Brand Strategy articles from March 2003

Brand Strategy archives from March 2003

Response and responsibility from Imperial Tobacco. (Leader).(quality management of Imperial Tobacco)
March 1, 2003... I was disappointed that you did not receive our response to your `Smokescreens and mirrors' feature until too late. (Brand Strategy--February 2003) May I first correct the report that our "international sales and marketing director was...

The problem with crystal ball gazing. (Leader).(Editorial)
March 1, 2003... Apparently, this year is the year of the psychic. September 11th, plummeting shares, plunging uncertainty in organisations and the looming shadow of another Gulf War, have led many of us (and not just Americans either) to place our hopes in...

The BBC has launched a new channel aimed at young men and women in the 25-34 age bracket. (Launches).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The BBC has launched a new channel aimed at young men and women in the 25-34 age bracket. BBC Three is replacing BBC Choice after a two-year delay, following culture secretary Tessa Jowell's concerns that the proposed content was not innovative...

Vodafone. (Launches).(is launching the first mobile aimed at blind users)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Vodafone is launching the first mobile aimed at blind users. The Nokia 9210i has an `audible display' which will allow users to use text-based subscription services such as news, sport and weather alerts. It will retail at 499.99 [pounds...

Drinks group First Quench is to launch its first own brand wine label, called Origin. (Launches).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Drinks group First Quench is to launch its first own brand wine label, called Origin. The launch follows a 12-month research and development project. The range will include a Chilean Chardonnay and Argentinean Merlot, reflecting a heavy New...

Easyjet founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou may launch a budget cruise line to add to his portfolio of inexpensive travel offerings. (Launches).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Easyjet founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou may launch a budget cruise line to add to his portfolio of inexpensive travel offerings. He is reportedly considering a `hop-on, hop-off' format for as little as 29 [pounds sterling] per night, excluding...

Sports clothing brand Umbro is to launch FMCG brand extensions in the UK. (Launches).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Sports clothing brand Umbro is to launch FMCG brand extensions in the UK. The company has appointed Real World Marketing to identify licensees internationally. The company was unable to reveal the exact nature of the products, however a...

Boots Healthcare International's (BHI) teen skincare brand, Clearasil, is to launch a new skincare range aimed at 16-24 year-old women interested in the cosmetic benefits of face creams. (Launches).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Boots Healthcare International's (BHI) teen skincare brand, Clearasil, is to launch a new skincare range aimed at 16-24 year-old women interested in the cosmetic benefits of face creams. Clearasil Total Control will include Foaming Cleansing...

Unilever is expected to launch a liquid variant of its Persil Aloe Vera detergent in May. (Launches).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Unilever is expected to launch a liquid variant of its Persil Aloe Vera detergent in May. The powder variant was launched last year with a 6.7m [pounds sterling] ad campaign through J Walter Thompson.

Manchester United and England defender, Rio Ferdinand, has been chosen by clothing retailer Ben Sherman as the celebrity face to mark its 40th anniversary. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Manchester United and England defender, Rio Ferdinand, has been chosen by clothing retailer Ben Sherman as the celebrity face to mark its 40th anniversary. The company, founded on the back of the British `Mod' movement, is said to have paid the...

Procter & Gamble has linked up with Disney's latest film release Treasure Planet to promote the company's Fairy detergent brand. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Procter & Gamble has linked up with Disney's latest film release Treasure Planet to promote the company's Fairy detergent brand. The promotion is supported by an interactive TV campaign through Grey Interactive, inviting mums and kids to play...

Saatchi & Saatchi has launched the new Toyota Avensis campaign featuring two separate TV executions. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Saatchi & Saatchi has launched the new Toyota Avensis campaign featuring two separate TV executions. The campaign will also run across press, poster, consumer and trade promotions and radio. The agency has also won the 10m [pounds sterling]...

Diary.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... ISBA Park Lane Hilton, London 12 March 2003 With the introduction of the Communications Bill, the onus is on the advertising community to work with a heightened degree of integrity and responsibility. Mike Longhurst, Senior VP of...

Lastminute.com. (Appointments).(appointed Andrew Windsor group head of sales and marketing)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Lastminute.com has appointed Andrew Windsor as group head of sales and marketing. Windsor was formerly managing director of Thomascook.com. This month Lastminute also reported a loss of 3.8m [pounds sterling], down 46.5% on Q1 2002.

GM Daewoo. (Appointments).(appointed Rob Smettem director of marketing and public affairs in the UK)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... GM Daewoo has appointed former Jaguar marketer, Rob Smettem, (pictured) as director of marketing and public affairs in the UK. His appointment is part of a recruitment drive within the company. Trevor Isherwood joins as advertising manager and...

Star Alliance. (Appointments).(appointed Mark Davis as director of marketing and communications)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Star Alliance, the loyalty scheme which brings together a number of major transatlantic airline brands, has appointed former Air New Zealand marketing manager Mark Davis as director of marketing and communications.

Unilever Bestfoods. (Appointments).(is reorganising its marketing department )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Unilever Bestfoods is reorganising its marketing department following the appointment of former beverages marketer William Brown as vice president of Unilever's corporate brand. Paul Nevett, business unit director for spreads will take over the...

The Royal Mail. (Marketing).(is reviewing its marketing agency roster)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Royal Mail is reviewing its marketing agency roster to cut costs. Its restructured marketing division is predicting a maximum 60m [pounds sterling] marketing spend for 2003-4, down 20m [pounds sterling] from 80m [pounds sterling] in 2002....

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Transport for London's poster, created by Triangle Communications, misled the public about the congestion charge. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Transport for London's poster, created by Triangle Communications, misled the public about the congestion charge. The ads said that "all the cash from the congestion charge" would be put...

J Sainsbury and Boots. (Financial).(to end trial which saw Boots chemists in Sainsbury's superstores)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... J Sainsbury and Boots have decided to end the trial which saw Boots chemists in Sainsbury's superstores. The trial had been running since October 2001. Sainsbury's now intends to stock its own healthcare products in around 50 of its stores,...

Nestle is proposing to buy the Powwow water cooler company from Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary AS Watson. (Financial).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Nestle is proposing to buy the Powwow water cooler company from Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary AS Watson. The sale price is set at 560m [euro] (381.6m [pounds sterling]). The water market is said to have growth rates in excess of 20% per annum....

WPP's. (Financial).(reports drop in profits)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Ad group WPP's profits fell by 19% to 400.6m [pounds sterling] in 2002, according to the company's latest results. Global revenues also fell, down by 3% to 3.9bn [pounds sterling], with the US and UK showing the worst performance. Chief...

Management at German ad agency, Scholtz and Friends, are rumoured to be organising a management buy-out from troubled parent holding company, Cordiant. (International).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Management at German ad agency, Scholtz and Friends, are rumoured to be organising a management buy-out from troubled parent holding company, Cordiant. The company owns 77% of the ad agency and the price is estimated to be around 18.2m [euro]...

In a court fight lasting more than 20 years, Anheuser Busch (American Bud) and Budejovicky Budvar (Czech Bud) have wrangled over who has the legal right to use the term `Bud' to describe their product. (International).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In a court fight lasting more than 20 years, Anheuser Busch (American Bud) and Budejovicky Budvar (Czech Bud) have wrangled over who has the legal right to use the term `Bud' to describe their product. The latest development saw American Bud...

Representatives from drinks company Diageo, and 16 other major beverage companies, met with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to discuss alcohol and public health. (International).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Representatives from drinks company Diageo, and 16 other major beverage companies, met with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to discuss alcohol and public health. The two major proposals raised by the meeting involved self regulation for the...

Ad agency Bartle Bogle and Hegarty (BBH) has been appointed by F&N Coca-Cola (Singapore) Pte to manage the $9m (5.7m [pounds sterling]) Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Light brands. (International).
March 1, 2003... Ad agency Bartle Bogle and Hegarty (BBH) has been appointed by F&N Coca-Cola (Singapore) Pte to manage the $9m (5.7m [pounds sterling]) Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Light brands. Other recent wins for the Asia-Pacific office include Starbucks Japan...

From extra large to jumbo--bulk buying is on the rise: as consumers buy ever larger products, brands must learn to sell themselves in home as well as in store. (Trendspotter).
March 1, 2003... Supermarkets are getting bigger--in 1972 the average size of a new supermarket was 24,038 square feet versus 44,072 in 2000. The benefits of buying in bulk are well understood. It makes sense for consumers to buy a super size tube of toothpaste...

If I could get my hands on `the dream factory' Alessi ... I'd extend its range into fashion, furniture and coffee shops, says Caroline Herbert, marketing manager for Martini Vermouth. (In An Ideal World).
March 1, 2003... The Alessi brand is a combination of attractive form and practical function. It tries to inject emotion into its products and it sometimes takes time to work out what a particular object does. It is no wonder that Alessi describes itself as...

Jan 2003: PressWatch top 10 companies in terms of negative press coverage.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Jan 2003: PressWatch top 10 companies in terms of negative press coverage 1 London Underground 2 BHP Billiton 3 Standard Life 4 Barclays 5 Norwich Union 6 Abbey National 7 AOL Time Warner 8 Dixons 9...

Persil Power proved to have a bit too much zap: it was the biggest kid on the block and it simply didn't know its own strength. Morag Cuddeford Jones finds out what happened. (That Was The Brand That Was).
March 1, 2003... It was a battle fought for the hearts and minds of the nation's beleaguered mums. The duopoly in charge of cupboards nationwide--Procter and Gamble (P&G) and Unilever--were desperate to find the next generation of washing powder that would...

We're all going on a Huggies holiday. (Brand Stunt Of The Month).(Kimberly-Clark's brand Huggies using 'Huggies Adventure World' branded bus to advertise)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... It's a chance for consumers to get the dirty on nappies wherever they live in the country. Kimberly-Clark's brand Huggies has created a branded double-decker bus--`Huggies Adventure World' to advertise the brand and support its relaunch of the...

Brand mot: it's supposed to represent the best of the country. The Arts Council of England aims to support and encourage arts practice from all cultures and distribute money from the Government and the National Lottery.(Arts Council of England marketing art)
March 1, 2003... Brand mot: it's supposed to represent the best of the country. The Arts Council of England aims to support and encourage arts practice from all cultures and distribute money from the Government and the National Lottery. But in the last year it...

Talking mobile generation: Martin Croft discovers that brands that use mobile marketing must speak to teenagers in the right language. (News Analysis).(how to market mobile phones to teenagers)
March 1, 2003... February 14th was a good day for mobile phone companies, with starry-eyed lovers sending an estimated 70 million text messages to the objects of their adoration, according to figures from the Department of Trade and Industry. That's more than...

Once more unto the breach means pulling in the reserves: as the threat of war in the Gulf looms ever closer, Martin Croft investigates the impact that international combat will have on the marketing industry from growing Action Man sales to depleting ad spend. (News Analysis).(threat of war is growing the canned goods industry in the U.S. and UK)
March 1, 2003... As Frankie Goes To Hollywood so eloquently put it two decades ago, "War--what is it good for?" Right now, in the US at least, the answer seems to be war--or the threat of war--is good for marketers of bottled water, canned goods and...

Building power brands: Chris de Lapuente offers advice on how to build billion-dollar brands by understanding how consumers experience shopping. (Opinion).
March 1, 2003... The brand that aspires to be a power brand is the one that consistently wins at what P&G calls the two key moments of truth--the first being when a consumer stands in-store and chooses which brand they will take home and the second when the...

Will Whitehorn builds on a Virgin philosophy: Richard Branson's right-hand man is WILL WHITEHORN, Virgin's brand development and corporate affairs director--who seems more comfortable talking about Branson's life than his own. (Profile: Will Whitehorn).
March 1, 2003... Will Whitehorn owes his career to a rock group called Johnny and the Self Abusers. The Scottish band--who later went on to become Simple Minds--led to his first contact with Virgin. His early brush with the business turned out to be a...

The poor man's champagne ... That's how Tom Long, Coca-Cola's UK and Ireland president describes his flagship carbonated beverage. Elen Lewis wonders whether the prolific $69bn brand is ready to face the challenges of the 21st century. (Coca-Cola).
March 1, 2003... Coca-Cola is the world's most valuable brand, worth a staggering $69.6bn (43.5bn [pounds sterling]) It is also arguably the most ubiquitous brand in the world with its products advertised and distributed from Cameroon to Cambodia. An iconic...

And our survey said ... X: the age-old battle between research and creativity has rumbled on for decades. Morag Cuddeford Jones assesses whether marketers should look to innovation and gut instinct or spreadsheets full of figures. (Market Research).(how to brand market)
March 1, 2003... It's not rocket science. If you want to know what the customer wants then surely you can't go wrong by asking them? Or can you? As the popular anecdote goes, if Henry Ford had asked the customer what he wanted, he would have designed a faster...

Fresh, souped-up research: New Covent Garden Soup prided itself on making the best fresh soups around, so it was quite a shock to discover consumers greatly preferred competitor brands. (Case Study: Covent Garden Soup).
March 1, 2003... "Did you know that the best soup in the country is Heinz Cream of Tomato?" asks New Covent Garden Soup Company's head of marketing Nigel Parrott. It's a strange statement from the man in charge of the soup company that claims `imagination...

A brand that's using its loaf: Elen Lewis talks to Paula Moss, Hovis's brand director about how she intends to build on the success of its relaunch two years ago and speak to consumers in the language of today, keeping Hovis as Britain's best loaf. (Hovis).(Interview)
March 1, 2003... It was a memorable brief. In 2001, Peter Baker, the appropriately-named managing director of British Bakeries stated that he wanted Hovis to become, "number one in white, brown and everything." It was a difficult feat, especially when you...

Imprints--a pressing issue: Ruth Mortimer scrutinizes the brands in the UK national newspaper market from red top to broadsheet and asks what defines a paper's brand and whether branding techniques can help boost reader loyalty. (Special report: media).
March 1, 2003... It doesn't come as news to anyone. The UK newspaper market is one of the most aggressive in the world. The papers may be low-cost but competition is high--13 million national titles are sold every month, according to the Audit Bureau of...

Your readers are also online: newspaper websites have a strong influence on their brands and attract young people. (Case study: news websites).
March 1, 2003... Newspapers were among the first media owners to set up websites back in 1994. Over the last eight years the value of these sites has been debated. The sites were expensive to set up and maintain, but it was felt that they represented a great...

Insurance brands buy in: Ross Gow offers advice on staying afloat in the perfect storm. Insurers can no longer rely on reducing costs to stay ahead of competition--they must learn to exploit their intangible assets. (Brand Papers).
March 1, 2003... The insurance sector has historically lacked recognisable, strong brands. There are a few big names--Marsh is recognised as the world's leading risk and insurance services firm, while the Lloyd's market has a very distinct personality--but...

Modern iconography: Michael Peters argues that today's branding world should realise that `one picture is worth a thousand words' and that the language of icons will play a greater role in future communications. (Brand Papers).
March 1, 2003... I find it extraordinary that after thousands of years, in the year 2003 we can still marvel at ancient cave paintings in remote places around the globe, which provide us with a detailed understanding of people's lives and behaviour from those...

Humanitarian branding: John Moore argues that the marketing industry needs to inject some passion and anger back into the industry and that it could learn a lot from analysing human relationships. (Brand Papers).
March 1, 2003... We live in a world of too much marketing and too much branding. People's faith in advertising has fallen to new lows, as we fail to engage with advertisers' claims. The humanity has been driven out of most branding programmes, replaced by an...

The key to the boardroom: Amanda Merron argues that media neutral planning could enable communications businesses to get more senior access to clients, but structural changes need to be implemented to achieve this. (Brand Papers).
March 1, 2003... Is the marketing director really on the board? How senior is a communications consultancy's access to its client? Who signs off the budget? These questions have long exercised the minds of marketing services businesses. Recent research into...

Parody product prevention: Ravinder Chahil describes the significance of a recent European Court of Justice case which should offer more protection for brands and their trade marks against parody products. (Brand Papers.
March 1, 2003... A recent case before the European Court of Justice has gone some way to clearing the air on a concerning question for trade mark practitioners. A recent judgement in favour of Davidoff has closed a gap in the law that allowed parody products to...

The year's best global brands. (Research).
March 1, 2003... * Google is the most popular global brand among marketing professionals, according to the Brand of the Year 2002 survey on Interbrand's online branding portal Brandchannel. The search engine garnered 15% of the overall vote, climbing up from a...

Knocking some Census into the UK. (Research).
March 1, 2003... * The UK is still a country dominated by white, Christian, married couples, according to the latest statistics from the 2001 Census. The country has a population of nearly 59 million people--with women comprising more than 30 million of this...

Managing trust, building profit. (Research).
March 1, 2003... * All brand owners will surely agree about one thing: given the cost of creating and sustaining brands in today's markets and given the fierce competition for consumer loyalty, every ounce of value has to be wrung from the brand. Weak...

British lifestyles: frenetic but fun. (Research).
March 1, 2003... * Britain has longer working hours than almost every other European country, with the latest ONS Labour Survey citing an average working week of 44 hours. A survey by the Department of Trade and Industry indicates that one in six employees now...

What's in a number? (Last Word).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... There's nothing like using your own brand. Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton claims to receive emails per week from his postal staff. Obviously they're not that keen on the snail mail. Source: FT 20 January 2003

Global village idiot. (Last Word).(Clairol's bad choice of brand name in Germany)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Haircare brand Clairol introduced a curling iron called `Mist Stick' in Germany only to discover that `mist' is slang for manure. Not too many takers for putting dung in the hair.

Blowing hot and cold in the retail sector. (Last Word).(Mattel's profits have increased by 35%)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Mattel has seen its profits soar by 35%, led by strong sales of the little girts' favourite: Barbie. It's good news at last for the toymaker after several years losing trade mark infringement cases over the Aqua pop song `Barbie Girl'. ...

The monthly brand brainstorm. (Last Word).(Pret a Manger)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... This sign from Pret a Manger shows why the company is such a popular food retailer. It turns a potential product problem into a symbol of the company's brand values. It shows that Pret thinks not only about the small things that might spoil...

Brands and business mode: iconic brands are built on the foundations of superior business models which should enable the details to fall into place naturally.
March 1, 2003... If you had to choose between the following two statements, which would you opt for? A) The job of branding is to differentiate, and therefore provide competitive edge, to one particular company and its offerings in relation to similar...