Brand Strategy articles from April 2002

Brand Strategy archives from April 2002

Just kidding ourselves. (Leader).(advocates standards in the marketing industry)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 1, 2002... How many times do you hear marketing referred to as a profession by lawyers, doctors and accountants? Let's be brutal, it isn't. It has very few accepted standards. You don't need to have a qualification. There's no accepted training period or...

Bully branding. (Leader).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Your article `When your Baby is Branded a Bully' rightly drew your readers' attention to the success of activists using the internet to communicate their concerns. Nonetheless it only told half the story. It discussed how online research...

Getting branding into the boardroom. (Leader).(relaunch of this publication includes new reasons for article selection; also briefly mentions content in this issue)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Everyone I have met over the last month or so has assured me they're a branding consultant. The less obvious candidates include PR agencies, management consultants, media agencies and accountants. Those who've been hovering on the sidelines for...

ITV Digital. (Marketing).(company in bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... ITV Digital has been placed into administration. The Carlton and Granada-owned digital platform accepted defeat on 27 March and appointed Deloitte & Touche to restructure the business. The collapse occurred after talks with the Football League...

Typhoo. (Marketing).(Clemmow Hornby Inge designs ad campaign for tea company)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Typhoo is repositioning its tea brand as a contemporary, refreshing drink in an attempt to interest younger consumers. The ad campaign -- from Clemmow Hornby Inge -- brings back echoes of a strapline last used 12 years ago: "Only an OO will...

Worthington. (Marketing).(Coors Brewers discontinues Worthington Cup sponsorship)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Beer brand Worthington has announced that it will not renew its five-year 23m [pounds sterling] sponsorship of the Football League's cup competition. Coors Brewers, which acquired the Worthington brand late last year, has pledged not to...

Munch Bunch. (Marketing).(yoghurt brand begins TV ad campaign)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Munch Bunch, the yoghurt brand for kids, is launching its first national TV sponsorship campaign. The brand is sponsoring Milkshake, the weekday morning show for pre-school children on Channel 5. The creatives show the Munch Bunch fruit...

Advertising Association. (Marketing).(2001 advertising dropped 3.2 in the U.K.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Advertising expenditure in the UK fell by 263m [pounds sterling] -- 6.9% -- in the fourth quarter of 2001, compared to 2000, according to an Advertising Association survey. There was an overall drop of 3.2% throughout 2001 from the year before....

BMP DDB has won a 25m [pounds sterling] advertising account to lure overseas tourists to the UK. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... BMP DDB has won a 25m [pounds sterling] advertising account to lure overseas tourists to the UK. The brief was issued by COI Communications after a 14% drop in UK tourism last year as a result of both foot-and-mouth disease and the effects of...

Gift Aid. (Marketing).(non-profit organization hires Wolff Olins to manage ad campaign)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Wolff Olins has been appointed to work on the Gift Aid brand. The service -- introduced in the 2000 budget -- is designed to encourage donations by allowing charities to claim back tax on any monetary gifts. Wolff Olins aims to raise the...

GlaxoSmithKline has put 27m [pounds sterling] behind the relaunch of its Ribena brand. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... GlaxoSmithKline has put 27m [pounds sterling] behind the relaunch of its Ribena brand. The new positioning sees the drink focus on taste rather than health benefits. Ribena is also being packaged in new sports-cap bottles to make the product...

World Sports Solutions. (Marketing).(Rio Ferdinand hires World Sports Solutions to design new ad campaign)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Rio Ferdinand, the Leeds and England footballer, has appointed World Sports Solutions (WSS) to build his brand profile. Ferdinand moved to Leeds United last season for 18m [pounds sterling] and WSS is keen to develop him as a "footballing...

The National Lottery has launched a revamped logo, created by Landor. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The National Lottery has launched a revamped logo, created by Landor. The move is designed to boost the gambling game's sales. The new look is supported by a 82m [pounds sterling] marketing campaign and the use of a sub-brand -- Lotto -- for...

BBC. (Launches & Rebrands).(launches new TV ad campaign)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The BBC has launched a new on-screen brand for its BBC One channel. The latest look uses the theme of "rhythm, dance and movement" and features a square BBC logo in red. The creatives show Maori and Brazillian dances, wheelchair basketball and...

Diary. (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SportBusiness 2002 Thistle Tower Hotel, London 23-24 April A look at sports business and sponsorship. Tessa Jowell, secretary for Culture, Media and Sport is a guest speaker. www.sportsbusiness.com Ethical Corporation Europe 2002...

Springpoint. (Appointments).(two new directors hired)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Springpoint, the brand consultancy, has appointed Stephen Meade as UK managing director and David Rowson as European managing director. Both posts are newly created and report to Springpoint's chief executive, Fiona Gilmore.

Guinness UDV. (Appointments).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Guinness UDV has promoted Chris Britton to the role of global marketing director for the Baileys, Tanqueray, Jose Cuervo, Archers and Pimm's No 1 brands. It is the first time that there has been a single marketer with responsibility for the...

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. (Appointments).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Ray Perry, director of corporate marketing and chief executive of the e-centre at the Chartered Institute of Marketing has moved to become a director of brands at The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Express Newspapers. (Appointments).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Roland Agambar has joined Express Newspapers as marketing director. The role -- looking after The Express, Sunday Express and Daily Star -- has been vacant for 18 months since Northern Shell bought Express Newspapers. Agambar was previously...

Black Tower wine is being relaunched with a 1m [pounds sterling] marketing campaign. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Black Tower wine is being relaunched with a 1m [pounds sterling] marketing campaign. The German wine brand -- first launched in 1968 -- is adopting a redesigned bottle and two new varieties of the drink: Pinot Noir and Riesling. Portuguese wine...

Mars has had a facelift to make it more popular with health-conscious woman consumers. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Mars has had a facelift to make it more popular with health-conscious woman consumers. The bar has a lighter whipped nougat centre and updated packaging from Jones Knowles Ritchie. The brand's famous strapline -- "A Mars a day helps you work,...

EasyGroup. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... EasyGroup, the budget company, is hoping to move into cinemas and accommodation. EasyGroup founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is exploring the viability of EasyCinema, a service offering cheap tickets booked in advance. He is also considering...

TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson has launched a range of foods under his brand name. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson has launched a range of foods under his brand name. The range includes goat's yoghurt, biscuits, chutneys and organic soups.

Nestle has spent 3.5m [pounds sterling] repositioning its Yorkie chocolate brand with a macho image. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Nestle has spent 3.5m [pounds sterling] repositioning its Yorkie chocolate brand with a macho image. The TV advertising campaign by J Walter Thompson, which runs for five weeks throughout April and point-of-sale material feature the strapline:...

Boots has launched two own-brand haircare ranges in a bid to compete with market-leading brands. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Boots has launched two own-brand haircare ranges in a bid to compete with market-leading brands. Stuff is a new range of styling products aimed at a young audience. ProVitamin is a shampoo and conditioner range designed to compete with Pantene....

Egg, the internet bank, is revamping its identity with a new look for its website. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Egg, the internet bank, is revamping its identity with a new look for its website. The bank is branching out and using a palette of co[ours to distinguish areas of the site -- dropping its ubiquitous green shade. The brand is also altering the...

Coca-Cola. (International).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Coca-Cola is believed to be working on a vanilla-flavoured version of Coke. The move comes on the heels of last year's US launch of Diet Coke with Lemon. The Diet Coke variant -- apparently reformulated for British tastes -- is being launched...

KirchMedia. (International).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... KirchMedia has filed for insolvency after talks with investors and partners failed to save the broadcaster. The company's collapse is one of the biggest in German history. The beleaguered business owns international TV rights to the 2002 and...

PepsiCo has replaced Coca-Cola as the sponsor of the US National Football League, beginning with the 2002 season. (International).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... PepsiCo has replaced Coca-Cola as the sponsor of the US National Football League, beginning with the 2002 season. The deal allows PepsiCo to use NFL logos in their advertising and makes the Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana, Gatorade and Frito-Lay brands...

Hopes and fears among young mainstream opinion leaders: Carl Rohde reflects on research that suggests young people are not persuaded by blatant advertising messages. (Trendspotter).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Broad European research among young people conducted by GfK Denmark in co-operation with Signs of the Time has shown that the youthful expression of a you-can't-tell-me-anything attitude covers up a lot of doubts and a pronounced feeling of...

If I could get my hands on Vodafone ...: Adrian Davis, assistant director at PricewaterhouseCoopers explains why he'd love to work with the Vodafone brand. (In An Ideal World).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... I really admire the work that Vodafone has done over the past few years. It has brought to life a very successful brand. But I do feel that some well-known telecoms companies -- notably Vodafone and Orange in Europe, Verizon in the US and NTT...

Odour and out: Radion on a short spin cycle: Morag Cuddeford-Jones dons a pair of shades to take a closer look at why the `sunfresh' soap powder brand is no more. (That Was The Brand That Was).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Radion soap powder's ten-year sojourn on the UK's supermarket shelves was short but bright. Launched in September 1989 by Unilever, it promised to be `the best ever on dirt and odours'. Luminous orange packaging screamed `buy me' but for many...

Big brother meets the internet fridge. (Brand Stunt Of The Month).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... LG Electronics is bringing shop mannequins to life this month. The home appliances manufacturer is teaming up with Harrods to recruit a "family" of four who will live in the department store's windows for six days next month. The...

Brand mot.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Consignia, the holding company for Royal Mail, Parcelforce and Post Office Counters, needs to shed staff to save the business from financial crisis. Fifteen thousand job losses have already been announced, with the majority coming from...

Global branding sounds a death knell for One 2 One; Morag Cuddeford Jones speaks to One 2 One's marketing director about rebranding to T-Mobile. (News Analysis).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Observers will be watching closely on 18 April, to see if T-Mobile's rebranding of One 2 One is about to wipe out nearly a decade's brand heritage. Will One 2 One's 10.4 million UK customer base swallow the new, global image after 10 years of...

Total branding: Mike Johnston urges brand ambassadors to live and breathe their brand to get maximum customer satisfaction. (Opinion).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Total branding is about unifying the activities of the whole company to win customer preference. By linking brand values with the corporate vision, a company becomes more effective and efficient. That is, the brand drives the business. But...

Retailers take on the telly; Andrew Harrison warns that TV's biggest threat comes from retailers and that supermarkets are the new media. (Opinion).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Many major companies have accelerated the cuts in media spend that were overdue in an over-heated market. Overall media spend in 2001 declined by 3.7%, compared with 2000's rise of 2.1% and the halcyon days (at least for station owners) in 1999...

Blue skies ahead for a no-frills Go-getter; Elen Lewis talks to David Magliano, a pioneer in the no-frills airline sector. As marketing and sales director at Go, Magliano is ruthless when it comes to delivering brand values with consistency. (Profile).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... David Magliano is scared of flying. Not an ideal scenario when you're the sales and marketing director at no-frills airline Go. But that hasn't stopped him from persuading four million passengers to fly with his airline. And at a time when...

Road trips and branding tips with the Y generation; Morag Cuddeford-Jones gets her hands on exclusive research from Futurebrand revealing what 20-22-year-olds think of branding and marketing. (News Analysis).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Last month (March) saw Futurebrand embark on its first fact-finding research project across Europe. The aim -- to discover how the so-called Generation Y respond to brands by taking them on a road trip. The branding consultancy selected...

Clarification Lucozade.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... In last month's issue, information supplied to Brand Strategy regarding the Lucozade redesign was incomplete. Smith & Milton redesigned the Lucozade logo in 1995, turning the logo to run from the bottom to the top of the bottle and developing...

Mulberry buds into season; Morag Cuddeford-Jones analyses Mulberry's rebranding strategy and questions whether it will be able to drag itself out of English nostalgia into the upper echelons of the international luxury brands market. (Mulberry Rebrands).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... It was the brand equivalent of being asked `when's it due' as the waistline heads south. Allegedly Mulberry and its founder Roger Saul were dragged into the 21st century by a journalist's observation: "So, how long has Mulberry been around --...

Stomach-churning strategies: a brand may well convey an ideology but this must be upheld by its staff and public relations in order to gain credibility -- it's what's on the inside that counts. Ruth Mortimer looks at internal branding exercises and asks who should own the process and how damaging negative personnel really can be. (Employee Branding).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... There was a time when the `brand' was a logo on packaging or the message in an advert. But this is no longer enough. Companies are turning to internal branding strategies and asking their employees to `live the brand'. And this doesn't mean...

Telewest -- thinking broadly. (Employee branding: case study).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Telewest -- the broadband media and communications group -- adopted a new identity in November 2001. In addition to the new logo of pulsing blue and purple circles, the company was keen to develop its internal brand before the revamp was...

Skoda's velvet revolution: Ruth Mortimer examines the bodywork of the infamous Skoda brand. Once the butt of many a joke, its recent revamp has given the brand some credibility and more importantly -- a waiting list. (Skoda).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... A man walks into his local garage and asks: "Have you got a new set of window wipers for my Skoda?" The guy behind the till scratches his chin, then replies: "Sounds like a fair swap." We've all heard the jokes. But Skoda is having the last...

World Cup brand protection: Rob Parr investigates how the World Cup 2002 official partners will be able to protect and project their brands in a year when the world's biggest sporting event is set in the lion's den of the black market. (Special Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The World Cup is the biggest global sporting event, and that's official. At the end of next month, the greatest show on earth kicks off in Japan and South Korea. Three million spectators are scheduled to attend the matches in person; a...

Reputation on ice: the sponsorship of a sports star does not always guarantee positive and cost-effective marketing. Rob Parr investigates the potential pitfalls of sport sponsorship and questions the extent to which the Drambuie brand has been damaged by attaching itself to disgraced Scottish skier Alain Baxter. (Special Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Sponsorship is a growing phenomenon. Just last month, Unilever announced it was launching a global fund for sponsorship marketing. In a fragmented media environment, sponsorship allows brands to attach themselves to the passion engendered by...

A new brand world: Scott Bedbury, former senior vice president at Starbucks discusses co-branding and a controversial deal for the coffee brand to supply to United Airlines. (Brand Papers).(A New Brand World. Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the 21st century)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Whenever a company attempts to broaden its brand -- for increased revenues or for profits -- it should always be diligent about assessing the impact that additional "brandwidth" will have on its brand strength. This does not mean merely...

Sharing the wealth: Simon Anholt, chairman of Earthspeak says emerging markets should jump on the brand-wagon as developing global brands could be the key to a fairer distribution of global wealth. (Brand Papers).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... One of the most interesting business ventures in the developing world right now is Deepak Kanegaonkar's company, Gandh Sugandh, in Mumbai, India. Kanegaonkar is the man who decided to sell Indian perfume in Paris. His brand, Urvashi, sells for...

The art of brand renaming: renaming brands in China is no straightforward process. As a language and culture loaded with symbolism and imagery, a direct translation can often lead to comical or negative results. (Brand Papers).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Lux is called [CHINESE TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (Strong Man) in China, a name contradicting the image of a young woman on its package. When the brand first entered the Chinese market in the early 1980s, a Hollywood actress was employed...

Over 50 but underrated: Jean-Paul Treguer's book Over 50s Marketing is more pertinent now than ever. As the babyboomers make plans for retirement, Tom Blackett suggests brand managers should focus on finding ways to help this demographic spend its time -- and money. (Brand Papers).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Many years ago, when I was a fledgling market researcher, I was summoned to a briefing at a very well-known food company. It had developed a range of products especially for older consumers and wanted these tested. The marketing manager proudly...

Don't use my face! Ravinder Chahil from Bird & Bird law firm analyses the implications of using a famous person's image in advertising without their permission. (Brand Papers).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... It is now almost impossible to flick through a magazine, watch TV or even walk down the street without seeing a well-known person associated with a product or service. Endorsement is big business. So what does a famous personality do when...

Can advertising reach everyone in the target audience? (Trends).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Consumers who are annoyed by TV advertising are more receptive to integrated ad campaigns that include press, according to research presented at Market Research Society annual conference 2002 by NFO BJM. The research segmented consumers...

Business branding in the spotlight. (Trends).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Quality of product or service is more important than a strong reputation in the business-to-business arena, suggests a survey from research group NOP World and the Superbrands organisation. Of those interviewed, 83% said that the delivery of a...

Brands are fairweather friends. (Trends).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Ninety-four per cent of company directors think that a strong brand can offer protection from an economic downturn, says research from MORI and agency Wolff Olins. But executives seem less sure when the intangibles are closer to home. Only 61%...

Exploring ethnicity and branding. (Research).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Around 7% of the UK's population are from an ethnic minority background, according to the Labour Force Survey of 1997. They wield 13bn [pounds sterling] in spending power and contribute about 40bn [pounds sterling] to Britain's GDP. This...

Building customer value through the internet. (Research).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Despite its short heritage, it is an accepted fact that a web presence is a key element of the marketing mix for the majority of brands. In recent years, however, it has become clear that few marketers understand what ends it should serve. What...

Kids know what they want and they want it now! (Research).
April 1, 2002... Brand awareness in children appears to increase sharply with age. Ninety-four per cent of 11-16-year-olds can spontaneously name a footwear brand, as opposed to only 53% of 5-10-year-olds, according to a Child-Wise Monitor report. This rise in...

Grandma, what big teeth you have. (Last Word).(Shark Shields from SeaChange Technologies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Duh-duh-Duh-duh-Duh-duh -- is it safe to go back in the water? SeaChange Technologies' chairman Rod Hartley doesn't know and he's hoping no one finds out. He has just launched Shark Shields, a portable device which uses small electrical pulses...

Praise be. (Last Word).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Gossip website Popbitch.com recently threw up an interesting branding dilemma, as one of its regulars asked the resident legal expert if he could trademark God. The question got a muddled response from the board. According to Jeremy Philpott,...

New balls please. (Last Word).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Further to our story about the fickle world of sports sponsorship, Adidas is having an interesting time of it lately. First the story breaks that, much as it likes the PR from endless stories about Anna Kournikova in the gossip press, the...

Branding the unexpected: how to create a brand that offers a continuous stream of different surprises and keeps consumers on their toes.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Do branding and marketing always march in step towards the same destination? Or do they sometimes point companies in completely different directions? Consultant Martin Silcock of Explorate floored me with this question recently. It's not...