1, "create" is not as good as "buy".
According to the analysis report of an international authoritative organization, to create a famous brand, media investment alone needs at least $200 million. If an enterprise tries to enter a brand-new market or another country's market, it will undoubtedly need to invest more financial resources and energy to expand its brand, and at the same time it will be squeezed out by various forces in the original market. In this case, using the power of capital to expand the brand and enhance the brand value has become the first choice strategy for some enterprises, and the most successful example is Unilever.
Unilever's 12 brand in China is almost the best of its kind. Lux and Xia Shilian are among the best in shampoo and bath products; Chinese toothpaste is an old brand in the toothpaste market; Lipton black tea market share has exceeded 80%; The position of "Helu Association" in the ice cream market is irreplaceable. Most of Unilever's more than 400 global brands are acquired and spread all over the world. The success of Unilever's multinational brand operation lies in its ability to acquire local brands and upgrade them to international brands. Ponzi was originally an American brand. Unilever bought it, developed it into a famous brand of skin care products, and then promoted it to China. "Xia Shilian" was originally a British brand promoted in Southeast Asia, and Unilever also introduced it to China; The takeover of China's first toothpaste brand "Zhonghua" is the continuation of Unilever's brand strategy. Unilever's brand strategy not only makes it get rich returns on a global scale, but also establishes a stronger emotional bond between local brands and consumers. The purpose of Unilever's acquisition of local brands is by no means to weaken its influence on independent brands, but to promote it to the overall strategy of Unilever's global brand operation and become an international brand.
2. "Strong" joint strategy.
The promotion of brand value can also rapidly expand its brand image by joining hands with other brands, thus creating more added value. Internationally renowned enterprises are often good at making use of their strong brand appeal and market advantages in their respective industries and joining hands with leaders of other industries to carry out "strong" brands, so as to expand in greater market depth and breadth and strengthen their own brand image. Of course, this kind of cooperation is often based on the win-win situation of two or more brands, so it is easier to get positive feedback from partners and the market. For example, Starbucks, as a well-known brand of "coffee fast food industry", has joined hands with United Airlines to expand new business areas and make its products cover a broader market space; On the other hand, it is precisely because of this superior cooperation that their brand value in their respective fields has been really improved. Facts have proved that many loyal customers of Starbucks have become customers of United Airlines because of its new measures, and now many "supporters" of Starbucks have also met and begun to "fall in love" with Starbucks on United Airlines. The strong alliance between large enterprises can help them quickly establish brand value in the new market. Similarly, small and medium-sized enterprises can also form alliances with enterprises with strong brand awareness in this way, relying on the advantages of others to enhance their brand value, and the most important thing is to find the right cooperation points and give play to their comparative advantages. Lenovo and Stone, for example, today rely on their comparative advantages, cooperate with internationally renowned large enterprises, grow on the shoulders of giants and establish their own brands.
3. Brand extension strategy.
Many brand strategies of China enterprises draw lessons from some specific practices of Japanese and other Asian enterprises. The most obvious similarity is that China enterprises, like Japanese enterprises, mostly adopt unified brand strategy, covering all products of enterprises with one brand, and rarely adopt brand extension strategy. Brand extension strategy includes sub-brand strategy and multi-brand strategy. Sub-brand strategy is a brand strategy between a brand with multiple products and a brand with one product. It is a strategy to use consumers' trust and loyalty to existing successful brands to promote the sales of sub-brand products. Haier has successfully adopted the sub-brand strategy. Haier calls the 0.5 kg small washing machine "instant washing", the TV set "Pathfinder" and the beauty humidifier "Little Monroe", which consumers can see at a glance. For the same product, sub-brands can also be used to distinguish specifications, tastes, grades and functions, such as "little prince", "handsome prince" and "little prince" used in Haier refrigerator. Only in this way can we avoid the mindset of "Haier is a refrigerator", "Changhong is a color TV" and "Little Swan is a washing machine". Choosing sub-brand strategy can effectively guide consumers to break through the original consumption pattern, accept and recognize new products, and quickly transfer their trust and loyalty to the main brand to new products. Speaking of multi-brand strategy, we have to talk about "P&G". Regarding brands, P&G's principle is: If there is still room in a certain market, it is best that those other brands are also products of P&G company. 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. Every brand has different needs, and P&G has won users with different needs and life tastes by taking advantage of the differences in functions and personalities between brands. Moreover, each brand has its own development space, and there will be no market overlap, so it has a very high market share in various industries.
4. Intensive penetration of channels.
If you want to expand and upgrade a brand, first of all, let your target users and potential users often see your brand, because brand value ultimately comes down to users' buying behavior. In order for users to complete the purchase behavior, we must first reduce the cost of implementing this behavior, which includes psychological cost and behavioral cost. That is to say, it is easier for users to think of you and be familiar with you, and less distrustful and worried when buying your products. To achieve this effect, we need strong channel support, especially to "intensively cultivate" sales terminals and increase the penetration rate of regional markets. Coca-Cola Company is the best example. It has established sales channels all over the world and developed regional distributors all over the world. It is not only available in vending machines, nozzle drinking fountains, supermarkets and convenience stores, but also in cinemas, video stores and even taxis. For enterprises that have just started or are relatively weak, good results can also be achieved if effective channel penetration strategies are adopted. For example, "Very Coke" is to quickly lay channels and effectively control this market segment at a lower price through the relatively low awareness rate of "Coca Cola" in rural areas.
5. Go for a ride.
Hitchhiking is to be good at upgrading the brand by taking advantage of the situation, let others do the most difficult pioneering things in the early stage, and rely on personal advantages to pick up the achievements that others have already made. "Hitchhiking" strategy is more suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises that have just started. To some extent, "very coke" is a "free ride" with "Coca Cola". On the basis of Coca-Cola's huge consumer group and market, combined with the "national" appeal and targeted channel penetration, it quickly established its own brand.
6. Challenge the industry "boss".
Challenging the "boss" in the industry is like playing chess with a master. On the one hand, it is easy to be recognized as a master, on the other hand, you can learn a lot of valuable things in the process of competing with the master, and it is easier to become a real master.
TCL is the most obvious example. As an enterprise that started with wireless communication, TCL was synonymous with telephone a few years ago. In recent years, although involved in the field of home appliances such as color TV and air conditioner, the recognition of home computers has not been high, far less than Lenovo, Founder, Great Wall and other brands. As a computer brand in China, its rapid growth in the PC industry is a process of constantly challenging Lenovo. In the summer of 200 1 year, it staged a fierce battle with Lenovo, which quickly achieved TCL's computer brand position in the PC industry. Of course, challenging the "boss" of the industry is also a very dangerous thing. The most important thing is to find a good starting point for the war, so as to win-win, otherwise it may face extinction. Therefore, it is necessary to be cautious to adopt this strategy.