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I want to share some concrete tips on how organizations can build and manage brand equities--particularly, how we do so at Clorox. My focus is primarily on packaged goods, but many of the techniques can be applied to other product categories.
Clorox has a number of different brand equities; one of our most well-known is of course the Clorox cleaning products family--liquid products in particular. Just about every one of our home cleaning products is number one. For example, Liquid-plumr drain opener moved ahead of Drano two years ago; Tilex is the number one product for cleaning up mildew; Formula 409 is the number one spray cleaner for kitchen grease; and Soft Scrub is the number one cleanser (it passed Comet about two years ago in America).
In addition to cleaning products, we also have a cat litter business. Our Fresh Steps cat litter is the number one premium cat litter; we just introduced Control cat litter, a new brand name we decided to offer because we wanted to have a separate equity in the cat litter market. It is a business that is growing quickly in America, as people are beginning to prefer cats over dogs for pets.
We also have the leading brand of charcoal for barbecue grilling--Kingsford. When we acquired Pine-Sol (another cleaning product brand we are building) we also acquired Combat, an insecticide currently ranked number two behind Raid.
Finally, we have several food products. The Hidden Valley Ranch brand is the number two salad dressing brand after Kraft. We acquired K. C. Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce, a product that we rolled out of Kansas City. Clearly, we have a very diverse group of products, and have been successful in growing them year by year.
BUILDING EQUITY
How do we do it? Organizations build brand equity over time--it does not happen quickly, but if a company perseveres, it will happen. For example, consider one of our most famous equities: Clorox liquid bleach. We began marketing this brand back in 1913. We are beyond having to deal with the issue regarding whether or not we should invest in building the brand. This commitment is so deeply ingrained in our culture that we can spend more of our time focusing on how to make...