Brand Equity- A Case of Style over Substance?
~Nisha Ghanshani
(Taken from an interview with marketing guru, Ajeet Khurana as he demystifies marketing)
Style or substance? Each one of us has made a choice between the two at some time in our life. In fact every time you buy branded goods, more often than not you prefer style to substance. While you may cite reasons such as quality and more value to justify your choice, that still does not explain why a lot of us choose Pepsi over Coca-cola or vice-versa, when the two products are almost homogenous. In this case where the substance is the same, style is the only differentiator that the consumers use to evaluate a brand.
This then goes on to suggest that functional quality (substance) is just one of the inputs of brand equity (style). Brand equity is therefore projected as the larger concept that is made up of a lot of additional factors like brand values, brand attributes, brand recall, brand referral etc. Thus, substance i.e. functional quality does not always mean that consumers will buy the product or even perceive it positively. The product must be presented and represented in a positive and appealing manner, for it to go down well with the target audience. But then again, there have been cases where the brand presentation has been excellent but sales figures have been extremely disappointing.
This then brings us to the longstanding debate of what it takes for a brand to succeed in the marketplace- brand equity or product quality. Naturally, it is the functional value, says renowned marketing guru, Ajeet Khurana. According to him, while the market may forgive poor brand communication, it will never pardon low value. Also poor brand communication and low brand equity can be rectified even in the short run or the medium run respectively. However, poor value delivery makes the consumers feel like they have been taken for a ride. It then takes a lot of time for consumers to trust the brand again, even if the brand is now loaded with value.
Thus, even if consumers perceive high quality in a particular brand i.e. it has high brand equity, but it fails to deliver any value, word will soon be out as will be the product. Consumers today are smarter than ever and cannot be fooled for long. So, even though high brand equity i.e. style, has to definitely be used as the gloss to sell the core product i.e. substance, the brand must not be all style and no substance. Substance without style may sell, but style without substance won't survive even a day.
[The picture used in this article has been taken from the photo library of stock.xchng.]
Other Articles by Nisha Ghanshani
Building Brand Equity | Branding Strategies | Brand Campaign | Branding Services | Brand Strategy | Branding and Marketing | Branding Agency | Building Strong Brands | Co-Branding | Identity Branding | Logo Branding | What Is Brand Equity? | Brand Equity | Brand Image | Brands