Creating Brand Value

With the torrential monsoon rain well on its way and still more to come, a lot of companies can utilize this season for their branding purposes.

The rickshaw-pullers get drenched to the bone during the rain. So why not brand a whole raincoat with your company logo and then have them distributed. I think that, especially the Telcos can have a go at it since they already brand police umbrellas and all. Can you imagine the visibility your brand will get when the rickshawpullers will don these raincoats?

See? Every cloud has a silver lining!!

In my previous post on customer service, I had given an example of how many companies overpromise and underdeliver. In rare cases, some companies do the opposite. Louis Vuitton, maker of luxury leather goods, very clearly states that they do not offer a lifetime warranty on its products. They even state that there will be charge for any type of repairs. The salesperson to whom you take your faulty product does not forget to mention this to you. However, when you go in to collect your item, not only are you NOT charged for the repair, but the salesperson assures you that the services was especially rendered to you

What do Acer computer and Ferrari have in common? Or for that matter, L’Oreal & Nestle? Nowadays, we are increasingly witnessing the odd marriages between brands that, at first glance, have nothing in common between them.  Or do they? Yes, indeed…..they do.

Nestle wants to establish itself as the world’s producer of food that’s healthy for both the insides of our bodies and our skin. And we all know who is the global market leader in skin care….that’s right….it’s L’Oreal. So, although the relationship between these two companies might seem unconventional & odd at first sight, but it makes sense.

What about Acer & Ferrari? These two companies got together and built a Laptop, the Ferrari 3000. This is the world’s first Laptop fully dressed in the patented Ferrari red. The link between the two brands is very strong. Acer has been an official supplier of electronic components to the Ferrari Formula One racing team.

In order for such brand marriages to work (basically for all types of marriages to work), you should identify your core values, rationale, ethos and then approach partners with the same beliefs. To make your life a bit easier, consider which partners your competitors would have approached first, then jump in first. Propose before other suitors get the chance.

Not many brands have tried such unconventional alliances and so, there a lot of opportunities out there. Grab a potential partner before others do so.

Have you ever received exceptional customer service from any organization in Bangladesh, be it large or small? I think it would be safe to assume that most of the responses would be a big ‘NO.’ Most companies in our country overpromise and underdeliver when it comes to responding to customers’ complaints. They think that once they’ve sold their product or service to a customer, that’s it….they’ve got a customer for life.NO!!! that’s not how the game is palyed anymore, especially in this era where consumers are bombarded with product & service options. Once they receive the cold shoulder when they need service or you do not respond to their complaints, they can easily take their business eslewhere.

Most responses are like this “Sorry…we don’t take it back once a product is sold.” Or, “We cannot guarantee anything (the lack of guarantee in this case is by Bandbox. They couldn’t guarantee that the clothes would be clean after washing. I’m sorry….I thought that’s what you were in the business for.)

Businesses need to think long and hard about its customers and their satisfaction. Selling a product just once will not guarantee repeat purchases. They have to reinforce it with really exceptional & quality customer service. That’s the only way to survive in the long run.

 

 # Brand                                   Brand Value ($m)

1. Google                              66,434

2. GE (General Electric)           61,880

3. Microsoft                           54,951

4. Coca Cola (*)                     44,134

5. China Mobile                      41,214

6. Marlboro                            39,166

7. Wal-Mart                           36,880

8. Citi                                   33,706

9. IBM                                   33,572

10.Toyota                              33,427

After four years of staying at the No. 1 spot, Coke has had to concede defeat to Google, the search-engine giant.  This fall of Coke is also an indication of the shift in consumer preference towards healthy drinks.

 

 

 

A lot actually!! Since an integrated naming strategy can only strengthen your brand’s profile.

Peugeot holds the numeric naming rights for cars. So, even if you are unable to remember what a 204 or a 504 looks like, you’ll at least know it’s a Peugeot because the middle zero gives them a distinction that automatically identifies them. For this reason, Porsche had to change their model from 901 to 911.

Absolut Vodka follows a similar startegy. They intentionally misspell their brand extensions, using English words inspired by Swedish spelling- Absolut Vanilia, Mandrin, Peppar or Kurant.

McDonald’s uses the “Mc” in all possible names- Big Macs, McNuggets, McMuffins and even McSundays.

All the names mentioned above are easy to remember and the company can concentrate on communication rather than having to think of and change names every time they launch a new brand extension. Subbrands become readily identifiable and can benefit from the strong brand equity of the parent brand.

If you were to gift your wife or girlfriend a piece of jewellery in a blue box, she wouldn’t even have to look inside to feel happy & special. She’d know that whatever the piece of jeweley, it’s from the very best. That’s right- it’s from Tiffany, the New York jeweller whose name has become synonymous with luxury, exclusivity & authenticity. The blue box adds the luster because the recipien knows it’s from Tiffany.

Color is one of the most essential component part of the brand-building process because it’s the most visible first point of communication. Colors create concrete associations and it’s these associations that are important for your brand.

However, sometime, the attention to color can go a bit too far.  Beware when you wear an item of clothing from fashion giant Burberry when vising pubs in central London. You will be ostracized because British hooligans have adopted the Burberry colors as their form of identification.  Must be a real fix for the company, huh?

Do your customers know it’s you only by looking at the color of your brand? Where do you stand in the color spectrum?

If you were to dismantle your brand part by part, would people be able to tell that it’s your brand? If yes, then congratulations! You have yourself a brand that is instantly recognizable, irrespective of its logo. Take coke, for example. Even blinfolded you’d be able to tell that you’re holding the classic coke bottle and if it broke into a hundred pieces, anyone would know from the parts that it was once a coke bottle. A successful brand is much bigger than its logo. According to Martin Lindstrom, your brand should be reognized, among many things, by its picture, color, language and sound. Now, this is not to say that logo isn’t an integral part of your brand, but it shouldn’t be taken to be the only means by which people identify your brand.

Think about one of the strongest brands from Asia, and chances are that Singapore Airlines and its long-serving, almost iconic Singapore Girl easily come to mind. Singapore Airlines has consistently been one of the most profitable airlines globally, and has always had the reputation of a trendsetter and industry challenger.

The Singapore Girl strategy turned out to be a very powerful idea and has become a successful brand icon with an almost mythical status and aura around her. The Singapore Girl encapsulates Asian values and hospitality, and could be described as caring, warm, gentle, elegant and serene. It is a brilliant personification of SIA’s commitment to service and quality excellence. The icon has become so strong that Madame Tussaud’s Museum in London started to display the Singapore Girl in 1994 as the first commercial figure ever.

When other airlines were busy focusing on cabin designs, food, comfort and pricing, SIA focused on the emotional experience of travel. They positioned themselves as an entertainment company and not just another airline.

The Brand wanted to establish a true sensory brand experience that covered much more than just what passengers could hear or see. In this regard, a set of brand tools were introduced to match consistently with the brand image. The staff uniforms were made of the finest silk and the design of the fabric matched with the interior decor; the flight attendants wore colours that matched with the Brand’s colour scheme; Singapore Airlines also runs one of the most comprehensive and rigorous training programs for cabin and flight crew in the industry to make sure the SIA brand experience is fully and consistently delivered; flight attendants not only have to look the brand, but act it as well in the way they talk to passengers, serve food and move around the aisles. Even the announcements from the Captain are carefully scripted by the advertising agency.

The sensory experience of the Brand reached its peak when the company introduced Stefan Flofidian Waters, a unque aroma exclusively designed for the Singapore Airlines experience. Stefan Floridian Waters was the flight attendant’s perfume, was blended into the hot towels, and wafted through the entire fleet of SIA. This patented aroma has become the company’s trademark.  When people were asked what it is they like about the SIA experience, they said it’s the perfume that the flight attendants wear. They describe it as smooth, exotically Asian and feminine. Travelers say that the aroma brings back comfortable memories which all reflect the Singapore Airlines Experience.

Singapore Airlines is among the top companies globally that is truly able to control the brand through every interaction, experience and sense. SIA has become a hugely rewarded innovator and industry leader: A great way to fly.

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Kellogg is a brilliant example of a company that has not limited itself to the sense of sight & taste only. They have also appealed to our sense of sound. Now you might be wondering what could sound possibly have anything to do with a breakfast cereal? Well, Kellogg placed a lot of emphasis on the crunchiness of the cornflakes and considers that to be a success criteria for their brand.

The company has spent years experimenting with the link between crunch & taste. They had a Danish commercial music laboratory create a highly distinctive crunchy sound, exclusively for Kellogg’s cornflakes and had it patented just like their logo & recipe. The particular sound & feel of the crunch was immediately identified by consumers as being Kellogg’s and the day the company introduced their new cruch to the market, their brand moved up the ladder.