Harp Lime Extension: Partying on Slippery Dance Floor? When Al and Laure Ries declared in their book “22 Immutable Laws Of Branding”, that marketing techniques like brand extension, mega branding, variable pricing and a host of others, employed by contemporary brand owners are being used basically to milk consumers rather than build brands, many brand analysts found it somewhat difficult to agree with the duo. The two, while elucidating the first law in the book, ‘Law of Expansion’ declared that, many brand owners who utilize most of the above marketing techniques do so for short term gains. This, Al and Laure Ries believe will, in the long run, wear down the brand as the brand would, subsequently lose her distinct personality before finally going into extinction. Even if some brand experts disagree with AI and Laure Ries, carcasses of brands that ventured on this slippery ground called brand extension litter the entire Nigerian market space. This list of extended brands that met their doom cuts across all sectors. They include brands like Guinness Extra Smooth, Fanta Orange and Pineapple, Diet Coke, Indomie Pepper Soup, Maggi Crayfish and many others. The usual trend is that these extended brands are introduced with great pump and fanfare, and then they gradually fizzle out of the market totally or only exist as “living- dead” brands. If records have shown that brand extension as a marketing technique does not always add long term value, why do manufacturers engaged in it incessantly? With this anticipation, what is the future of Guinness Nigeria’s newest extension from the harp family, Harp lime? Is Harp Lime rushing on a path other brands tread but failed to make positive impact? Why are some brand analysts so apprehensive about the market success and even longevity of extended brands? What could be responsible for this trend? Why has brand extension repeatedly not flourished on the good name of their mother brands? Nigeria is described by some brand experts as a market with some of the most incoherent brand extensions in the world. Statistics indicating that only a negligible percentage of extended lines thrive in the market; seem to position these pessimists on the right path. Just like a new born baby, jubilations and celebrations always follow the launch of a new product or its extension, like the one witnessed when Harp lime was introduced into the market. The presence of this new entrant for many is like a blank sheet waiting to be inscribed on, with the most beautiful story. And it is perhaps with this thought in mind, many people often wonder aloud: what will this brand become someday? It is soothing that Harp Lime is doing fairly well in the market presently. However, some brand analysts see this recent brand extension initiated by Guinness Nigeria as unnecessary. Putting it bluntly a brand commentator, Michael Otons a graduate of Orange brand Academy in Lagos says it is “an ill-informed experiment based on the premise that the mother brand, Harp lager, is fighting a tough battle to adequately position itself in the market against a formidable rival brand, Star lager, and as such extended brand will only drain the effort of the mother brand.” However, Yinka Olaito, an Executive with Michael Sage Consulting, feels this is not exactly the case because brand extension is a tactical approach by a successful brand to extend its line of products to gain more market. In his words, ‘The logic behind this is to use the already known brand and goodwill the brand enjoys now to increase corporate revenue drive. A brand may deceive us by playing the card of wanting to help and satisfy the needs of their clients. But as we know, revenue drive is at the foundation of brand extension. Even if Harp has a strong competitor, the brand’s level of acceptance and followership can still make this step a success. “As much as this is a good step, many brand extensions fail after awhile, because a brand represents something in the minds of the consumers. With line extension or what is known as brand extension, many brands often dilute its image in the minds of its consumer. Most times, that leads to confusion. Not many brands have been totally successful after a long while of line extension. There may be a couple of successful stories like Virgin group and Procter and Gamble”. Olaito concluded that a brand can extend her product line if it has discovered it has gained enough goodwill and loyalty that can sustain the new product in the market. He opined that, the failure of most brand extension in Nigeria may not be totally different from what obtains elsewhere. His words “Brand custodians must learn not to confuse popularity with loyalty. If a brand intends to make a line extension to become a household name, the brand owner should make sure it is a new market that can get early mover advantage, have solid business brand strategy that can weather the storm, work and build loyalty from current and established client who can become word of mouth advertisers, budget for brand communication, continually build strong relationships and appeal to customers emotions and use every media to appeal to clients emotions.” John Ehiguese, Managing Director, MediaCraft, a PR firm, is of the opinion that no brand really needs extension. He claimed it is up to the brand handler to decide if they want to extend the brand. “There are several reasons why brand extension fails in this country: If the equity of the mother brand is enough to support an extension, the extended brand is competing and thereafter eating into the market share of the mother brand, the extended brand does not enjoy enough marketing support, then there is no need for an extension. The brand extension strategy is rather tricky to use and is often a risk to take. I feel the Harp line extension is a big risk. You can never really predict whether it’ll work or not until it has been executed. As a general rule though, I believe that if all the factors I enumerated earlier are in place a brand handler may consider brand extension. But I want to reiterate, it is always a gamble.” Giving a contrary opinion, Ade Gooding, a marketing communication expert with Cooks House Brands, said that the strongest brands occupy a clearly defined and well focused position in customers' minds and they dominate their categories without limiting single category. “Brand Extensions are one of the hottest topics in brand management. They have spawned a rich and intense body and research. Some experts keep claiming that brand extension should be avoided, however, today, most companies, even those that were culturally the least prone to engage in brand extensions, have extended their brands. Brand extension is a necessary strategic move at some point in the life of a brand. It’s an essential way to sustain the brand’s growth once other approaches had been explored and Harp has the liberty to explore this advantage.” He said. Giving details on what to put in place to make brand extension a success, Ade mentioned the need to enhance growth first, by increasing the volume of purchase per capita of present customers. With this, new product development and line extension can increase the brand’s relevance and address the needs of more specific targets or situations. According to Ade, “The brand extension perspective introduces two radical modifications. First, it maintains that a brand is a single and long-lasting promise; but this promise can or should be expressed and embodied in different products, and eventually in different categories. Second, it asks us eventually to redefine the historical brand benefit by nesting it in a higher order value. Brand extension exemplifies the move from tangible to intangible values, from a single product-based promise to a larger brand benefit, thus making the brand able to cover a wider range of products.” In addition, unlike mere line extensions, brand extensions are associated with diversification, so there is a sizeable impact on the company as a whole. Managing brand extensions is about identifying the growth opportunities. It aims also at maximizing the chances of success of the new product launch, while increasing the value of the parent brand. This entails managing the whole product range: to maintain its equity. In a similar vein, Mrs. Aderonke Adebule, Executive Director in JSP Communications claimed that a brand needs an extension to meet the various needs or lifestyle of its target audience. “A brand extension is also necessary to checkmate competing brands in the same category. Brand extension is necessary to create room for variety- ‘as variety is the spice of life!’ Also when a brand is doing great, extension may be necessary to leverage on the success of that existing brand. Brand extension is a natural by-product of any brand. We see it playing out not only in Nigeria, but all over the world. Especially when the brand is doing well, the lure to extend it is irresistible” Mrs. Adebule however pointed out that Brand extinction may arise even in the Harp lime extension if there are no clear brand differentiations. Poor communication may also affect brand extension. Inability to adequately ascertain consumer preferences and taste may lead to failure in brand extension. In Nigeria, some brand extensions have failed because of the 'me too' syndrome. In an attempt to play catch up or ‘me too,’ some brands do not pay attention to brand fundamentals and end up worse than when they started. I’ll suggest that any brand that thinks extension is the next move for its brands, the brand owner should consider good strategies like conducting proper consumer research institute an effective feedback mechanism highlighting product differentiation, protect the mother brand at all costs”. Chairman/CEO of C&F Porter Novelli, Nne’emeka Maduegbuna harangued that brands do not always need extension. However he said when an established brand chooses to extend its reach into another product category, or is desirous of increasing its brand equity or believes that creating further revenue streams would be beneficial, then an extension could be done. He feels this must have guided the decision to bring in Harp lime. “Above all, it should be a well grounded strategic decision and not a half-baked one. The Brand extension has to be carefully considered: there is a risk that the core brand image may be diluted and damaged. So long as the core brand is strong and the product variant is consistent, there should not be too much of a problem. However the correct strategies must to be utilized. As with any brand extension, it takes time for the brand to become a household name so it requires careful consideration. Before a brand launches its extension, a careful research of the target audience is required alongside in -depth planning, before strategies and messaging can be developed.’ Maduegbuna argued.