Paul Rankin's Carefully Selected Diglycerides

We often talk about the need for brands to be transparent and have integrity. Today we purchased some of Paul Rankin's Irish Potato Farls which looked like good quality trustworthy product. As the packet told us, they were warm, wholesome and natural. The packet states that "Paul Rankin (TV celebrity chef) has selected only the finest ingredients to create these Irish potato farls".



Interestingly though, the ingredients list reads as follows: Partially reconstituted dried potato, wheat flour, vegetable oil, salt, preservatives (calcium proportionate, potassium sorbate), Emulsifier (Mono-and-Diglycerides of fatty acids), Stabiliser (Diphosphates), Colour (Beta Carotene).

Either they are lying that Paul Rankin selected these ingredients himself, or Paul Rankin has a very strange choice of makes the finest ingredients.

As we keep saying brands need to stop patronising their customers and start living upto the claims they make. In the long term, its the brands that show genuine integrity that will earn the greatest following and therefore success.

This blog is supported by the ethical brand experts, Scamper Brand Strategy.

Origins needs to be more than just Organic

The US cosmetics brand Origins Organics has just launched in the UK and its good to see more environmentally friendly brands entering the market. The core identity of the brand is rather cliché, with the organic name, tree logo and green colour scheme, but overall the presentation is extremely high quality and on a par with other high end skin care brands.

What’s a shame though, is that their marketing materials focussed almost entirely on the fact that the products are organic, and therefore good for the environment. Surely, if they want to seriously give conventional brands a run for their money and convince consumers to pay their high prices, they will need to focus on the benefit of their products in terms of skin care, health and beauty. How do they make you feel? How do they make you look? If they want to emphasise their organic ingredients then the health and beauty benefits would certainly be of more value to most consumers than the reduced environmental impact.

This blog is supported by the ethical brand experts, Scamper Brand Strategy

If you trust me, I’ll trust you

Today we visited a local farm shop to buy some free range eggs. We found the shop up a track on the edge of town and could see the hens roaming alongside. However, despite appearing open, there were no staff. Inside we found a small note next to a basket of money, stating that if you visit out of hours, please write down what you have bought and leave the money in the basket. Astonished by their open approach and not only paid for own eggs, but even left a small tip. It clearly wouldn’t work in the centre of most towns or cities, but the underlying message is an important one. If you want to build a relationship with your customers based on trust, then one of the most powerful things you could do is to show that you trust them.

Many businesses forget that it takes two to build a relationship.

This blog is supported by the ethical brand experts, Scamper Brand Strategy.

A good Brand is more than skin deep

The question is often asked, "What is a brand?". There are many explanations but a quick explanation is that it is like a persons reputation, but applied to a product, service or organisation. It is 'who' they/it is in the mind of the target customer.

Here's a longer explanation:

The first part of building a reputation relies on people knowing that a person (or brand) exists. Many companies think that this awareness is the most important element of a brand, but without any meaning attached to it, building awareness is a somewhat fruitless activity. More important than whether they are known, is what they are known for. Until you get to know someone personally, appearances and first impressions count for a lot. It’s what attracts you to them and drives you to get to know them further. This is one of the reasons why a brand’s identity in terms of its name, visual identity and other elements such as slogans are important. What’s more, they also allow you to be identified and remembered, which is crucial if you want a long term relationship.

When you first meet people, you’ll probably get to know basic facts about them such as their profession, hobbies, hometown etc. These are like a product or organisation's features and together with their identity can provide the starting point for a conversation. Its important to get people interested, but making small talk is not the basis of a strong friendship. Real friendship is about personality. Do you connect with them on an emotional level? Can you relate to them? Do you trust them? How do they make you feel?

With brands, just as with people, everyone will respond differently. Some will be disinterested or dislike the brand, some will become friends and some will fall in love. Too many companies position themselves in the middle of the road thinking that they need to appeal to everyone. The consequence is brands that no one really cares strongly about either way. The most successful brands strike a careful balance. They focus on appealing specifically to their target market, without doing anything so controversial that it might cause offence. In the long term, having a small group of consumers fall in love with you is far more powerful than having a large group of consumers think that you’re okay. These devoted consumers will become your greatest promotional tool, telling their friends, family and colleagues about how wonderful you are and how important you are in their lives. It costs you nothing and is far more convincing than any advertisement.

Like any relationship though, the more heavily you are involved, the more careful you need to be. Betray your customer and their love could quickly turn to hate. Authenticity is essential for long term success. It’s not enough to just create an enticing image, it needs to go more than skin deep. The essence of your brand needs to run through every aspect of your organisation. Factors such as product design, customer service, manufacturing and distribution must all work together to tell a powerful, consistent story about who you are.

This blog is supported by the ethical brand experts, Scamper Brand Strategy