A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers
DES: Can anybody tell the difference between England's Sussex County twins - East Sussex and West Sussex?
TINA: With all three major local landmarks - The Sussex Coast, the South Downs and the Weald - featuring in both counties, it's pretty tough to tell the twins apart.
DES: And dressing them up in identical outfits is kinda cute when they were young and impressionable.
TINA: But as mature adults, it's high time their own distinct personalities and aspirations were allowed to shine through.
DES: So Tina, how would you set about the important task of giving each twin a brand makeover?
TINA: The first problem is their family brand name - Sussex - which sadly lacks its own brand identity, unlike its near neighbours: Kent, famous as the Garden of England, and Surrey, the asset and cash rich Stockbroker Belt - home to seven of the top twenty best places to live in the UK in 2007, with five of them in the top ten.
DES: Now if that wasn't bad enough, there's the added problem that both twins are saddled with anonymous compass names - East and West - rather than distinct destination brand names full of powerful cultural meaning.
TINA: But if it's too politically sensitive to change the brand names, what would you do?
DES: I would give them each a unique nickname - based on their own distinctive big brand idea (See footnote: Blackpool).
'Brand' the Marketect says:
"If your destination is saddled with a bad brand name that's politically difficult to change, find a big brand idea that's the opposite of its negative perception and then give your destination an appropriate nickname."
Footnote: The name 'Blackpool' is arguably one of the worst brand names to inflict upon a seaside resort. But what should you do if you can't change it easily? Find a big brand idea that's opposite of the negativity and then create an appropriate nickname - ElectriCity - to turn the (black) night into day (light). Then, after some 100 years of unbridled success, re-invent your nickname to - EcotriCity - and continue to live happily ever after, but now on a sustainable diet of 'greenergy'- for (hopefully) another 100 years.
