Corporate Branding

In certain cases the company name itself is used as a family brand name under which varied products of the company are marketed. This process is called corporate branding. Corporate branding is resorted to only when the company is confident that lending the company name to its products gives a better identity for the products. And once the corporate brand name is established, it facilitates easier establishment of new products.

In the matter of corporate branding, a manufacturer has a number of options. He may adopt a family brand name for all his products. He can adopt individual brand names for each individual product. He can adopt multiple brand names for the same product with a view to catering the varying segments of the market. Finally, he can offer his product for branding by a middleman or a distribution house. The decision is not easy, because all the alternatives have merits and demerits.

When talking about family brand, different products of the company are marketed under one brand name. It is convenient to adopt a family brand, for related products. Promotion of such products becomes easier and less expensive under a family brand. But the marketer in such cases has to ensure that all the products offered under the family brand maintain the same standards of quality. If one product in the group becomes a low quality product, it will affect the entire range of products covered under the family brand.

Under individual brands, each product of the company is given an independent brand name. When an individual brand name is given for each product, there is no question of a composite responsibility. Under multiple branding, the same product is offered under different brand names. This is intended to achieve a greater degree of market penetration. Though the product is the same, different sales appeals are built around the different brands, thus maximizing the total sale of the product.