Branding of an after shave brand

When it comes to branding of an after shave brand how can it be really done ?well i am not an expert on this but based on my personal experience as well as on some insights i will like to evaluate some thing like an after shave on various parameters .I think some thing like an after shave can be perceived on following parameters

1) Medicinal purpose:- an after shave is supposed to be an antiseptic , that takes care of the skin after shaving . Well this is what an after shave is supposed to be doing but since this is a basic requirement from any after shave this parameter cannot be used for differentiating a brand , for that matter if medicinal purpose is the only factor then there is hardly any difference between an after shave or lets say alum or an antiseptic cream .

2) Price :-the role of price in branding does not look very clear over here. But one thing is for sure that is since it is a luxury brand a price some how in the higher side will do favor .

3) Packaging and color :- Things like packaging and color of an after shave product will definitely play a vital role in building the brand value of the product. A good packaging and color will not only give a feel good factor to the consumer but will also prompt the consumer to show it to their friends there by multiplying the band value.

4) Advertisement :- a brand like an after shave is not a basic need , it is more of a desire and so for any such kind of product it is very essential that it should be promoted in a very stylish and glamorous fashion .The advertisement should strike instantly with the consumer psyche , it should be in a position to compel the customer to spend few extra bucks from his pocket to get the brand. In view of this it becomes essential that an advertisement for an after shave brand should contain added flavors of glamor, style or sensuality .Those elements should be produced in such a beautiful way that it must compel the viewer to connect himself with the brand .For exp:- an advertisement that promotes an after shave as a product which helps in attracting females then in that case the ad should be made in such a mesmerizing way that it must compel the viewer to think that after applying it his sex appeal to the females will increase two fold.

These above given factors are important for developing the brand value for some thing like an after shave but a very important fact that has to be considered is that these factors do not directly affect the consumer, the impact made by stuffs like lets say the packaging or advertisement will either be of some imaginative nature or aesthetic purpose or at most of ego satisfaction but to make a mark as a brand it is very essential that the brand must make a deadly impact on the consumer while he is using , as a consumer(as a consumer not merely as a customer ) there must be a chord between him and the brand.As a product it must give some direct value addition to it's consumers ,for this purpose in my opinion two parameters are very essential .

a) Feeling of freshness that the shave can give and the longevity of freshness :- by feeling of freshness i mean the cooling effect which the after shave gives and the smooth skin that one gets after applying the shave .This is some thing very important for building the brand value of the after shave, a point to be noted over here is that not only the intensity matters but what does matter is the longevity, because the more the feeling freshness will prevail the higher will be the bond time between the brand and the user and stronger will be the impression of the brand in the eyes of the user .

b) Fragrance and its longevity :-Similarly fragrance and its longevity are also very essential factors that can help in building the brand value of an after shave brand. Fragrance is something that directly impacts the consumer .So its quite natural that a nice fragrance will make a strong impact but a very important factor that has to be taken care of is that simply a strong fragrance is not going to serve the purpose since mostly any after shave brand has strong fragrance , what does matter is the longevity of the fragrance , like freshness the higher the fragrance will remain the stronger will be the impact. A nice fragrance will make the first impression but if it will vanish of soon then it cannot reaffirm it self, but if the fragrance can maintain it self for a longer period of time then every time the nice soothing smell will enter the nostril of the consumer the higher will be the feelings of the consumer for that brand.Longevity of the fragrance will ensure a prolonged positive interaction between the consumer and the brand and will surely give enough time and space to the brand to win the heart of his consumer .

IN THE END I WILL LIKE TO LIST DOWN ALL THE FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT THE BRAND VALUE OF A PRODUCT LIKE AN AFTER SHAVE IN INCREASING ORDER OF THEIR SIGNIFICANCE :-

a)Medicinal use.
b) Price .
c) Color, Packaging, Advertisement.
d) Freshness and it's duration, Fragrance and it's duration.

Emirates Airlines: Brief Introduction

               fig 1 : fly Emirates logo ( source: telguprofessional.blogspot.com)                                                           

Dubai based Emirate airlines, is among the most successful airlines in the world. This largest airline from the Middle East had played a vital role in shaping up the Emirate state from a, oil rich Emirate to a global tourism destination. In the following blog, author will attempt to give a brief description comprising of, history, profile, strengths, corporate strategy and areas of concern, for the airline.

History:

After its independence in 1974, Dubai along with other Emirates were served by Gulf Air, but since the very beginning  relationship between the airline and Dubai was tensed, owing to Dubai’s unwillingness to abandon its open skies policies. In 1985 when Gulf Air reduced its flights to and from Dubai by 2/3 rd, the ruling elite at Dubai realized, to have an exclusive airline for Dubai , hence Emirate Airline (having just two carriers at that time) was born with   an initial investment of US $ 10 Million from the government. The 1st ever flight departed to Karachi on 25th October. In 1987 it started its European operation with flights for London and Frankfurt. A perfect exemplar of phenomenal success stories, Emirate airline had kept on almost doubling itself every three years, growing with an average growth rate of 25% annually. Presently not only it is serving 100 destinations across 60 countries but had also won myriad prestigious awards and accolades. (Andreas E, Alexander K)

Facts and figures (2010)

• Fleet size: 152 ( Boeing: 91, Airbus: 61) + 18 on order/ planned (Boeing:5, Airbus: 13) (planesspotters.net, 2010)

• Average age of the fleet : 6.5 years (planesspotter.net, 2010)

• Destinations served : 100 destinations, 60 countries

• Financials: revenue: US $ 11.8 Billion, profit: US $ 964 Million ( a 416 percent increase over 2009) (emirates.com, 2010)

• Employee strength : 36, 000 approx

• International passengers: 25.9 Million (2009-10), 7th highest in the world in terms of number of passengers. ( arabiansupplychain.com, 2010)

• Number of flights per week : 2400

• Head office: Dubai

• Key people: Chairman and CEO: Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President: Tim Clarke

Parent Company

Emirate airlines, is the part of the bigger conglomerate namely Emirate group, with a range of individual companies, serving various verticals of international travel and tourism industry. Emirate airlines comprises of; Emirate airlines, the biggest airline of Middle East; Dnata, an aviation service company providing ground handling services; Emirates Holidays, providing tailor made holiday packages to over 100 destinations; Congress Solution International , a PCO (professional conference organizer) offering a wide range of services; Arabian Adventures , offering wide range of overland adventure programs such as deep sea diving, desert safari etc; Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, an exclusive conservation-based resort bordering the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in Australia; Mercator, Emirate airline’s IT solution provider, is a leading supplier to IT solutions across the globe; Emirate’s engineering, maintaining the expansive fleets of Airbus and Boeing of Emirate airline as well as seven other airlines through 3rd party maintenance contract ; Alpha flight Group Limited, an in flight catering company employing more than 6000 people and serving 58 airports across 11 countries. Beside these, Emirate group also has a wide range of joint ventures such as; Emirates Flight Catering, Emirates Leisure Retail, MMI, Oman United Agencies etc. Emirate Group, employing more than 40,000 individuals from 160 nationalities is a state run entity, managed by Dubai Investment Holding. (emirtaesgroupcareer.com, 2010)

Strengths (Andreas E, Alexander K)

• Political support: Emirate Airlines had been  very crucial with respect to Dubai’s  strategy of transforming itself into world class tourism cum commercial hub, hence the airline was always up on the agendas of the ruling elite of the Emirate.

• Strategic location: Dubai’s is strategically placed between the crossroads of North and South as well as East and West, there is hardly any major agglomeration in the world which is not with in 8000 miles from Dubai. Some 3.5 Billion populations reside with in an 8hr flight from Dubai. The strategic location had played a major role in transforming Dubai into a a very successfull tourist destination. Strategic location coupled with easy immigration policies (transit travelers do not require clearing emigration at Dubai airport) have also helped Emirates Airlines being preferred by many transit travelers.

• Indirect subsidies: it is said that Emirates had been indirectly subsidized by the government of Dubai in the form of almost no charges being paid for various at Dubai airport, such as, ACT, noise and security charges.

• Top class service and high labor productivity: another competitive advantage for Emirates had been its ,great services in almost all the class and  high labor productivity. A study done by UBS in 2005 showed that Emirates per unit cost was 40% lower than that of KLM.

• Tax free regime: the tax free regime at Dubai had not helped in adding to the over all profitability of the airline but also in attracting high quality human resources from all across the globe.

Corporate Strategy (Andreas E, Alexander K)

• Focusing on healthy mix of both O & D (origin and destination) as well as transit travelers.

• Focusing strongly on cargos. 20% of the revenue comes from cargo for Emirates Airlines.

• Along with organic growth strategies, it had adopted inorganic ones as well ,such as having a 43.6% stake in Srilankan Airlines.

• Providing high quality services in all classes.

• Maintaining high frequencies , serving every location at least twice weekly.

• Making strong presence in underserved markets such as Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Hamburg, Cochin, Kolkata etc.

• Making strong presence in markets such as Sub Saharan regions that have been so far unconnected to the global air traffic network due to lack of a effective national carrier.

• Markets itself very strongly, though over all marketing budget is confidential but is expected to be 3-5 % of the overall revenue. Out of the wide range of PR and marketing strategies used, sponsoring major sporting events are at the fore front of its branding agendas.

Areas of Concern:

• Politically unstable Middle East: the present unrest in Middle East poses serious concern for the Emirates Airlines. Though UAE is enjoying a peaceful political climate, but the uprising in various parts of the gulf and Middle East, will surely result in apprehensions, among the travelers in visiting the region.

• Emerging carriers from the region such as Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways are posing tough competition to Emirates Airlines. Though yet to break even, their strategy of matching Emirates level of service in comparatively lesser price is can be a source of serious threat to Emirate airways.

Reference:

1> Andreas E, Alexander K, how sustainable is Emirates business model, available at < http://www.aerlines.nl/issue_38/38_Knorr_Eisenkopf_Emirates_Business_Model.pdf >

2> Planesspotters.net, 2011, Emirates: details and plane history , available at http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Emirates

3> Emirates.com , 2010, emirates group makes record profit this year, available at < http://www.emirates.com/fr/english/about/news/news_detail.aspx?article=567011 >

4> Arabiansupplychain.com, 2010, top 10 international passenger airlines, available at < http://www.arabiansupplychain.com/article-4997-top-10-international-passenger-airlines/1/print/  >

5> Emiratesgroupcareer.com, 2010, Emirates Group Company, available at http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/english/about/companies/  Default.aspx

6> Andreas E, Alexander K, how sustainable is Emirates business model, SWOT analysis available at < http://www.aerlines.nl/issue_38/38_Knorr_Eisenkopf_Emirates_Business_Model.pdf >

7> Andreas E, Alexander K, how sustainable is Emirates business model, Emirates business model, available at < http://www.aerlines.nl/issue_38/38_Knorr_Eisenkopf_Emirates_Business_Model. pdf