It is all about value transference. There is little doubt that associating key personalities, sporting or otherwise, with a brand can provide major benefits if executed wisely and sensitively. But there are already rumours of the public (well, perhaps only the Irish public) calling for a boycott of Gillette following Thierry Henry’s helping hand in his country’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland. Only a minor issue for the brand, I’m sure, but it does flag up the potential... Read Full Story

Internal culture is the most powerful determinant of brand values, which, in turn affect external brand perceptions. It directly impacts the brand development as it lies at its core. If we think of corporate culture as an organism, evolving over time, it could develop as a goldfish or a piranha.  Cultures contain positive and negative traits – each can thrive or die depending upon its environment. Continuing the evolutionary model, it is the survival of those best suited to that enviro... Read Full Story

Mr Darling’s promise/threat to break up some of the high street retail banks is expected to bring some new banks to our high street. Will these be completely new brands or bolt-ons to existing institutions? I have observed brands and brand management in the financial sector with mixed emotions, though the predominant emotion is probably ennui. The truth is that more retail bank brands will probably do little for the consumer unless someone is bold enough to come up with a seriously inno... Read Full Story

I have added a couple of whitepapers to the blog for your interest. The first, ‘Brand and Corporate Personality as Relationships – systems theory’, explores some thinking on brand relationships and some models including the brand-as-person model. The second, ‘Brand Dynamics and Eco-motive strategies’, looks at some ideas of mapping brand psychology on economic cycles. Check them out on the ‘Whitepapers’ pages above or the links on the right. Read Full Story

British baby buggy manufacturer Maclaren are recalling some 1 million of their umbrella strollers from the US market following reports of children having fingertips amputated by the closure mechanism. Hopefully this will be a lesson on handling brand communications properly, to preserve the brand values of a long-established organization – but I have an uneasy feeling it may be a masterclass in how NOT to handle them. In the US, Maclaren have been quick to respond – the recall, is... Read Full Story

Noting the imminent demise of the Threshers wine stores and considering two dimensions: firstly pressures on the sector, and secondly differentiation within the sector. This could be a classic case-study question for marketing students! Since supermarkets first carved a niche for themselves in the drinks sector ( I seem to remember Sainsburys were the pioneers), the high street wine stores have been under pressure. Apart from a small window of opportunity on Sunday evenings when even 24hr Sup... Read Full Story

Sometimes there are big items or changes that affect brands, but more often than not it is an aggregation of little things that come together to make a brand special. Tom Peters used to talk of ’small moments of delight’ – when a brand presents something small, new and surprising. It’s not necessarily going the extra mile, but often just the extra yard… then doing it again and again. Tiny points: slightly more thoughtful packaging, pro-active client service, an u... Read Full Story

A lot of the discussions regarding branding is actually focused on the external elements, the brand communications. These are of course distinct from what the brand actually ‘is’. One often hears the media confusing, logos, liveries and packaging with the brand. But although the external dimensions are distinct from the internal properties and values of the brand they are, of course, interlinked and interdependent. Let’s consider the matrix below: The horizontal axis repres... Read Full Story

There has been quite a furore about certain online- retailers using differential prices in favour of new customers over loyal ones. In its simplest terms if you have the cookie to show you have bought from the site before, you get a different set of prices from a those presented to a new visitor. The financial logic is quite straightforward and akin to new customer bonuses and loss leaders. Indeed, there have been various scenarios developed questioning the comparative values of brand-loyal c... Read Full Story

The US Federal Trade Commission has ruled that advertisers, and the celebrities who endorse their brands, will be liable for any untruthful claims made in the adverts. This poses a few interesting dilemmas and one that springs to mind is can celebrities also hold advertisers liable for damage to their own brand? How can celebrities be reassured that the claims are true? I’m sure that ‘A’ list celebs and the big brands they promote will be seeking all manner of sophisticated ... Read Full Story