On the train.
A loud voice.
“You haven’t got enough on him.
He is crap.
Double his targets.
Make him get another job.
Gradually get him out.
You have been too nice for too long.
I will phone her to try and sort this out.
I won’t charge you.
I want something else.
I want your HR work.
I WANT YOUR HR WORK”
Laughter of disbelief throughout carriage.
Recognise the brands?
Which ones?
Nike and….?
And….?
Yup, Speedo.
What are the emblems for your organisation that capture what you do – and declare your promise?
If you are a fan of either whisky or the rock band Status Quo, you might have seen that Francis Rossi, the lead guitarist, has bought a stake in the Glen Rossie distillery and taken over as Chairman.
This 200-year old Scottish whisky company now has a new shape bottle and a label shaped like a guitar pick.
In a world where whisky increasingly competes with premium vodka and other top end spirits, profits might be boosted by sales alongside other merchandising at Quo concerts.
Or traditional Glen Rossie drinkers may be put off by the association with the King of Three Chords.
Is it the passion to bring a favourite drink to a new audience that motivates this? To share the personal delight in a much-loved product? Or is it vanity, replacing mental images of rocky glens with those of a ‘geri’ rocker?
How much are branding decisions really about making a connection between the customer and what they are buying? And how much are they personal motivations?
Tags: band, brand, innovation
Toyota’s brand took a hit earlier this year. However, in developing nations the company reigns supreme (see this photo from a couple of weeks ago in Sabah, Malaysia).
In Asia and Africa the car maker is dominant everywhere. In these places, you get a sense of why the US manufacturers are so scared of the now largest car company in the world and their most profitable competitor.
The reason Toyota does so well? Reliability. Less need for repairs – less to spend on spare parts.
How reliable do your customers find what you give them?
Tags: brand, confidence, photo
People like to get their hands on things. It’s why you see so many “do not touch” signs in shops. It’s why my children walked up to an Andy Warhol exhibit in a New York museum, fingers ready to jab (until restrained by dad to the relief of wide-eyed curators).
We are tactile creatures. It’s a big part of how we understand our surroundings, how we sense the world, how we relate to things and to each other.
These elephants in Trafalgar Square are some of 250 in London at the moment. Each decorated by a different artist or celebrity, the aim is to raise money to safeguard elephant populations worldwide.
Everyone wants to stroke them, to make contact with them. The models bring the cause to life.
Maybe you have a project or an idea that you want people to understand, to connect with or get behind? Why not make a model of it, a sculpture or some sort of object?
Bring your cause to life and see how people react.
Tags: brand, communication
First, the Texas oil refinery disaster. Now the Gulf of Mexico. BP’s brand risks freefall.
Before the merger with Amoco, BP was renowned for its progress with safety and ethics. Its late ’90s approach to managing corporate memory and knowledge was world-leading.
Now, we see how easily culture can move (for worse, as well as better). And the risk that takeovers have for the parent company.
The wider lesson? Who do you give your personal brand to? What might a poorly managed alliance do to you, your team or your organisation?
Tags: brand, choices, culture, organisation
The luxury cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse has cancelled its launch celebrations in Southampton to help rescue 2,000 people stranded in Spain by the flight disruption who want to get back to Britain. The launch of a £500m boat is a big deal, so it’s quite a gesture. It looks good. The Chairman of the Cruise company described it as “a fitting mission for a ship dedicated to the UK to mark her arrival.”
Of course, they are also getting a lot of coverage for this – all of it positive. Doing this is far better for the visibility of their brand than any launch, however fancy. They deserve it for taking the right stance. By being seen to be generous when people are stuck.
Compare this with how certain airlines have reacted. Some have complained about having to reimburse passengers under long-standing EU regulations. Others have sought to hike prices to take advantage of those desperate to travel. A friend of ours was quoted 6,000 Euros for an economy ticket from Spain to Canada. In strict business case terms, the airlines have a case on both counts. But it doesn’t look good. Their brands and customer loyalty will suffer.
How we deal with ‘distressed’ customers tells us a lot about the organisation we run or work in. It reveals our values and ways of thinking.
Imagine customers in your market in the equivalent situation of the people stranded by volcanic ash. How would you want to act?
Tags: behaviour, brand, values, ways of working
How do you describe your product?
Using the word ‘extreme’ is extreme, but maybe not if you are an ornithologist!
And thinking of little books, download ours on influence here…
The designer clothes marketplace is interesting. Over the last decade we have seen the growth of cheaper ways to access designer brands (beyond the Asian counterfeit goods so prevalent in the ’80s):
Has this mass marketing damaged the boutiques on Bond Street? No, not at all. It has increased the allure of the pinnacle. It has popularised the offer and communicated the potential. There is a clearer pecking order – and the value of the top rung remains.
It is not a zero sum game.
In your business, where may service innovation at the cheaper or more accessible end harness your value?
Tags: brand, fashion, innovation, service
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