There are times when Brand Extensions seem to work. Not in the field of marketing though. But when writing marketing books!
The head of the anti-extension brigade - Ries and Trout – wrote a book ‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing’ which was subsequently extended by Ries and his daughter 20 years later as ’The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding’.
If you had enjoyed my previous post – the extended brand ‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding’ – you would probably like the original – the mother brand, if you will – ‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing’.
Enjoy the extension. Extend the enjoyment!
The Law of Leadership: It’s better to be first than it is to be better. Close Up came first; stays foremost in the tooth gel category, even after some 35-odd years in the running!
The Law of the Category: If you cannot be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in. Having failed to enter the fairness cream category first, Emami carved a new category out of it to be the first – male fairness creams!
The Law of the Mind: It’s better to be first in the mind than to be the first in the marketplace. Krack was not the first cure for cracked heels though it certainly feels like that.
The Law of Perception: Marketing is a not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perceptions. Samsung, I am told, makes high-end TV’s for Sony. Try telling that to those who think Sony makes the best TV’s in the world!
The Law of Focus: The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind. Dettol was ‘protection’. Dettol is ‘protection’. Dettol will be ‘protection’. And successful too!
The Law of Exclusivity: Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind. Contrary to what many people think, Mercedes and BMW don’t mean the same thing. Mercedes means prestige. BMW means ambition!
The Law of the Ladder: The strategy to use depends on which rung of the ladder you occupy. Clinic Plus is the leader and can try and attempt category expansion. Other brands shouldn’t.
The Law of Duality: In the long run, every market becomes a two-brand race. Proof: Pepsi Vs Coke.
The Law of the Opposite: If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader. Remember the famous Avis’ ‘We are No. 2; we try harder’ campaign.
The Law of Division: Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories. Children’s TV channels, for instance, are splintering into English channels (CN, Pogo), Tamil channels (Chutti TV) etc.,
The Law of Perspective: Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time. ATM’s when they were launched failed. But banks persisted and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Law of Line Extension: There is irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand. Sunsilk continues to be extended like Draupathi’s saree – without an iota of success, if I may add.
The Law of Sacrifice: You have to give up something in order to get something. Fair & Lovely is the queen of female fairness creams. Fair & Lovely Men’s Active is not going anywhere – except maybe back to Hindustan Unilever factory!
The Law of Attributes: For every attribute, there is an opposite effective attribute. If Coke is old, then Pepsi is young; If ‘The Hindu’s is ‘honest and old-fashioned’, Deccan Chronicle is ‘sleazy and modern’.
The Law of Candour: When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive. Dettol burns and unashamedly admits it. Consumers like that.
The Law of Singularity: In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.
The Law of Unpredictability: Unless you write your competitors’ plan, you can’t predict the future. Who could have possibly thought a few years ago that the largest manufacturer of cameras in the world would be………….Nokia! Yup, Nokia it is now.
The Law of Success: Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.
The Law of Failure: Failure is to be expected and accepted.
The Law of Hype: The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press. Dove shampoo is projected as a runaway success in the marketing pages of business magazines. The story has a different ending in the retail shelves!
The Law of Acceleration: Successful programmes are not built on fads; they are built on trends. Suffola built a brand riding on ‘health’.
The Law of Resources: Without adequate funding, an idea won’t get off the ground. Krd Rys, packed ready-to-eat curd rice, is languishing for want of funds, a receptive market notwithstanding.
4 comments:
m nt very sure on law of sacrifice....
i rather feel that it depends on company's capabilities..
maruti keeps on bringing new models in its already crowded small & mid car segments
..rarely it has pulled bak its models.dspite of cannibalisation happening...
while the very reliable toyota killed its famous brand qualis to
...bring out Innova....
When you say "the same word" in the Law of Exclusibity, do you mean "The same positioning?". Meaning Dettol stands for "Protection" and so does "Colgate". Does that mean one of them would soon come to broaden its meaning?
Tushar, agreed Maruthi comes out with new models. But they are successful simply because they are not christened 'Maruthi'. SX4 is successful because you wouldn't find the word 'Maruthi' around it. Toyota killed Qualis because they didn't want it to affect the sale of their new 'Innova'.
Aarthi, Both Dettol and Colgate mean 'Protection'. But the two brand are in two different categories. A perfectly acceptable scenario, as far as brand laws are concerned.
Dettol means protection and so does Savlon..(Perhaps Savlon is majorly used in hospitals and Dettol in homes...)
Doesnt that kind of over-ride the Law of Exclusivity? Were you talking about different brands or different categories here?
And I should say that the Law of Perspective and the Law of Sacrifice is headed towards the same lane, though in different directions. Perhaps it is only for a short while in the HUL marketing calender that Men's Active takes a round about and falls at their own doorstep. Probably they are trying to gain acceptance amongst the wider audience, which would obviously (like every intelligent marketer knows, in particular brand categories ie..) take some time.. So are they wrong in still trying to promote the product? If so, where is the distinguishing line between Perspective and Sacrifice...
Sometimes a little knowledge in itself is confusing. So please grant me the liberty in asking you to please clarify before I actually scour a book!
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