Development of cluster business of the Euro-Arctic economic zone (on the example of the Murmansk region)

The article is devoted to the problems and prospects of cluster entrepreneurship development in the Euro-Arctic economic zone. Consider measures to support regional producers, sets out measures to support regional entrepreneurship. Special attention is paid to the development of the marketing concept of the enterprise cluster. A tool for the development of cluster entrepreneurship through the introduction of umbrella branding system is proposed

Tobacco product developments in the Australian market in the 4 years following plain packaging

This paper aimed to identify continued and emerging trends in the Australian tobacco market following plain packaging implementation, over a period of substantial increases in tobacco taxes. Since 2012, our surveillance activities (including review of trade product and price lists, ingredient reports submitted by tobacco companies to government and monitoring of the retail environment) found several trends in the factory-made cigarette market. These include the continued release of extra-long and slim cigarettes and packs with bonus cigarettes, particularly in the mainstream and premium market segments; new menthol capsule products; other novel flavourings in cigarettes; filter innovations including recessed and firm filters; continued use of evocative and descriptive product names; the proliferation of the new super-value market segment; and umbrella branding, where new products are introduced within established brand families. Several similar trends were also observed within the smoking tobacco market. While not all of these trends were new to the Australian market at the time of plain packaging implementation, their continued and increased use is notable. Plain packaging legislation could be strengthened to standardise cigarette and pack size, restrict brand and variant names, and ban features such as menthol capsules and filters innovations that provide novelty value or that may provide false reassurance to smokers.

Estimating umbrella-branding spillovers: a retailer perspective

Purpose The starting conjecture is that the market share of a brand in one category benefits from its performance in another category, and vice versa. The purpose of this paper is to assess the umbrella-branding spillovers by investigating the presence of synergy effect between categories when a retailer and/or a manufacturer decide to adopt/use the same name for his products. In fact, besides the cross-category dependency due to substitutability or complementarity, products can also be linked through their brand name in presence of an umbrella-branding strategy. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose an extended market-share model to account for the spillover effect at the brand level. The spillover is modeled to be generated by the brand's performance and not specific to marketing instruments, as done in the literature. They adopt a multiplicative competitive interaction (MCI) form for the attraction function. Based on aggregated data of two complementary oral-hygiene categories, the authors estimate the umbrella-branding spillover parameters using the iterate three-stage least squares (I3SLS) method. They contrast the results in three scenarios: no spillover, brand-constant spillover and brand-specific spillover. Findings The ensuing results indicate that umbrella-branding spillover is (i) significant and positive, i.e. the brand performance is boosted by its performance in a related category, through the so-called brand-attraction multiplier; (ii) asymmetric, i.e. the spillover is not equal in both directions; and associated to the market strength of each competing brand; (iii) variable across brands. The results show that not accounting for umbrella-branding spillover leads to misestimating the parameters and has a considerable impact on price-elasticities computation. Research limitations/implications Because store brands and some national brands exist in many categories, and thus because consumers make inferences when they face a large number of brands in different categories, spillover effects cannot be labelled as simply complementary or substitution-related. Future research may provide insight about the spillover phenomenon in a more general framework that would consider the spillover occurring between more than two categories. Practical implications Providing accurate assessment for umbrella-branding spillovers governing the competing brands, the results offer a relevant and straightforward method for decision makers to precisely assess the impact of a marketing effort in one category on the retailer's global performance. The findings provide better forecasts of market response in terms of sales and profit, within a cross-category perspective. Originality/value This study develops and estimates a market-share model with the aim of measuring brand-category spillover effects. The literature dealt with cross-category interactions in terms of substitutability or complementarity between the products offered in the two or more categories under investigation. Here, the focal point (and contribution) of the authors is the link at the brand level. Indeed, the authors only require that a minimum of one brand is offered in at least two of the categories of interest. Further, the spillover considered is not specific to marketing instruments, but is generated by the brand performance (attraction or market share), which is the result of both the firms marketing-mix choice and competitors marketing policies.

“Tata i-Shakti” to “Tata Sampann”: rebranding or repositioning?

Subject area Marketing. Study level/applicability This case may be used by instructors to teach undergraduate, post graduate and executive level programmes in management. It may be used in basic marketing, branding or marketing strategy courses. The case may serve as a platform for the instructor to discuss the concepts and issues related to positioning and repositioning. Case overview Tata Chemicals, a subsidiary of the Tata group, launched the “i-Shakti” brand six years ago for its low-cost “solar-evaporated” salt for rural customers. In 2010, the company extended the brand equity of i-Shakti to a premium segment and launched a new brand “Tata i-Shakti” with a range of unpolished pulses. Changing the brand name and customer base from “i-Shakti for rural market” to “Tata i-Shakti for premium market” created a dilemma among customers in the market. To overcome this problem, in October 2015, the company’s portfolio of pulses, gram flour and food grade soda under “Tata i-Shakti” label has migrated into a new brand “Tata Sampann”. The company also launched a range of spices under the brand name of “Tata Sampann”. This new brand “Tata Sampann” was launched to serve the premium segment with an aim to “enrich everyday meals with extra nutrition and extra joy”. Also, this brand recreation was made by the company with anticipation to make avenues for future launches in the staples and food segment under Tata’s consumer products business. It has been almost a year since Tata Sampann was launched in the market. Given the tough competition and expected growth of the spices market in India, it remained to be seen whether “Tata i-Shakti” was rightly rebranded or repositioned with “Tata Sampann”. Expected learning outcomes To make participants understand the basic concepts of branding such as umbrella branding, brand repositioning and rebranding. To make participants learn about various brand elements and how they contribute in communicating the value proposition of the brand. To make participants appreciate various marketing and brand related strategies. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS: 8: Marketing.

Microsoft Corp.: Branding and Positioning .NET

John Williams, senior director of marketing for Microsoft's .NET, was trying to build the .NET brand, a comprehensive family of next-generation connectivity software products. Highlights the challenges of branding and positioning a complex technology offering. The first challenge facing Microsoft was to develop a common definition of .NET, which had been in flux over the prior two years. The second challenge was to choose between an umbrella branding strategy, a sub-branding strategy, and an ingredient branding strategy. The third challenge was to create a value proposition that would appeal to three very different target audiences: business decision makers, IT professionals, and developers.To analyze the branding and positioning of a complex new technology offering: by defining a new product offering for public understanding and comprehension; evaluating brand strategies for optimal effect, considering possible hurdles to implementation of each strategy; and developing a value proposition attractive to differing audiences.