Branding the Credit Crunch

Further to our previous post on how to use brands to ensure that your business is successful during a recession, we've put together a short presentation outlining the key points.



This is the blog of Scamper Branding - building sustainable brands.

Dragon's not hungry for Very PC

This week’s Dragon's Den featured green PC manufacturer Very PC, who were asking for a £250,000 investment in return for a 5% stake in their business. It was sad to see that one of the few green businesses on the show provoked such anger from the Dragons. Peter Jones, perhaps unfairly took issue with their environmental claims, but the main issue for all Dragons was Very PC's valuation of their business at a whopping £5million. Very PC has certainly done well for itself as a small manufacturer over the last few years and won a number of awards for its low-energy computers, but the business is worth nowhere near £5million. Very PC’s managing director Peter Hopton tried to justify his valuation by saying that they were had valued the business on the strength of its brand name. This highlighted an important point. Just because you own a trademark and have achieved some publicity, doesn't inherently create brand value. From a consumer’s point of view, the brand needs to be credible and memorable, and probably needs a better name than Very PC. From an investor's point of view, the brand value must be demonstrated in some tangible way such as financial performance or consumer awareness. Hopton left the show claiming that he was treated unfairly and that investors don't take ethical businesses seriously. The truth is however, that he insulted the Dragon’s intelligence by trying to sell a business with small profits and a poor name that few people have heard of for several times its real value.

This blog is supported by Scamper Brand Strategy - Ethical Branding Experts.