Branding on Product Development Process

¶ … Branding on Product Development Process

This work in writing conducts research in making an examination of branding during the product development phase. Discovered is a specialized research toward that end and which process is described.

Product development is more extensively researched in today's market than in previously and more research is undertaken toward branding during the product development phase than traditionally.

The purpose of this work is to research the impact of branding on the product development process through a review of selected literature on this subject.

In the work entitled: "Creative Branding Research" stated is: "Branding decisions drive branding marketing research and advertising tracking strategy. Corporate, product and advertising brand development is a mix of creativity and marketing information to uncover brand positioning opportunities in cluttered market spaces." (2006)

The following illustration labeled Figure 1 is the flow for a brand development engagement showing the integration of creative and branding research. In this flow shown the management of the creative process with recognition given to the many different "mindsets -- creative and analytical --required for positioning success." (Ibid) Research studies related to branding many times begin with 'Brand Base Research' then 'Brand Qualitative Research' and "targeted quantitative "Brand Screening survey" studies.

Flow for a Brand Development Engagement

Source: Branding Research

http://www.powerdecisions.com/branding-research.cfm]

According to Harvey Briggs in the work entitled: "The Value of Integrating the Brand Experience into the Product Development Process": "In the past few years, companies have begun to recognize that the success of a new product starts long before the actual design process. As a result, they have started to look upstream to consumer research to improve the odds of developing a marketplace winner - a process sometimes considered "brand-centered product development." (2005) Examples provided by Briggs are Harley Davidson: "a 2003 co-winner of PDMA's Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award" and the company Nike.

According to Briggs "Although a brand may seem like an unsubstantial thing compared with a physical product, it is the one thing you have that can never be copied - if you protect it. Protecting a brand involves communications, legal defense, and other tools, but one emerging strategy is to develop new product ideas that enhance and support the brand." Briggs states that: "Increasingly that means looking upstream to understand things about the consumer or the market that your competition doesn't yet know. You can do that either by adding in-house research capabilities or by turning to research partners to help define the emotional experience the customer has with the brand and the products that embody the brand." (2005)

Additionally related by Briggs is: "A brand-centered approach turns traditional product development thinking on its head. Instead of coming up with a "better mousetrap" and then trying to fit it into the brand by adding design or graphic elements, a brand-centered process starts with the intangible things that make up the soul of the brand experience, then works back to the nuts and bolts." (2005)

Product designers of the traditional type are likely to find."...a brand-centered process frustrating because alot of great ideas get rejected, either because the projected market is too small, or because the products doesn't fit the brand." This research is not "quick, easy or cheap but it pays dividends in the long run by focusing the brand team and quelling internal disagreement based on personal opinion, as opposed to verifiable consumer attitudes." (Briggs, 2005)

The following figure labeled Figure 2 illustrates the "Brand-Crossroads Decision Points"

Brand-Crossroads Decision Points

Source: Briggs (2005)

At this point the questions asked are those of:

Does the new product fit under the brand's current umbrella?

If yes, how does this product enhance the brand?

If not, is it possible to broaden the umbrella?

If not, is the opportunity great enough to justify the expense of creating a new brand for this product? (Briggs, 2005)

According to the work entitled "Product Development Stages": During the product concept' stage several important questions must be asked in order to identify the value proposition of the product. Those questions are:

What extra value does the product bring to the marketplace?

How does the product create value for the customer?

How is the product different from what is offered in the marketplace now?

Will customers be interested in and willing to buy your product?

How many customers will buy your product? Will they buy more than one? (Product Development Stages, 2006)

Additionally stated is the fact that there are: "four businesses processes where value can be added" which are the:

1. New product development process: innovation by addressing a need, introducing new materials, design features, brand name value, workmanship, packing, quality.