Brave new Branding

It is interesting to see a brand truly extend, and do it well. The obvious choice in talking about Brand extension would be to mention Virgin. Virgin is a company that nearly cannot even be defined because it has branched out almost every way a brand can. Virgin has everything from cell phones and music labels, to trains and airplanes. Could it be time to wonder how much else Virgin could possibly do with its brand?

Sometimes Brand extensions don't really work, this usually happens because the extension has a hard time connecting witht the parent brand. The new product lacks similarity, so the consumers cannot make any connections with the new product and its brand. Another reason brand extensions sometimes fail, is because of inconsistent IMC messages, the brand is simply not doing a great job at promoting the new product and getting people excited about the product.

Companies have to be careful when extending their brands, having too many extensions could aid in the brand losing its entire personality, and lead to the consumers forgetting what the original parent brand was in the first place. Brand extension could also damage the consumers perception of the existing brand. I think that Brand extension is usually a good thing for a company, especially if it is a successful one. Getting your brand out there in as many possible ways as you can is great for building brand preference and loyalty among consumers.