Key Concepts in Product Marketing and Branding

Staples

Basic and essential goods that consumers buy regularly and consistently, like bread or milk.

Indirect Type Advertising

Focuses on building brand awareness or preference for future sales.

Early Majority

Pragmatic consumers who adopt a product after seeing its success with early users.

Mass-Merchandisers

Large retailers that sell a broad range of goods at low prices, often emphasizing self-service.

Quality

The degree to which a product meets or exceeds customer expectations in performance, reliability, and durability.

Product Assortment

The complete range of products that a company offers to its customers.

Individual Product

A single product within a product line that addresses a specific customer need or preference.

Branding

The process of creating a unique name, design, or image that identifies and differentiates a product from others in the market.

Brand Name

The name given to a product or service that distinguishes it from competitors.

Trademark

A legal designation that protects a brand's name, logo, or symbol to prevent unauthorized use by others.

Brand Familiarity

The extent to which consumers are aware of a brand through previous exposure or experience.

Packaging

The materials and design used to contain and present a product to consumers, often used for branding and protection.

Homogeneous Shopping Products

Products that are similar across brands, with little differentiation, making brand choice based on price or convenience.

Market Growth

The stage where sales rapidly increase, and competitors enter the market.

Receiver

The person or audience who receives and interprets the message.

Encoding

The process of converting a message into symbols, words, or images for communication.

Decoding

The process by which the receiver interprets the sender's message.

Adoption Curve

A model that describes how different groups of people adopt a new product over time, from innovators to laggards.

Task Method

A budgeting approach that allocates resources based on the specific tasks required to achieve promotional goals.

Pioneering Advertising

Used to introduce a new product or concept to the market, often emphasizing its benefits or innovations.

Frequency

The average number of times an individual is exposed to an advertisement during a campaign.

Pass-Along

Content shared by users with others, increasing its reach and potential audience.

Retailing

The activities involved in selling goods or services directly to consumers for personal use.

Scrambled Merchandising

A retail strategy where a store offers a mix of unrelated products, such as a drugstore selling groceries or clothing.

Product

Any good or service offered to consumers to satisfy their needs or wants.

Product Line

A group of related products marketed under a single brand sold by the same company.

Service Mark

A type of trademark used to identify and protect services rather than physical goods.

Brand Rejection

When consumers decide not to purchase or support a particular brand.

Brand Non-Recognition

Lack of awareness or knowledge about a particular brand among consumers.

Brand Recognition

The ability of consumers to identify a brand based on its attributes, such as logo, slogan, or packaging.

Brand Awareness

The level of consumer consciousness about a brand and its attributes.

Aided

Brand awareness measured with prompts or cues.

Unaided

Brand awareness measured without any prompts.

Brand Preference

The tendency of consumers to choose one brand over others based on favorable perceptions.

Brand Insistence

When consumers refuse to purchase any brand other than their preferred brand.

Brand Equity

The value a brand adds to a product based on consumer perceptions, recognition, and loyalty.

Lanham Act

U.S. legislation that provides federal protection for trademarks and prohibits false advertising.

Family Brand

A branding strategy where multiple products are marketed under a single brand name.

Licensed Brand

A brand where the owner allows another company to use its brand name or logo under specific conditions.

Individual Brands

A branding strategy where each product has its own unique brand name, distinct from others.

Generic Products

Products that are not branded and are typically cheaper alternatives to branded goods.

Manufacturer Brands

Brands owned and produced by the manufacturer, typically sold under their own name.

Dealer Brands

Brands owned by retailers or wholesalers who sell products under their own label.

Private Brands

Products manufactured by one company but sold under another company's brand, usually a retailer.

Battle of the Brands

Competitive marketing strategies employed by rival brands to gain market share.

Universal Product Code (UPC)

A barcode system used to uniquely identify products in retail settings for tracking and inventory purposes.

Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act

U.S. law requiring accurate labeling of consumer products regarding contents and other information.

Warranty

A guarantee provided by the seller or manufacturer regarding the condition and functionality of a product over a specified period.

Magnuson-Moss Act

U.S. legislation that governs warranties on consumer products, ensuring consumer protection.

Consumer Products

Goods purchased by individuals for personal use, rather than for business or resale.

Convenience Products

Low-priced, frequently purchased items that require minimal effort from consumers to buy, such as groceries.

Impulse Products

Items that are bought spontaneously without prior planning, often near checkout areas.

Emergency Products

Items purchased in urgent situations, often due to unexpected needs or crises.

Shopping Products

Higher-priced items that consumers compare on attributes such as quality, price, and style before purchasing.

Heterogeneous Shopping Products

Products that vary significantly across brands in terms of quality, features, or style, leading consumers to make comparisons.

Specialty Products

Unique or high-end items with distinct characteristics that lead consumers to make specific purchasing decisions, often with strong brand loyalty.

Unsought Products

Items that consumers do not actively seek out or are unaware of until presented by a salesperson or through marketing efforts.

New Unsought Products

Recently introduced items that consumers are not yet aware of or do not actively seek.

Regularly Unsought Products

Products that consumers typically do not think about purchasing unless there is a specific need or prompt, such as life insurance or funeral services.

Product Life Cycle

The stages a product goes through from introduction to withdrawal from the market: market introduction, growth, maturity, and sales decline.

Market Introduction

The initial stage where a product is launched, with high promotional costs and slow sales growth.

Market Maturity

A stage characterized by peak sales, increased competition, and a focus on differentiation to maintain market share.

Sales Decline

The final stage where sales drop due to market saturation, changing consumer preferences, or better alternatives.

Fashion

A trend that gains widespread popularity for a time, often tied to cultural or social preferences.

Fad

A short-lived trend that spikes in popularity quickly but fades away just as fast.

New Product

A recently developed or significantly improved good or service that meets emerging customer needs or opens a new market.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

A U.S. government agency that oversees fair competition, consumer protection, and advertising practices.

Consumer Product Safety Act

Legislation aimed at protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury from consumer products.

Product Liability

The legal responsibility of manufacturers and sellers to ensure their products are safe and to compensate consumers for harm caused by defects.

Concept Testing

A research process used to evaluate consumer responses to a new product idea before it is developed.

Product Managers

Professionals responsible for overseeing the development, marketing, and performance of specific products within a company.

Biomimicry

The practice of designing products, systems, or processes inspired by nature's patterns and solutions.

Promotion

Efforts to communicate with customers to inform, persuade, or remind them about a product or service.

Mass Selling

Promoting a product to a large audience using media like television, radio, or online platforms.

Advertising

Paid, non-personal communication about a product, service, or brand via various media channels.

Publicity

Unpaid promotional activities, often media coverage, that create public awareness or interest in a product or company.

Sales Promotion

Short-term incentives or activities to stimulate consumer or distributor interest, such as discounts or contests.

Public Relations

Strategic efforts to build and maintain a positive public image for a company or brand.

Integrated Marketing Communications

The coordination of promotional activities to deliver a unified message across all channels.

AIDA Model

A framework for understanding customer behavior in the buying process, focusing on Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

Communication Process

The steps through which a message is transmitted from a sender to a receiver.

Brand Navigator

A person or tool responsible for guiding the development and management of a brand's communication strategy.

Source

The origin of a message, such as a marketer or brand.

Noise

Any interference that distorts or disrupts the clarity of a message.

Message Channel

The medium through which a message is transmitted, such as TV, email, or social media.

Pushing

A promotional strategy that focuses on encouraging intermediaries to stock and promote a product.

Pulling

A promotional strategy aimed at creating consumer demand to encourage intermediaries to carry the product.

Sales Method

A budgeting approach that bases promotional spending on a percentage of past or anticipated sales.

Product Advertising

Focuses on promoting a specific product or service to generate sales.

Institutional Advertising

Aims to build goodwill or an image for a company rather than promoting a specific product.

Competitive Advertising

Highlights why a product is better than competitors, aiming to increase market share.

Direct Type Advertising

Encourages immediate purchasing action from consumers.

Comparative Advertising

Directly compares a product with competitors, often highlighting superior features or value.

Reminder Advertising

Designed to keep a brand or product in the consumer's mind, especially during later stages of the product life cycle.

Copy Thrust

The key message or idea communicated in an advertisement.

Puffery

Exaggerated or hyperbolic claims about a product that are not meant to be taken literally.

Deception

Misleading advertising that can cause consumer harm, often regulated by authorities.

Corrective Advertising

Ads mandated by regulators to address misleading claims made in previous advertising campaigns.

Innovators

The first group to adopt new products, often adventurous and willing to take risks.

Influencers

Key individuals or groups whose opinions can shape others' purchasing decisions.