Branding challenges in low-involvement categories: How brands are innovating to stay relevant

Why has branding become so crucial and important for every category today? Consumers today buy brands that stand for good quality, provide good value, and offer strong customer support.

Ask anyone the brand of cement, glass, or paint used in their house, and chances are most of them would draw a blank in their response, forgetting the brand once it is used. The primary reason for this is that there are challenges in branding products like paint and glass. The brand name ceases to exist once the painting is done, or the glass is installed.

These products remain in the consumer's mind only for a short period, fading away after the purchase decision. I would call such brands "INVISIBLE BRANDS." There are many such brands and categories where the brand is only experienced by the target audience, and brand recall becomes low after a certain period.

An interesting example is when you visit a large shopping mall. You appreciate the flooring, glass, aluminum laminates, and the latest painting technology, but you cannot connect with the brand name. The irony is that all these invisible brands help construction companies create and build their own brands. Yet, products like paint, flooring, cement, and glass, which play a major role, receive little to no recognition.

Even after a mall or township is completed by a builder like Lodha, Prestige, or Hiranandani, people remember the names of the builders, not the construction materials that went into making those apartments and malls.

Marketers in these categories must take on this challenge and find innovative ways to keep their brand top of mind, especially in cases like paint, cement, flooring, steel, and TMT bars. Manufacturers in this space are making sincere efforts because the end customer today is more savvy, thanks to the internet, which helps narrow down decisions. Gone are the days when customers fully trusted freelancers or architects when buying tiles or painting their house.

Today's customers are far more informed and aware of market trends. This makes it even more important to find ways to connect with consumers, even if your brand becomes "invisible" after purchase.

Engine oils and computer chips are classic examples of products where marketers make strong branding efforts, but the brand is forgotten once the oil is poured into the engine or the chip is inserted into the computer. The only way to stay connected with the brand is through mass media campaigns. In contrast, products like toothpaste or tea engage consumers daily, creating a closer connection. For example, you see the toothpaste brand on the tube every morning and night before going to sleep.

In the case of computer chips like INTEL or lubricant brands like CASTROL, there is a continuous effort to stay top of mind since the brand becomes invisible after purchase. For INTEL, it’s the brand experience and the INTEL sticker that help keep the brand in consumers' minds.

For low-involvement categories like glass and flooring, consumers aren't concerned about remembering the brand. The brand name fades after the purchase decision. In the case of glass, you might see a brand sticker, but once installed, the brand is forgotten. Similarly, with paint, you are connected to the brand when choosing shades from the shade card and seeing the paint container during the painting process.

Over time, brands in this category, which become invisible after initial engagement, have become more conscious of staying in touch with consumers to remain in consideration when they repaint their house.

In today’s world, brands, especially in low-involvement categories, are exploring different strategic options to stay engaged with their audience. Innovative thinking is key to keeping brands constantly engaged with their audiences. With the rapid changes in the digital space, the use of social media has helped such brands stay connected with their end users.

Two decades ago, when traditional media dominated, connecting with audiences in low-involvement categories was both challenging and expensive. But now, if your product/brand is invisible, the power of social media, with its personal engagement and targeted communication, has narrowed that gap. Many intangible or invisible brands have managed to stay top of mind and continuously engaged with their consumers.

(Our guest author is Ganapathy Viswanathan, independent communication consultant)