The decision whether a multi-product firm offers its goods under a joint or separate brands is essential for its success. When selling vertically differentiated products, it needs to consider the interplay of branding spillovers, pricing and cannibalization. We study the problem of a firm selling vertically differentiated products deciding whether to sell its products under a joint or separate brands. The analysis accounts for the positive and negative spillover effects between jointly branded products previously established in the literature. Our findings suggest that joint branding is optimal when spillover effects are either high or low but not when they are intermediate. When spillover effects are low, firms jointly brand to save the cost of building a second brand. In contrast, when spillover effects are high, the firm chooses joints branding because it is inherently more profitable even if building additional brands is free. When spillover effects are intermediate, however, firms opt for separate branding despite the additional cost of building more brands. We also extend the analysis to investigate the effect of low-end strategic competition and find that this kind of competition pushes the multi-product line firm towards joint branding. Finally, our modeling approach explains why some firm use hybrid (endorsed) branding to dampen the spillover effects compared to pure joint branding.

This essay sheds light on the benefits appertaining to utilizing a product differentiation marketing strategy in foreign markets and identifies internet marketing tactics that can help brands facilitate the successful implementation of the product differentiation strategy in foreign markets. "Product differentiation is a marketing strategy that businesses use to distinguish a product from similar offerings on the market. For small businesses, a product differentiation strategy may provide a lasting competitive advantage in a market dominated by larger companies. For instance, the the product differentiation strategy also allows business to compete in areas other than price" (Kelchner) which ultimately allows brands to create perceived value and charge premium prices for their products. Moreover, the implementation of a successful product differentiation strategy fosters "brand loyalty among customers. Furthermore, this marketing strategy may create the perception that there's no substitute available on the market. Although competitors may have similar products, a product differentiation strategy that focuses on the quality or design differences which other products do not have allows brands to attain a competitive advantage in the market, as customers view the product as unique" (Kelchner). The successful implementation of the product differentiation strategy allows brands to also cultivate brand equity, positive brand recognition, and brand growth. Moreover, brands can attain profit maximization when they are able to successfully distinguish themselves from their competitors and offer services and products that customers are willing to pay top dollar for based on perceived value and uniqueness. The utilization of the product differentiation strategy has allowed many companies to financially flourish, such as Apple and Microsoft. Internet marketing tactics, such as posting video content onto social media websites that flaunt the unique product lines and sending out email blasts that highlight the merits of the products, can be employed to help brands facilitate the successful implementation of the product differentiation strategy in foreign markets.

There are few industries in modern market economies that do not manufacture differentiated products. This book provides a systematic explanation and analysis of the widespread prevalence of this important category of products. The authors concentrate on models in which product selection is endogenous. In the first four chapters they consider models that try to predict the level of product differentiation that would emerge in situations of market equilibrium. These market equilibria with differentiated products are characterised and then compared with social welfare optima. Particular attention is paid to the distinction between horizontal and vertical differentiation as well as to the related issues of product quality and durability. This book brings together the most important theoretical contributions to these topics in a succinct and coherent manner. One of its major strengths is the way in which it carefully sets out the basic intuition behind the formal results. It will be useful to advanced undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in industrial economics and microeconomic theory.

Diederich Bakker develops a comprehensive planning process that can guide brand manufacturers in assessing the internal and external environment. The step-by-step planning process includes strategies to thoroughly audit brand portfolios and to review an organisation’s brand management capabilities. The planning process aides brand manufacturers in assessing product categories and in determining retailers for their suitability as cooperation partners. The proposed Vertical Brand Portfolio Management is based on the principles of brand portfolio strategy assigning clear roles for all brands including private labels. Instead of fighting the retailer products brand manufacturers are encouraged to cooperate with retail partners by offering vertically integrated brand portfolios. Based on numerous international case studies, the author offers brand manufacturers and retailers practical tools to consider collaborations in the production and management of private labels.

"Product line extension is pervasive in categories of horizontally differentiated products. Despite the popularity of this marketing strategy, its effects on performance metrics relevant to brand managers remain largely under-studied. Extending a brand's product line can cause product proliferation (i.e., the marketing of seemingly identical products by a brand), which has been identified to incur several costs. This thesis explores the effects of product line length on the following metrics: product sales, product exit, new product trial, and brand preference. It also considers the structure of a product line in order to assess the impacts of product proliferation. Methodologically, the author develops a dynamic path analysis model, a threshold regression model, and a multiple discrete-continuous model. The empirical results from the U.S. potato chip market suggest that a brand's product line length has positive effects on its product sales and the likelihood of consumers' trial of its new products (i.e., products within the first year after launch). However, it also has a positive effect on the hazard of product exit for its new products and negative effects on consumers' preferences for both the brand and its competitors. The author further characterizes the structure of a product line by distinct SKUs (i.e., SKUs with unique configurations) and duplicate SKUs (i.e., SKUs similar to distinct SKUs previously introduced). The results indicate that the number of a brand's duplicate SKUs, which can measure the degree of product proliferation, has no effect on its product sales. Even though it has a positive effect on the likelihood of new product trial, it has a positive effect on the product exit hazard for the brand's mature products (i.e., products surviving more than one year) and a negative effect on consumers' preference for the brand. In contrast, although the number of a brand's distinct SKUs has a negative effect on the likelihood of new product trial, it has negative effects on the product exit hazard for the brand's mature products and consumers' preference for its competitors." --

Pricing is an essential aspect of the marketing mix for brands and products. Further, pricing research in marketing is interdisciplinary, utilizing economic and psychological concepts with special emphasis on measurement and estimation. This unique Handbook provides current knowledge of pricing in a single, authoritative volume and brings together new cutting-edge research by established marketing scholars on a range of topics in the area. The environment in which pricing decisions and transactions are implemented has changed dramatically, mainly due to the advent of the Internet and the practices of advance selling and yield management. Over the years, marketing scholars have incorporated developments in game theory and microeconomics, behavioral decision theory, psychological and social dimensions and newer market mechanisms of auctions in their contributions to pricing research. These chapters, specifically written for this Handbook, cover these various developments and concepts as applied to tackling pricing problems. Academics and doctoral students in marketing and applied economics, as well as pricing-focused business practitioners and consultants, will appreciate the state-of-the-art research herein.