What Is Product Branding?
Branding for products involves the application of the branding strategy to a particular product or service.
It's the affixing of a name, symbol and style with an item to make it recognizable for the product.
Branding for products can be extremely complex including focus groups, several rounds of design and so on.
However, it doesn't need to be. It's as easy as creating a logo and selecting the name and color for packaging.
Corporate Branding vs. Product Branding
Product branding is one type of branding, however it differs in many important ways from the overall branding.
Company branding remains constant across the branding and should encompass the entirety of a brand's identity.
It may even indicate the company's values.
However, product branding is more specific. It differentiates a particular specific product ( or a family of products, such as the potato chips from Lay's) from competing products as well as other offerings from this same firm.
Sometimes, the branding of a product removes products from the company that creates it.
Let's continue with this previous instance. Who is the maker of the potato chips that Lay's sells?
Ultimately, it's PepsiCo. But , in what kind of world would you be tempted to buy ( much less eat) Pepsi Chips?
Pepsi is so widely recognized as a brand of products that it has polluted the name itself in a sense.
However, PepsiCo is a well-loved and well-known brand to such an extent that switching to something that is more generic ( like Funtime Snacks and Drinks) is likely to be a dangerous decision.
The solution? Branding of the product.
PepsiCo makes chips and granola bars, hummus, and breakfast cereals throughout the day. But, they must make these products under distinct branding and that's precisely what they do.
The graphic shows the extent to which the biggest brands go about this.
Yes, in some instances this happened through acquisition, but not via organic brand recognition. But the basic principle remains.
Is Product Branding Worth the Investment?
Absolutely, any level of branding is well worth the cost.
Why? Because you're trying to increase the number of sales you make!
The goal of branding your product is to differentiate your product from others.
You're creating or narrowing your market to the exact people you wish to reach.
If you do not invest any effort in branding for your products and branding, you'll be left with a plethora of boring and poorly-defined products.
Your sales will reflect it.
The main issue isn't whether the product's branding is worthwhile. It's the amount you should put into branding your product.
This will be contingent heavily in the amount of money you have invested into your business along with the profit margins for your company.
This part isn't too difficult. Global media companies invest much on brand recognition for their products. Startups are spending a lot less.
We've all seen instances of brands that could have invested more money, don't you think? It's all about confusing, vague brand names, with logos that look amateurish
