Brand???
Oh, it is the name of a product or service ...
What is in a name? All of us know that statement came from William Shakespeare. According to him, name is not important. Rose will not change the fragrance even though that flower changes its name. But for marketers, name of a product is very important, because of it gives a value to the thing that we are offer to consumers.
Do you think it is important?
Think about this... which one will u choose for a product? The famous one or not the famous one?
I believe that purchaser perception is much more important than reality. It depicts that image value of an item can stays longer in customer mind and influences their buying behavior. Many Indonesian’s family will prefer Honda as their motorcycle rather than any other brands (and most of you riding honda, am I right? ). We can not deny that Honda builds the brand image very well, so no wonder it becomes the most sales for several tens years.
Secondly, brand describes a special position of a product. Furthermore it differentiates one product to the same kind of others. On the previous time, name of a good is not too important but since competitions are very high, the producers have to think several times to give it a proper name. Kodak for instance, it took numerous research to find the fit name that easy to read and has no meaning in each country. No doubt, nowadays everybody knows and always relate Kodak to a good quality camera.
On the other hand, many products fail because of wrong chosen name. In the 1970’s, German exported a farming machine to Indonesia. Our country is very potential market at that time, because of the government emphasized on agricultural sector. Unfortunately, that machine’s brand had an impolite meaning in Javanese language that related to one kind of women’s organ vital. As a result, the sales were not high as expected by the producer.
In conclusion, brands offer a lot of advantages to customers and producers. Brands are valuable tangible asset, so it has to be managed carefully. Brands can act various different roles within the brand portfolio. Last but not least, giving brand name to a product has not to be difficult or easy to read and understand, has no bad meaning in different language, and we must not forget that the product is needed by consumers.
