Posts Tagged ‘brand-scientist’

04.26.12

Brands need to get used to current consumer mindset

This weeks inflation figures show that March quarter’s inflation fell to 1.6%, the lowest annual rate since late 2009. Most of our economic commentators are now predicting an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank as a forgone conclusion. But if brand owners are expecting that a cut in interest rates may do something to awaken Australia’s consumers from hibernation, then they need to have a re-think. We seem to be moving to a low inflation, low interest rate and low growth world – brands will need to therefore adapt.

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11.30.11

Department stores require far more agile brand management

In Australia the department store sector has surrendered almost one third of its market share since peaking in the mid 1980’s (Herald Sun November 8, 2011). They are between a rock and hard place, with online and specialty retailers earnestly chipping away at their customer base. For the financial year just past Myer suffered a 5.5% decline in sales and David Jones a 3.2% contraction. Interestingly during the same period many luxury brands reported growth, so it is not all being driven by the new cautionary consumer mindset so prevalent in Australia.

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11.09.11

The new B in branding: B Corporation

This year I had the pleasure of a 2 month sabbatical in Europe, with a combination of travelling and cocooning and reading a big pile of business and brand writing. One thing that struck me was that from a brand perspective the time of the socially responsible company has well and truly arrived. Corporate citizenship was a re-occurring theme across so many books that I explored. One telling factor was the weight of writing marketing guru Philip Kotler, in his new book Marketing 3.0, devoted to values driven business models. In the early 90’s I remember subjecting my MBA students to Kotler’s marketing text, which was brilliantly dense in subject matter pertaining to the 4 P’s, but lacking anything like the spiritual and noble essence of his current writings. It was an amazing awakening for me to witness such a shift in emphasis from a doyen of the marketing fraternity. It reaffirmed what one has been sensing is playing out in many market categories.

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11.02.11

Brand Management: Billabong controlling its destiny

Surfing brand Billabong International is moving down stream into retail to better control how its products are sold. An increasing trend amongst the large retail chains is to increase the proportion of merchandise they sell under their own brands. Brands like Billabong can either cop it sweet and sit back and let their share of floor space and sales decline or they can take steps to control their own destiny. It is pleasing to see that Billabong has opted for the latter. Billabong is increasingly seeking to make retail acquisitions as a way of gaining greater control to their route to market. Last year they acquired the California based RVCA brand,  the West 49 retail chain in Canada, Surf Dive’n’ Ski  and Jetty Surf in Australia. Likewise Billabong is investing to build its online sales, which currently makes up 3% of their revenue.

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10.20.11

A new digital frontier for retailers

The day of just having beautifully attired mannequins is over. The digital world is opening up a whole new frontier for retailers. New and wonderful ways to engage customers and showcase products. The possibilities are immensely exciting, but the resource requirements challenging. The digital world is a two edged sword. A window to an imaginative and captivating domain, but equally leaving you looking like yesterday’s brand if you do not creatively unlock the magic of what is available.

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09.09.11

Qantas Brand Strangled by Business Strategy

Over the past couple of years we have been witnessing the demise of the Qantas brand, with its business strategy dictating the brand’s terms of engagement. Every public gesture that the business has made, has reflected an unwavering commitment to taking cost out of its operations. There has been scant regard for the brand or the customer.

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03.03.11

Yellow Pages: The death of a brand product format

Each year I expect that the delivery of my Yellow Pages print directory will surely be the last. I appreciate that at least you can now go online (yes note online!) to request that one is not delivered, but it is an interesting phenomena witnessing the decline of an outmoded product format.

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