The Process of Managing Brands Shifts from a Lifeless to a Living Process - Essay Example

? ‘In a post-modern world, the process of managing brands shifts from a lifeless to a living/organic process’ In a post-modernworld, the process of managing brands shifts from a lifeless to a living/organic ?process’? Markets have been changing rapidly as the trends modernize. From the products to the advertising, all the trends have changed in the growing market competition. Some of the traditional values are still followed for many of the companies, while some have been long outdated and unacceptable. Even the businesses that are functioning since long have changed their marketing strategies, product techniques and other factors affecting the reputation and sales of the business. Some of the businesses still have the concepts and practices that date back a hundred years or more, when societies were far less dynamic than they are today. Like every aspect, markets and businesses should also accept the changing time. A brand name is a name given to the business which creates the image and reputation of the business in the market and for the customers. Branding is a major task in marketing, as in marketing a brand name is a major selling tool of the business and is one of the most important components of the total product personality. Brand is the personality that identifies the business. It can be a name, symbol, design or any feature of the business that portrays their good service and differentiates them from other businesses. The concept of branding has been coming form years and has long been one of the major weapons of the business (Franzen and Moriarty, 2008, p. 360). Once the business starts to be recognized by the brand name or symbol, it can be either modified or changed too. When it is about the changing marketing techniques and customers, businesses have been seen as changing their brands and taking them quite seriously than they ever were, traditionally the concept of brands was different than what it is today and thus the business behaviors towards the concept of brands have also changed. There are many ways in which the determined shift in the branding process has been observed and clued in the past few years. In the modern world, the brand name is how the customers look at the brand, their products and the business. The brands have started to play a unique mind game with the minds of the targeted customers. Unlike the previous era, the brands have now been given immense importance and most of the business products and success is decided by their brand name. Quality and price have become a secondary option for the customers, and brand name is the most important tool. Brand image is nothing but the business’ character that conveys emotional value and not just a mental image (Keller, 2008, p. 57). Previously, the brands were not taken to be this important for the businesses. They were considered as merely a positive point for the business through which they can reach to the customers and create a relation with them that lasts for long and serves them with the right product. The market and the customers too, accepted the brand name as an advantage for the business. In the market, the business with the brand name would be prioritized higher than other businesses. And the customers would check out the products of the branded business first. This trend was carried out until the perceptions of the customers started changing and immense transformations were seen in the marketing trends. In the post modern world, the perceptions of customers have changed greatly in many ways which is why the branding techniques have changed too. The customers have created the perception that the brand name of the company delivers its quality of products, efficiency in producing, their pricing strategies and effective service. The customers perceive the brand image to be the tool that defines all the aspects of the business. Today, in the modern world, the brand image is all that the customers seek for. The business knows how they brand name and image play on the minds of the customers and thus, they have also changed their concept of brand image. Many of the businesses who had been using their brand image as their strength have now been using it as their weapon. This change has been greatly observed in the markets that existed previously, and the markets that exist now. The businesses valued their position and name in the market and were honest with it. This is why the brand name was developed and defined as being the business that creates loyalty with its customers and allows them to sell their products in good quality to maintain their brand name. in the post modern world, the brand name has started to attack the minds of the customers and influenced them so much that the businesses have started to use it as their weapon to sell their products rather create loyalty (Healey, 2008, p.80). Today, many businesses sell their products under their brand name without taking responsibility of the quality. Customers tend to overlook many of the flaws that might be seen in the product respecting the brand name under which they have been serving for long. Businesses take the brand name to serve the customers with other products that are associated with the business, as they know how much the brand name has been influencing the customers and the market recently. The process of branding has seen a drastic change that signifies the pre modern world of marketing to the post modern world. The process of branding had been a secondary aspect given to the businesses, and now it has been considered as one of the major and first priority of the businesses. This can be seen by many of the theories that relate to the concept of branding. The branding itself has been a concept that has been divided into several other categories like brand image, brand value, brand equity, brand identity and brand trust. With the increasing importance given to branding, these categories have been involved in the branding process that makes the business. Brand equity was the phrase of the brand name which is used in the marketing industry which describes the value of the business’ brand name. It is based on the idea that the owner of the business can sell any products under their brand name and generate more money. They gain a competitive advantage over the products that do not have a well known brand name. The concept of brand equity is to increase the financial value of the business by using its brand. The process of creating brand equity has been developed over the recent times in the post modern world and has proved to be the major marketing strategy used by the businesses to get a future return on their investment. This concept of brand equity has been advanced to brand identity (Kapferer, 2008, p. 92). The brand identity is the concept of marketing in which the owner of the business sets his brand identity in a way what the customers would see it. The way the customers perceive the brand is how the business wants it to be portrayed. Effective brand names create a connection between the brand personality as it perceived by the customers and the actual brand personality. Instead of creating a bridge between the brand equity and the brand identity, the businesses have now processed the businesses from focusing on brand equity to brand identity. Brand identity needs to focus on the actual qualities of the brand, real characteristics and a brand promise to provide the services to the customers as they expect. Thus, in a post modern world, the process of managing brands shifts from a lifeless to a living process. This statement is quite valid as a keen difference between the marketing of the pre modern world and the post modern world has been seen. The branding techniques used by the businesses have changed immensely. In the pre modern world, the branding techniques were not much modified and were used just as a secondary advantage to the business whereas now they have boost up the process of using the branding techniques to benefit the business. The changing trends and perceptions have allowed the businesses to change their branding techniques, as it seems necessary to catch up with the post modern world. Focusing on the way the business markets its brand name and products it can be seen that the process of branding has immensely changed. However, the branding is related to the perceptions of the customers, the growth of the market and the financial positions of the business and the market both. There has also been an evolution of brand equity to brand identity which shows the relation of the business and the customers. In my opinion, the statement is valid as the branding has shifted from being secondary to being primary for the business marketing. The concept of branding has bought a shift in the operations of the business and the way they use branding techniques. This was necessary as the time changed and many of the things had to modify. I think in this modern world, a business needs a brand name to accelerate financially and respectably in the eyes of the customers. Thus, what was seen as lifeless is now been seen as a living process. References Franzen G., Moriarty S. 2008. The Science and Art of Branding. London: M .E. Sharpe. Healey M. 2008. What is Branding? NY: Rockport Publishers. Kapferer J. 2008. The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term. London: Kogan Page Publisher. Keller. 2008. Strategic Brand Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Read More