Brand Development

The ultimate goal of brand development is to create an identifiable and a unique product for the targeted consumer. A well-developed brand enables the consumer perceive its relevant and distinct qualities, which match or satisfy the user’s needs most effectively. To a consumer, a brand acts as a reliable assurance for that particular product or service. Well-developed brands enable consumers to clearly identify and specify products or services, which truly offer additional value. To a brand developer, strong brands offer long-term security and growth, high and sustainable profits in addition to improved asset value. Moreover, the brands attract premium prices, bigger sale volumes and economies of scale. The four critical elements of developing a successful brand are brand positioning, communicating the brand message, delivering the brand performance and leveraging the brand equity.

Brand positioning mainly involves creating the brand’s perception in the mind of the targeted consumer and attaining differentiation in the market. It enables the product stand out from other rival brands by meeting the customers’ needs or expectations. Properly positioned brands have competitive advantage over other competing offerings and exemplary ratings on some of the most sought tangible and intangible attributes, such as reliability, features and operational benefits.

Communicating the brand message entails development and execution of effective communication strategies that propel the brand above other competing products in the targeted market. The main objective of communicating the brand message is to develop a strong influence in the targeted market. A well-communicated brand message enables the product become noticeable, easy to remember and capable of changing perceptions of targeted population. Moreover, brand messages play a critical role in development of a differentiated brand image, which helps customers create loyal relationships with the product or service. Delivering the brand performance is another vital element of brand development. It involves persistent and continuous monitoring of the product progress in the targeted market. This element is of critical importance because it helps in tracking the brand’s performance, which provides valuable insights that could assist in developing the brand equity. Monitoring of the product could be undertaken by establishing the level of purchases, consumption, the brand awareness and recognition. These strategies assist the marketer to evaluate the impacts of sales promotion in influencing the targeted customers and in the ultimate determination of the brand’s strength.

Leveraging the brand equity involves connecting the product to other entities, which helps in development of new set of relationships and in influencing the prevailing brand associations. Some of the various techniques applied in leveraging brands include co-branding, brand extensions, forming brand alliances, line extensions and ingredient branding.

Application of the aforementioned strategies play a critical role in developing brands, especially in highly competitive markets. However, it is important to maintain consistency of the brand identity and communicated brand message to promote successful brand development.