In the modern economy, brands play the role of global communicators between sellers, products, and buyers. Branding embodies a special technology to create consumer-based and trust-based symbolic associations and informal connections that expand relationship marketing capabilities. With the help of brands, manufacturers not only inform consumers about the key values of their market offerings but also strive to make their business more sustainable by enlisting the support of loyal customers. Consumer brands serve as a guide among competing products and firms, reducing market uncertainty and saving time on purchasing decisions. In the case of Apple, the company applies the concept of brand building, which allows them to possess a loyal customer.
Most experts perceive the concepts of brand and reputation as synonymous, given the unity of their historical origin and linguistic community. However, some authors see certain differences between them, considering that not every trademark is or can become a brand, and for this, it must gain fame in the market and trust from buyers (Bobrie, 2018). In the framework of the classical brand management model, the identity of the content of the brand concept is preserved. The brand elements or related ideas are brand name, mark, slogan, trademark, business reputation, and brand image (Bobrie, 2018). Under the brand name, it is important to understand the verbal part of the company image in the form of letters, words, or combinations. A mark or logo is a part of a brand that is recognizable but unpredictable, such as a symbol, a drawing, their color and font design, and sometimes a tune (Saardchom, 2014). The slogan accompanies the brand name and its logo in marketing communications programs in order to harmonize the distinctive features of the brand.
Today, all organizations, including non-profit organizations, are striving to create a strong, favorable, and unique brand image. This is especially true about Apple, which became highly successful by investing in the concept of brand building. It leads to the fact that Apple gains a mass of loyal customers, who dismiss the flaws of Apple’s products and purchase them regardless of quality (Bobrie, 2018). The main reason is that the process of buying allows them to be part of Apple’s innovative and futuristic attitude. A strong, recognizable brand, regardless of the differences with which it is associated, such as functional, rational, or emotional, is a powerful factor of competitive advantage in the modern economy. Purposeful activities of brand development and management are called brand building (Bobrie, 2018). As brands evolve, they gradually proceed to change their conceptual content. In the post-industrial world, the classic brand management system may fail when faced with the challenges of globalization, changing business conditions, complicating brand architecture, with multiple brands operating on the markets, aggressive brand extensions, and complex sub-brand structures.
Therefore, Apple’s powerful brand-building approach allows them to retain its loyal customers. This leads to a steady but strong expansion of the market share due to the fact that customer loyalty does not require an outstanding product (Saardchom, 2014). Most of the new brands entered the existing markets using the strategy of creating new brands, either relying on the experience of predecessors or proclaiming new values. This allowed Apple to outperform competitors and attract potential consumers. Thus, high-quality brands, such as Apple, have an attractive image and a number of significant advantages, which makes them the most preferred (Saardchom, 2014). These brands are aimed at a long-term strategy of creating a powerful brand image in the mind of the consumer. All consumers are accustomed to trusting high-quality and proven brands than new ones. The best development policy is the creation of a high-quality, exclusive brand and then the creation of brand extensions to satisfy individual needs.
It is important to remember that a high-quality brand creates a positive image for the consumer, and therefore, it will always be the foundation of the business. It’s almost impossible to turn a mass-market brand into an exclusive and high-quality one. And that is why many car companies, such as Nissan, which are associated with consumers as comfortable and inexpensive cars and not as luxurious and exclusive, replenish their brand portfolio with an exclusive Jaguar offer (Saardchom, 2014). Brand renewal strategy is one of the ways to enhance brand reputation in the eyes of potential consumers, creating a more powerful version of the original brand, which gradually replaces the original. Most often, this effect is achieved by adding the prefixes “Ultra,” “Super,” and “Extra” to the product name (Bobrie, 2018). Such actions do not change the key proposal radically but strengthen the position of the brand in competition.
In conclusion, the brand expansion strategy is mainly used by the makers of fashion clothing brands, offering other items related to clothing to its consumers. Such an approach allows us to provide consumers with additional products that are already known under a certain brand. The possibility of choice always attracts buyers. Once the brand has achieved success in the market, brings high profits, and controls a large market share, you can embark on a strategy for brand expansion. Brand expansion strategy does not require large investments compared to the launch of a new product. The actions of brand expansion are associated with insignificant risk and require much less investment than the creation and launch of a new brand.
References
Bobrie, F. (2018). Visual representations of goods and services through their brandings: The semiotic foundations of a language of brands. Recherche et Applications En Marketing, 33(3), 122-144.
Saardchom, N. (2014). Design patent war: Apple versus Samsung. South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 3(2), 221-228.