05/15/12
Business 103
Branding II
Chapter 5-8 talked about the three great dilemmas of branding – Brand stretch，brand revitalization and brand deletion, the total communication for brand management, relationship management, relationship brands and the value of brand culture. On the three great dilemmas, the author raised the issue of whether to stretch a brand name into other areas- either inside or outside its existing category – when it is doing well; what to do when a brand has been neglected and needs revitalizing and whether this can be achieved and lastly, whether to kill or delete a brand if the future holds no prospects. According to Temporal, extending or stretching a brand involves producing variants of the same brand in the same category. However it produces another issue that it falls in the same industry while breaking into another category. The author also introduced three basic reasons for brand extension – natural causes, market growth reductions and confidence in the invincibility of the brand. While extending the brand, certain techniques such as the use of an existing brand name to move into a new product or service category are adopted. On the other hand, line extensions of a brand use the existing name to offer a new product or service in the same category. The section also concluded several summary of the advantages such as extending the brand is less costly than creating a new one, the consumer receives a better choice, less risk for consumers if the brand s trusted, existence of synergy which leads to saving on marketing cost, brand revitalization, strengthen the power of the main brand image and etc. On the other hand, major disadvantage coexists – the image of the extension brand is heavily under the influence of the parent brand, it requires a clear position, it also influences the master brand and parent brand and retailers might not