Definition: Product branding is a strategy that defines a unique set of marketing elements to differentiate a given product. It is an activity that defines the way the product’s image is communicated to its customers.
What Does Product Branding Mean?
Branding policies are established to promote the idea behind the product through logos, images, designs, colors and many other marketing resources to place the product in the customer’s mind. Brands transcend company’s environments and the concept can also be applied to non-profit or government-related institutions where the brand is associated with a service provided.
These brands are established by institutions according to pre-established criteria. Some companies have family brands, where a single brand is used for different products designed for different segments but within a single market.
This is a strategy employed by big companies to create a strong brand around a variety of segmented products. On the other hand, some institutions choose to brand their products with the name of their companies, and not a distinctive brand, to build the product’s image around the company’s reputation. There are also cases where items are unbranded, as is the case for generic products where brands are not necessarily important for the customer.
Example
Granny Foods Co. is a company that produces and distributes food products for the retail market. They have many different product lines designed for different markets and they are currently developing a brand for milk. The milk will come in both liquid and powder presentations and each will have segmented product variations with different levels of lactose.
The brand for milk products is called “Granny Milk” which is a name that aims to associate the name of the company, a well-known name, with the market being served. The company branding goal is to reach customers that are loyal to other products manufactured by Granny Foods to also include this new line of products as their preferred brands.
