Brand Strategy articles from September 2008

Brand Strategy archives from September 2008

LEADER: On an upbeat note.
September 8, 2008... My summer has been dominated by two big themes - sport and music. I suppose we could include the depressing credit crunch as a looming, gloomy third theme, but let's leave that to one side for now; I'm not keen on talking the world's economy...

MARKETING: Mattel.
September 8, 2008... Mattel, owner of the Barbie doll, has won a court case against MGA, the manufacturer of rival toys Bratz. Mattel alleged that Bratz creator Carter Bryant was under contract to it when he came up with his doll designs. MGA argued that it built...

MARKETING: Olympic sponsors.
September 8, 2008... Of the 12 global Olympic sponsors backing the Beijing 2008 Games, just eight are continuing to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and 2012 in London. Lenovo is not keen to renew its deal and Kodak has also announced that it is "not the best...

MARKETING: Toyota.
September 8, 2008... Car brand Toyota is running a partnership project with an artist community called HEYA (Japanese for 'room') to develop futuristic designs. The 'From here to there' initiative is displaying some of the prototypes from the artists at a...

MARKETING: Facebook.(Scrabulous)(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Facebook has withdrawn its popular application Scrabulous - thought to be responsible for boosting sales of traditional Scrabble boards - outside the US, after a complaint from Scrabble rights-holder Mattel. It had already been removed in the...

MARKETING: Heineken.
September 8, 2008... Dutch beer brand Heineken is preparing a global marketing campaign that will tie in with its appearance in the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. The campaign will run across 40 markets and will feature new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko. The...

MARKETING: EasyJet.
September 8, 2008... Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of budget airline EasyJet, has filed a claim with London's High Court, accusing the carrier of damaging his 'Easy' brand by linking itself too closely with ancillary businesses, such as hotel bookings. A brand...

MARKETING: Reebok.
September 8, 2008... Sports brand Reebok has partnered with game-maker Hasbro to create Monopoly footwear. The board-game-inspired shoes retail at around $40 (#22) for kids and $75 (#40) for adults. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

MARKETING: Microsoft.
September 8, 2008... Microsoft has enlisted the help of US TV comic Jerry Seinfeld in a new campaign for its Windows Vista system. The computing giant will use the strapline "Windows not walls" in the $300m (#160m) initiative, for which Seinfeld is reportedly...

MARKETING: Harvey Nichols.
September 8, 2008... Aardman Animations characters Wallace and Gromit have had a fashion makeover to promote a new Harvey Nichols department store in Bristol, UK. They will don models of clothes by designers such as Paul Smith and Dolce & Gabbana to front the...

MARKETING: Michael Phelps.
September 8, 2008... Swimmer Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, is predicted to obtain sponsorship deals of around $40m (#22m) over the next four years. He allegedly earns $6-7m (#3.5-#4m) currently from endorsements. Visa has...

MARKETING: McCain Foods.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... McCain Foods is capitalising on the US presidential elections by launching an integrated marketing campaign playing on the fact that it shares the name of Republican candidate John McCain. The firm is promoting McCain potatoes as a 'candidate'...

LAUNCHES/REBRANDS: Facebook.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Facebook is trialling a new marketing format - engagement ads - that aims to combine social networking actions with paid-for content. The new formats include film trailer ads to which users can add their views and see their friends'...

LAUNCHES/REBRANDS: The Body Shop.
September 8, 2008... The Body Shop is rolling out a new international repositioning campaign under the strapline 'Nature's way to beautiful'. The brand is aiming to reassert its lengthy ethical heritage following a takeover by L'Oreal. The campaign will be...

LAUNCHES/REBRANDS: Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation.
September 8, 2008... Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation is launching a mobile commerce service to enable customers to buy its products via their mobile phones. The company claims it will be the first luxury brand in the US to launch the service directly. It intends...

LAUNCHES/REBRANDS: Agent Provocateur.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... British lingerie brand Agent Provocateur is planning to expand further across the globe following its $120m (#60m) acquisition by a private equity firm last year. The label, designed by Vivienne Westwood's son Joe Corre, has a number of new...

LAUNCHES/REBRANDS: Penguin/Match.com.(PenguinDating)(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Penguin and dating website Match.com have launched a new joint venture, PenguinDating, that aims to offer book lovers a place to "indulge in the age-old art of writing love letters". Users can search through the website's registered profiles...

FINANCIAL: Diageo.
September 8, 2008... Diageo has reported profits before tax of #2.093bn in the year to June, down slightly from #2.095bn in the previous period. The strong Asia- Pacific region was hit by the loss of a South Korean licence, although net sales rose seven per cent...

FINANCIAL: Nielsen.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... China has seen a surge in ad spend to $34.99bn (#17bn) for the first half of the year, according to Nielsen. Advertising spending rose by 17% over the same period last year, with TV totalling 83% or $29bn (#15.5bn) of the total spend....

FINANCIAL: China Mobile.
September 8, 2008... Profits have risen by 51% at China Mobile; the firm's net profit for the last quarter hit 30.7bn yuan (#2.4bn), compared with 20.34bn yuan (#1.6bn) at the same time last year. The brand is now targeting rural customers in less saturated...

APPOINTMENTS: Coca-Cola.
September 8, 2008... Coca-Cola has appointed former AT&T marketer Wendy Clark as senior vice president of integrated marketing communications and capabilities. Clark will be responsible for helping to build and deliver marketing capabilities across brands,...

APPOINTMENTS: Bebo.(Kelly Brett appointed)(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Social network Bebo, home of internet dramas including KateModern and The Gap Year, has appointed Kelly Brett as its new head of original productions. Brett has previously worked on more than 20 TV productions for the BBC, Sky and ITV, among...

APPOINTMENTS: Motorola.
September 8, 2008... James King has returned to his former employer, Motorola, just a month after leaving to join rival firm Samsung Mobile. He will take on the new role of European marketing director. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

APPOINTMENTS: Christian Dior.
September 8, 2008... Sophie Lorge has been appointed marketing director for Christian Dior's cosmetics and fragrances division in the UK and Ireland. Lorge's appointment comes as the unit moves away from tactical promotional activity and into reinforcing its...

TRENDSPOTTER: Righteous buyers.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Zealous consumers are shunning indulgence, says Christophe Jouan Many consumers today are conscientious, ethical and responsible in the ways they make their buying decisions, spend their leisure time and act in their day-to-day lives. ...

BRAND STUNT OF THE MONTH: Man of the moment.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Miniman is celebrating 30 years as the 'face' of Lego, writes Jo Roberts One toy has an outfit for every occasion: he can dress up as anything, from a cowboy to a medieval knight. There are more than four billion versions of this little...

OPINION: Transform heritage into a modern attraction.
September 8, 2008... Guenael Fily, global brand director for Galliano L'Autentico, explains how rediscovering the brand's history helped re-establish its premium values Having genuine roots is key to a brand's success today. It's difficult to launch a brand...

OPINION: Timeless quality is the best brand fit.
September 8, 2008... Mark Henderson, chief executive of Gieves & Hawkes, believes providing personalisation and emphasising service can help any brand in a recession In a tough economic climate, survival is about having a strong offer that people believe is...

BRAND THERAPY: YAHOO! - Search for new direction.
September 8, 2008... Yahoo! was seen by many as the definitive search engine of the 1990s. So why is the brand losing its users to rival Google? Yahoo! co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang is finding his position under pressure, despite being re-elected...

MUSIC AND SPORT: On to a winner.
September 8, 2008... Brands such as Sony Ericsson are associating themselves with large- scale events that combine music and sport - potentially appealing to a new group of consumers, writes Jo Roberts Until recently, the biggest innovation in the area of...

PROFILE - MICHAEL MENDENHALL: Ring of confidence.
September 8, 2008... Michael Mendenhall, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Hewlett Packard, tells Maeve Hosea about his company's mission to make life better for businesses and consumers "This is awesome," boasts Michael Mendenhall, senior...

Q&A - MICHAEL MENDENHALL: Democracy through digitization.
September 8, 2008... Michael Mendenhall tells Maeve Hosea how Hewlett Packard has built a global brand with simple and reliable IT solutions, and says integrity is a vital ingredient MH: Give me some context for this Halo teleconferencing technology we are...

CASE STUDY - BARBOUR: Town and country.(J. Barbour and Sons Ltd.)
September 8, 2008... Once the preserve of the landed gentry, Barbour has brought its appeal up to date by embodying two strands of Britishness: the countryside lover and the smart urbanite. Maeve Hosea reports There is a brand that attempts to appeal to both...

CASE STUDY - BARBOUR: Brand values.
September 8, 2008... Barbour managing director Steve Buck identifies a set of values that back up the Barbour brand and its strategy, and which aim to help generate and maintain customer loyalty: * Quality: the firm believes keeping standards high will make...

CASE STUDY - BARBOUR: Barbour timeline.(J. Barbour and Sons Ltd.)(Chronology)(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... 1894 Founder John Barbour opens J Barbour & Sons in South Shields, UK. 1908 John's son, Malcolm, produces the first mail order catalogue for the brand. By 1917, the catalogue accounts for almost 75% of Barbour's business, including...

BUZZ MARKETING: Fooling nobody.
September 8, 2008... A number of stealth marketing techniques have been banned in new legislation. Will this mean the end of creative advertising? Jo Roberts reports Water is now promoted by a break-dancing puppet and chocolate by a drum- playing gorilla:...

BUZZ MARKETING - CASE STUDY: Lotus.
September 8, 2008... Who are the 'Faceless people'? This question was debated around the world as two masked 'faceless' characters turned up to a number of high- profile events in London, such as Wimbledon, during the summer months. ABC News in the US ran a...

BUZZ MARKETING - CASE STUDY: Burger King.
September 8, 2008... Pamela Anderson-esque bodies bounce around the football pitch, Baywatch- style, passing a ball to one another. The camera pans upwards to reveal the beautiful female bodies do not have beautiful faces and in fact have crooked teeth and googly...

CULTURAL BRANDING: Transform dealing to feeling.
September 8, 2008... With hefty sponsorship deals fast becoming a must-do for big brands, Ian Millner explains how to get best value by harnessing the power of culture Sponsorship is on the rise as brands try to find new ways of reaching consumers in a...

DIFFERENTIATION: Don't be flashy, just be right.
September 8, 2008... Don't bother looking for a 'big idea', says Chris Grannell. Successful brands win loyalty and grow by getting the details right consistently instead David Cameron, the leader of the opposition in the UK, recently observed: "Politics...

LOCAL MARKETS: How to be global but think local.
September 8, 2008... Global brands face unknown challenges in local markets and things can go very wrong. Giles Poyner sets out ten guidelines to navigate potential minefields In my mind, the first mainstream example of making global branding locally relevant...

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: No time to be quirky and funny.
September 8, 2008... In this 'pessimism economy', says Russ Lidstone, financial brands are not giving consumers what they want most - evidence that they are worthy of trust An unparalleled sense of helplessness is gripping Western consumer society. People...

VALUATION: Setting a standard of value.
September 8, 2008... David Haigh reports on attempts to develop a global standard for brand valuation from a meeting of the organisation that is trying to put a benchmark in place John Murphy, the founder of global brand agency Interbrand, tells the story...

OLYMPIC ROUNDUP: Beijing's winners and losers.
September 8, 2008... The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was a rare opportunity for global brands to build image, awareness and market share in China. In Brand Strategy July/August 2008, an article asked whether the Games were a waste of money for sponsors. So just...

OLYMPIC ROUNDUP: What Some Of The Leaders Did Well.
September 8, 2008... Adidas Adidas showed the most growth in the Olympic performance index among the top 20 sponsors. In a tough bidding war against Nike and Li Ning, it continues to face daily pressure on its sponsorship rights and recognition. ...

OPINION: Why it's rational to be emotional.
September 8, 2008... James Scroggs, vice president of consumer business at SpinVox, explains how marketing should evoke childlike wonder in consumers It may not be rocket science, but if you start with the principle that the end user cares not about how...

PRODUCT PLACEMENT: A place in the viewers' hearts.
September 8, 2008... Product placement is no longer about putting the brand in-shot within films and TV shows and hoping for the best. The future is all about integrating with the entertainment, our panel of experts agree Brand Strategy: Why does filmed...

CASE STUDY - ORANGE: A ringing endorsement of the silver screen.
September 8, 2008... Maeve Hosea meets Hattie Magee, head of brand partnerships at Orange UK, to talk about how the mobile phone company uses filmed entertainment as a strategy MH: What relationship does Orange have with film? HM: We have been involved...

ONLINE TV: Harness power of viral video.
September 8, 2008... Online TV and video can reach millions of consumers at low cost. Federico Grosso discusses how brands can use the moving image to engage with audiences New technologies have always inspired innovations in marketing, from the printing...

ONLINE TV: Online videos: the statistics.
September 8, 2008... Advertisers will spend record amounts online in the US this year, according to eMarketer. Online advertising spend is predicted to reach $24.9bn (#13.5bn), an increase of 17.4% compared with 2007. The trend to spend online is also reflected...

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT: Step into the moving picture.
September 8, 2008... Gemma Newland, managing director of agency STREAM\, provides an overview of the opportunities for brands in filmed entertainment The way brands have communicated with and engaged consumers in recent years has changed. Companies are finding...

MINI MOVIES: The big feature.
September 8, 2008... Creating a lavish mini-movie with a big name director and Hollywood star is an effective way to get consumers not just paying attention but wanting to see more. Melinda Varley reports In a saturated advertising market, brands are looking...

TV SPONSORSHIP: Screen your partners carefully.
September 8, 2008... TV sponsorship can be hugely rewarding for brands if they can work out the emotional aspects of the deal. In practice, TV sponsorship is a bit like social climbing. You hang out with a person or group in the hope that others will see you...