Fading Away.....

Brands exist because there is a need for them within the market place. Well one then may  begin to ask why so many brands fail to win the hearts of consumers? This happens because some brands fail  to meet certain consumer requirements in order to take that brand to the next level, such as; as Nike, Netflix and Apple. Any brand has basic needs, and it is the company's marketing teams job to figure out what those basic needs are, and how they can incorporate them within their business model. According       to INFO Entrepreneurs branding has three basic needs;1) There must be market opportunities, 2) Brands need sufficient resources to commercialize and ensure continuous support, 3) A good management team is vital for a good brand management process. Even with these three principles carefully put into place, some brands will simply still fail to meet consumers wants and expectations. Another crucial factor in successful branding is making sure your brand has room for development and change.

Not allowing room for your product to change with cultural and technology can be detrimental in the long run to even a major corporation. Just ask the former CEO of Blockbuster Video "John Antioco" who once ran and operated the successful company that used to dominate the home-video rental market, that was until the newbie NetFlix came into play and completely revamped the entire way we watch movies at home. It became obvious that NetFlix and the DVD-by-mail business model would triumph over the larger Blockbuster/brick-and-mortar approach. In 2000, Antioco had even dismissed Netflix and even laughed at the idea of online home movies, and by 2004 Blockbuster could sense they were in trouble.

Blackberry, Abercrombie & Fitch, JC Penny are some other once major brands that are slowly if not already dead in the water. These brands have either failed to migrate over to a more technological way, or they have failed to continue to touch the emotions of consumers.  Companies that make sure their brands connect and touch the lives of people will make their brands triumph. The Harley-davidson brand is a perfect example of a brand that connects and touches the lives of its customers. It is like a religion and its customers live the brand by wearing Harley tattoos and apparel. The companies that are most successful in the market like Harley-davidson express the value that they add to the lives of their customers by saying they can sell them a dream. To me it seems the most important thing a companies brand can do is really understand its target consumer, and how their wants and needs can change over time, and that is it their job to deliver products or services that can maintain the consumers attention and loyalty. 

Check out these links, I though the Food Brands was pretty interesting. 

9 Iconic Brands That Could Soon Be Dead:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/failing-brands-2014_n_4604534.html

10 Great Companies That Lost Their Edge:

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2010/08/19/10-great-companies-that-lost-their-edge

Food Brands That May Fade Away Along With The Baby Boomers:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102725976

Rebranding

A brand identity, name, and logo is a company's public face. So why in the world would a major corporation even think about rebranding? They sometimes contemplate this idea do to the fact that if a company decides to rebrand (which is no easy task), and if it is done correctly, it can bring many rewards. Rebranding can breathe new life and energy into a business, but it must be done with a well planed out strategy, and it must be done for the right reasons. There are many different situations in which a company may consider rebranding.

• A merger or take-over of a company
• Changing with the times
• A change in the company strategy
• To differentiate from competitors 
• Technological advances 

I believe to succeed in any rebrand situation a company must consider changing more than just their current logo. A company must create a new vision to give consumer and investors an incentive to see the company in a new perspective.

Many companies over time have attempted to rebrand themselves within the business market, but only few succeed. Many companies add unnecessary changes to establish a new brand image, and in turn can cause serious repercussions from loyal customers and cause long-term damage to the company. For a company to be successful in rebranding itself, the company must understand the customers problems and adapt to meet their consumers changing needs. Nicholas Watkis from Contract Marketing Service says, "Yesterday's products were designed to solve yesterday's problems and without development, may no longer be the solution to the problem that the customer has today." I find this statement to be spot on when it comes to describing why a company must stay "main stream", or "relevant" within the business market. However there are some products that are relatively unchanged through out the past few decades and seem to be doing just fine. The reason these products stay roughly the same, is because they already meet the customers wants and needs, and there is no additional benefit to be gained by the consumer. However there are other products that frequently change and develop to meet evolving customer needs, or improved building materials. It is a companies market & development teams risky task in categorizing their products and deciding if there is a valid reason to rebrand a product, or the company as a whole.  

Coke Logo rebranding (1898 -2015)

Coca-Cola sells over 1 billion bottles of soda per day, and is the worlds most recognized brand, so why on earth did the marketers in 1985 decide to rebrand the taste of coke? The "New Coke" formula was generated not because consumers got tired of the Coca-Cola taste, but because their competition was looking stronger than ever, and cokes number one status was beginning to look vulnerable. Coke was loosing the beverage battle with major brands like Pepsi, and from its own Fanta, and Sprite cola branches. After the new coke flavor was introduced many of cokes loyal consumers decided to boycott the product, which in turn caused the company to begin returning the original coke flavor back on the shelves. "We have heard you" said the CEO of Coca-Cola at a press conference on July 11th, 1985. Coke recognized that its consumers were not happy, so it listened, and took action in changing the beloved coke back to its original flavor. In other words Coke had learnt that marketing is more than just the product itself, its about the feeling the consumer gets while drinking an ice cold coke at the movie theater, or enjoying the refreshing beverage on a hot summer day at the beach.

Check them out:)

Top Ten Major Rebranding Disasters:

http://www.businessinsider.com/rebranding-failures-2010-3

Top Ten Most Successful Rebrands:

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-most-successful-rebranding-campaigns-2011-2#

Launching a Product

Product Launch

In 2015 there are many marketing schemes that companies use to entice & bait consumers into buying their product or good. If we put all the clever ways marketers use to attract buyers up on a list, product announcements would be at the top of that list. Apple, McDonalds, Microsoft, Marvel Studios, and GEICO are just 5 prime examples of companies that have successfully adopted and executed a product launch. Adopting a product launch scheme as one of your companies initial marketing tactics can bring the most important aspect new products need to succeed, which is "Attention". When a new upcoming company is finally ready to reveal its product to the consumer world, the company must ask its self one question, "do we have product awareness?" If the answer to that question is no, well then your product is most likely already dead before it even hits the market. Businesses and corporations do not need to have fancy expensive reveal shows to successfully pitch their product to the public to gain "attention", you can bring plenty of public awareness to your product by issuing press releases, producing TV ads, or by putting your product ads on related customer basis websites. This attention can lead to a larger customer base and more sales for both the new product and other of your company's products. In addition to increasing customer base and sales, there are many other potential benefits in adopting a product launch as the publics first emotional connection to your product, such as; positive company reputation, loyal customers, higher awareness for next product launch, open up new business relationships, and higher investments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etyt4osHgX0&feature=youtu.be

Winning a Product Launch:
According to Pragmatic Marketing there are six different areas a company must cover to insure a successful product launch.

1. Matching product capabilities to market needs- A company cannot develop or launch a winning product if the market wants one thing, and you are delivering another.
2. Clear positioning and product launch- A confused buyer does not buy. For a company to have effective positioning they must communicate the benefits and capabilities of their product so crystal clear to their buyer, that they get it without tremendous effort.
3.  Setting clear launch goals- Simpler goals produce more focused efforts and better results. A company wont have a chance at a winning product launch if they do not establish clear goals in early stages of the product launch.
4. The power of leverage- Using the power of leverage you can get the word out faster about your product, build your customer base faster and generate more revenue. Furthermore by adding the power of leverage to your product launch it will help your company guide launch plannes in evaluating the launch tactics that can help achieve launch goals and objectives.
5. Priming the pump- This process defines the activities that are conducted to build excitement and create demand for your product before it is generally available to buyers.
6. Time the launch event to maximize sales- Timing your launch date can mean all the difference in the world, and thats why timing is everything when it comes to launching a product. A company must identify the time and locations that afford maximum leverage. 

Marvel Cinematic Universe








Personally I believe the marketing team behind the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has commanded and mastered the art of product launching. In the past several years Marvel movies have dominated the movie box offices with Avengers #1 grossing over $600,000,000 dollars, and Avengers #2 grossing over $500,000,000 dollars. These kinds of numbers are not simple generated from cleaver TV advertisement, or online promotion, but are generated due to the hype and excitement that is brought every year from the MCU president "Kevin Feige".  Every year whether it be at San Diego Comic Con, or a MCU private announcement party, Kevin Feige continually brings personality, charisma, and a child like sense of wonder into Marvels upcoming movie slat. Here is a link to this years announcement of MCU's phase III movie slat that Kevin Feige himself delivers. I believe this is a perfect example of how a company can generate insight and hysteria while giving positive branding to your product or good.
:):):):):):):)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2VoJuVfbjI

Innovation

Ford Innovation: Going Further 







In 2007 the United States began experiencing the drawbacks of the economic financial crisis, this economic decline did not just have an enormous effect small business, but also on most major corporations. This major financial recession forced marketers to change what they market, how they market, and most importantly how they choose to spend their money. Ford like many other fortune 500 car companies witnessed a major increase in the demand for more fuel economy vehicles during the automotive industry crises. This was a major change from consumers previous preferences for larger gas guzzling vehicles. Not only did Ford change its direction for more fuel efficient vehicles, it began putting spot light on bettering their vehicles and the world we live in. Ford created a new business strategy to keep direction and focus on the companies new ideals and values. 

• Aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix.
• Accelerate development of new products our customers want and value
• Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet
• Work together effectively as one team
• Great Products, a full family of vehicles – small, medium and large; cars, utilities and trucks – with best-in-class quality, fuel efficiency, safety and smart design.
• Strong Business, based on a balanced portfolio of products and global presence; and
• Better World, accomplished through our sustainability strategy.

Here are a few real world examples that show how Ford Motor's has integrated and immersed its self in these new ideas and values, that will continue to bring their company innovations and imagination to new hight's. 

1. Medicine in Motion : "Deep in the remote hills of India’s Tamil Nadu region, people live disconnected from basic healthcare that is taken for granted in other parts of the world. Village by village, a specially equipped Ford brought them health services, communications, knowledge and data. In the process, Ford and its partners reimagined rural healthcare." Ford had given the mothers in Tamil Nadu cell phones that were enabled with voice-to-text technology. This in turn led the mothers to have up-to-date health information, and dates and schedule times to meet with health specialists. Not only did Ford bring health awareness efficiency, but by the time the project was over it had it had helped enable successful childbirth for 45 women with high-risk pregnancies. It also set up 27 pediatric and gynecology camps in the Tamil Nadu;s villages. Furthermore, Ford and its partners helped 1,600 women and children receive additional healthcare. The program was an absolute success in my book because it also traveled to 54 other villages to facilitate maternal and pediatric health awareness to over 3,100 people. Click the link :)https://corporate.ford.com/innovation/project-sumurr-medicine-in-motion.html
2. Ford Smart Mobility: 

Ford is now highlighting how it is using innovation not not only to create advanced new vehicles but also to help chance the way the world moves by solving today's growing global transportation challenges. Ford has not launched 25 global mobility experiments to launch this year to test new ideas and address growing or increasing transportation challenges. The insights that are gained due to these experiments will shape Ford's future investments.

      3.  Pre-Collision assist with Predestine detection:

      

Pre- collision technology is designed to reduce the severity of and, in some cases, even eliminate frontal collisions involving pedestrians. This collision assist technology will allow you to detect vehicle or pedestrians when they become to close to your cars proximity using radar and camera technology to scan the roadway ahead. If a collision with a driver of pedestrian is detected, the system will provide a warning to the driver. This technology is so great that even if the driver does not respond in time, the Ford system can automatically apply up to full braking force to help reduce the severity of even eliminate some frontal collisions. 

      4.  Everyday Heros:

Ford continues to show that they not only care about the financial success of their company, but that they care about the future and guidance of new upcoming generations. Ford has come up with a program called "OC GRIP", this program brings mentors from ford into California schools to encourage students to stay out of gangs, showing that "Positive Impact" is key to making sure their future is brighter, and letting that child know that everyday people can be hero's. Please click on the link to watch the short video on how this program is changing the lives of children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t62vYx23h5c