Construction of Brand Identity in the Global Village
INTRODUCTION
from the fashion industry: the mixture of differing cultural fashions for some
and the insistence on the nationalistic cultural designs on the other. While
these surprisingly contrasting results can be dissected on the basis of
adaptability and the readiness to accept other cultures, it has led to the
emergence of a new worldwide fashion created not only through globalization of
the market but more significantly, the materialization of a global fashion
industry. This is not a consequence of the institution of industries in
countries but the insistence of the people who had opened them through fashion
liberation.
on the people who had believed in the idea of a borderless society. This in
turn had led to the evolution of the cultural fashion industry. Heavily
influenced by traditional values and the historical events by a country, the
tendency of people is to resist changes that may inadvertently affect or
distort that national heritage. However, the trend of moving towards
individuality especially by the young people had paved the way of a fashion
industry that combines global and national culture. While it is arguable if the
evolution of this trend is beneficial for the people of a given country or not,
the fact remains that this trend will not die in the near future given the
immense demand for a fashion perceived as “in” in the global village.
the past may alarm fundamentalists in resisting this change however; we should
look at it in the perspective that in so doing, we are actually enriching our
culture.
did not come overnight but a long and winding process to reach what we have
today. Predictably, it will continue to do so in the future. Let’s take for
instance the history of jeans in
relation to economic success of the fashion industry has been- jeans; the mass
adoption of trousers by women in the 1960s; unisex styles; public influence on
new designs to be first modified and then manufactured; the change in the
fashion show to a media event for the ready-to-wear industry; and the influence
of street fashion (Burnham and Inge, 1996)
the cowboy, the pioneer, costumed dressing in the nineteenth century, the sport
gymsuit, simplicity in dress, and the impact of World War I shortages on
clothes, which included the appearance of "denim ' Overalls Clubs'
and Inge, 1996). Nowadays, brands like Diesel, Gucci, Dickies and the likes have kept
up with the trends evolving in the international market.
development. Popular items included the BVD, boxer, briefs, and t-shirts.
"Mail Order Sources" indicates that the Vermont Country Store still
sells union suits. Burnham and Inge (1996) discusses radio, advertising,
movies, and movie stars who have attracted attention using underwear: Tom
Cruise in Risky Business wearing cotton briefs and Richard Gere in Looking
for Mr. Goodbar wearing a jockstrap. Joe Boxer offers a humorous look at
shorts in 1995. Alison Carter 1992 Underwear: The Fashion History covers
garments for men, women, and children from the sixteenth through the twentieth
centuries and is well illustrated (Burnham and Inge, 1996). Underwear has been
"uncovered," redesigned, and promoted for a new role as outerwear. This
can be seen in contemporary sales catalogs--for example:
catalog showing the "new empire slipdress," the ankle-length
slipdress, and the "elegant evening dress. . . lingerie-inspired slipdress
(Burnham
and Inge, 1996). It is interesting to note that
fashion designers are continuously revolutionizing this industry to meet the
demands of people worldwide.
to the institutionalization of fashion brands worldwide. Further, brand consciousness
among people would define the fashion industry in terms of style and social
stratification.
THE GLOBAL BRANDING in the VILLAGE
concerning consumer demands in which firms and organizations must adopt to the
abrupt changes brought to us by the rising trend in the industry—were going global.
Globalization
-- extending a firm’s geographical scope conquering global umbrella, reaching
out to the international market, altering the national boundaries and attaining
a larger scale of consumer patronage.How can one firm rise above the clutter of
e-business giants when everything’s gone too competitive enough to battle with?
In here lie many suggestions from authors and writers on how international
brands strategic plan works.
product works. How it differs and to whom it differs itself, a tag indicating
the totality of the brand identity. It plays a critical role on a firms
international marketing strategy, where branding is a key element on the
overall success on the construction of a globally competitive brand identity.
Strong brands help establish the firm’s character and identity in the marker
place and develop a solid customer franchise (Aaker, 1996;Kaperer,1997; Keller
,1998).
building strong brands in order rot establish a market position is inevitable
and recent. In Addition firms have typically expanded the geographical scope of
operations on a piecemeal basis by acquiring companies in other countries or
entering into alliances across national boundaries (Douglas Craig, 2002).
brand extensions which further strengthen a firms status in the market place as
well as potentially enhancing the brands value (Aaker and Keller 1990) As a
Firms move into international markets, a judicious branding strategy provides a
means to enhance the firms visibility and integrate strategy across national
markets.
studies presented at the Research In International Marketing Conference, A
field study of consumer foods company executives based in Europe (Douglas ,
Craig and Nijssen 2001) was conducted to fain insights into the construction of
a global brand identity and how these were evolving. Of particular interest lie
dominant patterns for the construction of a global brand identity and how it
varies on a case-to-case basis. These are the factors, which draws the line
resulting on the formation of the patterns that concerns the evolving
international environment.
construction can be categorized based on three key dimensions. The level of the
brand within the organization, geographic scope (i.e. the number of countries
in which the brand is marketed) and the product scope (i.e. number of product
on which the brand was used). These
three dimensions provide the basis for defining their role in the firms defining
their role in the firm’s international marketing strategy.
structure and rationale for branding decisions at different levels of
organization. In this case construction of brands provides certain principle
that guides the effective use of brands so as to develop a strong positional
edge.
prestigious international brand. Coca cola an established name world wide,
Known for its strong brand positioning and branding strategy understanding why
coca cola for example succeeded in its quest of leadership lies a certain
principle. “The Coke” industry uses a hybrid brand construction a mixed of what
we call corporate-dominant and product
dominant branding for which it falls. “Coca cola” uses Coca cola “Coke”
name for its cola brand worldwide with product variants such as Cherry Coke,
Coke Lite, and Diet Coke in some but not all countries. Coca cola –per se
serves as a corporate name but also connotes a product name. Dual exposure of
the brand together with its corporate name maximizes the use of branding on an
international market. In addition its branding strategy various from regional,
national and global. These generate a profitable result for Coca cola’s managements
separating different level of approaches that to an effect produces a personal
touch due to the idea pf proximity. In other cases, companies use the corporate
name fro some product businesses, but not on others. Mars for example uses Mars
name on its ice cream, soft drink and confectionery lines but use the Pedigree
house brand for pet food. This intended to create a separate image and
character for confectionery and pet food business alike.
doesn’t always focuses its attention on brand name. Usually the visual ate the
ones being notice. The logo itself speaks for what the product is. They are
what we commonly call the signature brands in which we buy for the name it
carries. The best examples of which are Phillips makers of “The bulbs that
really last”, Nike ”Just do it”, Apple computers and Shell.
name and logo as well to establish a global brand identity in the market place.
Although these firms succeeded on the verge of globalization, one shouldn’t
rely on the idea of yesterday. A firm’s brand architecture is a continuous
process. As it enters new countries new markets it will not stop evolving
acquired brands are integrated into the whole, new brand extensions on product
lines are added and modifications are either evident or obvious to this case.
cost and the trend towards globalization the brand constructions are subjected
to pressures and peak points at both corporate and product level dimension to
become more result oriented across international markets. To an extent of an
increasing and emerging complex brand structures characterized by corporate
endorsement of product brand in order to consolidate branding structure and by
extension of strong brands across countries and product businesses so as to
achieve cost economies.
corporate brands are invariably global
in scope unless the company only operated in a limited number of geographic
markets or regions of the world, as for example, Kao. At
the product business or product group level some brands are global, especially
where product division organizes the company. For example, Beiersdorf uses the
Nivea brand worldwide for its skin products. Equally, Mars uses the Pedigree
brand name for its dog food products worldwide. At the product level, brands
are also sometimes global in scope. P&G typically uses the same product
brands worldwide, for example, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Pert Plus and Pampers.
Equally, Unilever owns international brands such as Bertolli olive oil and
Lipton tea, and has obtained through the acquisition of Best Foods, Hellmann’s,
Knorr dehydrated soups, and condiments, etc.
some brands are national in scope. These are typically at the product level,
except in the case of extremely large national markets, such as the U.S. or
China, where companies may have product businesses that operate independently
or only have operations in that market (for example, Unilever's Stouffer frozen
entrees and dinners is only used in the U.S.).
products that are sold in a single or at most two country markets, such as
Nestlé's Marmite brand of vegetable extract, which is marketed only in the
In other cases, the same or very similar products may be sold in different
countries under different brand names, as, for example, Unilever's low fat
margarine is sold under the name Flora in the
and
the
reassurance about product quality and reliability are resulting in a shift
towards corporate endorsement of product brands. This helps to forge a global
corporate identity for the firm as it gathers its products under a global
umbrella, thus generating potential cost savings through promotions of global
and corporate brands rather than multiple independent.
also impacts patterns of brand architecture and how they evolve (Douglas and
Craig, 1996). Firms that have expanded by leveraging domestic corporate or
product level brands are likely to have fewer brands and a more coherent
architecture than firms that have expanded by acquiring other firms and hence
have to absorb these brands into their structure, resulting in a multiplicity
of brands at any given level. Equally, firms that have expanded through
strategic alliances may have more complex, dual structures. Strong
international brands often have high visibility and are prime candidates for
brand extensions, especially for entry into new and emerging markets such as
Eastern Europe or
In some cases, a well-known brand name is used on a product line which is
marketed under another brand name elsewhere. For example, Danone uses the
Danone name to market biscuits in
and
in order to leverage customer familiarity with the name. Similarly, Nestlé's
Maggi brand, used on sauces and seasonings, has high recognition in
to divesture of this division in 1999.Building a clear and coherent brand
architecture is a critical component of the firm’s international market
strategy. A well articulated brand architecture provides guidance for managers
and helps ensure that the value of the firm’s brands is maximized across
markets. Key to the establishment of effective brand architecture is the
identification of how brands are used at different levels of the organization
and the interrelationship between these different levels (Douglas, Craig and
Nijssen, 2001). The geographic scope of each brand and the range of product
categories on which a brand will be used also have to be determined. Building
this architecture provides a framework to coordinate and harmonize branding
strategy across countries and develop a strong and consistent identity for the
firm’s products in the global market place.
an explicit architecture developed the principles to guide its construction and
management (for a counterexample, see Parsons, 1996). Rather, a firm’s brand
structure tends to evolve on an ad hoc and piecemeal basis, as new
brands are acquired or new products developed. The firm’s brand structure is
thus continually changing as the firm grows, and must be monitored to ensure
that this structure maintains a balance and is both internally coherent and
consistent across countries and product markets.
architecture and understanding the principles guiding the building of effective
brand architecture in an international market setting underscore the importance
of further research. First, a better grasp of patterns of international brand
architecture and the key components is needed in order to identify relevant
issues. Here, an important first step is to identify the role of firm-specific
drivers, which account for differences between firms. Furthermore, brand
architecture is continually evolving as the firm grows and expands in
international markets. Consequently, research into the evolution of these
patterns, and trends toward corporate brand endorsement and extension of
strategic brands into other product markets and countries should be undertaken.
Finally, research is needed on effective mechanisms and procedures for managing
brand architecture and assigning custody for strategic brands.
The central role of branding in
establishing the firm's identity and building its position in the global
marketplace among customers, retailers and other market participants, makes it
increasingly imperative for firms to establish a clear-cut international
branding strategy. A key element of success is the framing of harmonious and
consistent brand architecture across countries and product lines, defining the
number of levels and brands at each level. Of particular importance is the
relative emphasis placed on corporate brands as opposed to product level brands
and the degree of integration across markets. The findings of this exploratory
study suggest that there is no one optimal patterns of brand architecture. Each
firm has its own unique structure, depending on its prior branding history,
mode of expansion, and corporate culture. Further research on these issues is
critical, so firms are able to build a strong and coherent identity in
international markets and sustain their positional advantage in international
markets in the long run.
above had overwhelmed the fashion industry and had missed the point of creating
an international brand- the merging of cultures across countries and industries
to fulfill one goal: the expression of individuality and modernity of the
people. This is precisely the core issue on why there exists a global branding.
More than business the global fashion industry is geared towards the
satisfaction of people who wanted to make an impression and as an expression
tool. Consumption would be the most crucial factor in the persistence of
international brands. This necessity would in the long run define both the
continuity and the discontinuity of a global fashion trend.
(To be discussed in detail on Chapter 2)
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