Will the Volkswagen brand ever recover?

I just turned to my father and said "Dad, I'm writing a blog post on VW and whether the brand can recover, what do you think?". My Dad is a loyal VW fan and has driven their cars for years and replied "I hope so, because it's a great brand". The company have created a hugely loyal customer base and have fastly become one of the biggest and most successful car brands in the world holding the largest market share in Europe. We are talking one of the biggest brands in the world here. I myself have a SEAT, one of the VW group brands and have always felt proud in the fact I am driving one of the most reliable, best quality car brands in the world (especially in comparison to my old Renault!).

A few days ago, the world was shocked to hear, a brand they had regarded as ethical, high quality and strong- had been involved in cheating diesel emissions test. I think the fact that the brand was previously seen as producing such reliable products, shocked and outraged the public more. Their stock price has tumbled and they have had to recall millions of vehicles, costing them extensively.

However, aside from the cost implications, the brand reputation has suffered immensely and will potentially continue to suffer now Audi's cars have been announced as part of the scandal. The question is, will they ever recover from this scandal?

People bought the cars in question based on the promise they had low emissions and in lying about this, VW have not only broken their customers trust, but the law! It is not a typical crisis in the fact this was a deliberate defiance, not an accident as we saw in the BP oil spill or a lack of due diligence within standardisation checks such as the Tesco horse meat scandal- no, this was knowingly and deliberately done by certain VW employees.

Volkswagen's CEO has resigned despite claiming to know nothing of the cheat, the company have also pledged over 6 billion euros in restoring consumer's trust and correcting any wrongdoing. They have also pulled any new marketing campaigns- yet this is a small step in restoring not only brand equity, but stop the company from going under as a whole.

It will be an interesting watch to see how and if the brand recover and what steps they take in a case which is not a typical crisis management.

Gamechangers and Rockstar games' resentment towards the BBC

The BBC docu-drama 'Gamechangers' has been receiving countless negative reviews and has created substantial PR around the Rockstar Games brand and the infamous video game 'Grand Theft Auto'. The film is "based on true events" surrounding the story of Devin Moore who killed three police officers, who some believe was due to him continually playing the violent video game.

It's well-worth a watch despite the reviews, I was intrigued to learn about the brand and the story as a whole, especially as it is partly-factual. Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is the best-selling entertainment product ever made and has caused controversy in the past for its violent and graphic nature. The creators- Rockstar Games are a British company who have received multiple awards for their gaming creativity and continue to sell millions of copies upon every release- despite the heightened press coverage surrounding the violent nature of the games. Their is a huge debate within the media as to whether violent video games lead their players to conduct violent acts and this is a key topic explored in the docu-drama.

Rockstar Games filed a lawsuit against the BBC as they felt the film did not show the brand nor the events that took place in a true light. Of course, Rockstar games would be against a film which a) painted them in a negative light and b) a piece of PR which they had no sort of say or control over.

The company reacted strongly to the film once it had ended, publishing this tweet:

@BBC Was Basil Brush busy? What exactly is this random, made up bollocks?

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 15, 2015

At first, you would have thought this might be a potential PR crisis for the brand, but in fact, judging by twitter, TV reviews, blog posts and news articles- consumers seem to be siding with Rockstar Games over the BBC:

The gaming industry as a whole is very protective over its makers and they gain a lot of respect by their fans. GTA is also one of Britain's most successful exports and therefore people are very protective over it, especially those who enjoy playing it. Ultimately, if anything, this has painted the BBC in a negative light.

It is interesting to see how something which may be a potential crisis for a brand, can actually leave their customers feeling closer and more positively towards it. Docu-dramas/ documentaries about brands and companies do not usually provide this result- as is the case with Blackfish, the documentary on Sea World which has lead to their profits downfalling ever since. Consumers' morals are so important within marketing and can often erase any sort of positive associations one has with a brand, Sea World was once so loved and had really strong, positive brand associations surrounding family, love, protection and care for animals and what Blackfish has done is detrimental to all of the above. 

However, GTA lovers seem to disagree with what has been presented to them in terms of a moral argument. Perhaps their needs to be further evidence or, sadly, another disaster which can be linked to playing the games, until consumers will react negatively towards them. 

The amazing role that brand and product heritage can play in marketing

I recently worked for a gin brand at a festival where I was demonstrating and sampling different flavours of gin and explaining the concepts behind them to consumers. One of the style of gins was called 'Old Tom' and the story behind it was that in the Victorian times when gin was made in peoples homes, because of the production methods- it had a foul taste and contained a lot of nasty ingredients, hence a substantial amount of sugar was added which nowadays has lead to the style of gin being much sweeter. This little historical story was really memorable and made the product seem a lot more interesting and from my perspective was a lot easier to sell as I had a little story to sell it with.

Brand heritage is nothing new, from the likes of Kellog's Cornflakes to Vimto Squash, the roles that heritage and history have to play in delivering a likeable brand are invaluable. Long-established brands have a place in consumers' hearts and can in fact help a brand to ensure longevity and relevance.

From a creative perspective, brands who use their heritage to tell stories or communicate their values often succeed. It can really set a brand apart from its consumers, as is the case with these impressive brands:

Baxter of California

This American men's skin care brand produced this beautifully shot ad and their whole brand is built on this rich heritage and they are very true to their roots. Their tagline is 'Grooming generations of gentlemen' and Baxter Finley's story makes the consumer feel as though they are buying in to a person rather than a corporation.  The video really captures the values of the brand and by playing on their years of heritage- Baxters can claim to know a fair bit about skincare. This will also allow Baxter to charge a premium price for their products, make them appear to be more reputable and the brand legacy gives consumers this character to buy in to and appreciate- and also be entertained and driven towards. The fact that Baxters were one of the first brands that got men grooming makes them instantly likeable and still, if you look at their products, they are simple and traditional. This means their entire brand is coherant and consistent. They aren't trying to be the Gilette of innovation or the Clinique of clinical products, but that's OK- you can't be all things to all people- and Baxters stick to what they know which is why they are so successful. They are also choosey about their stockists, sites such as Mr Porter- the male version of net-a-porter, an ultra stylish and premium site, means the brand is never undermined or cheapened by its distribution channels.  Overall- a really classy brand, displaying its brand heritage and playing on the originality of the brand.

Caterpillar

Caterpillar is the world's leading construction equipment manufacturer, fun fact- I was due to go to an interview for their marketing department after my interview at IBM, but turned it down after I got my job offer! This video is a bit long and super cheesy- but it really captures how the brand was started and how it has evolved.  Again, storytelling is key here and the fact Cat helped to build the hoover dam and the golden gate bridge are obviously claims which not many companies can match and the brand would be foolish to not play on this within their marketing activity. They also highlight heartwarming anecdotes like helping to rebuild the U.S. after the world wars and still continue to rebuild societies after natural distasters to this day. This is a really great example of how brands can continue to install faith in their consumers and reflect on heritage in a positive way. Due to the nature of the industry in which Caterpillar operates, of course they must be innovate and evolve to stay relevant and use technology to serve customers. However, it is clever how Cat have used their heritage as their underlying principles and to deliver the same high quality products years on. The yellow trademark vehicles are iconic and Caterpillar should continue to use their extensive heritage within their marketing activity- what a priceless asset.

Nike

This one needs no introduction, the most valuable sports brand in the world. Their brand heritage is firmly embedded in their corporate culture and employees are given extensive training on the history of Nike and what it stands for. This then translates in to what they communicate to consumers- what their foundation was and why they exist, which lead to their longstanding commitment to athlete's performance. Even their offices are designed around their heritage so it is engraved in the corporate culture from the beginning. Despite Nike's controversial setbacks, they still reign as number one over adidas, and one could argue it is their global relevance which gives them this advantage. 'Just Do It' is an absolute success story- no one can argue that the slogan doesn't belong to the iconic brand and it is the memorability of the brand based on its commitment to its heritage which makes consumers continually flock to buy the products. Of course, with sponsorships and TV adverts coming out of their ears, Nike's marketing budget means the brand always stays relevant, but I believe their strong heritage could help them in times of brand crisis- a problem they seem to frequently encounter. Steph

The BEST and WORST of April Fools Day marketing campaigns

There isn't an event in the calender that marketers can't highjack nowadays and April Fools Day was no exception. This April 1st (before 12pm of course) swarms of marketing teams launched their clever tricks on to their consumers, attempting to catch them out and all in all gaining some coverage of their brands. Here are a few of my personal favourites from this year's jokers:

Playstation Flow

Playstation released this video launching their new Flow product:


I am going to be the first to shamefully admit I only realised it was a wind-up about 30 seconds in after I'd been cringing at the ladies over cheesy tone-of-voice! The video was funny, in line with their brand without being too out there or tacky and presented some great characters! Playstation even created a website surrounding the hoax product here which actually indicates the Flow was a joke- however a great new virtual reality product titled 'Project Morpheus' is actually in production! What a great way to create a buzz around the product and display Playstation's innovation without showing off- also a great way to get traffic to their website! Hats off Playstation! Microsoft Lumia Microsoft came up with this video announcing their new phone will go back to their original operating system: MS DOS a.k.a the operating system we all knew from those ancient PCs we had in the 90's that took ten minutes to boot up....
I'm not sure who Microsoft were trying to amuse here, but I doubt I'm the only one who didn't find this funny. The video wasn't easy to watch nor do I believe it will appeal to all of Microsoft's target audience- I'm not even sure the majority of them will get it. Are Microsoft just trying to make techys laugh here? If so- OK.... but therefore it can't really be considered as a mass marketing campaign. I'm just not sure about the whole thing! Microsoft's marketing annoys me full stop- sorry but I think it's crap despite actually liking the brand! They don't indicate their own capabilities and display any competitive advantage despite them losing customers to competitors on a daily basis! Up your game please MS!! Carlsberg Drone
How many guys wish this one wasn't an April Fool's Day joke? Really simple, yet funny and made every guy who watched dream of a beer drone I reckon!? I really like the video and I actually think it will have caught some people out! However, what I don't understand is why Carlsberg teamed up with the Northampton Chronicle to deliver them a bit of PR? A slightly ludicrous article which I'm not sure fits in with the Carlsberg brand whatsoever! I would love to have seen a bit of experiential marketing to coincide with the ad- something really low budget- maybe some surprised customers unexpectedly receiving their Carlsbergs! The ad almost looks as though it was thrown together a bit last minute and there's a lot more the brand could have done in extending the reach of the campaign.   Costa and a Kip
I don't know about you but I really want an ostrich pillow! Costa released this April Fools video announcing their new napping pillows to be trialed in store:
Costa are one of the last brands I would have expected to bring out such a humorous video- which is maybe why this prank works so well! I almost see the brand as slightly pretentious and therefore this shows a much lighter side to Costa and I think it works really well! The video is super short and therefore leaves you with a really puzzled look on your face! 
I don't think I've seen much Costa advertising before- but I would love to see more from you Costa!
Tweet me with more of your favourite April Fools marketing campaigns and let me know what you think of mine!
Stephanie