Know-How Exchange : Branding

Hi.

if you want to differentiate your logo you have to make it different :-)

Unless you deliberately pursue an imitation strategy you must ensure that in order to differentiate. Furthermore maybe it would be wise to register your logos, names and all related material. Intelectual Property rights should provide you some protection.

some questions I have:
Whats your industry? It's essential to give you ideas, I'm afraid.
Furthermore, do you have permission from FIFA to do your campaigns?

Regards,
Antonio

Ugh. This sounds like a major problem. Increasing awareness of brand is a tough proposition in the food sector simply because it is so crowded.

It sound like your boss is looking to stand out and be known as something different even though you are the same as your competitors in almost every way in their eyes. All of the advertising in the world isn't going to help this. Also, simply changing a logo isn't going to help either. You need a different identity for your brand all together unless there is some really strong reason not to do this. If you begin fresh, you will capture more attention than advertising you undifferentiated brand. In the long run, this is the better investment.

If this is completely off the table, then you need to refocus on the differentiating points of your brand as your pitch and not the brand itself. Let's face it, the food sector is pretty boring...nothing new really happens, the margins are lousy, and it is very crowded. So, the question you have to ask is if anyone care about what you want to do? If not, you need a different audience? Who are you trying to affect by advertising your logo? The store buyers or end users? You would do very different things with each one. Repositioning your brand if you are unwilling to change it graphically may be your only option. Refocus your position to get some more space to be able talk with your customers.

If any of this isn't clear, send me a message.

JMR

I believe that you need to address two different, yet related issues:

1. I have to agree with Jonathan. It sounds like your brand is in need of a new target position.

You need to explore the relevance of your brand and pursue a position that sets it apart from conventional market thinking. A brand is a promise to deliver a clearly stated benefit that is relevant to consumers and sets the offering apart from competitors.

2. A new identity doesn't have to mean abandoning the old. Global brands such as GE, Coca Cola and Apple have updated their brand identities on a regular bases. These subtle changes were designed to keep the brand's visual aesthetic current, while maintaining style and tone. If you were to compare the logo type that Coca Cola used 20 years ago, and the current version in use today, you would see a significant change. However to the average consumer this transformation was seamless.

This tactic may appease your general manager by starting to visually separate the brand from competitors while not sacrificing brand equity.

cheers,
Mark Gallagher

Hi Evantech,

As per your description: you have same product, same company name and same logo compare to your competitors. That’s really strange! There should be some difference 4P - Price, Place, Product and Promotion. There are some companies holding the same name but do different operations / sale different product. After reading carefully I have few things to say:

As you know in today's post-accession economy the food industry finds itself facing increased competition and regulation. If you have the best products in the world, but if you can't market it then you won't sell it. So the best way of the marketing is to find out what you have and what your competitors don’t have it – competitive strategy.

As you said your company were exporting few products - cold cuts, soups. Why don’t you try to get that market again? You need to define your product again. Changing the logo won’t bring any attention from customer’s side. What they want from food industry – clean and healthy product. Why don’t you try to promote your food is healthier than competitor. Do the SWOT analysis again.

You can update your company logo along with new promotion strategy such as packaging and discount (pricing strategy) on the product. E.g., 100g extra; you also need to get in touch with local supermarket and local shops. After all the food industry is one of the most fundamental, dynamic and innovative sectors of the global economy. Very few changes are happening in the food industry, so you need to use 4P- Price, Place, Product and Promotion to extend your market.

I hope this will help!

Regards,

M Bhor