Arla upgrades design of Arla Cow hard cheese

My husband and I take turns doing the weekly grocery shopping. Today it was his turn and yet again he managed to do his shopping in 40 minutes. A trip that normally takes me about 1,5hours since I tend to spend more time looking at brands, new launches and new design, rather than focusing on the shopping list... Well, I guess it comes with the trade...

Anyway, when unloading the bags I managed to spot something quite interesting. I think I've previously highlighted the brand positioning 'closer to nature' work by Arla, one of the largest dairy FMCG companies in Europe. Arlas new brand positioning has so far resulted in a new corporate logo, an impressive number of new ads and quite a few new products. The Arla total brand family is huge, and it cannot be an easy task trying to connect all the different sub-brands to the now more 'natural' motherbrand. Some need to be tied more closely to the core values of the 'mother', and others should be allowed to act more freely, given a different role in the market.

Anyway, back to the point. What I spotted today was a new design for Arla's range of hard cheese. Looking at the previous design it may have been clear and recognisable. But it also gave a very industrial and cold impression. With Arla now aiming for a warmer, more natural touch, it was interesting to see the upgraded design of hard cheese. Spot the difference below.

To the left you can see the old design for Arla Präst - with the Arla Cow quite prominently displayed on the front, on black background, and with a photo of a sandwich with cheese on the left.

What can one say about this design? Cold, rather boring, basic, isn't it?

Now, look at the new design below. And bear in mind that the pastic packaging solution is exactly the same.
Personally I think the new design conveys a higher quality cheese. But not only that. In the new design there is a linkage to cheese heritage and tradition, and a clearer and more logical brand architecture with connection between Arla corporate, Arla  cow and last but not least to the variant Präst. I especially like the new Cow seal that holds the variant name.

In the new design Arla is also aiming to lift the taste and consumer benefits of Präst cheese through simple yet tasteful storytelling. I think this is the right way to go in a category that is highly competitive and where Arla must convince consumers that it makes sense to stick to the Arla brand, and not divert to the growing number of cheap no label or private label alternatives.

One thing that I find may still be missing in the new design is a stronger connection to 'naturalness'. The usage of 'beige' is surely there to convey this feel but maybe it could have been even more prominent. Hard cheese is surely a natural product - so there is definetely no mismatch with naturalness and the product itself.

So, to summarise the argumentation above I must say that I like these upgrades by Arla and I look forward to follow the next steps of Arla building and developing their brand and broad product portfolio.

Norwegian Airlines – the impact of poor customer service on a total brand experience

About once per week I set the alarm on a quarter to four in the morning and drag myself out of bed to prepare to catch a flight to Finland and a good day of meetings. I’ve got the total morning routine sussed out pretty well by now. 

Once at the airport Finnair or SAS used to be my airlines of choice. But then I discovered the simplicity of flying Norwegian. A streamlined process with quick check-in and no queues at terminal 2, and the gate just after security, not a 2k walk away… With nice new planes and smiling staff there has simply been nothing to complain about. By now I have probably experienced around 40 Norwegian Airline journeys to and from Finland. And I must say I used to be a fairly content and satisfied customer. I could in fact even call myself a  Norwegian Airlines brand promoter. Well, that was until today…

A first issue is that at Helsinki Vantaa airport Norwegian has moved from terminal 1 to terminal 2. Since the move check-in is just not working as well any longer and today it was a nightmare. I was late – this is true. But I was there just a few minutes before the check-in closed 45 minutes before take-off. With no luggage to check-in I wasn’t the least worried. However, I somehow managed to mess around with my booking number and the check-in machine. The usual things like writing a 0 instead of an O… and the clock must have ticked on… so all of a sudden the machine wouldn’t allow check-in anymore…

So I promptly walked to the check-in staff. There were two people in front of me in the queue and two staff, one woman and one man. The man was busy doing something important so he couldn’t be bothered with customers and the queue grew. I waited patiently and the clock turned to 40 minutes before check-in until I got to speak to the lady. She informed me that I had missed my opportunity to check-in... Of course I got a bit stressed about this as you do... Especially since I had promised to pick-up my kid from kindergarten straight from the flight.

I said: “I was here before 45 minutes but I had to jiggle with the machines…and I went to the counter as soon as I realized they did not work ”. The lady looked over at her colleague the man and he said: “Oh, so it really took you 10 minutes to walk from the machine to the counter”

Well, I am pregnant but I am still rather mobile... and the journey from the machine to the counter was approx 10 meters. So no, the walk probably took me about 20 seconds... The cheek of a rude man! I got so furious at this supposed to be customer service guy who took the opportunity to tell me off and really enjoy it too! It was totally unnecessary, especially since he simply could have told me in a nice way that I could check in with my mobile phone and the code – which I also did after a furious walk to security. I'm now going to use the strong word bastard!

So, my brand experience of Norwegian has deterioriated through this smug little man who took the opportunity to tell off a customer who used to be a brand promoter. And a customer who via her company spends approx 6000-8000SEK on Norwegian journeys per month. What a clever man!

So this long storey is the storey of how I moved from brand promoter to a brand disliker through one poor customer interface that lasted just a few minutes. One man managed to ruin a relationship I have with Norwegian Airlines - and believe me, this example will be used by me as a future reference when I talk about the importance of delivering a branded service promise at ‘key moments of truth’. This certainly was one for me...

Tesco moves beyond private label with venture brand Chocablok

I read something today that I found really fascinating. And this is why I want to share these news with you. Earlier this year Tesco unveiled their plans to develop global product brands, that are different to traditional retailer private label. For a start, these Tesco brands are no longer talked of as private label, but instead they are seen as brands in their own right, and there is no mention of the Tesco parent brand on the packaging.

The first of these brands to hit the shelves was a luxury ice-cream brand called Chocablok. Chocablok is claimed to be made by an “expert team of master cremeliers’ with more than 100 years experience between them. It is a luxury ice cream made from what is said to be a blend of the finest ingredients including real chocolate, whole milk, double cream and free- range eggs. Sounds all good to me! I can't wait to try this one...

But, it doesn't come cheap... Each pack retails at £3.99 per 500ml, a pricing that clearly emphasises its premium positioning amongst the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, Haägen Dazs, and Mövenpick.

What does Tesco say about this then? “Our venture brands are very different to own-label,” said Tesco brand developer, Sidonie Kingsmill to Marketing Magazine, “they will never be "me-too" products. We look at where the customer opportunities are, where brands are not succeeding and what we can do in addition to brands. We’re in a unique position as the biggest retailer, with access to the best suppliers worldwide.”

This development made me reflect on the limitations of private label. Private label has developed a lot since its early days as a discount and often rather boring offer. Today we can find PL goods across the whole range of categories and the British retailers are phenomenal at this. However, this Tesco example might also demonstrate some of the limitations of PL. Clearly Tesco isn't just doing this for fun. No, instead they've carefully analysed the situation and realised that they can make even more money if they also develop brands that are 'freed' from the motherbrand, and thus able to compete against other brands with no danger of being held back by the mother brand associations i.e. in this case Tesco.
Well, that is just one reflection, I guess there must be more reasons why Tesco is venturing into this arena. And maybe some of the other simple reasons are: plenty of cash, retailer power and distribution network. They simply can!

Starbucks continues expansion plans in Sweden

In 2010 the first Starbucks was opened in Sweden at terminal 5 at Arlanda airport. Now it's apparently time for more, as Starbucks plans to open up a few more cafés next year at the high traffic locations of central stations in Gothenburg and Malmö.

Sweden already have a number of Starbucks 'wannabees' including Waynes Coffee and Espresso House. I've complained before that I don't think those two chains have established enough differentiation and uniqueness in their brand and service concept. And with Starbucks entering they might have to think about this, and how to keep their customer base if a Starbucks would open up around the corner. Strong brands always have a big advantage, but of course - in the coffee chain world the biggest advantage of all is great tasting coffee at a high traffic location... 

Consolidation in market research industry when Ipsos buys Synovate

I met with a research professional and good contact today and heard the interesting news today that Ipsos has announced the acquisition of Synovate. This means that Ipsos will climb the ladder to become one of the biggest three market research agencies in the world behind the likes of Nielsen and Kantar group (TNS, Millward brown).

It will be interesting to follow the next steps and to understand how these two businesses are planning to merge their respective cultures and processes into one whole, and to see what they are going to sell as their key propositions to customers like you and me...

Measuring Brand Equity

When you work with brands you sometimes need to identify the ones worth the marketing bucks. I googled the Y&R Brand Asset Valuator approach today which is a method I used years ago when working on this topic. And I came across this quite interesting slideShare presentation which worked as a useful reminder of the many different approaches out there... Some I believe to be better than others. Enjoy!

Measuring Brand Equity

View more presentations from Carol Phillips.

Knorr - Bag of Taste, clever new concept by Unilever

Just saw the Knorr 'Bag of Taste' ad on the telly and just had to write a short note to say that I love this new concept by Knorr. During recent years we've already seen a couple of good launches by Knorr and they appear to be on the perfect path to growth.

I also believe that Unilever has done a good job revitalising the Knorr brand and I see the 'Bag of Taste' as yet another evidence that they have great new concepts in the pipeline, concepts with benefits that are built on real consumer insights and that will help the Knorr brand to climb on the value ladder.

Starbucks - a unique and well crafted positioning in the world of coffee

[Source: Online MBA]

Wolf brings Swedbank brand back on track?

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending 'Stora Annonsördagen', an event organised by the Swedish Advertisers federation. CEOs of some of Swedens largest corporations were talking about the importance of strong brands, brand equity, brand values, living the brand and communicating the brand. Surely bound to be some topics that you rarely hear them mention on a day to day basis.


The recent Swedbank brand and communication story was a particularly interesting case told by Swedbank CEO Michael Wolf. For those out there who don't know Swedbank it is the largest retail bank in Sweden but it also has significant presence in the Baltics. In fact, it was the recession and especially the bad debt in the Baltics that caused particular turmoil. It was at the beginning of 2009 when Swedbank was in serious trouble and had to be saved by the loan guarantees by the Swedish state. And the crisis and all the accompanying bad press had a negative effect on the Swedbank brand trust and credibility. This is when Mr Wolf took over as the CEO.

Today the situation is quite different. Sweden is in growth again and the horrible year of 2009 is 'almost' forgotten. Swedbank has impressed markets with reported net profits of SEK 7.4 billion for 2010 increasing from a net loss of SEK 10.5 billion for 2009. This is of course good. However, the ambition of Mr Wolf was not only to impress financial markets, but also to restore consumer confidence in Swedbank as a brand and retail bank. And Mr Wolf followed a textbook recipe for how to get the Swedbank brand back on track: 

First step: To identify the essence of the brand - the brand values & the brand difference
Swedbank is the result of many mergers in the Swedish bank industry, and of making something large and significant out of smaller, regional financial institutions. These smaller banks were deeply rooted in the Swedish culture and values, but somehow those values got lost as the bank grew bigger and bigger. And they sure were not guiding the risk taking in the Baltics. But following the crisis Swedbank realised that they must restore and strengthen the values within the corporation, and 'live those values' both internally and externally. The values identified as core to Swedbank were: Simplicity, Transparency & Caring. Values that are not unique per se, but which will work as guidance as Swedbank work to identify its point of difference. Mr Wolf explained that the values will be the guiding force to find brand differentiation. The Swedbank differentiation will come, as Mr Wolf put it: -"by delivering the values through concrete services and products".

Second step:  To go back to core strength in market

The old Sparbanken oak symbol

The second and very important thing that Swedbank realised, and something that Mr Wolf did not talk about too much, but which is of significance to the brand. Is to go back to the core of what is Swedbank in the eyes of their Swedish customers and target group. This goes way back in time...  and to some very fundamental brand stories and symbols. As mentioned before Swedbank is the merged result of many small and regional 'saving banks'. One of those banks was Sparbanken, who utilised an oak as a strong symbol of the benefits of saving. And this oak is still remembered in a positive light by many older customers. When later 'Föreningssparbanken' became the international bank of Swebank the oak was still left in the logo but with little meaning for new customers. After years of excess, Swedbank is now going back to the oak, and what it stands for in terms of being careful with spending, and saving for the future.

Third step: Setting a new communicaton strategy
The third and significant step was for Swedbank to find a way to communicate that it has taken a new path, and restoring trust in the Swedbank brand. Swedbank worked with swedish agency Lowe Brindfors and UK agency Aardman to identify a new communication platform and concept called 'under the oak'. And the result was this new commercial currently running on Swedish television.

The target is for Swedish customers to get to know Swedbank again. And this ad has received a lot of positive reactions in Sweden, and it has also tested well when Swedbank has tracked reactions in the market. This new communication concept is apparently developed to have a lifespan of at least five years. And I'm already looking forward to follow the next step of the work that is being done to restore the trust in the Swedbank brand.

So all in all I was impressed by the brand and marketing work that is going on at Swedbank. And I was glad to hear that Mr Wolf talked about these issues as important for the bank going forward. I'm convinced that we will see a future where people won't be as loyal to their banks as they are today. If banks misbehave we will see people switching banks more often, and banks will have to work harder to keep relevant. The work that Swedbank is doing today is going to serve them well when this open marketspace is a reality.

Ice-cream creation - Cold Stone Creamery is living its vision

I wonder what it is in the North American gene or environment that makes so many Americans creative and unafraid of challenging the norm. This time this thought of mine awoke when I spotted how something old and simple was reinvented into something new and awesome. And it was all related to one of my favourite foods - ice-cream and the great ice-cream experience of Cold Stone Creamery.

I enjoyed this experience during my recent holiday in Dubai. One of the many lavish hotel experiences was the Atlantis hotel where I had the privilege of having lunch and then experiencing one of their ice-cream creations for dessert. Believe me, for anyone who likes a decent ice-cream this is the business!

The Cold Stone ice-cream is not just ice-cream. It is an ice-cream experience where fun and entertainment is joining force with incredibly tasting ice-cream flavours and creations. And the ice-cream is not just ice-cream anymore but instead it becomes the carrier of a broad variety of fantastic fillings, and it's all crushed, created and customised on a granite stone. All to meet your individual ice-cream desires. Mmmm....  what a treat! On their website they say: "Ever since we opened our first store back in 1988, we’ve been serving up what we refer to as Creations" And what I've seen and tasted is certainly delivering on this brand promise.


I love the fact that Cold Stone Creamery have created a real ice-cream experience, that both adults and children can enjoy. All details are carefully organised to deliver your kind of ice-cream creation.