Brands are something quite unique. Each brand forms a personal relationship with consumers; they are able to make us feel more confident, more powerful, healthier and happier. A brand has USPs (Unique Selling Proposition), specific features which set it apart from its competitors. For example, Barbie was the first doll to look like a young woman, and a metal rivet was the unique feature of Levi jeans. Both brands have had numerous imitators, but a ‘me-too’ product won’t achieve the success of the one it follows.
Competent managers have to know how to position their brand in relation to the competition, in terms of factors like price and quality of the product. Managers should relate the brand’s values in a meaningful way to the consumers they have targeted.
At the end of the 1990s, Apple needed a concept that would give it a bigger share in the home computer market. Apple identified that customers wanted a computer, which was user-friendly and compact. Apple responded by coming up with iMac. Unlike ordinary computers, it was all in a single unit. You could plug in its single lead and phone connection and be online in just a few minutes. What’s more, it was available in range of bright colors. Result: it sold like hot cakes.
