Identity and name any three products of your choice where both the brand name and packaging has largely contributed to their success.

Identity and name any three products of your choice where both the brand name and packaging has largely contributed to their success. In the light of the above discuss the strategic importance of Branding and Packaging as tools for pull
strategy.


Brand Name: The American Management Association defines it thus : "Brand name is a pan ol'a brand consisting of a word, letter, group of words or letters comprising a name which is intended to identify the goods or services of a seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate ihem form those of competitors,"
Comparing this definition with that of a brand, it is found that the function remaining the same, brand name is only one of the means that the brand can use for identification. Brand name is a word or a combination of words/letters that is pronounceable, e.g., Promise toothpaste. Rexona soap, etc. Sometime you must have also heard words like brand mark and trade 'mark. Since a brand name is used in identification of a product amongst a competing set, it is necessary that each brand must have only a unique identity and ii must also be protected by law. This brings in the concepts of brand mark and trade mark.
A brand mark is a symbol used for the purpose of identification. It can be a mark, a design, a distinctive logo type or a colouring scheme, a picture, etc. In other words, it is IKH a name bul a means of identification, e.g. picture of an elephant in a distinct frame used in the Department of Tourism, Government of India or the famous star-circle of a Mercedez Benz car. or I in circle which you must have seen on buses and trucks made by TATA (T). A trade mark is the legalized version of a brand. Brand falls under the category of industrial property right and. there fore being trscd by other. 'A brand or a pan of a brand that is given legal protection because it is capable of exclusive appropriation" is defined as a trade mark. It is strictly speaking a legal concept, even though brand and trade mark are quite often used synonymously.
Branding Decisions
lla\ing as appropriate brand has emerged as the most important activity in the area of marketing of products especially consumer products. Several decisions need to be taken, though not simultaneously, with regard to brand selection and its use. These are:
I ) Should the product be branded at all?
2) Who should sponsor the brand?
3) What qualilN should be built into the brand?
4) Should each product be individually or family branded? Should other products be given the same brand name?
5) Should two or more brands be developed in the same product category?
6) Should the established brand be given a new meaning (repositioning)?
I.el us consider each of these issues:
Whether to brand a product or not is a decision which can be taken only after considering
the nature of the product, the type of outlets envisaged for the product, the perceived.

advantages of branding and the estimated costs of developing the brand. Historically, it is found that brand development is closely correlated with the increase in the disposable income, the sophistication of the distribution system and the increasing size of the national market. The same trend is visible in India now.
1 \ en lew years back, nobody could have thought of selling branded rice refined flour and Iodised Salt, but several firms in the recent past have become successful even in such product categories. The basic reason is that a class of consumers is willing to pay more for uniform and better quality product represented by the brand. Irrespective of the location and from which retailer they buy, customers are always buying the same product attributes when they buy a branded product. Many other commodities, such as spices are also being branded. There is no doubt that this trend will become stronger in the coming \cars.
fhe question of sponsorship of a brand refers basically to the decision as to whether it should be a manufacturer's brand, also known as a national brand or a private brand , also kiumn as a middleman's brand . This is a major decision in most developed countries where large chain/ departmental stores dominate the retail distribution system. This is, however, largely a hypothetical question in India, where retail distribution system is highl\ fragmented. Only Super Bazars have started marketing a few products, which are specially packed and sold under their names.
I Umcver. if outlets of Super Bazars, Mother Diary and National Consumers Cooperative federation increase in sufficient numbers, it is possible that private brands will also become a reality in future. Some retailers" brand names in the product categories of sarees and car accessories have already been established.
A \er\ crucial decision is with regard to the quality and other attributes lu be built into the product. The matrix of such attributes wiH—decide the product positioning. A marketer has the option to position at any segment of the market: top. bottom or the intermediate, faking an example, surf is positioned as a premium quality and high priced product .At the other end of the scale, Nirma is positioned as low priced, While products such as Dot or Key are somewhere in between.
I he marketer also has to decide at the outset whether he would like to adopt a family brand under which all the products of the company would be sold or he would like to brand each product separately.
Companies like GE or Philips follow the family name strategy, while GM follows the individual brand strategy. In India, L&T and kissan are examples of the former, while I Imdusian Lever follows the latter.
These are advantages in either approach: a) Family Brand
One basic advantage of using the family brand is that it reduces the costs of product launching and on going promotional expenditure substantially. The firm has to promote only one brand, which, if successful, would be able to sell the entire product line. Lining up the distribution channel, members also become comparatively easier. A family brand name has been found to be very cost effective in tyre marketing.
II. 2)lf one product does exceptionally well, it is perfectly possible that there would he positive fall-outs for other products being marketed under the same brand.
Ill It is. however, necessary to be cautious in following the strategy. It will be a very ill advised strategy if the products being offered are of highly uneven quality. It may not also be a good strategy if the markets are quite dissimilar in terms of consumer profile.
IV. A greater weakness of this strategy is that it does not recognize that each product can be given a specific identity by a suitable brand, which can go a long way to make it successful.
b) Individual Brand
i) flic weakness, as pointed out above, becomes the principal strength of thi strategy. Recent consumer researches have irrefutably established that a name can have varied associations and conjure diverse images. These psychological factors can immensely influence the buying decisions. Individual brand strategy is in a position to take care of this aspect of marketing.
n i The second advantage of this strategy is that if there is a product failure, its damaging effect will be limited to that particular product and will not extend to the entire product
line. —
iii) The basic disadvantage lies in the economics of developing an individual brand . It is ob\ loush a costlier strategy than the other.
iv) flic other disadvantage is that the brand does not directly derive any benefit from the
reputation of the firm.
I o lake care of these problems, some firms follow a slightly modified strategy. This invokes using individual brands but also giving prominence to the company name or logo in all promotional campaigns as well as in product packaging. For example, TOMCO follows individual brand strategy but displays prominently the words. 'TATA PK( )l )l '("I". In many cases a brand extension strategy is adopted. This really is an effort on the part of the manufacturer to secure additional mileage from a particularly successful product for launching either similar or even dissimilar product under the same brand. A recent successful example is the decision to introduce Maggi range of sauces to capitalise on the image of Maggi brand of noodles.
5) A firm may decide several brands of the same product, which to some extent are competing inter se. The basic reason is that, at least in the consumer products, various benefits and appeals and even marginal differences between brands can win a large

I o lake care of these problems, some firms follow a slightly modified strategy. This invokes using individual brands but also giving prominence to the company name or logo in all promotional campaigns as well as in product packaging. For example, TOMCO follows individual brand strategy but displays prominently the words. 'TATA PK( )l )l '("I". In many cases a brand extension strategy is adopted. This really is an effort on the part of the manufacturer to secure additional mileage from a particularly successful product for launching either similar or even dissimilar product under the same brand. A recent successful example is the decision to introduce Maggi range of sauces to capitalise on the image of Maggi brand of noodles.
5) A firm may decide several brands of the same product, which to some extent are competing inter se. The basic reason is that, at least in the consumer products, various benefits and appeals and even marginal differences between brands can win a large


Ibllowing. Do you recall that in unitl 1 we discussed the illustration of a company, which has several soaps, under different brands for different segments?
Bnuul repositioning
O\cr the life cycle of a product, several market parameters might undergo a change such as introduction of a competing product, shifts in consumer preference, identification of new needs, etc. All and each of such changes call for a relook as to whether the original positioning of the product is still optimal or not. Stagnating or declining sales also point td need for reassessment of the original product positioning. For example, Thums Up has been rcpositioned several times in the recent past, from the young to the professionals to the kids and back to the young.
Packaging has been variously defined in both technical and marketing literature. One of the most quoted definition is 'Packaging is the art, science and technology of preparing goods for transport and sale'. This definition brings out two salient aspects of packaging.
I Itcsc are:
a) It has to help in the physical transportation and sale of the products packaged.
bj Packaging as a function consists of two distinct elements, (i) the positive aspects, I he science and technology related to package design, selection of packaging materials etc. and (ii)lhe behavioral aspects.vi/.. the art of product design which is associated with consumer research, buying research, etc.
I he last aspect has been highlighted in another definition of packaging. Properly designed, the package should enhance the value of its contained product, and impart that impression, either directly or subtly, to the consumer marketing today.
Packaging should perform the following basic functions: it should (a) protect; (b) appeah(c) perform; (d) offer convenience to the end-users; and (e) be cost- effective.
Protection
Of the live functions, this is the one, which is the oldest and most basic. The primary function is to protect the products from the environment and physical hazards to which the product can he exposed to. in transit from the manufacturer's plant to the retailer's shcKcs and while on display on the shelves.
I he specific types of hazards against which protection has to be sought would obviously vary from product to product. It is however possible to identify the principal hazards which are almost universal. These are:
a) Breakage /damage due to rough mechanical or manual handling during transportation,
b) I Extremes of climatic conditions which can lead to melting, freezing,
c) Contamination, either bacterial or non-bacterial, such as by dirt or chemical elements.

d) Absorption of moisture or odours of foreign elements,
c) Loss of liquid or vapour,
0 Pilferage during transit or storage.
Packaging Cost versus Damage to the Goods
While ii may be technically feasible to identify the total risk profile of a product with regard to its physical and distributional parameters, it will not be necessary or economically desirable to develop and adopt a zero-risk package. After a certain stage the reduction in the probability of loss due to the damages to the goods will not be commensurate with the increase in the arising out of possible damage to the goods rather than going tor Tool-proof packing. The firm has to take a managerial decision as to the level of risks that it is willing to trade -off against the increase in packing costs. The relationship between the packaging costs and loss due to product damages is shown in figure.



sorry for poor quality for this article..