, whether it is the launch of new products, the expansion of new fields or the development of new markets.
Basic types of enterprise brand strategy
1, one product, one card strategy. Its original intention is a product and a brand, including personal brand strategy and product line brand strategy. Personal brand strategy is a pure product and a brand. The implementation of this strategy is that a brand is only used for one product, and a product can only have one brand. Product line brand strategy is that many products of the same product line use the same brand. Although there are some differences between different product items in the same product line, these differences are insignificant compared with the high correlation between these product items. Therefore, different product items on the same product line are still classified as the same product.
2. Multi-product one card strategy. That is, all kinds of products or products * * * use the same brand, including single brand strategy and main and deputy brand strategy. Single brand strategy means that all products produced and operated by an enterprise use the same brand. The high degree of unity of this strategy is that the brand of the enterprise and the brand of the product are exactly the same. The name and logo of enterprise brand become the name and logo of product brand. Primary and secondary brand strategy refers to the use of products with brands composed of primary brands and secondary brands, such as "Panasonic Painting King" color TV. In this combination brand, the main brand placed in front is usually the leading enterprise brand that all products of the enterprise should be used together, and the sub-brand placed behind is the brand that can express the personality and characteristics of a product intuitively and vividly around the main brand. Although on the surface, the main and deputy brands are "two" brands, the focus of corporate publicity is the main brand, and consumers' memory and recognition, trust and loyalty to products are completely derived from the main brand rather than the deputy brand, plus the combined brand used at the same time. Therefore, this strategy is still a multi-product one-card strategy.
3. Multi-brand strategy. That is, a company's products use multiple brands, including a product multi-brand strategy and multiple product multi-brand strategies. The strategy of multiple brands for a product is to use multiple brands for the same product. "The same product" refers to products that are identical or generally consistent in principle, structure, technology, materials and efficacy, meet similar needs and have certain competitiveness. Multi-product and multi-brand strategy is to use multiple brands for different products. "Non-homogeneous products" refer to products with different principles, structures, processes, materials and efficacy, which can meet different needs and are irreplaceable.
The basic trend of enterprise brand strategy
The basic types of enterprise brand strategy and its continuous change diagram are not only a simple classification of brand strategy, but also profoundly reflect that there is a continuous change interval from single brand strategy to multi-product multi-brand strategy. The direction along the two ends of this interval shows the trend of concentration and dispersion of brand strategy, while the strategy in the middle area represents the different degrees of concentration and dispersion of brands.
1, the centralization trend of enterprise brand strategy and its realization. (1) The meaning of brand concentration. Brand concentration is the process and trend for enterprises to reduce the number of brands and unify brands. It is an enterprise that uses the original brand to launch new products or gradually classifies the products of multiple brands into several or even one brand. The changing trend from "one brand and one product" to "one brand and multiple products" is brand concentration, and the brand concentration of "single brand" is the highest.
(2) Brand extension is the way to achieve brand concentration. Brand extension includes two types (as shown in the table): one is product line brand extension, that is, the process of launching new products with the original brand, expanding the original product line and further realizing the strategy of one product and one brand; The other is the brand extension of new products, that is, the process of launching new products with the original brand and extending the original brand to new product categories, so as to further realize the strategy of multi-product and one brand.
Generally speaking, the fiercer the market competition, the lower the success rate of brand extension. However, it is in the market competition.
In developed markets such as Europe and America, brand extension is still very popular and has achieved great success. A statistical study on the products with large sales volume in American supermarkets shows that in the past ten years, two-thirds of the successful branded products with annual sales exceeding150,000 dollars were realized through brand extension, which has become the core of the development strategy of western enterprises.
In contrast, the competition in China market is far less fierce and cruel than that in developed countries, so there are more opportunities for brand extension than in Europe and America. Information from the front line of domestic marketing practice shows that brand extension has great vitality in all parts of China. Starting from 1992, Haier Company extended its brand from refrigerator to 58 kinds of household appliances such as freezer, air conditioner, washing machine, dishwasher, color TV, VCD, fax machine, telephone and computer. In this process, the company's sales and profits soared from 830 million yuan and 40 million yuan per year in199/kloc-0 to 40.6 billion yuan and 3 billion yuan in 2000, with an average annual increase of 80%. Haier brand value has reached 33 billion yuan, becoming the first brand of home appliances in China.
(3) The value of brand extension. Brand extension is conducive to rapidly improving consumers' awareness of new products and enabling new products to enter the market smoothly; It helps new products to avoid market risks and reduce the cost of market introduction; It is conducive to improving the overall image of the brand and improving the overall efficiency of the brand. On the one hand, brand extension increases the market coverage of the brand, increases the choice opportunities of consumers and improves the market share; On the other hand, the success of different products of the same brand in the market will further enhance the brand's reputation, popularity and loyalty, thereby enhancing brand assets and value and maximizing brand investment benefits. After 1970s, the risks of new products of international enterprises increased sharply, forcing enterprises to rely more on brand extension to obtain economies of scale. Relevant statistics show that of the 6 199 1 25 "new" products launched by1in the American food market, only 5% are brand-new products, and the remaining 95% are brand extensions based on making full use of the radiation of successful brands, especially the brand extension of product lines. Therefore, using the famous brand effect and its brand extension to expand the market has long been the knowledge that many enterprises at home and abroad seek to develop.
2. The decentralization trend of enterprise brand strategy and its realization.
(1) The significance of brand dispersion. Brand dispersion is a process and trend for enterprises to increase the number of brands and realize multi-brands. It refers to the enterprise launching new products with new brands or expanding the products of one brand to multiple brands. Brand dispersion makes more different kinds of products dispersed in multiple brands, and also makes the brand investment and brand resources of enterprises dispersed in multiple brands. The continuous change trend from "one product and one brand" to "multi-brand" is brand decentralization, and the brand decentralization of "multi-product and multi-brand" is the biggest.
(2) Multi-brand expansion is the way to achieve brand dispersion. With the diversification of consumer demand, consumer groups will naturally be divided into many subgroups with different preferences. Simple brand extension can't adapt to this change at all, but it will easily lead to confusion of brand personality and brand image. Multi-brand expansion is an effective means to solve this problem. P&G operates more than 300 brands in the world, involving cleaning products, cosmetics, health care products, food, medicines, paper products and other industries. Multi-brand expansion has become the basic means to implement its brand strategy.
(3) The value of multi-brand expansion. Multi-brand expansion is conducive to meeting the needs of consumer groups with different preferences and enabling enterprises to fully occupy the market; It is beneficial for enterprises to reduce risks and improve their ability to resist risks; Multi-brand expansion is beneficial for enterprises to adapt to retailers' behavior patterns and increase product sales opportunities. Although multi-brand expansion requires a lot of investment, brand creation takes a long time, and it will also increase the difficulty of brand management, but this is not the key issue for multinational companies with super strength and rich marketing experience. On the contrary, it has become a problem for many small and medium-sized enterprises, and the market competitive advantage and high return brought by multi-brands are fundamental.
Characteristics of the basic trend of enterprise brand strategy
1. Polarization between brand concentration and brand dispersion. On the one hand, more and more enterprises explore the market by implementing the multi-product and one-brand strategy and developing the original successful brands, which fully shows that brand centralization is the general trend. However, the space for brand extension is not infinite, nor is it a panacea for enterprise branding. On the other hand, because of the limitation of brand extension, with the increasingly fierce market competition, the diversification of consumers' personality and the further differentiation of market segments, more and more industry giants, especially multinational companies, rely on abundant funds and strong comprehensive strength to gradually establish the corresponding relationship between brands and product characteristics, personality, positioning and image, and even form the corresponding concept of "brand = product" to successfully operate. Judging from the multi-brand expansion of many international multinational companies, brand decentralization is also the development trend of corporate brand strategy. In a word, the brand strategy of enterprises is developing towards the polarization of brand concentration and brand dispersion.
2. The correlation between brand concentration and brand dispersion.
First of all, brand concentration and brand dispersion have their own advantages and disadvantages, and countless enterprises have made great achievements through brand extension and multi-brand expansion. No one can assert that he is good at cooking or deny another by affirming one. It should be said that these two completely different trends are the development results of different modes of enterprise brand strategy, and they are all caused by their respective adaptation to market rules, competitive situation, industry characteristics and consumer demand.
Secondly, there is a certain evolution between various types of corporate brand strategies. From "one product and one brand" to "multiple products and one brand", when all the single products and product lines in "one product and one brand" use the same brand, it becomes a "single brand" or a "main brand"; From "one product, one brand" to "multiple brands", when different products in the original product line use different brands, it becomes "one product, multiple brands", and when all individual products and product lines use different brands, it becomes "multiple products, multiple brands".
Third, in the same enterprise brand strategy, there are many combinations of brand types. The analysis of enterprise brand strategy can only distinguish whether the brand is centralized or decentralized from the overall tendency of the brand. The overall brand strategy of P&G in China market is multi-brand, with "multi-product, multi-brand" as the mainstay. However, in the marketing advertisements of each brand, the brand of "Procter & Gamble" will be played in the end, which is actually a "mother-child" brand strategy. Locally, there are "one product and one card", "one product and many cards" and "many products and many cards". It can be seen that its brand strategy is comprehensive and combined.
Literature reference
[1] Fu Yong on the concentration and dispersion of brands (Industrial Enterprise Management 2002, (1))
[2] Li Qianru Li Peiliang "Brand Marketing Practice" Guangdong Economic Publishing House, 2002.
[3] Wei "100 Successful Brand Planning" Machinery Industry Press, 2002.
[4] Xia Jiansheng "Brand extension is not so terrible" ("China Famous Brand" 200 1, (7))
[5] Guo Jinghua Yuan Hongming "P&G Long Hudou Unilever" ("China Market" 2000, (3))