A Brand With A Cause

With the rapid proliferation of brands in every product category, brands are becoming a commodity. The scope for differentiation has vastly diminished. Marketers are rigid pressed to raise their brands above the clutter. One such tool, which helps in creating a distinct position for a brand in the minds of consumers, is "CAUSE RELATED BRANDING". No doubt all brands have to occupation for a cause, in the sense that they should provide a discernible solution to consumers, in order to find market acceptance. As an add on, brands can also associate themselves with a social cause that is in harmony with the core objectives and image of the brand so as to provide additional synergy to the marketing efforts. What does a Brand do after all? The common answer is that "it provides solution to a consumer"s problem". When a brand finds an effective solution to a problem, the consumer becomes a customer of the brand and this in turn enhances the brand"s equity. What does a young
woman absolutely buys when she purchases a face cream. She only buys hope, i.e. the hope of skilled looks! Outwardly the product may have any form, color, texture on the other hand at its core it seeks to provide solution to the customer"s problem. To lay things in a perspective a brand cannot survive in the market unless it works for a cause. Therefore "cause related branding" is gaining ground of late, thanks to of its competitive advantage. Cause Related Branding(CRB) may not only position a brand as a solution provider, nevertheless also project in the framework of "social marketing", as one which plays a role in the betterment of society. A Brand is ultimately an image or perception that exists in the minds of the consumers. A brand thrives in the market by virtue of its ability to solve customer"s problems; of progression in a cost effective manner. Lets" capture the common example of email clients: Yahoo mail, Google mail, Rediffmail, etc. stand outside as
a fine example of what a brand should be like. They brought a virgin wave in the field of communication by bringing the concept of electronic mails that brought us the freedom to communicate quickly with anyone anywhere over the internet. The Psychology behind a brand is that when we know enough about a brand, we assign the brand a "mental record name" and place it on the top of our minds, like on a machine desk top and mentally "click"the data whenever we necessitate to meet our personal requirement.. When more and more humanity open their files in their minds, the brand value increases. As more and more minds are covered by one brand, its demand goes up and this elevates it as the top leading brand. Needless to divulge that companies in habitual and marketers in particular invest heavily in brand building to raise the brand value. In most product categories, product differentiation is what makes brand managers to receive up "cause related branding" in a big way. The
underpinning behind the concept of CRB is that when a brand takes up an relevant issue or disclose demand of the society, and does something for it, this cause related action adds an appeal to the brand and makes it popular. Let"s discuss this location with the assist of an example. Till Yesterday, we all had been accessing our emails on Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, etc on the contrary with the coming of advanced brands like email@mobile that allow you to access your corporate emails on mobile phones, citizens have started thinking on different lines (Cause Related Branding.) Full text: http://computerandtechnologies.com/email/news_2008-12-09-01-30-04-650.html