Dimensions of value--the name game: winning tactics fit consumer lifestyles by creating reasons and occasions for product use. The benefit should be easy to identify.
Thursday, January 1 2004
What's in a name? In marketing terms, the answer could provide the ammunition that gets your brand picked up from the shelf and put in the shopping cart.
As you begin to consider the merits of this tactic, keep these brand names and subnames in mind: Mini Chips Ahoy! Big Bag. Hidden Valley Ranch. Easy Squeeze. Folgers AromaSeal Classic Roast. Tostitos Party Bowl.
Marketers behind these and other similar products recognize the limitations of a product name. They're going beyond merely assigning a name to a brand by creating reasons and occasions for product purchase and use.
This allows names to work harder, describing what the product does of how it works. That makes the product more intuitive and likelier to reach the store checkout.
In deciding on a descriptive name, the goal is to hook consumers either through the brand's emotional benefit or the product or package's functional benefit.
How well the right name engages consumers determines the impact on the marketer's bottom line.
Hone in on the focus
With more marketers using this approach, it's evident that shouting "New!" or "Improved Formula!" on a package, by itself, no longer goes far enough in winning over consumers. They are becoming more marketing-savvy than ever, yet they face a glut of new products seemingly every time they visit a store. They understand that improvements to product formulas often aren't measurable after product use.
The point is this: A brand name or product descriptor should focus on a "feel-good" attribute or a tangible product or packaging benefit that consumers can readily identify.
Marketers who are gaining an edge employ a strategy that centers on one of five options.
Option 1: Size and information descriptors
One set of descriptors that can set your brand apart focuses on size and information. Brands that leverage these descriptors help consumers to understand where and how to use a product.
Coca-Cola "Mini," an 8-ounce can of soda pop bundled into a six-pack, shows how this strategy can work. The beverage company's research found that a market exists for smaller sizes among women and kids.
The 8 ounce size responds to women's desire for a smaller serving than the 12-ounce size. It also answers kids' needs for a smaller package for school Lunchboxes or that can be consumed quickly between classes.
