Global Brand Essay

Globalization resulted in increased competition among the products and brands in domestic and international markets. As a result, consumers have an improved access to an expansive range of foreign products and brands to choose from. As a result consumers are exposed to a various assorttment of brands. Brands in general perform several valuable functions for the organisations such as serving as markers of the firm, simplifying the choice of the consumers and also reducing risk by building trust in the consumers by ensuring quality. Branding has been in existence since many centuries and is not a recent phenomenon. Brands, which are available under the same name, positioning, look, feel and personality in the major markets and enjoy widespread

It was also noticed that there is an increase in the number of global brands, as companies have identified several advantages of being globally present. They benefit from economies of scale, concentrating R&D departments in few international sites, standardisation of the marketing process and creating a unique worldwide image, which enables the company to use a single advertising strategy worldwide. This results in the reduction of costs. Moreover, many companies consider the benefit of a single and unique image worldwide as an important advantage. Another reason for the companies to move towards globalisation is the consumer preference of global brands over the local brands. Shocker, et al., in 1994 suggested, that increased number of consumers are showing interest in purchasing a product with global presence over local products. Batra, et al, in his research in 2000 also suggested evidence that consumers in developing countries preferred foreign brands to local brands. This led to the conclusion that consumers aspire to be a part of global community and also are encouraged to build global

Hence, it is necessary to initially understand the definition of perception and how perceptions about global brands differ. “Perception is the process through which an individual selects, organizes and interprets the information he receives in order to do something that makes sense.” This process is highly subjective and hence varies highly between the people. The success or failure of a product is often triggered by the consumer’s perception. Hence, this topic is of high importance to the marketers in order to ensure the success of their brands. People generally tend to choose a product, which is highly popular and is preferred mostly in their society. Therefore, it becomes more interesting to understand why people from different countries choose a particular brand of globally available products like mobile phones (Karjaluoto, et al. 2005). This becomes especially important for multinational companies, as they have to constantly engage and maintain consumers through effective communication and marketing. In order to understand and deal with today’s competitive environment, it is necessary for the marketers to gain insights about ever changing consumer preferences, while closely monitoring competitors. According to Das, 2012, it is the intense competition in the market and increasing number of competing brands that make it