In the course of a brand’s existence, its positioning must change to keep pace with market development. A successful company knows that a market’s evolutionary path is affected by emerging needs, technology, channels, competitors and other factors. The company must continually utilize marketing research to help decide if it needs to add new product attributes.6
I will use American Express as an example to support my position. American Express was founded in 1850 and began as an express freight company. In the 1880s, it moved into finance, transferring funds from the European settlers in America to their families back home. In 1891, it launched its first innovation– traveler’s checks, revolutionizing both the travel and finance industries. In 1958, it launched its second innovation—the American Express card. For the past 50 years, the American Express card has been portrayed as a symbol of status. Its famous slogan is, “Membership has its privileges.” In recent years, it has changed from an exclusive to an inclusive brand.
People now use an American Express card to pay for their rent. Today, American Express is still the most respected service brand.7 American Express has a clear vision, strategy, and right execution with innovation. It utilizes the product-oriented approach to demonstrate it has superior products and core values with a point of difference. Its brand message is clear, believable, relevant, and consistent. It also utilizes the market-oriented approach to position itself to keep pace with the market development and to add new attributes to its products and services. The example of American Express clearly demonstrates that brands can live forever.
1. Matt Haig, Brand Royalty (London: Kogan Page Press, 2004), 46.2. Ibid., 191.3. Ibid., 283.4. Ibid., 158.5. Ibid., 209.6. Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Marketing Management, 12th ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005), 331-35.7. Haig, Brand Royalty, 17-18
I will use American Express as an example to support my position. American Express was founded in 1850 and began as an express freight company. In the 1880s, it moved into finance, transferring funds from the European settlers in America to their families back home. In 1891, it launched its first innovation– traveler’s checks, revolutionizing both the travel and finance industries. In 1958, it launched its second innovation—the American Express card. For the past 50 years, the American Express card has been portrayed as a symbol of status. Its famous slogan is, “Membership has its privileges.” In recent years, it has changed from an exclusive to an inclusive brand.
People now use an American Express card to pay for their rent. Today, American Express is still the most respected service brand.7 American Express has a clear vision, strategy, and right execution with innovation. It utilizes the product-oriented approach to demonstrate it has superior products and core values with a point of difference. Its brand message is clear, believable, relevant, and consistent. It also utilizes the market-oriented approach to position itself to keep pace with the market development and to add new attributes to its products and services. The example of American Express clearly demonstrates that brands can live forever.
1. Matt Haig, Brand Royalty (London: Kogan Page Press, 2004), 46.2. Ibid., 191.3. Ibid., 283.4. Ibid., 158.5. Ibid., 209.6. Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Marketing Management, 12th ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005), 331-35.7. Haig, Brand Royalty, 17-18
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