Brand Connection

Buyers make decision to purchase a product not only just by choosing a brand but
also to make sense of and connect with the brand. Therefore, redefining customers
purchase criteria is one of the most powerful ways competitors can wrest market
leadership from competitors. Given the example of Coca-Cola in the article, the brand
would easily attract investors looking for future returns if all its physical assets around
the world were to mysteriously gone up in flames one night. Although the recovery
might take time, effort and money, but Coca-Cola would face little difficulty in raising
funds to get back on its feet. On the contrary, it would be difficult for Coca-Cola if all
consumers around the world could not remember its brand name one day even though
all its physical assets remained intact. The downstream competitive advantage, which
is, consumers connection with the brand, is a more severe blow than the loss of all
upstream assets.
Another company which is very successful in connecting its brand with its
consumers is Pandora. Connecting with the brand includes creating an attitude
towards the brand and becoming personally bonded or attached to it (Schmitt, 2012).
The concept of create your own is the core competencies within the Pandoras
business concept when it comes to their jewellery and is proving a huge success on all
markets it operates in. Create your own appears to be its best-selling strategy of its
best-selling jewellery, the charm bracelet. Consumers get to design their own unique
Pandora bracelet by choosing charms to represent their life's special, magical and
unforgettable moments, crafting their own individual stories. Wearing the bracelet is
like wearing a collection of wonderful memories represented by each charm, making
those unforgettable beautiful moments last forever. The bracelet captures the unique
style and inner emotions with symbolic charms representing the consumer

themselves, connecting the consumers with the brand that Pandora offers (Zhang,
2015). The additional business concept of selling jewellery, in which clients are
allowed to accommodate their own designs is the essential part incorporated into the
strategy. This generates the expression of individualized and personalized product
design cherished by the consumers. The option in picking and choosing different
charms which relate to the consumers gives them a sense of custom made privilege
(Syam et al., 2005). This creates a unique connection between the pieces of jewellery
with them, a personal collection of special moments that makes them who they are.
The key element is that with Pandora, everyone has the opportunity to create their
own unique jewellery piece, possessing a one of a kind product which expresses their
individuality.
Besides, Pandora is always working into creating valuable relationships with
its customers and establishing loyalty in the collaborations. The company discovered
multiple ways to attract new clients and retain existing ones by fostering customer
loyalty through channels such as Pandora Club and the social networking method,
which is their Facebook official fan page to increase interactions with its clients.
Pandora aims to make real connections with its clients and make genuine touch on
their hearts so that they stay long in the clients minds, creating a sense of belonging
to the brand (Rio et al., 2001).
Choose Your Battleground
Product positioning determines the competitors of the product in the market. In
downstream, one can actively place itself within a competitive set or away from
competitors in the market. In downstream marketing strategy, the determining criteria
are positioning in the mind of customers, positioning among competitors and pricing.

Based on the article, Brita filters changes its competing strategy by placing itself
among bottled-water instead of among other water filters in the kitchen appliances
department. With this, Brita filters possess a competitive cost advantage, which is by
providing clean, drinkable water at a lower cost as compared to bottled water. At
downstream, one can choose its product positioning as a winning strategy under
competitive market environment.
Nestle breakfast cereal, especially Nestle Koko Krunch and Nestle Honey
Stars are winning among its competitors simply by using product positioning strategy
in the downstream. In supermarkets or grocery stores, both of these products not only
being merchandised among the breakfast cereal shelves but also being placed in the
snacks area, particularly the less healthy junk foods. Instead of competing tightly
among the cereal competitors, Nestle Koko Krunch and Nestle Honey Stars possess
competitive advantage among other snacks as a healthier snacking option when they
are placed in the snacks area, leading to greater tendency of purchases when
consumers are shopping for snacks, particularly junk food. By entering the healthy
snack food market, Nestle breakfast cereal is entering a potentially profitable market
as people nowadays is becoming more health conscious and is gradually switching to
healthy lifestyle (Lau et al., 2013). When comes to snacking, mothers are choosing
healthy snacks for their children (Ilkay, 2013). This product positioning strategy opens
up new opportunities to Nestle Koko Krunch and Nestle Honey Stars instead of just
being marketed as a breakfast cereal product (Story & French, 2004). Company can
develop power over competitors by creating preferences towards their products in
downstream customers (Porter, 2008).

References
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