Brand Truth - Brand Strategy Consulting, Melbourne | Melbourne-based specialist brand strategy consultancy. We help, challenge and inspire businesses and organisations to get the most from their brands.

3 Brand Building Lessons from Guerlain’s epic The Legend of Shalimar web film

Recently the fashion world has been abuzz about a new web film from French perfume house Guerlain for its signature Shalimar fragrance. The almost six minute long “The Legend of Shalimar“ has been hailed by many as setting a new standard for mega-production advertising. It has also set a new standard for epic brand story-telling. … Continue reading →

Can Apple keep its cool?

Apple is one the strongest brands on the planet. But over the past two years it has been increasingly tested by direct attacks from competitor advertising in its home market of the United States. This post outlines what’s been happening and Apple’s response to it. A (very) short history of Apple’s brand communications To put … Continue reading →

New research implies social media may be “killing” rather than building FMCG brands

In February this year the title of a short article in Forbes asked the provocative question “Can social media be killing brands?”. The article reported on the preliminary findings of a ten-year study by two American academics into the use of social media by US FMCG brands and its impact on their relationships with consumers. … Continue reading →

To develop new products that sell like hot potatoes, think hot potatoes: Guidelines for ‘breakthrough’ innovation in today’s risk-averse business climate

Earlier this year, on a sweltering March day at Melbourne’s Moomba festival, I was intrigued to see every second person walking around with a curious looking hot snack. Not only did this choice seem incongruous with the temperature, but people were queuing for over 10 minutes in the mid-day heat to get one. What was … Continue reading →

Research finds the biggest barrier to successful innovation may be our basic human instincts

Almost every survey of the business factors that executives see as critical for growth lists innovation as a priority. Yet many companies struggle with innovation as exemplified by the consistently high rate of new product failure. Interestingly then, a new study has found that our basic instincts may be ‘programming’ managers to reject the level … Continue reading →

Don’t just create a brand positioning, create a brand story

The advent of digital media and changes in consumer expectations mean that brands now have to think in terms of the story they want to tell rather than just positioning themselves. This post examines the shift from positioning to story, provides an overview of brand storytelling, and exemplifies this through looking at how the Scotch … Continue reading →

More reasons why Commbank’s “Can” may take it to brand leadership

The 2012 post Can the Commonwealth Bank’s “Can” beat the other big four banks reviewed the authenticity of the brand promises of the major banks. This made the case that Commbank’s superior technical systems could allow it to credibly build its “Can” positioning to stake out brand leadership amongst the big four. As outlined in … Continue reading →

Commbank’s “Can” brand authenticity helps make it #1 in customer satisfaction?

According to Roy Morgan’s February 2013 Consumer Banking in Australia Customer Satisfaction Report, the Commonwealth Bank – for the first time since April 2000 – attained the highest customer satisfaction rating of the big four banks. This achievement adds further support to the case made previously on this blog that the authenticity of its “Can” … Continue reading →

The key qualities of great consumer insights practitioners

A recent online group discussion I participated in posed the question “Which is the most important factor that makes an insight professional outstanding”? The responses to this – from various industry professionals – ranged from the obvious to the surprising; in particular what was concluded to be the most critical ability. Based on these responses, … Continue reading →

Do brand promises really influence customer satisfaction? The case of the big four banks

The post Why brand authenticity is critical for customer satisfaction outlined the perspective that customer satisfaction is a product of brand authenticity. That is, if what a brand has and does clearly supports and lives up to its brand promise then its customers are more likely to be satisfied. This post explores the validity of … Continue reading →

Brand Truth – Brand Strategy Consulting, Melbourne

Melbourne-based specialist brand strategy consultancy. We help, challenge and inspire businesses and organisations to get the most from their brands.

How to Create Strategy That Works

Will changes to CEO remuneration drive a new era of brand investment?