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Unit 13: Private Label Brands

significant share of the consumers’ wallet, heart, mind and lifestyle than a national product Notes
brand.
4. Optimize and promote synergies of the points of touch you own and influence. Retail
marketers are becoming more cognizant of how various aspects of their “own” brand
marketing mix work together to create a strong, consistent brand message.

By developing store environments, in-store messaging like signage, merchandising
systems, and packaging as well as external messaging like circulars, catalogs and advertising
in a congruent manner, the retailer is able to create an enduring impression in-store, at
shelf, at the time of purchase and during usage.

!

Caution Many of these brand expressions do not require revolutionary change for extended
periods of time, so they perpetuate an eloquent branded voice because of strategic
integration rather than constant investment and reinvestment.
5. Strike the right balance of similarities and differences with brand messaging and portfolio
offerings. Brand architecture is a critical consideration for “own” brand marketing. Once
the brand proposition is solidified, the brand architecture strategy enables decision makers
to promote this promise at the retail store level in order to engender a sense of familiarity,
recognition and trust.
At the same time, “own” brands tend to straddle a broader set of aisles than national
brands. Because of this, it becomes more and more important to differentiate an “own”
brand’s attributes and benefits on an aisle, category and product basis.

For instance, when shopping at a drugstore, the consumers’ purchase decision pathway in
the over-the-counter cough and cold care category is quite distinct from their drivers in
the paper goods category. Brand architecture and design expression can help the consumer
navigate the breadth of the “own” brand portfolio and understand its depth of expertise in
different areas of the store.
6. Calibrate the “own” brand promise and the proof in the product. It is important to consider
how package design, nomenclature and product strategy can propel and support the retail
marketer’s vision for the “own” brand promise.
Rebranching efforts often go hand in hand with packaging redesign and sub-branding
initiatives. These are critical tools that help to visualize and verbalize what the “own”
brand stands for and demonstrate its expertise and points of difference in various product
categories. These brand executions are the vehicles through which “own” brands deliver
on category-mandated functional and emotional virtues, spurring consumers to select the
retailer’s brand over others.

However, decorative packaging and product names are not enough for today’s sophisticated
shopper. The packaging may be the reason that a consumer picks a specific item off the
shelf, but if the product does not live up to his anticipations in use, he will be less inclined
to repurchase.

Product quality and innovation are a necessary functional underpinning for an “own”
brand offering. This is the reason that re-branding efforts are often synchronized with
product portfolio rationalization. By undergoing quality assessments, the retailer is able
to ensure that its products live up to consumers’ expectations and that negative consumption
experiences do not undermine the brand promise that is being developed and executed.

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