Brands need to be dynamic in order to stay ahead of competition. Building a good brand is not an end but actually it is the beginning of another challenging phase to sustain the power of the brand and thereby retain the status of the most preferred brand/supplier for years to come.
Once a brand is built, there are at least two onerous responsibilities on businesses – This is true of both B2B and B2C brands, each in their own unique ways. One, to consistently keep delivering the brand promise. Two, to embrace dynamism to align with internal and external environments.
Today, Search engines have been replaced by Choice engines. There are innumerable options available to customers/consumers which provide a range of products/ services at highly competitive rates. This puts an onerous responsibility on suppliers to be innovative enough to garner the right attention. Brand communication through various media including press, online and audio-visual media ensures commendable benefits no doubt. But thereafter ensuring a customer experience that has high recall for the brand is the more complex part.
Even age-old brands that have long history of building a great customer journey over decades are not immune from having to evolve and be agile and here are examples of how some of the well-known brands like PepsiCo and Coca –Cola are making creative efforts to outperform and outlast competitive brands.
A quote from the Pepsi Co press release 12/14/2015 says Quote “ PepsiCo’s Hello Goodness™ Vending Initiative Offers Diverse Selection Of Good- And Better-For-You Food And Beverage Products On-The-Go .The release goes on to say “ The Hello Goodness vending machine — which will also be available in a beverage-only version — features a thoughtfully chosen selection of PepsiCo products such as such as Naked Juice, Smartfood Delight popcorn, Lay’s Oven Baked potato chips, Quaker Real Medleys bars, Pure Leaf iced tea, Propel Electrolyte Water, Tropicana Pure Premium and Sabra Ready-to-Eat Hummus cups.
The Hello Goodness vending machine also goes beyond traditional vending machines in the market and:
- Features a digital point-of-sale touch screen with product nutritional information
- Suggests food and beverage pairing ideas for different eating occasions throughout the day
- Is smart equipment, giving PepsiCo real-time consumer preference insights to further inform future offerings
- Contains dual climate-control shelving, allowing both perishable and non-perishable items to be easily vended together at the correct temperature
- Allows for cashless and digital vending “Unquote
Coca- Cola, on the other hand has moved to a new slogan “Taste the feeling “, a shift from the seven-year-old “Open Happiness Campaign”
Quote “Taste the Feeling”, Coke’s first new global advertising campaign in seven years, celebrates the idea that drinking a Coca-Cola – any Coca-Cola – is a simple pleasure that makes everyday moments more special.
Creative for the new campaign, which unites all trademark Coke brands under a single creative idea, will roll out around the world in 2016. An international network of agencies developed the “Taste the Feeling” work, which includes a new visual identity and photography, an interactive digital experience, a global music anthem and audio signature, and a series of 10 TV commercials. Coca-Cola is at the heart of every piece of “emotional product communication.” Unquote
Benefits ensured are innumerable – Whether it is Start-up or a well-known Brand – when customers find uniqueness in the product . Brands have to stay creative and agile in helping customers to recognize the uniqueness through various strategies that can ensure retain the most sought after product status Thereafter a holistic and Strategic Brand Management process would translate these efforts into a high recall customer experience, finally leading to sustainable relationships and Brand equity both for supplier and customer.
