Part 3 of a Q&A session, facilitated by Alan 'Brand' Williamson, Destination Brand Developer, on co-branding products and places, at Morpeth, Northumberland, England on 22nd February 2006.
Q asked by Alan: Compare and contrast some of the English Regions: Northeast England, Northwest England, Southeast England and Southwest England with some of the Spanish Regions: Catalonia, Galicia, Murcia and Andalucia?
A: The English Regions are all compass names while the Spanish Regions are exotic cultural names with relatively strong identities.
Alan: Compass names are like brand extensions (see Footnote: Mercedes-Benz) which may or may not flourish depending on the strength of the original brand. Whereas sub-brands which use their own original cultural names and identities can flourish independently of their main brand. (See Footnote: The Algarve).
So for example, the Northeast England regional brand relies heavily on how well the main brand - England - is developed. At present, the England brand is not being built with a future-focus; instead it promotes its sub-brands such as the English cities and resorts using advertising slogans: Enjoy, Explore, and Experience England.
This is relatively bad news for England's regions, despite valiant attempts by some of them to develop their own unique positions. Witness Northeast England's current attempt: Passionate People Passionate Places, or the East of England's: The Ideas Region. The good news, however, is the opportunity for the English regions to build their brands based on their powerful cultural identities, while the England brand re-doubles its efforts on finding a future, focused on a big brand idea. (See Footnote: England's icons).
Now consider Spain's northeast region: Catalonia, which has built a strong cultural identity, language and its own capital city - Barcelona - currently outperforming Spain's capital - Madrid - in terms of foreign tourist bed-nights and credit-card spend. The chances of English regional cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle outperforming London are pretty remote under the current strategy.
'Brand' the Marketect says:
"When developing a brand portfolio strategy, each brand in the hierarchy should build on its own primary strength, focused on a narrow market. This will ensure that the brand portfolio, as a collective whole, can and will deliver a broad and balanced economy - and most importantly, keep the majority of its stakeholders on-side".
Footnotes:
1. Mercedes-Benz's brand portfolio strategy uses letters such as C-Class and S-Class to name its sub-brand models. (BMW uses numbers: 3-Series, 5-Series etc). This is the equivalent of compass names used by destination brands. However, the main Mercedes brand was built with a narrow focus: well-engineered, expensive cars. Recently, Mercedes-Benz has made some basic branding errors which have begun to dilute the brand's reputation and valuation:
- Its parent company bought America's Chrysler Corporation, a co-branding strategy guaranteed to dilute the Mercedes brand perception and values.
- Mercedes introduced the A-Class, a small, inexpensive Mercedes, so that its dealers could sell to a wider audience, forgetting that it is gradually eroding its standing with its primary target market who buy the marque because of its prestigious reputation.
- The micro Smart car was given to Mercedes dealers to sell alongside its Mercedes models. Many dealers were aghast - quite rightly - and insisted on selling the Smart car through separate showrooms - a smart move.
- For years, Mercedes-Benz has co-branded with its country-of-origin - Germany - and piggy-backed on its formidable reputation for advanced engineering excellence. Sadly, Germany has given up its strong, iconic currency sub-brand - the Deutschmark - in favour of joining weaker currency brands within the Euro such as the Italian Lira. A move destined to have both a short and long term impact on both, the Germany brand as well as its co-branded partners.
2. The Algarve region of Portugal decided to focus not on its sun-drenched beaches, nor its stunning landscapes, or its delicious fish restaurants, but on golf. Today, the region is a bigger brand than its totally-unfocused country brand - Portugal. A feat that a brand-extended compass name such as South Portugal with a 'something-for-everyone' strategy could never have achieved.
3. England's icons are being identified and voted on at this website. Don't forget to read and vote for England's greatest export and 'software-for-the-universal-mind', the English Language and its iconic symbol, the Oxford English Dictionary.
A big thank you to Andrew Wilson and his team at Business to Business Exhibitions for organising this seminar and to John Raglan & Lorna Johnson of Dipsticks Research for sponsoring the seminar.
