Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

Sony is an example of a company that’s learnt a lot about branding - the right way.

Pass me a CFS-65L please…
This press advertising from the 70s shows them proudly announcing the arrival of their 4-wave stereo radio recorder “with the lovely name CFS-65L”. Hmm. Whose idea was that, the techy? Flows off the lips, [...]

One plus one equals three
The best co-branding is when one brand is not too dominant. Both should gain equally by joining forces. Similarly, both should lose out if the co-brand is removed.
On these criteria the example on the right ticks all the right boxes for me. Remove the Müller Corner and the Kellogg’s Coco [...]

My thanks go out to a current MBA for this peek behind the scenes at Bosch and how carefully (though so may argue conservatively) it has nudged its brand forward for 90 years. One thing’s for sure: it has remained consistent!
We start with a message from “Wilhelm” to the “German people” proclaiming the need for [...]

I had a client in Germany who could not work out why all of his export managers sold so many products (in a technical market) while his sales were stagnating or in decline.
To make things worse, he had to think up clever marketing strategies and expensive selling materials while his export colleagues did nothing more [...]

Nivea hand cream (source for all images: Nivea website)

Carefully controlled
Being the cynic and corporate sceptic I am, it’s rare for me to praise a monolithic, slow, plodding German giant. But Beiersdorf gets the “hats off” from me for its management of the Nivea brand. Maybe taking ages has its merits sometimes - especially when [...]

You buy Intel, indirectly
Can you buy a Dolby, or an Intel processor?
Well, yes you can. If you know the right specialist outlets.
But you don’t go out and buy what is basically a standard BtB component. You buy a computer, with “Intel inside”. Or you buy wonderful hifi, with Dolby. Both of these brands have [...]

Drink this manure
Lemon-Lime sodas are big business in the USA. Who knows, one day they may be rolled out to the rest of the world just like Pepsi and Coke before them. Only with this leading brand I think Pepsi might have a few difficulties…
Pepsi and Coca Cola work well as names, even in [...]

According to Kotler, a brand should be memorable, distinctive, easily pronounced, say something about the nature, benefits or properties of the product and have no negative foreign meanings.

What insiders call ICBINB
It was a Unilever strategy for a while to name brands that “are what they say on the packaging”.
Unilever examples: “I can’t believe it’s [...]

Camel has been changing its advertising agency again, and its strategy. It’s always had such a powerful brand icon: the camel.

Kids loved it, law makers hated it
But in the 90s the funny campaign used across Europe came under fire from the authorities for attracting children - a no-no in this controversial market. So, sadly [...]

Naming brands is never easy, but if you’re a regional ice cream maker and hit upon an idea that works in your country, you’re probably not thinking about words and meanings beyond the borders of the domestic market.

Bum Bum in the UK?
I met someone who worked for Schöller ice cream, based in Nuremberg. [...]