Far be it from me to call a global brand with the longevity and fame of Ralph Lauren into question on the subject of fashion. Their stylish designs and fresh-faced mannequin-esque models are instantly recognisable across the globe where a tiny polo player atop his trusty steed is regarded as a mark of affluence, confidence and sophistication. Where I might challenge the brand managers of RL however, is on the name choice for their sub-branded range Big Pony Collection.

The sub-brand targets the younger end of RL’s male market hence the rather nice horse to pony visual analogy. The need for this acute differentiation from the master brand suggests that the rise of competitors such as Jack/Aubin & Wills and Abercrombie & Fitch has caused some concern back at RL headquarters.

Therefore whilst representing a strategically sound choice I cannot help but feel as though the name chosen is slightly misguided. I distinctly remember the term ‘big pony’ not being one of endearment in the 6th form common room or the students union a few years back. ‘Massive pony’ was of course worse but a ‘big pony’ was by no means a complement either. In terms of what it actually meant to friends and I back then; I think Urban Dictionary can shed some light on but I will allow readers to explore that for themselves!

RL are of course not alone here; there are a number of misguided brand names to have gone public to shock consumers and make us all chuckle for a number of different reasons. A couple of examples below show the importance of checking translations when targeting an international audience:

At The Value Engineers we carry out naming projects for our clients on a regular basis and recognise the importance a name carries in the marketplace. On a basic level understanding the spectrum outlined below for a selection of brands on the German dog food market shows how one can use a frame of reference to craft the basis of a naming strategy.

In this case we have used personality and meaning to highlight the differences between names however there are other ways to frame such contrasts:

The introduction to naming outlined above works well as an introduction to our thinking, however there are also a number of far more detailed aspects to consider when naming a brand. For more information on what these aspects entail and how the knowledge can benefit your brand(s) please contact Giles Lury.

Lou Ellerton, Senior Consultant and Kids specialist at The Value Engineers, comments in this week’s The Grocer in the ‘Focus on Cheese’ section.

Lisa Riley, author of the article ‘Must try harder at lunchtime’, makes the point that manufactures have failed to make the most of the kids’ lunchbox sector and need to capitalise on the demand for healthier options.

Lou Ellerton comments: “Manufacturers need to wake up to the possibilities. Parents are looking further afield for a relatively healthy, balanced snack in a form that will appeal to kids. Kids’ cheese players are suddenly competing for lunchbox space not only with each other, but with everything from Yoplait Choobs and Innocent Kids to Kellogg’s Winders, Humdinger and Planet Lunch snacks. As yet, there’s little sign that manufacturers have realised this, and they are in danger of falling into the classic trap of marketing myopia… At an ever-younger age kids are starting to move away from foodstuffs formulated to appeal to their age group, towards what they perceive as more adult brands. There are signs that a similar phenomenon is starting to take place in cheese, with adult single-serve products becoming more popular with pre-teens and kids.”

India, the world’s biggest democracy, is rapidly becoming the key market to crack for international brands. In a new series of blog posts Anjul Sharma – fluent in Indian culture and languages Hindi, Punjabi & Urdu - looks at the approach to branding in one of the planet’s fastest growing markets.

In my first post I talked about how Taj Hotels and Palaces were wowing travellers with their amazing portfolio of properties, luxury personified and customer service par excellence. This week, lets carry on exploring the customer experience offered by Indian brands – lets start talking about Kingfisher (the airline, not the beer!)

Kingfisher Airlines Limited are India’s largest airline - both in size and market share - operating over 400 flights a day with its regional Indian and international services. Even more impressive, it is one of only six airlines in the world to have a five-star rating from Skytrax. That’s quite something.

Kingfisher was never planning to be a small bird in a big sky – it wanted to be a big bird in a big sky. Chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya made his intentions clear at launch when he said “we are committed to achieving our ambition of making Kingfisher Airlines India’s largest private airline both in capacity and market share by 2010.” Ambitious indeed! But here’s the thing. This was not an empty promise – it’s been a reality which, in my experience, has beautifully and elegantly over-delivered on its promise to the delight of customers.

Let me tell you about my travels on Kingfisher. I’ve flown with them internally within India both in Economy and Business Class. In economy, the stewardesses addressed me by my own name with smiles as big as the Taj Mahal – ‘Good morning Miss Sharma, what can I offer you for your lunch? Would you care to have vegetarian or non-vegetarian?’ ‘Very good Miss Sharma, I’ll get that for you’.  By the way, the food was brilliant too. So used to being treated like a battery hen in Economy even in Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, no wonder I was speechless when she knew my name. I later discovered that they pay special attention to females travelling alone and mums with kids. So even in Economy I had the nice Kingfisher male attendant politely ask me for my luggage tag so that he could bring me my suitcase off the carousel.

In Business Class it’s an even better experience. The male Kingfisher attendants met me in the car park by the taxi drop off point. He took my bags and escorted me to a seating area in the check-in lounge. He then took my passport and bags and checked me in, before leading me to the Executive Lounge. The same attendant collected me at the time of boarding to take me through immigration, through the gate, up the stairs to the plane and sat me in my seat. Being used to carrying my own bags everywhere I was somewhat taken aback by this level of service. I told him in Hindi “I feel embarrassed that you are walking in front of me with my bags and I’m walking behind like a Memsahib”. “Madam, you are our guest and it’s our job to look after you” he replied.

Kingfisher demonstrates the power of heartfelt passion for customer service which other carriers and non-aviation based service providers could learn much from. This potent message is captured succinctly on their website…

Welcome to a world without passengers: Welcome aboard Kingfisher Airlines, where you are made to feel like an honoured guest and not just a passenger. At Kingfisher, a flight is not a journey between two airports but an experience of a lifetime.

Every time I’ve flown with Kingfisher, they’ve done just that: treated me not like a passenger, but like a truly honoured guest.

Ernest Hemingway once took up a wager proposed by his friends. They declared it was impossible to write a story in 6 words or less. Hemingway disagreed. Thinking for a moment, he wrote his riposte: “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn”. Poignant, powerful, with a beginning, middle and end. Hemingway won the bet.

This story inspired us at The Value Engineers to set ourselves a similar challenge: sum up the essence of our brand in 6 words or less. We thought we’d share some of the results wonderfully bought to life by our Studio…

As already trailed through the appearance of the Empire State building on our website, we are delighted to announce the launch of The Value Engineers North America, which is possibly our most exciting news since the company was founded twenty five years ago in 1986! 

To celebrate this great moment, we held an open house at our offices in Manhattan with the great and good of marketing and a sparkly snowman all dropping by.  Thanks to all those dear friends of The Value Engineers who came to raise a glass to our new venture.  For those who could not make it here are a few snaps of the night.