But now behold the Virgin portfolio! Here is brand extension in all its glory. From swimming fins to fin services, from travel to tracheotomies, from spas to space flights – Virgin offers it all... and all under the Virgin name.What do you brand marketers think: How the heck does this work? What's the brand glue... the beating heart of Virgin-ness?
brandsinger
13 comments:
I'm not a brand marketer, but it seems pretty clear to me. All the products/services are ways to spend discretionary income — it's all either purely fun or a fun version of the mundane.
IMO Richard Branson is the heart and soul of Virgin, like Jobs to Apple. People trust him (he really seems to be a decent human being), like him (that balloon stuff was freakin' awesome) and admire him for what he has done with his life. He doesn't seem to be your average business mogul and people have confidence that Virgin will deliver a good product/ service for the right amount of money (which of course may not be true but who TF cares)
Thanks, Tony. I agree -- there is a subtext of wealth sufficient to enjoy the modern Western life-style. One couldn't imagine Virgin being relevant in, say, Haiti.
And Bogdan, great hearing from you, too. You're certainly right about Branson -- He's one of those natural marketing geniuses whose passion for life is infectious... and can extend across a diversity of human activities and needs.
Probably, the irgin brand extension is focused on its tribe, value agendas and behaviours...
It looks like... Virgin is offering you different experiences that you (as part of the Virgin Tribe...) understand, wish and accept from them
Yes, there IS something tribal about Virgin loyalty. You have hit on a quality of brand strength -- tribal affinity.
And by the way, there is something brand-like in your cool name. You should start a brand of your own!
My first instinct was the same as Bogdan's. Many companies diversify like this, but they don't all have Richard Branson. He's up there in the Jobs stratosphere of companies that have their identities wrapped tightly around the personality in charge.
I don't know that much about all the various sub-brands, but they do seem to be all linked to lifestyle expenditures where one brand can lead to the other. It seems to want to be able to envelop you in an almost exclusive Virgin universe. I'm most intrigued to learn of their Health portfolio. That seems the most tangential, yet if they tie in their positioning with the lifestyle of the other brands' consumers, then it could work.
Thanks, Jonsel. Good points all. Brandson is a rare force.
I don't know the Virgin healthcare offering but I bet you're right -- it probably has a positive, live-life-to-the-fullest feel to it... Not at all prepare-for-doomsday.
Bogdan beat me to it--but my first thought was Richard Branson. Branson IS Virgin--a little goofy, a little off the wall. If I see "Virgin," I think of it as a fun, slightly off-kilter take on something that is usually done in a slightly more stodgy manner.
Thanks Adam. Then the question arises: What happens to the Virgin brand post Branson? or Apple post Jobs? These companies must be able to capture and bottle the spirit of their leaders and use it to inspire the next generation of employees and customers.
I think that these companies should start preparing their next generation of executives, not only through coaching but also by opening them up to the public (investors and consumers) Welch/ Immelt style. The current knowledge@Wharton deals with this in an interview with one of adobe founders.
In a way, that's what happened with Wendy's, post Dave Thomas. He appeared in commercials and on signage within individual stores, and he was more than just a spokesman--he was down home and kind of quirky, and that was Wendy's identity. Then he died, and Wendy's advertising lost its way--and so did the company. Sales fell. And now it's owned by Arby's.
Thanks Bogdan and Adam. You have tales of 1) planning for the next gen of leaders and 2) failing to revive a brand after the leader's spirit flickered out. Both instructive cases.
Keep smiling.
Claude
As someone involved with 'creating' the Lehman brand positioning "Where dreams get built" several years ago, your image of Lehman as an Iguanodon behind glass in a museum is certainly an pat depiction for this once proud brand. what's next, its Chairman, Richard (the Beast) Fuld as a Mastodon?
Like Lehman, do you think it was greed that killed the Iguanodon too?
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