BrandNews

Why would you trust an advertising agency with your brand

Telecom once again has blundered into the limelight this week with its aborted ‘Abstain from the game’ advertising campaign. It appears to be a case of the blind leading the blind. Their advertising agency came up with the bright idea of asking New Zealanders to support the All Blacks by withholding sexual favours and when the details were leaked ahead of the launch there were red faces all round. I’m now looking forward to the next advertising campaign where Paul Reynolds goes fishing to explain what they really meant by abstinence.

M&C Saatchi joined in by placing adverts in the major papers as they tried to distance themselves from Saatchi & Saatchi and the fallout. Why would you brand your business using an existing name? Here is where it all turns to custard.

Now we have Telecom once again with very expensive red faces, all in support of the All Blacks (so the New Zealand Rugby brand gets tarnished as well) and Saatchi & Saatchi copping some well deserved flack with M&C Saatchi ducking the flying yellow stuff.

The problem is so simple no one gets it.

If each of the businesses involved in this fracas had a strategy for their brands this ridiculous situation would never have occurred. It is all down to brand incompetence, something we see much too much of in this country. Advertising strategies and PR strategies are the ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. Lift your eyes up to the top of the cliff and look after your brands folks or get ready for more drama.

Adidas riles the faithful

Adidas has put a serious dent in their relationship with consumers by asking a premium for their All Black replica jerseys. They have bought into a scrap with almost everyone as retailers, politicians and even some All Blacks climb into the business, accusing them of price gouging and profiteering. I suggest it is a case of Adidas ‘not thinking’ rather than a deliberate ploy to upset New Zealanders.

The point they miss is who really owns the All Black brand. This is a striking example of how consumers are ultimately the ‘brand owners’ not the brand merchants. A brand is a reputation and when that reputation is bought into disrepute (over pricing) then it is the consumers who call the shots.

Adidas does not own the All Black brand, it is not owned by an elite and well healed few; it is the property of all New Zealanders. New Zealand rugby and their allies are merely custodians. The All Blacks are completing a tour of small town New Zealand as they try to make the brand more accessible to ‘heartland New Zealand’. Adidas however is sending totally conflicting messages and it is the All Black brand that suffers.

Martin Snedon with his World Cup hat on is also trying to sidestep the furor. He said in a television interview “this is not my jurisdiction”. Sorry Martin but you can’t have it both ways, this is your responsibility which is probably why you still have 230,000 cup tickets left to sell. The whole World Cup smacks of profiteering. Once again probably a PR mess rather than a deliberate ploy.

Personal Brands

I was privileged to hear Ngahihi Bidois speak in Rotorua several weeks ago and have just finished reading his book Ancient Wisdom, Modern Solutions. This man is his own brand and a wonderful example of the power of the story. His bold and thoughtful pilgrimage in undertaking ta moko (a full face tattoo) is both inspirational and enlightening. Ngahihi is focused very much on public speaking and in taking his message to the world. Maori has a unique culture, language and message that is inescapably etched into his face; a message that can’t be hidden or ignored. Ngahihi understands that a truly great brand is not a mask, it something that has to be lived.

Recession will kill weak brands

“This recession will kill off weak brands and make category leaders stronger” says Ian McDougall, Brand Strategist at BrandNew. “Strong brands deliver business resilience in a recessionary market”

If there’s any doubt we’re in a recession go ask the retailers with the SALE signs on the store fronts.

“This is the wrong strategy. Add value to your offer, it’s about value on, not price off. Price off simply reduces your margin and positions your brand as a permanent loss leader”.

BrandNew’s research shows a recessionary market is characterised by a heightened consumer focus on value, on quality assurance and on the propensity to trade down to generics.

“These three factors are constants in all recessions. Your brand must be positioned on value. Quality must be evident but delivered through the product. If these values are not obvious, it signals a weak brand and consumers will shift spending to generics or lower-priced substitutes”.

The Rugby Sevens

The Rugby Sevens brand would have to be a marketers dream. The union has cleverly turned this annual sporting event into the country's biggest costume party. While other organisations struggle to build attendances , Wellingtons Stadium is turning people away. The Sevens is not just an event, it is an experience. We are officially in the era where the customer experience transcends even the game. Many businesses could take a leaf from this book.

Is there such a thing as an Employer Brand?

We applaud HR consultancies talking up branding. The question however is whether what they term an 'employer brand' is any different from the corporate brand.

We think not. No more than would be an 'accounts received brand' or a 'delivery brand'. While each individual aspect of business performance needs to reflect the organisational brand and values, they do not require separate brand 'engines'.
What is in danger of being lost in this new 'HR terminology' is the central focus of all brands; the customer.

It is the customer who determines the brand reputation in the market. Staff do play a significant role in delivering the brand but the key messages should be consistent across all audiences.

While we admire the HR industry for their astuteness and encourage this new found enthusiasm for brands, tamper with the brand and you will end up confusing everyone, including staff.

This is a British theme park ride called The Oblivion. It is a fairly straight forward concept; you are strapped in to a seat, hauled up the equivalent of several stories and then dropped into a hole in the ground.

You would think a glass of twenty-six thousand year old water would taste a tad musty but that hasn't deterred a couple of Nelsonians from using it to make a line of vodka called (unsurprisingly) 26,000.

The new face of consumerism is the man standing outside the office of Mercury Energy with a placard “Contract Killers,” and we had all better start getting used to it.

Tony's Tyre Service has teamed with Icon Properties to build the first of their new generation premises.