Question

Briefly explain the following ‘product’ terms: a) product mix, b) product line, c) brand elements, d) sub brands. What is the rationale for P&G utilizing ‘individual branding’ strategy for its line of detergents rather than a ‘family branding’ strategy (all detergents under one brand name with some sub brands).

Answer 1

Product Line - It is a group of related products sold by a company under a single brand. Varied product line helps a company to create varied branding and thus catering to different segment of the customers effectively. It is generally seen that customer purchase only those products to which they experience a greater conformity. Thus, to make products or create new product line is a technique used by producers to make their brand closer to the customers.

Product Mix - It is defined as the product assortment or the total number of product lines that a company has established in the market in order to cater to specific needs of the customers. Product Mix therefore defines the marketing mix for a company and thus also determines the business model for the company. The Product Mix is generally defined by parameters like- Width (Number of Product Lines), Depth (Number of Sub brands), Length (Number of Variation of the brand in terms of packaging, etc) and Consistency (Closeness of each product with each other in terms of target market).

Sub-Brands- Sub-Branding is a technique of creating a subsidiary or an extension to the main brand. This technique basically helps in creating a more targeted positioning of the products and thus, catering to specific needs of the customers. For example- Colgate was a brand established by its parent brand Colgate-Palmolive in order to cater the toothpaste segment. But now, it has sub-branded its product with products like Colgate Active Salt, Colgate Vedsakti, Colgate Whitening, etc in order to cater to the specific preferences of the customers.

Brand Elements - Brand elements are basically the components through which the the brand positioning of a product is created. It is very important for a product to have distinct brand element as this decides how the product is differentiated against its competitors, what perceptions a brand is being associated to, etc. Therefore, a brand is defined by following 10 brand elements-

1. Brand Identity - How the brand is recognized?
2. Brand Image - How the product is perceived by customers?
3. Brand Positioning - What is its target segment?
4. Brand Personality - What are the specific qualities of the brand?
5. Brand Equity - What is the value of the brand?
6. Brand Experience - How the product is provided to the customer?
7. Brand Differentiation - What is its difference against its competitors?
8. Brand Communication - What message about the brand is delivered through various communication channels?
9. Brand Gap - What is the difference between the brand promises and the actual value delivery?
10. Brand Extension - What are the sub-brands of the brand?

Individual branding technique provides a greater flexibility in establishing the brand element of the product. We are not restricted by any particular branding specification we need to adhere to. On the contrary, while utilizing the technique of Family Branding, we are somewhat restricted to some basic brand elements requirements which the product has to adhere to. For example- If Product X has been positioned as a Low cost brands, then as per the family branding technique, all the sub-brands of Product X has to be have the Low Cost factor. But on the contrary, establishing a completely different brand through Individual branding technique, we have the freedom of setting up the brand element as per our requirement, without harming the positioning of a well-established brand in the market.

Due to this greater flexibility, the company can create a specific brands targeting the specific needs of the customers. It helps us to develop a customized specific product for every single segment of customer rather than having one size fit all strategy for the customers.

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