COMPLAN : "A Complete Planned Food"

Complan is a major brand in the 1200 crore malted beverage segment in India. A brand once owned by Glaxo was acquired by HJ Heinz in 1995. Heinz is a $9.2 Bn conglomerate that has operations in 200 countries and is famous for its Ketchups.Complan has always been positioned as a Complete Planned food with its famous baseline " I am a complan boy : I am a complan girl"The market for malted beverages has been stagnant for a while. But recent years it has been seeing some activity, the reason being that Indians are forced to be health conscious. Complan also found itself to be stagnant in terms of market share. The researches found that although the brand is established and popular among its users, the brand is not growing because it failed to attract new users.This can be dangerous because a brand can sustain only if it is able to attract new users to its fold. Hence Complan changed its promotional strategy from targeting the existing users to attracting new users. The baseline was changed to " extra growing power" and ads were mainly targeting the non users of the product.

The change in the positioning is also due to the increasing competition from Horlicks and other GSK products in the segment.Complan have also launched Complan: Family , a variant aiming at all members of family as a part of expanding the target market. Another interesting strategy was the launch of Complan sachet priced at Rs5 for 15gm complan .They have implemented this strategy to capture the lower level of pyramid, may be heinz have kept its eyes stable and read the nerves of rural Indians their desire to go for a health drink at the lowest cost possible or may be the sample users, may go for it.

Complan has been an established brand in the Indian health drinks market.The brand was carefully positioned and nurtured by its owners. With the competition getting hot all the time the brand is reinventing itself .

Hidesign : "Truly International"

Hidesign is a brand that is truly an international brand that is made in India. Born in 1978 as a one man craftsman workshop, this brand has gone places.

Hidesign is India's premier leather goods company that makes leather bags, briefcases and wallets. This 90 crore brand is the Indian brand that features in the premium international stores worldwide. The Indian leather market is expected to be around Rs 1000 crore and the branded market is around 120 crore.Hidesign is a brand that was built overtime through careful brand building . The brand which was launched as an export brand came to India and surprised to find the reception it had, despite astronomical prices. The brand came to India at the right time when the Indian consumers are splurging on lifestyle products.

Hidesign is targeting the upwardly mobile educated internationally minded executive. The brand is known for its craftsmanship and the quality of its products. All these years this brand has never compromised on quality. The main USP of this brand is its craftsmanship. The brand still uses the traditional craftsmanship and 70% of the work is by hand. The brand depends heavily on the craftsmanship. The core value of the brand is its attitude, tradition and its commitment to environment. Instead of using the much polluting dyes, the brand uses vegetable dyes .The brand is positioned along the core values and the craftsmanship. The campaigns are trendy and the media is mainly magazines. Earlier in 2000 the brand initially was projecting quality as its major focal point. Now they have realised that despite the positive feelings, the brand lacks the attitude and emotional attachment . Hence the brand is on a campaign to connect to the customer emotionally.
In the premium segment , the brand does not have any domestic brand competition.The competition is from the Italian brands that are available in the upmarket stores. The entire category is dominated by the unbranded players and there is little efforts to brand the products.

An Insight into Phoenix ' 09.

This article is being dedicated to my faculty cordinator for Phoenix'09 "The Mystique of branding", Prof.Jayaseelan.

It was a fine a afternoon,when I with my colleagues and Jay sir, were sitting in a brand committee room.We were discussing over a soft issue, to finalize the theme for the Phoenix'09.Before I take you, to the ride of Phoenix'09 let me introduce you Prof.Jay.

Working with him was a great pleasure and pressure as well.....ok now leaving jokes apart,i'll continue.

He made me do everything just to learn,he always told "we need only top advertising companies creative heads and no space for bargain.

At first,I thought "boss apne bass ki baat nahi hai"but believe me his firm belief on me made me believe that "karna hi hoga".His continuous support and can do attitude let me to believe on myself and guess what ? We did it best.

Speakers arrived at Phoenix ' 09 are mentioned below :

• Sanjay Khare - Creative Director - Euro RSCG.
• Sai Nagesh - Vice President - Inx Media.
• Satish Satyanarayana - CEO - Wunderman.
• Shashikant Kale - Senior Art Director - JWT.
• Kaushik Mitra - Creative Head - Bates 141.
• Kartik Mani - National Creative Director - Madison India.

All these above speakers belong to the top notch advertising companies of the world.

He made me learn the ground realities of marketing and the most important thing which I learned from him is game plan....he always said :What's the game plan dude? It sounds good but how would you do it? what is the back up.

Then i learned ,the planning pattern, before entering the market you need to do a lot of home work,its absolutely essential-----to know your own product so that to provide necessary stuff to delight your sponsors or speakers.

I'll not take your much time...

Then on one fine evening, i with Jay sir and two colleagues went to pune it was just three days before the event.He gave us a nice treat at Barista then during the mean time we had a discussion about the game plan and you people won't believe he was so confident that the plan 'll definately work...! I will not discuss the plan but at the end of it for me it was not even satisfactory.

He made me to stand infront of the corporates, he always left me free to go ahead and get results and atlast you people saw the variety of elite speakers who made Phoenix'09 a grand success.

But,its not over yet................

It was not only speakers but actually the integrated efforts of brand committee members and of course the real charm behind the success of Phoenix'09-Prof.Jayaseelan.

I hope, this would give you an insight of working with him.

Believe me its always great......with him learning never ends......................................................

Tropicana gets squeezed

Working in brand committee has inspired me to go ahead and give an insight about "Brand".
This article will give you an insight about pepsico's brand, tropicana.

Go ahead and have a ride about the journey of delicious fruit juice .....Tropicana.

The recent hubbub over the Tropicana packaging change shines a light on several marketing myths. Take note so you don’t make the same mistakes with your brand.Tropicana brand background :

Tropicana is a 60-year-old brand. Originally the company sold gift boxes of oranges, but looking for something to do with the smaller fruit that went to waste they got into the frozen concentrate business. But that category was well established and Tropicana was just another brand.
The key event that really built the Tropicana brand came in 1954. Not satisfied with being just another player in the concentrate category, the company pioneered a flash pasteurization method that raised the temperature of the freshly squeezed orange juice for a very short time, extending the juice’s shelf life to three months while maintaining its flavor. Tropicana then dropped the frozen concentrate product and focused entirely on the fresh, "not-from-concentrate" product.
Being first in a new category is the key to success. Tropicana got into the mind with a great name and built a new category. Tropicana owns not-from-concentrate in the mind and is the "real thing" in fresh orange juice. With the success of Tropicana, eventually the majority of the market for orange juice moved from frozen to fresh.
Today, Tropicana remains the dominant brand and the world leader in chilled orange juice. Since the original entrepreneur sold the company in the 1970’s, there have been several owners. Since 1998, PepsiCo has owned the brand.
Last month, PepsiCo introduced a major overhaul of the Tropicana packaging. Which was done after PepsiCo Chairman-CEO Indra Nooyi announced the company would embark on a sweeping revamp of all its brands. To be changed: "every aspect of the brand proposition: how they look, how they’re packaged, how they will be merchandised on the shelves and how they connect with consumers."
What? Is she crazy? Apparently. The last thing PepsiCo should do is totally redo all of its brands. The new Pepsi logo that is a little too close to Obama’s logo hasn’t been very well received. And results for Tropicana have been disastrous.
In just a few short weeks after the packaging change, the company bowed to consumer outrage and scrapped the Tropicana changes. The previous packaging will be brought back and Arnell will finally be humbled.
Unfortunately, the company will continue the advertising campaign by Arnell that accompanied the new packaging look. The tagline is "Squeeze. It’s a natural." Squeeze? That is not language that consumers would ever use. Tropicana should have remained focused on fresh not from concentrate orange juice.

"Squeeze" is a typical campaign that left-brain management loves. Management values cleverness in advertising. Advertising campaigns that are clever and new appeal to left-brainers. You see squeeze is used as a double-entendre in the ads. The advertisement are filled with people hugging. Peter Arnell says the campaign is all about love. Love? The worst part is there is not an orange in sight in any of the ads. How clever indeed! Reminds me of the Saturn ads with no cars.
Right-brain marketing values credentials in advertising. Advertising that is relevant, familiar and consistent is what works best at reinforcing a brand in the consumer’s mind.
Now that you know the background, let’s debunk some enduring marketing myths:
It is the product not the brand that consumers care about. Wrong.
Consumers care about brands. The brand is what gives the product its authenticity and credibility. The brand includes everything from the name, the look, the logo, the color and the package.
When you change the look of the packaging, you lose some of the power of the brand in the mind. It no longer looks authentic. And worse, consumers think you have also changed the contents.
"We underestimated the deep emotional bond consumers had with the original packaging," said the President of Tropicana. Consumers weren’t attached to the packaging! Consumers are attached to the Tropicana brand. And it didn't feel like their Tropicana brand when you changed the packaging. The packaging is the visual that signals the brand’s familiarity in the mind.
Suppose Coca-Cola changed its classic bottle. It would be a disaster. In fact, Coca-Cola has been aggressively increasing its use of that bottle imagery on cans, cups, and billboards to reinforce its brand. Good move.
The verbal is more powerful than the visual. Wrong.
Both are necessary and should complement each other. One of the worst things about the Tropicana redesign was the loss of the iconic orange and straw. It was a powerful visual that reinforced the fresh, not-from-concentrate idea in the mind. Instead they used the words “100% orange” on the containers. Bad move. But typical of left-brain management that thinks verbally rather than visually.
The strongest brands have powerful visuals that reinforce the brands in the mind.
Marlboro – Cowboys
KFC –Colonel Sanders
Pizza Hut – Red Roof
AT&T - globe
McDonald's - golden arches
Brands need constant change to keep up with consumers. Wrong.
Strong brands should not make radical changes. Leading brands in particular should be wary of change.
(Of course, if nobody knows your brand, you can change it as much as you want.)
Occasionally (like once a decade or two) brands may need some slight changes and updates. But only very infrequently and very subtly. The changes should be ones that few people even notice.
And sometimes it is a good idea not to change at all. Jack Daniels is proud of the fact it never changes. In fact, it is the theme of its advertising. “Not subject to change, not now, not ever.”
If your brand is facing an uncertain future because of a declining category, it might be better to launch a new brand. You can’t change a brand radically in the mind anyway. Think Kodak.
Here are some classic logo changes that kept the brand’s authenticity but made slight changes to keep the look current.

SANTOOR OVERTAKES LUX : WIPRO V/S HUL

When one talks about 'Wipro', the first thing people think of is about their IT business. The fact is that IT is a relatively new business for Wipro and they have been into others businesses which are much older, like lighting and consumer care . In fact they started their business in the vegetable oil business. These older divisions have for a long time been under the shadow of their larger younger cousin software, but of late the consumer business is coming to age, last three years it is one the fastest growing FMCG companies in the country.The flagship brand of the consumer care division is 'Santoor'. Since its launch in 1986 the brand has been doing quite well in the fiercely competitive soap business dominated by HUL. The industry estimates the brand to be worth more than Rs 500 crore. But the big news is that it has become No 2 brand in the south edging out Lux. (It is the largest selling brand of soap in Andhra). Nielsen data shows that it has 15.6% market share in south versus 12.4% of Lux. The fact that it has overtaken Lux is something which is commendable, looking at the history and support which a brand like Lux receives with Priyanka chopra and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being the brand ambassadors for Lux. Wipro plans to leverage the brand by extending the brand into new categories like creams, moisturizers, body sprays and washes, after the relaunch of the brand.The company website describes the brand as "a truly unique soap that combines the goodness of natural ingredients - Sandal, Turmeric and natural Skin Softeners". The long standing positioning of the brand has been - a skin that is so healthy and beautiful, it lies about your actual age !. The product is available in three variants, Santoor (Sandal & Turmeric), Santoor White (Sandal & Almond milk) and Santoor Chandan. They have extended the brand into talc, face wash and fairness cream.For me santoor is an addition to my list of sucessful Indian brands which have done well against competition from much larger multinational companies. And as a marketer it is obviously interesting to find out more about how the brand become number two overtaking Lux which obviously has spending more money on ad and promotions. A successful case of low cost marketing....

ITC : Fiama Di Wills

Ad-Analysis:ITC has prided itself on breaking the clutter with its different approaches towards advertising in Sunfeast and then Bingo. But it has gone for a safe bet on Fiama Di Wills.The advertisement looks more like a Pantene TV ad rather than a new entrant.Description:Cigarette and FMCG major, ITC has launched its first mass personal care offering, a high-end shampoo. After a year of speculation, ITC has launched its first mass market personal care product. ITC 's shampoo brand, Fiama di Wills is in the premium segment, that’s growing faster at 44%, compared to 21% for the overall market.Interestingly, ITC didn’t introduce a new brand name for its shampoo. Instead it has opted for a brand extension of its two year old, super premium range of personal care products, Essenza di Wills. But unlike Essenza that was available at ITC hotels and Wills Lifestyle stores, Fiama di Wills shampoos will be stocked at retail stores across India. The product will be available at Rs 99 for a 200 ml bottle.On the pricing front, ITC is taking established players like HUL and P&G head on.Expanding its range of personal care products, and following the successful launch of Fiama Di Wills Shampoos, ITC presented yet another world class range of products for the Indian consumer through its new range of Fiama Di Wills Shower Gels.Fiama Di Wills’ new premium range offers three transparent shower gels with suspended beads. Each variant provides a specific benefit to the consumer:Shampoo Variants: Silky Strong,Everyday Mild, Aqua Balance, and Volume Boost.Continuing with its tradition of offering a superior product and brand experience to the modern Indian consumer, ITC also launched today the Superia range of soaps and shampoos in select markets .Superia offers a range of four soap variants and two shampoo variants with a range benefit of Glowing skin and Shiny hair. Each of the variants have been designed to deliver specific benefits to the various consumer needs.SOAPS: For Glowing Skin1. Fragrant Flower with the fragrance of Rose & Lavender Oil2. Soft Sandal with the fragrance of Sandal & Almond Oil3. Natural Glow with Neem & Coconut Oils4. Healthy Glow with Orange OilSHAMPOOS: For Shiny Hair1. Shiny Black with Triple Conditioners and the natural goodness of Hibiscus & Brahmi extracts2. Vibrant Green with Triple Conditioners and the natural goodness of Amla &Arnica extractsSuperia soaps will be available in sizes ranging from 50g to 125g, and the shampoos in 125 ml and 55 ml.

Distribution makes the change : MARICO

Marico's distribution width and penetration is acknowledged as one of the best in the industry and is a leverageable strength.Every month, 56 million consumer packs are sold to about 1.8 million households through 1.6 million retail outlets spread across the country.Marico's distribution network covers almost every Indian town with a population of over 20,000. The chart below depicts Marico's distribution network in the urban & rural markets:Thus, 1 out of every 10 Indians is a Marico consumer.Distribution Alliance:Our distribution strength has been recognised by Indo Nissin Foods Ltd. through their association with us for the distribution of Top Ramen products on a national basis.Rural Sales & Distribution: Marico's parallel rural sales and distribution network ranks among the top three in the industry and contributes 24% to the company's topline.Their infrastructure comprises 882 direct distributors, 153 super distributors, catering to 2393 small stockists and 4523 van markets. A dedicated team of Territory Sales Executives and Pilot Sales Representatives distribute Marico's as well as alliance brands through this vibrant network. Sales Capacity:They have made significant progress in the areas that enhance sales capacity. Quality of our distributors Quality and number of the distributor field force Upgradation in the role of the company's front-line sales force. Technology (IT) in Sales: Marico has been making investments in IT to ensure: Supply Chain efficienciesAvailability of the SKU at the right distributor point,at the right time in right quantitiesTimely availability and reliability of SalesMIS, which help in taking prudent decisions on a real time basis. In order to reap maximum benefits from its sales and distribution network, Marico embarked on an internet-enabled application - MI-Net - to establish a network between Marico and its distributors through a web interface. This project is aimed at providing real time information on the status of various business operations between Marico and its distributors. This initiative is expected to provide business benefits in the form of increased penetration by the sales force, reduced communication costs, reduced working capital requirements, etc. The project went live on April 1, 2002 with connectivity to 330 urban distributors, who together account for about 3/4th of Marico's domestic turnover. The business benefits are expected to accrue over a period of time.

New Mantra for success : " Differentiate or Die "

Experience the difference !!! Exactly, that is what marketing is all about.It is not the product which is sold but the better idea.If the idea! is better and different than sky would be the limit.It determines, you should differentiate or die....!!In this competitive world there would be many players in the market who would be fighting for their bread and butter but this can be taken as a warning either to differentiate their product and services from their competitors or they should die.Market does not have enough number of vaccancies for same players only stronger and innovative firms would survive...Now,What would the company prefer, ofcourse differentiation aspect which would be accepted in the market....we all know customer is the king and to satisfy this king companies need to offer pure value for money and something different and innovative...A new mantra for success..differentiate your product from your competitors, get the better edge over them.

PRICING : "An Important Strategy" Inspired by Prof.Javed.

Gone are those days of barter system, as the need arised for calculating the the actual value of product in quantitative terms rather than qualitative terms.Something was always missing to justify the value of the product and than "Price" came into picture.Price is real worth of the product or value for money.

Let me take you all to a real ride : Put the customers specs and have a glance.......

I went to a ezone in treasure island in indore...I thought of purchasing a plasma T.V. of sony but as I realised by having a glance at price tag I was shocked it was 164000 indian rupess.

But the sensatious experience forced to buy atleast something,as it was a diwali time various promotional offers were going on then I thought of purchasing a micro-wave-owen but as soon as I saw the price tag it was of LG worth rupees 9000 with some special offer, coupons were offered on its purchase.

Soon I realised to go for the hand mixer for my mom and I approached the shelves where it was kept and suddenly I felt this is actually what I can purchase, price was just rupees 2999 only.

At this particular moment my internal stimuli forced me to buy mixer as stimuli responded I purchased it and felt very happy that purchasing from treasure island is cheaper than purchasing from local electronic store as the mixer's price at local stores was whooping, ........................rupess 3000, and I got it for just rupees 2999 only.

So the pricing strategies plays a very vital role in moving the products from the shelves.Before pricing the product company should consider various factors :Govt. regulations,target consumer,competitors and many more.

There are many ways to price a product. Let's have a look at some of them and try to understand the best strategy in various situations.

Premium Pricing.
Use a high price where there is a uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is used where a a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are charge for luxuries such as Sony, Savoy Hotel rooms, and Concorde flights.

Penetration Pricing.
The price charged for products and services is set artificially low in order to gain market share. Once this is achieved, the price is increased. This approach was used by France Telecom and Sky TV.

Economy Pricing.
This is a no frills low price. The cost of marketing and manufacture are kept at a minimum. Supermarkets often have economy brands for soups, spaghetti, etc.

Price Skimming.
Charge a high price because you have a substantial competitive advantage. However, the advantage is not sustainable. The high price tends to attract new competitors into the market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased supply. Manufacturers of digital watches used a skimming approach in the 1970s. Once other manufacturers were tempted into the market and the watches were produced at a lower unit cost, other marketing strategies and pricing approaches are implemented.

Premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, and price skimming are the four main pricing strategies. They form the bases for the setting the price. However there are other important approaches to pricing.

Psychological Pricing.
This approach is used when the marketer wants the consumer to respond on an emotional, rather than rational basis. For example 'price point perspective' 99 rupees not 100 rupees.

Product Line Pricing.
Where there is a range of product or services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of the range. For example car washes. Basic wash could be rupees 100, wash and wax rupess 400, and the whole package rupees 500.

Optional Product Pricing.
Companies will attempt to increase the amount customer spend once they start to buy. Optional 'extras' increase the overall price of the product or service. For example airlines will charge for optional extras such as guaranteeing a window seat or reserving a row of seats next to each other.

Captive Product Pricing
Where products have complements, companies will charge a premium price where the consumer is captured. For example a razor manufacturer will charge a low price and recoup its margin (and more) from the sale of the only design of blades which fit the razor.

Product Bundle Pricing.
Here sellers combine several products in the same package. This also serves to move old stock. Videos and CDs are often sold using the bundle approach.

Promotional Pricing.
Pricing to promote a product is a very common application. There are many examples of promotional pricing including approaches such as BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free).

Geographical Pricing.
Geographical pricing is evident where there are variations in price in different parts of the world. For example rarity value, or where shipping costs increase price.

Value Pricing.
This approach is used where external factors such as recession or increased competition force companies to provide 'value' products and services to retain sales e.g. value meals at McDonalds.

Brand Resonance : A Magic !!

The first level of the pyramid deals with establishing the identity of the brand. Keller the world renowned marketing guru... suggests a single building block for this phase and terms it brand salience. In building a highly salient brand, he argues that it is important that awareness campaigns not only build depth (ensuring that a brand will be remembered and the ease with which it is) but also breadth (the range of situations in which the brand comes to mind as something that should be purchased or used).

A Live Example : Have a LooK At.....

Richard Branson’s Virgin brand has achieved depth of awareness and is easily recognized and recalled in South Africa. The challenge facing the brand is to make consumers aware about its breadth and diversity of offerings including air travel, game lodges, finance, health clubs, drinks, and mobile communication. Follow the Virgin brand around the globe, and that challenge stretches to books, trains, cosmetics, jewellery, wines, radio, and even space flights in the next few years.
The second layer of the pyramid deals with giving meaning to the brand as two building blocks: brand performance and brand imagery. Brand performance is the way the product or service attempts to meet the consumer’s functional needs. Brand performance also has a major influence on how consumers experience a brand as well as what the brand owner and others say about the brand.
Delivering a product or service that meets and, hopefully, exceeds consumer needs and wants is a prerequisite for successful brand building. In communicating brand performance, marketing guru identifies five areas that need to be communicated: primary ingredients and supplementary features; product reliability, durability and serviceability; service effectiveness, efficiency and empathy; style and design; and price
Brand imagery deals with the way in which the brand attempts to meet customers’ psychological and social needs. Brand imagery is the intangible aspects of a brand that consumers pick up because it fits their demographic profile (such as age or income) or has psychological appeal in that it matches their outlook on life (conservative, traditional, liberal, creative,etc). Brand imagery is also formed by associations of usage (at work or home) or via personality traits (honest, lively, competent, rugged, etc).

The Magic oof Advertising Begins :
It is in this building block that advertising plays a major role in shaping the image of the brand, although word-of-mouth recommendations and a consumer’s own experience are equally important. However brand imagery is built, it is important that brand managers and strategists craft strong, favourable and unique associations for a brand.
Luxury cars, BMW in particular, are brands that work hard to communicate brand performance and imagery. Sales people, brochures, Internet sites and car journal reviews will all tell you about the performance of a BMW.Even I as a student, have come across several magazines just pick up any of them like top speed....you will get it. The delivery of this type of communication has largely remained consistent, only being updated at regular intervals to reflect the specifications of new models. What has changed is the imagery used to communicate the brand from the power-impregnated advertisements of a BMW outrunning a land speed rocket car to the more esoteric imagery of innovative kinetic sculptures being powered by the wind (we all saw delhi hit & run cases where BMW was involved-----great engeneering a powerfull machine). The change in advertising imagery reflects a shift by the German automaker away from targeting the affluent automobile enthusiast to targeting the “ideas class”, a market segment which comprises up-market buyers more interested in design and innovation than brute performance.
Having dealt with brand identity and meaning, we move upwards to the third tier of the pyramid to develop a consumer response to the brand. M.G, I guess you all got confused well its not Mahatma Gandhi but Marketing Guru proposes two building blocks for this tier, namely brand judgments and brand feelings. Judgments about a brand emerge from a consumer pulling together different performance and imagery associations. These judgments combine into a consumer’s opinion of a brand and whilst there are multiple judgments that an individual can make, M.G believes therefore that companies must pay attention to their brand-building efforts. They are the perceived quality of the brand; brand credibility (the extent to which the brand is perceived as having expertise, being trustworthy and likable); brand consideration (the brand must be relevant to the consumer so that they are likely to purchase or use it); and brand superiority (the extent to which consumers view the brand as being unique and better than other brands).
Maintaining brand judgement is particularly important when a company embarks on brand extension as what counted as quality, credibility, consideration and superiority in one market can evaporate as the brand extends its product line and/or market reach. Baby food manufacturer Gerber tried to enter the adult food market in the 1970s by producing small helpings of fruits, vegetables, desserts, etc in the same jars it used for infant food. Unable to garner credibility (adult food is very different to baby food), consideration (how many adults would think about buying food for themselves that is packaged in a well-established baby-food jar) and superiority (many other brands specialize in adult food) for its new product range, Gerber quickly ditched which was widely regarded as a spectacular failure.
Whereas brand judgments can be fairly logical, brand feelings are consumers’ emotional responses to the brand. M.G. identifies six brand-building feelings that he regards as important emotions that a consumer can have towards a brand, namely warmth, fun, excitement, security, social approval and self-respect.
The first three are experiential and immediate and increase in the level of intensity whilst the latter three are private and enduring and increase in the level of gravity. These responses are likely to come together in different combinations for individual consumers and the distinct brands they are relating to.
What is important for the brand manager and strategist is that responses are positive and come to mind when a consumer thinks about the brand.
Telecommunication companies often depict the emotional rewards of making a call such as me here in campus in maharashtra bringing joy to my geographically-distant parents sitting in indore by speaking to them on the phone. Fun is a major component of brand communication with well-known South African examples such as Castrol’s “Boet and Swaer” and “Mad About Oil” campaigns and Vodacom’s “Yebo Gogo” and “Meerkat” campaign. Volvo plays on the brand feeling of security by emphasizing the safety of its cars(now it has launched a new accident free car). Investment management firm Allan Gray also targets the feeling of security by emphasizing the long-term performance of the investments it makes on behalf of its clients.
The final tier of the pyramid deals with the consumer’s relationship with the brand and here M.G. introduces the sixth building block which he calls brand resonance. Resonance is characterized by the intensity of the psychological bond that customers have with the brand and their level of engagement with the brand. The challenge for the brand manager and strategist is to develop the bond and increase the number of interactions (repeat purchases of a product or service) through the development of marketing programmes that fully satisfy all the customers’ needs, provides them with a sense of community built around the brand and even empowers them to act as brand champions.
Along with Apple, Harley-Davidson is a brand that succeeds in creating a strong and lasting bond with its customers. The motorcycle manufacturer’s primary vehicle for achieving this is the global Harley Owners Group, known affectionately as HOG, which organizes regular events for its more than 600,000 members. Executive from the company often join these rides, which can number up to 25,000 riders, which successfully reinforce the brand’s message of freedom, individualism, self-expression, etc as well as building the sense of community that the brand creates. Harley-Davidson customer are famously loyal with over 45 percent of owners having previously owned one of the brand’s distinctive motorcycles.

In wrapping up this review of the pyramid model, it is useful to heed Mr.Marketing Guru -Keller's advice not to take shortcuts: “The length of time to build a strong brand will therefore be directly proportional to the amount of time it takes to create sufficient awareness and understanding so that firmly held and felt beliefs and attitudes about the brand are formed that can serve as the foundation for brand equity.”