Building Strong Brands-Because Might is Not Always Right
~Nisha Ghanshani
Do brands really need to be strong? The answer to this question is yes and is obvious to most of us. The reason though quite apparent often goes unnoticed. We see it everyday. Brands wrestle each other in the arena we call the marketplace. Moreover, as in the case of wrestling, the winner does not win simply by might. Very often, it is the player's strategy and technique that gets him to win. Thus, in the game of wrestling, it’s the strength on mind that is put to test and not the strength of muscle.
How does all of this translate into marketing? The fact remains that in marketing too, brands must not only be strong physically but they need to be strong intellectually. Thus building strong brands is more a function of creating sound strategy than simply the function of the market share of the brand. This means that just because a brand is doing well commercially, it does not imply that it is a strong brand. There could be other factors that may be contributing to its commercial success. It may so happen that most of these factors will be external to the brand and may not have anything to do with the brand. Building strong brands requires brands-even the market leaders, to introspect and realize their inner potential. There needs to be a clear-cut distinction between the brand's intrinsic strengths and external opportunities, both of which may be contributing to the brand's success.
The difference between the two however, is that while brand strengths are inherent, external opportunities will be fleeting and may follow the axiom of easy come easy go. If one is looking forward to building a strong brand, one cannot therefore, count on the external opportunities for strength. The strength of a brand must come from within and must not be confused with windfall opportunities in the marketplace.
An interesting motive for building strong brands is that brand strengths are unique for each brand. Marketplace opportunities however, while contributing to the success of the brand are not unique and other players in the marketplace can also avail of them. Thus while building strong brands the motto must be for the brand to achieve self-reliance and do away with dependence on providence.
Another aspect of building strong brands is that the strengths of the brand must be cultivated and communicated to the target audience. Once the basic strengths of the brand have been identified, the key is to understand how more value can be delivered using those strengths. However, there may be some brands which may not have any exceptional strengths. In this scenario, brands must consciously cultivate those strengths that make them stand out in the marketplace. However, building of a strong brand does not stop at that. There is a need to communicate the brand strengths and value offering to the target masses.
The above process of building strong brands surely seems to be a time-consuming, tricky and complex one. Nonetheless, in the arena called the marketplace, where brands must either do or die, they must either be strong enough to wrestle competition or be prepared to lose to the others and perish for good.
[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