A Brand is forever : Harvard Business Review

Sachet JainIIT Delhi

• The article deals with:1) Investigating leading causes of brand decline2) Identifying signs precursor to impending decline 3) Suggesing guidelines to revitalize brands4) Examples on brand decline

Brands decline, brands die and they revive

Power of a brand : Brand Equity

The differential effect that consumer knowledge about a brand has on the customer’s response to marketing activity.

Brand evolution

• Product life cycle framework:Introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

It uses sales to define the stages of life cycle, which in turn are used to predict sales

Product evolutionary cycle(PEC approach) :

Evolution of brands is affected by 3 forces- generative, selective and mediative. Managerial and entrepreneurial activities constitute the generative force, market environment act as the selective force, and competitors actions act and responses to marketing initiatives constitute the mediative force.

Causes of Brand decline

• Managerial ActionsProduct QualityPrice cutsPrice increasesBrand neglectInability to stay with the target market

Ambassador decline in India

Lack of mass market approachLack of promotionLack of proper positioning. Positioned as a government vehiclePoor after sale service

Motorola India

Failure to constantly come up with new modelsLack of product varietyPhone not user friendlyLack of expansion to newer markets

Parker Pens

Positioning failure : first positioned as a esteemed product of high quality

Difficult to refill and lack of proper support

Environmental Factors

Government taxes and their interference can cause death of a brand.

Competitive actions

Dying brand : Significant drop in sales for prolonged period

How to deconstruct the decline??

Differential effect

Brand KnowledgeBrand awarenessBrand image

Customer response

3 points to have in mind before revitalizing brands• Is the brand worth revitalizing?• Take a long term perspective• Carefully reposition the brand , invest in it, and educate the market• Correct mismanagement of the brand

Rebuilt qualityResist temptation to milk the brandPursue a carefully defined target market

Created by Sachet Jain, IIT Delhi, during an internship by Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow.

www.IIMInternship.com