As I was looking through the blogs in our section, I got caught up by my group mate, Liam’s post that surrounds the theme of brand = trust.
After reading his post on Nestle, unconsciously I found myself looking through the different product categories in the product lines and chose those that I have tried before. Just like Liam, I’m quite familiar with Nestle as their ice-creams and Kit-Kat are so popular globally. Although Nestle only offer certain stock keeping units in my home country, their success in the ice-cream and chocolate bars market has helped to build a firm customer base as well as the trust developed towards the brand.
I totally see the point that line extension and brand extension are useful in the differentiation process. However, in comparison, I think brand extension is a more persuasive tool in speeding up the buying decisions of consumers. The presence of the brand, Nestle on whichever products that they are retailing is the key point to getting the deal done in speed of seconds.
In this case, Nestle has developed depth in its product line of chocolate bars, which include Aero, Big Turk, Coffee Crisp, Kit-Kat, Turtles, Rolo, Mack Toffee and Smarties. In all the products mentioned, Nestle has their brand printed on the packaging which utilize the trust of consumers towards their brand. In marketing and advertising, I think this is an effective approach in maximizing the chances of success in selling the products. Customers will not be reluctant to try a different stock keeping units since they are under the same brand.
Their marketing strategy is clear; they want to have big market share and huge volume generated under the name of Nestle. They stand a position in my evoked set while shopping for food. I bought their ice cream, Carnation chocolate drink, Kit Kat,Smarties, Nescafe and my favourite drink, Milo. One of the most salient reasons of me purchasing the products is that they are all Nestle’s products and it must be good. They have earned my trust in this case. Like what the textbook mentioned, brands facilitate purchasing and establish loyalty besides reduce marketing costs.