BRAND MARKETING
JULY, 1999

Brand Marketing, July 1999, p. 46

James Dettore
"How to Leverage Brand Names"

Most people in the branding business know that having a quality brand name is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a new product. With this in mind, it is necessary that a product be given an effective brand name and possibly have that brand name linked to the image of the company's related product. Linking an established, well-known brand name to a new product can be a very effective way to build brand equity for that product.

One common and powerful approach is using a successful brand name to market other products within the same family. A Saturn is "a different kind of company a different kind of car." Gillette offers "the best a man can get" in shaving products. And everyone loves a Kodak moment.
Branding Strategy

These companies strategically introduce new name brands under their strong company brand name architecture to communicate to consumers valuable product information, even if the consumer is not aware of the specific new products and their brand names.

The advantage of marketing a new product and brand name under an establish brand name is consumers' association of the established brand name's qualities and benefits to the new product and brand name. If the response for the new product is positive, the leveraging strategy is a success and everyone is happy. However, if a leveraging strategy is used and the new product fails, the consequences can be devastating.

Branding Strategy

Companies can leverage their name brand equity to introduce new products and have them succeed linked with a brand name that is already successful. However, companies should use caution when introducing a new product using a brand-leveraging strategy. It is important to make sure the new product fits in with the name brand strategy of the established product. Otherwise, the established brand name's benefits might not be associated with the new product.

Preserving the image that a brand name conveys can be worth millions of dollars, and this is especially important in today's market, where many companies are venturing into areas of business that are unrelated to their original business.

An established brand name must also provide a new product with the right image. An established brand name, just like any other brand name, must be the right brand name for a product, or it won't work regardless of how successful it has been for the other products in the family.
Branding Strategy