We live in a world dominated by branding. The average commuter in a major city is assailed by hundreds of advertising messages every day. How do six of the North West's most familiar brands fare? Neil Tague asks some of the region's foremost communications experts
Our panel
Greg Lappage
creative director, The Lab
Belinda Miller
head of planning, Corporate Culture
Tony Foggett
managing director, Code Computer Love
Paul Carroll
founder, Zuma011
Brian Beech
managing director, Euro RSCG Biss
Lancaster (North)
Peter Davies
creative director, Pavilion Communication
Karen Perry
client services director,
Madhouse
HOLLAND'S PIES
With Jamie Oliver marching towards sainthood and bite-sized branches of supermarkets popping up on every city centre street corner selling salads, pastas and sushi, these are tough times for purveyors of traditional, carb-heavy snacks. Where should Holland's, the Accrington-based company owned by food giant Northern Foods, go from here?
Paul Carroll, Zuma011
No chippy is complete without Hollands Pies and long may that continue. Like its perfect accompaniment, Vimto, Hollands is of vintage North West providence, but therein may lie its problem - how to export it further? Its retail and catering offer appears to have helped take Hollands south and east but it still deserves a wider audience. Product development. Variants. More retail.
The snack food and ready-meals sectors. Signature dishes in restaurant chains - or even open their own restaurants.
It's a brand with exciting possibilities and the might of a large parent group to help it reach new horizons.
Karen Perry, Madhouse
If you ask anyone in northern England to name a brand of pies people will automatically say "Hollands" but outside of the north the brand hasn't made much of a name for itself. They should make more of the wholesome, "English fayre" image, in the same way good-quality fish and chips is recognised as a classic English dish. They could become an "old favourite' national brand like Bisto or Warburtons. Sponsorship of a good family drama, something like Where the Heart is would give them immediate national exposure and provide an emotional link with the relevant audience.
Peter Davis, Pavilion
For me the Holland's brand is traditional, northern and unhealthy. I'd love to see them turn their existing brand challenge on its head and embrace the very elements that threaten them. Jamie Oliver's school dinner campaign is all well and good, but it's eroding into our national culinary heritage. Most of us secretly love a pie now and again, so let's not feel guilty about it. "Indulgence, Pride and Honesty" - a trailblazer for honest, good-quality food created for taste, not calorie counting. Let's create a new people's movement - Come on Britain HELP (Holland's - Everyone Loves Pies).
THE LAKE DISTRICT
Is one of the North West's tourism jewels being sold to the world as well as it should? Even those who make their living from rebranding say the Lakes don't need the hard sell and might well be best left alone.
Brian Beech,
Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster
The Lake District is the lungs of Britain. Literally a breath of fresh air from the grind of everyday life and one you need regularly to refresh yourself. It is symbolic of all that is best about the UK, not just a local treasure but a world treasure, up there with the Grand Canyon and the Amazon Rain Forest. It doesn't have to keep reinventing itself, as it subtly continues to offer something for every age group, every aspiration. The Lake District brand doesn't need my help or anyone else's - unless they could do something about the weather!
Carroll
The Lake District is the pretty bit of Cumbria, but not the Cumbria with the nuclear and shipbuilding industries. It would be easy to state rural regeneration. More jobs. More roads. More housing. But that, in turn, could harm the Lake District's singular appeal. Sometimes there's an argument for leaving things alone and this is such an instance. If you want to regenerate industry and create jobs in wider Cumbria, build the Morecambe Bay bridge, but make sure first that "when you've built it, they will come'.
Belinda Miller,
Corporate Culture
The Lake District is such a great open space. Peace, tranquillity, beautiful unspoilt retreat all on our doorstep.
This is my favourite spot for weekend camping and it should be kept that way at all costs. For the future? Perhaps they could link into the growing public interest in all things sustainable and expand their range of green activity breaks offered. Link them into forestry, fish, birds, walking - maybe even tepee building and build on the adventure breaks offered for families.
THE CITY OF LIVERPOOL
Like it or not, regional cities are in competition when it comes to attracting inward investment, corporate relocations, major events and tourism. Is Europe's Capital of Culture for 2008 on the right track?
Carroll
Liverpool has always struck me as a law unto itself, completely different to the rest of the region and any other UK city. Decades of negative PR will take considerable effort to reverse. Maybe Liverpool would be better placed to take its brand forward if it hadn't won the Capital of Culture. Controversial, but there is a deep suspicion that spending years of effort and millions of pounds to throw Europe's cultural garden party could prove to be an elaborate sideshow to the real issues the city needs to face: becoming a more credible commercial and professional services centre.
Beech
Liverpool's brand is inextricably made up of a cocktail of old and new. It would be wrong to try and bury the old under a futuristic veneer and equally wrong to focus only on its old port/trading and Beatles image. Like anything interesting, Liverpool as a brand personality is complex and worth getting to know. It shouldn't use individual people or celebrities as its face or ambassadors. That can over-pigeonhole the city.
Also it has to be seen as a direct competitor to Manchester and should present itself positively and aggressively against Manchester and any perceived brand weaknesses that city has.
Greg Lappage, The Lab
The only marketing I can recall is the LIVErpool rebrand a couple of years ago, which was OK, but essentially inhabits the same intellectual headspace as LondON
and "Leeds, Live it, Love it". Yawnx85
There seems to be very little difference between the marketing strategies of regional cities, it's all freedom, urban cool, vibrancy etc, etc. Surely there's more to say? Liverpool should promote its sporting excellence to the maximum and celebrate its musical achievements at every turn. The city has real personality and deserves something more than the generic cosmopolitan city fluff.
MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
With a team who have failed to win anything since Wayne Rooney was in his pram, City nevertheless retain a strong identity and loyal support. How can they turn the unpopular Glazer takeover at Manchester United to their advantage?
Beech
A classic challenger brand. There is no better time for it to challenge the status quo in the city as the set of associations, beliefs and experiences that make up the brand that is (or was?) Manchester United are fast waning in people's minds. As a brand MCFC can dare to be different, it is not as restrained as MUFC and so should capitalise on this, especially by leveraging brand benefits from its terrific new stadium. They already own the blue moon. As a brand, they can also own blue-sky thinking.
Perry
The stadium has moved them up a gear, but they need to concentrate on developing a stronger regional presence. The recent "Our City" campaign was not clear in its objective and seemed likely only to appeal to diehard fans. They do have an edgy credibility and they should capitalise on this. They need a brand proposition that helps them access new audiences i.e. "MCFC at the heart of the city". Something like this is all embracing; relevant whether used in relation to grass-roots football, schools or fashion. And they need to PR the personalities within the club.
Tony Foggett,
Code Computer Love
As an avid MCFC fan, I'm delighted that the club has really started to get it right when it comes to digital communications. The website has been vastly improved and has e-commerce capability and I receive regular, personalised emails from Stuart Pearce aimed at ensuring loyalty. A great effort to make the digital channel work effectively.
Miller
Mancunians support City! As I'm always told and I'm a United fan anyway! Real, gritty, tough, community focused. But they are always the underdogs, which I think is why people quite like them.
Lappage
Man City has a rare thing when it comes to football brands - it has cool factor. City has the best marketing in the UK. They took the bold move to use the London-based Grey agency and ran a campaign that has a cheeky dig at their rivals. The "This is our City / Real Manchester" campaign was truly awesome. It was cool, credible, funny, striking and the timing was perfect pitching it at a time when United was in turmoil due to the Glazer buyout. To take the brand forward I would roll out the campaign and personality across everything as opposed to a one-off ad campaign. The tone of voice and visual typography was exceptionally strong so I would like to see more of it.
MATALAN
Once the king of pile "em high clothing retail, Matalan has struggled to compete in a tough market. January saw the announcement that chief executive John King will leave this year - his replacement will be Matalan's fourth chief executive in five years.
Lappage
I'd describe Matalan as a budget clothing retailer. They target bargain hunters who want value for money and are prepared to travel out-of-town. Used to win on low prices alone until the spending slowdown and the rise of the supermarkets.
There's no point in trying to beat the supermarkets on price and Primark and before them Top Shop and H & M generated the word-of-mouth appeal that's essential for budget fashion. Maybe Matalan should target an older demographic.
Beech
Matalan is suffering from an identity crisis and is being squeezed out by newcomers TK Maxx and Primark. Matalan needs to refocus and communicate a clear consumer proposition. It should try and own real family life and position itself as a friend to every family that wants value. Going to Matalan should be like visiting a family friend - it should know what's important to you and has anticipated your clothing and homeware needs.
Perry
Linking up with a major icon or celebrity would give them the kickstart they need to generate interest and drive a new, younger customer through the door. They should also make more of their socially responsible trading policy.
Miller
Matalan is largely a price proposition with no real emotional connection. This creates low levels of loyalty as customers will shop around for better offers. They need to build an emotional connection with their brand, consider new locations and new offers to pull people into store.
Cains
Since being acquired in 2002 by Ajmail and Sudaghara Dusanj, the former chip-shop owners from Kent, Cains has gone from a brewery everyone thought had long gone to one at the cutting edge of hip. What's the next step?
Beech
Cains is not backwards at coming forwards. Its website claims that it is set to become "a British cultural icon and national phenomenon" - a bold claim when you consider that bitter and mild sales are in freefall. Focussing purely on Liverpool could pigeonhole it as a local, quirky brew, so instead go head on against insipid, tasteless lager and chilled, aerated bitters that ape lagers. Run a "Bring Back Taste" campaign. Stress that it goes great with food as much as wine does. Do surveys showing the difference between lager and beer drinkers. Don't be seen as a CAMRA member-only beer, but don't alienate CAMRA members either. Mainstream Cains beers and get Britons to rediscover what a great English beer tastes like.
Foggett
I was disappointed to say the least. Clearly the site is aimed at consumers as it showcases the full Cains product range and allows online purchase (and there are, by the way, some great and interesting products) but no attempt whatsoever has been made to build the brand through the site. With the wealth of heritage that the Cains brand has it is missing a big trick with digital communications. The brand should consider investing in ads on other niche beer and food websites to drive people to Cains site. And it should be use its own site to build loyalty amongst beer fans and should use email campaigns and onsite promotions.
Also in: February 2006
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Sociologist turned soap opera writer turned business mogul, Phil Redmond talks to Lisa Miles about entrepreneurs, the TV industry and the history of social intervention
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The privatisation of Manchester Airport - deal of 2006?
It might never happen. All of this may be speculation. But if Manchester Airport were to be sold there would be a feeding frenzy of interested buyers. Michael Taylor looks at the question from all sides