BRAND NAME VS GENERIC NAME

BRAND NAME VS GENERIC NAME

 (COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE)

A lot of people mistake the brand name of products for their generic name and vice versa, this is affected or caused by a lot of factors ranging from popularity of the product to the fact that the brand in question was the pioneer of that particular product, this write up is aimed at helping us the consumers understand the difference between the generic and brand name of products using few examples of the common mistakes people make in the society while also helping the producers understand how to make their brands become household names in their catchment areas.

The generic name is the group or general name given to a class of products with similar characteristics and functions, while the brand name is the name given to a particular product by a company to differentiate it from other products of the same group, it is also known as trade mark.

             GENERIC NAME                                      BRAND NAME

·       Noodles                                         Indomie, Tommy Tommy, Dangote

·       Sports Utility Vehicles(SUV)      Jeep, High Lander, Range Rover etc

·       E-Mail                                            Yahoo mail, Gmail, Hot Mail etc

·       Operating system                        Android, Mac, Windows, etc         

·       Analgesics                                     Paracetamol, Asprin, Ibuprofen.

                                                             

Also these mistakes not only apply to average Nigerians with little education but also to people that attended the higher institutions,

          The western parts of the country have their own fair share of these mistakes, where they refer to every Malt drink as Maltina and every Newspaper as Daily Times substituting the Brand name for the generic name and vice versa, other instances includes where people refer to every Search Engine as Google Every Seasoning as Maggi and Every Detergent as Omo to mention but a few.

Brand Managers and promoters of products, goods or services of some of the companies that find their products competing with these big names in the game are now faced with the challenge of making themselves popular in a market dominated by these big names.

How to popularize your product

·       Interesting audio visual advert placements.

·       Strong Online and social media interactive presence.

·       Good pricing technique.

·       Sponsorship of social events which majority of your clients enjoy.

·       Giving back to the society through charity work.

·       Recruiting popular celebrities with large followership and opinion leaders as brand ambassadors etc.