Marketing for Bonds Company - Case Study Example

Marketing for Bonds Company Name Professor Institution Course Date Executive summary This report analyzes Bonds Brand, which is a sub-brand of Pacific Brands in Australia. The key significance of this report is to analyze different marketing strategies used by Bonds to market its products effectively. Analyzing the different marketing strategies will help in the validation of these marketing techniques in order to determine whether they are a deterrent to economic growth and expansion of the brand or not. The main technique used in the compilation of this report is research of information from books and articles. In the report, women's products were the focus and were highly used in the explanation of various concepts and ideas in the marketing strategy of Bonds. The report discusses the various challenges that the brand faces as it tries to push its product into new markets. It also explains how competitors affect Bonds in its efforts to grow as a brand. Research showed that Bonds has effectively used some of the chief marketing strategies towards promoting the brand. The report explains these strategies in details and their effect to the day-to-day activities of the brand. The report has vividly explained how some of these techniques have improved the brand’s name over the years. Table of contents Executive summary 2 Table of contents 3 Introduction 4 Identifying and establishing a brand positioning and values 5 Bonds Brand Characteristics 7 Benefits Bonds Provides and Links to Customer Satisfaction 8 Bonds and Brand Communities 9 Bonds and Brand Equity 10 Conclusion 14 Reflection 14 References 16 Introduction Brand analysis of any company involves weighing the business situation, its position in bringing in profits and introducing strategies to improve on the company’s operation. This analysis focuses on the industry and the competitive conditions in the market. Analysis aims at improving the current state of any given company (Noel& Koh, 2012). This is the report analysis on Bonds Company, an iconic Australian brand that manufactures and imports men, women’s and children’s clothing, specifically underwear. This company is part of the Pacific Brand Corporation with different categories of underwear for both genders, targeting its sales to variety of markets. The company operates around Australia and United Kingdom regions. George Allan Bond established Bonds Company in 1915 after coming to Australia during the twentieth century (Lean & Ian, 2013). He imported hosiery and gloves for women and in 1917; he expanded his products to Redfern and Sydney regions. This formed a basis for the Bonds iconic brand, which operates in Australia for over 90 years after its foundation. The industry manufactures original products such as the Chesty Bonds singlets, which is the most common. It markets certain varieties of underwear and sleepwear garments including briefs, trunk style and boxers. The company operates successfully selling above 3 million units per annum and provides innovative ranges in the market, proving as one of the most successful and effective Companies in Australia. Bond Company caters for all genders including the children (Charles & Lack, 2011). This Australian brand offers collection of high quality, comfortable, fun and electric clothing, singlet’s and bras for the male and female genders. This report looks at the women’s underwear making the females the main target. The product category of women is more extensive with existence of sports and maternity wear and casual clothing. Undergarments include the bras and hipsters. All these are examples f products present for the women and our target is on the underwear. Women’s underwear lies among the main products offered to the women (Martin & Robert, 2012). A sub-category of the female underwear is the cotton underwear, known as the panties having plain colors and styles. Some of the team designers invented prints in the underwear creating a romantic and mythical theme. The prints are mystic and intriguing with delicate and feminine styles. These printed and colored underwear cater for the female target especially women. Sarah Murdoch promoted this range of style stating that the collection was all about ‘having fun’ and enjoying the clothes customers wear. Any given company has its competitors and the success of a company depends on where it lies in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Bond Company faces great competition from some of the companies, which manufacture underwear (Evans, Poa & Rath, 2005). This competition is worldwide since these companies offer their services in many countries. The company’s managers ensure that the operations are smooth and there is maximization of profits. This ensures the company’s stability in terms f finances and maintaining its customers. Over the past years, Bond Company ensures that customers acquire quality and presentable underwear clothing at affordable prices. This enhances the customer’s loyalty to the company and success in the company’s future. Identifying and establishing a brand positioning and values A brand identifies a company’s product, differentiating it from other products. Brand positioning designs the company offer and characteristics for it to attain a distinct and valued position in the mind f customers. The Bond Company made efforts to ensure that it attains uniqueness in order to sand out in cases of competition. This ensured maximization of the company’s products. The model of brand positioning explains on ways f establishing competitive advantages in consumer’s minds (Gammoh, Koh & Okoroafo, 2011). Consumers are the most important partners in any business organisation because they buy the company’s products. The managers of Bond Company realised that the consumer’s attitude towards the company affects its operation. The method used for brand positioning by the Bond Company was focusing on the target audience, the consumers. The company aims to subject its products to these consumers. In the report, the target audience is the women, in relation to the types of products offered. Designing and implementation of brand mantras is among the tools used in the competitive brand position. Competition s a great challenge to any business enterprise and Bond company established a competitive frame of reference in order to help increase the company’s chance of survival at the high level of performance. A competitive frame of reference simply means the market in which the company competes. Each company has a specific market with their companies offering similar products. The customers act as the pole depending on the type of goods they want. The Bond Company manufactures underwear for men, women and children so the competitive frame of reference for the company is the underwear market. To establish this, the company invented its point of clarity and points of difference for its market. The point of difference for the company is: 1. The prices are cheaper 2. It is more authentic 3. The quality is high 4. The workers are very effective The point of clarity of the company is that most of the competitive companies have more operational branches than those of Bond Company. This causes the other business operations to serve more customers than the Bond Company, placing these competitors at a better position of successful operations. Brand mantras are 3-5 word phrases used in capturing the irrefutable spirit and motivation of the brand. They pass the main message aimed for the target audience. The customers have many suppliers and each company has to stand out in order toft in the competitive market (Hassan & Craft, 2012). The brand mantra for the company is ‘’we are there for our customers’’. This mantra helps to establish an emotional bond between the Bond Company and its customers since the feel owned and this ensures their loyalty to the company. Bonds Brand Characteristics High quality Brand characteristics are significant in differentiating a firm’s products from its competitors and have a strong influence on the purchasing decision of a customer (Aagerup, 2011). A quality brand relays a message of quality to the customers and enhances their contentment, and thus their loyalty (Kwon et al., 2008). Bonds firm is popular for its various clothing brands that include socks, underwear garments, tees and polo shirts among others. Bonds Brand has numerous attributes that make it unique from its competitors. The Bonds brand name is uncomplicated and easy to pronounce. It is also easy to remember. This makes it effortless for the customers to associate themselves with Bonds assorted products, and hence improving its popularity. Bonds has also incorporated a personality within their brand. Consumers feel attached to Bonds products within Australia and abroad (Kwon et al, 2008). Bonds has also created a meaningful brand name. The brand is credible, and creates an appropriate illustrative and vocal image. The name is also descriptive as it describes how consumers bond with the firm’s products (Aagerup, 2011). This creates a sense of correlation between the consumer and the products and hence increased sales. The Bonds brand name is also specific. The firm discourages the use of sub-brands within one line of products. This significantly eliminates the diffusion of the brand and hence reduces popularity loss (Aagerup, 2011). The firm produces assorted products but with the same brand name. This compels the consumers to purchase a variety of products within this brand name. The Bonds brand is apposite within the Pacific Brands name assortments. This compels the consumers to feel that their products fall within the company’s group of firms. This leads to loyalty among the consumers and hence a boost in the firm’s sales (Omar, Wel & Nazri, 2010). Benefits Bonds Provides and Links to Customer Satisfaction Bonds firm avails high-quality products to its clients. The products also come in assorted designs. For instance, their underwear products come in a variety designs and types. This allows the clients to choose their most preferred tastes (Acosta, 2012). This results in consumer contentment, making them dependable by the company. The firm offers its products at low prices in comparison to other firms within the clothing industry. This leads to affordability of the products to the clients (Omar, Wel & Nazri, 2010). This capacitates the consumers to purchase assorted products within the Bond brand (Acosta, 2012). This results in great savings to the clients and enhances their satisfaction. The firm has also invested significantly in the advertisement of its products. Pacific Brands promote their products through various forms of media that include TV, newspaper and the Internet among others (Omar, Wel & Nazri, 2010). This creates awareness of the availability of their products to consumers in Australia and abroad. This enables them to assess the quality of these products before purchasing. The advertisement also acquaints them with the discounts offered in each product. The firm also avails the consumers with a customer helpline department where consumers can air their grievances once they become dissatisfied with any of the products’ quality or price (Omar, Wel & Nazri, 2010). This provides the consumers with a platform to propose changes regarding particular products of Bonds. This aids in product improvement and boosts consumer satisfaction and hence maximized profitability of the firm. Bonds and Brand Communities For any contemporary company with the aim of getting the most out of its activities, it is vital that it undertakes social responsibility. Definition of social responsibility is various acts that a company engages in to get a positive reputation in the community around it. A brand community is a group of people loyal to a particular product. The primary brand community is composed of people that live around the company base and thus the importance of undertaking social responsibility. This helps in that the international market supports or rather purchases products that have a large native market. “Brand attribute is integral in the global impression of the brand” (Thomas, Martin, & William, 2012) It is easy to incorporate the concept of brand communities in the case of Bonds. The company should set an even more outstanding reputation in Australia by ensuring that the citizens recognize the company as their most valued supplier of clothing. Bonds is on track with regard to this as it offers employment opportunities to Australians who are less privileged and not to already existing rich entrepreneurs. This has had the consequent effect of having the customers showing their loyalty to the company. Like any other company, Bonds has the goal of reaching out to the international market in an even more extensive manner than the current state. International marketing is one of the most tasking activities that a company undertakes but if Bonds sets a strong base in Australia and New Zealand, finding a larger number of international consumers is simple. When international customers realize the brand community already set in Australia, they respect the commodity and test it. It is after the testing of this commodity that they form their own brand community. Different brand communities in different areas create a principle brand community for the commodity. This group of people is strongly committed to the brand and can even serve as its advocates (Kurt et al., 2011). Using this concept of brand community is effective for increased income and is what Bonds has engaged in improving over the years to get the international acclamation it presently enjoys. Bonds and Brand Equity Brand Equity is a term that defines the advantages that a particular popular brand has over a less popular brand due to an already set notion that the popular brand is superior. Over the years, Bonds has had the ability of reaching out to many customers and has continued establishing a brand name and gaining the loyalty of many consumers. The company has achieved brand equity through various means and it is important to go through the major ones. One of the strategies that the company has incorporated is by having a precise target market for its commodities. Some companies in the contemporary environment enter business with the aim of pleasing a large percentage of the population and this is the cause of their early fail. Successful businesses focus on a certain market as opposed to mass marketing (Mike & Pete). Bonds has a concise manner in which it markets its products and this is relating to women’s’ clothing. The company has gained a reputation from the high number of women’s clothing it produces as compared to other clothes. In the contemporary environment, women spend a lot of money on shopping for clothes more than men and children. Bonds has ensured that it addresses these needs of women seriously by expanding the types of underwear they manufacture. Through this, they have gained the attention of many women who walk into stores and go looking for a particular brand of their choice manufactured exclusively by Bonds. Another means that the company has used in order to gain brand equity is by understanding the requirements of the consumers. A company that does not pay attention to the characteristics of the consumers does not have a clear public relations strategy and does not accumulate any profits from poor communication (Smith, 2010). The reason for this is that the company continues producing commodities that do not match up to the requirements of the customers. Bonds engages with customers and often holds meetings where it gets to understand the views of the customers and allows them to make suggestions regarding what could most please them in the future. This kind of customer relationship has made the brand gain many customers because the consumers have guarantee of problem resolution in case of any. Gaining the consumer’s attention is another means through which the company has gained brand equity. Many companies do not engage in the vital activity of extensive product marketing. Incorporating marketing metrics helps in getting to customers that might have ignored a company’s products before (Mintz, & Currim, 2013). Lack of marketing is one of the reasons as to why they do not have a large customer base. Bonds has a rather well set marketing strategy that is one source of its fortune. Despite the fact that the brand has existed for many years, the administration of the company has continued marketing the product for the customers to familiarize with it. This is through print media where the company has advertised the underwear in magazines and newspaper aiming at capturing the attention of women. This strategy has worked effectively as women that did not know about the company have recognized and made it their favourite. Another strategy is sending samples to the target population to test. These potential customers have rated the products highly and become constant customers. People have consequently spread news of the high quality of products produced by the company and thus it has earned brand equity. Another means through which the company has gained brand equity is by making the customers remember the brand. Many of the contemporary reputable companies have attained this level by having the customers remember their product (Severi & Kwek, 2013). There are many ways to do this and Bonds has done it through quality. Different fabrics produce clothes of different quality. Division of labour is a prioritized concept in the running of Pacific Bonds. Division of labour ensures that different people pay attention to a particular production process without interference. This has helped the company because specialized people with the required qualifications engage in the various processes. This has the consequent result of having a high quality product. When this product hits the market, the response it gets from customers is positive and this embeds in the mind of consumers such that in case of shopping again, they make Bonds their brand of choice. Division of labour is an integral strategy to undertake when wishing to maintain high quality production (Ratto & Schnelder, 2008). Bonds has also gained brand equity by building a strong brand image. This has so far proved the hardest task for the company. Bonds has managed to achieve this after many years of consumer awareness. Women are very conservative and particular when choosing a variety commodity to purchase. Bonds has its own processing factory and this has existed since the establishment of the company. Various commodities vary depending on the type of machinery and raw materials used in their production. For clothes, the colour intensity and texture of the commodity clearly shows the quality of the product. In the case of Bonds, the company has commodities with unique texture of high quality that is not easy to tear. Touching the commodity assists in its manufacturer’s identification. Another factor that has built the company’s image is the customer service. The customer service offered by the company is excellent and this is citing the feedback that the customers have given over time. The company executives are also reputable in the clothing and business environment and thus customers have trusted them with their clothing needs. This factor has assisted a lot in developing the brand’s image. Reinforcing the brand image inside the business is another vital strategy that the company has used to earn brand equity. The major way through which the company has achieved this is by setting goals for the company through the Human Resource Department. Setting of goals has assisted in that the personnel has received strict instructions to follow in ensuring that the products produced continue maintaining the high quality that has earned the company the huge amount of reputation. The company has also ensured that the workers that do not meet the expectations of the company get absolute termination from working in the company. Emphasis on the importance of brand image has assisted the employees work even harder to ensure that the results obtained please the executive team. The company has also achieved this through creation of incentives such as commission increase for the personnel that successfully market the company’s commodities to the public. Conclusion Bonds is an underwear and hosiery clothing line which deals with the production of all sorts of underwear and hosieries across the board. It is part of the Pacific Brand Corporation in Australia. This report exclusively focused on women’s underwear produced by Bonds as a brand. Bonds has employed excellent and beneficial marketing strategies that have highly promoted their success as a brand. It has set up a worldwide website that is effortlessly accessible and easy to manoeuvre. This enables prospective buyers to familiarize themselves with the brand easily. The website has also made it easy for buyers to purchase these goods through online marketing. The brand has also included shipping of its products to various parts of the world. This marketing strategy has enabled the brand to further its target market and grow both demographically and economically. Despite its successful marketing strategies, it still does not directly ship goods to some countries in the world. Currently it only ships to United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong. This in some way still limits the expansion of the brand to some countries especially in Africa. From the report, it is evident that Bonds as a brand has significantly done a nice job to market its products and further its market. Bonds has integrated most of the fundamental elements of marketing in its marketing strategy. Reflection From the report, it is clear there are various techniques that a brand can employ to advance and improve its business operations. The marketing strategy choice depends on demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural characteristics of the target market. It is from these fundamental factors that a brand can decide on which marketing strategy to use. Positioning is a key marketing strategy for brands especially those with greater visions. Positioning is creating a brand image in the consumer's mind. This enables the customers to have a certain impression of the brand and its products. Bonds has highly employed this in its marketing strategies. It has created an image that has compelled consumers to associate themselves with Bonds, not only in Australia but also across the world. This is also evident in other brands like Gucci. Gucci has positioned itself as a bold, glamorous, exclusive and classy brand. These have made it a brand that everybody wants to associate themselves with, from celebrities to public figures worldwide. Differentiation has also emerged as an essential marketing strategy for Bonds. Despite them selling and producing underwear and hosieries, Bonds products are unique from other companies. This strategy enables consumers to identify a certain brand with ease. Each brand should have its own unique elements. It is from these elements that the target audience can easily associate with the brand. This in turn creates a better brand image to the consumers. A brand should have a logo, slogan, website, unique character and unique packaging style. These are the traits of a good branding element. 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