A tall americano? No grazie.

There are 11,575 Starbucks in USA, 727 in the UK, 79 in Spain, 48 in France, but not a single one in Italy [source]. This final figure might be surprising seeing that Starbucks chairman, Howard Schultz, created his coffee shops inspired by Italy's unique espresso bars. And unique they are as Starbucks has warped its inspiration into an almost universally successful bastardisation of the espresso. The 97th best global brand, however, is wholly unwelcome in Italy where the power of culture and tradition wins over the power of the brand.

The Italian company, Caffè Kimbo, embodies this ideal of tradition. Looking at its advertising over the years and comparing it with its modern day adverts, there is apparently very little change in the brand's verbal or visual identity. The Kimbo logo differs very slightly and each 30-second spot focuses on the Italian tradition of sharing coffee and chewing the fat (figuratively, of course. Prosciutto crudo isn't normally eaten outside meal hours). Thus, its image has remained consistent through the years, as has its excellent taste. Having just returned from the lower shin of Italy, Naples, I noticed that Kimbo sees little need to advertise extensively as its consumers know it's the best. So, while its competitors, such as Lavazza, believe they must adorn their image all over the exteriors of espresso bars, Kimbo rests easy in the knowledge that coffee drinkers will request the brand. For, since in Italy the coffee culture is so social, Kimbo sits in the middle of a virtuous circle - while people enjoy their coffee, they talk about it with others who will then enjoy the coffee (with others) etc. etc.

The message behind this is that however powerful a brand may be, sometimes it will never break the power of tradition and society - 0% beer will never be on the pumps of English Pubs, people worldwide will never stop going to live music even if they can download it five minutes after it's played and Spaniards will never replace tapas for a Big Mac.

The tradition of the espresso is not the only thing to be transformed on its international expansion. The preferred beverage of Scottish vagrants, Tennent's Super, is considered by some Italians as a more quality lager than other premium European lagers, as these two tourist snaps show:

Personal Training 2.0

As my post-graduation summer months come to an end and the beginning of the football season begins, I find myself trying to kick those much-enjoyed summer beers into touch and attempting to get myself fit for 'pre-season'. Very professional. Unlike my well-intentioned run on Monday morning.

It started off so well - iPod on full charge, strapping on ankles to hold various ligaments in place, suitable pair of shoes on and probably unsuitable clothing on in my vain attempts to impress the Surrey yummy mummies while on their daily jog. I confess to not remembering much of the next 23 minutes due to the excruciating pain my gut was enduring. However, I do remember resorting to exaggerated heavy breathing in order to seek pity from the said ladies of Surrey, realising after two minutes that my anticipated air of coolness and fitness would appear more like an air of constipation due to the inevitable 'stitch'. Through the sweat coating my eyes, I also remember performing a casual market research session on 4 women between the ages of 30 and 45. I don't profess to be Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock but I did note a couple of things. Each runner was:

1) kitted up as if they were preparing for 2012.
2) well groomed. Running's not just about getting fit.
3) wearing something on their wrist, be it a heart monitor, a copper band or an aid for listening to their power tunes.
4) listening to music through white bud earphones. No real surprise there, then.

These people take their running seriously and it is because of them that Nike+ arrived on the scene in 2006. Nike+ originally worked with your iPod to track your performance and help you improve your fitness and running times. Since, it has slowly developed alongside advancements in modern technology to provide an electronic personal training service + (shorthand is suitable here, no?) an online running community.

This month, Adidas has released MiCoach, its arguably belated repost to Nike+. On the surface, it looks as if it will be more appealing to Joe Bloggs, the athlete. While Nike+ merely implies that its service can be used by any sports person, the MiCoach brand is built on its provision of training plans for many different sports.

One thing, however, is glaringly missing from both products - a service that offers support and advice for its users while they are injured. Nike+'s recent online update moved the focus away from just supporting your individual training sessions to providing support for your entire fitness programme. Furthermore, nowadays the Nike+ website is more of a community - a Facebook for runners. The problem is that when a user gets injured, there is little rehabilitative help on offer. So, while they recover from this potentially disheartening spell of injury, they are effectively excluded from a community that they have been a part of.

MiCoach seems not to lean towards the community aspect of 'Personal Training 2.0'. However, this does not excuse it from providing injury support. In its current advertising campaign, MiCoach demonstrates that it is providing a service fit for professionals. In a product that is endorsed by athletes such as Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray and Jonny Wilkinson, all of whom have suffered from serious injuries in the past, it seems odd, if not wrong, that MiCoach doesn't offer support while you're enduring some down-time.

So, in this battle to be the leader in Personal Training 2.0, Nike, Adidas and any future competitor should look at how they can provide a more complete service and study how they can include injury support - a service that might help you 'be faster to the fast break, be faster to the ball'. MiCoach Rebound, or Nike+ BounceBack, perhaps?

Microsoft iPod

The above was created a few years ago by the Microsoft packaging team to (internally) highlight the differences in approach the two companies take to packaging.

In Apple's case an uncluttered image of the product along with the Apple logo and a black and white image communicates everything the shopper needs to know - this product is simple to use, stylish, leading edge, innovative and aspirational.

Brand Microsoft doesn't have this luxury and therefore requires the presence of other 'endorsements' to encourage consumers to pick up its products in store.

Regional vs. local branding

A look at the global brand consultancy, Interbrand's, 2008 study on Latin America's most valuable brands shows up a few interesting points. For one, not a single brand from Argentina, the region's second largest country by land area, features in the study (an omission that is explained on p. 28). Furthermore, out of the twenty countries in Latin America, only five feature in the paper - Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Perú. Out of these five, the first three dominate, with Brazil on top with 15 brands, followed by Mexico's 14 and Chile's 13. Considering that Brazil is so often feted as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the inability of some of its other brands to beat off its country's neighbours may come as surprising, or unsurprising, depending on your view of Brazil's chances of fulfilling its economic promise. The numbers also highlight Mexico and Chile's potential.

The thing that struck me most about Interbrand's study was that only two brands that operate throughout the Latin American region feature. Superficially, this seems a minute figure seeing as the majority of Latin America is united by the fact that it speaks Spanish (Brazil is a major exception to this), which must surely aid intra-regional brand communications. However, a unique aspect of Latin America is that its nations are associated by their desire to dissociate - their will to be independent, be it from the Spanish during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Americans ever since or the IMF since the beginning of the new millennium. This independent mindset hampers brands' attempts to expand throughout the region as they are met by a band of proudly local revolters. So, how can expanding brands win them over? A look at the two success stories may help.



Tigo came in at number 30 of Interbrand's Top 50. A telecommunications company, it took over the national brands of the neighbouring countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in 2004, while replacing the old national brands of Paraguay, Bolivia and Colombia over the following two years. Looking at the brand's website for each country, there is a startling similarity in layout between each of them - certainly vital in the three Central American countries where inter-migration is frequent. I say 'vital' because this helps to maintain a solid and clear identity that its users can trust wherever they may need to use the network (trust is an integral part of a relationship between a telecommunications brand and its customer as seen in a previous post) . While consistent in its messaging and products in each country, it also maintains a local stance by using language and grammar specific to each country.

The other regional brand that appeared in the study is Claro, another telecommunications company though somewhat larger than Tigo - reflected in its position of 5th in the league table. Claro operates in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Ecuador (as well as some Caribbean islands) and so it, like Tigo, requires consistent messaging throughout the region while maintaining a national identity in each country. Its verbal messaging centres on the use of the Spanish word 'claro', meaning 'clear' or 'clearly'. By employing these meanings in its advertising, Claro conveys its simplicity of use and customer service (in my personal experience of using Claro). For example, in Argentina the slogan "Es simple. Es Claro" (It's simple, it's clear / Claro) has been used. In El Salvador and Guatemala, "Hablamos Claro" (We speak clearly / Claro) has been another slogan. "Claro. Que sí" and "Claro que tienes más" or its variations have been used in almost all of the brand's messaging at some time to provide this transparent and clear identity that Claro conveys throughout Latin America. Similar to Tigo, though, are its local touches be it through grammatical inflections or through overt reference to the country in which it operates. One extended example is "Cubrimos tus momentos, Cubrimos tus lugares, Cubrimos tu Nación, Cubrimos tu Diversion, Cubrimos El Salvador" (We cover your moments, your places, your nation, your fun, we cover El Salvador). Not only is this communication very national, it is also extremely personal through the use of 'your' and words such as 'moments' and 'fun' (my translation). This helps to settle the more patriotic of Claro's users.

While the consistency of intra-regional brand messaging is not as important in Europe or Asia due to the many language barriers, in Latin America it is standard. What is essential in this region is the blend of this consistent messaging with more national and local messaging to help convey a brand's transparent, clear and relevant identity. Once that is achieved, the world (or rather, the region) is your oyster, as Claro state: "Si hablas Claro, Claro que tienes más".

Back to the serious stuff soon...

As we're so often told, it's only a game; and there's nothing serious about games. So enjoy 'King Eric' playing on his famous 1995 interview (in which he said not a word more than "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much"):



Believe in better? Believe in better adverts - Sky's.

Vodafone and Raw Branding are now in a relationship

On Raw Branding's Facebook page, I've written that it is important that brands don't use technology to reconstruct the relationships they have with their customers but instead use it to enhance these relationships. It seems Vodafone and Raw Branding are reading from the same hymn sheet:



The action in this clip all hinges on Dad meeting up with Daughter to console her over her recent return to single life. The advert communicates, firstly, that Vodafone allows you to be contactable wherever you are - in this case, even if you're about to make a speech. Secondly, it communicates through the images of Dad talking to Daughter during his cab ride that Vodafone provides a consistently good signal, even on the move. Together, these two messages convey that Vodafone is there for you whenever you need it. Thirdly, and here's what I'm trying to get at, the advert communicates that Vodafone, as a provider of mobile technology, is not out to reconstruct the foundations of a relationship between a father and his daughter by, for example, replacing the comforting sensation of being with a loved one in a time of need for the less complete sensation of merely speaking to them on the phone. Instead, Vodafone is saying that their products can facilitate this relationship by helping you be there when you need to be.

As modern technology spreads more and more into our lives, companies and their brands must ensure that their messaging does not set out to replace experience and sensation. People aren't dummies. Companies can sell us the highest of high definition, digital 3D TVs as big as a house on which we can watch the big game on a Saturday but nothing will replace the experience of seeing that game live in the flesh. Furthermore, on a more basic level, people will never react to something funny by replacing laughter for repeatedly saying ROFL LOL, nor will they blankly say 'sad face' when upset.

Technology is just a tool. We have lived without it and we can still live without it (though this blog cannot). For brands, however, it is vital. Without it, in this internet-addicted world, some wouldn't last a second. So, brands must find a happy medium. And it seems Vodafone has...

[To be continued]

I am a brand expert

That’s right – an expert. Put me up alongside Stephen Hawking and Physics, Sir Alex Ferguson and football management, and Steve Jobs and the above black-turtle-neck-blue-jeans combo. I’ve had a mere ten days work experience at a brand consultancy and a totally unrelated degree, but I’m still a brand expert. And so are you, whatever your experience.

It was recently estimated that consumers (what a horrible word – since when do the people ‘consume’ anything other than food and drink?) are subjected to over 4000 marketing communications per day. Is this figure exaggerated? Well firstly, let’s clarify what a marketing communication really is. Wikipedia tells us, in its never unreliable manner, that MarCom is defined as ‘a message and any related medium used to communicate with the market’. It goes on to cite advertising, branding, graphic design, marketing, packaging, PR and sponsorship as just some examples of MarCom. So, if I look up from my desk and around my computer I can count ten marketing communications, through brand logos, names or unique designs. If I look back at my laptop, I can count another 31 examples through similar media. So, from the few seconds that it took me to count those messages, it is not impossible to envisage the above estimation as being true, in which case it adds up to 1,460,000 marketing communications in one year. It is also estimated that we remember just 5% of those messages and shed the others, directed by our personal response to a brand’s messaging. This efficient separation of the wheat from the chaff is just one reason why we are all brand experts.

Another reason is adequately portrayed in the below image. I bet you’re able to spot which global brands these first letters belong to.



From matching the letter with the brand name, you also probably have a, at least general, idea as to what the brand stands for. This little experiment is adapted in the image below, too. We can all instantly spot that the brand image doesn’t match the brand name. It is this – a minute glimpse at a brand’s communication – that gives a brand such power over the people to whom they market. What’s more, in contrast, it is this glimpse that gives the people such power over the brand as from it, we can swiftly decide, from our past experience and relationship with the brand, whether to file its message in the 95% of communications that we forget every day, or the 5% that we remember.



This word, relationship, is the crux of another reason why we are all brand experts. If we think of words that are connected to our perception of ‘relationship’, we think of loyalty, trust, honesty, reliability, understanding and much more. I can certainly think of one sustained relationship that I have with a brand – Apple. Apple is loyal and reliable to me in that it is consistent in producing quality products. I trust it to carry on producing these quality products, I understand its products and position in the market and it has always been honest in its messaging... Well, that is until recently. The saga with the iPhone 4 has left a rare sour taste in the mouths of many regular (and crucially, first-time) Apple customers due to the unclear and not consistently honest messaging over the seemingly simple issue with their new product’s antenna signal. When the time comes for me to look for a new smartphone, I will certainly consider other brands when previously I would have not have hesitated at buying an iPhone. Apple and I will be on a break. You see, while personal relationships are more like partnerships, relationships between a customer and a brand are led almost wholly by the customer (one anomaly is ISPs' threat to ban illegal downloaders). Crucially, it is this that qualifies each and every one of us as a brand expert for if, as Stevie Wonder recently joked on stage in London, ‘this relationship has turned into a relationshit’, we can always pack up and consider as a replacement one of those 4000 marketing communications we receive everyday.

An introduction to Raw Branding

This blog will focus on the relationships that brands have with their customers and will look at how they might be enhanced. The point of view expressed will be that of branding novices (but brand experts… see ‘I am a brand expert’) and young people who are interested in how brands and branding will be adapted by the rapid rise of technology. Any comments are welcome.