An era of advertising,
which we live in, has opened the doors to brand building as never before. Today
a particular product is better known with its brand image or brand element more
than the actual product’s attribute itself. In a market situation like this,
brand equities of different products will soar and fall in a flash. What
remains is the brand awareness that the consumers have in their minds which is
responsible for forming its equity.
However as the brand
equity increases (classic/big brands), does the real attribute of a product get
sidelined due to the marketing gimmicks, image and other advertising gimmicks!
As a brand matures in the market, consumers start associating the product with
its brand value or brand image. It’s no surprise that a food product gets
identified with prefixes like ‘instant-meal’ or catchy phrases. The whole image
of the product gets in the background and what survives is the brand
association- all the factors that are associated with the brand like consumer’s
perception, brand image, brand loyalty to name a few. The rise and fall of many
brands have been a result of these factors. We also come across many
levels of a brand’s life cycle which is quite contradicting to that product
life cycle. An age old or consumer favorite brand prevails irrespective of its
market-age or even competition.
However many a brands
falter in their lifecycle owing to many factors like competition, newer trends,
market value etc and what impacts the brand equity more than anything else is
the failed perception of the brand in the eyes of the consumer. Because it is
the consumer ultimately who builds and collapses the brand equity in the
market. In the long run, as far as the hype surrounding brand equity is
concerned, it is up to the strategists to turn the tide towards the consumers
and associate the product to their perceptions and preferences.
It can be fairly
concluded that firms should revolve their strategies and focus around the brand
and its association with the consumer for it serve as an effective medium to
capture the consumer’s mind by recognizing the necessities and demands and
recalling of the brand through various initiatives.
“A brand is as mature in the market as it is in the consumer’s
mind”
