Influx Insights Tag Feed: brandextension

entertainment brand buys its way into museums

Influx Insights — 2008-10-01T14:07:31Z

CBS's CSI series is certainly a popular franchise, but in a bid to continue to perpetuate the success for many years to come, CBS has created a museum exhibit for the show, that it appears to be taking around the world.

Obviously, from a brand experience perspective this is a fantastic extension and takes the brand into new places and gives it an enhanced sense of credibility that comes from its endorsement from museums.

Museums are obviously the latest places to be up for sale.

Year's back, Armani's show at the Guggenheim created a stir for all kinds of reasons. However, CSI's move is very different because it is trying to gain the endorsement from its museum partners. Obviously, this is a hire wire act for the museums to walk, they must strive to maintain their credibility, while seeking alternative sources of funding.

As capital dries up around the world, many new avenues will open up for companies to exploit, their challenge will be to do it right and for their new "media" partners to try hard not compromise their integrity.

Posted by Ed Cotton

ferrari goes one brand extension too far

Influx Insights — 2007-10-24T11:02:39Z

Ferrari’s marketing team is having a lot of fun extending the brand and opening up stores to celebrate and sell the brand. The progress has been relentless and broad, ranging from the obvious clothing lines and key chains to the more surprising Acer laptop. The rapid build of these extensions is starting to look reminiscent of fellow Italian brand, Gucci, when, at one point in the late 70s it had over 1500 product licenses.

Marketing experts will tell you that brand extensions are fine as long as they remain true to the brand’s DNA. There’s also another theory based on credits and debits, which states brands can do what they like as long as they continue to out perform on the positive aspects of their core DNA. In the case of Ferrari, this means winning drivers and constructors titles in Formula One, which they achieved in Brazil last weekend and the continued production of head-turning automobiles.

However, their latest extension may suggest that madness is creeping into the system, or the team invited the editor of The Onion to make a pick. A 7,000 Euro Ferrari-branded Segway isn’t something that one would naturally expect from Ferrari, it’s as far from the brand’s DNA as it could possibly be and its dangerously touching the point of ridicule.

Perhaps I am completely missing the point and this is the first signal of a new “electric powered” Ferrari brand.

Posted by Ed Cotton

is ferrari over-extending its brand?

Influx Insights — 2007-06-14T14:03:10Z

Ferrari used to be an elusive brand; the only time you used to see it was in car magazine reviews, on television winning Formula One championships and if you were lucky, you might a glimpse of a red one zooming down a city street.

In the last couple of years, Ferrari seems desperate to stick its brand name as many places as possible, the inevitable culmination of these decisions is opening up retail stores, the latest in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

It’s reported the store will sell Ferrari clothing, accessories, shoes, toys and key chains.

Perhaps even the laptop?

Ferrari seems to be heading down the familiar path taken by a number of luxury brands.

1.    Financial management as the company orders increased revenue generation.

2.    Executives appear reluctant to devalue core product lines by making cheaper versions and instead opt for licensing deals.

3.    Licensing deals require no investment and are money in return for the use of the brand name.

4.    Financial management gets hooked on “licensing crack” and orders more.

5.    Several years later, researchers in the brand’s marketing team find tracking studies that show significant declines in the brand’s premium and exclusivity image perceptions.

6.    New management arrives at the company and is concerned about the brand’s fall demanding that all unnecessary licensing deals and stopped and order the brand to retrench.

While it might be premature and unfair to label Ferrari as another casualty of over licensing, the brand must seemingly have good reasons to do this, brand development activities contributed 23% of annual revenues in 2006.

Gucci made the mistake of over-expanding through extensive licensing in the early 80s and almost killed their brand.This happened because most of the licenses were too closely related to their core fashion product and the knock-on devaluation effect was faster.

Ferrari likely feels its brand expansion is controlled and in categories that have very little connection to the brand’s core product, luxury sports cars.

In addition, there’s a lot of financial pressure to cash in on the brand’s massive fan base, many can only dream of owning the real thing, but a key chain is well within reach.

However, when does it stop and what selection criteria is used to decide what licenses are right for Ferrari brand and what’s not?