Branding 101

By Michael Pearson

"Branding" is one of those buzzwords constantly bandied about by salespeople, whether they are selling Volvos or vibrators. But to the knowledgeable, branding is not just a buzzword; it is an essential contributor to their financial success. This is why ANB magazine now presents "Branding 101: A Primer."

 

What does "branding" actually mean?: "The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers'," replies Rob Glucroft, co-owner of Private Label Potions. "Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem."

 

Brand benefits: Successful branding creates tangible identities that consumers can relate to, such as Apple, BMW, and Victoria's Secret. "At Fun Factory USA, we consider ‘branding' to be the look, the feel, and the personality of our products and our company," says Fun Factory CMO Rudy Kottbauer. "By creating a recognizable and trusted brand, the company and their partner retailers and customers enjoy word-of-mouth advertising, increased traffic, higher product name recognition, and everything translates into increased sales, profits, and market share."

 

Co-branding drives sales: Associating products with well-known companies and stars is a proven sales booster. "Customers may know Vivid or Belladonna, but not know Doc Johnson," says Chad Braverman, Doc Johnson's director of product development. "By co-branding our products this way, we reach more potential customers and thus achieve more sales."

 

Developing new brands: How do you create a brand that excites consumers and gets them to buy? At Fun Factory USA, "we conduct market research to determine what's unique about our product(s) and determine our unique benefits," answers Kottbauer. Take body paints: "In our market research, we found most of the competitive kissable products have a ‘chemical taste ... Our ‘Colore Moi' body paints are made from the concentrate of real dried fruits and 100 percent organic ingredients, so they taste yummy and dry fast."

 

Marketing your new brand: "A good brand has three characteristics: visibility, positioning, and functionality," Glucroft says. "Visibility refers to the [media] exposure rate the brand has on your target customers. Positioning is about how people perceive you to be, what you can do, and how you do it." Finally, functionality describes what the branded product actually does. He notes, "This is not to be confused with positioning. While both Chrysler and Mercedes Benz have the same functionality as car brands; they have very different brand positioning."

 

Package design and display matters: In the adult novelty industry, retailers play a major role in extending a manufacturer's brands to consumers. This is why Doc Johnson's branding is designed "to give retailers a nice, cohesive collection of branded products to put up on their walls," says Braverman. "Our goal is to create eye-catching, enticing displays that catch the consumer's eye and motivate them to open their wallet."

 

Endorsements count: Consumers like to use the same products that their idols use. This is why celebrity product endorsements are so important to branding success.

 

A case in point: "We just sponsored a large annual event in Miami, Fla., called Aqua Girl 2008 that is considered the Dinah Shore event at the east coast shore," says Fun Factory's Kottbauer. "Several celebrities including Bravo's Josie Smith-Malave, Sandee Birdsong, and Tiffani Fasion from Top Chef, MTV's Dani Campbell from Shot of Love, Bathilda, Charlene and Davonne from LOGO's Gimme Sugar, and others were very excited about the Fun Factory products." He offers a caveat: "Endorsement is great, but we also take care in the selection of our endorsement relationships. We look for people that believe in and use our products and also [who] our target market finds intriguing."

 

Give the brand time to thrive: When building a brand, patience counts. "You need to give a new brand time and support to give it a real shot at success," says Doc Johnson's Braverman. "And if you have a successful brand established, then considering extending it with new products rather than launching an entirely new brand. If you have a good brand, you should stick with it."

 

Private Label Potion's Glucroft agrees. "To our company, a brand is a long-term profitable bond between an offering and a customer," he says. "Brands require a relationship. Anyone can sell a product once. But what is required for profitability is repeat sales. It is only after those repeat sales that a brand relationship is formed."

 

The bottom line: Branding counts. Take the time to do it right and your business will benefit!

Publish Date: 2008-07-23 10:58:33