The economy looks like it's not going to pick up any time soon. Formerly loyal consumers are trading down in ever greater numbers, and discount brands and private labels are taking a bigger and bigger slice of your market share. It's an increasingly common dilemma for CMOs with brands in the middle or top end of the market. Should you tackle the threat head-on and reduce existing prices on your premium brand, knowing it will reduce profits and potentially damage brand equity? Or should you maintain prices, hope for better times to return, and in the meantime lose sales from customers and support from your CEO? With both of these alternatives often proving equally unpalatable, many marketers have decided on a third option: launching a fighter brand.
