Welcome to London PR and Branding Network London College of Communication, UAL 25th October 2007

The Overlap between PR and Branding Jeremy Woods Course director MA Public Relations Email [email_address] 0207 514 6466

Jeremy Woods

Course director MA Public Relations

Email [email_address]

0207 514 6466

Compartmentalisation Branding? Public Relations?

Branding?

Brands

Brands enable us to make sense and to create meanings for ourselves in the social world of consumption in which we participate (Duckworth) A brand is fundamentally a promise, rendered credible by law and experience. At one level, this simply makes the decision process easier;at a higher level, it can actually add to the consumer’s beneficial experience of the product, thus creating a value for which people may be prepared to pay. The way in which the experience can be transformed can be very particular to the brand, thus creating differentiation between similar products (Feldwick)

A brand is fundamentally a promise, rendered credible

by law and experience. At one level, this simply makes

the decision process easier;at a higher level, it can

actually add to the consumer’s beneficial experience

of the product, thus creating a value for which people

may be prepared to pay. The way in which the

experience can be transformed can be very particular to

the brand, thus creating differentiation between similar

products

(Feldwick)

Brands begin by satisfying a basic human need for control and reassurance. Because it offers consistency in an otherwise uncertain world, the brand has the potential to become a tool for dividing up the world (Feldwick) A brand has no absolute or objective existence, nor are its core values written on a tablet of stone in the Gobi desert. The brand is simply a collection of perceptions in the mind of the customer (Feldwick)

Brands begin by satisfying a basic human need for control and reassurance. Because it offers consistency in an otherwise uncertain world, the brand has the potential to become a tool for dividing up the world (Feldwick)

A brand has no absolute or objective existence, nor are its core values written on a tablet of stone in the Gobi desert. The brand is simply a collection of perceptions in the mind of the customer (Feldwick)

Key words/phrases Satisfies needs - helps us make sense - Trust Brands reduce risk - Performance risk social risk self-image risk

Satisfies needs - helps us make sense - Trust

Brands reduce risk - Performance risk

social risk

self-image risk

Key words/phrases Adds value: Brand Equity: a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its’ name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firm’s customers

Adds value:

Brand Equity:

a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its’ name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firm’s customers

Key words/phrases A collection of perceptions Products are made in a factory, brands are made in the mind Mark Ritson - The 2pm Pret-a Manger egg sandwich

A collection of perceptions

Products are made in a factory, brands are made in the mind

Brand Positioning Brand positioning statements/mantras Dependent on the nature of the target market, relevant competitors and how the brand is seen against those competitors • Be number 1 (Ries and Trout) Products rust, buildings age, people die, but brands endure (Sir Hector Laing, CEO United Biscuits)

Brand positioning statements/mantras

Dependent on the nature of the target market, relevant competitors and how the brand is seen against those competitors

• Be number 1 (Ries and Trout)

Products rust, buildings age, people die, but brands endure

(Sir Hector Laing, CEO United Biscuits)

Basic Branding Errors Branding has been mismanaged by many companies who (essentially) ask “what have we got and how can we make it attractive to customers?” thus subverting the whole process/philosophy of marketing. This thinking leads to one-way communication rather than true customer-interface management which relies on predictive research that learns FROM customers rather than ABOUT them.

Branding has been mismanaged by many companies who (essentially) ask “what have we got and how can we make it attractive to customers?” thus subverting the whole process/philosophy of marketing.

This thinking leads to one-way communication rather than true customer-interface management which relies on predictive research that learns FROM customers rather than ABOUT them.

Basic Branding Errors (again!) “ Consumers are like roaches. we spray them with marketing, and for a time it works. Then, inevitably, they develop an immunity of resistance” Jonathan Bond, Richard Kirshenbaum “Under the Radar - Talking to Today’s Cynical Consumer”

“ Consumers are like roaches. we spray them with marketing, and for a time it works. Then, inevitably, they develop an immunity of resistance”

Jonathan Bond, Richard Kirshenbaum “Under the Radar - Talking to Today’s Cynical Consumer”

So isn’t it all about Trust?

Public Relations Spin ? or Trust ?

Public Relations Reputation Management NOT Spin! “ I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!” (Cassio) “ oft got without merit and lost without deserving” (Iago Reputation is what others say about you when you’ve left the room

Reputation Management NOT Spin!

“ I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!” (Cassio)

“ oft got without merit and lost without deserving” (Iago

Reputation is what others say about you when you’ve left the room

Reputation Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it - the tree is the real thing (Abraham Lincoln) Reputation is only a candle, of waning and uncertain flame, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds, merit. Reputation is character, minus what you’ve been caught doing (Michael Lapoce)

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it - the tree is the real thing (Abraham Lincoln)

Reputation is only a candle, of waning and uncertain flame, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds, merit.

Reputation is character, minus what you’ve been caught doing (Michael Lapoce)

Celebrity brands - Reputation?

Managing the celebrity brand A celebrity must manage his or her identity with the same meticulous attention to detail and awareness of its impact as a typical brand. Every look, every syllable of your name, every stitch of your clothes and every follicle of your hair is part of your brand identity and needs to be treated with care (Andy Milligan, Brand it Like Beckham)

A celebrity must manage his or her identity with the same meticulous attention to detail and awareness of its impact as a typical brand. Every look, every syllable of your name, every stitch of your clothes and every follicle of your hair is part of your brand identity and needs to be treated with care (Andy Milligan, Brand it Like Beckham)

“ If you have that on your arm and you wear a T shirt, the feet will be sticking out and look bloody stupid” (Victoria Beckham speaking about David’s proposed tattoo of Michaelangelo’s David)

“ If you have that on your arm and you wear a T shirt, the feet will be sticking out and look bloody stupid”

(Victoria Beckham speaking about David’s proposed tattoo of Michaelangelo’s David)

Max Cliffords’s top tips on becoming a Celebrity Appear on a reality series Enter a talent contest Be abysmal on a talent show Gain fame by association Date a celebrity Flaunt your body Date a Royal Family member Make a home sex video Be a success on MySpace Be in the right place at the right time

Appear on a reality series

Enter a talent contest

Be abysmal on a talent show

Gain fame by association

Date a celebrity

Flaunt your body

Date a Royal Family member

Make a home sex video

Be a success on MySpace

Be in the right place at the right time

Overlap or same thing?

Thank you Over to you !

Over to you !