Why are brands like sharks?

During recessions or depressions, brands become like sharks – if they are not moving forward they’re slowly dying.

The upshot for brand managers is that, in tough times, with reduced budgets, it can feel like they’re responsible for a shiver of ailing brand sharks, not a vibrant brand portfolio.

This is the bad news from BFStrategy Director, Steve Miller, writing in this year’s edition of Brands & Branding in South Africa.

First published in 1993, Brands & Branding has become the country’s de facto brand bible and contains the most important research of the year and case studies that share insights into leading brands’ core values and purpose, and why they continue to succeed.

There are also over 25 articles, like Miller’s, by acknowledged experts in their fields addressing issues that challenge and inspire brand builders.

However, there’s also good news in Miller’s article. He maintains that having your marketing budget slashed can be a godsend – and suggests five areas brand builders should focus on to ensure they get the best bang for their buck.

“Steve writes that having your budget decimated offers you the freedom to ruthlessly prioritise, it demands the leanest structures, it requires you to make a focused impact with the little you have available.  It forces you to be bold; and bold, simple platforms are the foundation of all great brands,” says Preston.

“However, he points out that it’s ‘business as usual, just on a smaller scale’.  The brand building game, in tough times or with small or negligible budgets, has a different set of rules and requires different priorities.  From hard and painful experience, Steve’s learnt where to focus when he needs to run lean.

“The good news for brand builders is that he shares these learnings in his article so that they can benefit from his experience and embrace the opportunity to get their brand houses in order, and market hard while they set up their brands for the good times to follow.”

Further good news for brands participating in the 2011 edition is that it will include a number of visual and content enhancements. Chief among these is the agreement Preston has finalised with EBSCO Publishing in the United States which will see Brands & Branding added to its knowledge centre of over 200 000 publications.

This knowledge centre receives between 300 and 400 million topic driven searches per month via EBSCO’s subscription databases. Subscribers will also be able to link directly to Affinity Publishing’s Brand Intelligence http://www.brandsandbranding.co.za/>  website, providing further access to the brand profiles via free eBook http://www.brandsandbranding-online.co.za/ebooks/brands2010/index.html?pageNumber=10>

There is also still time for brand builders wanting to feature in the 2011 edition to contact Affinity Publishing and submit their own brand stories. To date over 30 of South Africa’s leading brands from ABSA, ACSA and Appletiser to Standard Bank, Transnet, USN and Vodacom have confirmed their participation in this year’s edition, due at the end of October.

Says Preston: “If your brand has a story worth telling and you’d like to rub shoulders with the giants – Discovery, DStv, Elizabeth Arden, 702 Talk Radio,  BP, Cell C, Clover, ESKOM, Europcar, FNB, Huletts, KFC, King Pie, Kulula.com, Liqui-Fruit, Metropolitan, M-Net, Nedbank, Old Mutual, Sanlam, Santam, Shell, Ster Kinekor