My first experience managing an underdog brand began while leading the processed cheese business for a large multinational. From memory, I had a budget of about 40 cents – whilst my friends working for Vegemite had so much gold to spend, their desks used to bend in the middle from the weight of it all. At least, that’s how I remember it.
Most brand management jobs are unlikely to be with market leaders. There can be only one leader in any category, with everyone else looking for the best way to snap up their share. In real terms – most smaller businesses generally don’t have massive marketing budgets – and even if you are managing a global brand, you are unlikely to be the number one brand across all markets.
This means understanding how to grow and build smaller brands is the job most of us in marketing have. It can be tough to know if you are focusing on the right areas and if your actions will make a difference. Late last year, the Ehrenberg Bass team released an insightful article providing direction on what can make a difference for small brands. It’s one of the best resources I’ve seen on this topic – so check it out at the link below:
What resonated with me from this article was that even if you don’t have a big budget, you should always work to build your Mental Availability. This can be achieved by:
- Talking to more people
Every exposure can nudge a potential customer. Every exposure increases your chance of being bought. - Associate with a Category Entry Point
Find the biggest ones, and direct your focus to what counts. - Be consistent with your branding
Be clear and consistent with your distinctive assets. Whilst this
might seem obvious, many brands try to do too many different things and often change things up – to their detriment. It’s better to be persistent and consistent.
You must also be prepared to hustle when building smaller brands. If you’re committed to working closely with the trade to drive your physical availability, you will soon find that every extra distribution point also means a sale. This also goes for increasing your online presence: you need to spend time growing your online awareness and availability daily to see results.
And the best part? Once you’re in charge of the big brands and budgets, you can enjoy the challenge of keeping all the smaller brands from nibbling away at your market share.
Also, cheese is nicer than Vegemite.
(sacrilege for an Aussie, I know!)
