Branding in Product

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or combination of these that identify the maker or seller of product or service. Consumer view brand as a important part of product. So branding means to give specific name, symbol, term or design to product. Inorder to popularize and help customer to identify.

Differences of Brand name and Brand mark
Any word, sign, symbol, design given to product to identify the product in market is known as brand mark. Example: green bottles of 7up

If the same sign is legally registered in concern government office is called trade mark. So all trade marks are brand but all brand are not trademark. Example: coca-cola

Importance of Branding
Branding is important not only from the marketers. It also provides various services to buyers and the society.
a) Product identification
Buyers can identify a product or it's manufacturer only when the product is branded. Branding helps buyers to choice goods in the market. Buyers have brand concepts and images that guide them in choice products.

b) Legal protection
Branding plays vital role in legal protection. Marketers use brand value, brand image and brand personality to protect their products against competitor's products. legal protection helps the marketer to avoid price comparisons by buyers

c) Promotion
Brands are the focus of all promotional activities. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity are built around the brand name. Buyer's choice of product is mostly made on the basis of brand name.

d) Promotion of social and cultural events
Various brand used to sponsor social and cultural event such as health camps, conference and seminars, sports events such activities not only promote products but also promote social and cultural events on society.

e) Protection of environment
Manufacture of branded product are more conscious about environmental issue, they used to produce environmental friendly product, recyclable packaging.

f) Build corporate image
Image and personality are developed and established in market inorder to appeal a particular group of consumers. These image and personality are built around the brand names and brand marks. These brand images and personalities influence buyer's choice of product.

Reasons for not Branding
a) Difficult to differentiate
Those product which are difficult to differentiate in market are not branded for example minerals, stones etc.

b) Perishable products
Perishable products cannot store for long time. It must be consumed as soon as possible so manufactures of perishable product do not give specific brand name to their product.

c) Product of low quality
If the market do not have full control on quality of the product at that time they prefer to sold the product without specified brand name.

Types of brand
a) Manufacture's brand
This brand is owned and controlled by manufacture. It is promoted by manufactured nationally and internationally. Surya tobacco company, Bata etc. are examples of manufacture's brand.

b) National brand
If marketer supplied a product within single name or brand with national geographical area is known as national brand.

c) Family brand
If marketers give single brand name to different products produced by company is known as family brand. Hulas Company is family brand.

Qualities of a good brand name
a) simple
b) Reflecting product attributes
c) Legally prosecutable
d) Product line extension
e) Possibility to use in foreign market