MKT655 DB4 Responses

K Bailey
When thinking about successful brand extensions it’s hard to not think about the tech giant Apple. While originally founded in 1976 to develop and sell personal computers Apple has created multiple brand extensions but the one that kicked them off would be an MP3 player. After establishing what would become iTunes in the year 2000 Apple began to work on a portable digital audio player thus creating the iPod which officially launched on November 10th, 2001. With the launch of the iTunes store in 2003, the iPod would go on to sell over 100 million units within the first 6 years. The success of the iPod can directly be linked to other extensions the brand would go on to create such as the iPad and the iPhone both of which have the original functions of an iPod integrated into them.
 V Jaramillo
Brand extension is the concept that relies on the popularity, reputation as well as the brand loyalty of an already established and well-known product to market a new product. Products that are about to be released need to share functionality with established products so that customers can associate them. If the two products do not share functionality, there may be a mismatch, and existing customers will not contact and accept the new product. In the brand expansion, the company can use one of its well-known products (AVADA, 2020) during the new product launch.
Honda is an example of a successful brand extension. The Honda lawn mower is an example of a successful brand expansion. The successful launch of the lawnmowers is linked to the company’s reputation and expertise. It falls into the category of the brand extension that is based on the firm’s expertise. The success of the brand extension was because Honda has a well-known reputation in the manufacturing of cars and, thus, there is the aspect of customer loyalty. 
Second, there is the strength of the parent brand. Honda lawn mowers are manufactured by the parent brand (Honda), which has advantages in the manufacture of high-quality products. This means that when customers see an advertisement on a lawn mower, they think of Honda cars, so they will buy lawn mowers based on the car (AVADA, 2020).
What’s more, the expansion was successful due to the customer’s experience with the manufacturer. The lawn mower is manufactured by Honda, which has been in the automotive industry for a long time and has gained enough experience in production through interaction with customers. The company has a comprehensive understanding of customer needs, so it can be applied to the manufacture of lawn mowers. Through this link, it has maintained the level of customer satisfaction, and customers have gained a wealth of experience.
K Bailey 2
When it comes to unsuccessful brand extensions one would think Amazon wouldn’t have any to speak of but that’s not the case. In 2019 Amazon decided to step into the gaming world by creating a games division with the intent of developing and publishing video games. Amazon’s first title a first-person MOBA style shooter named Crucible released in such a poor state that the game was pulled from digital stores and canceled despite it being a free-to-play game. Soon after the cancellation of Crucible the company announced that its second working title “The New World” was delayed a full year due to a lack of content (Landis, 2020). In recent news, the company announced the cancellation of an MMO Lord Of The Rings title that has been in development since 2019 (Lyons, 2021). At this point, the Amazon Studios gaming division doesn’t look to be in a good place and looks like it could be a flat-out failure before it even gets started.