Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Communicating Category Membership

Category membership may be obvious. Target customers are aware that Maybelline is a leading brand of cosmetics, Cheerios is a leading brand of cereal, McKinsey is a leading consulting firm, and so on. But when a product is new, marketers must inform consumers of the brand’s category membership.

Sometimes consumers may know the category membership but not be convinced that the brand is a valid member of the category. They may be aware that HP produces digital cameras, but they may not be certain whether HP cameras are in the same class as those made by Canon, Nikon, and Sony. In this instance, HP might find it useful to reinforce category membership.

Brands are sometimes affiliated with categories in which they ...