Answer:
Introduction
The report aims to shed light on an issue relating to brands and brand community. Branding is one of the most important factors that every organisation needs to consider. Without a proper brand image, no organisation can gain a competitive advantage in the business market. However, the technique related to branding is different for different companies (Aaker, 2013). Online retailers such Amazon, eBay and Alibaba use different techniques in order to brand their products. The report analyses these techniques while making comparisons and contrasts between the branding techniques that are used by the companies. The branding in the post-internet era is analysed in the report to provide a clear idea about the techniques.
Branding issue
In the modern world, branding refers to building up an image that can have a positive impact on the minds of the customers as well as the business. The process of branding is involved in finding a creative name for a product or organisation in order to attract the customers. This is done by the use of advertisements that are consistent with a particular theme. Organisations aim to improve the brand image in order to attract the people and make them loyal to the company (Armstrong, 2014). It is often stated that the brand image portrays the character of an organisation. The idea of branding a product is to create a sense of perception among the customers about the products that are being purchased. In the modern era, the use of branding has increased considerably.
With the advent of the internet, e-technologies have managed to upset the asymmetry of information. Consumers can interact with the organisation and the brands. Not only interactions, most organisations and customers aim to create their own brand in order to start a successful business. Brand management has been provided with a relaxation strand by the internet. Compared to the earlier days, branding or brand image have changed significantly in the modern days (Hollensen, 2015). The strategies related to branding have also changed keeping in mind the requirement of the organisation and the customers. Prior to the internet traditional branding was important for creating a specific image for the brand.
The decision regarding creating a particular brand image lay with the corporate managers and any decision made by the managers remained as final. However, with the advent of the internet, branding symbolises participation and creation of meaning. Online branding cannot be done by taking command or controlling of one person. Hence, in the post-internet era branding have undergone a significant change in order to satisfy the customers and improve the reputation of the organisation (Severi, 2013). Customers use the social media in order to gain information about their favourite brands and make purchases based on the information. The internet is one of the greatest promotional methods that are used by the customers as well as the organisations. In this regard, the difference of branding in the post-internet era and pre-internet era is stated.
It has been seen that the enactments of the brands change rapidly. Post-internet era factors such as physical delivery and returns, a location of the brand and the speed at which these are delivered to the customers were considered as the best method for branding. However, post-internet, the factors have changed to the use of blogs, widgets and other social media. This allows customers to provide their feedback related to a particular branding image. Thus, the strategy of involving customers can also be fulfilled with the application of the internet. Hence, in this regard, the approaches adopted by online shopping companies such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba can be considered.
Comparing and contrasting marketing approaches
As stated earlier, the advent of the internet has seen a dramatic change in the approach to branding. Online companies have been developed and control over the physical stores has been taken over by them. It has been seen that most physical stores supply their products to these online companies in order to improve the brand image. However, this has not been the case in the recent business world. People are more into recognising a brand based on the online shop that is delivering the product. This can be stated by the popularity of Amazon.
Reports claim that Amazon is taking away the power that is attached to the brand name of an organisation. It has been seen that big branded companies such as Lenovo, HP, Cheerios sale their products using Amazon. Consumers are influenced by the delivery service and the prices of the products charged by Amazon. Thus, customers base their understanding of a product through Amazon rather than the company that is originally manufacturing the product. Such competition has caused a great issue for the manufacturing companies, as the physical stores of these companies are not visited by the people. Online shopping based on the name of the shop is being used in order to make a suitable purchase (Marketwatch.com, 2017).
In this regard, it can be said that competition among the online shops also exists. This is because improving the brand image is also required for the online shops. The manner in which this can be done depends upon the strategic analysis of the policies and procedures adopted by the competing shops. For example, eBay has managed to launch brand campaigns that highlight the manner in which the people of Australia shops. This was done after anticipating great competition from the other online shops like Amazon. The campaign is known as the "Fill Your Cart with Colour" provides encouragement to customers to purchase products that suit their personality. The anticipation and mitigation of the threat of Amazon have been a large influence of the company (Thedrum.com, 2017).
A company like Alibaba is a reputed brand at home. However, due to the public offering staged in New York, the company have become seemingly reputed. Despite not being a global name in the market, Alibaba has grown consistently and rapidly in the local and global market. It can be said that a stronger branding can help in increasing the competition among the Chinese brands, as it is seen that China has not developed itself in the online market. Although some of the most important and famous shops such as Lenovo, Xiaomi, Samsung originate from China, the fact that online stores are in great demand in the modern business market (Adage.com, 2017).
Thus, it can be said that the competition between the online shops is in excess in the modern world. However, the similarity of the companies is that they provide the best quality of services and after sales services to the people. This can be one of the main reasons behind the improvement of the brand image of the online shops over the physical stores.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that Amazon has a clear edge in the competition of online branding. This is mainly because of the excess customers and the longevity of the company. However, eBay can also be successful in the long run due to its strategic countermeasures that are developed by the company. The rapid rise to fame for Alibaba is also an indication of the growth of online shopping and the manner in which this type of market is dominating the physical shops in the market.
Bibliography
Aaker, D. A. (2013). Brand equity & advertising: advertising's role in building strong brands. Psychology Press.
Adage.com. (2017, December 4). Branding Lessons From China's Alibaba. Retrieved from Adage.com: https://adage.com/article/global-news/alibaba-teach-chinese-brands/295115/
Armstrong, M. &. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Christodoulides, G. (2009). Branding in the post-internet era. Marketing theory, 141-144. DOI: 10.1177/1470593108100071
Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.
Marketwatch.com. (2017, December 4). Amazon is taking away the power of brand names, throwing another industry into turmoil. Retrieved from MarketWatch: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-is-taking-away-the-power-of-brand-names-throwing-another-industry-into-turmoil-2017-07-10
Severi, E. &. (2013). The mediating effects of brand association, brand loyalty, brand image and perceived quality on brand equity. Asian Social Science, 125. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n3p125
Thedrum.com. (2017, December 4). The Drum. Retrieved from Thedrum.com: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/09/04/ebay-australia-launches-major-brand-campaign-it-readies-amazon-arrival
