What is Brand Extension Strategy?
In brand extension strategy, a new product inherits the brand name of another established brand of the company. The reputation of the major performing brand is used to promote the new product.
This aids the organization’s market diversification attempts as the name of the brand is already familiar to the public through another product.
Brand extension strategy supports the overall marketing strategies or we can say the marketing strategies are made considering the brand extension.
For example, Apple started from selling computers and has diversified its market through mp3 products, mobile phones.
Executing brand extension strategies
The brand extension leverages the name and popularity attached with a widely accepted product to introduce a new product.
The brand extension leverages the name and popularity attached with a widely accepted product to introduce a new product.
For effective brand extension the popular primary product and the new product should be related or be from one domain of products. Like a computer manufacturing company can extend its brand name when introducing a new computer related product like a mobile phone.
Brand extension for unrelated products may backfire on marketing strategy and dilute the reputation of the parent product.
Advantages of brand extension strategies
- Market expansion and diversification.
- Boosts the marketing and advertising efforts.
- Solidifies the brand image.
- Helps in creating initial market buzz for the new product.
Apart from the mentioned advantages there also exists few risks in the brand extension strategy.
These include dilution and damage of existing brand image of the parent or original brand.
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FAQs
Types of brand extensions strategies involves:
(i) Producing a similar product in different forms.
(ii) Extension of a distinctive component in a product.
(iii) Feature owned
(iv) Expertise extension
(v) Companion products
(vi) Brand extension over a similar base of consumers.
Amazon: Amazon started as a bookseller then extended its market with the help of its brand image made over the years. Now it has a wide range of services to offer like payment applications, e-commerce, entertainment industry, and door-to-door services.
Google: It entered the market as a search engine. They explored and expanded the internet-based market successfully to become the top email service provider, AI services, computer-based applications, tech gadgets.
Apple: Apple manufactured personal computers. Since then Apple extended the brand to other gadgets like MP3 players, speakers, television, content streaming service