Invisible Brands.Consumer forgets the brand once the product is installed. .

Branding constraints:

Ask anybody what brand of tiles or what brand of glass or what brand of cement or paint is used in his or her house. Chances are most of them would be blank and will take a wild guess. The primary reason for this is the product does not permit to have a branding which is prominent and visible.

Products related to the construction material such as, steel, tiles, cement, paints and glass, which were sold as commodity year’s back has now realized the need of branding their products. All these products have now transformed from commodity to brand. But the biggest challenge these products face today is they are seen as brand and remembered as brand at the time of purchase. Thereafter the brand goes out of mind and out of sight once the products are installed. The consumer does not take the trouble to remember.

The other day I had visited my friend’s house who had just refurbished his house with some new flooring. Since it looked very impressive I was prompted to ask the brand used but to my disappointment the brand could not be recalled. In most of these cases the decision on buying the flooring tiles to a large extent is left with the mason or the architect.
The end customer is involved but not evolved so much as his or her knowledge on the category is low. We go to shopping malls enjoy the experience, ambience, appreciate the flooring , the walls which are aesthetically done using tiles, glass ,aluminum laminates and the latest paint technology with great shades but unfortunately the brand name is not visible on these products.

The irony is that all these invisible brands have helped the construction companies to create and build their own brands. Today even after the construction of a mall or a township is complete one will remember a DLF or a Hiranandani but the construction products used tends to take a backseat.

Demerits of not branding :

Consumers today are buying brands and hence it is of paramount importance to ensure that they stay connected with the brand. By not able to get their product branded marketer lose out a lot. And therefore they need to put that much extra efforts and also invest extra money in getting the brand top of mind and get it into the consideration set of the customer, to retain the share of mind amongst their audience. The other handicap of not having the brand on the product also prohibits the strong word of mouth communication as the consumer is not evolved with brand on an on going basis like a consumer durable or any other FMCG brand.

How marketers are countering?

To maintain the equity and recall of the branded products in category like steel, glass , tile and cement , companies have stepped up their marketing efforts to connect with the consumer closely. Retail outlets have created strong visibility outside their outlets to keep the brand top of mind with eye catching dealer sign boards and attractive packaging designs for the products. Exterior paint companies have made it a point to display their brand name while the work is in progress. Decorative paint brands are strongly present in TV on a national level. Flooring brands have been effectively using print medium to move to the consumer closer. Apart from being present in technical and architect journals these brands have also has now moved into film based and general magazine to reach out the general consumer. Tile brands are also getting associated with event like fashion show to create hype and buzz around the brand on a continuous basis

In spite of all these efforts the marketers have still not come out with an answer to the counter the product branding. It is a tough proposition because of the inherent factors and the characteristics of the product category.

Tough challenge ahead :

Marketers must take up this challenge and find out new ways to get their brand visible at the consumers end. In the case of engine oil also one tend to forget the brand that has been used in the vehicle but since the frequency of replacing is high you get connected with the brand either through advertising or check out with your garage owner as to what brand of oil he has poured in the engine. Another interesting illustration one can refer is the brand INTEL. The product is actually not visible. Here the technology is branded but the consumer is strongly entrenched and connected with the brand because of the sheer brand experience he has come across working on his PC’s and laptops. Where as in the case of flooring the product is visible but since it is a low in involvement the consumer is not so serious and curious to remember the brand on which he or she is walking.
Even in the case of glass products efforts have been made to inscribe the brand name on the product but does the branding stays back once the glass is installed or fixed? Are consumers able to recall the brand name ?

The one way branding can be made visible is to have a good understanding with the construction houses to create some vantage point with in a apartment or malls where in there can be a permanent display of brands installed with in the complex. Ensure that the builder uses the brand names of the product used in sales brochures and other sales kit. This can to some extent help in recalling the brand. In the malls, which are offering today electronic media you, can communicate saying the brand of flooring or glass used. With huge footfalls at malls this will definitely touch the consumer and reinforce the brand recall. It is a tough task but marketers must find out some path breaking creative solution to make the brand visible with the end consumer.