First comes love, they say, and then comes marriage. At Vera Wang, next comes lifestyle. Vera Wang’s latest brand extension, Vera Wang by Serta, is an extension from a usage context. Brides- to-be shopping for a bridal dress most likely will be looking into other newly-wed lifestyle products - a luxurious mattress. From previous brand extensions such as lingerie and flowers that were extensions from emotional benefits, to extensions into Wedgwood china and crystal - luxurious house-hold product gifts for newly-weds – are also brand extensions from usage context. While Vera Wang’s brand identity is premium quality, and wedding dresses’ imagery is related to love, the extended “love” is a happily married life, thus a premium quality mattresses/ bed that brings comfort and intimacy, a brand identity extension. Serta’s campaigns’ tagline, “Life is but a dream”, is actually a high-level driven benefit that is an emotional extension from the parent brand, because the target audience fantasize dream-like weddings and aspire to perfect marriage life. However, Vera Wang by Serta is a bit far-stretched from the core product brand. The core competency, product attributes and a functional benefit of a fashionable wedding gown is far from mattress and beds. There is also a great gap in the distribution channel, from boutiques in high-fashion districts to Serta stores. While the price of a Vera Wang by Serta mattress could be only one fourth of a Vera Wang wedding gown, the target audience for Vera Wang by Serta mattress could be those who aspire to have a Vera Wang wedding gown but are only able to afford a mattress designed and endorsed by Vera Wang. That said, the extension target is subtlety different from the parent brand, judging from the price, the distribution channel and the consumer attitude. Undoubtedly, this brand extension causes confusion to the consumer, and the price and distribution channel will deteriorate the parent brand image. However, a Vera Wang by Serta mattress is helping to expand the category. With Vera Wang’s endorsement, it has already created much buzz to create awareness for the luxury mattress category. While there wass not much product differentiation within mattresses and beds, Vera Wang by Serta creates a strong brand differentiation within the mattress category, which is beneficial to Serta.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Celebrity Endorsement ( but confused as brand extension)
I: Vera Wang by Serta
First comes love, they say, and then comes marriage. At Vera Wang, next comes lifestyle. Vera Wang’s latest brand extension, Vera Wang by Serta, is an extension from a usage context. Brides- to-be shopping for a bridal dress most likely will be looking into other newly-wed lifestyle products - a luxurious mattress. From previous brand extensions such as lingerie and flowers that were extensions from emotional benefits, to extensions into Wedgwood china and crystal - luxurious house-hold product gifts for newly-weds – are also brand extensions from usage context. While Vera Wang’s brand identity is premium quality, and wedding dresses’ imagery is related to love, the extended “love” is a happily married life, thus a premium quality mattresses/ bed that brings comfort and intimacy, a brand identity extension. Serta’s campaigns’ tagline, “Life is but a dream”, is actually a high-level driven benefit that is an emotional extension from the parent brand, because the target audience fantasize dream-like weddings and aspire to perfect marriage life. However, Vera Wang by Serta is a bit far-stretched from the core product brand. The core competency, product attributes and a functional benefit of a fashionable wedding gown is far from mattress and beds. There is also a great gap in the distribution channel, from boutiques in high-fashion districts to Serta stores. While the price of a Vera Wang by Serta mattress could be only one fourth of a Vera Wang wedding gown, the target audience for Vera Wang by Serta mattress could be those who aspire to have a Vera Wang wedding gown but are only able to afford a mattress designed and endorsed by Vera Wang. That said, the extension target is subtlety different from the parent brand, judging from the price, the distribution channel and the consumer attitude. Undoubtedly, this brand extension causes confusion to the consumer, and the price and distribution channel will deteriorate the parent brand image. However, a Vera Wang by Serta mattress is helping to expand the category. With Vera Wang’s endorsement, it has already created much buzz to create awareness for the luxury mattress category. While there wass not much product differentiation within mattresses and beds, Vera Wang by Serta creates a strong brand differentiation within the mattress category, which is beneficial to Serta.
First comes love, they say, and then comes marriage. At Vera Wang, next comes lifestyle. Vera Wang’s latest brand extension, Vera Wang by Serta, is an extension from a usage context. Brides- to-be shopping for a bridal dress most likely will be looking into other newly-wed lifestyle products - a luxurious mattress. From previous brand extensions such as lingerie and flowers that were extensions from emotional benefits, to extensions into Wedgwood china and crystal - luxurious house-hold product gifts for newly-weds – are also brand extensions from usage context. While Vera Wang’s brand identity is premium quality, and wedding dresses’ imagery is related to love, the extended “love” is a happily married life, thus a premium quality mattresses/ bed that brings comfort and intimacy, a brand identity extension. Serta’s campaigns’ tagline, “Life is but a dream”, is actually a high-level driven benefit that is an emotional extension from the parent brand, because the target audience fantasize dream-like weddings and aspire to perfect marriage life. However, Vera Wang by Serta is a bit far-stretched from the core product brand. The core competency, product attributes and a functional benefit of a fashionable wedding gown is far from mattress and beds. There is also a great gap in the distribution channel, from boutiques in high-fashion districts to Serta stores. While the price of a Vera Wang by Serta mattress could be only one fourth of a Vera Wang wedding gown, the target audience for Vera Wang by Serta mattress could be those who aspire to have a Vera Wang wedding gown but are only able to afford a mattress designed and endorsed by Vera Wang. That said, the extension target is subtlety different from the parent brand, judging from the price, the distribution channel and the consumer attitude. Undoubtedly, this brand extension causes confusion to the consumer, and the price and distribution channel will deteriorate the parent brand image. However, a Vera Wang by Serta mattress is helping to expand the category. With Vera Wang’s endorsement, it has already created much buzz to create awareness for the luxury mattress category. While there wass not much product differentiation within mattresses and beds, Vera Wang by Serta creates a strong brand differentiation within the mattress category, which is beneficial to Serta.
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