The Creamy Layers Of Brand
The country's second biggest two-wheeler maker with a market cap of Rs37,800 crore is undergoing the most radical change after the three-way split of the company nearly four years ago. The rebranding exercise will see the removal of the Bajaj name which has so far had a pride of place in all its products, showrooms and service centers for over five decades. But it would certainly be a first by an Indian automotive company, which otherwise relies heavily on family names to promote its vehicles (Tata, Mahindra and TVS). Bajaj is trying to replicate the marketing success of international automotive companies such as Germany's Volkswagen or Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation which has multiple brands that are promoted heavily without the company's name. The Pulsar's younger sibling Discover has been promoted as a high mileage, family bike. Although the communication exercise through sales outlets to its prospective buyers will begin in three months, the company has already phased out the Bajaj branding from most of its products. A model dealership-based new plan will be launched in some regions where existing dealers can experience the changes before they invest to employ a similar transformation. Most of the new sales outlet addition is happening in small towns where demand for fuel efficient bikes is picking up sharply. About half the 175,000 Hero Honda Splendors sold every month come from the rural markets. The Splendor is one of the most fuel efficient bikes in India. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto may not be the only company which will take such a step. The promoter group of arch rival Hero Honda, which is the current market leader, is also looking to seek external assistance to promote its own brand, now that Honda has sought an exit.
Layers of Brand[/b][/b]
Brand Foundation[/b][/b]
The base from which all brand elements will be created and measured against for accuracy. This layer consists of the following elements:
Brand Vision is your company's plan for itself—how your company wants to appear to the world, and how your company wants to grow and change in coming years.
Brand Mission is what your company wants to create in the world, through its products or services.
Brand Values are those ideas that your company brand stands for and that you believe in—and also what you don't want to and won't do. These values help your potential clients to decide whether you can help them, and they also help you decide who you will help and what you can't offer or deliver. Brand Values are largely an internal measure against which you can process incoming jobs, but they will also be communicated through all of your marketing materials.
These components of your brand form your business's "face" to the public. Brand Basics shape and direct your customers' views of your business. Telling your customers how you want to be perceived is an essential piece of a Brand Strategy for any small business, and the easiest way for you to do this as a small business owner is through your:
Brand Identity, the suite of visual elements that are used consistently in your marketing, including:
Brand Names of your company and product or service lines
Logo
Visual Vocabulary
Collateral system/stationery set (business card, letterhead, envelope, and so on)
Marketing materials (brochure, postcard, flyer, and so on)
Website
Brand Content, the way you write and talk about your brand, including your:
Marketing Copy
Tagline
30-second Pitch or Elevator Speech
Brand Marketing that integrates both visuals and text about your brand, and that gets your message out to your audience. This is made up of your:
Advertising
Trade shows
Public Relations
All other outreach/marketing programs
Brand Offerings, the products or services that you present, along with the quality, warranties, and value that you include with your products and services.
Brand Experience, the process of working with you as seen from the clients' perspective. But in order to create a positive experience, you have to have a strong foundation of systems, procedures, and processes built in to your business—this is a basic level of professionalism that's expected of every business. Things that factor in here include:
Returning calls
Availability
Turnaround time
Professional interaction and communication
Process
These Brand Basics can also help to shape your Brand Personality, which is the persona that your business projects to the world. This is defined through the way that your brand expresses itself—the characteristics that give your business a life of its own, outside of your own personality.
These components of your brand speak about your business's relation to the competition:
Brand Positioning is basically how your brand compares with that of the competition. There are probably many businesses that provide the services or products that you provide: Brand Positioning determines where your business falls in the continuum of businesses in your field.
Brand Differentiation is another, more specific piece of your Brand Positioning. Your Differentiators are those things that make your business stand out from your competition—the things that you do or offer that are unlike anything your competition offers.
You can control these Competitor Comparison factors through careful market research, market monitoring, and your definition of both your Brand Positioning and Brand Differentiation.
Internal Measures
These components of your brand are defined largely through your business's actions:
Brand Environment is the atmosphere at and within your company.
Brand Promise is the underlying guarantee or benefits that you offer as part of all of your services. These promises can be of quality, service, greatness, affordability, or speed of delivery; regardless, every business presents a Brand Promise to the public, promising what the experience of doing business with them will be like or what benefits the consumer/client will get from doing business with that company. While your Brand Promise is often initially shaped by promises made in your external communications, it must be fully realized through the internal execution of your services.
Brand Values, which are an important part of your Brand Foundation, are also helpful in deciding
External Measures
These components of your brand are defined by the public's perception:
Brand Awareness is the level of public awareness of your brand—who knows who you are and what you do. This is influenced by the strength and effective distribution of your Brand Basics, as well as by word-of-mouth.
Brand Gap is the difference between your Brand Positioning and Differentiation and how your consumers and clients actually view these things.
The country's second biggest two-wheeler maker with a market cap of Rs37,800 crore is undergoing the most radical change after the three-way split of the company nearly four years ago. The rebranding exercise will see the removal of the Bajaj name which has so far had a pride of place in all its products, showrooms and service centers for over five decades. But it would certainly be a first by an Indian automotive company, which otherwise relies heavily on family names to promote its vehicles (Tata, Mahindra and TVS). Bajaj is trying to replicate the marketing success of international automotive companies such as Germany's Volkswagen or Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation which has multiple brands that are promoted heavily without the company's name. The Pulsar's younger sibling Discover has been promoted as a high mileage, family bike. Although the communication exercise through sales outlets to its prospective buyers will begin in three months, the company has already phased out the Bajaj branding from most of its products. A model dealership-based new plan will be launched in some regions where existing dealers can experience the changes before they invest to employ a similar transformation. Most of the new sales outlet addition is happening in small towns where demand for fuel efficient bikes is picking up sharply. About half the 175,000 Hero Honda Splendors sold every month come from the rural markets. The Splendor is one of the most fuel efficient bikes in India. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto may not be the only company which will take such a step. The promoter group of arch rival Hero Honda, which is the current market leader, is also looking to seek external assistance to promote its own brand, now that Honda has sought an exit.
Layers of Brand[/b][/b]
Brand Foundation[/b][/b]
The base from which all brand elements will be created and measured against for accuracy. This layer consists of the following elements:
Brand Vision is your company's plan for itself—how your company wants to appear to the world, and how your company wants to grow and change in coming years.
Brand Mission is what your company wants to create in the world, through its products or services.
Brand Values are those ideas that your company brand stands for and that you believe in—and also what you don't want to and won't do. These values help your potential clients to decide whether you can help them, and they also help you decide who you will help and what you can't offer or deliver. Brand Values are largely an internal measure against which you can process incoming jobs, but they will also be communicated through all of your marketing materials.
These components of your brand form your business's "face" to the public. Brand Basics shape and direct your customers' views of your business. Telling your customers how you want to be perceived is an essential piece of a Brand Strategy for any small business, and the easiest way for you to do this as a small business owner is through your:
Brand Identity, the suite of visual elements that are used consistently in your marketing, including:
Brand Names of your company and product or service lines
Logo
Visual Vocabulary
Collateral system/stationery set (business card, letterhead, envelope, and so on)
Marketing materials (brochure, postcard, flyer, and so on)
Website
Brand Content, the way you write and talk about your brand, including your:
Marketing Copy
Tagline
30-second Pitch or Elevator Speech
Brand Marketing that integrates both visuals and text about your brand, and that gets your message out to your audience. This is made up of your:
Advertising
Trade shows
Public Relations
All other outreach/marketing programs
Brand Offerings, the products or services that you present, along with the quality, warranties, and value that you include with your products and services.
Brand Experience, the process of working with you as seen from the clients' perspective. But in order to create a positive experience, you have to have a strong foundation of systems, procedures, and processes built in to your business—this is a basic level of professionalism that's expected of every business. Things that factor in here include:
Returning calls
Availability
Turnaround time
Professional interaction and communication
Process
These Brand Basics can also help to shape your Brand Personality, which is the persona that your business projects to the world. This is defined through the way that your brand expresses itself—the characteristics that give your business a life of its own, outside of your own personality.
These components of your brand speak about your business's relation to the competition:
Brand Positioning is basically how your brand compares with that of the competition. There are probably many businesses that provide the services or products that you provide: Brand Positioning determines where your business falls in the continuum of businesses in your field.
Brand Differentiation is another, more specific piece of your Brand Positioning. Your Differentiators are those things that make your business stand out from your competition—the things that you do or offer that are unlike anything your competition offers.
You can control these Competitor Comparison factors through careful market research, market monitoring, and your definition of both your Brand Positioning and Brand Differentiation.
Internal Measures
These components of your brand are defined largely through your business's actions:
Brand Environment is the atmosphere at and within your company.
Brand Promise is the underlying guarantee or benefits that you offer as part of all of your services. These promises can be of quality, service, greatness, affordability, or speed of delivery; regardless, every business presents a Brand Promise to the public, promising what the experience of doing business with them will be like or what benefits the consumer/client will get from doing business with that company. While your Brand Promise is often initially shaped by promises made in your external communications, it must be fully realized through the internal execution of your services.
Brand Values, which are an important part of your Brand Foundation, are also helpful in deciding
External Measures
These components of your brand are defined by the public's perception:
Brand Awareness is the level of public awareness of your brand—who knows who you are and what you do. This is influenced by the strength and effective distribution of your Brand Basics, as well as by word-of-mouth.
Brand Gap is the difference between your Brand Positioning and Differentiation and how your consumers and clients actually view these things.