Name Brand vs Generic

[doolow]

hey whats up guys. i am doing a persuasive speech on Name Brand vs Generic Brand clothing: is the quality really better. i am going to discuss the differences in quality, price, and durability. ofcourse im on the " name brand is better " side of the arguement.

im here to ask you guys for any input on my topic, whether you are for or against my arguement. maybe some nice points i can make about the two? any help is appreciated, and any links or books will help too. thanks in advance. -jeff

[darknworn]

from a historical point of view, branded products were created originally to capture the additional quality a manufacturer has put into his product. i believe the first branded product in america was for a baking flour. over the years, many brands have given up on the traditional quality value paradigms and started to focus on the design value paradigm. for example, my local supermarket carried their generic brand and a national brand of water, the national brand costs 2.5 times as much as a generic brand. albeit the bottle design was a bit more clever, but in the traditional sense, the "quality" of the water is nowhere near 2.5 times as good (if there are in fact people who can differentiate them to begin with). if the business process is patented, i.e. in medicine, clearly the efficacy of Viagra has to be much better than the generic, otherwise the drug company will never be able to compete and thus recoup their investments. so, in that sense, the value of branded products are relative. some branded products are worth the extra cost, some are clearly rubbish. if i was going to hear a speech on branding, i would be more interested in the general trend in the marketplace, i.e. if manufactures are branding their products to capture some emotional purchasing instincts or doing so because they truly have a superior product. best of luck.

p.s. as for reading material, if you have time i would recommend books by dr. maresh malhotra, i studied with him for some marketing courses and found him to be an excellent teacher. he's also widely recognized as one of the foremost branding expert in the world.

[doolow]

THANK YOU for your reply! as i am doing research, i am beginning to think that i should do a more general Name Brand vs No Name/Generic topic. im finding that in medicine, they are both equally effective, in food (and in water, as you suggested), they are the same. in clothing, though some products might be more durable and long lasting than others, i think i am going to conclude that there is really no difference.

[jonny05]

darknworn, with your medicine analogy if the product were patented there would be no other generic product the same until the patent were lifted which I believe is about 3 - 5 yrs, this is how the pharmaceutical companies recoup their investment, after this period the majority of the time the generic would be exactlly the same as the branded bar the packaging.