Brian Richards - Branding

As I think about the direction for my Master of Entrepreneurship thesis the more I am drawn to branding. I looked through what I had learned in the past and found some notes that I had written after hearing Brian Richards speak. Here they are.

“These unshaped islands on the sawyer’s bench, waiting for the chisel of the mind” - James K Baxter

In the past as economic times get tough New Zealand has taken the easy road. Although it made sense in the time we simply expanded production in the area that we were good at, namely agriculture. We built bigger freezing works and farmed more sheep. This is unsustainable – it is time to add value to the things that we do good, to make the things we do great!

In the past we have been a low cost producer but this cannot last as developing countries begin to undercut our prices. We need to focus on the New Zealand brand and tell a story to entice consumers with the attributes our country possesses. We are unaffected, honest, open, young, active and fresh.

We must first understand who we are and what it is to be a New Zealander. Why are our most successful domestic winemakers named Montana, a dry state in America, and Villa Maria, a name derived from Spanish, Cloudy Bay is evocative of New Zealand but Verve Clicquot, a French company owns it.

Branding attempts to bridge the gap between what one needs and what one wants. A Jaguar is technically inferior to many other automobiles but commands a price premium over other cars. People are in love with the story of Jaguar and the way it makes you feel as you sit in the cockpit. We assume that the wheels will turn and the breaks will work, our needs, so it is our senses and our heart that make the decision for us.

Marketers will tell you that you need four ingredients for a successful product: differentiation, relevance, esteem and knowledge. This is true. It is the focus on these elements that is often misguided. By knowledge we mean that everyone knows about the product. That’s well and fine but at the crunch when the advertising dollars have dried up it is esteem and the affection that consumers place on a product that will sell it, not knowledge that the product exists.

We need to be storytellers. The advent of mathematics has advanced society greatly without which we would have no building, no computers and very little consumables. The downside of this is that it has restricted our creativity and way of thinking. Now, greater than ever, products are becoming similar and we need to touch the hearts and emotions of people. We need them to want our product and the feeling consumption of it brings.

Otago University - 28/07/06