How leveraging secondary brand impacts on different products
Consumer brand equity has been defined to be the differential effects arising from the brand knowledge based on consumer response to that brand marketing. Brand associations are images or symbols associated with the brand meant to create brand equity (Keller, 1998). The different ways of creating brand equity may range from unique marketing styles to unique selling position and availability of different brands associated with the company’s products profile (Begemann, 2008). This discussion will focus on Coca Cola Company leveraging secondary branding. The company, whose brand equity entails availability of different range of products, has a competitive advantage over its rivals such as Pepsi due to its enhanced brand equity.
Leveraging secondary associations involves several elements ranging from the country of origin, the company itself, channel of distribution, other brands, endorser, and events (Balmer et al, 2006). The key element which the Coca Cola Company leverage secondary associations witness is the unique brands prior to its main soda beverage products. Worldwide, the company manufactures more than 3500 products. The products, which ensure secondary product associations mainly comprise of fruit-flavored and noncarbonated bottled water products.
The company consequently commands a big control of the world beverage market share through its main product, coca cola soda beverage. These products are associated with unique cultures from different parts of the world. A good example is the Bon Aqua carbonated and noncarbonated bottled water products available for European, African, Asian, and South American markets. The company’s American origin is a prime factor to its leverage secondary association.
Benefits of secondary leverage brand association
The main benefits associated with leverage of secondary association are;
1. Awareness - where in this case, the availability of other products by Coca Cola Company in different regions prompts the information passage across the board to consumers in relation to the availability of the new products thus creating the essence to purchase them.
2. Meaningfulness – This awareness creates information importance on new products in the market thus enhancing the need and will to associate with the product.
3. Transferability of the information and knowledge is also made possible through leverage secondary association for the entity (Ramesh, 2007).
Since brand association generates strength, favorability, and uniqueness among the brands, Coca Cola Company association registered the following results. On strength the key advantage associated with are relevance and consistency.
Components of strength
The relevance of brand association involves the knowledge transmission to cover a considerable number of customers with an objective of increasing the sales volume. Brand association should be relevant to the company strategy and the consumer need to use the product.
The consistency factor entails the continuous positive results recorded from the brand association strategy. If the brand association consistency is maintained, the growth of the company will be boosted through a major client loyalty and trust.
Favorable components
Brand association grants a favorable environment to the firm on the competitive edge due to the perception transferred to customers through improved and growing image. Brand association can be based on the favorable component comprising two major factors, which are;
Desirability – where customers are likely to admire the products marketed through brand association to other products. The image of the products improves with the brand association thus enhancing profitability and future growth.
Deliverable – it is made easier to deliver different quality brands by use of brand association leading to improved customer relations (Kotler, & Pfortsch, 2010).
Unique features
Brand association serves also as a unique strategy of marketing where different features are outlined to the clients. The product meets the customers’ perception with unexpected view and this prompts more attraction through to main elements.
Point-of-parity – this ensures that there is a distinctive difference in the range of quality of the product undergoing brand association and those of the competitors.
Point-of-difference – point of difference in the marketing strategies involves the uniqueness in the product design and branding against those of the competitors (Keller, 1998).
Advantages
Advantages of leverage secondary branding to Coca Cola Company involves the following:
1) Borrowed expertise knowledge and information ensures the growth of the company through research and development which ensures future potential growth of the company
2) Reduced cost of production arises due to the company’s ability to produce the products from the regional areas where acquisition of production materials is cheaper and efficient.
3) There is leveraged equity gained over the competitors due to increased market share and additional products range (Weiler, 2004).
The use of its well-known products and the effective distribution channels also leads to Coca Cola Company diversified secondary leverage brand association profile. The company enjoys a brand name through its main product Coca Cola beverage soda which acts as the association product for other brand products offered by the company. This plays a major part in improving its brand image.
The branding association discussed above relate to Coca Cola Company on the branding strategies that can enable better marketing operations with an aim to increase the market share. The company uses the ingredient branding association where-by several brands equity is created. The association on original country, distribution channels and products which based on the regional markets form an integral part of the company marketing strategy.
References
BEGEMANN, F. (2008). Co-Branding as a brand strategy - An analysis from the resource-based view. München, GRIN Verlag GmbH. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-201008252524.
WEILER, M. (2004). A case analysis: exploring customer attitudes on BMW. Norderstedt, Germany, GRIN Verlag.
BALMER, J. M. T., MUKHERJEE, A., GREYSER, S. A., & JENSTER, P. (2006).Corporate marketing insights and integration drawn from corporate branding corporate identity corporate communication and visual identification. Bradford, England, Emerald Group Pub. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10146668.
KELLER, K. L. (1998). Strategic brand management: building, measuring and managing brand equity. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall.
RAMESH KUMAR, S. (2007). Marketing and branding: the Indian scenario. New Delhi, Dorling Kindersley (India).
KOTLER, P., & PFÖRTSCH, W. A. (2010). Ingredient branding: making the invisible visible. Heidelberg, Springer.
