People make brands
The young company Postfinance is just as strong a brand as Victorinox with its 130-year history. How these and other companies have built and maintain their brands, how they interact and communicate with customers, depends essentially on three factors.
Behind brands such as Victorinox, Postfinance, V-Zug and Pilatus Aircrafts are people. With vision, knowledge and experience, they have created strong brands with customer-oriented offerings. What has made these Swiss brands so successful? What can managers or marketing managers learn from the people behind these successfully positioned brands? What are their recipes for success and how do they deal with current challenges, such as the inclusion of social media in customer service?
Three principles for success
The Swiss companies interviewed for the recently published book "People make brands" have all taken a different path. They include young companies such as Postfinance and Green.ch, but also established brands such as Victorinox and Villiger. They are also active in various sectors. These include aircraft construction (Pilatus Flugzeugwerke), the entertainment industry (DJ Bobo) and tool manufacturing (PB Swiss Tools). Three principles for success emerged from all the discussions with the entrepreneurs about brand management, customer service and integrated communication with the social web. They run like a common thread through all the discussions and, despite all the differences, show what these successful companies have in common. The three principles of success can be summarized as follows:
1. brand management is a matter for the boss
The first principle of success: a brand must have an origin and therefore a history. Brands and companies must be top of mind and remain in the conversation. This requires unique selling points and a clear positioning on the market in order to stand out from the competition and be a leader in the relevant product category through communication. Be it through advertising (classic or below the line) or other marketing activities. To achieve this, brand management is placed at management level. In other words: brand management is a matter for the boss. At Diwisa, for example, the entire vision and passion came from the then CEO René Gut. This had to come from the top and also be lived from the top. If vision and passion are not lived by the owner or CEO, brand management cannot work. At Pilatus Aircraft Works, brand management is also at the very top. This means that brand management strategy can be influenced directly and centrally from the very top.
...
You can read the full text in the current issue of Werbewoche 16/2016. here Your license to read.
The Author: Florian Zimmermann has been working in marketing and communication since 1998. He is a consultant in a media agency and co-owner of a communications agency. He also works as a trainer and coach for various major clients. Icp-zimmermann.ch
