Brand Strategy articles from January 2003

Brand Strategy archives from January 2003

Brands without ads? (brand strategy).(companies can build brands through public relations moves )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Many brands have demonstrated that it is possible to grow and prosper without pouring hundreds of thousands of marketing pounds into advertising (shock, horror!). Having spent 37 years building a successful brand without the benefit of...

Outsourcing brands. (brand strategy).
January 1, 2003... Ian Rogers' response to my article on outsourcing was right to point out that in-house contact centres can be just as bad as outsourced ones. At the heart of that issue is our view that until more businesses recognise that the deployment of a...

What is the purpose of your business? (Leader).(Column)
January 1, 2003... It seems appropriate that the first Brand Strategy of 2003 is dominated by two kinds of stories, as suspect these themes will resonate over the next 12. months. Firstly stores of businesses pioneering customer service and secondly the growing...

Skoda's first luxury executive car will be launched via a national TV campaign developed by ad agency Fallon. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Skoda's first luxury executive car will be launched via a national TV campaign developed by ad agency Fallon. Continuing the theme `It's a Skoda. Honest', the ads show a worker unable to put Skoda badges on new executive cars as they roll down...

Hays Marketing Technology has discovered that 10 million people have opted out of receiving direct mail through commercial use of the electoral roll. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Hays Marketing Technology has discovered that 10 million people have opted out of receiving direct mail through commercial use of the electoral roll. Though this represents a quarter of the adult population, the numbers are not as high as had...

Hutchison 3G--or 3. (Launches).(mobile service provider encourages users to preregister )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Hutchison 3G--or 3 as its new brand identity is known--is encouraging pre-registration for 3G mobile services via its website, www.three.co.uk, offering tariff discounts for the first 20,000 customers. It is the first company to reveal what the...

Orange. (Launches).(to delay launch of 3G services across continental Europe)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Orange has announced that it is to delay the roll out of its 3G services across continental Europe, following the revelations that it is to cut another 1,200 jobs on top of the 800 positions that went in the UK and Denmark earlier this year....

Virgin Cola is launching its first flavoured variant in the UK with Virgin Vanilla. (Launches).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Virgin Cola is launching its first flavoured variant in the UK with Virgin Vanilla. It will be launched at the end of December priced at 99P. The new product aims to capitalise on the trend for different cola flavourings, following Coca-Cola...

Vivid Imaginations, the toy licensing company, is to re-release Care Bears in January. (Launches).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Vivid Imaginations, the toy licensing company, is to re-release Care Bears in January. The toys will be sold at 6.99 [pounds sterling or 12.99 [pounds sterling] with accompanying cartoon video. The soft toys, which originally appeared in the UK...

Diary. (News Round-Up).(Calendar)
January 1, 2003... Brands Summit 2003 Four Seasons Hotel, London 29-30 January 2003 Can brand strategy grow companies on both a global and local level? Speakers include Tom Long, president of Coca-Cola UK, Venetia Howes, global brand strategy manager at...

Marks & Spencer. (Appointments).(appoints Vittorio Radice executive director of Home division)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Marks & Spencer has poached Selfridges' chief executive Vittorio Radice for 1.2m [pounds sterling] to become executive director of its expanding Home division. He is widely credited with refreshing Selfridges' image.

Trinity Mirror. (Appointments).(appoints Sly Bailey CEO)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Trinity Mirror has appointed IPC Magazines chief executive Sly Bailey as the group's new ceo, replacing Philip Graf who is to leave next summer. Joining the group in February 2003, Bailey will be expected to reverse falling sales at the Daily...

Coca-cola. (Appointments).(appoints Steven Heyer president and COO)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Steven Heyer has been appointed president and coo of Coca-Cola worldwide. It is the next step in a career that many expect will see him eventually succeeding ceo Douglas Daft. Heyer was formerly president and coo of Turner Broadcasting System.

Siemens Mobile. (Appointments).(appoints Niclas Friese Greene senior vice president of marketing)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Niclas Friese Greene, who left Nintendo after only a month citing personal reasons, has been appointed senior vice president of marketing at Siemens Mobile in Munich. He will be responsible for leading consumer marketing in emerging markets...

Cadbury Schweppes has agreed to buy Adams confectionery business from global pharmacologists Pfizer for a total gross cash consideration of $4.2bn (2.7bn [pounds sterling]). (Financial).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Cadbury Schweppes has agreed to buy Adams confectionery business from global pharmacologists Pfizer for a total gross cash consideration of $4.2bn (2.7bn [pounds sterling]). The company will acquire the Trident and Dentine chewing gum brands,...

Formula One. (Financial).(Bernie Ecclestone drops digital racing channel)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone has dropped his digital F1 racing channel following disappointing viewing figures. Claims that the sport had become boring are said to have dented the sport's 350 million global audience. Ecclestone had...

Research house Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) has opened a sports research service in China. (International).(TNSSPORT China )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Research house Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) has opened a sports research service in China. TNSSPORT China will provide TV ratings from the incumbent CSM market research company--part of the TNS Group--which provides viewing data for 80 cities,...

Broadcast branding specialist, Lambie Nairn, has created a new identity for the US cable channel Sci Fi. (International).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Broadcast branding specialist, Lambie Nairn, has created a new identity for the US cable channel Sci Fi. As well as a new logo, 11 idents have been produced featuring fantasy creatures. The consultancy will also extend the imagery to the...

The second largest ad agency in Japan, Hakuhodo, is to merge with the fifth and sixth largest agencies, Daiko and Yomiko. (International).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The second largest ad agency in Japan, Hakuhodo, is to merge with the fifth and sixth largest agencies, Daiko and Yomiko. The merger will create an agency with estimated billings of [yen] 1,000bn (5.17bn [pounds sterling]). The newly merged...

The European Court of Justice has upheld EU Directive 2001/37/EC on the manufacture, sale and presentation of tobacco products, which bans the descriptors `light' and `mild'. (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The European Court of Justice has upheld EU Directive 2001/37/EC on the manufacture, sale and presentation of tobacco products, which bans the descriptors `light' and `mild'. British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco challenged the ban...

Wal-Mart is continuing its global expansion by increasing its investment in Japanese supermarket group, Seiyu, gaining a controlling share of 34%, through a third party share allocation worth [yen] 52.1bn (269.7m [pounds sterling]). (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Wal-Mart is continuing its global expansion by increasing its investment in Japanese supermarket group, Seiyu, gaining a controlling share of 34%, through a third party share allocation worth [yen] 52.1bn (269.7m [pounds sterling]). It is the...

Vivendi Universal. (News Round-Up).(is under investigation for allegedly misleading financial information)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... French media group Vivendi Universal is officially under investigation following allegations that the company and its senior investigators provided seriously misleading financial information. Both the company's head office and the homes of...

Consumers on call 24/7--the new economy never sleeps: with consumers living their lives at a frenetic pace, Sylvia Lowe explores how marketers can stay one step ahead. (Trendspotter).
January 1, 2003... Centuries ago, the invention of electricity began blurring the boundaries between the working day and resting night. But this colonisation of the night--and subsequently of weekends, seasons and free time--marches on, as the relationship...

If I could get my hands on Harvey Nichols ...: ... I'd take the wit of its ad campaign and inject it into its flagship store, says Rita Clifton, chairwoman of Interbrand. (In An Ideal World).
January 1, 2003... Harvey Nichols is a strong brand that has been going off the boil for a while. Both personally and professionally, it needs work to recapture its position as the definitive, sophisticated and fashion-led department store brand. The Harvey...

UK google brand search.(top brand searches)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 1, 2003... 1 Easyjet 2 Ryanair 3 British Airways 4 Eurostar 5 Tesco 6 Nokia 7 Railtrack 8 Virgin trains 9 BT 10 Royal Mail

Technical breakdown: why Commodore vanished: Ruth Mortimer asks how and why the Commodore brand disappeared and ponders whether there could ever be a comeback. (That Was The Brand That Was).
January 1, 2003... The Commodore computer suited its brand name down to the ground. Its founder had wanted a name with military overtones, but found that titles such as General and Admiral had already been taken. He was forced to choose a title that held prestige...

Quote of the month.(Peter Draper on marketing the Manchester United)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... "Our brand comes to life throughout the week when the club plays matches and this gives it a more powerful relationship with people than most inanimate consumer brands could hope to have." Peter Draper, marketing director Manchester United,...

Yahoo! cures Christmas shoppers' retail madness. (Brand Stunt Of The Month).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Yahoo! Shopping hit the streets to rescue the nation's shoppers as the Christmas crush took hold. To drive consumers away from high street mayhem and towards online shopping, the company sent teams of retail therapists to shopping black spots...

Brand mot.
January 1, 2003... All is not well in the court of Camelot. The lottery operator has been under pressure following a 5.2% drop in ticket sales in the last year, despite its 72m [pounds sterling] revamp. It has been criticised for the amount it gives to good...

Chewing the fat with Ronald: with obesity on the rise among children, Ruth Mortimer looks at the latest lawsuit facing McDonald's. (News Analysis).
January 1, 2003... It is a move that could open the floodgates for billions of pounds of litigation. Fast food retailer McDonald's is being taken to court in the US by a group of overweight teenagers--accused of making them fat. The children's lawyer, Samuel...

BOGOF and hopefully you will come back for more: although Tesco Clubcard and Nectar continue to spar over who has the biggest loyalty scheme, Morag Cuddeford Jones discovers that Nectar's launch has reinvigorated the customer loyalty sector. (News Analysis).
January 1, 2003... Customer reward strategies are back with a bang. The launch of Nectar in October has pulled together a number of brands' old schemes under one umbrella. Loyalty Management UK (LMUK) has already signed up Sainsbury's, Barclaycard, BP and...

A mainstream movement: anti-globalisation is no longer about student activists. Corporations are under pressure from a range of new forces. (Opinion).
January 1, 2003... Anti-globalisation is not just about hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the streets of Genoa, Prague, Seattle and Washington. The anti-globalisation ethos has begun to permeate all strata of society. So it's not only about...

`Tis the season to be social: David Varney would like to see the corporate sector taking on a more active and responsible rote in community initiatives. (Opinion).
January 1, 2003... Two decades ago, Business in the Community emerged from a crisis in Britain. Social deprivation was undermining the stability of our inner cities. Corporate managers knew something had to be done and were throwing cash at communities. No one...

Tesco leads as super Mason's supermarket: Tesco's marketing director, Tim Mason, is by no means complacent about Tesco's competition. He talks to Elen Lewis about brand innovations and stretching every sinew to give customers a good shopping trip. (Profile).(Interview)
January 1, 2003... Tim Mason, Tesco's colourful marketing director, captivated this year's Marketing Society Conference's audience by duelling with Sheila McKechnie, the director of the Consumer's Association. It turned out that they were finishing off an...

National Lottery. (Launches and rebrands).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The National Lottery revealed its new image in April as part of a 72m [pounds sterling] relaunch designed to boost sales. The campaign, featuring Billy Connolly, failed to capture the public's imagination and in November, Camelot revealed that...

Nectar. (Launches and rebrands).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Nectar, the new loyalty partnership including Sainsbury's, BP, Debenhams and Barclaycard launched in September with a 40m [pounds sterling] marketing campaign. However, in October it was forced to pull its TV and press ads as a massive rush to...

ITV1. (Launches and rebrands).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In November, ITV consolidated all but four of its regional channels under new a new name--ITV1. The move was accompanied by a 750,000 [pounds sterling] rebranding exercise and a series of celebrity idents showcasing the channel's talent. The...

Post Office. (Launches and rebrands).(gives up on effort to impress Consignia brand on consumers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In June, the Post Office finally gave up its two year-fight to impress the new Consignia brand on consumers. The news was accompanied by details of a 12-month loss of nearly 1.1bn [pounds sterling] and 17,000 redundancies. At the time it was...

April saw the disappearance of two of the UK's mobile telecoms brands--One2One and BT Cellnet--submerged in the name of globalisation. (Launches and rebrands).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... April saw the disappearance of two of the UK's mobile telecoms brands--One2One and BT Cellnet--submerged in the name of globalisation. German-owned T-Mobile stamped its identity on One2One after buying the brand for 8.3bn [pounds sterling] in...

Laboratories Inneov. (Launches and rebrands).(Nestle and L'Oreal signed an agreement to develop a global market for cosmetic nutritional supplements)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In July Nestle and L'Oreal signed an agreement to develop a global market for cosmetic nutritional supplements, or cosmaceuticals. The products will target consumers who wish to improve the aesthetic and material condition of hair, skin and...

Levonelle. (Marketing).(Schering Healthcare Ltd's consumer campaign for morning after bill stirs controversy)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Schering Healthcare Ltd caused controversy in February with a consumer campaign by Dewar Alexander, advertising the over the counter availability of the morning after pill Levonelle. The strategy elicited complaints from the Church of England...

Switch. (Marketing).
January 1, 2003... August saw the announcement that the Switch brand was to disappear from plastic in a gradual phase out by mid-2007. It will be replaced by the pan-European Maestro brand, already present on the reverse of most UK cards. The Switch Scheme Board,...

AA. (Marketing).(to reposition itself as a general services provider)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In May, the AA announced that it was to reposition the company as a general services provider, under the slogan `Just AAsk', through a 100m [pounds sterling] investment in CRM and a 22m [pounds sterling] ad campaign through M&C Saatchi....

Pepsi. (Marketing).(busy 2002 in "cola wars" for company)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Pepsi has been taking the cola wars seriously throughout 2002. First it became part of a large group of brands that `hijacked' the World Cup in June. Fifa took Pepsi to court for implying a sponsorship relationship by using the phrase "Tokyo...

Air Miles. (Marketing).(launched "The Great Air Miles Giveaway" campaign)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Air Miles tried to revive interest in the travel rewards sector in September by announcing "The Great Air Miles Giveaway". Spending 20m [pounds sterling] on a multimedia campaign, it pledged to reduce the number of miles required for 80...

August saw the conclusion of the long running battle between Levi Strauss and Tesco, with the high court finding in favour of the jeans brand. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... August saw the conclusion of the long running battle between Levi Strauss and Tesco, with the high court finding in favour of the jeans brand. It had objected to the supermarket selling its brand cut price. In October, it had further bad news...

Saatchinvest. (Financial).(latest project of Maurice and Charles Saatchi will buy and develop brands)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Maurice and Charles Saatchi announced the arrival of their latest project, Saatchinvest, in August. The company will buy and develop brands offloaded by large companies rationalising their portfolios. Andrew Leek, a former financier at Alchemy...

EasyGroup. (Financial).(acquisition of GO successful, Stelios Haji-loannou resigns)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Stelios Haji-loannou's EasyGroup has had a busy year. In September it expressed interest in buying troubled coffee house chain Coffee Republic, although it ceased negotiations shortly afterwards. It made a more successful acquisition in the...

It was a bad year on the whole for media owners, with the collapse of ITV Digital in March, KirschMedia in April and Vivendi in July. (Financial).
January 1, 2003... It was a bad year on the whole for media owners, with the collapse of ITV Digital in March, KirschMedia in April and Vivendi in July. Liquidator Grant Thornton had an early Christmas present for former ITV Digital subscribers in December, as it...

Marketing agencies fared little better, with a number of high profile names folding. (Financial).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Marketing agencies fared little better, with a number of high profile names folding. Michael Wolff's The Fourth Room closed in September following its founder's departure the previous month. In November it was revealed that Publicis expected to...

Consultants suffered too, in the wake of the accounting scandals that shook WorldCom and Enron, many distanced themselves from their sister accounting companies. (Financial).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Consultants suffered too, in the wake of the accounting scandals that shook WorldCom and Enron, many distanced themselves from their sister accounting companies. In May, Deloitte Consulting appointed Interbrand to find a new identity as it...

The final nail in the coffin of tobacco advertising came in October, after the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill gained an unopposed reading in the House of Commons. (Monday).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The final nail in the coffin of tobacco advertising came in October, after the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill gained an unopposed reading in the House of Commons. The bill allows for a complete ban of the advertising of tobacco...

The Communications Bill. (Monday).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The Communications Bill, led by the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Tessa Jowell, was published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport/Department of Trade and Industry in December. The bill draws up measures for the...

Euro. (International).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The first of January 2002 saw great change in the contents of Europe's pockets, literally. The Euro was launched by Eurosystem, the European Central Bank and the 12 national central banks of the euro area, and was the culmination of a five-year...

European Union. (International).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... July saw a ruling from both the European Union and the World Trade Organisation protecting the rights of regional produce, and regulating the registration of brand names on a Europe-wide basis. While the good name of Parmesan (parmegiano...

Footie we play, united we brand: Manchester United is more than a football club--it is a brand which seems to have no limits. Ruth Mortimer discovers why the fan base is so secure and how the club has expanded across business sectors. (Manchester United).
January 1, 2003... The team might play in red, but the finances couldn't be further from it. Manchester United is the world's richest football club, with a turnover of 146.1m [pounds sterling]. The impressive statistics don't stop there. The club has 53 million...

David versus Goliath ...: ... how a football empire was born. Ruth Mortimer looks at the England captain's lucrative brand profile and asks if the `Becks effect' is ever at loggerheads with the Manchester United club brand. (Case study: Manchester United).
January 1, 2003... It is one of the few global football club brands, according to the September 2002 Scoring with Sponsorship survey by Landor Associates. The brand consultancy's research suggests that Manchester United's success overseas is attributed to its...

Normal services will resume: the new logo is spick and span, the team bonding sessions were a success and the flagship store is a dream. So why are sales falling? Morag Cuddeford Jones finds out why brands fall down at the final frontier. (Customer Service).
January 1, 2003... If you didn't laugh, you'd cry. A letter circulated to potential travellers by holiday company Siesta Travel Europe last month, gave the encouraging message that it would, "not entertain people who are unreasonable and unfair. This includes...

A black and white service: First Direct regularly receives plaudits for its customer service, but never publishes financial results to demonstrate the effect on the bottom line. Morag Cuddeford Jones finds out if service means stickiness. (Case study: customer service).
January 1, 2003... "You can have Alan here, he's very nice and clean--or you can have the robot," says comedian Vic Reeves as First Direct's mouthpiece in the TV ads, created by WCRS. These days, it would seem that `both' would be the answer. A...

Branding war and peace: can marketing tools really be used in foreign policy? Branding experts are being drafted in by politicians to mould a nation's reputation for an influential, international audience. (Special report: government).
January 1, 2003... It was arguably the toughest branding brief ever--rebrand and sell Uncle Sam to a hostile Muslim world. But advertising doyenne Charlotte Beers has a reputation for pulling out all the stops when it comes to selling products. The Queen of...

International e-government: understanding citizens is key to increasing the uptake of e-government globally. (Special report: government).
January 1, 2003... In recent years, there has been a push by many governments, across Western European, American and some Asian-Pacific markets, to encourage the public to interact with government via the internet. In some countries, including the UK, there has...

Heritage or has-been? Clinging to heritage can sometimes stunt brand development. Toby Ingram investigates why the concept of heritage works with some brands while others find themselves in a pickle. (Brand Papers).
January 1, 2003... Among the exotic locations in the new Bond movie is the villain's tropical bio-dome lair, kept warm and humid on the Icelandic tundra. But where did they find a dome on a grand enough scale to reflect a Bond villain's ego? If you can't answer...

Stretching further afield: Kartik Kompela describes how some savvy Indian marketers are sidestepping the recession by extending their products into service propositions, ensuring marketing maintains significance. (Brand Papers).
January 1, 2003... In India, the pressure that a recessionary economy has placed on brands and investors alike is showing. While some experts believe that brand managers have lost their strategic perspective in the quest to desperately shore up sales, others are...

Collaborative creativity: David Stuart argues there is an urgent need for the creative industry to collaborate on client work. Working with other creative agencies needn't be as difficult as awkward guests at a dinner party. (Brand Papers).
January 1, 2003... Imagine you're holding a very special dinner party. You spend hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove and looking forward to the arrival of your guests. Unfortunately when they all arrive, no one seems to have anything in common. By nine...

Building services brands: never make a promise you can't keep. Leslie de Chernatony and colleagues identify some key learnings and present a model to build successful services brands, based on industry research. (Brand Papers).
January 1, 2003... While the services sector dominates developed economies, limited attention has been devoted to services brands. We interviewed 28 brand consultants (typically chairmen and directors) and a management journalist about the process by which...

Arsenal--the euro final: Jacqueline Irvine provides an update on the long-running Arsenal versus Matthew Reed case: a dispute over whether a badge of allegiance or loyalty is enforceable as a trade mark. (Brand Papers).(football club name and logo as trademarks)
January 1, 2003... This controversy has been raging for over a year. The Arsenal v Matthew Reed case (Brand Strategy, July 2002) raised questions on whether a football club's name and its logos are capable of being enforced as trade marks when they are used on...

Brands: the new religion: in this cynical age, people are putting their faith behind some unlikely establishments. Daniel Dumoulin suggests that some brands are showing a direct analogy with religious movements. (Brand Papers).(Column)
January 1, 2003... Identity and belonging are the key issues for humanity today. We are currently at a crucial point in the history of mankind. Humanity is desperately trying to come to terms with post-modernity and struggling to establish the foundations of our...

Marketing and ad budgets take blows. (Trends).(in UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Advertising and marketing budgets have been hit worse than others within the UK's 1.1 million businesses, according to a report from Continental Research. More than a third of businesses in the UK (433,000) have reduced their ad or marketing...

Cynical Brits have faith in charities. (Trends).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * American consumers put their faith in brands while UK consumers tend to trust non-governmental organisations, according to a survey from PR company Edelman. The British are much more responsive to charities, but cynical about the motives of...

Should adverts aimed at kids be banned? (Trends).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Seventy-five per cent of adults think children see too much advertising but only 20% consider it should be banned, according to a Chartered Institute of Marketing survey. Most adults--55%--appparently favour a restriction on kids marketing...

Global teen culture--does it exist? (Research).
January 1, 2003... * It's shock news. Teenagers--everybody's favourite stereotypes--aren't in fact a homogenous group of hormonal horrors, but a complex and sophisticated collection of consumers, according to a study from market research agency RoperASW Europe....

Experts' comments on 2002 and predictions for 2003. (Last Word).(for brand marketing)
January 1, 2003... "Last year was challenging as brand owners and managers sought for `more for less'. Economics dictated new working practices. Companies wanted closer cooperation between advertising, media, PR and brand design agencies. My prediction for 2003...

The loyalty wars: Tesco and Nectar's loyalty schemes are very different products and it's not yet known which one is taking the right approach.
January 1, 2003... How will the latest `loyalty wars' pan out? In sheer number terms Nectar, the loyalty programme combining Barclaycard, BP, Debenhams and Sainsbury's, has already overtaken Tesco. But does size really matter? For Nectar it does. Its whole...