From a brand consultant’s perspective it was really great to see such creative licensing where real thought had gone into aligning brand values to create distinctive communications. In the best cases it was clear both brands were benefiting from the partnership.
For more information on the Licensing Awards click here – the ceremony takes place on 13 September 2011.
Posted by Rosa Wilkinson on March 11, 2011 No comments
I recently stumbled on the rather fascinating Channel 4 Programme, The Model Agency. Filmed in the offices of Premier Models, it lifts the lid on the world of the model agency: from money girls to show girls, from bookings to bitchiness, from catwalks to catalogues.
Whilst it has its own close-up taken, Premier Models has obviously taken the opportunity to extend its brand footprint. Launching a licensed beauty range is nothing new – but it’s not often that a B2B professional services brand (albeit in the glamorous world of fashion) makes the leap to the B2C spotlight.
What makes this a hit, not a miss, in the world of brand extension is the strong leveraging of Premier’s existing professional brand equity. Intimate knowledge of the effects of international travel and the stress of life on the catwalk, combined with Monu professional skincare, build a strong proposition for mere humans to aspire to! This is perfectly captured by the signature Model Kit – seven essentials in an airport-friendly pouch.
It will be interesting to see if Premier can stay the distance in the highly-competitive premium beauty category and build its B2C brand once the cameras have turned away…
Posted by Rosa Wilkinson on November 22, 2010 No comments
Spied this brilliant piece of brand engagement work from Durex. A really outstanding example of how to use insight to drive compelling communication.
In this case the insight in question being ”young men don’t really worry about sexually-transmitted diseases but nothing scares them like the responsibility of a baby”! Watch the video to see what happens when their iPhone is impregnated by Bluetooth…
Will be interesting to see what results this creates for Durex’s new owners, Reckitt Benckiser!
Posted by Rosa Wilkinson on November 19, 2010 No comments
We are very pleased to welcome two new Engineers, both with a specialism in quantitative research: Richie Heron and Sally Kay.
After graduating from Nottingham with a first class degree in marketing, Sally Kay spent some time at TNS in their quantitative consumer division. In 2006 she moved to brand consultancy Clear where she specialised in quantitative insight and strategy, while also working more broadly in qualitative insight and brand innovation. She has built up considerable experience in personal care, financial services and healthcare. Since moving to The Value Engineers at the beginning of November, Sally has been involved in understanding the prestige car customer which has since upped her desire for a flash motor… here’s hoping!
Sally is passionate about helping organisations grow their brands, be it through segmentation, customer insight programmes, strategic intents or innovating new products. In her spare time she usually spends time exercising, wining and dining or being creative… although having just bought a new house most of her weekends are now spent in IKEA!
Richie Heron graduated from the University of Newcastle with a degree in Statistics and started his research career with Martin Hamblin working on segmentation and pricing studies in the healthcare sector. In 2002 he moved to Research International (now TNS) working in new product development and innovation primarily focusing on concept testing and volume forecasting. From 2006 he was based in Chicago working through a key clients innovation journey spanning multiple brands across the globe with the goal of becoming the leading brand in each market.
After 4 years in the US he’s become somewhat Americanized – a fan of ice hockey and country music, a chicken wing connoisseur and gained an understanding and appreciation for the Super Bowl and the advertising extravaganza that goes with it! A fan of history and historical novels (in particular the work of Conn Iggulden) with an indefinable passion to watch or read anything to do with the Titanic. Richie’s current hobby is understanding the business of sport having recently completed a course on hockey general management and scouting.
Posted by Rosa Wilkinson on November 11, 2010 No comments
Great interview from the BBC the other day – Karl Largerfeld about the importance of new (or as he calls them, ‘emerged’) markets for Chanel. He gives an insight into what makes or breaks international fashion brands:
”There are so many people in the world who cannot read French or English, as we cannot read Chinese or Russian… if you don’t have a logo everyone can remember in a second it’s much more difficult. The importance of logos to world fashion is unbelievable.”
Fortunately Chanel is a brand blessed with both an instantly-recognisable logo and an iconic figurehead – how will other fashion brands fare in the new world order?
