What's in the pool of "Traditional Marketing techniques"?
The concept of traditional marketing that is "Features and Benefits" is changing, but the main base remains on the same. The components of any kind of a marketing approach are:
1. Features and Benefits
2. Narrow definition of product categories and competition
3. customers are rational decision-makers
4. Methods are analytical, quantitative and verbal
The perceptions and associations consumers have about brands go beyond their functional attributes and benefits, and include non-functional, symbolic qualities, often referred to as "Brand Image". Among these aspects of brand image are perceptions and associations about the brand's "personality," the "set of human-like characteristics associated with a brand". This brand image is the only thing that is to be kept intact to get the maximum "Customer life-time value" or the "Customer equity value".
Culture as the basis of Brand image building:
The brand perception is an important factor while taking any decision regarding the brand image building for any type of product category. The perceived personality of a brand can be shaped by marketers via "transferring cultural meaning" into it in various ways, such as by associating the brand in communications with an endorser or place that already possesses the personality or meaning considered strategically desirable for that brand. Any brand value can be factored into five components which differentiate one from the other.
The factors as leveled are:
a. Sincerity (sample item: honest)
b. Excitement (daring)
c. Competence (reliable)
d. Sophistication (upper-class)
e. Ruggedness (tough)
The need for "Consumer Oriented Marketing":
Now-a-days the concept of "Experiential Marketing" is gradually up-coming, so the marketers need to follow the suit and design their products to satisfy the customers at the maximum possible level. The companies are offering strategic Experiential Modules (SEMs) which have its own distinct structure and marketing principles.
The marketers need to be familiar with all the relative measures, like-
a. Sensory experiences(SENSE)
b. Affective Experiences(FEEL)
c. Creative Cognitive Experiences(THINK)
d. Physical Experiences and entire Life-Style(ACT)
e. Social Identity Experiences (RELATE)
CRM as the new weapon for the marketers:
In the present era "Cause Related Marketing "is taking a huge space in the marketing arena, so the marketers are opting for viable opportunities which would strengthen their positioning in the market place. In most of the cases the consumers feel an ownership with the brands and that should be the strategic objective for any marketer. Marketing aesthetics practically equated "equated needs" with "aesthetic needs".
Brand characteristics:
A major avenue for revenue growth in companies today is the extension of their existing brands into new categories, requiring the systematic study of many candidate categories on "personality" and "image" dimensions to see which ones "best fit" and "match" the personality of the brand being extended. Many companies also seek to leverage their existing brand assets via licensing deals to other manufacturers in other categories or via co-branding promotions and arrangements. If the "recall rate" is good enough, the company launch its new varieties and if it's not, then it has to re-launch the present entire product portfolio.
Try to differentiate between "Category personality" and "Brand personality":
The "Category personality" and "Brand personality" are the two different things which are to be differentiated by thy marketers. In any case, any factor analysis of a (pooled brand × category data matrix) must partial out the "category personality" from the "brand's personality," for otherwise it could confound the two. The "category generic" attributes are common to all the products in the same product range. Those brands which best capture a category's mythic "desired" personality might gain in preference, since their brand personality is now most "relevant" to consumer choice criteria in that category. There exists a need for the development of research methodologies that keeps apart product category influences from brand personality perceptions.
Brand Stewards:
The brand stewards or the brand managers, marketing managers are responsible for the welfare of any brand. Brand stewards also include those who work on brand assignments at marketing communication agencies and who have a major influence on the brand's marketing program. The "Brand Team" is referred to that group who ideally complement each other in managing brands and their identities.
Branding Rules:
Marketers urgently need tools to manage vast groups of brands, not as individual elements or collections under one corporate roof, but as complex systems that transcend corporate boundaries. The popularity that a brand carries with it is to be well maintained to move up to the value chain. So it is all about the correct decision at the correct time and everything that does matter is the execution part of the whole cycle. New formulations are to be made to beat the competitors; a brand survives in the minds of consumers. Most of the customers fall under "impulse buying category".
Experiential Brands are the market leaders:
Brands are the most valuable assets of any company, so while launching a brand a company must look into its feasibility by doing market research and compare that with the competitor's product. These steps always give an insight about the fate of the brands. Definitely the war has started between brands and not between any organizations. So to continue with this kind of stature that the brands posses, the companies need to offer more and more lucrative proposals. The brand value or brand worth is always in a stake if not taken care properly.
