Brand Alliances: New Models of Networking

Brand alliances are branding strategies used in business. Brand Alliances are the outcome of understanding among firms to join hands for promoting their brands together or for bringing out a totally new product into the marketplace. The basic aim of such alliances is to capture new markets and/or improve the customer base. In the competitive environment, marketers face threats and opportunities in quick succession. To meet these eventualities or to take advantage of the opportunities, brand alliances provide quick and effective solutions. Marketers look for external brands which can satisfy the market demand, cost-effectively and at a faster pace, to meet the changing customer needs, who perceive enhanced and value-added features for the products. It needs no explanation that launching a new product would be very costly and time consuming. Successful brand alliances offer added benefits to the consumers. The cost-effectiveness of the alliance allows the companies to price the co-branded product at a reasonable level. The customer-base of both the partners expands. Brand equities of both the brands can increase due to the added brand awareness and better perception of the customers There exist a lot of opportunities for Indian companies to partner among themselves to offer value-added products in the market to overcome the onslaught of global players entering the Indian market as a result of economic liberalization. Companies in sectors like, automobile, retail, insurance and media can derive immense benefits through brand alliances, in the days to come.