ONCE A BRAND name has been established and it has become an asset, a company can leverage on it and it can be extended to new innovations or products.
This is known as extending the brand. Brand extensions can facilitate acceptance of the new product fairly quickly and encourage trial purchases even in risk-averse consumers because this new brand will be riding on the core competencies of a tried and tested name.
New brand failure can be minimised in brand extensions. Another advantage is that it can help to clarify the meaning of a brand and its core brand values or simply what the brand stands for.
Brand extensions can also improve loyalty and the perceptions consumers’ hold of the brand behind the extensions.
They may also renew interest and benefit the parent brand by expanding market coverage.
Mahatma Rice gives a good example of what brand extension is in the Zimbabwean setting.
Mahatma Rice is a 100% Grade “A” double polished Thai rice that is imported by National Foods and packaged at their plant in Mutare in Eastern part of Zimbabwe. According to Research International the original Mahatma is the top rice brand in the country with a mind recall of 80%.
This means that eight out of ten people who participated in the research recalled the brand easily.
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They knew immediately what it was and chances are high that they had possibly experienced the brand.
These are the core competencies that the brand name boasts. Even with this to their name, typically cognisant of world trends where markets hold various types of rice for various consumer tastes and perhaps classes, Mahatma Rice recently launched three products that carry its name.
These brand extensions are the Mahatma Basmati, Mahatma Brown and Mahatma Jasmine.
Each category is presented below according to its attributes as given by its parent company:
Mahatma Basmati Rice This is lovely long grain rice that boasts a wonderful nutty aroma and a deliciously subtle flavour.
Mahatma Brown Rice It is whole grain rice enjoyed for its mild nuttiness. It is chewier, healthier and more nutritious than white rice.
Mahatma Jasmine Rice Also known as Thai Fragrant Rice, it is a long grain rice that is distinctively fragrant and perfect for oriental dishes.
Each of these categories leverage on the good name — that of the original Mahatma Rice. It is described as “Perfect everyday just like mum”. I don’t know if you can imagine this, but imagine something as perfect as your mother. This imagery makes me understand the brand because I know how perfect my mother is.
The new editions in the Mahatma family are therefore least likely to face resistance given the Mahatma brand equity that has been realised since its launch in Zimbabwe in the 1970s.
- know for sure that I will be sampling these brand extensions in the not too distant future!
- Examples of international brands that are common for their brand extensions are the Apple iPad. It has given rise to the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPod. Not that I think much of this brand (Brand Perceptions – if you remember my last article) but it seems to have significant following internationally and here in Zimbabwe. The BMW is also famous for its BMW 1, 3, 5, 7 series which is also an example of a brand extension.
- Academics have studied brand extensions closely and some of the findings are that high quality brands stretch further than the average quality brands although both types have their boundaries. Even the best brands can only carry so much brand extensions.
Weaker ones are obviously more risky. An unsuccessful extension may even hurt the parent brand and make consumers start doubting its worth.
Careful consideration of the pros and cons is a must. So much for brand extensions! I am grateful for the valuable feedback I have received this far on Brand Savvy and some of your suggestions have been implemented.
The journey continue, . . . keep reading, the next article will be on how colour is used to bring meaning in marketing and branding!
