Page 290 - Marketing Management

CREATING BRAND EQUITY | CHAPTER 9 267

• An unsuccessful extension hurts the parent brand only when there is a strong basis of fit
between the two.
• An unsuccessful extension does not prevent a firm from “backtracking” and introducing a more
similar extension.
• Vertical extensions can be difficult and often require sub-branding strategies.
• The most effective advertising strategy for an extension emphasizes information about the
extension (rather than reminders about the parent brand).
Source: Kevin Lane Keller, Strategic Brand Management, 3rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008). Printed and electronically repro-
duced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Bic The French company Société Bic, by emphasizing inexpensive, disposable prod-
Bic ucts, was able to create markets for nonrefillable ballpoint pens in the late 1950s, disposable
cigarette lighters in the early 1970s, and disposable razors in the early 1980s. It unsuccess-
fully tried the same strategy in marketing BIC perfumes in the United States and Europe in
1989. The perfumes—two for women (“Nuit” and “Jour”) and two for men (“BIC for Men”
and “BIC Sport for Men”)—were packaged in quarter-ounce glass spray bottles that looked like fat ciga-
rette lighters and sold for $5 each. The products were displayed on racks at checkout counters through-
out Bic’s extensive distribution channels. At the time, a Bic spokeswoman described the new products as
extensions of the Bic heritage—“high quality at affordable prices, convenient to purchase, and conven-
ient to use.” The brand extension was launched with a $20 million advertising and promotion campaign
containing images of stylish people enjoying themselves with the perfume and using the tagline “Paris in
Your Pocket.” Nevertheless, Bic was unable to overcome its lack of cachet and negative image associa-
tions, and the extension was a failure. 93

Customer Equity

Achieving brand equity should be a top priority for any organization. “Marketing Memo:
Twenty-First-Century Branding” offers some contemporary perspectives on enduring brand
leadership.

marketing
Memo Twenty-First-Century Branding

One of the most successful marketers of the past two decades, Scott 4. Great brands establish enduring customer relationships. They
Bedbury, played a key role in the rise of both Nike and Starbucks. In his in- have more to do with emotions and trust than with footwear cushioning
sightful book, A New Brand World, he offers the following branding principles: or the way a coffee bean is roasted.
5. Everything matters. Even your restroom.
1. Relying on brand awareness has become marketing fool’s
gold. Smart brands are more concerned with brand relevance and 6. All brands need good parents. Unfortunately, most brands come from
brand resonance. troubled homes.
2. You have to know it before you can grow it. Most brands don’t know 7. Big is no excuse for being bad. Truly great brands use their super-
who they are, where they’ve been, and where they’re going. human powers for good and place people and principles before profits.
3. Always remember the Spandex rule of brand expansion. Just 8. Relevance, simplicity, and humanity. Rather than technology, these
because you can, doesn’t mean you should. will distinguish brands in the future.
Source: Scott Bedbury, A New Brand World (New York: Viking Press, 2002). Copyright © 2001 by Scott Bedbury. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin
Group (USA) Inc.