Discuss the advantages of branding to consumers, producers, and retailers. Use relevant examples to support your answer.
Branding involves decisions that establish an identity for a product with the goal of distinguishing it from competitors’ assistance. Creating an identity for a product through branding is essential in today's competitively fierce market where a consumer can select a product from many competitive organisations. When branding a product it is also particularly important to position the product in the target market's mind.
Branding is achieved through the use of brand names and brand marks. The brand name is what a consumer will instantly recognise and for some products it also suggests what the product does. The brand mark is the design element of the product such as a symbol, character or even a sound. Ultimately a brand mark provides a visual correspondence to the product. For example apple computers are recognised through out the world by the apple logo.
Branding can carry different benefits for all parties involved in the exchange process and in theory branding makes it easier to buy and to sell a product (Brassington & Pettit, 2003). It is therefore important to look at the benefits of branding to consumers, producers and retailers.
In today's competitive and crowded marketplace, branding offers a particular value to consumers. When someone goes shopping at Tesco for example, brand names make it easier for the buyer to locate and identify the product needed. Strong branding of a product aims to deliver functional and psychological benefits sought by the buyer and also help to evaluate if the product is suitable for their needs. Through branding, consumers can also form some kind of attitudes and feelings towards the product. This in turn creates brand loyalty towards the brand by the buyer.
From a manufacturer's perspective, the buyer forms a relationship with the product through branding. Branding benefits a manufacturer in...