Andys Blog
Andy Graham is the founder of One
Brand Group. He's positively brimming
with thoughts and ideas, not just about
B2B marketing, but about other things too.
Have a read, or – if you'd prefer to have a conversation – get in touch.
More thoughts here at Andy's site.
Have a read, or – if you'd prefer to have a conversation – get in touch.
More thoughts here at Andy's site.
Failure is not an option - it is essential
29/07/2010
Recession-proofing the marketing strategy
29/07/2010
29/07/2010
Recession-proofing the marketing strategy
29/07/2010
Brand strategy for market positioning
Added 28 October 2006
A fundamental shift in position leads to a review of brand strategy - for example when BP moved to position itself 'Beyond Petroleum', or when Lucozade repositioned itself as an 'energy drink'
Lucozade originally branded its position as a recuperative health drink with the strapline 'Lucozade Aids Recovery'. When the Aids pandemic struck in the 80's Lucozade was forced to change the position to 'Energy' without changing the brand. Paradoxically, by branding this changed position, using sports stars such as Daly Thomson (sponsored brand) at the time, allowed Lucozade to retain the health reputation whilst at the same time entering new sports and recreation markets.
Conversely, Anderson the a highly successful accounting and consulting firm, retained the same position but successfully changed the brand to Accenture. Another example is the 'Cat' brand that brands both heavy plant machinery and clothing and also brands the position of 'tough, rugged and hard-working' to connect both groups of products.
This shows that the brand and the positions you brand can change independently. This is an important distinction. The brand and the positioning are not necessarily intrinsically linked - one can change without the other, and changing one does not automatically require changing the other either.
The truth is that changing the brand alone without changing the value of the items you brand will change nothing. Similarly, If the value of the products increase but the brand is positioned as low value or poor quality then achieving the right reputation is challenging but not impossible - Skoda has turned this strategic brand challenge into a spectacular success story, It is really important to remember that it is the quality of the position you brand, not the brand itself that creates the value. The brand makes the value visible. This is the purpose of brand strategy. Beware the brand agency baring excessive promises. A re-branding will not increase the value unless the position that is branded is of value. In ranching terms, a poor quality steer is thin and feeble no matter how fancy the brand!
A new brand alone will not change a company's fortunes - Abbey, BA, Post Office (consignia) and M &S all undertook expensive rebranding exercises without effect, because there was something fundamentally wrong with the position of their businesses at the time. The brand change is usually made the scapegoat, much to the delight of the press, when in fact it is the business position that has the problem. This is a convenient slight of hand.
Added 28 October 2006
A fundamental shift in position leads to a review of brand strategy - for example when BP moved to position itself 'Beyond Petroleum', or when Lucozade repositioned itself as an 'energy drink'
Lucozade originally branded its position as a recuperative health drink with the strapline 'Lucozade Aids Recovery'. When the Aids pandemic struck in the 80's Lucozade was forced to change the position to 'Energy' without changing the brand. Paradoxically, by branding this changed position, using sports stars such as Daly Thomson (sponsored brand) at the time, allowed Lucozade to retain the health reputation whilst at the same time entering new sports and recreation markets.
Conversely, Anderson the a highly successful accounting and consulting firm, retained the same position but successfully changed the brand to Accenture. Another example is the 'Cat' brand that brands both heavy plant machinery and clothing and also brands the position of 'tough, rugged and hard-working' to connect both groups of products.
This shows that the brand and the positions you brand can change independently. This is an important distinction. The brand and the positioning are not necessarily intrinsically linked - one can change without the other, and changing one does not automatically require changing the other either.
The truth is that changing the brand alone without changing the value of the items you brand will change nothing. Similarly, If the value of the products increase but the brand is positioned as low value or poor quality then achieving the right reputation is challenging but not impossible - Skoda has turned this strategic brand challenge into a spectacular success story, It is really important to remember that it is the quality of the position you brand, not the brand itself that creates the value. The brand makes the value visible. This is the purpose of brand strategy. Beware the brand agency baring excessive promises. A re-branding will not increase the value unless the position that is branded is of value. In ranching terms, a poor quality steer is thin and feeble no matter how fancy the brand!
A new brand alone will not change a company's fortunes - Abbey, BA, Post Office (consignia) and M &S all undertook expensive rebranding exercises without effect, because there was something fundamentally wrong with the position of their businesses at the time. The brand change is usually made the scapegoat, much to the delight of the press, when in fact it is the business position that has the problem. This is a convenient slight of hand.