Products are Complex
Augmentations
pom8
1
Product Issues
Product Lines
Groups of associated items, such as those that consumers use
together or think of as part of a group of similar products
Product Category
An assortment of items that the customer sees as reasonable
substitutes for one another
Product Forms
Different approaches to solving customer problems within a
category
Product Assortments
The complete set of all products offered by a firm; also
called the product mix
pom8
2
• Strong customer
preference
• Will expend
considerable effort
Types of Products
Specialty
Shopping
Convenience
Unsought
Customer not willing
to spend any effort to
evaluate prior to the
purchase
Customers will spend
time comparing
alternatives
Products customers
do not think of buying
or do not know about
pom8
3
Naming Brands and Product Lines
• Corporate or family
brand
• Individual lines
– Mr. Clean (Proctor &
Gamble)
– The Gap
• Corporate and
product line brands
– Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
pom8
4
Product Assortment and
Product Line Decisions
pom8
5
10-5
Product Assortment and
Product Line Decisions
Breadth
Depth
• Number of product lines;
also known as variety
• Number of categories
within a product line
Category Depth
Number of stock keeping units
(SKUs) within a category
Brand
The name, term, design, symbol, or any other features that
identify one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of
other sellers
pom8
6
10-6
Frito-lay: Doritos Branding
What Makes a Brand?
Logos and
symbols
Slogans
URLs
Brand
name
Characters
Branding
pom8
Jingles
7
10-7
Value of Branding for the
Customer and the Marketer
Facilitate Purchasing
Establish Loyalty
Protect from Competition
Reduce Marketing Costs
Are Assets
Impact Market Value
pom8
8
10-8
Brand Equity: Brand Loyalty
Combined customer attitudes toward a brand
• Consumers are often
less sensitive to price
• Marketing costs are
much lower
• Firm insulated from the
competition
BW_using_brand_history384K_Stream.wmv
pom8
9
10-9
Brand Extension
The use of the same brand name for new products being
introduced to the same or new markets
pom8
10
10-10
Co-Branding
Marketing two or more brands together
pom8
11
Brand Dilution
Occurs when a brand extension adversely affects customer
perceptions about the attributes the core brand is believed to hold
Evaluate the fit between
the product class
of the core brand
and the extension.
Evaluate consumer
perceptions of the
attributes of the core brand
and seek out extensions
with similar attributes.
Refrain from
extending the brand
name to too many
products.
Is the brand
extension distanced
enough from the
core brand?
pom8
12
Brand Repositioning
A strategy in which marketers change a brand’s focus to target new markets
or realign the brand’s core emphasis with changing market preferences
• How is this
repositioning?
pom8
13
10-13