In our much-digitalized lives marketing and branding have gained much complexity with the advent of Social Media platforms. These platforms allow a very personalized approach to communication with prospective buyers. This has also changed the tonality of branding process as it is easy for the brand followers to immediately like or comment on any content.
Unlike what many marketers would like to believe, brands whether big or small, face several ups and downs in their lifetimes. As a matter of common-sense brands are born in a certain environment and need careful nurturing for survival. But the story just begins there. The thing to note however is how a brand can remain healthy over the years and in different market conditions, through several challenges and threats especially in a digital world.
Brand health is not always measured in terms of gross/net margins or market shares that brands enjoy. Health is neither measured by whether a brand is premium or mass, old or new but whether its DNA makes it strong enough to survive the shocks and tremors felt from time to time. Question arises as to whether there are some threats that always loom large on a brand. The answer to that is a simple ‘Yes’. Let us examine a few of them to make matters a little simpler to grasp.
- Why is a Brand there in the market at all?
As per basic economics brands are goods which are made available to fulfil human needs. The fulfilment of such needs is obtained against exchange of monetary value (what the consumers would want to pay) as the price of the product. Now this simple principle decides a few things for the brand. For example, how can this ‘human need’ be kept satisfied over a period of time as needs keep changing from time to time. Let’s consider Cola for example.
What was once a simple drink meant for aiding digestion has evolved into a ‘symbol of youthful behaviour’ over time. How did that happen? Taking a dive into history one can trace that cola brands have only supported this shift in consumer behaviour as aspirations change with generations. To stay away from obsolescence cola brands expanded the usage base as people shifted their reason to consume a cola. Brands came and went but those which stayed awake to shifting consumption pattern did survive and thrive.
- Why do people depend on brands to fulfil their needs?
When the act of branding started way back, it was done by the cruel act of heat stamping cows to help cowherders to differentiate their cows from those of other herds. When these cows went up for sale these differentiated cows helped the owners to obtain better pricing because some stocks of cows were known to be of better breed. From here started the story of differentiating livestock and/or commodities to command a better price or value among a set of knowledgeable buyers. This created markets and the concept of knowledge-driven purchase to aid better value for money. This resulted in the creation of certain breeds, regions, names and symbols. This tradition continues till date in a much-evolved fashion and version, of building confidence in purchasing branded products. A known brand that is available anywhere in the market is believed to deliver the same quality standard and thus the buyer who is seeking to obtain the same known value, buys it again and again. People depend on brands to deliver a value that is intrinsic to the product and thus enjoy an inherent confidence or good feeling.
- What ails a brand from time to time?
Brands never exist in a vacuum. They exist because its need is there in the market which may remain steady for some time but such conditions may change very fast. Recent experience with Covid Pandemic taught everyone to relook at their lifestyle needs and brand choices too. Suddenly there was a spurt of healthier choices and demand for better quality products shot up. Also, financial depression led to reduced offtakes of some categories of brands and enhancement of sales of a few categories. All these took place because markets are very sensitive to everything that happens around human lives.
What people consume or use affects their health, their mood and even their future. Children grow up into adulthood and things change around them, people age and their habits shift. Consumables are constantly improving with technology, and nutritional benefits. The meanings of comfort, convenience and money undergo adjustments with lives of urban and not-so-urbanized population segments. Unless brands don’t prepare themselves to such changes, may face obsolescence, reduced margins and decay in market share. Smartphones changed human behaviour – from financial benefits to career choices, holiday destinations to human communication, image makeovers to product search. It created obsolescence for cameras, wrist watches, landlines and so on.
Brand life cycles are getting shorter and shorter by the day. New brands are arriving everyday and similar number of brands are exiting the markets too. Struggle to survive exists in every sphere of life and the same is true for brands too.
What can RnT do for your brand?
RnT Communications as an agency specializes in the space of brand revival, re-evaluation of marketing techniques and brand communication strategies.
We at RnT aid our client organizations to identify the problem areas and remove the obstacles to re-invent the strength of the brand and help it to find its own niche once again. We believe that every brand, whether old or new, carry a particular strength which can be revived. It saves organisations from the burden of letting brands wither away and die.
Call us for further details on +91 98111 68928 or email us at rntcomm@gmail.com