The branding / brand management lifecycle

Brand Management Life CyclesThe "The Marketing Triangle" implies managing the three critical dimensions of marketing a brand today: product, brand, and price. In the typical marketing triangle, the marketer develops and commercializes the breakthrough product, and after the product begins to achieve a high level of recognition, begins the process of branding the product. Alternatively, the marketer should recognize the brand potential of the breakthrough product and initiate brand management process immediately upon commercialization. An operating comparison of these two approaches are described below

The Typical Ingredient Brand Management Life CycleIn the typical approach, the supplier develops and commercializes the breakthrough product and after the product becomes famous, begins to transform the product into a brand.

Typical Model Step 1 - Supplier develops breakthrough ingredient product and initiates commercialization process.

a. Demonstrates value added potential of the new ingredient, and sets price based on benefits offered - including potential for furthering host brand differentiation in its own market.

b. Expands acceptance from early adopters among host brand producers to early majority of host brands in a given product category

c. Ingredient brand management team makes public commitment to investing in promotion of their own brand - offering promotional value to host brands that feature the ingredient

d. Effectively positions the ingredient brand with communications that converge on its central benefit - articulated to each member of the main product's value chain

e. Ingredient branding name becomes well known and universally used across industry applications

f. Ingredient brand acquires meaning from positioning communications combined with satisfactory or superior experience among value chain members and end-users of the main product brand

g. Ingredient Brand is perceived as critical to fulfilling expectations generated by marketing efforts of the host product brand

Typical Model Step 2 - Ingredient product brand name succeeds by becoming famous downstream all the way from direct customers to end-users.

h. Multiple members of the value chain specify the product by name

i. Increasing consumer awareness and evidence that the ingredient brand encourages host brand preference and loyalty

j. Supplier makes the shift from generic ingredient product to named ingredient brand

k. Price premium is maintained even though competitors enter with similar product performance

l. Perceptions of ingredient brand promise and meaning add value to functional advantages - signifying such benefits as quality assurance and functional performance advantage in production processes as well as end-user experiences.