Entries Tagged 'Brand Values' ↓

Many companies are looking to exploit their brand portfolios to raise cash or exit noncore assets or ‘Orphan Brands’.

The parentage of Fox’s Mints may have included Eric Fox, Nestle and Northern Foods but the Glacier mints have currently been adopted by Big Bear. Far from being a sunset brand it is Big Bears intention to reinvigorate brands such as Poppets, Sugar Puffs and Fox’s Galcier Mints and they are looking to float on Aim.

Dormant or moribund brands may need exceptional creativity to reinvigorate them. If you are not investing let someone else look after your Orphan, you may get a lump sum or royalty for your old Intellectual Property.

Kraft are looking to buy Cadbury for approaching 800p per share. In mid 2009 Investors Chronicle reported Cadbury’s total net assets were 259p per share of which 292p was for intangibles! In other words the value of factories, stock and equipment was less than Cadbury’s liabilities.

So Kraft are buying the hope value, the right to future earnings and cash-flows plus the brand franchises and getting nothing ‘tangible’ for £8 per share.  However you Crunchie the numbers Kraft may end up with Chocolate Egg on their faces unless the Curly Wurly intellectual assets perform.

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Corporate image is built by company performance and a brand personality that triggers associations. It is seldom built by advertising but by good PR, strong corporate performance and a collection of brand assets that may include, tag lines, logos, identifying colours, graphics and name recognition.

Virgin can enter new business areas on the back of it’s corporate brand based on it’s reputation for a fresh approach and innovation in their older businesses. Track record and credibility is important in Corporate Branding, Union Carbide will long be remembered for Bhopal disaster that dates back to 1984.

Nike is a strong Corporate brand with ‘30,000 Nike employees across six continents, each of whom make their own contribution to fulfill our mission statement: to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.’ A shame they inspired this spoof picture.

Do not expect a Harley Davidson motorbike owner to switch to another brand it won’t happen. Similarly Apple mac users are loyal to the brand, company and products. Apple and Harley enjoy high brand loyalty indicated by customer retention rates. An average firm will loose 50% of it’s customers in five years but this may be only 10-15% with a loyal brand.

Banks and financial organisations have relied on indifference and inertia to support pseudo loyalty which seems very one way at the moment. Only spurious loyalty is created by contracts, tie ins and market failure. As the insurance companies found out via comparison web sites loyalty works both ways and it is counter productive to offer better deals to new customer than existing ones.

Loyalty is a feeling and commitment towards a brand and goes deeper than a repurchasing of the brand. Loyalty needs to be worked on as a part of your intellectual asset strategy. In some sectors the ability to get good referrals or testimonials from happy customers is key to brand success, in others the maintenance market or after sales margins may be driven higher by high loyalty.

‘Brands change hands in the cider industry in time to drink Gaymers for Christmas’. Constellation owners of drinks brands that include Hardys & Banrock Station in the wine industry and Tsingtao Chinese beer have sold some cider brands to C&C the owners of Magners. A Perry good deal for all!

Whilst Gaymers does have production and bottling facilities a large part of the £46m price is the ‘intangible value’ of the brand and the synergy or retail clout C&C will now have.

Advertising only calls attention to a brand to create brand interest. A Brands have reserves of trust that lie in the goodwill and collective knowledge of the company to support the Brand. Advertising has its place but creating a positive customer experience at every touch point will do more to build the brand.

Great Brands can command a premium and are a route to sustained profitability but all concerned with the brand need to ‘live it’ in terms of brand experience and delivery of the promise.

In a proposed legal action Scotlands ITV licensee STV is claiming £12m as “ITV is imposing its brand and service within the STV licence area with actions that are detrimental to STV’s brand. They are inhibiting our ability to grow as a digital broadcaster.”

The dispute is part of a saga, fit for a BBC documentary, about licensing and income sharing for video-on-demand and a desire for different destinies or divorce between erstwhile partners.

The intellectual property at the heart of the case includes Commercial Agreements and Channel 3 Licensing Arrangements both summed up as ‘Brand and Service’.
Legal and Commercial agreements are an important part of your IP.

I like the clean cut image that is promoted by Laura Ashley’s ‘Fresh Green’ colour scheme. If you offer a design service as Laura Ashley does then it seems sensible to be at the top of your own game as well. (No cobblers children and shoes here).

A nit pick about the 2009 web site re Environmental Reports, they eulogise about 2006 even though they supply 2008 data. Attention to detail is important if they want to live up to the claim to be a ‘Luxury British Brand’.

Associate British Foods continues to grow sales both with its food and ingredients brands and it’s fashion chain Primark. The large collection of brands will allow me to slip off and drink a cup of Ovaltine or Twinnings and Nambarrie teas.
Nambarrie is a leading tea brand in Northern Ireland a reminder that not all brand names work equally well in all markets.

If you like sugar in your hot drink guess who owns Silver Spoon

Share value is not vanishing from Reckitt Benckister the owner of brands including Dettol, Nurofen, Vanish and Clearasil. In the last 10 years shares in Reckitt Benckister have grown four fold from £7 -£30. The shares seem to have been on Reckitt Benckister’s own heroin substitute ‘Suboxone’ (I wish that were true of the shares I hold.)

Brands excel when managed in a commercial environment, they need nurturing, developing and exploiting in equal measure.
Brands, like companies, can be fit into the Boston Matrix of ‘Star, Dog, Cash Cow or ?’.