Brand loyalty takes place when a customer decides to repeatedly purchase a product of the same brand instead of a substitute product produced by a competitor.

Most of the times we see die-hard fans of a certain brand, or super consumers for certain brands like Apple Products, Harley-Davidson, and Royal Enfield. Brand loyalty is emotional attachment to a brand.
Management gurus have coined terms like “King Consumer”, “Lead Consumer”, and “Super Consumer” for a customer who is obsessed with a brand. They are not only heavy users of the product of a certain brand but also have a certain attitude towards it. They are also known as “High passion fans”.
These loyal consumers not only buy products for themselves but also influence everyone in their social circle to buy the brand they follow.

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Brand forms an important part of product strategy. Brands can convey several meanings to buyers. For example, Nike stands for trendy, quality and well-engineered products.
Brand is something that resides in the minds of consumers. It is important to convey to the customers to buy a product by giving it a name and using brand elements to help identify it. Identity is important to help make customers make a choice from among offerings in the market. For example, a customer can make a choice from a number of washing powders in the market like Tide, Ariel, etc.

Definitions of Brand-
• A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combinations of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. – American Marketing Association.

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Branding involves cost as well as risk of losing reputation if it fails to click in the target market. Marketers have to assess various options and make decisions when branding a product. Below are the key decisions that are of utmost importance-

1) Brand-sponsor decisions –
Here marketers decide whether to launch the product as –

a) Manufacturer brand – It involves building brand identity by applying the company’s/ manufacturer’s brand to products. For example, TATA, Nike.

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What are the factors considered for selecting and combining brand elements?
American Marketing Association has defined brand equity as –

“The value of a brand. From a consumer perspective, brand equity is based on consumer attitudes about positive brand attributes and favourable consequences of brand use.”

Professor Philip Kotler has defined brand equity as –
“The positive differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product or service.”

David Aaker defined brand equity as –
“A set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that adds to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firm’s customers.”

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We will discuss various aspects of packaging form its objectives, functions, and packaging decisions.
Packaging and the need/objectives of good Packaging –

Packaging is the process of designing and producing the wrapper or container of the product. With customer preferences and choices given priority amidst competition, packaging holds high importance in influencing customers to buy the product. Packaging is always a first point of contact with the product. It has to create a favourable impression on the customer to try the product.

Today customers look for variety when buying a product because of which there is emergence of supermarkets and shopping malls where customers can choose a product of their choice by personally inspecting it rather than depending on a salesman. Different kinds of materials are used for packaging depending on the product characteristics – wooden boxes, earthenware, gunny bags, cardboards, glass, Tin, Tetra packs, plastic, etc.

Below are the reasons that an organisation invests in good packaging strategy-
1) Self-service – in the era of self service, packaging on the product identifies and markets a product. When a customer visits a supermarket he/ she will see a number of products from different manufacturers. Most of the time the customer buys a product basis the attractiveness of the product packaging. A well packaged product creates a favourable overall impression and influences the buyer to try the product.

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