AT Carlton & United Breweries any brand changes (including positioning) pass through a rigorous, thoroughly-considered process.
We are our brands—our company tagline is “Building Great Australian Brands”—so we do not take any change lightly as it ultimately influences the equity of that brand.
This leads you through the logic that says that any change you see to our brands must be well-considered and be taken to benefit the brand. And that is spot-on.
Changes to brands are usually made in advance of when they are fully needed. So consumer research and being receptive to innovations play key roles.
To give an example, the changes to Cascade Premium Lager were made after two years of research into the brand and new packaging, and so on—the results have been extremely successful for the brand.
Some brands are more open to change, for example Carlton Cold, as it predominantly appeals to a demographic which is much more receptive to innovations.
But even here, such innovations need to be fully considered and evaluated to ensure that they are fully aligned with what the consumer wants.
Ron Mather
National creative director
The Campaign Palace
So often a brand just needs revitalising. Most brands have got a core essence, but they shouldn’t be allowed to get tired. Often you don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I don’t think there are many campaigns in Australia, where people keep evolving them over time.
Target is an example of one that stands out. Hard Yakka, for instance, is a brand that has an idea or a positioning that you could build on.
It’s crazy, [a lot of brands try to] reinvent the wheel every couple of years. A lot of clients now are very schizo—not the people, but the actual brands. They keep changing personality.
Wherever you see a great campaign—for example, Heineken—it makes it so much easier. If there’s a great idea, you can build on it.
People like to put their stamp on things.
But the good creatives recognise a good campaign and would love to get the chance to work on it. It’s sad there’s not more of them. There are so many big brands in Australia that should have powerful ideas.
Or you could change your campaign every year, but make it fresh and entertaining, so that people would start to wonder what you’d do next. You’d need an underlying philosophy.
Nike go up and they come down, but at least they’re entertaining and they have a confident philosophy.
Alex Pinsuti
Marketing manager
Hyundai
I think marketers have to tread very carefully.
There’s so much equity in brand lines and it costs so much to change them—especially when everyone is belt-tightening. I think marketers often grow tired of their brand line or positioning [before] their consumers do. The investment needed to change [positioning and taglines] is huge.
[I think brands should change positioning] when there is going to be a permanent change of some sort. If [a change is] just because of business cycles, then that’s not a reason to change. I’m not advocating that you don’t ever change it—you just have to be sure.
