Beyond branding

by Joe Marconi

Like the adage about Mark Twain who was quoted as saying, "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," many marketers have erroneously pronounced the death of the brand. Driven by factors such as changing lifestyles, dramatic demographic shifts, a drawnout recessionary economy, the resurgence of private-labels and house-brands, price wars and promotional gimmicks - and, at a more fundamental level, the raging battle between manufacturers and retailers over shelf space - marketers have been lead to believe that the age of strong consumer loyalty and brand leadership is a bygone era. "Don't count out the brand just yet," responds author Joe Marconi. In Beyond Branding, Marconi implores the reader to take a new look at how smart marketers are building and leveraging brand equity to develop new business lines and to open new markets. Despite years of "me too" product introduction and consumer-price consciousness, marketers increasingly acknowledge, that in the mind of consumers, a