Brand - The Ultimate Factor Which Determines The Intent of Purchase in a Buyer

A brand is a powerful intangible asset which is more than just a logo or a name. It is a promise to sustain and develop the emotional connection with consumers by being socially responsible, morally inclined to cater their needs and build a reputation which traverses through the employees to the end users. No matter where and how a product is manufactured, brand dictates its salability. This essay will shed light on how brand is the ultimate factor which determines the intent of purchase in a buyer. For this essay, examples on local and global brands will be used to outline the analysis in a modern economic perspective.TheoryCompanies invest a lot of time, money and efforts in interacting with customers to earn their trust [1].

Ed Burke, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson famously quoted ‘A brand is the net present value of the cumulative trust that the owner’s past marketing efforts have earned from consumers’, shows that when companies consistently satisfy the needs of consumers the confidence in the stakeholders grow [1]. Another definition given by the American Marketing Association is that brand is a ‘name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers’ (AMA); this maybe partly right in context but brands are more of a mental representation in a consumers memory which vary in strength based on their exposure to it [2].

Brands reside in a consumer’s head as structures which consists of clusters of meanings and associations, with different elements organized like a network [2,3,4,5,6]. Brand analysis in support of theoryTata Salt (Local brand)Tata Salt (established in 1983) capitalized on a market that never existed by becoming a pioneer in India’s salt industry. The first mover advantage and creation of a successful niche allowed it to occupy the leadership throne [7]. It continues to be the leader despite new entrants into the market that it created. Tata Salt was the only viable replacement to rock salt using its vacuum evaporation technology which resulted in a product free from extraneous substances. It was also the first company which played a pivotal role in the battle against iodine deficiency in the country by producing iodized salt [7,8].

‘Desh Ka Namak’ (India’s salt) being the tag line of Tata Salt emphasizes on purity and its affordability. The brand has garnered immense support due to its focus on maintaining hygiene in production, purity, whiteness, nutrition and the battle against iodine deficiency. The advertising formula followed by Tata salt in their TV commercials stress on the fact that their salt is easily dissolvable in water which signified its purity and that every household among all diversities could afford to buy their product. This propagated oneness among people and won their hearts [9]. With studies showing increasing hypertension cases in India, Tata Salt took this as an opportunity to launch Tata Salt Lite in 2007 which had 15% lower sodium content. This showcased its ability to care for its consumers and target a new set of consumers who were health conscious [7].

Tata Salt also launched a new product line called Tata Salt Plus in 2012 which was aimed at anemia. Double fortified salt with iron and iodine was introduced to eradicate the use of iron pills among women and children. This made it easy for Tata Salt to target a large population after its success against goiter after iodization of its salt [10]. Product line of Tata Salt [11]Despite having multiple product lines, Tata Salt managed to unify them into a singular identity under their brand name which was more than just salt [12]. These actions by Tata Salt transformed a product which was manufactured by many other competitors to a brand which every Indian household have in their kitchen and in their memory.

Advertising strategy of Tata Salt – Is your salt pure? A simple comparison with ordinary salt. [11]Nokia (Global Brand)Nokia, the fallen king of the mobile phone empire was once the undisputed choice among consumers for its durable construction, simplicity of use and up to date Symbian operating system. It offered a mix of feature phones and smartphones which targeted all age groups. Nokia was the world’s number one mobile phone brand in 2008 accounting around 40% of all smartphone shipments during the previous year. But failing to adapt to the ever-changing market and consumer demands, they slumped to losses and sold their business to Microsoft in the year 2014 [13,14].

The name still lived on under the hood of Microsoft but failed to translate Nokia’s brand identity and promise into a success formula. Eventually the mantle of Nokia was taken over by HMD global a business vehicle established by the Finnish company in 2016. Nokia realized that it’s a powerful brand which millions of people recognize, and that ownership didn’t matter but the Nokia badge on the phone did [14-16]. Evolution of the Nokia Brand [17]With a current arsenal of mid and high-end android phones and the nostalgia of its old feature phones modified into latest standards elevated Nokia’s position from being non-existent to the world’s 8th ranked mobile in brand value which is worth 8.4 billion dollars [14,16].

Current Brand Value of Nokia [16]The lesson learnt from Nokia’s rollercoaster ride is that a brand’s survival is determined by the end consumer. The initial dominance of Nokia which lasted for years was a result of a focused brand building by catering to the consumers’ needs and earning their trust by modelling their product which fell in line with their promise. The eventual fall of power ironically was due to their reluctance to listen to the consumers. The rebirth of the brand took shape when the principles which made them a force back in the days were revisited and reignited.Conclusion In conclusion, the analysis using the above examples point to just one outcome that brands are more than just the products manufactured. They transcend the mere physical aspect of an entity to a broad spectrum which culminates to the emotional connection, the promise and identity with consumers who base their choice based on the association with the brand itself.

Bibliography

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