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Brand Strategy- The Art of Check-mating Your Competition
~Nisha Ghanshani

If one were to observe closely, the similarities between the game of chess and the practice of marketing become apparent. Thereafter it all begins to fall into place. In chess, the opponents try to gain victory by shrewdly moving across the chessboard towards the other's king while safely guarding their kingdom. Likewise in marketing too, your competitors are constantly trying to win over the consumer of your products who in today's marketplace is nothing short of a king. However, their efforts are not unmatched and you as a marketer try hard to get to your opponents consumers while trying your level best to retain your own.

A fact that any true-blue chess aficionado will know for sure is that the key to winning the game lies not in adopting a reactive approach. It rests in a shrewd and astute strategy a player must adopt even before the game begins. It is this strategy that guides each of his decisions during the game.

However, in marketing, unlike chess, while the basic rules are set, no one really knows the intricacies of the dynamic chessboard that we call the marketplace. This however, does not imply that marketers simply give up on strategy making to win this overwhelming and seemingly insolvable game. If anything, this forms the basis for the need for strategic marketing. Thus, marketing too, like the game of chess, requires marketers to be vigilant and be calculative of the competition's moves.

Furthermore, marketing organizations use brands as pawns to reach the king of the marketplace that is the consumer. But once again, unlike chess, in marketing each of these pawns does not exert the same clout nor command the same respect in the marketplace. Each brand has its own brand associations, brand image, brand identity and brand equity. A brand strategy helps marketers instill perceived value into their brands thereby making them pawns that help them win the game.

There is no doubt therefore that brand strategy is important. But what does an effective brand strategy entail? The following is a list of some of the attributes that are essential for a successful brand strategy.

• PracticalityThe brand strategy must identify the strengths and weaknesses of the brand and must then aim at capitalizing on these strengths and neutralizing the weaknesses.
  
• Flexibility The brand strategy must be able to accommodate windfall changes, changing preferences of the consumers, altering moves of the opponents and other marketplace dynamics.
  
• Foresight The strategy should be logical, consistent and should be able to provide foresight to the marketer.
  
• Measurability The efforts that have been involved in strategy-building and implementing of the same as well the results derived should be measurable at any point of time.
  
• Periodic review A well-timed and appropriate review of the brand strategy must be conducted periodically so as to take advantage of opportunities and forecast any threats.
  
• Back-up The brand strategy must provide for a contingency arrangement, if things don't go as per plan.

[The picture used in this article has been taken from the photo library of stock.xchng.]

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