THE MARKET

Stephen P Smith
Publisher
Chairman:
The American Brands Council

When we published the first edition of Superbrands in Australia in 1997, we had no idea how successful the concept would be. Just about everyone in advertising, marketing, brand management and in the media industry wanted a copy. Even consumers with no direct involvement in branding issues were fascinated by the information provided, and they bought thousands of copies of Superbrands.

That should not have been a surprise, because the brands featured in our publication were, and are, an integral part of all of our lives. A great brand is not merely a maker’s mark. It is almost an heraldic symbol, carrying with it a whole web of positive associations. We do well not to underestimate the power of symbols: put them on national flags and people die for them. And though consumers will not normally go quite that far for their preferred brand of soap or sunglasses, they will certainly go to considerable lengths to buy a brand they have come to know and trust.

Leading companies have long recognised that their brands are powerful assets. Recent surveys indicate that brands may account for 50 to 70 per cent of the total value of a company. That means they can be worth billions of dollars. Studying the way these brands were started, then developed and the way they grew into trusted household names is not only vital for anyone interested in the way the modern marketplace functions; it is also fascinating.

This is my third edition of Superbrands in Australia, and my seventh book in an international series on branding. It contains many informative Superbrand stories, and offers some outstanding insights into the creation and development of these brand icons. Worldwide, Superbrands has so far published books in 10 countries, and we have researched and featured over 700 of the leading brands in those markets. Over the coming two years we plan to publish many more insights into the world’s greatest brands.

What makes a Superbrand? What creates the awareness, desirability and power that a Superbrand has? With the help of the Superbrands Council and the companies themselves we have compiled the stories of some of Australia’s, and the world’s, Superbrands and the innovation and prestige that surround them.

In the following pages you will read about what makes a Superbrand by the members of the Superbrands Council. The Council consists of some of Australia’s most eminent media and communications executives, who each have a deep appreciation of what constitutes that rare and so-valuable thing – a Superbrand.


	Honor Clarke Brand Strategist At a very girly six years of age, I told my mother that I wanted to fly to all corners of the globe, just like Aladdin on his magic carpet. I also pointed to the beautiful luggage I would be carrying (in a Louis Vuitton window display) and at the Qantas 747 jumbo jet, saying “that one”, because I had seen it on television. “I want a seat at the front.” You see, even at six I knew the value of a Superbrand. Today, I’m afraid of flying and still choose to fly Qantas. I trust the integrity of the engineers and the reliability of the aircraft. I frequently fly between Europe and Australia, and it’s quite true to say that I feel connected to the ‘Spirit of Australia’, and that ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ resonates within me. And yes, I travel with Louis Vuitton luggage. Superbrands align innovative products and services to corporate goals and objectives whilst connecting to the customer experience. Superbrands require a ‘toolbox’ of techniques for brand management and strategy to evolve the Superbrand, ensuring that it remains relevant to its audience – even if that audience is six years old.	Patricia Duffy General Manager, Corporate Marketing, MLC Superbrands inspire passion. A Superbrand will obviously enjoy very high levels of recognition, but there is a lot more to it than just being a well-known brand. Superbrands share core values with consumers. The consumers may not actually articulate what these values are. But if they feel a certain way, and if the brand has communicated that it stands for the same things, then they will want to do business with that brand. Superbrands are relevant to consumers. They also give comfort through their familiarity, something that is very important in these difficult and complex times. Superbrands may evolve, but they always stay true to themselves and always live up to their unique brand promise. In a service industry, it is the people who are the brand, and everyone involved is a brand guardian. For a Superbrand the people must embody the brand’s values to maintain the connection between the brand promise and reality.
Mark Kelly Marketing Director, Murdoch Magazines It seems to me that the most powerful concept attached to branding, and the only thing that really matters when creating a brand, is trust. A brand is as strong as the trust we create, and if we create an outstandingly high degree of trust over an extended period then we have created a Superbrand. This is not difficult, though it is painstaking. As protectors of the brand, marketers must nurture the brand by maintaining consumers’ trust, 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 because 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.	Tim Parker Managing Director, Foote, Cone & Belding, Sydney What makes a Superbrand? People make Superbrands, just as they make all brands. Because people are the brand owners. That’s you and me. Brands only exist in our heads, so they’re ours, no matter what the corporate balance sheet says. And it’s we who will decide whether the brand performs practically and emotionally in a manner which earns our respect. It’s the gloriously unpredictable manner in which we interpret the style and substance which decides when a Superbrand will emerge and flourish. That’s why it’s so damned hard to be one and manage one.	Barrie Parsons Publisher, B&T Weekly and Professional Marketing They say there’s no substitute for cubic capacity, the big battalions and quality. For me, a Superbrand has all three: the capacity to be a market leader across key performance indicators, with the firepower to build and protect market share in an increasingly competitive or bearish market, and an image that reflects quality and trust. It could be added that there is no substitute for a big budget and a sense that a big brand can be created with a massive media schedule. It is true that many brands have survived and prospered because of heavy and sustained advertising support, regardless of the so-called creative proposition. But while advertising plays a critical role in brand building and awareness, its effectiveness is dependent on all the elements that underpin a successful and enduring product or service.
Trevor Fearnley AM Chairman and CEO, Advertising Partners Time is one of the key elements needed to be a Superbrand. The ten top-selling grocery brands in Australia are the same today as they were ten years ago. Many new brands have enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame, and then disappeared. Dot.com companies thought they were Superbrands. After five minutes of fame they were gone. New brands such as Dick Smith Foods have shaken up the market. Will they be there in ten years’ time and be a Superbrand? Time will tell. The Salvation Army has led the list of charity brands for the past forty years. Time has made The Salvos a Superbrand. Past readers will know that I am a Shakespeare fan. “The inaudible and noiseless foot of time”, from All’s Well That Ends Well, sums up one of the key elements of a Superbrand rather well. Product Managers will come and go. A Superbrand will survive them all. It has time on its side.	Steve Gray Regional Director, Batey Kazoo Communications One key observation about Superbrands into the 21st Century concerns the difference between brand leadership as defined by volume or value, and brand leadership as defined by ‘thought-leadership’ – being the brand that everyone is talking about. Many of the Superbrands will be heaving a sigh of relief that the dot.com bubble burst when it did, providing both time to get themselves into the space, and a backdrop of consumer uncertainty that will make their trusted properties even more potent. But none can afford to be complacent. Perhaps the most salutary lesson of the wild dot.com months was the speed with which consumers’ imaginations were captured by the innovators in the online space. For a time, ideas rather than infrastructure clearly ran the day. All too often, once a brand achieves volume leadership, it stops behaving in the way it did to get there. The flow of ideas slows or even stops. On this occasion, the volume brand leaders were saved by the bell, but it will not always be so. Every Superbrand has a wannabe Superbrand at its heels, a challenger brimming with ideas. Now, more than ever, Superbrands need to work at leading from the front.	Jeremy Kahn Joint Managing Director, Landor, Sydney A Superbrand is a superstar among brands. It owns a powerful idea. Think Nike. It reinvents the marketplace. Think McDonald’s. It owns its category. Think Coca-Cola. It crosses categories. Think ABC. It breaks the rules. Think Swatch. At Landor we call Superbrands “Breakaway BrandsTM”. Using the Brand Asset Valuator research tool, we’ve figured out what makes Superbrands tick. This decade-long study of more than 10,000 brands in 32 countries shows that Breakaway Brands achieve success by maintaining optimum levels of differentiation, relevance, esteem and knowledge in their markets. How do Breakaway Brands do it? By applying powerful insight into how businesses, brands and audiences interrelate. By ensuring communication that’s clear, consistent and compelling. By approaching brand management with lots of savvy, vision and courage. By breaking away from the pack.
Geoff Wild AM Chairman, WPP Australia I’ve kept a cutting in my pocket all the days since I stopped practising full time in the advertising business. It was something Aldo Papone, then an adviser to American Express, had to say about brands… “A brand is a covenant between a marketer and a consumer. It’s a linkage. It’s what you promise and that kind of covenant, if it is broken, undermines the value of the brand.” I’ve always thought Mr Papone got it just right… and Superbrands, it seems to me, get it super right, too.	Deborah Quin General Manager Corporate Marketing, Seven Network Much of what makes a Superbrand can be found in the dynamics of the relationship that exists between the brand and the consumer. While a product or service will perform a primary function for the customer, it is invariably how that customer feels about the brand that will determine a Superbrand. Much has been said about the need for a brand to achieve high esteem, differentiation and relevance. It is all true. How these attributes become meaningful to the consumer, however, why people choose one brand over another, will be found in the emotional connection between brand and consumer. This element will override the rational debate, motivating consumers to go onto a waiting list, travel distances or pay a premium for the brand they want. This is what builds brand equity and, over time, transforms a basic brand into a Superbrand. It almost goes without saying that the guardians of these brands have the responsibility of expertly managing a major, financially measurable corporate asset.	Gawen Rudder Director, Australian Federation of Advertisers Let me change the question to “Who makes a Superbrand?” The “who” is definitely not the manufacturer, but neither is it the marketer. It isn’t the PR people, nor is it the bean counters who calculate the brand’s value and put it on the balance sheet. Neither is it the advertising people who like to think they create brands. And no, it’s not the ’sixties pop group either. No, it is the consumer who makes a Superbrand. And just as easily as creating one, the consumer can rip the mantle off a Superbrand and turn it back into a mild-mannered Clark Kent of brands. He doesn’t even need kryptonite. Most marketing concentrates on what people say about the brand. Good marketing concentrates on what people think about the brand. The best marketing concentrates on what the brand makes people think about themselves.

Copies of the Superbrands book are available at $69.95 including postage and handling.
This beautiful 143 page "coffee table" publication provides many fascinating insights into the way major brands are created, and how they evolved over the years to become trusted household names.