Page 154 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Unit 6: Products, Services and Brands

different segment. This leaves very little chance of creating confusion among consumers. Product Notes
branding is especially advantageous when products are similar, such as detergents, or soaps.
By extending established brands in other categories, a company tries to minimise its risks and
excessive promotional expenditures. When a new product is given a familiar and established
brand name, consumers are likely to feel more confident about the new product such as HUL
extended the Lux name to introduce its shampoo. HUL’s brands Signal (toothpaste), and Blue
Seal (peanut butter) failed and most people did not even know these were from Hindustan Lever
Ltd. All brands of P&G are standalones in all of its SBU’s, leaving the company to venture into
many unrelated fields.

Table 6.3: Product Branding Strategy of P&G

Brands Category Position
Ariel Detergent High-tech detergent
Tide Detergent Whiteness no other can deliver
Head & Shoulders Shampoo Antidandruff shampoo with micro ZPTO
Pantene Shampoo Healthy & Shiny hair
Whisper Sanitary Napkin Hygienic protection
Vicks Balm Clear blocked nose by touch therapy
Old Spice After shave Sign of manliness

The major disadvantage of product branding is excessive costs that may be as high as ` 5 to
` 50 crores in building a successful brand in India. In developed markets, these costs may run
into hundreds of million dollars. Another disadvantage is that new brands miss the opportunity
of exploiting the strengths of a powerful company name or its brands.

Line Branding Strategy

The term ‘line branding’ is altogether different than what product line refers to in the context of
product mix. Companies often have several product lines in the product mix.

Example: Gillette India has three product lines: personal care, oral care, and alkaline
batteries.
In line branding, products share a common concept. Line brands start with a single product
conveying a concept and later the brand name extends to other complementary products. The
core concept remains unchanged.

Example: The core concept of Denim brand is, “The man who doesn’t have to try too
hard.” All products sporting the Denim brand name share the same concept. Lakmé concept is
“the source of radiant beauty.” The brand concept appeals to a distinct target group of consumers
and Lakmé offers a number of additional products that go together, complement each other, and
form a whole such as winter care lotion, cleansing lotion, body lotion, lipsticks, eye makeup,
and nail enamels. All products in line branding draw their identity from the main brand. Park
Avenue is also an example of line branding with several products that complement each other
addressing the upward mobile man.

Line branding strategy aims to satisfy customer’s complementary needs that surround the core
need. The core customer need that Lakmé aims to fulfil is ‘need to be beautiful’ and all products
surrounding this need complement each other. The brand takes care of total needs rather than

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