Are Brands Dead for Good?

“Brands are dead!” says Marketing guru, Faith Popcorn. Consumers are asking themselves, “Why would I buy a 50 oz Tide for $20 when I could buy a house brand for $3.99?” But she is not the only one declaring a fateful decline of brands. Brand values are down across the board, according to a new study by Interbrand. When budgets are tight, are consumers thinking about brands or price? Studies show consumers tend to look at store shelves, not the products on them.

Though name brands might be taking a hit today, what happens when we emerge from the recession and we have more disposable income? We’ll hand over the debate to our three industry commentators: Ana the Analyst, Creo the Creative and Connie the Consumer.

Will brands be the titans in 2015 that they were in the 1990s:

Ana: Marketing guru, Faith Popcorn, doesn’t seem to think so. A new study by Catalina Marketing and the CMO Council indicates that 52% of consumers who were highly loyal to certain packaged goods brands in 2007 became “markedly less so last year.” This is consistent with Faith Popcorn’s findings from the “Culture of the Recession” Study, which indicated that 48% had made a “conscious decision to switch from a brand name product to a store brand/private label product.”

Connie: Until recently, I did buy name-brand packaged goods. Everything from Tide to Coca-Cola was in my shopping cart. As money has been tight, it’s been difficult to maintain the shopping habits I had accustomed myself to. Since I’ve made the transition to more private label purchases, I haven’t notices an incredible difference. Though I must stay, RC Cola has much more flavor than their competition. Other than that, it’s just slight adjustments here and there. After we emerge from the downturn, I don’t think I’m going to go back to 100% name brands. I like saving an extra few bucks.

Creo: Let me ask you Connie, how did it feel to buy name brand?

Connie: Good, actually.

Creo: Ah ha! You had an emotional connection to the brand. It is those brands that bridge the gap between just laundry soap to a feeling of freshness and comfort. Through creative wit, Marketers and advertisers can still create the connection between consumer and brand. Beyond creative wit, marketers are increasingly…

To read more about Branding, go to Sparxoo, a Digital Marketing, branding and business development blog.

About the Author

Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development.

Sodastream Pure Starter Kit The Soda Stream Home Soda Maker is a fun, cost effective and eco-friendly addition to any home and a must have item for soda lovers. The idea is simple. Making your own soda gives you ultimate flexibility in your flavoring options without having to buy, carry and store large quantities of cans or plastic bottles. Each bottle of Soda Stream flavoring syrup makes the equivalent of approximately 33 1…

Stoner 94203 GUST Easy Air Duster – 12 oz. $5.70 When you dust with Stoner GUST Air Duster you get a blast of extremely clean, filtered, moisture-free, high pressure propellant that won’t scratch or harm glass, optics, metals, plastics, rubber, or delicate electronic equipment. With GUST, there’s no need to wipe. Simply blow away dust, dirt, and contaminants by squeezing the trigger. GUST’s unique variable pressure trigger lets you control the d…

Amstron 12V 7AH Agm Sla Battery 12 Volt 7A Rechargable Vrla Battery $20.67 Amstron AP-1270F2 General Purpose Battery Sealed Lead Acid Battery…

Amstron 12V 18A Agm Sla Battery 12 Volt 18AH Vrla Recharge Battery $45.99 Amstron AP-12180NB General Purpose Battery Sealed Lead Acid Battery…

The Catalina Marketing Story 1983-2000 $16.50 …

CATALINA MARKETING CORP.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (Financial Performance Series) $210.00 The goal of this report is to assist managers in gauging a company’s financial performance vis–vis firms competing in the same sector, at the global level. In particular, this report covers CATALINA MARKETING CORP., ST PETERSBURG, USA. With the globalization of markets, greater foreign competition, and the reduction of entry barriers, it becomes all the more important to benchmark a company’s p…

Michigan sales tax: real object test applied to mixed transactions. (Tax Tidbits).(Michigan Court of Appeals rules in Catalina Marketing Corporation and … Article): An article from: Leader’s Edge $5.95 This digital document is an article from Leader’s Edge, published by Michigan Association of CPAs on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 527 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: Mi…

Permatex 81878 #101 Sensor Safe Ultra Copper Hi Temp RTV, 3 oz. Tube $3.43 Permatex Ultra Copper. For 4 cylinder, turbocharged or high performance engines. The most advanced, high temperature RTV silicone gasket available. Sensor safe, low odor, noncorrosive. Superior adhesion. 3 times more oil resistant than conventional silicones; 8 times more flexible than cut gaskets. Temperature range 75 F. to 700 F. intermittent; resists auto and shop fluids and vibration. Suggeste…