Brand Development and Strategy
Farrow & Ball is a successful British manufacturer of paints and wallpapers with a recognisable brand and a significant competitive advantage over their closest rivals (“Farrow & Ball – Wallpapers,” n.d.). However, looking to the future, it is critical to continue the company’s development to avoid stagnation and a decrease in revenues. For this reason, an efficient brand development strategy should be created as a central element of the firm’s future rise and desired dominance (Barker, Barker, Bormann & Zahay, 2016).
Taking the existing characteristics of the company into account, one possible option for growth is to open new markets in other regions and improve the international presence of the brand. At the same time, cross-marketing with another firm, Redrow Homes, may also stimulate further evolution and contribute to outstanding results.
The choice of a brand development vector should be preconditioned by several factors. First, the company’s existing business strategy should be considered in outlining a course of action (Abratt & Bendixen, 2018). At the moment, Farrow & Ball’s marketing strategy is focused on extending its manufactured products and introducing new colours to stir up clients’ interest in a new product (“Farrow & Ball Limited: Strategic report,” n.d.).
This approach is helping the company to maintain its popularity at a high level; at the same time, a constant influx of new products increases the risk of market saturation (Chernev & Kotler, 2014). For this reason, it is critical to find new markets in other countries and regions with a high demand for this category of goods. In other words, the company needs to support the internationalisation of the brand.
This planned expansion should begin with identifying and evaluating the target audience in areas selected for market entrance. Central elements requiring attention include consumers’ paying capacity, their interest in the provided goods and the degree to which they are ready to buy foreign products (Keller, 2013). These factors are fundamental in pursuing internationalisation as they precondition the success of the process and positive outcomes.
For example, Farrow & Ball reports growing popularity for the brand in Eastern European countries such as Russia and Ukraine (Robertson, 2017). This means that a focus on the company’s global presence is an appropriate choice that guarantees stable revenue (Lalaounis, 2018). At the same time, the company can also analyse many other states in that region with an eye to introducing its products to their residents.
At the same time, the company might make use of another brand development strategy that presupposes collaboration with other organisations to ensure the emergence of new markets and ways to sell goods. Under these conditions, cooperation with Redrow Homes seems the best possible option. Redrow Inc. is one of the largest British housebuilding firms, having 15 operational divisions. The character of the brand’s activity presupposes that Redrow requires a steady supply of paint and wallpaper to decorate houses and attract new customers by offering fashionable and high-quality buildings.
Thus, both companies are becoming interested in cooperating, which promises to simplify the task for Farrow & Ball. Such a deal will provide new business opportunities for the brand because it will enter the construction industry characterised by stable income and growing interest on the part of consumers.
This cooperation can be further supported by the company’s special Heritage collection that demonstrates a focus on traditional values such as high-quality products, recognisable colours and customer care. At the same time, the firm will emphasise the new era characterised by the cooperation between two outstanding corporations and their aim to satisfy diverse customers’ demands by providing new offerings that focus on their improved preferences.
Altogether, an efficient strategy for Farrow & Ball should include a focus on new international markets, attempts to broaden the target audience and cooperation with popular brands that are working in other spheres. These elements are critical as they are preconditioned by the nature of the company and its focus on increasing the diversity of its goods and providing them to broad populations. The approach under consideration will lay a foundation for the company’s evolution. Moreover, it will help the firm to avoid stagnation and associated long-term negative consequences.
Evaluation
The effectiveness of the proposed brand development strategy can be evaluated in several ways. First, the results of the preliminary investigation of the new potential markets and customers’ interests should be compared with data acquired six months after the new entry (Keller, Aperia & Georgson, 2012). Significant alterations in consumer preferences, along with growing demand for Farrow & Ball products and increasing revenues, will indicate the success of the new strategy and prove the necessity to continue the execution of this approach to achieve the desired results and ensure that the brand will successfully achieve internationalisation and broaden its target audience.
Second, the efficiency of the firm’s cooperation with Redrow Inc. can be measured by assessing both companies’ financial reports with an emphasis on the financial aspect of their functioning. It is expected that the given alliance will help both actors to generate extra income and increase the popularity of their brands by attracting clients who recognise their products and expect outstanding quality from this partnership.
Reports that indicate growth in the level of interest towards new houses decorated by Farrow & Ball products will serve to prove the efficiency of the suggested branding policy. Opposite results will indicate the need to make adjustments to the cooperative agreement between the companies while drawing the attention of the public to this particular issue.
Finally, the success of the Heritage collection can be evidenced by the quantity of sales and the level of related consumer interest. The primary goal of this product line is to attract attention to paints and wallpapers belonging to the brand and demonstrate an emphasis on traditional values (Dakers, 2016). For this reason, if individuals find the new line inviting, it will be possible to gauge the success of the strategy. In this way, these evaluation procedures will help to determine the effectiveness of the proposed brand development and eliminate any mistakes that may emerge.
Conclusion
Altogether, the specific characteristics of Farrow & Ball and the company’s current position in the market precondition the choice of a particular brand development strategy that encompasses several elements. First, the company must initiate the process of creating new markets and seek to implement internationalisation. This approach will help increase revenues and attract new clients across the globe who can buy products. Second, cooperation with Redrow should become another step towards the improvement of the brand’s position as it will help the firm to enter another industry and broaden its target audience.
Finally, the Heritage collection offers a possible way to emphasise a new stage in the company’s evolution. The efficiency of these measures can be evidenced through evaluating the company’s financial reports, tracking its performance levels and analysing the results of its cooperation with Redrow Inc. The given strategy will help to lay a foundation for the company’s further evolution as well as preserve its leading position in the industry.
References
Abratt, R., & Bendixen, M. (2018). Strategic marketing: Concepts and cases. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Barker, M., Barker, D., Bormann, N., & Zahay, D. (2016). Social media marketing: A strategic approach (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: Cengage Learning.
Chernev, A., & Kotler, P. (2014). Strategic marketing management (8th ed.). New York, NY: Cerebellum Press.
Dakers, M. (2016). Farrow & Ball finds quaint paints pay off as profits rise. The Telegraph. Web.
Farrow & Ball – Wallpapers. (n.d.). Web.
Farrow & Ball Limited: Strategic report. (n.d.). Web.
Keller, K., Aperia, T., & Georgson, M. (2012), Strategic brand management: A European perspective. London, United Kingdom: Prentice Hall.
Keller, K. (2013). Strategic brand management (4th ed.). London, United Kingdom: Prentice Hall.
Lalaounis, S. (2018). Design management: Organisation and marketing perspectives, London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Robertson, D. (2017). The truth about Farrow & Ball – The paint we love to hate. The Telegraph. Web.