Branding a product.

In marketing, companies face a question when they release a new line or create a new product. The question is whether or not to keep the same brand name as the rest of the products or to use a completely different brand name. The term used to describe the continuous use of the brand name is called brand extension.
Brand extensions are useful when the company already has a good reputation therefore that reputation carries over to the new product too. Brand extension helps to gain a market share quickly because the brand is already established and people trust in the products. A firm is also able to set their prices a little higher right off the bat if they extend the brand name because of the value that the brand carries.
A new brand name comes in handy when a firm needs to rebuild the reputation and disassociate with the previous brand because of negative views. This strategy also differentiates a companies products by giving them different names. For example, the company dodge introduced the model of truck called the Ram, they eventually turned Ram into its own brand name because it differentiated the truck from the other cars dodge sold.
There is no right way for every situation a company faces. The strategy to be used should depend on the type of product being introduced, companies reputation, market share, and price.


works cited:
Pillai, Rajani. "Branding." Marketing 320. Barry Hall, Fargo. 5 Nov. 2015. Lecture.