‘After a Health Select Committee’s report last week, alcohol brands face a possible ban on television advertising. But an all-out ban need not spell disaster for this already promotionally fettered industry: it could lead to new highs of creative strategic thinking.’

Anna Eggleton, Director of Closeness, comments in last week’s Marketing Week’s lead article, ‘Putting a new face on your brand’ by Jo Roberts:

‘Stretching an alcohol brand into different territories is something that Anna Eggleton, director at The Value Engineers, believes could work well in the UK for brands with strong personalities. Some companies are practising displacement marketing in various forms already, she argues.

“If you have a good brand like Camel or Marlboro, it should have a life of its own,” says Eggleton. She says the practice of displacement marketing is about “thinking about branding in a different way.” Many alcohol brands are already thinking beyond large-scale television campaigns to get messages across to their target audience.

She argues that Guinness is already practising displacement because it is already well-known outside of its sector. Merchandise such as T-shirts, key rings and hats are available, and the brand has also strayed into food with limited edition Marmite flavoured with Guinness.

The Value Engineers’ Eggleton claims that the smart brands “need to start thinking about putting strategies in place now” in order to stay ahead of any future restrictions.’

Read the full article on Marketing Week online.

We were really pleased that on Tuesday the 27th of January our Chairman Paul Walton was asked by our friends at Langholm Capital to deliver a trends speech, ‘Dreams, Themes and Schemes’, to an audience of fifty CEOs, entrpreneurs and senior executives from a range of highly successful consumer brands.

The event gave Paul the opportunity to exhibit our knowledge of trends, how brands can best implement them and the effects they have on the consumer marketplace. Below is a brief summary of the thinking Paul covered in his address:

Trends can be to marketers what the venus fly trap is to the fly, the instinctive response they provoke in those looking everywhere for change can be both empowering & dangerous. We use examples of mistaken forecasts such as that of John Naisbitt who in 1996 failed to see the threat from the internet & 24 hour news television in a review on national newspapers; to implore brands to ignore trends at their peril – but without putting all your brands eggs in one trend-shaped basket either.

As Martin Raymond suggests in ‘The Tomorrow People’, the tactile brand that understands the implication of a trend on its industry and sizes its investment in response accordingly will put this foresight to good use. What we have also noticed in the past is that the dominant players can often be the least forsightful. The overarching message we try to emphasise is that whilst trends can provide opportunities for brands, mistaken forecasts can be dangerous.

Just because a trend is new & exciting doesn’t mean it necessarily requires your attention – take a look at our list of faux-trends and realise that just because it’s got a catchy name doesn’t necessarily make it true.

Lengthening life spans, gender, globalization, technology & wellness are some of the Macro trends we often talk about as their glacial shifts can cause the seismic reactions that may directly affect your brand(s). If healthy eating is the slow moving tectonic plate then “5-a-day” is the vibration that brands have had to harness.

Here is a small selection of Paul’s top tips for harnessing trends effectively:

• Avoid technical wonder & instead persist with measurable changes in attitudes and behaviour
• Always look at the cost benefit analysis
• Look outside your own industry
• Don’t forget to blend your trends: Ageing population + The Mediterranean diet = Olivio!

For more information on the Trends practice at the Value Engineers please contact Amelia Boothman.

1. “Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.” (Chartered Institute of Marketing)

2. “The purpose of marketing is to earn profit by adding the maximum value at minimum cost.” (Colin Milner)

3. “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.” (American Marketing Association)

4. “Marketing is getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you.” (Jon Jantsch)

5. “Marketing is the art and science of chossing target markets and building profitable relationships with them; it’s the art of demand management.” (Philip Kotler)

Borrowed with pride from all over the place.

We continue to hold the art of brand revitalisation in high esteem – and so we’re pleased to announce that, as in previous years, we will be sponsoring an award for this category at the Marketing Society Awards for Excellence 2010.

The Brand Revitalisation award celebrates brands which ‘have undertaken activity that has successfully challenged public perceptions of a product or service and achieved significant commercial gain as a result’.

If you would like to enter your brand there’s still time – though you’ll need to be quick as the deadline for submissions is Friday 5 February.

The results are announced on 7 June at the London Hilton hotel – so watch this space… and we hope to see you there!

For more information about how we can help revitalise your brand please contact Giles Lury, our Director of Branding.

Two of the many favourite kids  brands as nominated by the team at The Value Engineers serve to demonstrate the power of brands to unite both peers and family members. Football stickers have been a central part of social currency for boys in playgrounds up and down the country and their popularity remains as high today as it has ever been. This continuity of appeal is delivered through a natural annual refreshment of new players and teams, whilst meeting the natural desires of boys in providing collectability, competition and peer inclusion.

The successful relaunch of Doctor Who has been well documented and the programme has re-established Saturday evening family viewing both on and behind the sofa! A new generation of Doctor Who fans have been recruited, all of whom will be watching with interest as Matt Smith takes on the challenge of picking up where David Tennant left off.

“Merlin stickers – the ones that got me as a youngster were of course Premier League Football Stickers. Like most of my friends at the time I was obsessed and vividly remember that the first person in my primary school to complete their album got a mention in the school assembly! I even remember the last sticker they needed – the Norwich kit on a glitter background. These stickers went beyond simple enjoyment – they took me, my friends and most of the　school playground to a level of social fanaticism never experienced before. Even today when I’m at the newsagent I still occasionally buy a pack or two…” Will Butterworth, Marketing Analyst.

“Dr Who: The ritual of the family sitting down together and excitement of the theme tune (on full blast). It takes your imagination on a journey. It’s not scared to deal with fear, loneliness and loss. However the meek always inherit the earth and so good always triumphs over evil, with a little help from The Doctor (who has also wrestled with his conscience).” Amelia Boothman, Senior Consultant.