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Business leaders say branding is key to recovery

Thursday, February 12th, 2009 | Industry News | No Comments

A majority of UK companies see a successful rebrand as a key way of weathering the recession, according to new research.

Implementation, Rebranding and Design, a report commissioned by branding consultancy the Principle Group, surveyed 250 marketing directors of blue chip companies and UK business owners, and found that the majority recognise the importance of rebranding in a downturn and acknowledge the role of design in assisting business recovery.

Levels of confidence varied across the survey, but itfound that 65 per cent of business leaders and managers believe rebranding will help large corporate institutions get back on track, and 85 per cent say design will play an important role in generating a recovery for some, or all, brands. A successful rebranding was seen by 64 per cent of UK business leaders as a route to gaining ‘a competitive edge in a downturn’. Similarly, 63 per cent agreed that a new identity signified ‘a bold embracing of change’.

Commenting on the research, Ron Cregan, business strategy director at consultancy Navyblue, says, ‘Any brand with the appetite to develop its brand identity in a recession demonstrates a willingness to challenge the market and a commitment to its businesses, services and products.’

But he adds that many companies will ‘restrain their brand and marketing spend’, for fear of being seen to be ’spending while people are losing their jobs’.

There is a case, made by 76 per cent of business leaders, that designers themselves should be more effective in communicating the strength of design. Of these, 8 per cent reasoned that ‘designers could understand marketplace and client requirements better’.

Cregan adds that, in a recession, ‘validation is a necessity’, and consultancies can promote the benefits of design using case studies, client testimonials, independent analysis and industry reports.

James Quayle, head of strategy at Lambie-Nairn, says that, for companies, ‘doing nothing suggests apathy and self-interest’, adding that ‘a change of look and feel should be the signal of deeper and more fundamental change’.

Joel Biswas, senior strategy consultant at FutureBrand, says repositioning while retaining core values, rather than rebranding, is the answer for businesses.

He cites the examples of Tesco retaining its ‘Every Little Helps’ approach and the willingness of ‘middle-class shoppers’ to use budget supermarket Aldi, which has retained its ‘value’ strategy.

‘Consumers want brands they can trust,’ Biswas says. ‘Rebranding can be self-defeating. It should be more about leveraging what people like about the brand.’

Citroën has chosen to take definitive action - last week it launched a new identity, designed by Landor Associates Paris and Citroën’s in-house team, ahead of a complete repositioning that will see six new car models launched in the next three years.

Citroën communications director Mark Raven says, ‘At a time when the bulk of the automotive industry is suffering a loss in confidence, we’re using the opportunity of a difficult climate to change the relationship with customers and show them that the company is reinventing itself.’

Implementation, Rebranding and Design:

• 85% of UK business leaders and managers believe that design will play an important role in generating a recovery for some, or all, brands

• 56% of marketing directors of blue chip companies believe that a downturn could be the best time strategically to rebrand

• 63% of business leaders agree that the act of launching a new brand identity in uncertain times signals a bold embracing of change

• 65% of business leaders believe that rebranding would help large corporate institutions get back on track

Source/ The Survey Shop, commissioned by Principle Group

Taken from the DesignWeek website
http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/141281/Business+leaders+say+branding+is+key+to+recovery+.html

Tags: Branding, re-brand

New Google Favicon…Again

Saturday, January 10th, 2009 | Industry News | No Comments

Google have just released a new version of their favicon (favorite icon) - incorporating all the colours from their logo, the new icon launches fresh for 2009.

It replaces the previous ‘g’ design which I personally didn’t like. Bring on new!

Google New 2009 Favicon

Tags: 2009, favicon, google

Credit Crunch Marketing Cutbacks

Saturday, November 8th, 2008 | Industry News, Marketing | No Comments

A big sign for us that the credit crunch is affecting all businesses big and small struck me the other day. I was walking to see a client when I was handed a leaflet for a gym. “6 Months Free gym membership”

This leaflet was photocopied with an address cut and pasted over the top of a previous address and then photocopied again, it resembled something from Blue Peter “here’s one I made earlier”. After taking a closer look, i noticed it was actually a leaflet promoting LA Fitness!

LA Fitness are a big name in fitness and gyms and have clubs all over the country, being such a big player in the field you would expect a little more luxury. However if things are tight then you have to make cutbacks, however there is always an alternate strategy to achieving professional marketing at affordable costs, however bigger player you are. Marketing through a recession is going to be difficult, but being noticed for being different is what will help you win more business. A photocopied leaflet handed to me says that ‘I am making cutbacks’ and although the 6 months free sounds interesting; if they are making cutbacks on small leaflets then what sort of cutbacks are they making on the actual service you are providing?

Making a cutback on quality can have devastating results. Prioritise what is needed. marketing for new business is like fishing. If you are going to place lifeless bait on your hook; your’e never going to get an amazing catch!

Tags: credit crunch, Design, leaflet, Marketing, marketing through a recession, recession

Is Facebook 2.0 Actually Better?

Friday, October 3rd, 2008 | Industry News, Website Design | No Comments

Thousands of people have petitioned against the new Facebook website. I was even one of them, ‘why fix something that isn’t broken’ and with literally millions of users, launching a new interface has upset quite a few people. But is it actually better?

At first Facebook gave you an option to use the new interface or to stick with the old, being a web designer and with a slight curiosity I made the change, but my initial impression was it was difficult and completely different from the previous website which I was used to - so i reverted back, probably like many others.

This is when the petitions began.

After a short period Facebook notified all members stating that from a specific date, the new layout will be live, which started even more petitions. Then that tragic day came, I logged in and there it was this new and baffling interface which I was unfamiliar with, and I was immediately displeased.

But being thrown into the deep end, I have come to grips with its new features and seen that everything is there from what was there before, but in a more organised place. Which has made me think, is it actually better? and are other people coming to terms with the new Facebook and thinking to themselves “it’s really not that bad”?

What do you think?
www.facebook.com

Tags: book, face, facebook, new facebook, new user interface, social networking, Website Design

Google Goes Black!

Saturday, March 29th, 2008 | Industry News | No Comments

To show everyone that even Google are trying to go greener over the weekend Google have changed the colour of their homepage to black to lure everyone to switch off and save energy.

Bravo - I wonder if it worked….