Branding
Mergers and Acquisitions – myths and reality
The global financial fall out has seen accelerated market consolidation as companies in survival mode play predator and prey depending on their circumstances.The classic so-called orderly ‘migration’ strategies of companies seeking to ‘merge’ their brand equities are suddenly irrelevant when speed and opportunism are priorities.…
Read more »
‘Paying for the air’
Working in so called emerging markets you get used to having to defend the business logic of brand development but I was particularly ‘challenged' when a prospective client indicated that developing a brand was like ‘paying for air!’. I had to admit some sympathy with…
Read more »
The real thing?
The latest ownership switch in the car industry, Tata’s takeover of quintessential British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, is seen as a symbol of the change in global economic dynamics – the new East moving in on the values of old West. When the agreement…
Read more »
I want to be me … - it’s great to be non.
Often a key part of advising a client on branding is to develop a positive descriptor name, slogan or ‘call to action’. To do a good job, however, now people and groups and their initiatives and aspirations must be labelled to best advantage if the…
Read more »
Who cares who owns it? Auto added-values...
The news that JCB expressed an interest in Jaguar prompted a belated postscript on the increasingly complex logic of car branding. Equally, the recent partnership talks between General Motors, Renault and Nissan, and the ongoing marriage problems of Daimler Chrysler have provided fascinating insights into…
Read more »
I love my Skoda! Or do I?
With the British International Motor Show hitting the media, it will be a reminder of our strange human tendencies to endow the automobile with more than its fair share of brand aspirations, stories and myths. It makes for interesting credibility gap scenarios. Such is the…
Read more »
Brand Blab
Another brand book. As a brand consultant I feel duty bound to check out the latest ‘cut through the mystery’ guide to branding. With recommendations from CEOs who should know better, the subsequent text of simple truisms paraded as insights was disappointing. Like religion and…
Read more »
Nip and Tuck Branding
Having heard a politician recently refer to a ‘Nip and Tuck’ policy approach it is probably already too late to utilise the phrase in relation to brand strategy. However, given the way cosmetic surgery has become an accepted lifestyle solution for ‘forever – young’ generations,…
Read more »