What helps new brands grow the most?

Launching a new brand is harrrd. And most new brands fail. 

But of all the things you can do, what drives growth the most?

Ataman, Mela, and van Heerde dissected how the 4 P’s of the Marketing Mix impact brand launches (not line extensions).


They crunched sales & ad & distribution data for 225 CPG (FMCG) brand launches across 21 chains in France and tracked them for 3-5 years.

The King of Growth? Place (aka distribution breadth), followed by feature & display.


The least impactful things? Distribution depth (relative shelf dominance) & advertising.


Caveats, of course. And every brand is different. (E.g., Away launched their DTC luggage brand with a, uh, coffee table book.)

But if you’re launching a new brand:


  1. Get distribution, stat!

  2. Get featured & get on display

  3. Don’t focus on advertising

  4. Don’t worry about shelf dominance

Read the original paper too. It’s doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1080.0358 


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