Unit 3 - MARKETING

'Are you branded?' Introduction

What would people think of me if I drove a Mercedes? Am I more "Gucci" than "Nike"? Is this the right time to drink a Coke? Our brand 1.________ say a great deal about us as 2.________. This illustrated book takes a lighthearted look at how 3.________ behave, how they gather associations and what they mean to the 4.________ that buy them. Through a series of snapshots of the products or advertisements of 5.________ companies such as Coca Cola, Levis and McDonalds, this work focuses on the 6.________ between brand and consumer behaviour, decoding hidden 7.________ and analyzing marketing strategies. Brands are grouped by their key 8. ________: some promising authenticity and 9.________ , others offering technological empowerment or a luxurious 10.________. Brands and their meanings - formed as much by 11.________ as they are by product designers or 12.________ directors - are also shown in a global context, forming a common language which is subtly adapted to suit local tastes and aspirations.

Now decide which brand (A, B, C or D) each of the sentences (1- 10) describes.

A: 1. Bottles are now made of plastic rather than glass.

B: 2. It is often suggested that these items are extensions of the driver's personality.  

C: 3. Its purity and timelessness does not detract from its luxury, but adds to its recognition and to the reputation of the brand.

D: 4. One of the oldest and most famous food brands, specializing in canned and bottled foods.

E: 5. Reputation is built on the quality of the leather goods that have been the basis of its product range since 1993.

F: 6. The company's investment in technology and design reinforces its reputation among drivers.

G: 7. The quality of materials and craftsmanship is bound up almost exclusively by the logo, which is the sole decoration on many products.

H: 8. There are now many more than this number of varieties of products (57), but this early marketing claim became so famous that it is still used.

I: 9. These products are loaded with hedonistic and sexual symbolism that supports the values of a luxury brand.  

J: 10. This brand speaks of taste, comfort, speed and solidity.  

Choose your enemy!

1. Paula Scher is one of the great designers. Talking about what motivated her, what gave her work its energy and power, she says she hated Helvetica. Helvetica was considered the ultimate typeface: beautiful, clean, simple, functional, stylish and every serious designer used it.
Paula Scher hated it with a passion; she found it dull, boring, soulless, empty and formulaic.

2. She took inspiration from art nouveau, art deco, Victorian design, Weimar design and Japanese design, and her work had a freshness that no one else had. All the conventional, classical, good-taste design became wallpaper, and today the best and bravest design around New York is hers.

3. The greatest advertising art director ever, Helmut Krone wanted to do advertising that didn't look like 'advertising', and that gave him the motivation and energy to originate two of the greatest ad campaigns of all time: Volkswagen and Avis.
For Krone, the logo was the enemy.  He says "My life has been a constant fight against logos. A logo says 'I'm an ad, turn the page."
That's the main use of finding or creating an enemy. Clarity and focus, and tapping into a supply of adrenalin.

4. Even Pablo Picasso needed an enemy for motivation. For him, it was the artistic establishment, the critics who set the standards and decided what was and wasn't acceptable. For Picasso, the artistic establishment was the enemy.

What most creative people have in common is choosing conventional wisdom as the enemy. That's why it's important to choose who or what you want to make a stand against. That is what gives work  consistency and power.