People have always been interested in where the goods they buy are produced and different parts of the world have variously been seen as aspirational across the years. With an increasing focus on the level of carbon emissions produced by shipping and a willingness to support local industries in times of economic hardship, perhaps now more so than ever it is desirable to buy something produced locally. It comes as no surprise then that a marque indicating British manufacture was recently launched in the hope of helping shoppers identify goods of British origin.

Creating an industry wide ‘kitemark’ is supposed to create a uniform way of telling what’s what amongst the plethora of other messages communicated by brands on advertising campaigns, packaging and websites. However, many brands and retailers already use their own stamps to indicate British provenance so will the new marque help or hinder shoppers?

According to a survey conducted on behalf of Stoves, the company behind the stamp, 48% of 1,000 Brits surveyed are confused about which brands’ products are actually manufactured in Britain, so maybe there is cause to introduce a new stamp.

With many iconic British brands including Dyson and Royal Doulton having now moved production abroad, there is perhaps an opportunity to be exploited by British manufacturers that have stayed put. Success of the marque will depend on the extent of its usage by British brands, for only if consumers come to expect to see it will the marque become a factor in their decision making process.

Introducing the last in our blog series of eleven innovation and branding precepts for 2011.

MASSPIRATION
 
Consumers have long aspired to own premium brands and products, but for most of us, the hefty price tags ensure they remain firmly out of reach. However, recent years have seen the growth of a more ‘accessible premium’ – bringing higher-quality products, with aspirational branding, to mass market consumers.
 
Priced lower than the truly premium brands, but higher than the category norm, these brands make ‘high end’ products available for the masses through innovative brand architecture, retail delivery, and product usage, combined with premium messaging and visual cues.
 
THE SAMPLER
This independent London wine merchant lets you try the finest wines for less, by sampling small tasters rather than full bottles. Their aim is to make wine-tasting ‘un-elitist and fun’… and hopefully to convince you to buy a bottle of your favourite taster, of course.  
DESIGNERS AT DEBENHAMS, STELLA MCCARTNEY FOR TARGET et al
By now the list of designers with high street store capsule ranges is long, but with the cult of celebrity still going strong, and the rest of us mere mortals still aspiring to own their high-end clothes and labels, this idea is not showing any signs of losing popularity. The latest incarnation comes from designer Narciso Rodriguez, this time with an accessible line retailing at below $350, designed specifically for and sold through eBay. These lines may structure their brand architectures differently, but the magic touch of the designer brand at a high-street price seems universal, and continues to spread into other categories including food (Heston Blumenthal at Waitrose), menswear (Joe Caseley-Hayford for John Lewis) and lingerie (Colette Dinnigan for Target Australia). www.ebay.com/narcisorodriguezforebay 

 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
What does premium look like for your brand or category? How could you bring it to the masses and still maintain its cachet?

If you missed the earlier blogs, all eleven precepts can be viewed here.

We are delighted to announce that Anna Eggleton, Director at The Value Engineers, has been quoted in The Grocer this week commenting on the Batchelors’ Soup revamp and her thoughts on the impact which adding a veg-pack sub-range will have on the business.

A snapshot of the article: “branding agency The Value Engineers questioned whether the new veg lines would be enough to alter the “tired old image”.”

“Batchelors missed a trick by sticking to its old format”, said director Anna Eggleton. “To consumers, it will look like just another marketing message. A change of format would have signalled that it’s genuinely different, and make the new real food value more believable”

“Heinz’s first foray into the sector shows that there’s still life in the category. The question is whether there is still life in Batchelors’ portfolio.”

To read the full article, click here

The Only Way Is Essex is a show which I like to call a ‘fauxcom.’  We don’t know whether the characers and plots are true to the individuals’ real life situations…and, crucially, we don’t care – we’re happy to believe the story for the 1 hour a week it enters our lives.  It’s a format of programme which has captured our attention for years – whether the setting is Essex’s Sugarhut nightclub, Geordieland or Chelsea’s King’s road, there is a consistent promise of each little world’s own form of humour, dialect and drama.  What makes these shows different from the others is their consistent delivery despite the blurred line between reality and pretence which could lead them and their stars astray.  The clothes, the same are they / aren’t they debates, the family dramas…you know what you’re getting every time you watch, even though the plot appears to alter on the surface. 

The same is true for brands: if a brand can deliver a consistent message and demonstrate a clear set of values across multiple touchpoints and circumstances, so much more compelling its proposition is.  So, we weren’t surprised to see the latest way of cashing in on the zeitgeist of fauxcom popularity: a range of goods licensed with trademark phrases from The Only Way is Essex.  The consistent message is there, in a range of goods totally consistent with the show itself: affordable (but not cheap) clothing, accessories and decorations for you to bring a bit of TOWIE into your homes.

It’s a perfect example of how to bring a whole set of values and associations to life in a simple, accessible way – so that us fans out there can demonstrate our love for it without saying a word.  I’ve bought my first REEM item…have you?

Next up in the Fauxcom series, I’ll be looking at Made In Chelsea and the example it sets for lifestyle brands.

This is the second in a series of posts which will discuss the question of the tools every good marketer should have in their tool box.

Last time it was the SWOT, today, Igor Ansoff’s 2×2 Matrix

The wonderful thing about a 2 x 2 matrix is that it maps out some clear choices: left or right, top or bottom.

Ansoff’s matrix is brilliantly simple (like all the best designed concepts) since it gives clear guidance on the direction to follow in each of the four scenarios described.

If top left, then do this. If bottom right, do that.

It is worth remembering that these options are seen from the perspective of the organisation, not the customer or market so what is new to your organisation may not be quite so new to the customer (a root cause of many me-too innovations).

Behind the four basic directions to follow are a number of more complex choices:-

Market Penetration: more users using or more use from existing users ?

Market Development: new customers, new geographies, new usage opportunities ?

Product Development: new version, new delivery method, new pack, new price point, new need ?

Diversification: close to what you do now or completely different ?

How you answer these questions must also take into account  your assessment of opportunity and risk and perhaps more importantly the capabilities of your organisation – both those which already exist and those you’d need to build, borrow or buy in order to increase chances of success.

Strategy is about choices, which are right for you?