Brand Pruning - A Wisely Used Tool in the Marketers' Arsenal

Brand Pruning can be defined as a process by which a company cuts off those Brands and line brands, which have less contribution on its bottom-line or sometimes top line as well. This is almost a continuous process particularly for FMCG and white goods in India. (Kotler-2000). The theoretical part of Brand Pruning is relatively new, although it has been practiced by many companies from ages and decades but non availability of a comprehensive literature is a major hindrance. The earliest records of advocating Brand Rationalization process can be traced in the early 1930s; Neil McElroy was a manager who supervised the advertising for Camay soap at Procter & Gamble. The consumer products giant ignored Camay but spent money and paid attention on its flagship product, Ivory. Naturally, Ivory remained the leader while Camay struggled for survival. Annoyed, McElroy drafted a three-page internal memo in May 1931. He argued that P&G should switch to a brand-based management system. Only then would each of its brands have a dedicated budget and managerial team and a fair shot at success in the marketplace. McElroy suggested that the company's brands would fight with each other for both resources and market share. Each "brand man's objective would be to ensure that his brand became a winner even if that happened at the expense of the business's other brands. However, McElroy did not carry the argument to its logical end." (Kumar-2004)