From catwalk to cabin, the iconic Virgin red radiates style and glamour: what other airline could comfortably spoof the iconic opening sequences of that combination of sex and sophistication, James Bond? In true Virgin style, Branson has not stopped with the uniform: his hostesses are now the walking embodiment of the Virgin Atlantic brand, lips and all.

In collaboration with Bare Minerals, Virgin Atlantic recently announced the icing on the cake with its launch of ‘Upper Class Red’, a red lipstick set to inject the glamour back into flying. The new line was handed out free of charge to female passengers flying Upper Class on the first flights to New York to feature Virgin Atlantic’s new Upper Class Dream Suite, and will be available for us ordinary mortals to buy from Bare Minerals shortly.

As you might expect from the airline that brought us in-flight bars and masseurs, the lipstick is more than a pretty face; it contains ‘micronized fresh water pearl powder to hydrate the lips and alleviate the effects of cabin air pressure’. Whether this extension will actually take off (excuse the pun) outside the cabin, I am somewhat dubious – but as a means of publicising the launch of the Upper Class Dream Suite, it’s an inspired move. There is no doubt in my mind that Virgin has once again well and truly painted the sky red.

Those of you based in the UK may have seen news this month of the launch of DSG’s latest brand extension: KnowHow Movies. Arriving to a (fairly muted) fanfare from the media, KnowHow Movies is the group’s on-demand live streaming service, offering pay-per-view films and TV programming.

For those of use who still associate DSG with high street stalwarts Dixons, Curry’s and PC World, video on demand is not an obvious choice for a new brand platform. Look a little closer, however, and the rationale becomes clearer.

The service is an extension of the group’s existing KnowHow service – the equivalent of Best Buy’s much-publicised Geek Squad. The original site offers a mixture of free advice, one-off and subscription-based support services for those  less confident in their use of technology that ranges from cameras, TVs and fridge-freezers to iPods, netbooks and desktops.

It isn’t a service for the digital generation, or indeed for those of us who’ve grown  up working on the basis that we’ll ‘give it a go and see what happens’. Instead, it’s targeting the sizeable population of novice silver surfers, harassed parents who’ve acceded to their children’s pleas, and time-pressed workers looking for a ‘walk out working’ service à la Carphone Warehouse. It’s just unfortunate – perhaps deliberately so – that the service launched at a time when the market leading brands from the US (Netflix) and the UK (Lovefilm) were going head  to head with ad campaigns, promotional offers and free trials. Or is it?

The beauty of KnowHow Movies is that it has a ready-made audience at its fingertips, many of whom will enjoy the idea of a film service at their fingertips. Unlike its competitors, KnowHow has entered the market with a pay-per-view premise, allowing hesitant potential customers to trial the service with no commitment – something that remains more appealing for many than a longer free trial that subsequently requires cancellation.

Is it a brand for everyone? Certainly not. If you’re a devotee of the iPad or a frequent traveller, chances are you’ve already got a service you’re happy with. To kick off the Olympic analogies, this is a brand for those looking to dip a toe into the waters of VOD, not for long-distance swimmers.

Here at The Value Engineers we’re always on the lookout for exciting new brand extensions – not least so we can make our predictions for how successful they’ll be and how long they’ll last!

While brand extensions are hardly uncommon these days, many brands still fall victim to the perils of extending too far, too soon – a leap that unless carefully considered can risk confusing and alienating consumers. But there are, of course, huge success stories – think Mars, Innocent, Gü… all of whom have successfully navigated the potential pitfalls of extending their brands and can now be found on new supermarket shelves aisles down from where they started.

One of the more familiar trajectories in recent years has been the move from chocolate to ice cream – from Bounty to Green & Blacks, it seems that chocolate creds translate comfortably into freezer treats. But we were particularly intrigued to hear about Tesco reversing the usual route and extending their Chokablok ice cream range into the chocolate fixture – and even more delighted to be asked to comment on the move in this week’s The Grocer.

Kwamina Korsah, Marketing Analyst here at The Value Engineers, commented on the potential challenges Chokablok may face, noting that “it is launching into a highly emotive category and Chokablok will have to differentiate on format and packaging”, and on the ways in which Tesco may look to raise the brand’s profile as a venture brand of their own (another topic close to our hearts!).

Check out Kwamina’s comments and the rest of the article here, and let us know what you think – recipe for success, or a stretch too far?

Brand extension…to extend or not to extend, to sub-brand or not to sub-brand? They’re questions we ask ourselves (and our clients) on a daily basis and ones whose answers rely on a careful analysis of a brand’s credibility, permission and associations.

Levi Roots’s Reggae Reggae sauce is perhaps the most well-known success story from Dragon’s Den.  Along with its founder, it’s a brand that is simply memorable, likeable and delicious with a real point of difference in both positioning and proposition.  But as we know, any great brand has its limits…Virgin jeans never took off and Harley Davidson’s long tail of branded goods in categories as random as t-shirts to toiletries diminished its exclusive, aspirational core.

So what do we think of Reggae Reggae stretching itself beyond its sauces alone? We were delighted to discuss this with The Grocer who were asking just this question in their article this week.  James Littlewood, Consultant at The Value Engineers, is quoted in reference to his belief that so far should be so good for this little brand with big ambition:

“There has been a logical progression from the sauce product…through to other products containing the sauce flavour…the slogan ‘put music in your food’ can be transplanted to a number of food categories.”

So, do you think that Reggae Reggae is extending for success?