Brand Strategy articles from March 2004

Brand Strategy archives from March 2004

The bottom of the pyramid.(Leader)
March 1, 2004... Branding is not always the answer. This month Alan Mitchell draws on Jim Collins' Good to Great to conclude that branding is not the secret of the A-list (page 9). Something else is going on. Collins' theory concluded that companies which...

The Wrigley Company has launched Hubba Bubba Mix and Match bubblegum with a 2.4m [pounds sterling] UK advertising campaign by Bray Leino.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Wrigley Company has launched Hubba Bubba Mix and Match bubblegum with a 2.4m [pounds sterling] UK advertising campaign by Bray Leino. Packs contain two different flavours allowing kids to create different tastes. The launch is an attempt to...

The Giorgio Armani Group is launching an international chain of luxury hotels and resorts in cities including London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Shanghai.(Total investment supporting the openings is expected to exceed $1bn)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Giorgio Armani Group is launching an international chain of luxury hotels and resorts in cities including London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Shanghai. Ten luxury hotels and four resorts will be built in partnership with Dubai's EMAAR...

Camelot has launched EuroMillions, a weekly European lottery, in the UK, France and Spain.(launch is backed by a 5m advertising campaign)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Camelot has launched EuroMillions, a weekly European lottery, in the UK, France and Spain. EuroMillions was launched on the back of strong UK National Lottery sales. The UK launch is backed by a 5m [pounds sterling] advertising campaign lasting...

Unilever Frozen Food is investing 60m [pounds sterling] to overhaul the identity of its brands across Europe and make them seem more fresh and wholesome.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Unilever Frozen Food is investing 60m [pounds sterling] to overhaul the identity of its brands across Europe and make them seem more fresh and wholesome. The new look was initially unveiled for UK brand Birds Eye and will roll out across...

Masterfoods claims it has created a completely new category with the UK launch of Aquadrops, a tablet drink.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Masterfoods claims it has created a completely new category with the UK launch of Aquadrops, a tablet drink. The sweet, which promises a 'cooling hit of instant hydration and lasting refreshment' is backed by 4.3m [pounds sterling] advertising...

French bakery group, Harry's, has launched its Doo Wap children's lunchbox products in the UK.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... French bakery group, Harry's, has launched its Doo Wap children's lunchbox products in the UK. The company, which is present in several European markets, has invested 1m [pounds sterling] in TV advertising for the buns and crepes, by ad agency...

United Airlines has rebranded and introduced a global ad campaign to persuade business customers to fly frequently again post September 11th.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... United Airlines has rebranded and introduced a global ad campaign to persuade business customers to fly frequently again post September 11th. The ads by Fallon Worldwide use a new tagline, 'it's time to fly' and will appear in print and...

Diary.(Market Research Society Annual Conference)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... Research 2004: Market Research Society Annual Conference London 11-12 March 2004 The UK's largest research body brings together key figures in presentations, seminars and debates to discover how to win consumers' hearts and minds....

Unilever.(Appointments; Patrick Cescau promoted at Unilever Group )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Patrick Cescau, Unilever foods director, succeeds Niall Fitzgerald as Unilever chairman from September 2004, following Fitzgerald's announcement that he is to retire. Fitzgerald has spent 37 years at Unilever and is responsible for the "Path to...

Reebok.(Appointments; Dennis Baldwin promoted at Reebok International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Dennis Baldwin, Reebok's brand senior VP since 2001, has been named as the company's new CMO, replacing Muktesh (Micky) Pant. Pant is leaving to develop business interests in India.

Diageo.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Diageo's director of global brand innovation, Steve Wilson, is moving to the Reserve Brands division as global director. He will oversee the growth of new luxury brands such as Johnnie Walker Blue Label. He will be replaced by Syl Saller,...

Ford UK.(Appointments)(Fleet, Peter)(Hood, Steve)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Steve Hood is to replace Peter Fleet as marketing director for Ford UK. Fleet moves to Ford Europe as director of sales, service and distribution.

Allied Domecq has signed reggae star Shaggy to be the spokesperson for Malibu, its Caribbean white rum brand.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Allied Domecq has signed reggae star Shaggy to be the spokesperson for Malibu, its Caribbean white rum brand. A global campaign will include radio advertising, on- and off- premise merchandising and promotions around the launch of Shaggy's new...

Unilever.(fast moving consumer goods; Unilever Group mission plan announced)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Anglo-Dutch FMCG giant, Unilever has announced a new mission focusing on healthy lifestyle, convenience and indulgence. It also plans to use its corporate brand on product packaging. Net profit for 2003 increased by 38% to 2,942m [euro] (1,982m...

The world's largest confectioner, Cadbury Schweppes' pre-tax profits have fallen by 32% to 564m [pounds sterling] for the year ending 28 December 2003.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The world's largest confectioner, Cadbury Schweppes' pre-tax profits have fallen by 32% to 564m [pounds sterling] for the year ending 28 December 2003. Improvements were however seen in the fourth quarter and the second half of the year saw...

Household goods company, Reckitt Benkiser's operating profits increased by 18% last year to 679m [pounds sterling] experiencing a 25% rise in the fourth quarter.(Finance)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Household goods company, Reckitt Benkiser's operating profits increased by 18% last year to 679m [pounds sterling] experiencing a 25% rise in the fourth quarter. The group's 15 'power brands' which include Vanish and Dettol, accounted for 51%...

Diageo.(Finance; Diageo PLC announces operating profit)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Diageo, the drinks company that owns Guinness and Smirnoff vodka has announced an operating profit of 1.16bn [pounds sterling] for the second half of 2003. Although its key global brands all achieved growth aside from J&B whisky, sales by...

Fine foods are becoming more popular across Europe as consumers become uninspired by mass-produced food, according to Datamonitor.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Fine foods are becoming more popular across Europe as consumers become uninspired by mass-produced food, according to Datamonitor. France is Europe's largest gourmet market with the UK taking second place, however, the British spend the most;...

Office for National Statistics.(Office for National Statistics survey for 2002-03)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Brits spend more on transport than food and healthcare according to an Office for National Statistics survey for 2002-03. The typical household spends more in pubs and bars than it saves and spends about 50 [pounds sterling] a week on cars, 39...

Too many cooks improve the broth; Steve Purnell suggests the true consumer-driven brands actually put the customer in the driving seat.(Trendspotter)
March 1, 2004... New Covent Garden's 'Create-A-Soup' competition culminated in the launch of a new Thai Chicken Fusion variety and Heinz has developed a recent initiative to launch baby food recipes created by mums. These are two examples of the trend towards...

When the Midland Bank went to Asia.(That Was The Brand That Was)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Anyone at a UK school in the 1980s will remember jealousy in the playground caused by the Midland Bank Griffin Savers account. Kids got free schoolbags, pencil cases, dictionaries... the gifts seemed endless. The UK bank was founded in...

Overclaiming the art of branding: lan Mitchell argues that marketers should stop pretending that better branding is always the answer to business problems.
March 1, 2004... Try making a list of the most successful companies around today. Would you say that Wal-Mart's branding was state-of-the-art and outstanding? Or Dell's? Or EasyJet's? Or even Tesco's? This leaves us with a problem: just how important are...

Brand mot: Atkins Nutritionals.
March 1, 2004... The Atkins diet has been a revolution. A best-selling diet book has been followed by a range of foods, sold in the UK and the US. The book has sold 2.5 million copies in the UK and Atkins Nutritionals made in excess of $100m (53m [pounds...

Branding Espana to the rest of the world; Joanna Doonar examines the first league table of Spain's top brands and discovers that retail and banking score highly and the Zara label has great international pull.(News Analysis)
March 1, 2004... Branding in Spain has become increasingly important over the past few years, according to industry experts, reflected by the first ranking of Spain's most valuable brands by Interbrand. Telecom company, Telefonica, and banks Santander and BBVA...

Making the connection: Ian Ryder says it's time marketers understood the relationship between brand and reputation.(brand management)
March 1, 2004... How many marketers does it take to agree on a definition? The answer is usually too many, so let me use an unimpeachable source, The Greater Oxford English Dictionary, to define the two principal words I am writing about: Brand: an...

Engagement is learning to love risk: Niall Fitzgerald argues that shy and retiring brands don't work but risk brings rewards.(Opinion)
March 1, 2004... Brands will become more valuable. There will be fewer of them but the survivors will be bigger, as the weak succumb to the pressures of competition --not least for the attention of a media-saturated public, and for shelf space in a...

Barley's all ears for the good life: Morag Cuddeford Jones ploughs through the Microsoft doctrine to find Nick Barley, the man behind the marketing, and corporate affairs director for the UK and Ireland.(Profile)(nick barley, marketing and corporate affairs director (UK and Ireland), Microsoft)(Biography)
March 1, 2004... Nick Barley has travelled from rural England's mini silicon valley to the capital city to promote Microsoft's latest marketing campaign. Despite all the new software the company comes up with every year, making it a $13bn (7bn [pounds...

IT's a lifestyle for Nick Barley at Microsoft: Nick Barley talks to Morag Cuddeford Jones about the challenges of working for one of the world's biggest brands, and outlines some areas for improvement.(Q&A)(Interview)
March 1, 2004... MCJ: Microsoft and Bill Gates are as American as apple pie. As the UK and Ireland marketing director, is it difficult to impose a local personality on the brand? NB: You have to have centralised message control. You can't allow...

MGM's cat is tickled pink; as MGM celebrates the Pink Panther's 40th anniversary, Joanna Doonar investigates how it's planning to take the 'sophisticat' into new territories and continue to appeal to new generations.(Pink Panther)
March 1, 2004... KEY LEARNINGS * Using a brand's history can increase emotional engagement with consumers who are interested in the story behind a brand. Classic brands with a history can appeal to both adults and children. * The same brand can be...

Nothing to grouse about: Morag Cuddeford Jones charts the growth of a local Scottish whisky into a world renowned drinks brand, and discovers that the water of life doesn't always flow smoothly.(The Famous Grouse)
March 1, 2004... It may be March, but marketers at The Famous Grouse's parent company The Edrington Group are celebrating a very merry Christmas. The Scottish blended whisky was already number two in the UK behind Diageo's Bells but Christmas sales figures show...

Battling for consumers: Elen Lewis investigates war-torn Iraq and its 24 million consumers. Despite its crumbling infrastructure, the country is being eyed up by Western brands eager to profit from its potential.(Brands In Iraq)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2004... KEY LEARNINGS * There is a consumer need in Iraq for low value brands with high value cachet. * Business mentality is not being led by brand strategy but by distribution. * The population of Iraq is 24m, with half under the age of...

A broader vision in Iraq: Elen Lewis investigates how Al Iraqiyah, a new Iraqi TV brand, launched in a country where consumers are generally distrustful of most forms of media and unfamiliar with advertising.(Case study: Al Iraqiyah)
March 1, 2004... The odds of launching a brand are never stacked in your favour. But imagine the challenge of launching a new brand to a war-torn country with no infrastructure and very little media. Your target audience of 24 million are living hand-to-mouth...

Behaviour = trust: Barry Clarke says marketers should sieze ownership of social responsibility as brands and trust are conspicuously interlinked.(Brand Papers)
March 1, 2004... It's time for marketing to take a leading role in social responsibility. After all, brands were there at the dawn of the age of responsibility. Ben & Jerry has innovated practices such as fair trade, sustainable development and social and...

Elastic brands: David Taylor offers advice citing successful and botched brand extensions--drawing from the Virgin and Dove brand stretches.(Brand Papers)
March 1, 2004... For many companies who have spent billions building strong brands it's payback time: they are expected to produce profitable offspring in the form of brand extensions. Marketing teams hope to emulate the storming success of extensions such as...

Vodka connoisseurs: Michael Peters explains how a Russian vodka with international ambitions is signalling a change between East and West dynamics.(Brand Papers)
March 1, 2004... With eight former Soviet Union states set for EU accession on 1 May 2004, the potential market for global brands in the East is set to take off. No longer considered the 'wild east', more and more CEOs are eagerly eyeing up the Russian market,...

Latino love for autos: Erika Propser explains why car manufacturers are waking up to the potential of the Hispanic market--where the motor has a deeper meaning.
March 1, 2004... The big automobile giants: Honda, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, GM, Nissan, Ford, and Mitsubishi. Each in step with their markets. Each determined to outsell the other and be the next big thing in cars. And the next big thing, it seems, is selling...

A new marketing reality: Jim Williams, director of strategy and research at Y&R/Wunderman EMEA struggles through details of a The New Global Marketing Reality and is disappointed by its lack of conclusions.(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... The New Global Marketing Reality is published by Palgrave Macmillan, price 20 [pounds sterling] The authors of The New Global Marketing Reality profess to have written it for the busy marketing executive, and so as a busy advertising...

Creativity Inc, building an inventive organisation.(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... Creativity Inc, building an Inventive organisation by Jeff Mauzy and Richard Harriman, published by Harvard Business School Press Creativity Inc is packed with solid examples of companies who've proven that innovation and creativity pays...

Brand narcissism: Steve Hilton, founder of Good Business, wishes he'd never agreed to review Beyond Branding and suggests it fails to live up to its ambitious billing.(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... Beyond Branding edited by Nicholas Ind is published by Kogan Page, price 25 [pounds sterling] I wish I'd never agreed to review this book. Not because of Beyond Branding's failure to live up to its ambitious billing, in the introductory...

Pro Logo, brands as a factor of progress.(Books In Brief)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Pro Logo, brands as a factor of progress by Michel Chevalier and Gerard Mazzalovo, published by Palgrave Macmillan Pro Logo, like many other books and articles in its wake. is a reaction to Naomi Klein's No Logo. In fact, a note on the very...

Big spenders.(Brand Stats)(Illustration)
March 1, 2004... UK top advertisers, December 2003 New position (previous month) Brand Spend 1 (19) Ford 4,779,086 [pounds sterling] 2 (7) DFS 3,152,330 [pounds sterling] 3 (3)...

FMCG bestsellers.(Brand Stats)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
March 1, 2004... Cooking sauces, UK, year ending 1 February 2004 Total spend for sector: 613m [pounds sterling] Rank Brand Company 1 Dolmio Mars, Incorporated 2 Homepride Campbell Grocery Products 3...

Market focus: mobile phones.(United Kingdom leads in penetration)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Britain is leading the way in adult mobile phone ownership among the key European markets (Germany, Spain, France and the UK). Current TGI Europa data covering the four countries shows that with 76% penetration, the UK is way above average,...

Measuring effective .(Research)
March 1, 2004... Measuring ad awareness in the financial sector is often biased according to the status of the target audience. Subsequent ad effectiveness can be undermined by a superficial interpretation of the results. Customers of any given institution...

Commercial breakdown.(television advertising effectiveness)
March 1, 2004... The bad news for marketers trying to target a mass market audience is that TV viewers are increasingly hostile towards the volume of ads they are exposed to, according to research by The Billett Consultancy/BMRB, Blinc and Carat UK. "As...

Challenges to EU integration.(Research)
March 1, 2004... In 2004, the European Union will welcome 10 more nations into the fold, becoming a union of 25 member states. It is the largest number to have been integrated all at the same time in the Union's history. But what makes this unique is that the...