Motorola is a luxury brand?

Despite postng a $397 million loss for the third quarter, Motorola is launching a new $2,000 handset featuring a 62-carat sapphire crystal lens.

The Aura handset cements Motorola’s ambition to make a come back in the world of handset brands.

The brand first hit it big in the fashion handset sector with its Razr offering, but has since failed to come up with a successor. Will the Aura be the brand’s next bit hit?

Unfortunately, we at Brand Strategy think that this new handset will fail to do anything other than create media hype.

Hello Moto – it’s crunch time, and consumers are now spending less money on non-essential items. While luxury brands have managed to so far beat the crunch, they’ve done so because of their presence and success on a global scale.

There are luxury niches for all kinds of products—wristwatches, stereo equipment, office chairs. So it’s not shocking that companies like Motorola offer high-end phones, but will consumers buy into a luxury mobile handset brand?

MTV proves Beatles still have brand power

With a Little Help from Their Friends, The Beatles’ music and legacy will live on – in the form of a video game.

Apple Corp, Harmonix and MTV Games are having a Twist and Shout about their new partnership which will bring The Beatles music to life in Strawberry Fields Forever – via a video game.  

However, it is yet unknown as to what video game the singers of Hello, Goodbye will appear. The deal certainly paves the way for the Free as a Bird band to appear in Harmonix’s Rock Band.

The games has previously featured the likes of The Who, Bon Jovi and Metalica, and now having the Beatles on board will cement Harmonix’s brand power over rival  Activision’s Guitar Hero whose biggest band to date is Aerosmith.

The partnership marks the first time Across the Universe that Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Harrisongs Ltd, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing All Together Now have agreed to present The Beatles music in an interactive video game format Eight Days a Week.

Furthermore, this is the first time that the Beatles music has been licensed for release in a digitally-distributed format. The songs that Don’t Ever Change have never before been officially licensed for release online, even through popular services such as iTunes.

Published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix, the game will A Taste of Honey and an experiential progression and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles.

The game was creatively conceived after a Hard Day’s Night with input from Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.

Sir Paul McCartney said: “The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out.”

Ringo Starr added: “It gives me great pleasure to be part of The Beatles / Apple and Harmonix / Rock Band partnership. The Beatles continue to evolve with the passing of time and how wonderful that The Beatles’ legacy will find its natural progression into the 21st century through the computerized world we live in. Let the games commence.”

Yoko Ono Lennon said the game was “cool” and hopes it will keep inspiring and encouraging many generations to come.

Jeff Jones, chief executive of Apple Corps said, “Introducing the genius of The Beatles to a whole new generation of music lovers through original and inspired ways is extremely exciting to us at Apple Corps. We are truly pleased to be working with the innovative forces at MTV and Harmonix as they embody our mutual passions for music and creativity.”

 

Brands with responsibility at their core: Ethical Superstore, Hug and Summit Media

The online ethical retailer, Ethical Superstore, has bought the organic and fairtrade Hug clothing brand. The organisation is also working with agency Summit Media, which employs offenders from HMP Wolds in the UK. Summit hopes that by employing prisoners, who are put through training and education programmes, it can assist people in turning their lives around and contributing to society.

The scheme run by Summit has seen 250 offenders pass through its scheme, of which only 10 are known to have reoffended. The national average rate for reoffending tends to be 75%.

It’s not often that we see a business with a social scheme that we are really impressed by but we like the sound of Summit Media. We like it even more because it’s not a charity agency doing nice charity-type stuff but a digital agency doing real, commercial work for clients. It just happens to have an agenda helping out people who’ve made mistakes in life, which is useful for both a business looking for new talent and the prisoners involved. We like to think this – rather than carbon offsetting – is the model for a responsible business of the future……

Bankable Assets

Ruminating on the current finance climate, Clive Woodger, managing director of SCG London asks if bank branding, amidst a background of corporate melt downs, distressed bank marriages, government takeovers and daily news of the seeming collapse of the world banking system as we know it, is now at the end or the beginning of its story.

“The implosion and disappearance of major institutions and the previously unheard of scenarios we are experiencing are mind boggling- a republican president forced to become a socialist as one senator put it, unprecedented bail outs and overnight deals, financial dynasties carved up, nationalised or allowed to die. As I write this, governments are moving quickly to protect their own national interests but at least talking about global coordinated actions.

It was ironic, then, for me to be presenting last month bank at conference in Moscow on branding strategies for mergers and acquisitions. The fall of the Soviet system came to a fast track end when it became clear reality could not be controlled and the financial system collapse is similarly in melt down mode as realities of an unfettered free market based on ‘unreal’ assets become only too clear. Ten years ago the rouble crashed in Russia and banks were seen as key culprits never to be trusted again. The euphoria of market-led development will certainly now be tempered by the lessons being learned once more in every country affected by the spreading toxicity of repackaged and remarketed ‘collateral debts’.

Luxury and wealth trends for 2009 (and beyond)

The Luxury Institute has created its usual trends for the year ahead. This time, however, there is an economic crisis which will affect the industry in multiple ways. First, the number of wealthy ‘mass consumers’ (those on decent incomes who aspire to rich lifestyles) is likely to drop as people tighten their belts or become unemployed; second, even the mega-rich have lost some money on the markets – steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has seen £16bn wiped off his fortune.

But The Luxury Institute takes the view that everything is cyclical and this is a time when those brands with the potential to last in the long term need to invest more than ever. Its trends – edited by us – for 2009 are:

1. Traditional luxury brands dramatically accelerate their internet activities

The traditional luxury industry has been slow to adopt Web 2.0. Meanwhile, innovators such as Gilt, Ideeli, A Small World, Portero, Vivre, Couture Lab and several off-the-radar players such as Bespoke Global, are gaining traction online via membership models, global communities, and by aggregating categories of bespoke luxury designers and producers in one-stop-shop destinations.

Their economics will become much more compelling as the economic downturn makes opening stores and traditional advertising economically challenging. Look for all types of traditional luxury goods and services providers to begin to imitate the techniques of these luxury innovators or to acquire them.

2. Luxury awakens to the influence of Generations X and Y in the digital area

According to The Luxury Institute’s research, 22% of consumers have executed a transaction via a mobile device, while 21% have made a payment via mobile. Those doing so tend to be under 45 years-of-age, but significantly wealthier, with household net-worth at $5+ million.

How a desire for a breast reduction could help Starbucks

It’s no secret that the Starbucks coffee brand has taken a bit of a bashing financially in the past 12 months. It’s brand was further tarnished over the past month by an article in the Sun newspaper claiming the coffee chain leaves a tap running constantly in all is shops worldwide.

Furthermore, Dunkin’ Donuts, the coffee-and-baked goods chain, recently launched a new campaign in the US highlighting a survey in which discerning ‘joe’ drinkers said they prefer Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to java from Starbucks.

The campaign also includes a new website titled “Dunkin’ Beats Starbucks.”

Dunkin’ Donuts claims that 476 adults, each of whom had consumed regular, hot brewed coffee within the past week, participated in this double-blind taste test. For the test, A&G Research used fresh packaged coffee purchased in each brand’s stores, tested each brand’s most popular flavour (Dunkin’ Donuts Original Blend versus Starbucks House Blend), brewed the coffee using equipment recommended by each brand and served it black.

According to Dunkin’ Donuts, one key finding of the survey was that among all participants, 54.2 per cent preferred Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, compared with 39.3 per cent who chose Starbucks, while 6.3 per cent expressed no preference.

So does Starbucks need a new marketing strategy or a brand refresh?

Fashion Trends At Work

New London shopping centre Westfield is aiming to launch itself as a luxury fashion-savvy brand by having popular fashion magazine Grazia edited from its environs. Grazia journalists and other staff will be housed in a perspex pod within the shopping centre for a week from 3rd November allowing shoppers to see the fashionistas at work. The magazine put together that week will be sold as a special edition, ‘Grazia Live’.

With such a stunt, Westfield hopes to grab the interest and the cash of a wealth of shoppers at the massive new fashion Mecca, which includes retail units from designer labels such as Gucci and Prada as well as the high-street staples.

The partnership begins before this with a ‘personal invitation’ inside Grazia’s 22 October edition inviting readers to attend the centre’s opening on 30th October. Fashion and shopping lifestyle are played upon further and other activity will include a downloadable Grazia/Westfield iTunes playlist and an exclusive presence for Westfield on Grazia’s new website http://www.graziadaily.co.uk

Let it be Jason Donovan

Jason Donovan, the guy who played Scott Robinson in Neighbours and now keeps reappearing in various ‘entertainment’ offerings in the UK, is in the headlines again. Seriously, some soap stars just won’t go away, but this time Donovan has broken away from acting and is once again releasing an album – Let it be me.

Don’t get too excited, while the title sounds like a Rob Stewart tribute the songs are actually more reminiscent of a 60’s high school ‘rock’ band and include pop classics such as Love Letters and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Unfortunately they don’t feature Kylie Minogue either. 

But nethertheless, the celebrate his move into this music genre, Donovan has launched an online game called Ask Jason that will allow his fans to interact and ‘play with him’ (yes, that’s what the press release said).

It’s a quirky idea and Jason is the first celebrity to take the unique decision to personally open up for a tongue in cheek look at the real person. The game offers a prize – the chance to meet the acting/singer/kiss and tell guru. But who is this aimed at?

We did a quick search on Facebook to come across Jason’s official fan page. Most of his supporters tend to be over 35 and French – are these the sort of people that participate in web games?

Perhaps we should ask Jason here by visiting www.umtv.co.uk/askjason. For now, here’s where it all started:

 

MTV EMAs – Take That, Kanye West and Estelle added to the lineup

We’ve been keeping you up to date over the past few months with news of the performers and presenters at the MTV EMAs in Liverpool this November. Now we can reveal that the event has added veteran boyband, Take That, to the lineup which already has Beyonce and Kid Rock on the bill. UPDATE: Hip-hop acts Estelle and Kanye West have now also been added to the bill.

Are you excited by this branded entertainment event sponsored by Dell and edc? Does it still have the same prestige as it used to in this day and age of digital music? Are the brands involved leveraging their relationships with MTV well? Let us know your views!

Sweet Scent of Youth

The elixir of youth has been vainly searched for through the centuries and across the world. Brands in the beauty industry have been fast to catch on to the promise of its potential, endlessly offering us seemingly chimerical potions,  with names such as ‘Time delay’, and guarantees along the lines of ‘smoother, firmer, younger-looking skin’.

Now perfumier Harvey Prince is arguing the fountain of youth is not in creams and lotions to annoint the skin but in fragrance to waft over it. It has launched what it terms the world’s first anti-aging perfume based on natural bio chemistry. This psycho-stimulant self proclaimed elixir is created with the goal of making its wearer smell younger by defying the age-related smell that emanates from your skin.

AgelessFantasy, a blend of pink grapefruit, mango, anti-oxidant rich pomegranate, jasmine and musk (apparently this is what young women smell of), promises to set off a ‘feeling of  youth and excitement’.

Is this a clever marketing ploy or a bona fide product concept for the future?