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Pat
Duffy
Director,
Marketing Communications, LookSmart
“Clearly
a Superbrand will enjoy very high levels of recognition. There’s a lot
more to it, however, than just being a well known brand.
Superbrands
have core values which consumers relate to, even if they are unable to
articulate what those values are. There should be a sense of shared values
– if I feel a certain way and sense that your brand stands for that,
then I will want to do business with you. Superbrands are relevant to
consumers, they stand out from other brands in the market, and they give
comfort through their familiarity, especially in turbulent times.
Superbrands
can evolve but they are always true to themselves. Most importantly,
Superbrands live up to brand promise. In
a service industry it is fair to say that the people themselves are
the brand. They must embody the brand’s values or there is a serious
disconnection between between the brand promise and the reality, which
will result in the brand’s decline. Superbrands should inspire passion,
and everyone involved should be a guardian of the brand.”
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Trevor
Fearnley AM
Chairman
and
CEO,
Ad
Partners Group
“‘Be
not afraid of greatness...’ William Shakespeare knew all about
Superbrands. Indeed, he was a Superbrand in his own right. Actor, poet and
playwright, his output was prolific and his quality outstanding. He was
also popular and crowds flocked to the Globe Theatre to watch his plays.
Superbrands
are not afraid of greatness. They can take risks where other brands would
fail. They achieve a price premium whilst other brands reduce their
prices. They survive recessions whilst other brands disappear. Loyalty is
one of their greatest strengths. Companies which own them must cherish
them.
Maybe
that’s why thousands of people still turn up to see Shakespeare
performed. What does he offer? Consistency. Quality. Enjoyment.
Innovation. Satisfaction. Sounds just like a Superbrand to me.
‘Some
are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust
upon’ em.’ (Twelfth Night 11, v143)”
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Peter Gallucci
Managing Director, Zenith Media
“
A Superbrand evolves over time.
I’m not sure that you can orchestrate a Superbrand. Through sheer
endurance and continuity a Superbrand emerges. Simple? No.
Endurance and continuity suggest relevance and respect over a long period
of time. To achieve this, a brand must keep on delivering the goods. Not
just as a product, but as a brand.
Marketing is important. Marketing will help drive its image, positioning
and relevance.”
Tragically, Peter Gallucci
died in a car accident during the production of this book. He will be
greatly missed by us all.
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Steve Gray
Managing Director, Batey Kazoo Communications
“
Brands are becoming increasingly recognisable as
one of the keys to driving future organisational market share.
The new WPP group study into brand equity across 3500 brands globally
highlights the fact that strong brands are the best indicators of an
organisation’s potential for market share changes, better than p/e
ratios and better than revenue or profitability.
Strong brand equity as determined through brand audits establishes the
rational and emotional values that bond the consumer to an
organisation’s products and services. The net worth of an organisation
(traditionally three times annual revenue) can now be multiplied by brand
equity.
But Superbrands are delicate and need careful management. They are built,
monitored and maintained by managers and marketers who have demanded a
consistent approach in the way their brands are communicated – an
unyielding commitment to guardianship and continuity.” |
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David Green
Media Director, Clemenger Sydney
“John Stuart, US Chairman of Quaker, said ‘If this
business were to be split up, I would be glad to take the brands,
trademarks and goodwill and you could have all the bricks and mortar –
and I would fare better than you.’
The value of Superbrands to a business should not be underestimated as
they survive and prosper, and refute the concept of product life cycle.
Products and Superbrands are different. A product merely exists; it is
made and can be superseded. A Superbrand exists in the minds of people; it
is bought and it can be timeless, because it is the long-term expression
of a set of values.
Superbrands are beacons that need to be cherished. There is no room for
complacency; perceptions need to be monitored. Superbrands need
maintenance and nourishment to hold their position, and the temptation to
reduce brand quality for short-term expediency must be resisted. It is
also vital to understand brand elasticity; brand stretching is less
expensive and risky, because new brands enter the world naked.”
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Mark Kelly
Marketing Director, Murdoch Magazines
“A lot has been written about brands. I’m sure
most of it is true. But it seems to me the only thing that really matters
when creating a brand, is trust.
I have found that when we create trust in the hearts and minds of
consumers they buy. If we ever betray that trust they stop buying.
It’s not a complicated matter. As protectors of the brand, marketeers
should nurture the brand so that it flourishes. Drain the trust from the
brand and you kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
I trust my supermarket because the fruit is fresh, I trust my airline
because it makes me feel safe, I trust my wine shop – the advice and
prices are personalised to me – and I trust my butcher because my mum
still goes there. Trust has many faces.
As we would with a friend, we must respect and protect our relationship of
trust with our brands, both internally and within the hearts and minds of
the consumers.
To create a Superbrand you have to create unusually high degrees of trust
year in, year out.”
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Barrie Parsons
Publisher, B&T Weekly/Professional Marketing
“Imagine you are a 16 year old. You start the day
with a bowl of Kellogg’s, a glass of Just Juice and several pieces of
Tip Top toast and Vegemite, topped off with a tub of Yoplait yogurt.
Your younger sister and brother are playing with
Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price toys while your parents sip Vittoria coffee
listening to the Sony stereo. She browses Better Homes & Gardens and
BRW, he the Trading Post. SC Johnson products and Mr Sheen fill the
cupboard under the sink.
You spend the next three hours boosting Telstra’s share price as you
chat about last night’s Channel Seven movie and that trip to Club Med.
He uses his Optus mobile to arrange a game of golf with his new clubs from
Rebel Sport. They wait in the Michelin-clad Mercedes, Ray Bans on the dash
and an Esky full of Coca-Cola and Gatorade in the boot. The cans of
Taubmans, Yates potting mix and the Mitre 10 hedge trimmer sit silently
behind her Toyota.
It’s not yet noon. Superbrands... you can neither stay at home nor leave
without them.”
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Maureen Plavsic
Network Sales & Marketing Director, Seven Network
“There are many excellent products, brilliantly
marketed, but what distinguishes a Superbrand for me is its familiarity,
its trustworthiness, and its commitment to quality and customer
satisfaction. Superbrands define markets, and create trends. They
continuously innovate, but only for the purpose of improving the
customer’s experience with the product. Above all, there is integrity in
the promises made by Superbrands, and an immense respect for what is the
most significant differentiator between a Superbrand and a great product
– enduring customer goodwill. This attribute is hardest to win, and
easiest to lose.
With so much expectation, Superbrands need super stewards, and a powerful
medium to promote them!”
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Christopher Savage
Vice Chairman Asia/Pacific, Burson-Marsteller
“We recently undertook the largest ever worldwide
survey into brands - BrandAsset Valuator. It covered 30,000 respondents in
19 countries and examined 6000 brands, 450 of which were global. The
findings showed remarkable similarity across different countries and
industry sectors in the way brands are built and how they decline. It
showed that brands are built on four sequential pillars.
Differentiation: how is this different from anything else on the market?
Relevance: why is this relevant to me? Esteem: did the product or service
live up to its promise? (evaluated after trial) Familiarity: is this brand
ubiquitous and readily accessible?
Superbrand status can only be accorded to those brands which meet all of
these four criteria and therefore have both vitality (differentiation and
relevance) and stature (esteem and familiarity). The research also showed
that brands in decline always lose vitality before they lose stature - in
other words the most difficult pillars to build are also the most
resilient in times of trouble.” |
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Michael Simons
Creative Director, Foote Cone & Belding Sydney
“As we approach the Millennium, agreed perceptions
of what brands represent are being re-evaluated.
Rapidly.
Massive change is upon them.
In fact, change is the one constant that a marketer can be sure of.
How their brand reacts to new media, consumers’ increasing non-linear
information gathering and rapid attitudinal changes will determine whether
they remain the custodian of a Superbrand or something somewhat less than
that.
Flexibility, ingenuity and mostly, creativity will mark the successful
from the insolvent.
For a brand to remain relevant it must have evolution at its core.”
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Malcolm Spry
Group Chief Executive - Pacific Region
AC Nielsen
“Superbrands are not born super. Their greatness
evolves over time as a result of careful
nurturing, imaginative thinking, and a commitment to maintaining
the brand’s winning formula.
They begin life, like any product, as an idea. An idea that works in the
marketplace by generating significant customer satisfaction and sales for
its owner.
However, successful brands are rarely Superbrands. That status is reserved
for those special enough to achieve something way beyond sales success.
Superior quality is fundamental. Outstanding advertising is vital.
Sustained investment in the brand’s development and promotion is
mandatory. But the magic touch lies in weaving the brand into the
emotional fabric of the culture. Making it feel part of our everyday lives
- our interests, our values
and our aspirations. Superbrands are more than products: they are
experiences.”
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Geoff Wild
Chairman, WPP Australia
“In 1955, David Ogilvy said, ‘a brand is the
intangible sum of a product’s attributes, its name, packaging and price,
its history, reputation and the way it’s advertised. A brand is also
defined by consumers’ impressions of the people who use it, as well as
their own experience.’
True then and true today.”
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