'Fifty ways to brand your cheddar', the song Paul Simon never wrote

This  stream of thought was prompted by  recent  articles and exchanges on Twitter about the language, types  and construct of brands ; thinking amongst others here of @clairestrickett , @paulmarkbailey and @bruceclarkprof amongst many others.

As always my focus is b2c packaged groceries , where my personal core experience lies; things may well be very different  elsewhere, and I'd be interested to hear about it.

 The questions it prompted were ones I occasionally mused about  during my time as a brand marketer  when first grappling with  the  challenges of competing with  retailer private label, from way back when this was a new phenomenon  in the UK in the 80's. 

For context  retailers  today  may have up to four tiers of private label  in the same category  from lowest price  hard discounter clone  without retailers logo or identifying marks on the pack through value , standard and premium, all bearing the retailers pack identifying codes and logos. Furthermore retailer private labels are frequently  when aggregated  together the  overall market leaders which makes for a more complex competitor landscape for the  manufacturer brand marketer 

The questions : 

*Do the same rules of branding apply to retailer private label brands as those of manufacture  owned brands?

For example  could I as  a manufacturer brand of cheddar  enter the market for  say deodorants  with the same brand  without losing brand identity in the minds of consumers? I think not, but this 'no borders' approach is one of the basic  operating characteristics  and differentiators ( for marketers  anyway)  of retail private label. Similarly  I  note from my experience in food how rare it is for brands to successfully go cross category within food  without a landscape brand positioning  and benefit which is not anchored in any one  specific category , thinking du darfst from Unilever, weight watchers etc., 

more  outside food  though, thinking Dove, Nivea  and such.

*Do consumers  see differences  between manufacter brand and retailer private label and what are they ?

 I've read plenty of anecdotal  commentary in  qualitative research  mainly  about price/value/quality parity,  freedom from brand tax  and so forth ,but haven't read anything more substantial, particularly  if ( to simplify in the extreme)  manufacturer brands  can maybe  win on psychological  benefits whilst retailer private labels  are more likely  to win on  a rational / transactional  basis.

* Can manufacturer brands own relevant  different  associations in the minds of consumers  as a result ?

 Kellogg's  from memory used to have body copy along  the lines of ' we don't make for anyone else' , but this is functional rational talk.

Conversely , in my own experience some retailer private labels , especially a

in the premium  tier  are seen as doing a better  job than manufacturer brands in some categories  in terms of  functionality, quality, innovation  and prestige. 

There was even  a thing called ' having a Mark's and Spencer dinner party ' where the accent was on the conversation  and all the food was ready made and sold under the retailers  own brand. 

As retailer private label has grown in  presence and market share across all categories  we have seen manufacturer brands going the other way  ,with high profile  multinationals  like Unilever  and Danone seeking to rationalise  their portfolio of brands and categories that were  partly the result of   acquisitions , either by divestment or migration.

So in summary  retailers,  because they control  access to the consumer via ownership of  the  shelves as well as ultimate consumer prices  , have been able to rewrite part of the brand  marketing handbook as regards core competence if nothing else,  and together with  a quality supply chain  have fully segmented and met consumer needs .