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Talking about creative ways of engaging people (Tip : Stop thinking of them as Consumers)
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What do CircuitCity, Linens ‘N Things & Sharper Image have in common? Beside from the obvious fact that they have all gone belly up in the last 12 months.
Even though the stores have closed, the merchandise sold off and the signage removed, these brands still retain some value and someone wants to buy the Brand Names.In fact some one just paid 49 million dollars for Sharper Image, sans the faux cool stuff and the annoying sales people. Isn’t that great?
Just goes to show why it is worth investing in the Brand.
According to Interbrand, a branding consultant; after selling off everything they own, the Coke Brand is still worth over 66,000 million dollars, the Microsoft Brand is worth 59,000 million dollars.
For years, I have seen advertisers and marketers bandy the word Brand like there was no tomorrow. For years, come budget time, I have seen few marketing directors actually allocate anything into Brands - unless it is necessary for them to get the brand into the general consciousness of the population. Wielding ROI, KPI, EBIT and a whole bunch of acronyms, the directors decide that the Brand Building can be left for their successor or the pesky matter would magically take care of itself.
Sad.
Of course it is too late for Sharper Image to enjoy the 49 million, but at least somehow the dream, the values and most importantly the idea of Sharper Image will live on. Maybe there is something to be said for building Brands.