Rebranding

A brand is one of the most essential assets of a company, and it represents by its name, logo, and slogan. With these elements, consumers notice, identify, and remember the brand. With the growing competition, many companies determine to seek modifications in their branding to be able to some extent strengthen themselves (Müller et al., 2013Tsai et al., 2015).


What is a Logo Slogan?

A logo slogan—also known as a tagline—is a catchphrase that carries a message about a brand.

The purpose of a logo slogan is to express the company’s mission in an identifiable way that audiences bear in mind. A slogan spreads the word about products and services and expands the brand’s recognition.

Slogans can be a clear statement of the company’s product or service or a snappy phrase that evokes emotion in public.

What is Rebranding?

Rebranding is the approach of replacing the corporate concept of a company by giving it a new name, symbol, slogan for an already-established brand. The idea behind rebranding is to generate a different identity for a brand, from its rivals, in the market. Take the example of McDonalds, which changed the color of its logo’s background from red to green to show its healthiness.

Why should a company Rebrand?

To better distinguish from their competitors

A generic logo can hurt the business, as in the current marketing world, companies are actively competing against each other. So a simple logo and slogan cannot help the brand to stand out distinctively from others. for more information on business names, read Why and how to rename a business.

To give new life to outdated branding

If a company has been around for many years, it should start shifting rapidly with technology and trends. However, it can sometimes hurt the business.

To reflect new goals, products, offers, or values

The business name or slogan shouldn’t be too narrow or specified to a particular product. Otherwise, they don’t have the chance to expand their business with other kinds of products.
Geox can be an example. At first, they started selling their shoes, so they chose the slogan – The shoes that breathe -, but then they added other product lines like coats. So, the slogan doesn’t give the customer any perception of other products of Geox.

To terminate their poor reputation.

If the company is facing a negative reputation and blackish remarks, rebranding is a way to overcome the problem.

When their business evolves

Sometimes, a business performs with a chance to develop or target a new market. In this case, new customers and prospects should be able to connect with the brand.

What are the approaches to Rebrand a company?

First, the company should have a clear understanding of its mission, vision, and value. Read more.

It also has to research what competitors do to choose a brand new idea to stand out of them. The brand should be fresh and relevant.

The company should have a consistent and comprehensive strategy that works with the existing brand. And any change effected by the logo or brand should be applied in all packages, designs, and other features of the company.

The company can get the idea of the brand’s new name or tagline from its employees. Teamwork can always be helpful. Some of the best ideas and valuable feedbacks are from the most unexpected departments.

The company has to keep in mind all the existing and further developing market of the brand. So, it’s a sensitive project that needs a precise plan.

At last, after all of the changes and rebranding process, it’s time to lunch it to the world and tell them why they Rebranded and the story behind it.

A rebrand is a presentation of a company’s commitment to further development. It’s a chance to renovate and refresh the primary touchpoint between the company and its customers.

 

Risks that may harm the company by Rebranding

Shocking the system, Shocking the system is one of the most often disregarded risks of rebranding. It may take years to reestablish just as the former brand did.

Losing loyal customers, The existing customers may feel confused, upset, and betrayed. Thus they may spread negative remarks about the rebranding. So, the company should start all over again to look for new customers who agree with the rebranding.

You can also read more on 3-big-risks-of-rebranding

 

References

Müller, B., Kocher, B. and Crettaz, A. (2013). The effects of visual rejuvenation through brand logos. Journal of Business Research, 66: 82–88.

Tsai, Y.-L., Dev, C. s. and Chintagunta, P. (2015). What’s in a Brand Name? Assessing the Impact of Rebranding in the Hospitality Industry. Journal of Marketing Research, 52: 865–878.

Weitz, B. A., and Wensley, R. (2002). Handbook of Marketing. SAGE Publications.

 

Expanding The Product Range

What is a product line extension?

A product line extension is the use of an accredited product brand name for a new item in the same product category. Line extensions occur when a company adds additional sections in the same product category and brand name.

 

 

 

What is Product’s Life Cycle

Every product has a life cycle of its own-some long and others quite short. And marketing strategy must vary at each stage of this cycle.

  • In the introduction stage, marketing objectives are to create awareness and stimulate product trials.
  • To achieve the growth stage, the company needs to maximize market share and penetration.
  • Once the product reaches the maturity stage, the task will be to maximize profitability while defending the earned market share.
  • When it begins to decline, the weak product will slowly phase out, minimize expenses, and centered on retaining cash flow and targeting hard-core loyal consumers.

How a company’s market evolves by expanding its product range?

Expansion strategy is utilized by an organization when it attempts to obtain high growth as compared to its former achievements.
As products move through four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline, line expansion is crucial to companies that have products in the late stage of their life cycle. Additionally, this strategy is used by industries that have managers with a high quality of execution and perception.

Brand extensions are speedily enhancing their penetration in the customer market. Hence, brand and line extensions represent 95% of product introductions (Aaker, 1991).

To avoid losing business to competitors with higher performance products, organizations must enhance their existing products or produce new products that can compete productively.

We can use Gillette as an example. The brand covers several product lines, including blades and razors, toiletries, writing instruments, and lighters. Gillette’s line of blades and razors extended to Lady Gillette, Mach 3, Sensor, and others. Now, the company’s toiletries line provides Gillette Foamy, Dry Idea, and Right Guard, and its writing instruments line fits Paper Mate and Flair, which gives Gillette a wide range of product mix.

 

Four Steps to Expansion

A company can add a new product to expand its business by taking these four steps in advance:

  1. Determining the particular demands of consumers in every high-priority market segment.
  2. Identifying the most attractive product/service bundles (groups of features).
  3. Creating a unique value proposition for the proposed line extensions and determining how to position the product in the identified market segments.
  4. Manage the sales and distribution channels that will achieve the highest penetration of the target market segments.

 

The difference between Line Filling and Line Stretching? 

A company can expand its product line in two ways: Line Filling and Line Stretching.

Both of these product line decisions require adding items to the line. 

Line filling means adding more items within the existing range of the line.

Line stretching means lengthening the product line beyond the current range.

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of expanding a product line?https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/71094

Pros: 

  • Attract buyers with different preferences
  • Increase profitability
  • Seasonal sales patterns
  • Compete more broadly in its industry
  • Increasing the brand’s visibility
  • Fulfilling customers needs – 
  • Customer Loyalty – When an established brand decides to extend its product range, they already have a customer base familiar with their product. So, by proposing additional offerings in the same category, they provide customers more possibilities to buy products from them rather than their competitors.

Cons:

  • Potential of overextension
  • Cannibalize sales of older ones.
  • Resources may be disproportionately siphoned off for slower-moving products.
  • Shortage of cash
  • Compromised quality – increasing the product output may lead to a drop in quality, which leads to a loss of customers or marketing.

Extensions may also negatively affect perceptions of the base brand (Aaker, 1991).

References

Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: capitalizing on the value of a brand name. New York : Toronto : New York: Free Press ; Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; Maxwell Macmillan International.

Aaker, D. A., and Keller, K. L. (1990). Consumer Evaluations of Brand Extensions. Journal of Marketing, 54: 27–41.

Claessens, M. Product Line Decisions – Building a strong Product Line. Marketing-Insider (on-line). https://marketing-insider.eu/marketing-explained/part-iii-designing-a-customer-driven-marketing-strategy-and-mix/product-line-decisions/. Accessed 13 February 2020.

Gordon, K. T. (2004). Pros and Cons of Expanding Your Product Line (on-line). https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/71094. Accessed 13 February 2020.
Sheinin, D. A. and Schmitt, B. H. (1994). Extending brands with new product concepts: The role of category attribute congruity, brand affect, and brand breadth. Journal of Business Research, 31: 1–10.