Brand and Product Management for Strategic Advantage

Strategic Brands for Johnson and Johnson 

When it comes to brands, Johnson and Johnson is the epitome of having a diversified portfolio via its different products and brands. However, as known, each company has a power brand which it is usually most recognized for. For instance, the current Johnson and Johnson power brands include Johnson’s Baby products, Tylenol medications, Band-Aid bandages brand, as well as Neutrogena skin and beauty products. These are some of the products that the company is known for and are thus the company’s power brands. 

However, some of the promising brands of the company that might become future power brands for Johnson and Johnson include the COVID-19 vaccine, Zyrtec, Benadryl, Rhinocort, and the likes. Because the company is mostly invested within the health section, most of its products and brands are expected to stay for the long term. In addition, because of the increase in health awareness and fitness, their sports medicine brand, like DePuy Synthes Mitek, might also have a more robust future and can be categorized as a future power brand for the company. 

When it entails some of the company’s Linchpin brands, they are some of the brands that hold the whole organization together, meaning that they provide bases for consumer loyalty (Chandra, 2019). Johnson and Johnson has several linchpin brands which exist within the pharmaceutical segment, medical devices segment, as well as the consumer products segment. Within the pharmaceutical segment, some of its linchpin brands include Remicade, Simponi, and Stelara. In the medical devices segment, they include devices within the orthopedic segment that generates the most significant profits. Among its consumer brands that are part of the linchpin, brands include Band-Aid, Tylenol medications, and Neutrogena products (Rothman, 2019). 

The vertical brand portfolio strategy that is behind the maintenance of multiple competing brands within the same line of products for the company is the vertical differentiation strategy. Vertical differentiation usually entails finding a quality to price mix which will differentiate the brand from its competitors. This is the same strategy utilized when a company has competing brands (Michael, 2015). 

One of the strategies that Johnson and Johnson uses to create an advantage in the market is via vertical integration across a myriad of fields, including research, manufacturing, as well as marketing which enables them to provide low-cost and high-quality medical solutions to their primary stakeholders (Mueller, 2020). It has also been able to increase its dominance via brand acquisitions which is a more straightforward form of brand portfolio expansion (Damoiseau et al., 2011). 

Student Response 

Response to Paige Miller 

Hello Miller, 

I do agree with you on the aspect of Apple having a more diversified portfolio, and this is among the main reasons why it is the second most valuable company in the world, just after Saudi Aramco. I also concur with you on the aspect of Apple being among the most innovative company, and I believe this is why it possesses a myriad of products under its brand. Besides, the company has been the benchmark for other technological companies because of its innovative nature. When it pertains to the company’s linchpin brands, I believe the iPhone is its linchpin brand because as it is a product that defines the face of the company and thus helps in determining its identity across the technological domain. 

Furthermore, in regards to the current brand strategy the company uses, their strategy is more of maintaining a technological ecosystem where there is a seamless switch from one product to another such that other companies would find it difficult to replicate the experience and conveniences associated with it. Therefore, I concur with you on the aspect of using emotions and lifestyle as a branding strategy (Apple’s Branding Strategy, 2020). 

Response to Amber Ellis 

Hello Ellis, 

I concur with you on some of the aspects of L’Oreal’s strategic brands. However, I would have liked you to specifically mention the current power brands, future power brands, and Linchpin brands of the company. These categorizations help in specifying the specific roles that the different brands play in the company’s portfolio. In the same manner, you should mention the current brand strategy the company uses instead of defining what the company would use as it helps uncover some of the current strategies the company uses. Also, please mention the current strategy the company currently utilizes to gain a competitive advantage because I believe you have not fully addressed the requirement as it should be more about what the company is presently undertaking instead of what the company should be undertaking. I believe such changes would make your responses comprehensive such that they address the requirements of the discussions and posts. 

Instructor Response 

Brand equity alludes to the level of sway a particular brand name has towards the consumers, as well as possessing a brand that is identifiable and well thought of. Brand equity is usually a function of positive experiences that organizations create in a bid to entice customers to continue doing business with them, especially when competing products exist. Therefore, this means that experience and awareness are the two primary tenets of brand equity. 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was in need of vaccines to bring everything back to normalcy, and thus different vaccines were made by a myriad of companies in order to get a share of the pie of the lucrative business opportunity brought about by the demand. This is one of the main reasons why Johnson and Johnson also decided to make their own vaccines to establish their brand as a pioneer for global health and wellbeing. Being a pharmaceutical company that has had success with several products, the COVI-19 vaccine seemed to be a natural process for the company. 

When analyzing how the company’s brand equity will be affected after its entry into the manufacture of COVID vaccines, it is evident that the process would increase the awareness of the company, especially in the domain of wellbeing and health, and thus stimulating a positive attitude from the consumers. In the same manner, because of the company’s reputation in the domain of health, the vaccine might increase positive brand loyalty by increasing positive associations in conjunction with perceived quality and positive affect associated with the brand. 

However, the COVID-19 vaccine might also have a negative effect on the company’s brand equity especially considering the negative image publicity associated with one of the company’s most successful products that once defined the face of the company, which is the Johnson’s baby powder. There was a myriad of litigations associated with the talc-based baby powder as traces of carcinogenic ingredients were found in the consumer product. This significantly affected the Johnson and Johnson brand. 

Recently, the US government halted the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because of the side effects brought about by using the vaccine (BBC, 2021). One that has received a lot of attention is the blood clots brought about by using the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because they can be lethal and even lead to death. This is anticipated to decrease the brand equity of the company as it is negative publicity akin to that of the Johnson’s baby powder. 

Brand Strategy Audit 

Perceptual Map 

When it entails the creation of the perceptual map for Johnson and Johnson, the most crucial factors that are significant to the company are brand reputation and the range of products the company offers. These are some of the means that the company uses to differentiate itself from the rest of the competition. Brand reputation is primarily in regards to how the brand is perceived by everyone else, especially the consumers. A robust brand reputation highlights the consumer’s trust in the brand, and it also shows that they are confident in undertaking business with the company. The range of products entails the number of brands or products that the company owns and is thus a measure of the significance of the company’s portfolio. 

The Johnson and Johnson brand is among the most popular company brands in the world, and this is one of the areas that the company actively utilizes to thwart its competition. Besides, according to their website, the company was named to the Fortune’s list of the world’s most admired companies, and it was also placed first in the pharmaceutical section worldwide for the 17 th year in a row (Johnson and Johnson, 2020). The company is the most valuable pharmaceutical brand (Rees, 2020) because of its continued and relentless investment in research and development, most recently in a vaccine that was designed to mitigate the deadly coronavirus. This just showcases how the company’s brand name is among its most identifying features from the rest of the competition. Among the company’s major competitors include Pfizer, Gsk, BMS, and AstraZeneca. 

The second dimension is that of range or products. When it comes to the diversification of its portfolio, Johnson and Johnson is the benchmark as it exists in a myriad of fields, including pharmaceuticals, consumer products, as well as medical equipment. When the rest of the competition, such Pfizer, GSK, and the likes, are compared to Johnson and Johnson in this regard, they all falter. The figure below represents the Johnson and Johnson perceptual map. 

Brand Reputation 

Range of Products 

Figure 1. Perceptual Map 

Product Life Cycle Stage and Implications 

Typically, the life of a product is associated with marketing (Graham, 1997) and management decisions, and the primary stages of the life cycle include development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Each stage poses its own risks, opportunities, and costs, and products usually differ in how long they remain at the life cycle stages (Soto, 2020). The development stage is a stage where costs accumulate with no corresponding revenue. The introduction stage entails the development of the market for the product and building its awareness. The growth stage is where companies increase their market share as their products have been accepted by the customers. The maturity stage marks the leveling off of sales and increase in competition. The last stage is the decline, where the product perceives a decrease in sales in conjunction with a reduction in revenue. When analyzing the Johnson and Johnson brand, it has a portfolio of products but using its most popular brand, which is Tylenol, the product is in the maturity stage. This means that the sales of the product have leveled off, and there is no further increase in sales. One of the reasons for leveling off of sales is because of increased competition from other forms of painkillers. 

The implications for this particular brand are that without further improvement of the features of the product, the product’s market share might decline. Similarly, it also translates to the fact that prices ought to be reduced in a bid to stay competitive. There are higher risks of market saturation and changing customer needs. Therefore, the option might be to sell the manufacturing rights of the products, and this is the case with Tylenol as it is often used as an ingredient in other medicines. 

However, when considering Johnson’s baby powder which has been among the most reputable products for the company for an extended period, the product life cycle is in the declining stage because the sales of the products have either decreased significantly or are being halted completely. One of the main reasons why this trend is happening is because of the health controversies surrounding the product. The company just recently announced that it would be discontinuing the sales of its talc-based baby powder, a product that once defined the wholesome image of the company. The main reason behind this was because of earlier lawsuits against the company, which claimed that talc caused ovarian cancer. Similarly, there were claims that traces of asbestos in the product were present in the talc and capable of causing cancer even in small amounts. However, prior to the controversies that forced a decline in sales of the products, it was revealed that the baby powder made up only half a percent of its total consumer health business and that the demand had slumped over time. Therefore, in 2020, the company discontinued the product after the evaluation of the product portfolio and weighing the risks of potential future litigations against the current product significance. In this manner, this shows that Johnson’s baby powder brand was already in the declining product phase prior to its shutdown. Therefore, the shutdown process was the major implication for this particular product considering the company was losing more when still undertaking business with the brand name or product. While selling the brand or licensing it might have been an option, the controversy behind the product makes it very difficult to transfer or inherit the brand name because of the negative consumer perception. 

References 

Apple’s Branding Strategy. (2020). Retrieved 15 April 2021, from http://www.marketingminds.com.au/apple_branding_strategy.html#:~:text=Apple%20has%20a%20branding%20strategy,%2Dthe%2Dpeople%20through%20technology. 

BBC. (2021). Johnson & Johnson vaccine paused over rare blood clots. Retrieved 16 April 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56733715 

Chandra, A. (2019). Brand Architecture - The Blueprint for Strategic Marketing Decisions. Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://www.brandloom.com/brand-architecture-the-blueprint-for-strategic-marketing-decisions#:~:text=Linchpin%20Brand%3A%20A%20brand%20that,strong%20base%20for%20customer%20loyalty. 

Damoiseau, Y., Black, W. and Raggio, R. (2011). Brand creation vs. acquisition in portfolio expansion strategy. Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 268-281. 

Grantham, L. M. (1997). The validity of the product life cycle in the high-tech industry. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 15(1), 4-10. 

Johnson & Johnson. (2020). Johnson & Johnson Named a 2020 Fortune World’s Most Admired Company. Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://www.jnj.com/latest-news/johnson-johnson-named-a-2020-fortune-worlds-most-admired-company 

Michael. (2015). Understanding Vertical Brand Differentiation Strategy. Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://branduniq.com/2015/strategic-brand-positioning-understanding-vertical-differentiation-strategy/ 

Mueller, Z. (2020). Johnson and Johnson Strategic Analysis: Business Strategy Foundations. (2021). Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://zachmueller88.medium.com/johnson-and-johnson-strategic-analysis-business-strategy-foundations-29a86745617f 

Rees, V. (2020). Johnson & Johnson “Most Valuable” Pharma Brand, Says Report. Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/112494/johnson-johnson-most-valuable-pharma-brand-says-report/ 

Rothman, A., L. (2019). Johnson & Johnson’s 3 Most Profitable Lines of Business (JNJ). Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/020316/johnson-johnsons-3-most-profitable-lines-business-jnj.asp 

Soto, A. (2020). What is a Product Life Cycle? Retrieved 14 April 2021, from https://articles.bplans.com/what-is-a-product-life-cycle/