Brand Strategy articles from June 2003

Brand Strategy archives from June 2003

Brand advocates. (Leader).(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... I was interested in your leader in the May issue where you talk about employee branding and the struggle to get brands accepted internally. It's a very important point as a company's own people should be its most powerful advocates. ...

Make a point of difference. (Leader).(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... It is good to read about the development of Chiquita's corporate social responsibility strategy over the last few years in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance (Brand Strategy--May 2003). Chiquita has recognised how critical supply...

Formula for innovation. (Leader).
June 1, 2003... Until the mid-1970s, the formula for competitive advantage was simple. The longer a company had been in business, the greater its market share and the more profitable it would be. Innovation also had a simple formula. Hire the best...

Totalfinaelf, the fourth largest petrol company in the world, is rebranding its 1,050 UK service stations and another 11,000 sites across Europe as TOTAL. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Totalfinaelf, the fourth largest petrol company in the world, is rebranding its 1,050 UK service stations and another 11,000 sites across Europe as TOTAL. The initiative is being led by the company's Paris office. TOTAL has also agreed to...

Virgin Group. (Launches & Rebrands).(car dealership opens)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Richard Branson's Virgin Group has opened its first car dealership in Salford. Virgin Cars claims to be the first 'car department store' where different brands can be seen next to each other rather than at different dealerships.

Computer games developer Infogrames will adopt the famous Atari brand name made famous in the early days of the computer industry, subject to agreement by shareholders. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Computer games developer Infogrames will adopt the famous Atari brand name made famous in the early days of the computer industry, subject to agreement by shareholders. Infogrames bought the rights to the Atari brand two years ago as part of...

Unilever has refreshed the branding of its largest global branding of its largest global laundry brand--Omo. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Unilever has refreshed the branding of its largest global branding of its largest global laundry brand--Omo. The new look for the washing powder was rolled out in markets such as Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey and the rest of the...

Budget brand Easygroup has launched its first Easycinema venture in Milton Keynes. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Budget brand Easygroup has launched its first Easycinema venture in Milton Keynes. The cinema offers 2,400 seats (some in advance) at the starting price of 20p. Costs are kept low through promoting off-peak periods, internet-only booking, no...

Marks & Spencer is investing around 6m [pounds sterling] on rebranding its financial services product to M&S Money. (Launches & Rebrands).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Marks & Spencer is investing around 6m [pounds sterling] on rebranding its financial services product to M&S Money. The name change will become effective later this year after being ratified by the board. The retailer also plans a national...

Sony is launching a 100m [euro] (71m [pounds sterling]) pan-European ad campaign. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Sony is launching a 100m [euro] (71m [pounds sterling]) pan-European ad campaign. The work--created by Fallon--drops the strapline of the past three years, 'Go Create', in favour of 'You make it a Sony'.

Hong Kong is planning a 75m [pounds sterling] global marketing spree to rebuild the country's reputation once the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak is under control. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Hong Kong is planning a 75m [pounds sterling] global marketing spree to rebuild the country's reputation once the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak is under control. The authority is keen to make people aware of Hong Kong's...

Procter & Gamble has launched a campaign for Daz laundry powder through The Aroma Company. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Procter & Gamble has launched a campaign for Daz laundry powder through The Aroma Company. The initiative promotes the new Citrus Blast fragrance through scented pocket tissues, fragranced leaflets and notepads in supermarkets around the...

The Abbey National bank may be considering rebranding itself as The Abbey, as it conducts a review with brand consultancy Wolff Olins. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The Abbey National bank may be considering rebranding itself as The Abbey, as it conducts a review with brand consultancy Wolff Olins. The bank announced a record loss of almost 1bn [pounds sterling] in February, despite a 14m [pounds sterling]...

Condom manufacturer Durex has withdrawn its billboard posters for Performa prophylactics after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that its campaign was offensive. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Condom manufacturer Durex has withdrawn its billboard posters for Performa prophylactics after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that its campaign was offensive. The executions, which were part of a 1m [pounds sterling] ad initiative...

Fashion brand French Connection has been forced to scrap its FCUK Spirit alcopop because it appeals strongly to young people under the age of 18. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Fashion brand French Connection has been forced to scrap its FCUK Spirit alcopop because it appeals strongly to young people under the age of 18. The Portman Group, the drinks industry's self-regulatory body, upheld a complaint against the...

Diary. (News Round-Up).(seminars)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2003... Marketing to Men Chelsea FC, London 16 June 2003 How can you capture the attention of a consumer group that notoriously hates shopping? Leslie Meredith, marketing director of Heineken, Dawn Paine, the UK marketing controller for Nintendo...

Volkswagen. (Appointments).(Ralf Otto Limbach)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Volkswagen has moved Ralf Otto Limbach to the position of global marketing manager. Limbach was previously Latin American president and executive director at the car company. He replaces departing executive Robert Buchelhofer who resigned his...

Trinity Mirror. (Appointments).(Ellis Watson )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Trinity Mirror has appointed Ellis Watson as its new general manager, in charge of all marketing and ad sales for the Mirror Group Newspapers. Watson is currently the managing director of TV production company Celador International executive...

Hertz Europe. (Appointments).(promotes Paul Woozley)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Hertz Europe has promoted Paul Woozley, the company's head of advertising promotions to the head of marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He will be responsible for all day-to-day planning for EMEA marketing strategy.

Young & Rubicam. (Appointments).(appoints Ann Fudge )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Ann Fudge has become the first black head of a major advertising network. She has become the chairman and chief executive of the Young & Rubicam group. Fudge has previously held senior marketing executive positions at food businesses Kraft and...

J Sainsbury has reported full-year pre-tax profits of 667m [pounds sterling], up 16.8% from 571m [pounds sterling] in 2002. (Financial).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... J Sainsbury has reported fullyear pre-tax profits of 667m [pounds sterling], up 16.8% from 571m [pounds sterling] in 2002. The supermarket chain also claims to have made cost reductions of 210m [pounds sterling] and created 10,000 jobs over the...

mmo2. (Financial).(losses)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Mobile operator mmo2 has announced a huge pre-tax loss of 10.2bn [pounds sterling] despite doubling its full-year earnings to 859m [pounds sterling]. The mobile operator has also increased its customer base by 11% to 19.4m. The loss is almost...

Vodafone. (Financial).(finances)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Vodafone has also announced a pre-tax loss of 6.2bn [pounds sterling], but this is down from a loss of 13.6bn [pounds sterling] last year. The company forecast a 10% rise in revenue next year. Vodafone is refusing to write down the value of its...

Mark & Spencer. (Financial).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The high street retailer Marks & Spencer has continued along its path to recovery with full-year pre-tax profits of 721m. [pounds sterling] This is an 11.5% rise on its previous year's results. The chain's clothing range sales increased by an...

Virgin has held talks with low-cost airline BMI British Midland about a possible merger or other areas of possible co-operation. (Financial).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Virgin has held talks with low-cost airline BMI British Midland about a possible merger or other areas of possible co-operation. British Airways has since suggested that it might bid for Virgin Atlantic or BMI, although Virgin insists that the...

GUS has sold its UK, Ireland and Sweden home-shopping arm for 590m [pounds sterling] to the millionaire Barclay brothers. (Financial).(Great Universal Stores PLC)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... GUS has sold its UK, Ireland and Sweden home-shopping arm for 590m [pounds sterling] to the millionaire Barclay brothers. The pair will then merge the mail-order business with the Littlewood business that they bought for 750m [pounds sterling]...

Ireland's largest banking group AIB is suing two US banks in connection with a 430m [pounds sterling] fraud. (Financial).(Citibank and Bank of America)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Ireland's largest banking group AIB is suing two US banks in connection with a 430m [pounds sterling] fraud. The company is claiming 310m [pounds sterling] from Citibank and Bank of America for assisting their former employee John Rusnak in...

Bacardi, the alcohol brand, has opened a $7m (4.26m [pounds sterling]) brand experience centre in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan. (International).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Bacardi, the alcohol brand, has opened a $7m (4.26m [pounds sterling]) brand experience centre in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan. The centre, called Casa Barcardi!, tells the story of the Bacardi brand from its beginnings in Santiago de...

Starbucks has announced its intention to expand into the South American market. (International).(Grain Red S.A. joint venture)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Starbucks has announced its intention to expand into the South American market. It has set up a joint venture with a bakery company called Grain Red S.A. to open stores in Chile. The first store will be in the capital Santiago and follows last...

Supermarket Asda has lost its right to carry on selling a 'Parma Ham' product because the meat is packed and sliced in the UK. (International).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Supermarket Asda has lost its right to carry on selling a 'Parma Ham' product because the meat is packed and sliced in the UK. The meat is imported from Parma but the European Court of Justice ruled that this alone was not enough to justify the...

A French parliament commission has voted to approve a motion calling for a state-funded international TV channel that would rival CNN and the BBC. (International).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A French parliament commission has voted to approve a motion calling for a state-funded international TV channel that would rival CNN and the BBC. The proposed channel would broadcast across Europe, the Middle East and Africa in French, English...

Getting a buzz out of marketing to consumers: 'buzz' or word-of-mouth marketing is not a novel technique but it is timely and can be very effective. (Trendspotter).
June 1, 2003... Buzz marketing is not a new tactic. Centuries ago, opera singers hired people to cheer "Bravo!" post-aria to spark off audience applause. The Ford Motor Company started using word of mouth back in 1964 by lending its new Mustang vehicle to...

If I could get my hands on Shanghai ... Richard Edelman, CEO and president of Edelman PR consultancy wants the Chinese city to become a great brand. (In An Ideal World).(Column)
June 1, 2003... The city of Shanghai has traditionally been the business centre of China; a harbour brimming with commerce, a people open to continuous improvement. The New York times says that: "Shanghai represents what China desperately wants to be." But...

Sunlight soap did so much more than just cleaning: the soap brand is a national treasure despite it being washed out of the UK market. Ruth Mortimer assesses its impact. (That Was The Brand That Was).
June 1, 2003... Sunlight soap was more than a product--it became a way of living. As the brainchild of William Heskey Lever of Lever Brothers (Lord Leverhulme of Unilever), Sunlight became the inspiration for a town built for his soap factory workers. Although...

He's just a smooth (bus) operator. (Brand Stunt Of The Month).(Innocent Drinks)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Could Innocent Smoothies be not so innocent after all? The announcement of its new marketing campaign is chock full of 'grass', 'tripping' and 'drink'. Further reading however, reveals it refers to a double decker bus covered in astra turf and...

Woolworths: Woolworths, or 'Woollies' as it is affectionately known, has been a high street staple for nearly 100 years, since the first store opened in 1909.(Company Profile)
June 1, 2003... Woolworths: Woolworths, or 'Woollies' as it is affectionately known, has been a high street staple for nearly 100 years, since the first store opened in 1909. While it made the founding family millionaires many times over, the company itself...

The customer's perspective: small changes in company policy can have a significant effect on consumers' experiences. (New Analysis).(The Foundation; reports on corporate market research)
June 1, 2003... We all know the equation: happy customers equal a strong brand. But as The Post Office found out last month when it introduced an unpopular complex keypad system for pensioners to claim their benefits--the maths isn't as easy as it looks....

Britain is driving forward with no one at the wheel: according to the panel at the Walpole seminar, the question of who's responsible for driving the British brand forward is beginning to look like The King's Breakfast, or maybe a dog's dinner. (News Analysis).(Panel Discussion)
June 1, 2003... "The Queen asked the PM, and the PM asked the Foreign Office: "Could we have promotion for the Royal British Brand?" The FO said: "Certainly, I'll go and tell the companies, now they can scratch their heads..." With apologies to AA Milne, the...

Actions speak louder: John Hegarty argues that if we want to build a better Britain, we've literally got to build it brick by brick. (Opinion).
June 1, 2003... Much of what defines Britain as a brand is beyond our control. Football fans rioting at the Heysel stadium is not exactly the publicity most consumer brands have to deal with. Going to war without UN backing is incredibly divisive. Mad Cow...

Shareholder value creation: Andrew Marsden urges marketers to sieze the gauntlet and prove that branding delivers shareholder value. (Opinion).(Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd.)(Transcript)
June 1, 2003... Delivering shareholder value is not about this year's profit or this year's 'divi'--it is a much more important, long-term issue than that. Now having had the recent experience of acquiring Ame, Purdeys, Aqua Libra and Red Devil, I have...

X-Leisure's PY likes an olympic-sized challenge: exceptional leisure time is Pierre-Yves Gerbeau's idea of a hard day's work. From professional ice hockey player to the Dome, Gerbeau is not afraid of the arena. He talks to Ruth Mortimer about his plans. (PY Gerbeau).(Interview)
June 1, 2003... Pierre-Yves Gerbeau is an entertainer. He doesn't talk; he performs. His friendly conversation is punctuated with wry jokes and flamboyant gestures. It comes as no surprise that this man was the ringmaster at the UK's biggest tent: The...

Worn, torn and tabbed in Levi's: Levi Strauss enjoys an iconic reputation that's as hardwearing as its jeans. On its 150th anniversary, Morag Cuddoford Jones examines the journey of a brand that's not been without its share of stormy seas. (Levi Strauss).(Company Profile)
June 1, 2003... They say you know you've made it when you only ever need one name. Madonna, Bailey, Bart--all instantly evocative of a mood, a lifestyle and a place in time. The branding world has something similar. The brand is no longer just the name of a...

Living off the fat of the brand: the food and drink industry is coming under increased pressure from government and lobby groups to play a role in the fight against obesity. Elen Lewis investigates what this means for business. (Obesity).
June 1, 2003... A food manufacturer sets its innovation department to work. The task is to create a healthy snack with reduced salt, reduced fat and reduced sugar levels. During the blind taste tests, consumers are given four alternatives--one is rice-based,...

A refresher course in branding: British drinkers can at last enjoy the full-strength, quality Heineken that the rest of the world has been drinking for nearly 30 years. Morag Cuddeford Jones finds out how Heineken's UK offering finally grew up. (Heineken).(Company Profile)
June 1, 2003... Dutch lager brand, Heineken, looks like it's been working out. It's certainly stronger. A fully beefed-up 5% beer everywhere in the world but in the UK, the pale, pasty 4% version is fed up of its wimpy frame. It seems British beer drinkers'...

Make a song and a dance of it: tuning in for more than the sound of music. Ruth Mortimer looks at how music brands are trying to get up close and personal and offer intimate experiences to customers while generating maximum publicity. (Special report: music).
June 1, 2003... It was an intimate date with the Queen of Pop. A few hundred lucky fans crowded into the HMV store on London's Oxford Street in May this year to see pop star Madonna run through a selection of new songs. But why is the most famous singer in the...

Clubbers' Cream de la creme: Ruth Mortimer discovers how the cream of the superclub crop is trying to reinvent itself for clubbers of the twenty-first century. Does the increasing popularity of music festivals spell the demise of club culture? (Special report: music).
June 1, 2003... It was the creme de la creme of superclubs. The Cream night-club in Liverpool became a legendary name in the music world during the 1990s, worth at least 20m [pounds sterling] by the late 1990s. Along with the Ministry of Sound club in...

Brands begin at 30: Heather McKinlay explains why drinks companies are missing a trick if they ignore the thirty-somethings. This life stage is a rite of passage for brands wanting greater market share. (Brand Papers).
June 1, 2003... Your thirties are a time of transition. Your income rises steeply and student debt slowly diminishes. Yet you have less disposable cash and more financial commitments. Spending money on the right things is important: whether that's a brand you...

Don't burn brand heretics: creatives and brand managers should ditch the textbook. Jane MorBan, believes that brand heresy can be good for big business and urges the establishment to learn from the entrepreneurs. (Brand Papers).
June 1, 2003... Every so often the conventions of the business world are blown away by a blast of fresh thinking. Out of a clear blue sky, a new product, new category or new brand ushers in a new world order and things are never quite the same again. The...

Brand experiential centres: Ian Rogers argues that the survival of the UK based call centre industry will depend on it working with HR and marketing departments to deliver an improved brand experience to customers. (Brand Papers).
June 1, 2003... The trend over the last few years to outsource 'noncore' business such as front-end customer service to call centres is now having a major impact. As the dotcom world imploded in 2000 all we seemed to read about was a massive explosion in the...

Selling Europe to Japan: Adrian Whitefoord describes how European brand values are winning over a Japanese audience in the retail sector and argues that own-label brands in Japan can afford to be more innovative. (Brand Papers).(Seicomart Companty Ltd.)
June 1, 2003... Japan's love affair with the West's popular culture is well known but it is a mistake for marketers to think it is limited to the latest pop groups and fashions. A fascination with the US and Europe has grown over the last three decades and has...

Identity on parade: when does identical mean identical? John Williams takes a close look at the legal wranglings between two French labels and discusses the confusing world of European trademark restrictions. (Brand Papers).(LTJ Diffusion)(Sadas)
June 1, 2003... It all seemed like kids' play when French clothing company Sadas launched a children's clothing range called 'Arthur et Felice' and registered the name as a word mark. The garments, items such as tiny red and white spotty trousers, were cute...

Idea generation: move away from the desk--refreshing ideas come from taking a walk and eating spinach. Merry Baskin offers tips on how to facilitate a brainstorming session to unleash creative thinking. (Brand Papers).
June 1, 2003... Apparently, trainee teachers are being told to avoid the word 'brainstorming' for fear of offending pupils with epilepsy. Instead they are being advised to say 'word storm' or 'thought shower'. Political correctness gone mad, or a sign, in...

Marketing to kids. (Research).
June 1, 2003... * They're spoilt, badly fed pests and they should be better educated. But on the other hand, they are manipulated by advertising and bowed under the weight of peer pressure. British adults just don't seem to be able to make their minds up about...

Food for thought. (Trends).(food, drink markets)
June 1, 2003... Food and drink markets in Western Europe and North America are reaching saturation, according to the Emerging Food Markets report from Leatherhead Food International. Major manufacturers are now looking across the globe to achieve growth. ...

Soft drinks are losing their fizz. (Trends).(bottled water sales rise)
June 1, 2003... Plain old water--albeit bottled--is making the greatest strides in the soft drink market, according to Soft Drinks report (April 2003), by Euromonitor. In France, it was responsible for dynamic growth of the market, accounting for over 68% of...

Commitment-phobic consumers. (Trends).(loyalty to banks)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Consumer apathy towards seeking out the best financial services deal may not be as widespread as once thought, according to research from Taylor Nelson Sofres. In the UK, a fifth (21%) claim to be loyal to their bank, but nearly double that...

What's in a number? (Last Word).(Cooperative Bank on ethics)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The amount The Cooperative Bank believes it has lost due to turning down what it considers to be unethical deals: 4.4m [pounds sterling] The amount the bank believes its strong ethical code also helped it to attract in new business: 30m...

Global village idiot. (Last Word).
June 1, 2003... When American airline Braniff translated a slogan touting its upholstery: "Fly in leather," it came out in Spanish as "Fly naked".

Hot or not in the airline sector. (Last Word).(financial data)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... BA scraped back to profitability after what seemed like years of unrelenting misery for the airline. Posting a 200m [pounds sterling] loss this time last year, BA has managed pre-tax profits of 135m [pounds sterling]. But the return to health...

The monthly brand brainstorm. (Last Word).(Richard Branson buys island for Virgin employee use)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... It's well known that Sir Richard Branson likes to work and play hard. He's already managed to buy up most of the British Virgin Islands (so kind of the previous owners to do the branding for him) as his own holiday destination. But now...

Let's all brand together: think creatively and get out of the comfort zone to give your brand a boost with some co-marketing opportunities.
June 1, 2003... If ambition is anything to go by, Laureus must take the biscuit. If you haven't heard of these new global awards for sport, over the next few years you certainly will. Invented from thin air, there's a faint possibility that the Laureus awards...