I love high streets. I chose to live in Marylebone because of its particularly lovely high street. I go out of my way to purchase as much as I can from the independent stores there (well from the ones that are left) rather than from chains or on-line, this to show my support, and to ensure their survival.
But lately I’m finding it increasingly hard to buy things from the high street. Which makes me seriously question its future…
Why?
Well; let’s look at it from a basic marketing perspective. Forgive me for using such a simple, and to many outdated model, as the 4 P’s, but hey I’m a 60’s child so for the sake of simplicity I will stick to the 4 P’s rather than debating what should replace them. (The 4 P’s by the way was invented in 1960 by Jerome McCarthy– so I don’t dispute they need a revamp ).
Anyway, back to the high street.
It’s clear that it can’t compete on price. A while ago I went to Selfridges to buy a memory card, and ended up buying one on-line for £50 less. I wanted to buy ink for my printer at Ryman’s, and bought the same ink on-line at a 50% discount.
How about product? I doubt anyone would dispute that when it comes to product range and type, no-one can beat the Internet (especially with the effect of the long-tail and therefore the ability of offering a product even if there are only a few hundred buyers in one place).
Distribution (place) maybe? There is no way a retailer can have a presence everywhere (although some try at a massive cost). So nope the high street does not seem to be able to compete on place either.
As for promotion, I wont even go there as the Internet has most available communication and targeting tools at its disposal, at a relatively small cost.
So what if we extend the 4 P’s and add a service element to it – process (which refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service)? A few weeks ago I went to Divertimenti to buy a new filter for my Bialetti espresso maker. They had none in stock and I was told they could order one for me, and call when it arrived. In the spirit of support I chose to accept to wait and said yes. I went back today thinking they must have forgotten to call me. But oh no, the delivery would take 6 weeks. 6 weeks! So I guess it’s a no no to being competitive on process!
So what is the high street retailer doing about this rather serious problem? Well, some offer their own on-line e-commerce facility, or they allow Amazon to power their sales (to overcome the distribution challenge ), they try to put more products in store (range challenge), they slash their prices (price challenge), they pack their windows with sales messages (promotion and advertising challenge)…I could go on… but basically all efforts are ‘me-too’ strategies, and I don’t know about you, but to me trying to compete with the Internet head on seems rather stupid!
One would think that the only way forward is to differentiate. Basically to try to offer something which is not possible to offer on-line. Which brings me to the two remaining P’s of the service marketing mix, (in addition to process) people and physical evidence. These are the two things retailers have today that the Internet does not have. You would think they would use it! And yet finding an original retails space, offering a great experience, populated by people that add value (rather than affect it negatively) is extremely rare now a days.
So who get’s it right outside of the constantly mentioned Apple and Nike stores (with their endless marketing budgets)?!
I suggest a visit to Daunt’s bookstore where the books are categorised by country and not author, and where people serving you actually read books! Make sure you pop by La Fromagerie, a cheese shop that would hold its own next to any French cheese shop, and where the staff can tell you the origin of any cheese. Still hungry? I recommend Mr Biggley’s sausages, made from scratch in his basement – he will tell you all about the art that is sausage making. And just in case you need a button – pop by the Button Queen, there are more buttons there then you know what to do with – and believe it or not, staff that are enthused about – yes buttons!
Or maybe the future will look differently. My business partner in this fluid world Jonathan MacDonald has a very interesting view on where we may be heading!
“In the future, people will pay for human interaction – perhaps we will have toll roads that harbour these interactions – due to the nature of saying ‘hello’, we can call these ‘hi streets’ and we will congregate in Public Urban Boundary Systems (which will be shortened to the word ‘pubs’)”.
I shall now say good bye to you all, and who knows maybe we will meet, sometime in the future… on the ‘hi-street’ or in the ‘pub’!
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Sounds a bit stressful? Well I argue that you already do!
The question “who do you work for” is usually answered by a company name, and in the top five answers to “what motivates you at work” you tend to find money, and being respected by colleagues (the latter measured by how often you’re promoted).
These answers are no surprise in a business world where hierarchy is part of the control and reward mechanism. However, this has one big downside and that is that employees feel they work for management, or for the CEO.
I know what you’re thinking…but we do don’t we?
In practise yes… but I would argue that in principle we work for the customer. Why you may ask? Because they’re the ones paying your salary, they’re the ones that will fire you if they’re not happy, they won’t hire you without extensive research or without checking your references, and you’re more likely to be hired if others recommend you! In summary, what social media has done is created a world where employees receive a 360-degree performance review by their customers, in public, on mass, and on a minute-by-minute basis.
Which makes me think they should be the centre of any company’s universe, and at the top of the management pyramid.
So if I was the CEO of an organisation I would not only create an army of fanatics in my customers (to quote Jonathan MacDonald – Happy Birthday by the way!) but I would also create a workforce with one boss, the customer!
The implication of this on how a company is managed would be radical…We would live in a world where the most powerful person in an organisation is the Head of Customer Care, who of course sits on the board. It’s a world where decentralised structures are systematically favoured, because being responsible to customers in a centralised system is seen as impossible. In this world, customers are regularly part of the recruitment process.
I could go on but I agree that this may come across as a little too much like customer utopia, and not so realistic…but I still argue that a fundamental cultural shift in who companies think they are ultimately responsible to is needed…(and this would require organisations, and therefore everyone working in them, to reconsider who they think they work for)…
… oh by the way I mean a real cultural shift, in both thinking and action – not just paying lip service…
But until then, I’ll keep praying that one day a miracle will happen and I will finally understand my mobile bill, my service provider will call me back when my e-mail is down, and my bank will decide that Sweden is a country, that Swedish Kroners is a currency, and therefore allow me to transfer money there using my on-line banking service.
The Observer published an excellent article today called ‘Democratic, but dangerous too: how the web changed our world’.
It crystalised something that has been bothering me about the Internet, or to be more precise about the way it’s often used in marketing, and therefore the effect it’s having on how we are seen as people.
The article says it so much better than I would, so here it is.
‘The surveillance implications for this [the internet] are clear, but there are wider cultural implications when the money people behind the scenes get their rewards for feeding us exactly what we want. Amazon’s recommendation engine, Last.fm’s social music service, even news sites such as the Huffington Post, reduce the possibility for serendipity by serving up what they think we want, channelling us into a loop of confirmation.’
It seems that in the early years of the Internet it gave people the chance to break away from being able to be put in predefined boxes… and then through our own behaviour, some tracking, some ad and information serving… there we are again, back to being categorized and put into bland boxes.
The author Douglas Rushkoff put this brilliantly when he said: “The more like one of my kind of person I become, the less me I am, and the more I am a demographic type.”
I guess this sounds like a marketer’s dream, a world where we break people down into categories so we can do our job. To me it sounds like we are missing something important.
It feels like marketers are missing the opportunity to really understand me. This has the unfortunate outcome of me having to live in a world where people continuously make assumptions about me. I bought a book about birds, I must be a bird watcher (not so much!). Ignoring the individual means that marketers live in a world where they continuously miss the point of, and the opportunity brought by the Internet.
It also feels like marketers are missing out on the opportunity that comes with randomness….the more people cross fertilise between topics, the more they have their views and opinions challenged, the more they stumble upon different things, the better the quality of their ideas. And in a world of co-creation this is not just relevant to employees, but also to customers. Ignoring this means that marketers live in a world where there is a risk of marketing myopia, not just on a corporate level, but on a social and cultural level, a myopia that could lead to a decrease in the quality of ideas, and therefore also of the products, services and solutions organisations offer.
It also seems that by fixating on what people are doing (and on putting them in boxes), marketers are not paying attention to what they’re NOT doing. In a world that only pays attention to the do’s, all we will achieve as marketers is incremental innovation; rather than radical innovation. Nothing wrong with incremental innovation, but not exactly the key competitive advantage companies should strive for!
I’m not saying the Internet is not a wealth of information and inspiration. It most definitely is! I’m simply stating that the social and cultural risk that come with reinforcing similar behaviour (mainly driven by a wish to control), could mean that rather than capitalising on the paradigm shift caused by the Interenet and going forward, we will start going backward.
A good marketer allows his curiosity to go everywhere (and therefore also the people he interacts with), a good marketer does not just follow people’s behaviour (or competition’s) and act accordingly, they lead the way, often without information or data, a good marketer gives people not only what they want, but also what we need, and what they never knew they wanted…
…but most importantly, a good marketer celebrates individuals and individualism (not boxes)!
Anyone who has worked with a Telco company, or any other organisation in a data driven industry, will recognise the following comments…
…“I will accept cooperation as long as we own the customer”…
…”If we choose this direction, won’t we loose control of the customer?”…
Also, anyone who has been part of a restructuring, or a cost cutting exercise, will have heard management refer to employees as resources. Business’ feel so strongly about this they even named a department after it – Human Resources.
The best thing that could happen to marketing in 2010 is if everyone working in this industry could accept that people, customers, consumers and employees are not a cog in the marketing machinery!
Note: the picture is of Charles Chaplin in the brilliant movie; Modern times from 1936
This however would require a fundamental mind-shift, it would mean that when we go to work we should all remember that…
People can’t be owned People have always had a free mind, and a free will, but now more so than ever. They have the freedom, and the platforms to create, to express, to share, to support and to exclude, but most of all they have the freedom to choose. Simply owning some data and a database does not mean you know the person whose data you manage, it does not mean you own something real, and it definitely does not mean you own that customer!
People can’t be controlled And more importantly why would you want to? What has ever come out of controlling anything, apart from narrow mindedness and marketing myopia? As a matter of fact I would give up the notion of owning anything in today’s marketing world (customers, consumers, brand, IP, employees, ideas….). Not only because you will find it very hard to survive in this business world if you don’t, but because you will miss out on one of the great phenomena of this decade – true collaboration, and this across nations, industries, companies, departments, and disciplines!
People are not resources Human they are, resources not! They are all different, unique, interesting, and if you let them, if you give them the right support, if you create the right environment…they are your best chance of a sustainable competitive advantage! How? Through their ideas, their innovation, their ability to think in a non-linear way, their commitment – it is through all this they will affect NPD, operations, distribution, customer service, marketing and sales. That’s what makes them individuals, that’s what makes them humans and not resources!
So in this world where we focus so much on data, and on resources…let’s remember that what backs it up is people, employees, consumers, customers. Get to know them, for real, respect them, work with them, work for them, allow them to make a difference…and often, very often celebrate them!!!
But whatever you do don’t try to control them, don’t try to own them, and don’t ever think that you do!
Allow yourself to be inspired!!!
I love the 1st of January. It’s one of the most inspiring days of the year – a fresh start, the beginning of something new!
I spent most of the day traveling with no one to distract me – one wonderful day to myself to think about the year ahead, and everything I want to achieve.
Leaning back in my airplane seat, looking at the alps and the white snow, I thought of Zinedine Zidane (a retired French World Cup-winning footballer) who this year climbed Mont-Blanc for charity, I thought of Susan Boyle leaving Blackburn (Scotland) to give her dream of being a singer a chance, I thought of Sam Walton (founder of Wal-mart) who in 1991, when asked about the recession, said, ‘I’ve thought about it, but I have chosen not to participate.”, I thought about my local homeless man, who despite everything, has the most wonderful attitude and outlook on life…I thought of many people and things that have inspired me…
… I also thought of two ads that inspired me, and keep doing so!
Apple’s Think different
If you were alive in 1997 
I doubt that you will have forgotten the black and white add with old footage of icons such as Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Picasso….the list goes on. Take a look it’s worth it.
If you don’t have time here is the text. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do”.
Adidas’ Impossible is nothing Muhammad Ali Vs. Laila Ali
“Impossible isn’t a fact. It’s an opinion. Like when they said it would be impossible to beat Sonny Liston. He’s too powerful, too experienced. Or when they said don’t take the fight in Zaire. He’s too young, too strong, he’s gonna destroy Ali. So when my father looks impossible in the eye. And defeats it, again and again. what do you think I’m gonna do when I hear people say a woman shouldn’t box…yeah that’s right. Rumble young girl, rumble!” Impossible is nothing.
I know 2009 was a tough business year for many, a year where ‘thinking differently’ and believing that ‘impossible is nothing’ may have had to take as back seat to surviving.
But I’m thinking in addition to drinking less, losing weight, going to the gym…maybe this year we can all add ‘thinking differently’ and believing that ‘impossible is nothing’ to our new year resolutions list.
Lets do it in the name of making a difference, lets do it to pay homage to some of the greatest icons in the world, lets do it for progress, (and yes even lets do it for quality TV advertising), lets do it because we can …
…and lets do it in 2010!!!
Happy New Year!!!
Jonathan MacDonald (my business partner in this fluid world) and I received an interesting piece of feedback from a client just before Xmas.
“In your report you sometimes refer to customers as people, and sometimes as consumers, if you don’t mind can we always call them customers for consistency”.
Well, and in this instance I feel particularly confident speaking for Jonathan, we do mind.
Exchanging customers for consumers, consumers for people, or customers for people is not a question of looking up different words in the thesaurus to avoid repeating oneself in a report, it’s a very conscious decision.
What I’m about to say will be hard for some people in advertising to understand…
…but the truth is that when you wake up in the morning, before you quickly reach for your phone dying to read a marketing text message, or an e-mail from someone wanting you to buy something based on a previous purchase, before you reach for the cereal box you bought only because you saw the ad, before you drink your espresso (inspired by Mr Clooney), and before rushing out for your daily fix of billions of advertising messages on which you will immediately act…
…before all that, and for considerable chunks of the remainder of the day, you will be… we will all be, just that people. Customers and consumers is what we are in-between being people.
- We are people when we go about our everyday lives (human centric view).
- We are customers when we buy (retail centric view).
- And we are consumers when we consume, or use something (marketing centric view).
I think you will agree that they are simply not the same thing. Any marketer who does not undersand this distinction will do so at his peril.
You will not see the same advertising in the retail environment for Lynx (Axe to my European friends) as you see on TV, why? Simple, the people responsible for the brand understand that the consumer is a 16-year-old boy, but that the customer is his mother.
Amazon should not try to sell me a digital camera when they know I’ve just bought one, as I’m unlikely to be a customer of something I’m in the middle of consuming – and still they keep trying. (I know Amazon is my pet peeve at the moment).
So by the same rational, traditional style advertising should not be aimed at people when they are being people. This does not mean that at that moment we can’t be inspired to become a customer or consumer, it just means we are unlikely to be inspired to make that shift because someone ‘talks’ at us and interrupts our everyday lives (we are busy…being people – remember).
Consumer insights and customer research (yes the words mean something) have their place, but it should fall under a much broader banner, the one of understanding people. This not seen from the perspective of what they read, or what they buy, or use, but simply by understanding how they live their lives and the psychology behind their feelings and the drivers of their choices.
Simples, as Mr Aleksandr Orlov (from meerkat.com) would say…not so much I say, if we are still asked to change the words in the name of consistency.
In my last post Big brother is watching, not so much!!! I brought to your attention some less successful targeting attempts by Amazon (yes the one and only targeting guru).
Well, the saga continues as there is apparently no end to how far Amazon can stretch a digital camera purchase! Reading through all their e-mails I thought – if I have to suffer through this, I want to do it in good company.
So here it is, phase two of the ‘I once bought a digital camera at Amazon’ saga.
After having suggested I may be interested in a memory card, and later a camera case, (both of which I had already bought from Amazon) Amazon sent me the following mail.
Yes, a couple of camera cases, which 1) we have already established I own, and 2) they have already proposed to me in a previous e-mail. The mail also suggests I may be interested in a few batteries which 1) makes me question the relevance and 2) makes me want to call Amazon and educate them on what a perfect stocking filler looks like!
It’s also quite obvious they don’t know if I bought the camera for myself, or for someone else (why would they, they never asked), as they suggest, in the same phrase, that I may enjoy the accessories…or I may want to put them in someone’s Xmas stocking.
A few days later, here we go again.
This time I’m almost as surprised as when I was asked to buy a camera case and a memory card I already bought. Why? Because I have never, not once, browsed for photo frames. Would you Mr Amazon by any chance have made that assumption because I recently – yes say it after me, bought a digital camera? If that is the case, not good! No one appreciates someone pretending they know them when they don’t!
And then yesterday.
Yes back to the accessories, camera cases and photo frames – I’m thinking this is starting to look like the old above the line reach and frequency approach – if we show it to her enough times she will end up caving in (and to be honest if I thought buying another camera case would make the emails stop I would – I’d even put it in my Xmas stocking!).
I’m also registered at Amazon France from the time I lived there. I think the databases are connected since I’m forced to choose if I want the country I live in to be specified in French (Angleterre) or English (England). This makes me think my data resides in one place, which you would think is cool since it should improve targeting.
And yet….
This e-mail is to help me out with some Xmas present ideas. What jumps out at you? Yes can you see it? The famous digital camera Canon IXUS I just bought (but in gold)! Maybe they think asking me in French will make me want to do it all over again?
They also seem to be a little confused as to who I am, and what to call me, as they keep jumping from ‘Dear customer’ when they refer to something I have bought, and L. Andersson for random why not buy e-mails. Neither of which i feel is particularly warm, targeted or human.
In summary, if you are a company looking to target then:
• Make sure you track all behaviour, and cross analyse (cross order, purchase and country) – there is no excuse for not knowing what someone has already bought.
• If you want to track behaviour, and make people feel you ‘know them’, then maybe L Andersson is not the way forward.
• Don’t make assumptions about what lies behind a purchase when you communicate– and if you need to know then ask people when they place their order.
• If you suggest to someone they have done something, or like something – then make sure you have your facts right!
• If you want to cross sell – then make sure it makes sense…
• …and make sure you don’t over do it…there are only so many ‘we hope you enjoyed the digital camera you just purchased’ e-mails people can take.
• Consider cutting down on other promotional e-mail while you send targeted communication, no-one wants to get more e-mails from a company than a best friend.
• And finally, if someone does not respond, give up…you are probably barking up the wrong tree!
As for Amazon, the shining example in targeting…it all seems like a bit of a mess. Although one thing is crystal clear to me, whatever you do, never buy a digital camera from Amazon, it will just confuse them, and nothing good will come out of that!
We go from conference to conference where we are told that data is the future of marketing, and that in the near future we will be able to, not only analyse individual behaviour, but also predict it.
We read articles describing a tomorrow that feels a little bit like a Sting song (for you out there who are not Sting fans let me clarify by quoting the lyrics, “every breath you take and every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you”).
As a marketer, and a general lover of data, I get very exited every time I think of the prospect of a world where I don’t only achieve perfect targeting, but where I anticipate individual’s needs, with the aim of being the first marketer in queue to satisfy Bethan’s from Mumbles craving for ice cream (before she’s even felt it)!
But as a citizen I have at times felt slightly uneasy at the idea of big brother watching my every move! This discomfort however, was recently put to rest by the one and only on-line retail Guru, Amazon!
A few weeks ago I decided to buy a new digital camera. Experience has taught me that there is no point in shopping around for hours; good old Amazon always manages to be price competitive and reliable. I placed my order for a camera and a case, and a few days later; there it was my lovely little Canon IXUS 100 IS.
I was a little surprised that it came without any memory, but I patiently went through the process of ordering a memory card from Amazon (which arrived a few days later).
So you can imagine my surprise when on Tuesday I receive the following e-mail.
But I have already bought a memory card from you Mr Amazon…surely your database should have told you that!
If the argument is that this happened because the memory card was not in the same order as the camera, then I have to say, not good enough. Especially coming from the company that everyone quotes as the number one in on-line retail and targeting.
But separate orders is clearly not the argument as the next day I received the following e-mail.
I mean really Mr Amazon, I bought a case from you at the same time as the camera…there is no doubt that your database should have told you that?!!!!
The marketer in me is appalled, what a missed opportunity!!! Two useless e-mails, one potentially annoyed customer, and a massive missed opportunity at cross-selling something the customer has not already bought (not to mention that I should have been told when placing the order for a camera that it does not come with a memory card).
However, Liri the human being feels slightly relieved. We are clearly years away from someone stalking me on-line, knowing about, or anticipating my every move!
How about some internal talking?
It has been said before, and by now it should be obvious to everyone – organisations are structured around principles that no longer apply.
What are these principles?
- Departments have different P&L’s hence functioning as silos
- Companies have job titles that ensures everyone knows their role and the parameters in which they operate
- Organisations have geographical breakdowns with each country fighting for resources and power
I could go on….
I’m sure no-one would dispute that this is not conducive to collaboration, lateral thinking, innovation, integrated solutions, and customer service.
However changing any of these principles is not an over night exercise, and doing so would be quite disruptive to business, in addition to prohibitively expensive.
I’m convinced that there is an easier way to achieve immediate change which would lead to collective thinking, cross functional cooperation, and solutions that do not only benefit the entire organisation but also customers. I’m referring to a tool that is systematically underused – internal communications.
Sharing information, ensuring knowledge for everyone, and increasing the level of understanding does not only break down barriers between departments, but it improves the quality and speed of decision-making. Creating a unity through common understanding between employees leads to products and solutions that benefit everyone involved, internally and externally.
Imagine working in an organisation where the WW CEO of 30,000+ people leaves a voice mail to the entire organisation explaining why he has just bought a company, what he expects to achieve through the acquisition, and the potential risks he has just taken by doing so.
Imagine working in an organisation where you are regularly informed of changes and challenges in all departments ensuring that you understand the working of the organisation’s value chain, from manufacturing to customer service.
Imagine working in an organisation where by using the power of the word, and all communication tools available to them, senior management ensures everyone is aware of, and understands, the goals, aspirations, opportunities and threats of the organisation in real time.
I had the pleasure of working in such an organisation in the late 90’s; I had the pleasure of working at Cisco Systems.
In this environment I learned so much about business my subsequent MBA felt a bit like a waste of time.
In this environment I made a decision costing my department $6,000 a month because I understood that if I didn’t it would cost the manufacturing department $30,000 a month.
In this environment I never doubted what the organisation was trying to achieve and what was expected of me, nor did I ever speak to anyone who did not have the same clarity.
Yet. Cisco had job titles like most companies, Cisco had a manufacturing, logistics, sales, marketing, customer service department like most companies, and Cisco had offices all over the world…but through the power of communication they ensured we thought and worked as one company – and what a great company it was!
It makes me wonder why internal communications is not seen as one of the most strategic activities of an organisation – I have no doubt it played a critical role (if not the key role) in making Cisco the most successful company of its time.
I don’t know about you, but that’s a title I would gladly adopt if I was an organisation.
If it doesn’t oink like a percy pig, or squeal like a percy pig, then it just isn’t a percy pig!!!
It’s Friday so lets chat about something relaxing, let’s talk about percy pigs and brand extension.
When I moved to London from Paris, (which for a croissant, seine, boulevard lover like myself was a hard thing to do) I discovered one of the great pleasures of life, the little yet overwhelmingly brilliant percy pig!
I can’t think of any situation where having one doesn’t make sense, be it to celebrate, drown your sorrows, fill a little gap in the stomach, or just because you can – percy pigs never let you down!
So you can imagine my joy when a friend turned up Wednesday night with, not only a pack of percy pigs, but also some percy organic biscuits! I love tasting something new, and in this instance I couldn’t wait to double my percy happiness!
After chewing on what felt like a hard shortbread, I had to accept a harsh reality, if it doesn’t oink like a percy pig, or squeal like a percy pig, then it just isn’t a percy pig!!! – and these biscuits had definitely nothing to do with percy pigs.
I’m all for brand extension. If I produced percy pigs I would be tempted to spread some of that percy magic across a ton of new products!!!
But I wouldn’t. Why? Because I have not forgotten my abc’s of brand extension:
1) Brand extensions that does not create positive synergy for the parent product should not be pursued – I can’t imagine these hard little biscuits will bring a smile to anyone’s face, nor any value to the percy pig family (unlike the brilliant product extension percy pig and pals).
2) Positive feelings towards the original product will not automatically transfer to the new one – if I didn’t believe that to be true I would have tried to convince my business partner to call our company this percy world rather than this fluid world.
3) Brand extensions must be a logical fit with consumers’ expectations. I can stretch from candy to biscuits, but not from super soft and filled with personality to hard and boring.
4) It works both ways, brand extensions that creates confusion or a negative image for the parent should therefore not be undertaken – if you’re sitting on something brilliant, don’t break it (in this instance I was genuinely worried about breaking my teeth).
As I went to bed that evening I wondered if my biscuit experience would have a negative effect on my love for percy pigs…
Apparently not, as I ran out last night to meet a friend I found myself making a de-tour to M&S at Bond Street station for some you know what (you should I’ve only mentioned it 14 times in this post).
Which means I think I have to adjust rule 4 by adding ‘unless you’re lucky enough to have a product that so totally rocks it’s bullet proof to brand extension mistakes!’.
I wonder how many brand managers are out there sitting on a product that would pass the percy test, in my experience not many!
(Do you think I‘ve mentioned percy pigs enough times in this blog for them to send me a massive box? )
Have a great weekend!
P.S this one is for you Ludden for being brilliant, and for sharing my love of pigs (and crumpets of course, vive l’Angleterre!!!).
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