Page 287 - Marketing Management

264 PART 4 BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

Compleats microwave meals. Nevertheless, many new products are introduced each year as new
brands. The year 2008 also saw the launch of Zyrtec allergy relief medicine, G2 thirst quencher, and
Ped Egg foot files.

ADVANTAGES OF BRAND EXTENSIONS Two main advantages of brand extensions are
that they can facilitate new-product acceptance and provide positive feedback to the parent brand
and company.

Improved Odds of New-Product Success Consumers form expectations about a new product
based on what they know about the parent brand and the extent to which they feel this information
is relevant. 78 When Sony introduced a new personal computer tailored for multimedia
applications, the Vaio, consumers may have felt comfortable with its anticipated performance
because of their experience with and knowledge of other Sony products.
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By setting up positive expectations, extensions reduce risk. It also may be easier to convince re-
tailers to stock and promote a brand extension because of anticipated increased customer demand.
An introductory campaign for an extension doesn’t need to create awareness of both the brand and
the new product; it can concentrate on the new product itself. 80
Extensions can thus reduce launch costs, important given that establishing a new brand name
for a consumer packaged good in the U.S. marketplace can cost over $100 million! Extensions also
can avoid the difficulty—and expense—of coming up with a new name and allow for packaging
and labeling efficiencies. Similar or identical packages and labels can lower production costs for ex-
tensions and, if coordinated properly, provide more prominence in the retail store via a “billboard”
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effect. Stouffer’s offers a variety of frozen entrees with identical orange packaging that increases
their visibility when they’re stocked together in the freezer. With a portfolio of brand variants
within a product category, consumers who want a change can switch to a different product type
without having to leave the brand family.

Positive Feedback Effects Besides facilitating acceptance of new products, brand extensions can
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provide feedback benefits. They can help to clarify the meaning of a brand and its core values or
improve consumer loyalty to the company behind the extension. 83 Through their brand
extensions, Crayola means “colorful arts and crafts for kids,”Aunt Jemima means “breakfast foods,”
and Weight Watchers means “weight loss and maintenance.”
Line extensions can renew interest and liking for the brand and benefit the parent brand by
expanding market coverage. The goal of Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex unit is to have facial tissue in
every room of the home. This philosophy has led to a wide variety of Kleenex facial tissues and
packaging, including scented, ultra-soft, and lotion-impregnated tissues; boxes with drawings of
dinosaurs and dogs for children’s rooms; colorful, stylish designs to match living room décor; and
a “man-sized” box with tissues 50 percent larger than regular Kleenex.

By defining its brand promise in
terms of “colorful arts and crafts
for kids,” Crayola has extended
beyond crayons to successfully
introduce a range of different
products.