WhichbranddoyouthinkithasdoneanexcellentjobinMarketing?Appleismyfavoritebrandbecauseithasadeepunderstandofhowbrandingandinnovationsuccessfullyintegratedtogether.Brand-driveninnovationinApplecanbeinvolvedwithnewandcomplextechnology,butmoreoftenthannot,itisn’t.Apple’sinnovationisaboutcreatingsustainablevalue,andsometimesanewwayofusingexistingtechnologycreatesmorevaluethantheinventionofnewtechnology.Appleissofamousforitsinnovation,probablynotbecausethoseinnovationsarealltheirinitiatives,butitisverycleveratapplyingexistingtechnology.Brand-driveninnovationinAppleisnotlimitedtothelabsofR&D.AnyoneinApplecaninnovate,nomatterwhetheryou’reinhumanresources,accounting,salesormarketing.AndtheresultofApple’sismorethanaproductoranewtechnologywhichwecanseefromtheretailstore,butsomegreatintangibleinventionssuchasanewprocessofassemblingoranewuniquebusinessmodel(eg.‘HungryMarketing’).AmongallUnileverbrands,ComfortinChinahastheworstperformancerecentlywhencomparingwiththelocalbrands’inexorablerises,suchasBluemoon,Liby,etc.MarketshareofComfort,whichisatraditionallystrongbrandunderUnilever,isfurthercompressedbytheboomingdevelopmentofE-commerceinChina.IthinkthemarketpositioningofComfortisnotsoexplicit.ComfortenteredChinesemarketfromthebeginning,andUnileverwantstocompetewiththelocalbrandsthatComfortwasapremiumbrand.Butlow-coststrategyasthebeststrategyintheChinesemarket.SoUnileverbegantoreducecostsasthegoalofthebusinessadjustmentandcontraction.Atthistime,theconsumersmaybeconfusedthathowcanapremiumbrandgotsuchalowprice?IsuggestComfortshouldmakegoodmarketpositioning.AsignificantfeatureofChina'sconsumergoodsmarketisthatalthoughtheconsumerpricesensitivityisveryhigh,thewillingtospendmoreonthepremiumbrandsisalsoveryhigh.Whenfacedwithalowpricechallengeofthelocalbrands,marketpositioningandpricingstrategyplayadecisiverole.
