News & views
10 August 2010 /
by Bill Darling at 9:12 am 10 August 2010
Filed under: Branding, Press, Viewpoint
The thing that interests me most about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is how quickly public opinion turned against BP. After all, some years ago while the rest of Big Oil relegated ‘new energy’ to the last few pages of an annual report, BP effectively changed its name to Beyond Petroleum, and gave us the hope of a new world to come.
Unfortunately, BP put out the message that the world needed, but they didn’t put it into practice. They overpromised and under-delivered, and Tony Hayward took the fall for something that was created by his predecessor (most likely with the help of overly-eager brand consultants who no doubt also fell for BP’s promises).
So, as wells are capped and oil is dispersed, what are the lessons I take from BP?
Bigger Picture
As brand consultants, we have a say on what a company looks like, sounds like, acts like, and sometimes even smells like. In that process, we have an opportunity and responsibility to influence the bigger picture. Never send out a message that conflicts with reality.
Basic Priorities
What your company stands for should be coherent and simple. It’s a combination of what you do now, have done, and what you plan to do in the future. Don’t be too boastful about who you are. And most importantly, if you can’t deliver then maybe you shouldn’t be talking.
Bad Publicity (for them and us)
To overpromise is not only a mistake; it’s a disaster waiting to happen. How could any consultant recommend ‘Beyond Petroleum’ when it represents only a small fraction of what BP does? BP is and will be about oil. In my opinion, the disaster in the Gulf has been magnified by a misdirected brand.
The advice we give to clients needs to paint an optimistic picture of the future, but it also needs to be: a) true, or b) achievable (in an acceptable public timeframe or it will backfire)
I don’t have an alternate suggestion for what the new BP should be, other than a bit more honest. Maybe somebody else does.
3 August 2010 /
by Wally Olins at 1:46 pm 3 August 2010
Filed under: Branding, Press
We can’t help it. Globetrotting is part of who we are. So now we are partnering in one of the hottest areas of the globe, Brazil.
Saffron is delighted to announce its strategic partnership with UND Corporate Design. Based in São Paulo, which is of course the financial powerhouse of Latin America, UND has been pioneering in brand creation since 1978. It has an impressive track record and an approach to branding that strongly resonates with ours.
Saffron already have a footprint in Latin-America. We have had major projects in Mexico, Peru and Chile. With this alliance our opportunities will be much greater and our focus will be more intensive.
The opportunities in Brazil, just like São Paulo itself, are gigantic. Wait for more!
4 February 2010 /
by Ian Stephens at 12:11 am 4 February 2010
Filed under: Press
Saffron reinforces its presence in the Middle East
Today we announced that we are strengthening our presence in Dubai, through a strategic partnership with Madison Dubai, the independent advertising agency led by Tarek Ghannam.
You might think it seems an odd time to open in a market that’s still in shock from the effects of the 2009 slowdown. But that’s precisely where we see an opportunity and where we’re finding a lot of interest from our clients and partners in the region.
For us the Middle East market is entering a new phase: where there will be a much stronger emphasis and requirement from clients on strategic brand thinking and powerful brand expression.
When the gold rush was at full pace it was all a bit too easy for branding consultancies. All that was required from them was a catchy name and a nice logo and hey presto, the client was delighted and everyone could pat themselves on the back as yet another seemingly successful and competitive new brand was born.
That was then. This is now.
After the gold rush things are a little different. Many of those brands that had an easy ride are finding that it takes something more than a logo to create a brand that people will love. That’s music to our ears and we’re excited about the opportunities to help existing brands reinvent themselves to be more competitive and also help get new ideas off the ground.
The brands that will survive and thrive in this era will be the ones that take branding seriously and create genuine market differentiation and genuine customer preference. They’ll create brands that are as powerful on the inside as they are on the outside of the organisation. Brands that know what makes them special and know exactly what they stand for.
The Middle East will continue of course to take its place at the global economy ‘top table’ as the world recovers, and we expect that some of the iconic brands our children will talk about will have their roots there. We love the boldness and ambition of the region – nothing is impossible and dreams come in XXL size.
18 February 2009 /
by Ben Knapp at 7:00 am 18 February 2009
Filed under: Art, Branding, Luxury, Press
'Black swans are always emerging from everywhere.'
‘It’s a sobering time for number crunchers. From quantitative risk analysis to credit ratings, many financial statistics have revealed more artistic license than resemblance to reality,’ says an editorial in the Financial Times of 30 January 2009. And you can add brand valuation to that list, too. All this number crunching whether it’s risk analysis, GDP projections or brand valuation is part of an attempt to measure areas of activity which are for the most part inherently unquantifiable. The assumption is that people and the organisations they manage, act only out of rational calculation; it’s a natural extension of the economic theories of the Chicago School. These figures are a major part of denial of risk.
At another level they are like a comfort blanket for a child, which makes it feel safe, secure and stable. But all of us know deep down that life isn’t like that. Brand valuation and the other statistical analyses with which it is associated are supposed to be an aid to predicting the future, when as has recently been made clear yet again, the future stubbornly refuses to be predicted. All you can really predict about the future is you don’t know what will happen. Black swans are always emerging from everywhere. Read more…
14 February 2009 /
by Ben Knapp at 6:49 am 14 February 2009
Filed under: Branding, Press
Is this the worst recession you’ve seen in your lifetime?
I’ve been through several unfortunately. My memory is that when these things start, people tend to think it is the worst ever. Maybe this time they will be proved right. I certainly hope that’s not the case. I find it difficult to remember what previous ones were like, but you find your way through them. Some companies die, but people make it through.
How do companies tend to react when the economic climate takes such a turn for the worse?
The immediate reaction from most companies, of course, is to cut everything. They see a likely sales drop and want to reduce overheads. The natural reaction is often to cut the marketing budget. But it is also the case that in a time of recession, people are much choosier about their purchases. So an organisation that has something special and particular to say, especially one that promotes itself effectively, can actually take advantage of a slowdown and come out on top. Take Jaguar, for example, who started operations in 1934. They were offering something entirely different and the fact that there was a depression didn’t seem to make any difference. Read more…
