Thursday, December 13, 2007

Retailers perceive co-branding to be an effective branding strategy

The concept of co-branding as a branding instrument has been around for many a year. In the past decade we saw extensive growth in the use of co-branding as a brand leverage instrument. A study conducted by Johan Schwartz investigated the perceptions of brand practitioners towards co-branding within the retail industry of South Africa. This study found that retail brand managers perceive co-branding an effective and viable brand strategy. Academic authors suggest that co-branding occurs when two or more existing brands are combined into a new joint product or are marketed together in the same fashions. Co-branding also involve two or more firms that associate their brands together to create superior market offerings, or to engage in effective strategic or tactical brand-building program. The long lasting brand relationship between Wimpy and Engen is a classical example of joint ventures co-branding. Other examples of brands connections and the creation of a unique (and or new) products or service include: McDonalds and Coke, McDonalds and Disney, Shoprite and Computicket, KFC and Cadburys, House of Coffees and Russell Hobbs. In the past few years the use of co-branding as a brand strategy has excelled. National Retailers and financial institutions were at the forefront of the expanding this brand leverage strategy. Pick n Pay and Nedbank’s Go banking were one of the first well communicated co-branding ventures. Other retailers and financial institutions followed suit and a vast array of cross sector co-branding products were created. Examples of this inter-sectorial co-branding include, but are diffidently limited to, the following: Tiger Wheel & Tire and Hollard Insurance (Tire insurance), Shoprite and Capitech Bank (Money Transfers), Edcon and FNB (Home loans), Pep Stores and Nedbank (Pep Bank), Woolworths and Auto & General (Car & Home Insurance). In this research 112 retail brand practitioners were contacted and their perceptions towards co-branding strategies were measured though a structured survey (questionnaire). The result indicated that that retail brand managers perceive co-branding to be an important and effective brand leverage strategy. Brand managers indicated that in order for a co-branding venture to be effective, the venture must be a mutual beneficial venture and synergy must be created between the brands. The possibility of brand and sales improvement as well as the financial viability of the venture are also taken into account when proposed co-branding ventures are evaluated. The study firstly investigated the reasons why brand managers pursue co-branding strategies. Secondly the study investigated the preferred forms of co-branding. The study also examined brand managers’ main considerations when choosing a co-branding partner. Lastly the study investigated the sectors which retail brand managers prefer to co-brand with. Firstly the research found that the improvement of sales is the main reason for retail brand practitioners to pursue co-branding strategies. Secondly the research found that the improvement of brand image are deemed to be a lesser important reason for pursuing co-branding strategies. The research also found that reaching out to new segments of the market is another appropriate reason for brand practitioners to pursue co-branding. Extending the brand through a shared new product or service offering is deemed to be another appropriate reason to co-brand. The brand managers indicated that joint marketing co-branding was perceived to be the preferred co-branding form. Value endorsement and reach awareness co-branding were deemed to be the second and third most preferred co-branding. The research indicates that the possibility of sales improvement is the most important consideration when evaluating a potential a co-branding partner. The study also found that retailers consider the fit between the two brands as an important consideration when evaluating potential co-branding partners /ventures. The research results also found that companies in the FMCG sector are the preferred sector to co-brand with. The results suggest that the brand managers were not in total agreement and it implies that the when it comes to co-branding, retailers do not have particular preference towards sectors. When evaluating potential co-branding ventures, it seems that retail brand managers put more emphasize on the possibility of sales and brand improvement than on the sector they which to co-brand with. Conclusion It seems evident that South African retail brand managers consider co-branding to be an effective and viable brand leverage instrument. Certain conditions and considerations were identified in this study. The perceived fit between the brands are deemed to be an important consideration when marketing managers evaluate potential co-branding strategies (and partners). Secondly managers aim to improve their sales and to reach out to a wider or new market segment when pursuing co-branding strategies. Thirdly the study found that joint-marketing co-branding were deemed to be the preferred co-branding form and retailers also indicated that FMCG companies were deemed to be the favourite sector to co-brand with.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Wine marketers: Don’t kill the brand that lays the golden egg

In the recent past wine brand owners has put a great deal of emphasis on sales volume improvements. Marketing campaigns were specifically designed to increase short term sales volumes. This over emphasis on sales volume increases has caused some wine marketers to lose their focus on strategic branding aspects. These marketers must be cautious not to kill the goose (brand) that lays the golden egg. South African wine producers in some chases diluted their brand value by focusing on short term sales improvements. These sales improvement strategies usually include price reductions and even brand sacrifice. Prof. Frikkie Herbst of the USB (University of Stellenbosch Business School) indicated that the total cost (price) is only one of the five main factors influencing the consumer’s choice of bottled wine. These “other” factors are firstly push and pull consumer’s choice factors. Pull factors include psychological motives like celebrations or value perceptions while pull factors are factors like grower’s reputation and wine variety. Other factors that influence the consumer’s decision are place of purchase and shopping time frame factors. This implies that wine marketers can focus on different aspects to improve sales without damaging their brand. Although sales growth and market expansions are deemed to be important aspects of wine marketing, the sustainability of the business depends mainly on the brand. Some authors suggest that brands are the atomic core of the consumer-driven economy and companies are dependent on the success of their brands to be able to establish a sustainable business future. David Higgens, president of Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide Wine Group, indicated that “in general people in the wine business don’t understand the need to build brands”. He further states that this will become more and more of a problem in mid-sized wineries (www.seriousaboutwine.co.za/?p=443). Studies conducted in Australia by the Fosters Wine group found that consumers look at “brand” and label design more than any other feature when selecting wine. The study found that “brand” is consistently the strongest influence across all consumer segments, when browsing for wine. This implies that medium to long term brand strategies must be formulated to maintain a sustainable business. South African wine exporters and brand owners has the advantage of organizations like WOZA to promote Brand South Africa. These organizations build a holistic industry brand and opens international markets for local wine brands. It must be stated that wine brand owners must still focus on building their own brand and/or their region’s brand. Although the dynamics of local and international wine branding may differ, the basics still stay the same. Su Birch, CEO of WOSA, recently indicated that South African producers were heartened that the rate of value growth in the UK wine market was outpacing volume growth. ACNielsen data reflected a 7,2% rise in value, compared with a 2,1% increase in volumes for the year to June. Birch added that the higher value growth suggests that margins will be under less pressure than in the past, offering sustainable trading opportunities (www.biz-community.com -10 Sep 2007). In the local market, wine producers must realise the importance of value growth. Perceived value growth by the market can be managed by effective brand and communication strategies. In effective sustainable business management it is impeccable, and non negotiable, to maintain the quality of the product (wine). In some cases brand building involves the influencing of consumer perceptions about the different aspects of the product. This implies that brand building and consumer communication goes hand in hand. Marketers must thus find new ways and angles to communicate their brand messages to the consumer. Examples of new brand message communication platform include, but are not limited to the following: Coopetition: This can simply be defined as collaboration among competitors. Many examples exits of cooptetion in the international and local wine markets. The consortium of Alluvia, Tokara, Sagila, Knorhoek and Yonderhill serves as a classical coopetition example. Extended service offerings. Wine producers are expanding their brand by introducing new aspects of the brand. These new aspects serves as new communication platforms and brand awareness are taken to a far wider audience. Examples of this include function venues, theatres and conference facilities on wine estates. Spier, Lourensfort. Paul Cluver and Stellenrust are a few examples of brands that have found new angles to expand their brand audiences. Wine Tourism: Dr. Bouwer from UCT Graduate School of Business indicated that cellar door marketing is a very important brand image tool, especially for the smaller producers. This gives producers the opportunity to sell and communicate much more than just the physical product. This enables wine producers to develop broader communication platforms and thus improving their brand image. E-marketing: Marketers have not realised the wide array of brand building opportunities of e-marketing. Stormhoek has recently achieved tremendous brand building success with effective blog marketing campaigns. Facebook and other interactive web based platforms will create new opportunities for the expansion of brand communication platforms. Although the improvement of short term sales are a very important consideration, wine marketers and wine brand owners must also focus on developing their brand. By nurturing and developing their brands, wine marketers can create a sustainable business future and the “goose” will keep on laying golden eggs.