Brand enhancement: the new game of the name - naming brands

Prepared Foods, Nov, 1995 by Martin Friedman

For many years, marketers selected for a new product a simple brand name that was catchy, fairly descriptive of the product or its usage, and memorable.

These days, a new food product arrives with not only a brand moniker, but also one or more descriptive adjectives or adverbs. The descriptors, it is hoped, increase consumer recognition or are likely enhance the image of the newcomer in the highly competitive marketplace.

Most brand name extensions are obvious. When the product's fat content is reduced, the words "lowfat," "fat free," "lean" or "free" will appear next to the package logo. When the product can be prepared quickly, look for "microwavable" or "One Step" (CPC's Best Foods Dressings), or "Fast Cook" (Quaker's Rice-A-Roni Five Minute Side Dish Mixes).

"Natural" and "organic" are popular descriptors for new health foods. "New" appears on every recently introduced entry. However, in addition to these somewhat overused brand enhancements, a number of uncommon descriptors now are part of the new products. lexicon.

STYLISH SUBJECTS

"Classic" or "classics" now appear on many new product lines. Good Humor-Breyers offers The Classics line of frozen novelties based on old favorites: "The Name Will Take You Back ... The Taste Will Take You Away."

Sunshine Biscuit offers three Classic Graham Crackers. Welch's is testing three varieties of frozen White Grape Classics. McCormick is marketing a multi-product line of sauces, seasonings and marinades under the Quick Classic label. Lipton's Lawry's Foods overlays its Classic Dressing labels with the words, "Special Edition." Ryan Foods markets a variety of meat products under the Deli Classics label.

"Traditional" is another stimulus to evoke consumer memories of home-made foods. Pillsbury's newest baking mix is Traditional Fudge Brownie Mix. Hunt-Wesson's Rosarita Refried Beans are marked traditional (even a brand new no-fat variety). "Original" as in Hidden Valley's Original Ranch Dressings also benefits from a perceived historical reputation.

QUALITY QUALIFIERS

Extending a product's quality image with brand enhancements is another popular approach. The word "premium" lifts the brand from it mundane competitors, as in Tropicana's Pure Premium Juices and Kraft's Post Cereals Premium Bran Flakes and Raisin Bran.

A product's "gourmet" status is usually in the eyes of its beholder, but adding "gourmet" to a brand designation can't hurt. For example, it appears in Mama Mary's Gourmet Pizza Crusts -- which, perhaps, aren't very different from pedestrian Boboli Pizza Crusts. "Select," as in Pillsbury's Green Giant Sweet Select Corn, is another quality uplifter.

"Supreme" is another modifier that embellishes product quality. General Mills calls its line of bar cookie mixes Supreme Dessert Bar Mixes, and "supreme" appears on GM's new Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix.

"Favorite" is a word that connotes not only the product's heritage but also its popularity. ConAgra's Banquet Pasta favorites are described as "Your favorite pasta and vegetables together at last." Nestle's Libby's Asian Favorites, currently expanding out of test markets into the West Coast, are advertised with a "Start a new family tradition" headline.

Here are some other brand enhancements that have recently appeared on new products:

* Procter & Gamble's Folger's "Ultra" Coffee. The Cincinnati soap king has downsized virtually all its cleaning products into "ultra" sizes. Now the word, which is meant to connote concentration, is used on a beverage brand.

* General Mills'betty Crocker Dinner "Sensations." A shelf-stopping brand name that may provoke consumer disbelief -- can a packaged dinner mix really be sensational? However, food editor product reviews have been favorable. Hunt-Wesson is testing Chicken "Sensations" Baking Sauces.

* Frieda's Mediterranean "Inspirations" herbs and vegetables provide another provocative consumer come-on.

* Smucker's "Simply" Fruit says it all. The fruit spread is made with just fruit and is sweetened with concentrated fruit juices. Just Tomatoes is now out with Just Vegetables dried snacks; and there's Apple & Eve Nothin' But Juice.

* Elongated brand names require extra consumer memory cells, but the success of Van den Bergh Foods' I Can't Believe It's Not Butter perhaps is responsible for Celestial Seasoning's Brews In Your Fridge Iced Tea Mixes, P&G's Sunny Delight Solar Surge Enriched Fruit Refresher and Fair Exchange's Shari's Bistro Organic Great Plains Pea Soup.

* The "N" word is still used to combine product characteristics (and eliminate the conjunction "and" from usage). Among the more recent entries are American Home Foods' Almond Supreme Crunch'n Munch Candy, Borden's Wise Bravos Cheese'n Salsa Dip, Dannon Light'n Crunchy Frozen Yogurt, and General Mills' Cookies'n Creme Dunkaroos.

Of course, the ideal way to eliminate all this complicated brand name development is to create the socalled superbrand or megabrand. With a Healthy Choice or Snack-Well's on the brand roster, the enviable new product task becomes a search for every conceivable item that can fit comfortably under the superbrand umbrella.