By: Pranay Vakil, Chairman, Praron Consultancy
Track2Realty Exclusive: A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company. Branding, according to me, is a double edged sword which grants an advantage of building clientele, loyalty, trust etc but also burdens the shoulders with an added responsibility and obligation to defend the ‘Brand’ so far created persistently.
With market globalization and cut throat competition, a huge pressure is created to develop the business and service concepts to thrive in prevailing competitiveness. Therefore, an idea of making a product or service well-known and recognized trademark is to emerge as a brand.
The real estate business is a service activity, where the key person is the occupier of the premises, the customer, whose needs must be supported by the real estate services. Brand concept in the real estate business will be the ability of the business model to produce or create mass-tailored, individual products and services.
Here the customers are mainly the occupiers and hence the four major factors that determine real estate brand which an occupier relates with are –Location, Services, Image and Functionality i.e. Performance.
This also raises a question as to what are the gains that developers earn from branding. The span of a real estate projects is long so it is important to take care of the operations and value stability throughout the life cycle. The real estate developer has several strategic choices to build up a brand. The developer may build up the brand for an individual project, real estate company, or even self centered.
In addition to the developers, many other parties are also party to real estate business: investors, enterprises offering services, actual occupiers of the premises, customers of the occupiers, land owners, government etc.
Branding in such ventures becomes difficult with the involvement of so many partners who have their own brand name. In such case developer has no 100 per cent control over the branding activities. If things go right then it is successful campaign or else it ends with negative branding.
The most popular brands and the best brand campaigns have been created out of a smart and simple strategy. It is our perception that makes us believe the concepts that are driven in society. It is the perception that defines tastes, choices and way of living. Strategic branding works in not just altering brand perception, but also change the ball-game in the respective industry. Creativity is open to subjectivity and a well formulated strategy can channel this creativity into translating a product into a successful brand.
Brand concept is therefore not just advertising, but strategic choices by the management. Lodha’s branding campaign for their luxury premium projects defines that strategy has led to a successful campaign having top recall value. Realty with huge spend on branding exercise along with FMCG, retail and telecom, needs to hit the right perception with strategic creativity.
…to be continued
