Everything Everywhere...All Brands to All People - or just taking a strategy tip from the insurance market?

Just a quickie with a comment on brand, as I'm fascinated by the rumours that are circulating amongst marketing folk this morning that 'Everything Everywhere', the company that owns both the T-Mobile and Orange mobile networks is set to ditch both of them in order to launch an umbrella brand linked to the Everything Everywhere company name...

Since the rumours started the company has attempted to clarify by suggesting that rather than ditch orange and T-mobile they are planning to launch a third brand based on a '4G proposition' which will operate alongside their two existing mobile brands.  We don't really know what this means, although some reports suggest that Everything Everywhere recently put in a number of trademark applications for names which link 4G with the Everything Everywhere company name (Brand Republic, 2012).

Why would they do this?  Well, the mobile phone market is essentially operating under oligopolistic market conditions with a few key players dominating the space and in some markets like this there are considerable benefits in carrying several brands within the same product category.  The first and most obvious is that this enables you to target specific groups with messages and product offerings tailored to them.  However there is a secondary benefit and one which we may see becoming more and more important in this market in future years. That benefit is flooding...

No, not literally flooding (although I know it's probably on your mind after the summer we've had...), but flooding in relation to search results.   Multiple brands offer companies the ability to flood out their competitors when they are searching for a provider.  What does this mean?  Well, let's take an example from the insurance sector....

If you're looking for car insurance and you go to a price comparison web site, you might do a search and find yourself faced with a long list of quotes which appear to be from a range of different providers.  In truth, they may all be brands owned by one parent company, but because they have so many different products on offer they push their competitors down the search results.   We're less and less likely to look beyond the first few providers when we do a search, so whichever brand you choose from those at the top of the list, the same insurance company wins your business.

Insurance companies deliberately create some brands just to do this job for them - they don't promote them heavily anywhere else (no big budget advertising campaigns with nodding dogs or comedians here) - they are purely functional in flooding out search results.

It seems to me that as we become more and more likely to search for competitive deals on mobiles and mobile contracts that mobile networks and providers will adopt similar strategies.  This could be what we're seeing here from Everything Everywhere.

If the rumours that they may ditch T-Mobile and Orange are true I'd say they would be foolish to do so - not so much in the case of T-Mobile, which for me has always been a very weak brand - but in the case of Orange which has such strength and clarity of positioning in the market,  throwing all that equity away would seem to be a big mistake.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see whether Everything Everywhere are as bold as their company name suggests...

Life Doesn't Come with Sat Nav...some thoughts for results day

Fortunately, life doesn't come with Sat Nav...
(Photo credit: Unhindered by Talent)

Today is the day when hundreds of thousands of young (and not so young) people around the UK will be picking up their exam results and finding out whether a place at University has been confirmed for them.  It's an anxious time for everyone, and this year more than ever, there's a lot at stake. 

So, if you're one of those people at that big crossroads in life, worrying about what to do next, let someone who has been there share a little secret with you...

The fact is, your happiness and success in life is not solely dependent on what happens today, this week, or in the run up to the start of any University programme.  In ten years time, no one will care what you got in your A' Levels, or your degree for that matter...they will care about what you have done with your life, who you are as a person, and what you stand for.  Whether to go to University or not is a big decision, but it's just another one of the decisions in life that you can make and you can change if you get it wrong.

Putting yourself under enormous pressure to make 'the right decision' is  really not worth the anxiety and stress.  You always have choices in life, and you can turn around even the most difficult of situations if you work hard and make the effort.  If you want something enough you will make it happen no matter what obstacles life puts in your way.  The examples set by some of our Olympians over the last two weeks (and to come when the Paralympics start) are testament to this.

So, today, be happy with what you have achieved and what you will achieve.  Make the best choices you can with the information you have in front of you - and above all, make the choice that you believe will make you (not your parents, teachers, partners or society) happiest; then go out with your mates and celebrate - because it's people not paperwork that will get you through the tough times... :)

Oh, and if all else fails...watch this:

Time to Stop Comparing Apples and Pears?

Apple...or pear...who cares?
(Photo: Wikipedia)

Which do you think is better, London or Brighton?  Well, for me they both have unique strengths and attractions, so it’s bit like comparing apples and pears.  Sometimes you feel like a pear and sometimes you feel like an apple, and the same goes for shopping, cultural and leisure experiences; one day you might want the bright lights of the big city with its megastores, and another you might like to have fun by the sea browsing through quirky independent shops.  The beauty of this diversity of experience is it means that both places can survive and thrive in different locations and different market niches. 

So, why oh why in South Wales do we pour so much energy into comparing our towns and cities with each other?  Competitiveness is one thing when it comes to sporting prowess, but in business there are different factors at play – and here in Wales it sometimes seems to me that we are creating a problem for ourselves by trying to out-do one another or making negative comparisons when there may be far greater benefits for all in projecting a united front to the world when promoting the diverse offerings in our towns and cities. 

Recent media interest in the number of major retailers moving out of smaller towns shouldn’t ring alarm bells for us.  We have a fantastic chain-store retail offering in Cardiff – but our other towns and cities have other charms with which to attract visitors.  Swansea is a city by the sea with a lifestyle to match – strong independent retailers and a market culture that’s second to none.  We have a great deal to offer in this city so let’s focus on what we’re good at instead of trying to compete with our neighbours.

So, returning to my original question (London or Brighton?), I’d say they are simply two different places that offer different things to their residents and visitors.  They don’t need to compete, and together they make the South East of England more attractive to a wider variety of people.  Likewise, if Wales can identify the unique strengths of each of its urban and rural centres and focus on presenting Wales as the fantastically rich cultural, natural and economic environment that it is, we may just find we can attract enough business for everyone…