The Link Between Marketing and Branding a Product

When it comes to promoting a product, most companies focus on marketing it under the umbrella of their leading brand. However, it may be a better idea to brand the actual product and market behind the new brand identity. The whole idea behind this is to engage the target audience through a design, presentation, and message that is relevant and emotionally appealing to them. Why should you consider creating a brand for your products?

In many cases, your core company brand may not necessarily have the right presentation and message for new target audience. For instance, your main company brand could represent technology innovation, but you may have a product that’s designed for gamers. It would be better to build the product brand around outstanding performance rather than have it fall under the umbrella of the core brand of computer hardware innovation as performance would be more emotionally appealing to the target audience of gamers.

You can clearly see this strategy in action with many companies. One good example is Johnson & Johnson, one of the biggest consumer health products companies in the world. Not many people are aware that the product Listerine is owned by Johnson & Johnson. When you look at how Listerine is marketed, you can see that Listerine is the brand in the forefront and there are many products under its name.

Another reason to brand products is to differentiate a new line of products. Your core brand may be known for specific products, so it you will not want the new line to be lumped together with your existing line. So if your plan is to launch a vastly different line of product, it is necessary to create a new brand for this line to create the desired perception. You want to let your audience know that this new line isn’t just more of the old but something that is unique.

Branding a product also helps accelerate your marketing efforts. Branding allows you to make a statement about the product and start building an association towards a specific identity. While it will take time for all this to pick up traction, your marketing will be far more effective once a strong and positive impression is made in the minds of the target audience. This will help you minimize your costs in the long run as well.

One great thing about launching a product brand is that the core brand can support it. Your target audience will be exposed to the unique presentation and message, but you can let them know that it is part of your core brand. This gives a relatively unknown brand credibility and assurance of quality, giving it the momentum and leverage it needs to build exposure and create the right impression.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there are no risks associated with product branding. If you are tying your core brand to the product brand, the target audience will have certain expectations of its quality. If you don’t deliver on these expectations, you will end up hurting both brands and possibly other brands tied to your core company. It will also become more difficult to manage the product brand as you’ll have to double your promotion and public relation efforts.

Despite that, there are more advantages than disadvantages to creating a product brand. Numerous companies have proved that it can be incredibly profitable when done right. So before you think about launching your new products under your core brand, take a step back and figure out if you can get a new, more impactful brand.

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