Brand Leadership - 5 Global Cases from the best brands By Dan Pankraz

YOUTH EXAMPLES1. Nike SB (skateboard)

Being authentic

2. Red Bull vs. the followers Creating culture

Leadership Successes

3. Levi's vs. Diesel Ignoring reality

4. Absolut vs. Grey Goose Resting on your laurels

5. Burger King vs. itself Getting back to the core

Leadership Stumbles

LEADERSHIP SUCCESSSTORIES

BEING AUTHENTICTapping into trendsetters

INNOVATORS

EARLY A

DOPTERS

EARLY M

AJORITY

LATE M

AJORITY

LAGGARDS

BRANDCORE

To maintain its leadership, Nike realised it had to do

more than battle Adidas in the shops and on TV

INNOVATORS

EARLY A

DOPTERS

EARLY

MAJORITY

LATE M

AJORITY

LAGGARDS

BRANDCORE

TREND-SETTING

VANGUARD

To get ahead of Adidas right from the starting line, Nike went into skating

“The jocks who used to beat me up for skating wore Nikes. And now Nike wants in with skaters? Uh-uh. It’s not going to happen.”

-- Moish Brennan, skater, quoted in AdBusters

To break into the insular skate culture Nike had to make a meaningful, credible contribution

Nike SB launched exclusively in hardcore skate-shops: skater-owned, skater-run

Signalling a real commitment to skate cultureAlso keeping the brand out of the hands of poseurs

Top skaters were given signature lines to design

Made the brand credibleGave consumers a taste of what it’s like to be their heroes

Generated buzzIncreased premium credentials

Other designs come from people like hipster artist Jeremy Fish and toymaker Kidrobot

Kept the brand consistently fresh and ahead of the curveGenerated a sense of exclusivity

All designs are limited editions: they’ve produced 150 SB Dunk editions in 5 years, none in mass quantities

Online community with over 200,000 active posts and hundreds of diehard fanatics

Rewarded passion with insider accessFed the flames

When SB released an ultra-limited edition called the pigeon in 2005, sneakerheads actually rioted in their press to lay claim to a pair (which now go for $2000)

Status symbolsCult-like devotion

A small brand with a big impact

When the competition heats up, get a head start and go to the source of leadership: trendsetting culture

To make an authentic contribution to this culture: Do not steal, mimic, or bastardize the culture Do partner with credible people to create something

new Do not get greedy with volume – exclusivity is

everything Do reward the passionate few to keep them passionate

CREATING CULTUREDON’T BORROW FROM IT

Energy Premium Grown-up International Mysterious Bad for you in a

good way

Ingredients

First, the big guys scrambled to get in on the game…

Red Bull refused to follow suit, as it’s not as credible – and wouldn’t

create the distance they needed

Clubs:Energy to party all night

Adventure (Felix Baumgartner Base jumper)

Energy to go hard

Aspiring DJs are given an opportunity across continental and cultural boundaries to work with and learn from prominent music trendsetters

Every year, Red Bull throws a 24 hour party to encourage a diverse range of creative types to share their energy.

Why do people needenergy at clubs?To dance. Red Bullhas set up classesto teach street dancing.

The only competition like it in the world:A test of real-life wings

Really the only competition like it in the world.Do you have wings?

Red Bull is committed to bringing fast, intense F1 racing to the States – but recognises that US audiences won’t pay attention until their country has a great driver. So Red Bull is creating that driver at their F1 school.

The final sporting frontier in America? Soccer. And Red Bull now owns one of the best teams in the country.

When the competition heats up, don’t fight them on the same turf – create your own turf: Contribute to the culture you live in “Walking the walk” to bring your comms promise to life Creating a clean space to own

LEADERSHIP STUMBLES

Levi’s once created its category and led youth culture

It still maintains thought leadership – but its market dominance has been smashed

Because the reality of the brand no longer matches what the brand communicates…

…While the competition’s reality and image are synched

Levi’s invented jeans – and the meaning behind them

A pioneering brand for rebels & iconoclasts:The embodiment of effortless cool

The same products that peaked in the 80s, aimed at the same (ageing) consumers

Consumers don’t want to buy jeans – they want to buy a lifestyle that expresses who they are

But Levi’s portfolio is limited: 85% of its sales come from jeans

How rebellious and cool is the experience of sorting through a giant mess at Sears or Bi-Lo?

Levi’s was communicating like a leader,but it wasn’t behaving like a leader in the world

Bogan Dad jeansBogan Mum jeans

Like Levi’s, Diesel has a strongly-defined brand

Unlike Levi’s, however, that brand is expressed and paid off at every touchpoint

Work that captures the spirit of the brand:Cheeky rebellion

Jeans with the same quirky, stylish touches as the ads that sell them

Tops Outerwear Shoes Glasses Jewelry Watches Bags Even a hotel

Diesel’s not just a denim brand: It’s a lifestyle brand

A brand that’s equally built on its hangtags and salesforce

Style lab may be a tiny business, but it createsa steady stream of ideas and excitement

Style lab may be a tiny business, but it createsa steady stream of ideas and excitement

The Heidies digital campaign organically positionedthe brand as cutting edge

Diesel’s leadershipin one area is

amplified by itsleadership in others

Diesel’s through-the-line integrity has turnedlike-minded consumers into evangelists

Ultimately, product really is king No matter how great your communications

Leadership must be maintained at every consumer touchpoint Leadership in one place can’t compensate for lapses

elsewhere Negative perceptions of your consumer can

erode a youth brand as surely as negative brand perceptions

A well-integrated product portfolio is often more powerful than the sum of its parts Because it creates a badgeable lifestyle

Absolut took a moribund category and injected it with fresh life Taking the lead on all fronts, from product design to

communications It became part of pop culture – and then it

became ubiquitous and coasted And was ultimately overthrown by a competitive

set that learned from the leader and topped it

The swill for alcoholicRussian peasants

The cocktail of choice for urban

sophisticates

Harsh, nearly toxic Pure

From the evil empireFrom the most

attractive countryin the world

Cheap, foreign &old-fashioned

Premium, relevant &contemporary

The usual spiritsclutter

Absolut Breakthrough

Consumers collected the ads, made statements with them, and created their own

It activatedlazily

The campaign became tired & expected

It failed to innovate first

First

Second

Absolut was everywhere – and that meant it wasin places where it shouldn’t be, and in the hands

of consumers who shouldn’t have it

One brand in particular rose to thechallenge: Grey Goose

Instead, it attacked where Absolut was most vulnerable

Uninspired Creative work

But the price difference made Grey Goose appear more premium

$35 $28

Spirits experts acknowledge that all vodkas taste the same

In an image-driven category, who wouldn’t want to be seen drinking the best?

A premium vodka must taste better, right?

No longer just top shelf,it was bottle service

Musi

cFi

lm s

eri

esPublish

ing

Golf T

V

25% volume growth year

on year between 06-

07

Once lost, leadership can bevery difficult to regain

Complacency can undermine a leader as surely as a failure Winning formulas are ultimately just that: formulaic

In fast moving categories, the leader has to move faster

A leader brand’s weaknesses in one area will be exploited by the competition

In image categories, ubiquity may drive short term sales, but it can be deadly in the long term Gatekeeping is vitally important

Burger King is a classic rise & fall leadership story with the promise of redemption Its fall is an important cautionary tale And its return helps us understand how to stay on track

Teen target Grilled burgers Custom made Cheeky attitude Food-focused experience

Family target Fried burgers Pre-made Kiddie attitude Fun-focused experience

Burger king McDonald’s

vs.

A successful #2 brand built on a compelling core

An explosion that proved difficult to control:A cancer of success

1982: 3,500 franchisesFounded in 1954 1967: 247 franchises

Source: Burger King Case study, warc, 2005

FocusFocusFocus

“The brand had become schizophrenic with its

targeting.”

“The brand lacked a consistent personality and

identity.”

“Npd had become filled with products that lacked

relevance to consumers.”

“The environment had become sterile and corporate, lacking any

humanity or sense of fun.”

1.

2.

3.

2001

1.

2.

3.

2002

+2%

+11%

-21%

Source: BusinessWeek, warc

Burger King could have tried to reinvent itself once more to fit with the times…

…Instead, however, the brand returned to its core

“Superfans”: young men aged 18 – 34 who average 18% of customers but 49% of sales

Unapologeticallybigger, juicier (and unhealthier) burgers

An in-store overhaul to connect in all the details

“Everything from the restaurants' signs to the employee uniforms…. All those things are branded experiences, and are being reworked."

– Alex Bogusky

“When McDonald's tries to get hip, they show us kids playing basketball on rollerblades. BK's stuff is just far more subversive – [which] its cynical consumers appreciate.”

-- Slate.Com

Work that’s not afraid to polarise inorder to engage with its target

Burger king spoofs on youtube King character on myspace with 10,000+ friends Family guy poked fun at subservient chicken

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Rev (

mill

ion

s)

Source: warc

1.

2.

3.

The cancer of success: a leader brand can lose its way during periods of rapid growth When it’s easy to lose sight of the core that sparked that

growth

A leader cannot be all things to all people: it must focus and sacrifice Play to your strengths; don’t try to be something you’re not

Every touchpoint matters Burger King’s ads wouldn’t matter if the in-store experience

hadn’t also been turned around