The brandgym blog

Martin Glen saves me from branding hell

What a day.

It started out on a real low. I was given a proposal for a new branding book to read and feed back on. This one was about, wait for it, using Indian psychology and spirituality to create a brand positioning. The pitch was "the 1st book to use Eastern spiritual thinking applied to branding". Just what we need, right?

I suppose as a consultant myself, it is a bit cheeky of me to pick holes in the proposal. But doesn't stuff like this just try to make branding more complex than it needs to be? It dresses up the simple principles with a whole load of new jargon and brand gobbledygook, trying to sell it as being something unique. At least we try to de-mystify branding, and focus on applying some simple principles to help companies grow.

The one good thing to come out of this was material to use if I ever write another book about Hugo, the marketing director from Where's the Sausage? I can just see him going off on a yoga retreat to India, and coming back espousing the need for the brand to "follow its own spiritual path to self actualisation", or some such bollocks.

Now, onto the good stuff that saved me from branding hell, and restored my marketing karma. I read a summary of the speech done by Martin Glenn to the British Brands Group. Martin is the CEO of Birds Eye Iglo, the frozen food business bought from Unilever by private equity group Permira. Here are some of the gems from his lecture about "fixing brand management":

1. From lousy execution to marketing craft
Martin starts with a subject close to my heart: the need to get back to basics and re-focus on quality of execution. We need to remember that there is a craft to marketing, and that brilliant execution is as important as smart strategy. He says:

"There are not many new strategies in life. People make strategy happen, and the difference between good, average and bad companies is how well they get things done. Let's get back to a position  where thinking and activation are connected."

An earlier post talked about the "100 little things that make innocent different": here is a brand where execution quality has been key to their success.

2. Being better is often more important than being different
I wrote about this in the first brandgym book, in a chapter called "Don't just think different, do different". As Martin points out, many success stories in business of the last 10 years were not actually to do with breakthrough innovation. Rather, they were a result of excellent consumer insight used to deliver what people want, better. "Tesco did not re-invent the shopping experience," he says "They just did every bit of it better".

Having been lucky enough to work with Tesco this year I can vouch for that. They are an awe inspiring business, with a capacity to identify and implement continuous improvements to better meet customer needs like I've never seen .

3. Embrace continuity
More words of wisdom: "Marketing managers become bored with campaigns much quicker than consumers and new brand managers want to put their new stamp on things. Encourage people to embrace continuity and value the long term".

I posted before on the 20 years of continuity in the Stella campaign in the UK, a good example of what Martin is saying here.

4. Apply marketing to external affairs
Martin recommends focusing on the CSR issues that really matter to consumers, and then integrating them into the 3 year and 1 year marketing plans for brands. I think this is a big point. More and more brands will start to pick the big issues, and bake them into their brand mixes, rather than leaving it to corporate affairs.

Ben & Jerry's led with way with this 15 years or more ago. But more and more brands are now following their example of "FMSG" (Fast moving sustainable goods).

5. Private equity = opportunity
Martin has got a vested interest here of course, being paid by a private equity firm. But its another point I agree with him on. The only way these firms can make their investment pay is by creating top-line revenue growth. What they push for is a ruthless focus on this objective, and cutting everything else out.

I posted on this here.

So, if we can have more leaders like Martin Glenn, there is still hope for us all in marketing and branding.

Gatorade takes on the sports drink bully boy

After a soft-launch last year, its a a full-blown push now for Pepsi's Gatorade Sports drink in the UK. They are attracted by the double digit growth in the energy/sports drink market (+11% in 2006 according to Mintel). But it does feel like they're arriving at the party way too late to get a date...

This is a market where Lucozade Sport dominates, with a whopping 64% market share of sports drinks. The Lucozade brand has been around for 40 years+, and the Sports version was launched way back in 1991. That's a 17 year head start. In the UK, Lucozade IS sports drinks. The next biggest -ade brand is Powerade, launched by Coke in 2001. Seven years on, and with the might of the Coke distribution model and the share is.... 19%.

So, let's put Gatorade through the brandgym bully boy screener introduced to evaluate another energy drink launch, of V versus Red Bull. We'll see how likely they are to get beaten up by picking a fight with Lucozade.

1. A decent bit of product/pack "sausage": you need some sort of product or pack innovation to make yourself worth considering. Not obvious at first sight what Gatorade has to get people to re-wire their brains from defaulting to Lucozade as THE sports drink.

Gatorade claim to be "improving performance since 1965"... and although this is longer than Lucozade Sport, it refers to US heritage. And there is no sign that people think Lucozade lacks heritage anyway.

Gatorade talks about you achieve "peak performance" through hydration. Lucozade has been hammering away a more specific claim on "33% longer".

Lucozade Sport also have a much wider range, based on user need, adding scale, credibility and impact:

 

=> Lacks sausage [3/10]

2. Bravery to break codes: you also need to be brave enough to break some codes and stand out. Here again, afraid there is not much to go on. The name of course follows the -ade model of sports drinks (LucoZADE, PowerADE, GatorADE). The pack is the same, being long and thin, rather than using the fatter and stumpier US bottle.

And they use the same 2 key sports drink brand codes as Lucoazde:

- Sports Science and Lab: but here Lucozade have the very well established Lucozade Sports Science Institute. And look at the lab-based imagery: can you spot the difference between the 2 brands' websites?!

- Athlete endorsement: again, Gatorade seems to be playing the same rules as Lucozade, by plugging pro sports people who use the brand. But Lucozade has been at this for years, and sponsor amongst others Stephen Gerard the Liverpool and England football star.

The one asset Gatorade does have going for them is one they don't seem to be pushing: its global, iconic status as the world's leading sports drink. As Arif Haq, Gatorade brand manager at PepsiCo said: ”Gatorade is one of the world’s most iconic sporting brands".

I think Gatorade could have positioned itself as "The Nike of sports drinks" = US, stylish, about winning with flair, cool. They could have re-positioned Lucozade and made them look the "Umbro os sports drinks" = local, UK only, out-dated, for geeks and serious sports people [Umbro is a UK brand of football gear].
[3/10]

3. Loadsamoney: you need some big bucks to fight the big boys. Re-wiring peoples' brains is expensive. Gatorade plan to spend £5million, which aint bad. But this about the same as Lucozade Sport, and about half what the total Lucozade brand claim to spend.
[5/10]

4. Stamina: its one thing to launch. Its a whole different challenge to keep up the battle for 2, 3, 4 years and longer. Be ready for a long, hard and bloody fight. The good thing here is that Gatorade is a key priority for Pepi. And you can imagine them saying "We can't be a credible global brand without a decent share in the UK!". So, I guess they are in it for the long-run
[7/10]

5. Winning mix: its early days yet, but I do find the comms. campaign strange, and even a bit disturbing. It uses people made half of scientists, and half of athletes to get across the idea of "The Science of Winning". I wonder if a more Nike-esque approach focused on the sizzle would not have been a better way to go: cool, US, stylish, not just for geeks?

=> [5/10]

TOTAL 23/50 = less than 50% chance of success, according to this sophisticated model! My prediction? Less than 20% market share within 2-3 years, taking mainly from Powerade who'll drop to 15%. Lucozade may go down a bit to 60%, but as the market is growing, sales will be OK.

Gorillas, milk and airports: Part 2 on Cadbury's Comms.

This is the second in a 2-part post on the comms. strategy of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate. Last week we looked at the first part of their comms. strategy, which is the sizzling emotional bit. This used TV ads to dramatise the idea of "a glass and a half of pure joy": episode 1 featured a drumming gorilla, and episode 2 racing trucks at an airport.

The second part of the CDM comms. approach is single-mindeldy focused on the product "sausage". It takes the form of really impactful full-page press adverts promoting the message that CDM is made with real milk, not milk powder. These use a milk bottle, with a Cadbury branded foil top, and distinctive purple back-drop.

Some thoughts on why I like this:
1. Focused message: rather than trying to get everything across in a single ad, the brand has focused TV on emotional entertainment. And press hammers home a product message. This was an approach also used by P&G back in the Victorian era when I worked there. On Head & Shoulders we use a product demo ad with a "half-head" (half washed in H&S, half in normal shampoo), and another one with celebrities trying to put a little bit of aspiration into the brand, or at least make it less embarassing to buy.

This approach has the big benefit of creating single-minded communication. A common issue with any comms. brief is the multiplication of objectives, leading to communication that lacks impact.

2. Proud of a lovely product truth: it is great to see a brand that makes such a story out its product truth. Cadbury really do celebrate the "glass and a half of milk", and have been doing so for decades. Interestingly, they are a celebrating a truth which is in a way counter-trend. The hot part of the market is high cocoa, dark chocolate. Whereas Cadbury is very milky. But they have rightly decided that there are plenty of people who still like their milky Cadbury.

The glass and a half is on the pack, used in advertising and is also very prominent on the website as you can see here on the right. The website again splits into two main bits: i) plenty of space for the 2 adverts, Gorilla and Trucks. You can even link out of the site to some of the many remixes of the Gorilla ad on You Tube; ii) a whole section with some lovely film footage of the history of CDM, and the "Home of the Cows" that explains the product magic.

3. Clever use of media: Hats off to Cadbury for the good use of media. The TV ads are cinematic and use long time-lengths. The press ads are highly impactful, and have "stopping power". The magazine I saw the ad in repeated the "event-style" communication approach of the TV ads by using a gatefold, 3-page execution. This must of cost a packet, but it hopefully pays off with increased impact and memorability.

4. Lovely execution: There is real craft in the press ads. Not just some standard, boring product message with a glass and a half of milk. They have created a distinctive, ownable visual device with the milk bottle on a purple background.

So, taking the CDM comms. approach as a whole, I think Phil Rumbol and his team deserve a round of applause. The Gorilla ad is the thing people talk about, a bit like the Evolution viral ad for Dove. However, when you dig deeper there is much more to it:
- Anchored on a great product truth
- Sticking to what made the brand famous, but making it relevant for today
- Breathing life into an established brand, that could have been in danger of loosing relevance in the face of stiff competition from premium brands like Green & Black's (though Cadbury win there as they bought it)
- Clever use of media
- Real crafting of the execution
- And, perhaps most important of all, balls to do something brave and get noticed. If you can't be seen, you can't be bought, as my mate Lars said.

Times REALLY are tough!

Gorillas, milk and airports: Cadbury's communication strategy

I'm intrigued by the comms. strategy of Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) over the last 12 months. They've separated their sausage (product) and sizzle (emotional) messages, using different media channels for each. And each of these parts of the campaign poses some interesting questions. We'll look at the sizzle campaign today. And then the sausage bit in the next post.

1. Sizzle - That advert: sponsored entertainment, or business building campaign?
The emotional component of CDM is, of course, the bloody drumming gorilla. Just in case you've been on a dessert island (with no wireless access) for the last year, the gorilla in question sniffs the air in anticipation before bursting into a an explosion of drumming, to the sounds of "In the air tonight" by Genesis. You can watch it here, or click below: :

When it came out this ad struck me as a classic example of "sponsored entertainment": very entertaining and watchable, but with no product story. The brand appears at the end as the sponsor, rather than the star of the ad. Indeed, the ad even uses the title "A glass and half full production" (a token mention of the nice product truth of each bar having a glass and a half of milk in it.)

Let's look at 5 ways of assessing the effectiveness of the ad:

a) Viral power: no doubting the potency of the ad as a piece of viral marketing. It got 10 million views on You Tube alone. There are 3,386 comments on You Tube. Impressive stuff. And 70 000 people signed up to Facebook Gorilla Groups (some people really do have too much time on their hands....)

b) Brand equity: this is fascinating. Really. At first or even second viewing you don't get much info on the product. You might not even recall the brandname. But the media hoo-ha was so big that this helped explain the ad to the general public! So, I now understand that the Gorilla's drumming is supposed to be "a visual metaphor for the joy of eating a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk".

c) Sales growth: I would love to see some evidence that proves the ad is really responsible for the increased sales of CDM, which is the PR story from Cadbury: 'Dairy Milk sales in the UK were up in the "low double digits" in the wake of the drumming gorilla advertisements, according to the company's advisers.' This makes a great soundbite, but people in the choc business tell me it has a lot to do with pricing and promotion.

d) Employer branding: no-one talks about this aspect of the Gorilla ad. But I think it has done a lot for the image of Cadbury as a place to work. It has made the company seem more innovative and cutting edge. The CEO, Todd Stitzer even hailed 2007 as "the year of the gorilla". It also did a lot to boost the image of agency Fallon, and the young creative hot-shot behind the ad, Juan Cabral.

e) Campaignability: the last issue is perhaps the most interesting. Was Gorilla a one-hit wonder? Or the start of a big campaign?

The second ad is called "Truck". It also used a 70's/80's track, this time Don't Stop me Now by Queen. This time we have a series of airport vehicles racing down the runway; they look like the trucks from the movie Cars. The agency had a ball. After the super simple Gorilla ad, now we had "a six-night shoot at an airport in Mexico with 140 crew, two 35mm film cameras, two high-definition cameras and one crash-cam." You can see it here, or click below if you are on the blog:

The new ad is much less effective in viral terms, with less than 200,000 You Tube views when I looked. It is more complex, but less effective at getting across the joy of anticipation and tasting of the chocolate. Its less memorable. Here are some of the quotes from the Guardian blog that asked for opinions: "It's all flash and cash."; "This feels like a bit of a misfire"; "A complete flop"; "Nice ad, but I have absolutely no idea what it's supposed to have to do with Cadbury's."

The problem is that because the ad is less viral, it has less impact, and also gets less support from the media to explain what the bloody hell its all about. This suggests that the Gorilla ad was a one-off. In fact, the Gorilla WAS the idea: the execution was bigger than the brand.

The Cadbury marketing director, Philip Rumbol, told the MediaGuardian section that "We could have created Gorilla 2 and had him playing a trumpet. But that would have been too linear. It has to have a slightly enigmatic quality." But perhaps Gorilla 2 is the only way to go if the idea is to be more than a one-hit wonder?

Check in next time to read about the sausage part of the campaign.

Beef up your RTBs

Had some good feedback from Brent on the post last week about "reasons to buy" being better than just "reasons to believe". This post was prompted by the under-whelming claim of Quantas to be "The world's most experienced airline".

Brent picked me up on the time-wasting that could go on from trying to change the meaning of the acronym RTB. Fair point guvnor. He also got me thinking about the real point of the post: what makes a good RTB?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Obvious benefit: In his comment Brent talked about asking "how obvious the implied benefit?" of an RTB. I think this is key. With a really strong RTB the benefit should be really obvious. In the Blockbuster Promise of "Get the film you want, or rent it free next time" the jump to the benefit of "confidence" is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

In contrast, with Quantas' "the most experienced airline" I don't easily jump anywhere.

2. Ownable: the best RTBs are under-pinned by some unique brand assets or company competence. Tesco's "1 in front" service (new till opened if more than 1 person in front of you) required a major investment in people, training and technology. It was introduced in the 1990's, but further investment has made it even better, and harder to copy. Last year the company won the Retail Week Customer Service Initiative of the Year award for its use of thermal imaging cameras to improve the prediction of queue lengths!

3. Specific: I'm still a fan of Dove's "1/4 moisturising cream" claim, which seems much stronger than just saying "with moisturising cream".

4. True: seems obvious? Well, its not to L'Oreal. They claimed their Telescopic mascara made your lashes 60% longer, but then stuck false eye lashes on Penelope Cruz in the ad. They then clarified that it made your lashes appear 60% longer.

5. Memorable: using an ownable descriptor to name the RTB can help it stick in the mind. Examples include "The Heavenly Bed" from Westin Hotels and "1-Click" ordering from Amazon.

If you're interested, an earlier post had tips on where to look for brand truths that could make good RTBs.

And thanks again to Brent.

RTB = Reason To BUY, not Reason to Believe

The new poster advert from Quantas, the Australian airline, got me thinking about "reasons to believe": those truths about a product or service on which you can build a positioning. Now, as Mr Sausage, I am a big, big fan of brand truth. Its at the very heart of our view that the best brands are built on substance not spin. BUT, the Quantas brand truth in their ad left me cold: "Quantas: The world's most experienced airline." Huh?

Does anyone really care that Quantas are the most experienced airline? What is the inferred benefit from this? We've been flying for a long time, so we are good at it, I guess. It left me cold, and gave me no desire to consider Quantas instead of BA on a future trip to Oz.

The only thing it made me think of was a scene in the movie Rainman. Dustin Hoffman, playing a guy with autism, pisses off his brother, played by Tom Cruise, by insisting that the only airline he will fly is Quantas, because "Quantas never crashed".

So, we should perhaps forget about "reasons to believe", and replace them with "reasons to buy".

Here are some good examples of Reasons to Buy:

- Pantene: Pro-Vitamin B5 => unique ingredient for shinier hair

- Apple iPod (at launch): 1000 songs in your pocket => convenience and portability

- Blockbuster Guarantee: rent the movie you want, or get it free next time => confidence, choice

- Singapore girls: unique on-board experience, a taste of Asia in the air

 BA: the world's favourite airline => be with the best, must have good service-

- Pret a Manger: made fresh on premises every day => will taste better, and have no artificial crap in it.

- Moleskin notebooks: used by famous artists => I'm a creative type. Or like to think I am.

So. The RTB is dead. Long live the RTB.

Brand Fuel Express 24 - Part 3 - Grow the core like bugaboo

This is the last of 3 posts reporting back from the Brand Fuel Express. Here we look at some highlights from the session I ran on Core Brand Renovation. This is the topic of brandgym book number 6, which come out in the next few weeks in eBook form on the brand new website "Shoulders of Giants" (SOGiants.com)... more on SOG later...

1. Brand stretching is sexy, but risky: This has been a common theme on the brandgym blog. Regular readers will know about the risks of "brand ego tripping", when companies get too big for their brand boots and stretch into markets where they add little or no added value. Examples include easyGroup, Virgin and Tango.

2. Dwarf products are even worse: these are the tiny new products that manage to survive, but have no chance of becoming big. They are a distraction that steals time, money and resources away from the core business. The neglected core suffers a slow but steady decline.

3. An alternative: grow the core: the other way to grow is less sexy, but can be much better for the bottom line. This way is growing the core business. To do this, you need to be clear about your source of authority: what made you famous in the first place when you launched your core product. Then, the big challenge is to keep refreshing this to keep it relevant, through innovation on the core and communication.

4. Brand it like bugaboo: this brand of high-end baby strollers (1000 Euros a pop) was the star case study of my session. The brand is Dutch, but also has a big business in the UK and USA.

It is one of the coolest brands I have been lucky enough to work on. I am a big fan of product design (hence my appleaddiction), so working on a brand growth project with them earlier this year was a blast.

bugaboo have grown from scratch to an $80million business in under 10 years, and take the leading share of premium strollers in Holland. Here are some of the many things they have done well in growing the core:

- Remember what made you famous: bugaboo have stuck to the core business, without the need to stretch off into bugaboo baby food/high chairs/clothing/etc. a la Virgin. Having a clear idea of what bugaboo is all about is facilitated by the ongoing, hands-on involvement of co-founder and design genius Max. He is the living, breathing incarnation of the bugaboo brand, playing the same role as Steve Jobs at Apple.

- Starts with the sausage: Seeing Max demonstrate the many special features of the bugaboo stroller was one of the highlights of the project I did, and of my brandgym career to date. These features include proper suspension for bumpy urban kerbs, adjustable-height handle and real pneumatic tyres. And the whole product is so well built it lasts for longer than the competition. You can also use a wide range of different coloured fabrics and accessories to personalise your bugaboo.

The visual design features of the brand are also becoming iconic and instantly recognizable, in the same way Apple have done in PCs, MP3 players and phones.

- Plenty of sizzzzle: There is also lots of emotional sizzle in bugaboo for sure. The brand is a fave of celebrities, earning the brand invaluable press coverage. It was also featured in Sex and the City, a key factor in the brand's development in the USA. And there is also a stream of distinctive, stylish communication and lifestyle activation ideas, such as bugaboo day trips (guides to cool cities where you can go strolling with your bugaboo).

- Waves of renovation: The big challenge with renovation is to keep coming with waves of news on the core business to make it better and better, and keep it refreshed. For example bugaboo have improved and upgraded the product range, through the top-end Chameleon, and more accessible, lighter Bee.

So, that's it for the Brand Fuel 24 of 2008... make sure you book your ticket for the 2009 journey, which is set to be even bigger and better!

Brand Fuel Express 2 - Brand Storytelling

This is the second post from the Brand Fuel Express high-speed branding event, following on from the first one on The Power of Packaging.

This one is on another subject I'm passionate about: brand storytelling. It was nicely delivered by Bianca Cawthorne, who is ex-Diegeo and now works as a consultant.

Bianca made the case for brands to move beyond conventional product-based communication "(Omo/Persil wash whiter") and emotional communication ("We make you feel like a good mum") to story-telling ("Freedom for kids to get dirty"). The only watch-out I add, as you'd expect, is the need to build this on a strong product. Its the combination of sausage/product and sizzle/story that are the key to sustained success. Some examples of brand stories:
- Johnny Walker: "Keep Walking"
- Dove: "Campaign for Real Beauty"
- Persil/Omo: "Freedom to get dirty"

Bianca drew on the work of Hollywood Screenplay consultant Robert McKee and his seminal tome,"Story". I am also a big fan of his, and the Story book was featured in my series of posts last summer on "10 Books that changed my life". Here are some of my key take-outs from her session:

1. Creating the story
Creating a brand story is about making a connection between a brand truth, often anchored in the brand 's heritage, your values/beliefs and an insight about your consumer. In the case of Dove's story about "Campaigning for Real Beauty", the brand had for 50 years being championing simple, honest products in the form of the Dove bar. The brand also had a view that beauty was about "real types, not stereotypes". And there was an insight about (some) women becoming fed up with the artificial and un-attainable beauty portrayed by L'Oreal and the like.

I also liked the six main types of story that Bianca presented, as this can be good stimulation for brand story writing: 1) Overcome the monster (Jaws); 2) The Quest (Field of Dreams); 3) Cinderella; 4) Voyage and Return (Devil Wears Prada); 5) Tragedy (Gladiator); 6) Comedy (Meet the Parents)

2. Telling the story
Telling your story requires creativity and craftsmanship. I loved the story Bianca told about one of my fave ads of all time: The Swimmer by Guinness, that I posted on here. The ad features an old guy trying to swim a circuit faster than it takes a pint of Guinness to pour. Bianca told how the ad tested only averagely in Link Testing. But, rather than give up, the team hired a US screenwriter to craft the ad. He did this by using a voice-over to literally tell the story, and the ad then tested much better.

3. Refreshing the Story
A story cannot be static of course. And so you need to work on refreshing it, to keep it relevant. I posted on the way that TV series like Seinfeld manage to do this so well. And of course how we'll all be queuing up to watch the 22nd James Bond movie when it comes out in October!

Last of the 3 posts on Brand Fuel 24 coming up next: Core Brand Renovation.

Brand Fuel 24 Part 1 - Power of Design - Lars Wallentin

This is the first of 3 posts on The Brand Fuel Express, the first 24-hour branding event on a high speed train!

It covers the brilliant presentation by Lars Wallentin, who has over 40 years of experience in communication and design with Nestle and a highly entertaining style. I'd wanted to see Lars in action for ages, so it was a real highlight to hook up with him.

Here are some of the key points I took out from his session, that had me nodding my head vigorously in agreement.

Simplify and amplify
Strip away all that is not essential from your brand's design. You can then amplify what you have left: the visual essence of your brand. I posted on this during my series of posts with design shop JKR last year, including the example of John West Salmon.

Lars used the Kellogg's Cornflakes pack as an example of how to simplify and amplify your visual essence, a design I have also admired.

If you can't be seen, you can't be bought
Simple, but so true. Forget about how creative your design or communication is. Or how well branded it is. If the consumer doesn't see you, they can't buy you. In another JKR-linked post, I talked about how every shopping trip is a series of thirty "1 in a 1000" decisions. For each product a shopper buys, there are another 999 they don't.

Push the brand boundaries

This was my favourite bit of the presentation, and a subject close to my heart. Lars talked about the opportunity to push the brand design boundaries and be really creative with packaging to stand out. He gave the example of Toblerone's gift packs, where the brand name is replaced with a seasonal message. So, this year for Father's Day the packs will say "The Best Dad"

And this isn't just being clever. It makes business sense. According to Kraft “Toblerone Milk was the best performing chocolate gift in the week leading up to Father’s Day in 2007", so it really seems to work.

I questioned Lars as to whether there weren't too many brands doing this trick now, especially in the UK. His response is that there are still only a few brands that do it right. This involves coming up with a brand idea, not just playing with the pack. He contrasts tow approaches to the Euro 2008 football tournament.

Good - Mars: the brand has changed Mars to "Hopp" in Switzerland, which means something like "Go on the Swiss!' There is a brand idea here, about Mars being giving fans physical and emotional energy to support their national team.

In contrast, he showed this pack of Toffee, another confectionary brand, where a football and Swiss flag had simply been slapped on the pack.

All in all, a truly inspiring session. Do check Lars out if you get the chance.

Next post: brand storytelling. 

Apple pull the 3G iPhone out of their hat

Before I get on with posts about last week's Brand Fuel Express, I have to squeeze in a quick one on the unveiling of the new 3G iPhone. This was announced yesterday by CEO Steve Jobs at the Mac Developer Conference. What I think is so impressive is not only the amazing product. Its also the launch marketing, that Apple have turned into an artform.

1. Renovation Waves
Apple are repeating on the iPhone what they did with the iPod. They launch, and then follow up with wave after wave of new news. On iPhone it was:
Wave 1 - May 2007: launch
Wave 2 - Jan 2008: 2.0 software with new features
Wave 3 - April 2008: 16GB version launchd
Wave 4 - July 2009: 3G iPhone

 

2. Big-bang launch, kept under wraps
Apple do an amazing job of creating a firework display of a launch, but keep the whole thing secret. When I checked the Apple site at 6pm UK time, there was not a thing about the new iPhone. And I couldn't find anything on the internet, apart from one lousy, blurred photo of an outer case on a gossip site.

A couple of hours later, after Steve Jobs announcement, and "BANG!". It was all there. 3D photos, the new TV ad, features.

And it was the same orchestration on O2, the UK mobile network partner. 6pm. Rien du tout. 8pm and there teasing you, and asking you to come back the next day.

Which I did of course. And was pleased to see that I can upgrade to the new phone for free.

 

3. Better and better sausage
Don't let anyone tell you Apple and iPhone is about lifestyle and image. Its all about the product design, or sausage. This new phone fixes the main gripes with the first version of the iPhone:
- Adding faster 3G capability
- Cutting the price: now free on some of the O2 tarrifs
- Improving compatability with corporate "push" email, so Crackberry users can now fight back when the IT guys says "iPhone? iDontThinkSo"

And check out some of the facts about how much people like the current iPhone:
- 90% customer satisfaction
- 98% of iPhone users are browsing the internet - this is a revolution, the first true mobile internet phone
- 80% percent are using 10 or more features (how many do you use on your normal phone.. text, call...then?)

I think the combination of an already amazing product, plus these new feautures will give iPhone sales the kick up the arse they need to hit or get close to the target of 10 million phones sold by end 2008 (currently at 6 million).

4. The product slogan
Apple have perfected the product slogan. A short and snappy summary of the product features. Like an ad slogan, but for the product. So, the first iPod was "1000 songs in your pocket". The MacBook Air was "Thinnovation". And the new 3G iphone is "Twice as fast. Half the price".

This is more than an ad slogan, as I think they start with the product proposition/vision from Jobs and Ive (head of design). Then they work on how to make it happen.

I'll post again in a month, when I get my hands on my new Apple toy...!

All aboard the Brand Fuel 24 Express!

I'm just back from the inaugural Brand Fuel 24. This innovative new event took place over 24 hours on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Antwerp and back on 5th to 6th June. I was one of the 6 people invited to speak on the train, to a group of senior marketing people from top companies including Heinz, Hi-Speed (Dutch railways), Heineken T and Achmea (leading Dutch insurance company) .

The action-packed 24 hours combined speakers, speed-dating, socialising and “trend-hunting” during a stop-off in Brussels . I would highly recommend booking for next year’s event! It was very cool to see on the departure board your very own train.

Bravo to Leo Van Sister and the team who organised the whole show  (Leovansister@brandfuel.nl)

 

I'll do 3 posts on the event next week:
- This post: the power of packaging and creativity - Lars Wallentin
- Telling the story of your brand - Bianca Cawthorne
- Brand it like Bond - yours truly

V shows risk of picking a fight with the wrong brand

I wasn't surprised at all to read in Marketing Week that Danone UK is planning to put the gun to the head of its V energy drink and put it our of its misery.

The latest re-vamp was backed with a pretty hefty £3.3 million campaign by RKCR/Y&R. The idea was that V invigorates the mind. Mmm. Sounds familiar? Isn't that Red Bull, the brand that "gives you wings?"

The demise of V is a good example of how hard it is to make a dent in the share of a dominant brand leader. Dominant means a brand that IS the category. In the UK if you say "energy drink", people think "Red Bull". The brand has a huge 89% market share. And in a world where there is just too much stuff to worry about, brands like Red Bull are a godsend, as they mean there's one less decision to make.
-> Energy drink? Red Bull. Bang. In the basket (or in the hand in a garage/convenience store). Next.

[Interesting aside is that V is the leading energy drink in New Zealand, with Red Bull tiny]

To have any chance at all of taking share from a dominant market leader you need a combination of at least 4 things:

1. A decent bit of product/pack "sausage": you need some sort of product or pack innovation to make yourself worth considering.
=> V lacked any product differentiation [1/10]

2. Bravery to break codes: you also need to be brave enough to break some codes and stand out
=> V has the same type/shape/size of can as Red Bull. As far as I know, its sold in the same channels [1/10]

3. Loadsamoney: you need some big bucks to fight the big boys. Re-wiring peoples' brains so they think "energy drink?->V" instead of Red Bull is REALLY hard. [2/10]

4. Stamina: its one thing to launch. Its a whole different challenge to keep up the battle for 2, 3, 4 years and longer. Be ready for a long, hard and bloody fight. Energy drinks are just not key for Danone, who is focused on health, especially dairy [1/10]
TOTAL 5/40 = No chance

I have to eat at least 1/2 of my words regarding one other brand who took on a dominant brand: Trident taking on Wrigley's in the UK gum market. I commented that Trident's smaller in-store presence was like "putting a tent up in front of a skyscraper" that is the Wrigley's brand blocking.

The 1/2 of my words I'm eating now is that after 18 months they have managed to take an c. 11-15% share of the UK market, which ain't bad. With 18 months worth of learning, let's do the check vs. the new brand criteria above:

1. Product/pack: I didn't give Trident enough credit here. They did have a different pack shape, and a different product format (tabs and liquid filled chews) [7/10]

2. Breaking codes: as mentioned, pack shape was different... and they tried to do some wacky online stuff...but could have been more innovative in the mix [5/10]

3. Loadsamoney: they have spent quite a lot...launch alone was £10 million [6/10]

4. Stamina: what helps Trident is that it is a priority, billion dollar global brand for Cadbury. So, it has a good chance of sustained investment [9/10]

Total score: 27/40

But, the 1/2 of my words I'm sticking to is that i) I still think they will struggle to get a business that is profitable in the long-term, as they are still small and will now have to battle it out with a Wrigley's brand backed by the might of Mars, who are buying it. ii) they still don't have a great and proven mix. The original campaign, "Mastication for the Nation", with a dub poet, didn't work. They are now on a new campaign with a bloke taken off on a surreal taste journey and the endline "Mess with your head". This is better, as it tells a product story. But is it enough?

We'll check back another year down the line!

Nespresso - New generation branding

I got in the post today a magazine from Nespresso, and it got me thinking about what an amazing brand growth story this is: heading for 1 billion Euros in sales.

This subsidiary of Nestle launched just over 20 years ago, in 1986. It sells coffee in beautiful little capsules. An equally beautiful machine then uses these to produce what I have to say is a damn fine espresso or latte. In recent years growth has really taken off, with sales up 42% in 2006 to reach 727 million Euros.

It seems to me that Nespresso is a new generation of brand, that combines product "sausage", emotional sizzle and also service. Here's a few thoughts on what they have done:

1. Amazing design: check out those capsules. They're so damn pretty, its almost a shame to use the things. And the machines are perfect for today's design conscious kitchen.

2. Super premium: when you work out the cost per serving its really scary, especially if you make a double espresso. You're talking 0.4 Euros a capsule, versus, a c. 400% premium vs. using a jar of Nescafe

3. Super sausage: the coffee is very good. The Nespresso speciality is the "cremosa" topping you get on the espresso. They also have a huge range of different blends, each with its own colour of capsule.

4. Direct to the consumer: this is a biggie. Nespresso is one of the few brands who markets direct to the consumer. You order your refills by phone or internet. And this has some major advantages:
- More margin: you are seller and retailer
- No trade negotiations: want to launch a new product? Just list it. Contrast that with the other 99.9% of FMCG brands who have to negotiate the minefield of negotiation with the major retailers.
- Data is king: Nespresso know all their customers. Just think of the value of the data base of affluent customers alone... back in 2004 they already had  1,6 million active Nespresso Club members!

5. Brand palaces of desire: Nespresso pioneered the brand store, long before Apple opened up their first Apple store. It now has more than 30 "boutiques". The latest, the Paris flagship at 119 Champs Elysees is an amazing place, that I must visit next time I am in Paris. Here are some of the features described on the website of this 2-story brand palace:

- The Barista Bar: the heart of the Boutique. The Barista, an uncontestable expert, plays the star and creates succulent coffee recipes while inviting everybody to the coffee ceremony.

 

- The Machine Gallery. Presented here are the symbolic creations of the brand, the coffee machines: Le Cube, Essenza, Lattissima… displayed like jewels.

 

- The Gallery of Senses. A very special area – almost like being in a life-size capsule, dedicated to the perfect espresso. Monumental decor with olfactory columns where temporary exhibitions will take place.

 

- The Lounge, calm and refined, an isle of softness. Ideal for a light snack or to simply relax in a cozy chair, with a cup of Volluto or a Ristretto in hand, all in a contemporary electro-jazzy atmosphere.

 

- The Collection Gallery. The collection of accessories and Limited Edition or Special Club series are displayed with sophistication.

 

- The Grands Crus Gallery. The sleeves of Grands Crus display their personality proudly on the walls.

- The Concierge. An exceptional service which attends to customers’ individual needs.

The power of authenticity

A great column by Professor Mark Ritson in Marketing last week, taking about the importance of authenticity. Had me nodding my head vigorously from start to end. Here's why:

- Consumers have always wanted authenticity: Mark says:

"Consumers want brands burned with the mark of their founders, not artificially engineered by their agencies. They want to know who made the brand, where and why".

Great quote. It sums up pretty well the whole idea behind this blog and my belief about brands based on substance, not spin. Most of the brands blogged about here are "burned with the mark of their founders" (e.g. innocent, Apple, Gu, Method, Harley Davidson. Aston Martin).

- Consumers are smart: you can't invent authenticity. You either have it or you don't. And trying to invent it may work at first, but you're likely to get found out. As Mark says, "Most consumers are a lot smarter and more genuine than the marketers who target them."

- If you have it, why waste it? Mark has a go at the advertising for the Citroen C5, which has had me scratching my head as well. The idea of this ad is "Unmistakably German. Made in France". Uh? This is a brand with a proud heritage of design and innovation, with a touch of French flair, trying to ape German values. The idea being, in theory, to suggest Citroen has quality of German standard.

I'm with Mark when he says "Over the long term this will damage the brand associations, and leave it in no man's land".

- Beware the tenuous celebrity link up: Another campaign I've struggled with is Gordon's Gin using chef Gordon Ramsay in its ads. The main reason seems to be that he shares the name Gordon with the brand (and he's demanding of quality, loves Gordon's gin etc.). The problem is that this bloke also endorses loads of other products. And Mark suggests they should have done more with the story of the real Gordon, Alexander Gordon, who created the brand over 200 years ago.

Here's another classic Ritson quote to tattoo on the arm of your creative team: "The challenge is to find out what makes a brand special, define it and offer a contemporary execution of it".

You can download this an all his other weekly columns here. Well worth a look.