Business-to-Business Branding: Building the Brand Powerhouse

Research and Markets have announced the addition of the 'Business-to-Business Branding: Building the Brand Powerhouse report to their offering.

For many business-to-business organizations, branding historically has been an uncomfortable subject. Such firms traditionally have been managed on the basis of the four Ps" of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. Organizations felt that if they built superior products at a low cost, managed the sales and distribution channel well, and promoted the product line, they would achieve marketplace success. Indeed, this has been the hallmark of marketing management for nearly 50 years. Senior management in business-to-business organizations apparently believed that all business purchasing decisions are rationally based. They feared that brand building was a topic suitable only for makers of toothpaste, automobiles, or luxury apparel; it was too emotional, too soft, or too squishy for products that sold through a buying process considered rational.

In recent years, however, a number of factors have contributed to changing this traditional point of view. Firms find it difficult to stand out among a crowded field of companies offering similar and increasingly commodified products and services. In many cases, the four Ps" are no longer the key to sustainable competitive advantage. In fact, they now are simply the table stakes every company must leverage to simply stay in business. Furthermore, the advent of interaction and the Internet encourage a recognized name that is linked to specific capabilities, values, and competencies. And there has been considerable interest in how brand strength translates into increased shareholder value through enhanced cash flows, reduced costs, increased customer retention, and enhanced asset value.

This study is an examination of how eight business-to-business marketers have built strong brands. Each firm has arrived at its position of prominence through a different, sometimes indirect, path. However, each has a compelling story of how they grappled with the difficult issues of brand strategy, positioning, brand communication, and results measurement in an industrial or technological context. The organizations provide valuable lessons on how to build powerful and enduring business-to-business brands.

Twenty-two companies participated in the study. Among them were 14 sponsoring organizations that helped shape the areas of inquiry and select which companies would be asked to host site visits. The remaining eight organizations participated in the study as partners. These firms had been identified through expert research as leading practitioners in one or more of the five focus areas. Partners provide the best-practice benchmarks against which sponsors can examine and compare their own branding practices and policies.

FOCUS OF STUDY

This study sought to examine five key areas of business-to-business branding.

1. Brand architecture-how best-practice organizations balance and manage corporate, divisional, and product brands and leverage brand equities across the organization

2. Cobranding-how business-to-business organizations build brand value through initiatives such as ingredient branding, licensing, composite branding, and
sponsorships

3. Development of the brand-value proposition or brand promise-how business-to-business firms use tools and processes to distill the brand to its essential values and articulate a memorable and compelling brand promise to external and internal audiences

4. Integrated brand communication-how leading practitioners plan, budget, and execute brand communication programs across the full spectrum of communication venues to customers, prospects, employees, investors, and other relevant stakeholders

5. Measuring success-how organizations monitor brand equity and determine the return on investment of their branding activities

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/40878

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