Unit 1 BRANDS
OVERVIEW
A. STARTING UP
Vocabulary: Brand Management
Reading: Building luxury
brands
Language Review: Present
Simple and Present Continuous
Skills: Taking part in meetings
1. Comment on the following quotation:
ˮProducts are made in the factory, but brands are made
in the mindˮ Walter Landor (1913-1995), branding
pioneer
2. Work with a partner. List some of your favourite brands. Then answer these questions.
1. Do you / Would you buy any of the following brands? Why? / Why not?
2. Which of the brands below do you think feature in the top-ten Interbrand1
list in both 1999 and 2007?
3. How loyal are you to the brands you have chosen? For example. when
you buy jeans, do you always buy Levi's? Why do people buy brands?
4. Why do you think some people dislike brands
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Interbrand. Interbrand is a brand consultancy, specializing in areas such as brand strategy, brand analytics,
brand valuation, etc. Interbrand has 24 offices in 17 countries.
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5. Do you / Would you
buy any of the
following brands?
Why? / Why not?
6. Which of the brands
above do you think
feature in the top-ten
Interbrand2 list in both
1999 and 2007?
7. How loyal are you to
the brands you have
chosen? For example,
when you buy jeans,
do you always buy
Levi's? Why do
people buy brands?
8. Why do you think some people dislike brands?
9.
3. Pick 3 brands (food brands, car brands, and clothing brands),
which interest you. What image and qualities does each one Value for money
have? Use the words and phrases in the box to help you. Well-made
Reliable
Upmarket
Fun
Fashionable
Timeless
Well-made
Inexpensive
Sophisticated
Classic
Stylish
2
Interbrand. Interbrand is a brand consultancy, specializing in areas such as brand strategy, brand analytics,
brand valuation, etc. Interbrand has 24 offices in 17 countries.
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B. VOCABULARY
1. Match the word partnerships in the box to their meaning:
Loyalty 1 1. the tendency to always buy a particular brand
Image 2. using an existing name on another type of product
Brand Stretching 3. The ideas and beliefs people have about a brand
Awareness 4. The tendency to always buy a particular brand
Name 5. How familiar people are with a brand(or its logo and
slogan)
Launch 1. the set of products made by a company
Lifecycle 2. the use of a well-known person to advertise products
Product Range 3. when products are used in films or TV programmes
Placement 4. the introduction of a product to the market
Endorsement 5. the length of time people continue to buy a product
1. the percentage of sales a company has
Leader 2. customers of similar age, income level or social
Research group
Market Share 3. the best –selling product or brand in a market
Challenger 4. information about what cosumers want or need
Segment 5. the second best-selling product or brand in a market
2. Complete these sentences with word partnerships from Exercise A.
1. No one recognizes our logo or slogan. We need to spend more on advertising to raise…brand
awareness……
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2. Consumers who always buy Sony when they need a new TV are showing . . .brand
loyaly . . . . . . . .
3. A fashion designer who launches his o r her own perfume is an example of…brand
stretching……………….
4. The . . brend image. . . . . . . . . . of Mercedes-Benz is such that its products are seen as safe,
reliable, luxurious, well made and expensive.
5. George Clooney advertising Nespresso is an example of . .product .endorsement . . . . . . . . .
6. A . product.lifecyle . . . . . . . . . consists of introduction, growth, maturity and decline.
7. Tesco's wide . . .product . . . . .range . . . . means that it appeals to all sectors of the UK market.
8. The use of Aston Martin cars and Sony computers in James Bond films are examples of . . . . .
product endorsement. . . . . . .
9. Microsoft is the . . . market leader. . . . . . . . in computer software.
10. In countries with ageing populations, the over·60s age group is becoming an increasingly
important . . . . .market segment . . . . . . . .
11. Pepsi is the . .market . challenger . . . . . . . in carbonated soft drinks.
12. Focus groups and consumer surveys are ways of conducting . . market. . . research . . . .
...
Discuss in groups the following questions
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages for companies of product
endorsements?
2. How can companies create brand loyalty?
3. Can you give any examples of successful or unsuccessful brand stretching?
4. Think of a cheap or expensive idea for a product launch.
5. What other market segments can you identify (e.g. young singles).
6. What action can companies take if they start to lose market share?
READING: Building luxury brands
Read the article from The Financial Times and complete the notes in the map
below:
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RESTLESS PURSUER OF LUXURY’S FUTURE
by Vanessa Friedman
Sydney Toledano (Dior's Chief Executive) is one of (he longest
serving chief executives in the luxury industry. As the industry goes
global, he must balance the demands of shareholders and the values of
a historic label. the need for exclusivity and the need for expansion.
He routinely communicates with his demanding boss, Bernard
Arnault, main shareholder of Christian Dior, and a number of creative
types, including Dior's clothes designer John Galliano and jewelry
designer Victoire de Castellane. ˮThe best advice I ever got was that,
when times are bad, you need to get out of the office; when things are
good, you can spend lime on the organisation,ˮ says Mr Toledano,
who travels almost every week to one of Dior's 224 stores round the
world. ˮ You have to look for newness, look for what is happening
next. Forget the calculator. Understand the people from different
countries and what they want.ˮ
It was by spending lime in China in the 1980s. for example, when he worked at the French
leather-goods house Lancel, that Mr Toledano first realised China would one day be prime territory
for luxury. ˮ I met some factory owners, and they were working so hard, but then they would bring
you to a restaurant and it was clear they wanted to enjoy life,ˮ he says. ˮAnd I thought: one day
these people are going to have money and they are going to spend it.ˮ
A few years later, Bernard Arnault contacted him. ˮThe interview took 15 minutes. He knew
exactly what he wanted.ˮ says Mr Toledano: to take a small couture house he had bought out of
bankruptcy and build it into the biggest luxury group in the world. Mr Arnault has used Dior to
create LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, the world's largest luxury group).
Christian Dior can double in five years he says. ˮThere may be difficult times coming, but if
you look at the Middle East, China, even Europe. I believe there is growth coming, and we have to
develop our network and perfect our supply chain. The next wave of luxury buyers is now in the
new territories: the Middle East, Russia. Hong Kong and South Korea. Mr Toledano believes not
only that a brand should go to its customers but that it should anticipate their needs and invest early
ill markets that may not show real growth for up to six years.
Financial Times
GRAMMAR
The present simple and the present continuous have several uses.
• We use the present simple to give factual information, for example about
company activities.
Christian Dior Couture makes lUxury, ready-to-wear fashion.
Dior Homme targets the male consumer.
• We use the present simple to talk about routine activities o r habits.
Toledano routinely communicates with his demanding boss.
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Toledano travels every week to one of Dior's 224 stores.
• We use the present continuous to talk about ongoing situations and projects.
Fashion house Christian Dior is now se/ling baby bottles.
• We use the present continuous to talk about temporary situations.
Dior is currently looking to recruit a marketing director for the UK and Ireland.
1. Complete these sentences with the present simple or the present continuous form of the verbs
in brackets.
1. a) At the moment, eBay . . . . . . . . .(work) with brand owners to remove fake items.
b) eBay . . . . . . . . . . now (spend) $20m a year analyzing suspicious sales.
2. a) Louis Vuitton usually . . . . . . . . . . . . (sell) its products through authentic Louis Vuitton
boutiques.
b) At the moment, Louis Vuitton . . . . . . (negotiate) with Hubert de Givenchy.
3. a) Both Apple and BlackBerry . . . . . . . . . . . (launch) important new products this year.
b) These days, a lot of people . . . . . . . . . . . (have) a BlackBerry.
2. Complete this text with the present simple or the present continuous form of the verbs in
brackets.
The Google brand . . . . . . . . . (grow) rapidly. According to the Millward Brown Brandz
report, it . . . . . . . (hold) first place in the list of top 100 brands. In fact, the IT field .........
(dominate) the top-ten corporate brands. Google . . . . . . . . . . . . (operate) websites at many
international domains, the most popular being www.google.com. and...... (generate) revenue by
providing effective advertising opportunities. Google always . . . . . . (focus) on the user, and
consumers usually . . . . . . . . . . . . (see) Google as quite trustworthy.
Nowadays, companies . . . . . . . . . . . . (begin) to recognise that brands are amongst their most
valuable assets. They understand that brands . . . . . . . (become) ever more powerful in driving
business growth. Strong brands . . . . . (generate) superior returns and protect businesses from risk.
Google currently . . . . . (hold) the top position, but it has to keep innovating if it wants to remain
number one. BlackBerry and Apple are the two fastest-growing brands in the top 100, and China
Mobile . . . . . . . . . (grow) steadily, too.
Role-play the following situation:
Jeanne de Brion is a jewellery company in Boston. USA. A year ago. it launched a line of jewellery
with the brand name ·Cecile·. This is the name of the French designer who created the collection.
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Unfortunately. the Cecile line has not achieved its sales targets.Three directors of the company meet
to discuss how to improve sales.
Director 1 Director 2
Director 3
