A review of extension and endorsement branding strategies

Brands have become an essential part of our daily lives. We love to be associated with brands in wide variety of products we use daily. Therefore, companies take extra efforts to ensure the success of their new brand launch. The paper highlights the broad branding strategies prevalent in the market. Today, companies are moving away from multi-brand strategy to adopting extension and endorsement strategies. This is because such strategies offer long-term benefits to the company besides reducing the cost if managed properly. In the age of generic products (where no tangible differentiation exists among substitute products), globalization, competitive changes in the economy, accelerated pace of technological changes and increased market fragmentation, brands are occupying a distinct place in the marketing strategy to differentiate goods and services. A brand is something that resides in the mind of consumers because of perceived differential effect of the brand vis-à-vis other products in the same product category. A well-communicated image establishes brand position in the market thereby insulating the brand from other competitive brands and ensures continuous sales growth in the form of undefeatable brand life cycle. Through efficient brand management one can extend the product life cycle (PLC) infinitely and turn the brand into an immortal entity.