Article Body:
It might be almost blasphemous to speak about letting go of old brand equity and laying an old brand to rest, but there are times when change is required . Reformulating and re-designing, or maybe overhauling an old brand are often a wise decision. If sales are flat and show no sign of growth, you’d better stop kidding yourself and hire a branding consultant.
Brands are a particularly vital element in your product and company value proposition. With communications so pervasive today, corporate branding and merchandise branding are getting fused together . Corporate brands are increasingly powering product brands and merchandise sales which pose some substantial risk, as those sub brands can’t be as easily re-positioned once they falter.
Brand Culture
As time passes, culture changes, new technologies and new competing brands appear and that they change the perception useful that's available during a marketplace. Old sales propositions won’t fly within the face of 20 or more other competitors offering an equivalent benefits and features. With cultural, economic, technology changes, and company changes, your aging brand image and brand equity may find yourself doing more harm than good. Your former branding successes could leave your brand and company stuck within the past.
A good example aged related branding problem is within the realm of computer products. I recently bought a replacement laptop pc because my old one just couldn’t continue with my multitasking and other work needs. At the mercantile establishment , there have been computers with Intel or AMD microprocessors to settle on from. The key matter wasn’t really microprocessor speed or capability. within the past, the Intel logo would have compelled me to shop for only computers with their processors no matter what other features were available within the computer. The Intel brand was clearly during a class by itself. Not this point . This AMD powered computer was low priced and had the memory I required along side other features like a 100 Gb disk drive , high-resolution screen, numerous ports and adapters and an extended lasting battery. It only weighs a few of pounds and therefore the AMD logo appeared to look better too. It says: AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology. 64 bits and mobile compatibility. Why doesn’t Intel mention that on the pc they need their products in?
Laptops are hot and costs are falling. My 15-year-old nephew just bought his first laptop on eBay, since they're cheaper and more accessible. therefore the whole “culture” of shopping and buying computers has changed.
Everyone is buying high-resolution screens and that i was wanting to ease my eyestrain from long hours of viewing everyday. the large disk drive was great and therefore the laptop looks good too. The old Intel brand just didn’t have the effect it once did, and their competitor, AMD, just sold one among their processors. The laptop is functioning great and now Intel processors don’t dictate which pc I’ll buy.
To me, the Intel logo and brand brings back memories of old Pentium computers. this is often worsened by the very fact that today’s processors have changed and that they are running at lower speeds. This confuses the speed benefit that Intel had its brand positioned around. The technology change in viewing screens, memory, and processor use within the computer has moved the market faraway from where Intel was positioned. The Intel corporate brand powers sales of their new processors, but they will call those new products anything they need and it won’t effective my decision.
What Intel must do now, is to associate its processors with the features and benefits that buyers and B2B buyers make decisions upon. Computer branding isn't all about the processors anymore and therefore the old Intel brand image is deeply tied to old technology. Even the name Pentium is related to the pc culture of the 90’s.
Here’s the issue: the old Intel brand was so successful in 90’s that it’s trapped Intel during a time warp. Intel needs new branding that ties it to the longer term , not the past. to urge there, they're likely to possess to jettison the past.
Google may be a exemplar of recent branding and a brand that's not tied solely to web search engines. The brand is now diversified strategically to associate it with everything people do on the online . Google is omnipresent, and its brand image is solely in its relevance to the present Internet culture. Google won’t let its common program role diminish its branding power.
Hanging onto to Old Branding Concepts
There’s tons of reason why brand managers, CEO's, and marketing managers resist rethinking their branding and redeveloping their brands. most frequently , they don’t want to go away their temperature and risk a short-term blip in profit. Some don’t want to form an investment in hiring a branding consultant to seem at the choices . Branding experts examine a brand to get its current problems, the culture of the marketplace, and to work out if a replacement brand identity or brand positioning would be fruitful. Some old brands are doomed, but most are just stale and not in tune with the target market. A branding consultant can provide crucial insight into market perception, brand value building, brand loyalty development, and to get the brand value proposition that would breathe new life into your brands.