When does a brand become burden?

This is most often the case for  Engineering products.

A new brand is floated that promises (in the spin created by Marketing/Sales) to do what the products of the previous (established) brand did and much more, with the idea that the old brand will be slowly killed in favor of the new brand. However, the new brand fails to measure-up in the customers perception relative to previous (established) brand that it replaces !

Note that the problem is not the brand development alone, but is organization wide :- Product planning, Engineering, Marketing & sales/support.

Anyways, it provokes the customer to look beyond towards the competitor's products (why should customer have loyalty if you are pompous ?) or stay with the previous (established) brand. While the dangers of the former is obvious, the latter creates a piquant situation for the organization that the new brand does not have the volumes, and the old brand (often uneconomical) has to be continued/resurrected which is an operational headache.

There are no simple solutions :- can organizations discourage innovations in fear of such consumer behavior or outcome ? The answer is an obvious no !

However, it does impose a requirement on very careful product planning by Marketing, Engineering, Sales and customers. Even then, there will be duds, but then, thats part of the game is'nt it ?  

A BRAND BECOMES A BURDEN ONLY WHEN THE SALES OF THE BRAND IS CONTINUOUSLY DROPPING & THE PROFITABILITY IS BEING LOST. THE MAIN REASONS COULD BE THAT THE VALUE THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BRAND IS  NO LONGER RECOGNIZED, THE BRAND IS FAILING  TO GIVE SATISFACTION TO THE CUSTOMERS OR THAT THE BRAND IS OUTDATED AS PER THE CURRENT TRENDS & REQUIREMENTS OF THE CUSTOMER.

THE SOLUTION IS EITHER TO DEVELOP THE BRAND FURTHER TO SUIT THE CURRENT NEEDS OR TO DISCARD IT TO MAKE WAY FOR A BETTER SUITED BRAND.

You are right Mr. jayant Vishnu. I agree with you. A brand is able to survive in the market when it delivers what the customers want.When it is not able to convince the customers that it is worthy of purchasing and value for money, it becomes outdated.

A brand becomes a burden the minute it stops catching the interest of the consumer and hence suffers in its sale. It also becomes a burden when it eats into the profitability of the umbrella brand. It also becomes a burden when it attracts negative sentiments and because of that hurts the group or parent copmpany behind it. Take the example of Bajaj, its diversion into consumer electronics and other fields where mindless and hence started hurting the parent brands in the motor segment as a result of which the company is thinking of the unthinkable of dropping the brand name itself.

The best example on the contrary would be ITC which has developed individual and powerful brands in all the segments it is present be it tobacco, foods, fashion etc. Thats a good example of positive and powerful branding. Now even if one of the brands were to become a burden here, then it can be killed without hurting the other brands or the umbrella brands of ITC.

In financial term it is very good example in true manner............

NEITHER CAN U EAT THE CAKE... NOR CAN U KEEP IT !

Very True Ravi... It really becomes a Burden, when outsiders feel it is going Great Guns, but the company knows the True Picture. The Brand gets stuck in the Throat... U cant swallow it, nor can U throw it out.