Product Differentiationand Branding

Toby BossESU 6

Essential Questions

• Why do firms seek to differentiate their products?

• How does advertising and branding apply to differentiation?

• What are some examples of personal branding?

Objectives

• Discuss Differentiation• Discuss social media as a branding tool

Products

• Goods and Services• Some products are identical• Examples– Produce– Electricity– Propane– Air Travel?

Prices

• If goods are truly identical (electricity, propane) the only difference between goods would be the price.

• The sellers are price takers – if they raise the price; they will sell 0

• If they lower the price they will not sell any more units.

• Take the price set by the market

Perfectly Competitive Markets

• Many small firms• Identical products• Price takers• Easy entry and exit• Most firms break even

Product Differentiation

• Firms seek to set their products apart from the rest so as to charge a different price.

• Typically they use the following:– Packaging– Quality or functions– Service– Advertising

• Branding sends a consistent message that is identifiable.

Advertising

• Sunk fixed cost• Sunk:– Once you invest there is no asset to sell later– Compare to equipment – if a firm invests in a

building; they could potentially sell it later• Fixed Cost:– Doesn’t change with the level of output.– A commercial doesn’t cost more or less depending

on how many units a firm produces

Advantages

• Big firms had an advantage in advertising• They can spread the fixed costs over many

units• There is always a risk – remember “New

Coke”?

Branding

Logos

• What comes to mind when you see each of these brands?

Super Bowl

• $4 million for 30 second spot• What do the stats say?– Source: Click Z Marketing News

• http://goo.gl/Bx8RIU

Super Bowl Stats

• 82,586 football fans watched Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey

• 100 million football fans watched Super Bowl 2014 for almost 3.5 hours in four quarters plus a half time on the Fox broadcast television network.

Super Bowl Stats

• based on YouTube's data, football fans watched Super Bowl ads more than 265 million times for over 3.2 million hours – which is the equivalent of watching 914,285 Big Game broadcasts.

• Based on YouTube's pre-game data for 2014, it looks like the online views of this year's Super Bowl commercials are running about 2.2 times above last year.

Super Bowl Stats• And the top five in views are:• Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial -- "Puppy Love"

with 37 million views.• Duracell: Trust Your Power - NFL's Derrick Coleman, Seattl

e Seahawks with 16 million views.

• Hyundai Elantra | Big Game Ad | "Nice" with 12 million views.

• 2014 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial: Wings with 11 million views.

• Sorry, Coke and Pepsi. (Uncensored) with 10 million views.

Personal Branding

• Some examples

Wikipedia

• Personal branding is, for some people, a description of the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands.

• the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual… leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable.

Example

• Celebrity real-estate mogul Donald Trump uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g., Trump Steaks).

• What are some other celebrity brands?

Differentiation

• So what sets you apart?– Skills– Education– Experience– Vision

Social Media

• What do you want your message to include?• Your digital tattoo – make sure your image is

what you want to convey.• “Times Square” Analogy

Social Media

• How can you use these to convey your brand?– Twitter• Tweet retweeted 3 times will reach 100,000 people• Hashtags

– Web 2.0 tools – blogs, Google• Everyone can publish• What will you say?

Pinterest Board

• Ideas on personal branding• http://pinterest.com/lynneherr1/personal-bra

nding/

Daily Infographic

• How to Brand Yourself

Reflection

• What do you want your personal brand to say?