These past 2 weeks I have been reading No logo by Naomi Klein, a book which poses many important questions about the origins of Brand management and the transformation of its concept over time. More importantly, this book forces its readers to return to the very core of the notion of 'brand' and reconsider its real value and what influence brand management has on its stakeholders, including competitors, government and the society in general.
Does managing a brand have to necessarily carry negative implications described in the book? Is there a way to manage a successful brand and be socially responsible? Where is the line between protecting a brand and sacrificing the brand's integrity for its face value? Is there a way to establish an effective mutual dialogue between all of the stakeholders and maintain a clear vision of a brand's future?
In my opinion, themes discussed in No Logo are very relevant for today's fashion industry, which is made up of numerous namesake brands like Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent. The main question, which comes to mind is if these brand names should exist without their original founder? What are designers like Coco Chanel and Christian Dior if not simply creators of archives for Karl Lagerfeld and Raf Simons, or are their soul and vision still a part of their brands? After all they were real people, who drew inspiration from their personal experience and expressed their unique point of view. How will these brands be able to maintain their identity, or rather that of their original founders? How can they carry on their legacy? Is it relevant to contemplate and consider what Coco Chanel and Christian Dior would have done if they were alive? What is left to a value of a brand without the original creativity of their founders?
Granted that these international powerhouses carry a longtime tradition of craftsmanship and tailoring, they can still serve as a benchmark of quality product and, therefore, maintain customer appeal. However, with higher portions of production processes being outsourced to third world countries, exceptional quality is no more a part of the marketing mix for most of them.
In my project, I intend to extract key insights by conducting analysis on some of the best examples of management of namesake brands and create a framework for a clear strategic vision for newly revived brands like Elsa Schiaparelli or Vionnet. The key approach to analyzing brands would would look at their founder's initial business model and 'critical success factors' in the context of today's competitive environment, and building a future strategy based on its outcomes.
Does managing a brand have to necessarily carry negative implications described in the book? Is there a way to manage a successful brand and be socially responsible? Where is the line between protecting a brand and sacrificing the brand's integrity for its face value? Is there a way to establish an effective mutual dialogue between all of the stakeholders and maintain a clear vision of a brand's future?
In my opinion, themes discussed in No Logo are very relevant for today's fashion industry, which is made up of numerous namesake brands like Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent. The main question, which comes to mind is if these brand names should exist without their original founder? What are designers like Coco Chanel and Christian Dior if not simply creators of archives for Karl Lagerfeld and Raf Simons, or are their soul and vision still a part of their brands? After all they were real people, who drew inspiration from their personal experience and expressed their unique point of view. How will these brands be able to maintain their identity, or rather that of their original founders? How can they carry on their legacy? Is it relevant to contemplate and consider what Coco Chanel and Christian Dior would have done if they were alive? What is left to a value of a brand without the original creativity of their founders?
Granted that these international powerhouses carry a longtime tradition of craftsmanship and tailoring, they can still serve as a benchmark of quality product and, therefore, maintain customer appeal. However, with higher portions of production processes being outsourced to third world countries, exceptional quality is no more a part of the marketing mix for most of them.
In my project, I intend to extract key insights by conducting analysis on some of the best examples of management of namesake brands and create a framework for a clear strategic vision for newly revived brands like Elsa Schiaparelli or Vionnet. The key approach to analyzing brands would would look at their founder's initial business model and 'critical success factors' in the context of today's competitive environment, and building a future strategy based on its outcomes.