In: Operations Management
What is a product? What is a brand? Critically explain the differences between line extensions, category lines, and brand extensions? Support your answers with marketing examples. (2.5 pages maximum)
A product is what we offer to customers for their attention, their acquisition, use, or final consumption that is essentially designed to satisfy the ultimate need or want. To better understand, what is the meaning of the product, we will look at 5 levels of product:
A brand is the unique name, symbol, slogan, or design, graphic or taken individually or together that is intended to differentiate the goods of one seller from another”. In fact the word brand is derived from the Old Norse word brands which means "to burn" as during ancient days used to put a burn mark on their livestock to identify them.
A brand extension is a concept using an established brand name to introduce a new product in the market. when a novel brand is associated with an incumbent brand name, it can also be called as sub-brand. When an incumbent brand gives birth to a brand extension, it is called a parent brand. When a parent brand is already connected with many different products via brand extensions, it is also called a family brand.
Line extension: It is when an organization tries to apply the parent brand to a novel product that essentially serves a new market segment but remains within a product category in which the parent brand actually serves. A line extension is often differentiated in terms of flavor, ingredients, size.
Example:
(Dove Dry Scalp shampoo).
Category extension: It is when an organization enters a different product segment that is altogether a different market segment from the one it currently serves by applying the parent
Example:
( Fasttrack watches).
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