Keeping brands alive key challenge for marketers

Consider yourself to be an owner of a firm that had just launched a brand which is a roaring success... Hold your breathe... For that's just half the job done. To keep the brand name alive in the customers memory that a lot more you need to do, says a new book on marketing.

"A brand needs various kinds of support as it goes along. Customers have to be reminded about the brand as competitors may deflect even loyal customers attention... There is continuous work for the marketing man, even in respect of his well performing brands," says VS Ramaswamy and S Namakumari in their book 'Marketing Management'.

Companies need to sustain the life of their product brands by consistent monitoring, adding value to them through various measures, counter competition and sustain a healthy engagement with target customers, according to the book.

The major challenges include brand's deliverance on promise following which if the resulting customer-experience is positive and reassuring, than the brand succeeds.

Giving an example of such deliverance on promise, the book named Internet search engine, Google. Million of net users around the world rallied around it and have made it one of the biggest brands of modern times.

Moreover, activities like brand extensions, rejuvenation and relaunches are also aimed at continuing firm engagement with its customer base. For instance, FMCG major Nestle's popular brand 'Maggi' was a brand of noodles but the name has been extended to products like ketchup and soups.
Similarly, IT major Wipro was originally a brand of computers but has been extended to even distant category of products like talcum powder, the book explained.

Besides, rejuvenation of older brands or adding value to an ongoing brand by improving product attributes and enhancing its overall appeal is another way of keeping brands alive.

For instance, Dabur gave a facelift to its centenarian brand, Dabur Chyawanaprash in the 1990s, while Cadbury's 5-Star chocolate received a filip through a new creamier and smoother version.

On the other hand, brand which fail to take off and companies which have invested money and effort in them do not want to give up and usually opt for a relaunch with a new marketing strategy.

Instances of such relaunches include Wipro's Santoor soap, Close-Up toothpaste and Proctor and Gamble's Vicks Action 500.

"Rejuvenation and relaunch efforts succeed when companies identify weak aspects in their brand's positioning and marketing mix and work towards rectifying them," the Marketing Management book said.