Brand: The real soul of a product or service

Brand: The real soul of a product or service

Cepi Husada, Contributor, Jakarta

This is probably a record-breaking figure. Until mid-2003,
every month McDonald's Indonesia has been selling at least one
million fried chickens to meet the demands of its customers, who,
obviously, are enthusiastic consumers or "aficionados" of the
special menu available at the world's most renowned fast-food
outlet.

In its country of origin, America, McDonald's popularity
initially depended on its burgers and french fries. In Indonesia,
however, the introduction of fried chicken to the menu --
pioneered by McDonald's Indonesia -- has increased its popularity
and consequently opened up new market segments.

It was Bambang N. Rachmadi, the franchisee for Indonesia, who
came up with the idea: McD fried chicken. His decision years back
to open McDonald's outlets here as the franchisee for Indonesia
was applauded by many as this is a brand recognized around the
world for its reputation for quality products and excellent
service. On top of that, McDonald's has always been famous as the
place that gives its customers a special experience, much of it
fun-related.

In this context, food, or any other product for that matter,
has to be presented or, rather, enveloped in a brand with all its
ambience as well as the trust it has built and maintained among
its customers. As a brand, McD can be cited as being exemplary in
successful branding incorporated in its customer-oriented
marketing.

For some years now every modern company's marketers have
realized the importance of a brand and its maintenance. Enhancing
a brand does not always entail grand and expensive strategies,
but even the smallest giveaway or extra something, like reward
points or the specially created gifts handed out by McD, can do a
lot for the brand and, naturally, sales at the end of the day.

Another strategic branding story is that of Park Hyatt Tokyo,
which has been successful in positioning itself as one of world's
best hotels. From its very early days in the early 1990s, it
positioned itself as the most expensive hotel among Tokyo's
hotels. Even during Japan's economic recession, it kept its rates
higher than other hotels in the city. Those who thought this
strategy was tantamount to harakiri, or suicide, were proven
wrong. It not only retained its market share but sales even grew
significantly. This was attributable to the hotel's brand,
meaning not only the products and services in the physical sense
but more about the ambience along with the other frills.

This proves that brand equity -- the soul of a brand -- is one
asset to be nurtured consistently by giving customers more than
they expect. "When we say 'give the customers the best', we mean
it and act on it. It's not merely a slogan. That's how we take
care of our brand image," said its marketing director, Hirohide
Abe. Designwise, Park Hyatt Tokyo is also unique, as quite
different from what one may expect, the hotel looks more like a
museum or an art gallery. This design also lends an air of class
to Park Hyatt Tokyo. Famous for its excellent service, the
hotel's 178 rooms are almost always fully occupied year in year
out. Seventy percent of its guests are those who want to escape
from the daily humdrum routine and discover another kind of world
here. The hotel's restaurants, likewise, enjoy huge sales and are
fully booked most of the time. For the New York Grill, one often
has to be on the waiting list, which is sometimes one week.

Another feather in the hotel's cap is the survey conducted by
Nikkei Business Magazine on top Japanese executives who voted the
Park Hyatt Tokyo as the best business hotel in Japan. Conde Nest
Traveler magazine, based in England, also ranked the hotel as the
world's number two hotel for excellence in all categories. This
goes to show how a brand with all it encompasses can make a
product or service a winner in today's fierce competition.

In the automotive industry, brand has also proved to be a
vital asset in marketing. The New Beetle, for example,
manufactured by Volkswagen (VW) of Germany, is today one of the
favorite cars among American teenagers. Its small size -- a huge
contrast to the large American cars years back -- plus unique
design and superior features have for some time been an
inspiration for some of the world's major car makers, like
Chrysler and BMW.

VW cars with their strong brand equity for years have proven
themselves as respected contenders with last year's sales
increasing by 14 percent and market share by 2.5 percent
(including Audi's figures, its sister company). With a price
range that is 20 percent higher than its competitors in the same
category does not impede its marketing performance. Until this
very day the VW Beetle, with up-to-date designing, features and
enhanced engine, remains the favorite car of many.

In the world of computers, Macintosh has a success story of
its own. "Other PC makers have customers. Apple has fans, even
believers," said Steve Jobs as quoted by Fortune. The CEO and one
of the founders of Apple Incorporated further said that Apple had
always been a company, and more, a faith. He claimed the reason
was the company and its products had a soul. A soul, he
explained, that consisted of more than just features that far
exceeded the customers' expectations. The result was skyrocketing
sales of iMac within six weeks after its launch in 1997: 278,000
units. The profit for the company was a staggering US$309
million. This was in contrast to the one billion dollar loss
suffered by the company one year before Jobs returned. Jobs and
his branding strategy contributed to this achievement, which
strengthened the image of the brand in the eyes of its consumers.

Hence, it has now dawned upon many marketers that a brand is
much more than a collection of product features or purely
functional benefits. It is a psychological element, more like the
soul of a product or a service. It works most effectively in the
consumers' minds, where choices are made, or, like advertising
executives say, the battle of mind-share occurs. If a company
wishes to win, its brand has to reign. Tom Peters must be right
then when he wrote the line: "Brand! Brand! Brand! That's the
message for the late 1990s and beyond." in his book The Cycle of
Innovation. -- The writer is Community Marketing Manager of
McDonald's Indonesia.