BRANDS versus PRODUCTS

A company's main capital is contained in its brands. For decades the value of a company was determined by its buildings and land and then by its material assets such as factories and machines. Recently, though it's become recognised that the company's true value resides outside its walls – that is, in the spirit of its potential customers.   The distinction between a 'brand' and a 'product' is vital. The PRODUCT is what the company MANFACTURES; the BRAND is what the customer BUYS.   The benefits offered by a brand must be unique, and differentiated from the competition. The  more these criteria exist the longer the life cycle of the brand. The changes in consumption patterns are quite visible. The "new" consumers acquire buying characteristics which set them apart from the "old" consumers. Current consumers tend to look for brands which reflect their individual and personal spirit.   The brand is a way of thinking and acting which is born in the company but resides in the market place and in the dynamics of the relationships between investors, operatives, distributors, suppliers, and consumers. All of these groups perceive its value and identify and then go on to participate in the sustainability of this value over the course of time. Brands are representational forms of organizational offers, symbols which the public learns to decode, not only in the context of the messages received, but also in their culture or internal patterns of thought which will develop themselves as a result of varied experiences. These conventional symbols are based not only on values and emotions as well as on intangible elements, but also on questions of functionality related to the product, service or idea. In contrast to what it could appear to be, this duality is not contradictory. Above all, valuing brands by dint of inspiring a veritable "motor" for interpreting signs and symbols stems from the development of the symbolic dimensions of the economic universe. The action of the marketing mix should be structured at the level of the variables which constitute it: product, price, place, promotion. A brand has to adapt itself according to the culture and the competitive environment. Brands create value for the client since they reduce effort and risk when purchasing and give the suppliers an incentive to invest in quality and innovation. This fosters client loyalty and they are a stimulus for innovation since they are a guarantee of quality and security for the clients. By adding value to the product or service using a well defined strategy is what the consumer can "feel" in the brand itself. For efficient brand management it is necessary to protect it by having it registered and treat it as an investment and not as a cost, since it is a question of it being an important asset of the company. Its financial potential should be explored and its success perceived as a complex task which demands cooperation from all areas of the company.   In order to build a leading brand it is necessary to demonstrate permanent coherence when communicating with the public, keeping promises and offering products and services superior to those of the competition. Examples are - establishing a different brand position, cementing it in the experience of the consumers and aligning internal and external culture with the values represented in the brand itself. It should also be taken into account that the brand is hardly a manageable image but it has a true identity, a way of thinking, of being and of acting and this creates a culture in the market place. From this perception an organism is born which is not enclosed in the four walls of a company which controls the variables; it is an organism which places itself in the culture of a community of investors, operatives, suppliers, distributors and consumers and it is for this reason that it develops a system of self-defense against aggressions which may come from the environment and the competition.   Source: Revista Sapato/Susana Castelo Branco/CTC Portugal/Serma Argentina   Source (click for full article): p. 180, May / June 2008 Issue of SERMA, Argentina If you wish to contribute to the APLF News, with your experiences in the industry, your observations, or general thoughts on the direction the industry is going, we would like to hear from you. Email: aplf-news@aplf.com How long has your company been attending APLF? If you wish to be involved in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of APLF, we would like to hear from you. Email: aplf-news@aplf.com. Subject Headline: APLF 25th Anniversary