Money and Finance
- The Wrath Of Warren Buffett: How Benjamin Moore Almost Broke His Promise
Link to: The wrath of Warren Buffett: How Benjamin Moore almost broke his promise Turmoil roiled Benjamin Moore, a paint company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, after it decided to break a pledge Warren Buffett made to Moore’s dealers. How did it...
- Clorox Stock Analysis
For Christmas, my gift to everyone is some stock analysis reports. In this one we'll look at consumer staple giant The Clorox Company (CLX). I would like to add some more defensive and consumer staples companies to my portfolio so let's see...
- Pepsi Stock Analysis
It's been a while since I've posted a stock analysis so today we'll look at the other beverage giant PepsiCo (PEP). Pepsi was trading for $69.44 at mid-day yesterday. Company Background: PepsiCo, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale...
- Brands Matter More Not Less
James Surowiecki posits that brands are in decline. There is no doubt an issue that brands are not evergreen, Jordache jeans or a Pierre Cardin suit anyone? But a lot of this is not "death of brands" as much as creative destruction aka business as usual...
- Whirlpool Whr - Added To My Watch List
I added Whirlpool WHR to my watch list because the stock is trading at 139.23, which is in the middle of 52wk Range:118.92 - 160.01. I really like this brand. All my major appliances in my house are Whirlpool. Out of all brands Whirlpool usually...
Money and Finance
The ‘name’ game!
If you have the ‘name’
You will enjoy the ‘game’
Aptly phrased. And infinitely true. Everyone desires of being recognized by the social circle he lives in, irrespective of his age. Like, even in school, I distinctly remember, the pride which lightened up the face of the student when he was elected the ‘monitor’ of the class. Because, this new found status ‘monitor’ will now give a new identifying mark to the student. The gravity of this feeling ‘to be well known’ may be more or less depending upon every individual. But the underlying fact remains the same. Just as we people strive hard to earn this privileged ‘name’, so do the ‘products’ in their social circle, where they call it as ‘brand’.
There are a number of aspects that can be discussed about the term ‘brand’. Let’s have a glance of a few.
- Meaning of brand :
In common terms, a ‘brand’ is anything, which when added to the name of the product, increases its price. Brands in the field of mass-marketing originated in the 19th century with the advent of packaged goods. And gradually, with the innovative marketing strategies, companies managed to create ‘national’ and ‘international brands’.
- Are we brand conscious? :
This brand has a very special place in every body’s life depending upon the product it represents. It may be the only thing which people look into before purchasing a particular commodity or it may just be ignored totally for certain purchases. So the question is – are we brand conscious or product conscious? In case of electronics and technological purchases, for example, we like to prefer international brands like ‘Samsung’, ‘LG’, ‘Sony’, ‘Philips’, etc instead of local or Indian brands. In sharp contrast to this, think of purchasing a vada-pav (Indian burger) and you will immediately rush to your favourite road-side bhaiya, ignoring all the hygiene factors, instead of an international brand leader like ‘Mc Donald’ or to even a more local chain of ‘Jumbo vada-pavs’ selling the same product at the same price and fulfilling all the hygiene requirements!
- Effect of ‘brand image’ :
There are some brands which have created such a bearing on our minds that they are interchangeably used to mean the products themselves. Like, even today many people still equate ‘life insurance’ with ‘LIC’. Asking for a bottle of ‘Bisleri’ may be common experience with most of us, while actually we want to ask for a bottle of ‘mineral water’. Another very convincing example is of ‘Dalda’ which is actually used to mean ‘vanaspati ghee’. ‘Toothpaste = Colgate’ is one more such popular equation. Our maid servant will never ask to give ‘detergent powder’. Instead she will ask for ‘Surf’ or ‘Nirma’. Other examples include ‘Parle-G’ for ‘glucose biscuits’, ‘Cadbury’ for ‘chocolate bar’, ‘Goodnite’ or nowadays ‘All out’ for ‘mosquito repellants’, etc. These brands were the pioneers to bring these products in the market. But in many cases, just being pioneers was not the sole reason behind their success of creating such an image. This reason was coupled with another fact. They had no competitors chasing them for a considerable time when they ruled our minds.
- Shelf- life :
Yet another aspect in case of these brands is their ‘shelf-life’.
There are some which rule and continue to dominate the market irrespective of the new entrants increasing the competition. Think of Johnsons baby products (Johnsons baby soap, baby powder, baby oil). Though the ‘Wipros’ which are a big name in themselves, tried to give a tough competition by ‘penetration pricing’ strategy, selling their products at a substantially low price than the leading and only existing brand, but could not create a lasting impact.
Unlike this, certain brands gradually become less popular with the entry of their competitors or substitutes. Like the detergent cake - ‘OK’ or ‘Sunlight’ of the past could not sustain the demand for them with the entry of their competitors namely ‘Wheel’, ‘Rin’, etc. Same is the case with the all time hit ‘Odopic’ powder which today is wholesomely substituted by dishwashing bars, pioneer in them being Hindustan Unilever’s ‘VIM bar’.
Well, these were few concepts that can be thought of whenever we think of any ‘brand’. But an imperative point to be noted here is that, the above discussion remained restricted to the ‘brands’ popularized by big companies which themselves have a ‘name’ in the market. So, can we conclude that only companies are the brand promoters? Think again. The answer is a big NO. Any remote place, any narrow by-lane, any local ‘thele-wala’ can make their products - a ‘brand’. Citing a few among various brands which are popular by the place are – Banaras ka ‘pan’ , Mumbai ka ‘vada-pav’, ‘pearls’ of Hyderabad, etc.
And even within the place itself, some local sellers can create a ‘brand value’ for their product. Just like the mention of legendary ‘Cannon ki pav-bhaji’ of Mumbai tickles every body’s taste buds, the ‘poha –chana’ of Kasturchand Park or ‘Lalaji ka chivda’ of Itwari rocks in Nagpur!
- The Wrath Of Warren Buffett: How Benjamin Moore Almost Broke His Promise
Link to: The wrath of Warren Buffett: How Benjamin Moore almost broke his promise Turmoil roiled Benjamin Moore, a paint company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, after it decided to break a pledge Warren Buffett made to Moore’s dealers. How did it...
- Clorox Stock Analysis
For Christmas, my gift to everyone is some stock analysis reports. In this one we'll look at consumer staple giant The Clorox Company (CLX). I would like to add some more defensive and consumer staples companies to my portfolio so let's see...
- Pepsi Stock Analysis
It's been a while since I've posted a stock analysis so today we'll look at the other beverage giant PepsiCo (PEP). Pepsi was trading for $69.44 at mid-day yesterday. Company Background: PepsiCo, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale...
- Brands Matter More Not Less
James Surowiecki posits that brands are in decline. There is no doubt an issue that brands are not evergreen, Jordache jeans or a Pierre Cardin suit anyone? But a lot of this is not "death of brands" as much as creative destruction aka business as usual...
- Whirlpool Whr - Added To My Watch List
I added Whirlpool WHR to my watch list because the stock is trading at 139.23, which is in the middle of 52wk Range:118.92 - 160.01. I really like this brand. All my major appliances in my house are Whirlpool. Out of all brands Whirlpool usually...