Polarizing brands

A Harvard business study

A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY

DEBANGITA GHOSHCHAITANYA BHARATHI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY(CBIT), HYDERABAD

Every brand wants to become numero Uno hence its important to play strategic role in its market

In the market polarizing brands has always been able to hold a good promising business career for marketers

To thrive in this environment, brandmanagers need new strategies. These startwith understanding and using a new metric,which we call brand dispersion, thatmeasures polarization. Managers also needto realize that having a group of consumerswho hate your brand can be a good thing:Some companies have boosted sales byincreasing the number of product haters

From the business review this is the list of some selected companies which has its bigger share of lovers and haters

Capitalization on polarization

Placate the haters

Poke the haters

Amplify a polarizing attribute

One way to reduce polarization is to do what most of us do when confronted with peoplewho dislike us: try to change the haters’ minds.Betty Crocker brand, bestknown for cake mixes, icing, and other cook-at-home dessert products, was sufferingbecause of rising concern about obesity, a consumer shift toward low-carb products, andcriticism of food industry marketing techniques. At the beginning of 2008, 4.5% ofconsumers could be classified as Betty Crocker haters.

General Mills took several steps to assuage the brand’s critics. In April 2009 it started asocial network, MyBlogSpark, to promote Betty Crocker

That year Betty Crocker becamethe first major brand to develop a gluten-free baking mix. It soon partnered with celiacdisease foundations and started a website for consumers, liveglutenfreely.com.

By May2011 (the most recent period for which we have data) the share of Betty Crocker brandhaters had dropped to 2.8%. That’s a significant drop, but any reduction in hatersmatters, because even a small number can do damage:

Some companies succeed by intentionally antagonizing brand detractors

Ryanair, a pioneering European discount airline announcedthat it would begin charging for access to toilets on board, remove two toilets from eachplane (leaving just one), create a standing-room-only section, and impose a “fat tax” onoverweight passengers. The only change it actually made was the removal of some toilets—but each provocative announcement put the company in the headlines and cementedits reputation for going to great lengths to offer rock-bottom fares.

Amplify a polarizing attribute

Marmite, the distinctive salty British condiment. Ever since its inception, in1902, it has been a polarizing product because of its strong taste; indeed, its tagline is“Love it or hate it.” To amp up enthusiasm among its most ardent fans, in 2010 Marmitedebuted Marmite XO—an extra-strength version. Using social media, the companyidentified 30 consumers who were especially devoted to the brand, invited them to tastetesting's (complete with Marmite-flavored cocktails), and set up a Facebook group. Thepromotion generated more than 54,000 visits to the company’s website and 300,000Facebook page views, and retailers sold out of Marmite XO as soon as it arrived on theirshelves.

In 2006sales of Magners, a popular brand, soared after a promotional campaign touted it as arefreshing iced summer beverage. The ads helped turn Magners into a hip drink foryoung upscale professionals, a demographic that hadn’t consumed much cider in thepast.The serve-it-over-ice campaign had turned Magnersinto a seasonal drink, and as a result, its sales dropped sharply during cooler months. Inaddition, the brand’s trendiness had distanced working-class consumers from the cider.

The leading brand of cider, Strongbow, observed this success with some envy.

In 2009 itlaunched an ad campaign with the tagline “Bowtime: Hard Earned,” featuring images ofworking-class drinkers hoisting glasses of Strongbow as a reward for a hard day on thejob. The strategy succeeded: Although hipsters began to view Strongbow negatively, itsappeal among traditional cider drinkers intensified—and as polarization increased, so didsales.

Strongbow has maintained its leading position in bars and pubs, and in 2009 itssales in the fast-growing off-trade market rose by 23%—beating sales in the overall cidermarket by 6%.

And SOME fame comes with negative publicity ..

SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS IN PLAYING A REFREE FOR POLARIZING BRANDS

Animal rights “peta” organization pulled down KFC for its daily slaughter on birds yet KFC emerged as a leading chicken loving fast food brand

Some companies gain good publicity from negative brand-cat-fights…

EXAMPLE..

BRAND FIGHTS HAVE BROUGHT LOVERS AND HATERS BOTH OUT TO BUY THEIR PRODUCTS IN A WAY TO SUPPORT THEIR BELIEF ON THAT PRODUCT

LAUNCHING A PROVOCATIVE AD OR FEATURINGA TOON CHARACTER FOR ENDORSING A BRAND IS THE BEST IDEA TO CREATE POLARIZING EFFECT

AND THE BEST BRAND IS IN INDIA ITS NONE OTHER THAN….