Definition of Flanker Brand: It is a product of the same category as another product but is a variant. A simple example would be adding vegetable crackers to a line of crackers that already included flavors of cheese, bacon, and chicken.
A flanker brand is a new brand introduced into the market by a company that already has an established brand in the same product category. The new brand is designed to compete in the category without damaging the existing item's market share by targeting a different group of consumers.
A fighting brand strategy is adding a new brand to confront competitive brands in an established product category. Our article on the outline for a marketing plan can help you plan your advertising and marketing efforts, and check out our branding guide.
A brand extension (some times called a category extension) is when a brand is known for one type of product starts selling a different type of product. Some example of brand extension are: Apple: from personal computers into MP3 players. Callaway: from golf clubs into footwear, apparel and golf accessories.
This defensive strategy involving adopting a companion for an existing brand is popularly referred to as the “flanker” strategy. Flanker branding is also used for counter attacking a competitor when faced with the challenge to its existing premium brand.
An example of a successful fighter brand is the Celeron microprocessor, brought out by Intel to face the threat from cheaper processors that were better suited for the nascent market for low-cost PCs such as the AMD K6. In doing so, Intel succeeded in preserving the brand equity and premium image of its Pentium chips.
General Motors' (GM) "Saturn," United Airlines' "Ted," and Kodak's "Funtime" film range are all high-profile fighter brands that failed.
4 Brand Growth Strategies The four brand strategies are line extension, brand extension, new brand strategy, and flanker/fight brand strategy.