Classmate: Brand Association and Brand Image

Classmate

BRAND ASSOCIATION:

A customer does not simply buy a branded product. They try to recall the brand or product in their mind with something else. That association of the brand with the customer which forms a mental image of the product in his mind is called brand association.

It is often agreed that brand associations are mostly caused by visual impressions. 

Realizing the huge consumer base for their products, the brand penetrated through the Indian classroom. ITC Classmate has established itself as one of the most trusted Indian stationary brands.

The experiential way  has changed the way the Indian consumer interacts with the brands and associates himself with them. Brands today need to give customers a little more than just the product – with so many options in the market, how does one differentiate himself from the others.

Types of Brand Association

1) Association based on attributes- Continuous Innovation and deeper consumer insights are the two key cornerstones on which the  product development process is based. They have a dedicated product design and development team whose task is to ensure that every Classmate product exceeds the consumer usage expectations against Indian and foreign competition products. They strive to introduce products which are new to the Indian market and deliver better consumer usage experience thereby raising the bar for competition.

2) Brand Association based on benefits-  Brand Classmate believes that each child is unique. Inspired by this belief, Classmate joined hands with Spell Bee in 2014. The theme for this season of Classmate Spell Bee is "Every child is unique, so is every word". The program provides an appropriate platform for students to identify their strengths and achieve recognition for their unique spelling skills. The program covers 750 schools in 27 cities and has reached out to more than 250,000 students between Classes 5 to 9.

Social benefits-For every four Classmate notebooks purchased, ITC contributes ₹1 to its social development initiative that supports primary education. 

3) Attitudes based Brand Association- With their 'Classmate Ideas for India Challenge’ campaign, Classmate’s Get Set Score Challenge, and ‘Follow your heart’ campaigns – ITC reached out to its target audience to understand what they really want and then delivered the same to them. They discouraged rote academics, and wanted to encourage children to become successful in line with their own strengths. And that’s what all the campaigns that followed got their base from,. The winning factor of ITC came from their focus.

Realizing the huge consumer base for their products, the brand penetrated through the Indian classroom. ITC Classmate has established itself as one of the most trusted Indian stationary brands.

Brand Image:

Target Image: Their image is stepped up as a product for Students, Educational Institutes and Corporate People.

Customer's Perception: - Stands for identifying & celebrating the uniqueness in every child

                                         - Encourages the user to nurture his talents, skills and interests that                                                 make him special.

Image generation through message: Classmate's simple message to every child: "You are born unique so succeed to your own strengths. Because you are one of a kind."

They create their brand image through offering their products with the benefits like:

• Quality 
• Durability
• Brand name 
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Brand doesn't just create an image in a day it's an on going process and as ITC successfully extended its product line with Classmate as its Educational and Stationary Brand it brought a new diversity and competition in the market. 

Taglines play a very vital role in enhancing the Image of the brand isn't it, Classmate has quite a well equipped catch hold when it comes to delivering taglines, let's have a look at some:

• For the Big Ideas in you 
• Because you are one of a kind
• Be all that you can
• Be better than yourself
• Inspiring young minds

Again its not just about the taglines but the way they are depicting and initializing it in the minds of the consumers, The Advertisements and the Campaigns plays a major role in building the brand image, Lets have a look at one of its famous and nostalgic ad campaign

#WelcometoSchool:

Brand Image is also built taken care of the affordability of the product, Classmate knows how to keep the brand affordable and yet classy when it comes to buying.

Keeping the minimum for a pencil at 3-20 INR to going up in Notebooks to approximately 500/-. also having the maximum price for the Fountain pen priced at 600/- ,They know how to vary with ranges and product variations. The affordable quotient makes Classmate unique and special.

According to the V.A.L.S Model that is Values and Lifestyles Model, Classmate owns its brand image as:

• Thinkers
• Believers
• Achievers 
• Experiencers

In a nutshell, it takes more than just plain simple selling when it comes to establishing a brand. And in today’s world, what’s really important is the way a brand interacts with its target audience. “Brands have to change the way they interact with their customers, making sure that they give their customers an experience they remember while also being sensitive to their needs,”. Creating customer advocacy is a must, because nothing else matters more than their final word, feedback and review.