Welcome to the Brand Strategy Guru newsletter, an occasional round-up of news and views on brand and business.

In this issue: we've grown the team, there's a new book underway and some exciting client news too.

Andrew Davies joins Brand Strategy Guru

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Davies as senior marketing strategist and planner to strengthen Brand Strategy Guru's offering as a specialist brand and marketing advisory firm.

Andrew Davies is an influential marketing advisor with over 20 years' experience setting strategy and leading implementation teams for companies as diverse as Barclays, Duracell, RAC and WH Smith.

A specialist in leveraging customer insight and market intelligence to enhance brand value, Andrew Davies will work closely with me on a range of corporate, organisational and destination brand projects for clients in the UK and abroad.

Andrew is a persuasive communicator who brings intellect, imagination and energy to our client work. I'm delighted to have someone of his calibre on the team, especially as demand for our services is growing fast. Brand Strategy Guru has created a distinctive positioning with clients as being solution-neutral strategic advisors, in contrast to the conventional agency model. We help clients to understand what their brand actually means, and why, in some cases, it has to change. Andrew's expertise will help clients to take that journey even more effectively.

Current Brand Strategy Guru projects include visitor destinations and charities in the UK, as well as major companies in the communications sector in the United Arab Emirates and the USA.

New book coming in February 2011

Marketing is shrouded in arcane mystery and buzzwords. It frightens many and bewilders others. Yet every business, from the hand-car-wash by the side of the road, to the world's most famous brands, engage in marketing every single day.

My new book - What You Need To Know About Marketing - promises to be the world's simplest and most direct guide to the topic, designed to explain the subject briefly and clearly for every reader: from the entrepreneur to the undergraduate, from the corporate executive to CEO!

The book forms part of Capstone's major new 'What You Need To Know About' series, which includes titles covering Economics, Business and Strategy.

What You Need To Know About Marketing is published in February 2011.

Brand Emergency 999: your brand revived for £999

Many small firms and organisations approach Brand Strategy Guru wanting advice on a budget. To help potential clients who aren't in a position to undertake a more substantial engagement, we now offer a unique Brand Emergency 999 service which provides:

* fast intervention and expert advice for a fixed fee
* clear strategies for moving your brand forward
* inspiring ideas specific to your small brand
* the opportunity to discuss your brand with one of the UK's leading brand advisors
* all available for £999 plus VAT

The service is a one-day consultation which can often prove effective in helping to get a new brand off the starting blocks, or solving a specific brand problem fast.
Here's what one recent client (Rebecca Chicot of babypac) had to say about our 999 service…

“Spending a day with Simon Middleton and his unique 'Brand Emergency 999' consultation was the most cost-effective and enjoyable day we have had to date as a company.

“Simon managed to take us quickly, efficiently through the basics of what a brand is and how to make branding work for your company. Simon has so many creative ideas (based on a sound understanding of brand, design and marketing) that we finished the day with a new brand name, new positioning line, basic design look, and radical packaging ideas.

“As soon as we came away we felt that we had finally hit the nail on the head with our branding and would be able to progress to taking our products to market, confident that our branding and brand message were authentic, compelling and beautiful.

“I really cannot thank Simon enough for his expert branding input and the £999 we spent is already paying for itself as everyone loves our branding design and brand identity. The 'Brand Emergency 999' consultation is both amazing value and a wonderful, fun and inspiring day.”

Anthony Nolan re-brand goes live

Brand Strategy Guru was proud to be engaged by what was then known The Anthony Nolan Trust, back in 2008. I led a major strategic brand project which examined every aspect of the Trust's brand meaning: from its market awareness to the level of understanding and engagement amongst people of different ages, demographics and ethnic backgrounds.

Working with trustees, senior managers, staff, volunteers, supporters, donors, funders and recipients of bone marrow and their families, we uncovered the authentic and compelling themes which make this charity so special.

We also uncovered its greatest challenge: to reach out effectively to potential donors under 25 years old.

The result of the project was a comprehensive new brand strategy, covering everything from a new and memorable set of organisational values to a new name, new positioning line, and a dramatic new visual identity created by Johnson Banks, with whom Brand Strategy Guru worked in partnership.

Along the way Brand Strategy Guru facilitated participative brand workshops for representatives of every stakeholder group, and conducted focus group research to test brand names, positioning lines, visual identity options and advertising campaign ideas.

We proposed that the charity's name be shortened to just Anthony Nolan (much easier to relate to and remember than the previous, longer name, whilst keeping the important narrative about Anthony Nolan himself). The new name was then complemented by a new positioning line 'BE A MATCH, SAVE A LIFE' which spells out very simply but evocatively the promise of the charity.

Felixstowe brand project begins

Brand Strategy Guru is delighted to be working with Felixstowe in Suffolk to develop a new brand strategy for the resort. I appeared last summer in the Virgin 1 TV series Duncan Bannatyne's Seaside Rescue advising seafront businesses on developing brand aspects of their offering.

The show was fun, and it achieved the double objective of giving Felixstowe some much needed national publicity and of motivating the traders and others in the resort to think more creatively about the brand challenge.

The programme could only ever be a superficial engagement with the resort and its brand marketing needs: so I was very pleased to be asked to return to Felixstowe this year to do a more strategic piece of work.

The intention this time is to engage a substantial number of individuals, businesses and organisations in uncovering a powerful brand narrative for this great little resort which is nowhere near as well known as it deserves to be. More news next time...

£499 brand master-class offer for Norfolk businesses

Brand Strategy Guru receives frequent enquiries about courses, and lately we've had many requests for a straightforward and inspiring introductory course on branding.

Following the publication of Build A Brand In 30 Days we've decided to offer a limited number of short brand master-classes at the special price of just £499 plus VAT, exclusively for businesses and organisations in Norfolk.

The master-classes, presented personally by Simon Middleton, are offered in-house at your premises, for up to 50 delegates. Duration is from one to two hours, to suit your preferences.

Copies of Simon Middleton's book Build A Brand In 30 Days are available as an optional extra, at the special price of £9.99 per delegate.

We can only offer a maximum of 10 master-classes this year at this special price, so book now!
Call 01603 305800 or email info@brandstrategyguru.com

Your on-tap brand advisor for just £200 pcm

At Brand Strategy Guru we get numerous requests every month for a little bit of advice here, feedback there about the brand and marketing of SMEs, start-ups, small charities and individuals.

Sadly there isn't time to help with all of these queries, so we're offering a limited number of 'retained brand mentorship' packages.

For just £200 plus VAT per month Simon and the Brand Strategy Guru team will be on hand to receive and deal with any brand or marketing query by email or phone.

You can ask for advice and views on virtually any related topic: from your company values to your logo, from positioning to advertising, from digital marketing to research.

You may send a dozen queries per month, or just one. And you can cease the service at any time.

Remember the old Barclays campaign with a bank manager in the cupboard under the stairs? Now you can have your own Brand Strategy Guru in the cupboard!

Limited number of packages available: so do call very soon! For full details please call 01603 305800 or email info@brandstrategyguru.com

Brand news in brief

> As easy as ABC

The release of Google Instant last week – the search giant's new default system that speeds up the search process by streaming predicted terms for every letter we type – has redefined the alphabet with a significant brand bias.
Now, no matter what you type into Google's search bar, you're going to get search results for one of 26 letter-based keywords first and 24 of those predicted words are big brand names. Search results will differ depending on your location and search history but in the alphabet according to Google - A is for Amazon, E is for Ebay and I is for Ikea.
The impact of these changes remain to be seen but this bias toward big brand terms is likely to disadvantage smaller businesses, even if only a small percentage of users are diverted to the predicted suggestions. With Google having more control over what's being searched, they could potentially manipulate the popularity of a certain term or definition. See this article in Fast Company for further analysis on the possible impact of Google Instant.

> Custom built brands

This month's trend alert for brands is the growing popularity for businesses that provide products tailored to the individual customer on demand. Although customized goods are more expensive than their mass-produced counterparts, customers are willing to pay more for that personalised touch. They are particularly attractive to millennial consumers, who are already accustomed to personalising the internet or their mobile phones.
Custom products are also an attractive business model for start-ups - the costs are comparatively low as these businesses can operate solely online with no physical premises as overheads, plus they don't need to purchase and hold a large stock of items when producing on-demand.
The customisation trend isn't confined to small niche businesses. For bigger brands, the customisation trend offers business a clear point of difference from its competitors; one that can be exploited to solidify a brand identity in the consumer's mind.

> Faking it

According to a new study funded by the European Union, published in the British Journal of Criminology, fake products are not such a bad thing. It claims that counterfeit goods have 'greatly' improved in quality and actually seem to help promote the brands they're trying to copy. As many as three million UK consumers buy fake goods annually, a market estimated to be worth £1.3 billion, and as the report emphasises, people who buy counterfeits 'would never pay for the real thing anyway.'
According to the co-author of the report, the real cost of counterfeit goods may be as little as one-fifth of the previously estimated losses. There is also evidence that it actually helps the brands, by quickening the fashion cycle and raising brand awareness.
Unsurprisingly, luxury brands and law enforcement aren't buying the study's conclusions and say they will continue to vigorously defend against counterfeits.

> Character Building

You only need to see how the popularity of meerkat Alexsandr Orlov has boosted awareness of cheap car insurance to realise the value of a good mascot in bolstering brands. Comparethemarket.com's aristocratic Russian mammal has appeared in nine TV ads to date, bringing attention to a low-interest sector. In fact, brands in less engaging markets such as insurance have the most to gain from adopting mascots – think of Lucky, the More Th>n dog and Churchill the Dog, who promotes the eponymous insurance brand.
So can mascots outlive their welcome? Some believe they should be killed off when the public is bored or the mascot has outlived its ability to generate revenue. However, the Andrex Puppy is still going strong after 38 years, having accrued much brand equity in that time, as it continues to represent the softness desirable in toilet paper. Other animal mascots such as the Dulux dog show how a mascot can maintain long-term appeal.
So who are the best brand mascots of all time? Here is a Top Ten (according to Marketing Magazine):

1. The Andrex Puppy - Andrex
2. Alexsandr Orlov - Comparethemarket.com
3. Smash Martians - Smash
4. Churchill the Dog - Churchill Insurance
5. Honey Monster - Sugar Puffs
6. Tony the Tiger - Kellogg's Frosties
7. The Dulux dog - Dulux
8. Bibendum the Michelin Man - Michelin Tyres
9. Caramel Bunny - Cadbury's Caramel
10. Captain Birdseye - Birds Eye

> Still full of Eastern promise?

As more British brands flood the promising consumer market emerging in China, competition is already growing tougher and Chinese customers growing more jaded, despite the buoyant market conditions. According to an article in The Telegraph 'the hard data shows that margins are being increasingly squeezed by rising costs and intensified competition.' What's more, shoppers are simply no longer wowed by any new launch.
U.K. retailers in particular have made strategic blunders. Examples cited include:

• A poorly executed first store by Marks & Spencer (getting its prices, sizing, product and store decor wrong)
• Tesco's late entry into the Chinese market, when Carrefour and Wal-Mart had already established a foothold
• B&Q, who struggled to establish itself as its stores were generally located in the major cities that already had a plethora of trusted local (and cheaper) building suppliers.

To be successful in China, a brand must recognize the unique qualities of the Chinese market and find ways to differentiate itself from the competition in order to impress brand-weary, increasingly sophisticated consumers.

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