Brand Strategy articles from June 2006

Brand Strategy archives from June 2006

LEADER: Future thinking.(Editorial)
June 14, 2006... What does the term 'artificial intelligence' (AI) bring to mind? Perhaps you think of 1950s predictions of robots serving tea in every home or even The War of the Worlds. But it is also what Google co- founder Larry Page wants to bring to his...

News Round up: Wal-Mart pulls out of South Korea.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Wal-Mart is pulling out of South Korea after struggling to keep up with the domestic market leader. The retail brand is selling its 16 stores to market leader Shinsegae for Won825bn (#463m). Global retail chain Carrefour also exited the...

News Round up: Honda expansion.
June 14, 2006... Honda Motor is planning an $1.2bn (#634m) expansion with new plants in Japan, the US and Canada. The carmaker wants to boost production to meet a 34% increase in annual sales to 4.5 million vehicles a year by 2010. Besides the new plants, the...

News Round up: British Museum to host TV gameshow.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... The British Museum is branching out into entertainment by becoming the world's first national museum to host a TV gameshow. Codex, due next winter on Channel 4, is filmed in the museum's galleries and taps into the puzzle craze following the...

News Round up: Advertising on postage stamps.
June 14, 2006... The US Postal Service (USPP) is selling advertising on postage stamps after a change in law. Hewlett-Packard will be the first company to use the medium with a photo of its founders, its logo and a current print ad. The USPP hopes to...

News Round up: Microsoft to improve internal brand.
June 14, 2006... Microsoft is bringing back free towels in company showers, along with better food in canteens and an onsite laundry service in an attempt to improve its internal brand. The company aims to halt a talent war with Google by adding 15% to the...

News Round up: McDonald's initiatives.
June 14, 2006... McDonald's has launched a Global Moms Panel of nine women to advise it on lifestyle and communication initiatives. The move comes shortly after Walt Disney ended a 10-year cross-marketing relationship with the brand. Copyright: Centaur...

News Round up: Nike and Apple Computer join forces.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Nike and Apple have joined forces to create sports equipment. The brands have launched a system that links running shoes to digital music players; users will be able to listen to music as they exercise, see how far and fast they have run and...

News Round up: Honda TV channel.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Honda has announced the launch of a TV channel on digital platform Homechoice. The service will allow viewers to interact directly with the car brand's flagship dealership and call centre live on television. Honda says its aim is to give...

News Round up: Tesco in the US.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Tesco has created the brand name 'Fresh & Easy' for its launch into the US. The supermarket chain will debut in Los Angeles and Phoenix, Arizona, with ads appealing for staff in those areas. The locations will take small, convenience store...

News Round up: Wine spritzer.
June 14, 2006... Red Bull is launching a ready-to-drink wine spritzer called Sabai, a beverage that is already popular in the Thai market. To support its launch, Sabai is sponsoring a UK national tour of Thai female impersonators The Ladyboys of Bangkok, who...

News Round up: RED handset.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Motorola has launched a RED handset as part of rock star Bono's Project RED to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. The phone brand joins American Express, Armani, Converse and Gap in the campaign. The MOTOSLVR donates #10 from every purchase to...

News Round up: Wanadoo rebrand.
June 14, 2006... Wanadoo has rebranded as Orange Broadband in the first stage of an estimated #130m campaign by the mobile phone brand to move into competitive broadband. Parent firm France Telecom adopted the Orange brand after research suggested it meant more...

News Round up: Bank of China lists on Hong Kong stock exchange.
June 14, 2006... The Bank of China has listed on the stock exchange in Hong Kong, raising $9.73bn (#5.2bn), making it the world's fourth-largest IPO. This pricing values the bank at more than $90bn (#47.9bn), making it one of the world's largest four banks by...

News Round up: Continuing weak growth.
June 14, 2006... Hennes & Mauritz's sales grew a slower-than-expected nine per cent in April, continuing weak growth during the previous month. The Swedish fashion brand reported sales rises in those two months last year. Copyright: Centaur...

News Round up: British Airways announces rise in profit.
June 14, 2006... British Airways has announced a 27% rise in annual operating profit to #705m after higher ticket prices and demand for business-class flights offset fuel costs, which were up by 44.7%. Sales increased to #8.52bn from #7.7bn. Copyright:...

News Round up: Nintendo posts fall in profit.
June 14, 2006... Nintendo has posted a 19% fall in annual profit, after slowing consumer demand for its GameCube console and software. The brand's DS handheld console sold well, but the brand is launching a new console called Wii in late 2006 to compete with...

News Round up: Starbucks income rise.
June 14, 2006... Starbucks' quarterly net income has risen 27% from a year ago to $127m (#67.5m). The world's largest coffee shop chain put the rise down to more stores and an annual brewing equipment sale. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

News Round up: SABMiller reports drop in profit.
June 14, 2006... Anglo-South African brewing company SABMiller has reported a 5.3% drop in annual profit for 2006. The maker of Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Pilsner Urquell posted earnings of $1.44bn (#767m), down from $1.53bn (#815m) last...

News Round up: Hewlett-Packard profit rises.
June 14, 2006... Hewlett-Packard profit rose 51% to $1.46bn (#775m) in the three months to May after it won PC market share from its biggest rival Dell. The printer and computer brand has also benefited from higher revenue and lower costs. Sales rose five...

News Round up: Unilever sales rise.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Unilever sales rose a less-than-expected 2.9% in the first three months of 2006, putting it behind its rivals Nestle and Reckitt Benckiser. It is the sixth straight quarter of sales growth for the consumer goods brand, which has cut prices...

News Round up: Marks and Spencer full-year profit.
June 14, 2006... Marks & Spencer's full-year pre-tax profit has jumped 47% to #746m. Food sales grew, but clothing sales remained flat, as a drop in sales in the first six months of the year offset a strong performance in the second half. The fashion and...

News Round up: EMI posts rise in pre-tax profit.
June 14, 2006... Music group EMI has posted a 13% rise in pre-tax profit to #159m for the year to April despite fewer sales of physical products. Strong demand for music downloads boosted results, with digital music sales more than doubling to #112m. Overall...

APPOINTMENT: McDonald's UK.
June 14, 2006... Fast-food giant McDonald's has appointed a new chief marketing officer for the UK and Northern Europe. Jill McDonald, former global marketer for British Airways, will take on the newly created role. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

APPOINTMENT: Adidas.(appointment of Uli Becker)(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Adidas has moved Uli Becker, head of global brand marketing, over to Reebok in the same role and replaced him at Adidas with Eric Liedtke. Becker has been with Adidas for more than 16 years. Liedtke was previously vice president of marketing...

APPOINTMENT: Wendy's International.
June 14, 2006... Wendy's International has named Kerrii Anderson, the company's chief financial officer, as interim chief executive. Anderson replaces Jack Schuessler, who announced his retirement after 30 years working for America's third-biggest hamburger...

APPOINTMENT: Cosi.
June 14, 2006... Chris Carroll, director of worldwide marketing at sandwich chain Subway, has moved to American convenience restaurant brand Cosi as chief marketing officer. He will have overall responsibility for managing the brand, which has big expansion...

Trendspotter: A new migration.
June 14, 2006... Buy local, shop global. Alfred Tong reports on authentic foodies A taste for 'foreign' food began with the rise of the package holiday in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Domestic brands soon picked up on consumers' desire to add spice to...

Brand Stunt of the Month: An idea with spark.(Swarovski AG)(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Swarovski crystals are bringing a shine to a Berlin-based art project Crystal brand Swarovski is at the centre of an unusual promotion of its products: one of its clients has bought more than a million of its crystals and coated a female...

OPINION: How to reach children in every nation.
June 14, 2006... Gerry Donohoe, managing director of Granada Ventures, explains the pleasures and pitfalls of creating a global children's brand Every country has its idiosyncrasies. The British love Marmite, the Americans love squeezy cheese and the...

OPINION: Translating experiences across the world.(building experiences to engage consumers)
June 14, 2006... Nicky Marsh, global marketing director at Madame Tussauds, warns that building experiences to engage consumers can be tough on a global scale The future for brands is about building memorable consumer experiences. You need to have...

BRAND THERAPY - SANYO: Switching the brand back on.
June 14, 2006... With a group net loss of Yen205.66bn (#1bn) in the 2005-6 financial year, electronics brand Sanyo had to come up with some answers. It blamed restructuring costs, asset write-downs and sluggish sales. The restructuring programme aims to cull...

GLOBAL TRENDS WATCH - BRAND EDUCATION: lessons in loyalty.
June 14, 2006... Claudine Baker looks at brands from around the globe that are coaxing consumers back into the classroom as a way of marketing to them If you type 'education' into online encyclopedia Wikipedia, it explains that "the most important factor...

PROFILE - JOE CLIFT: A safe pair of hands.
June 14, 2006... He may yearn for more entrepreneurial flair, but as Visa Europe's head of brand management, Joe Clift's steady style is perfectly suited to the job of steering the brand to the top. By Ruth Mortimer Joe Clift is laughing as he tells me...

Q&A - JOE CLIFT: Getting emotional over money.(Visa U.S.A. Inc.)(Interview)
June 14, 2006... The financial services sector isn't known for its touchy-feely approach. Joe Clift explains why Visa is using emotion as part of the brand's communications. By Ruth Mortimer RM: What do you think Visa means to people? JC: At the heart...

CASE STUDY - LUSH: Pure and simple.(Lush (Dorset, England))(Company overview)
June 14, 2006... Cosmetics and toiletries brand Lush prides itself on its ethical stance and homemade products. But can its small-business attitude stand up to the big corporations? Ruth Mortimer investigates In some stores, the sight of a grown man...

CASE STUDY - LUSH: Lush facts.(toiletries)(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... * The brand has a 'flat' management structure with no traditional marketing department. Employee training is still largely overseen personally by the company directors. * No Lush products are tested on animals and the brand guarantees that...

CASE STUDY - LUSH: Trends in the organic personal care market.(importance to organic foods )(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... * Seventy per cent of the cosmetics bearing the 'natural' label are anything but natural, according to a survey by the South Korean Consumer Protection Board. * Mothers with babies are a key target market for organic brands. Forty- two...

PRICING: The price is right.
June 14, 2006... Brand owners are fighting pressure from all sides to slash prices, to the extent that many risk commoditisation - or worse. Morag Cuddeford Jones asks: how low can brands go? Moral watchdogs warned that the internet would become a hotbed...

PRICING: Case study: Kraft.(Kraft Foods Inc.)
June 14, 2006... The world's second largest food company, Kraft, has control of the customer's stomach from the moment they get up to the very last snack of the day. One glance at its brands page shows a dizzying array of meals and snacks for every occasion...

BRAND MANAGEMENT: Beat the brand squeeze.
June 14, 2006... Brands are under attack from retailers, shopper attitudes and the changing role of the media. Keith Robinson has some advice on how they can stay afloat Imagine a mountain of brands, a very large mountain of brands: a mass so heavy and...

BRAND CONTINUITY: It's the same, but different.(brand communications)
June 14, 2006... Stuart Wood argues that the new watchword for brands should not be consistency but continuity. Can companies ditch the generic formats and be more innovative? We are entering a new era in brand communications, where the old industry adages...

BOOK REVIEW: A new approach.(The Brand Innovation Manifesto)
June 14, 2006... Gavan Stewart, founder of Touchdown Brand Affinity Marketing, is not put off by the complexity of John Grant's theory and is backing The Brand Innovation Manifesto for its clear examples and inclusive tone John Grant is an independent...

BOOK REVIEW: Gavan Stewart recommends.(Book review)
June 14, 2006... How to Win Friends and Influence People By Dale Carnegie Vermilion (2006) #6.39 Originally published in 1936, this book has sold over 16 million copies. Why? It encapsulates the basics of marketing: keep it simple and relevant....

From the bookshelf of Jeremy Garbett.(First Light by Geoffrey Wellum )(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Jeremy Garbett, senior vice president and managing director, Jack Morton Worldwide First Light By Geoffrey Wellum Published for the first time more than 50 years after the Second World War, First Light is Geoffrey Wellum's...

RESEARCH DESTINATIONS: The place to be.(brands)
June 14, 2006... A destination is a place where people want to be. It could be a shop, a street, a city, a country or even a continent. They are special places that attract talent and create opportunities to generate prosperity. Destination status is not a...

RESEARCH - CONVERGENCE: Come together.(video on demand)
June 14, 2006... Convergence is one of the hottest topics around. Companies are moving into areas beyond their traditional specialities and the entire global media landscape is changing its parameters. Brands must decide whether they should move into...

RESEARCH - BRAND DEVELOPMENT: Out to launch.(business success)
June 14, 2006... Innovation and new product development (NPD) are considered among the most important drivers of business success. Our survey asked 200 French business leaders to rate key business priorities in terms of importance and difficulty. Innovation...

RESEARCH: Brand Stats: June.(market for condoms)(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... Market focus Condoms The market for condoms amounts to around 30 million adults (15 years plus) across the four major European markets. The profiles of buyers differ quite markedly between countries, not least because of social...

EMPLOYEE BRANDING: Turning staff into brand ambassadors.
June 14, 2006... One of the most effective weapons in your marketing arsenal is your workforce. Brand Strategy discusses the techniques and challenges of employee branding with high-profile companies Brand Strategy: What is the best way to approach employee...

CASE STUDY - EUROPE: Pulling together to change opinions.(prioritising communication to improve image of European Commission )
June 14, 2006... David Bearfield, head of internal communications at the European Commission, hopes to change perceptions about the EU through positive messages and stories from its 20,000 officials The new European Commission (EC), which took office in...

CASE STUDY - THE CO-OPERATIVE: Mutual benefits of staff engagement.
June 14, 2006... Could private companies learn from the engaging methods employed by mutual organisations? Zoe Morgan explains how using staff involvement can grow your brand At a time when companies spend millions of pounds creating and promoting heritage...

WORKPLACE BRANDING: Bring your brand values to work.
June 14, 2006... Your building is more than bricks and mortar. Nicola Gillen explains how brand values can be communicated through innovative and engaging workplace design The three-dimensional work environment can be used as a canvas to express brand...

WORKPLACE BRANDING: From cabinets to cyberspace.(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... A common method of introducing a brand into the workplace is to arrange products in glass cabinets or displays. But product placement in glass cabinets can be problematic as it often involves removing products from context. These display...

RESEARCH - INTERNAL BRAND SUCCESS: From the inside out.(financial sector)
June 14, 2006... Leslie de Chernatony and Susan Cottam explore the complex factors that make a successful internal branding programme in the financial sector Financial services providers have traditionally placed little importance on their brands,...

RESEARCH - INTERNAL BRAND SUCCESS: Building a successful internal brand.(Internal workshops to promote brand)(Brief article)
June 14, 2006... 1. Internal workshops with staff could be used to bring out their understanding of the brand, then to clarify the desired interpretation. In financial services, where there is considerable concern about financial security and performance, staff...

RESEARCH - STAFFING: The right staff.
June 14, 2006... Jason Goldberg and Martin Cerullo explain why finding and hiring a brand fit is crucial in the experience economy Sustainable competitive advantages are no longer derived from the product alone; increasingly, they are delivered through...

STAFF MAGAZINES: Branding between the lines.
June 14, 2006... Don't shelve the staff magazine yet, says Hamish Haynes. A carefully planned and well-designed publication gives employees a good read, while getting across your brand values The staff magazine is an underrated vehicle for communicating...