The Product Branding Life Cycle
Product Timing:
The "Ad Spiral" or Branding Life Cycle
Pioneering Stage
Bringing a new product to market
Goal of advertising: make old ways antiquated, implant a new custom or habit, cultivate new usage,
convinces consumers they can now do something they couldn’t do before.
People won't buy something until they appreciate the fact that they need it. (i.e., before
persuasion)
A lot of repetition is required.
Video Clip: Joe Scarborough on advertising repetition
“Information” type of ad often appears in this stage
Products are least profitable at this stage.
Failure rate of new products : 2/3
2. Competitive
Consumer asks, "What brand should I buy?”
Must establish superiority over others through advertising and brand management
Can have “feel good” or informational ads at this stage
Fighting for market share, brand
equity and brand awareness.
Most ads fall into this category.
Example: Microsoft
vs. Macintosh
3. Retentive
Product has reached maturity, is established.
Advertising is often a reminder
Goals at this stage:
• Hold on to customers (perhaps most important of all?)
• Emphasize value of BRAND
o Reminder advertising
o Often “feel good”
• Hold or improve market share
• Brand extensions appear.
-
e.g. toothpaste
-
soft drinks
• Products tend to be most profitable
Goal is to hold on to customers (perhaps most important of all?).
It usually costs more to find a new customer than it costs to keep one.
The Spiral is dynamic: products or brands can be in different stages at same time or different places within a
stage
Spiral is a management decision tool … you need to understand stages and where your product is in
order to know how to allocate ad campaigns.
Other Pages: Branding Basics,
Target
Marketing, Integrated
Brand Management
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