BrandlandUSA

By Garland Pollard

COWLEY, England - Due to the popularity of the Mini, BMW is saying that it might need to expand production at its plant near Oxford. According to the Financial Times, the plant at Cowley builds 240,000 cars a year, and could be expanded to 260,000 to 300,000. But it might be easier, BMW says, to expand the production at BMW’s Leipzig plant.

The expansion elsewhere poses danger for the Mini brand. The Mini is all about British-ness, and Oxford. Mini was, before it was a BMW Mini, a Morris Mini, named after that bicycle-maker W.R. Morris. (Acutally there were dozens of different models over the years.) Morris had a bicycle shop at 48 High Street; the first bicycle he sold was to the vicar of St. Clement’s. In James Morris’ fine history of Oxford, she writes that the first backer of the company was the Earl of Macclesfield, an undergraduate customer. (Pictured here, the Mini that belonged to Paul McCartney, at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum.)

Certainly, Mini, with its success and BMW backing, could easily sell cars made elsewhere. BMW makes excellent cars. But part of the mystique of a brand is where it is made. Some brands, over time, gain reputations in different markets and plants, but that takes time to build the identity beyond its place of origin.

GM made many mistakes with its former Saab brand; one of the most destructive was when it decided that the automobiles did not need to be made in Sweden, and could be made elsewhere in Europe. Badge engineering is fine for American cars brands, as it has been part of the way brands have evolved here. But the Saab was specifically sold because it was quirky and Scandinavian.

But back to Mini, which proved that completely dead brands can be brought back.

No, it won’t hurt to make a few Minis elsewhere, but you do it with great risk, especially at a sensitive time when companies like Cadbury’s are shutting down factories. Better a risk not to take. Europeans might not mind it, but the British market will, and so will the U.S.

By Garland Pollard

Some various brands in the news:

• On the Ticketron e-commerce site, if you see ticket prices, it shows you the sorts of performers and events that other people who like a particular artist were looking at hearing. We tried it out. In the case of Glenn Beck’s American Revival tour, “other” suggested performers include Randy Travis, Michael Bolton, Stagecoach Festival (Toby Keith and Keith Urban), Sammy Hagar and Wabos, David Garrett and Mariachi Festival USA. All make sense but Mariachi Festival?
• Land’s End, part of Sears Holdings (NYSE: SHLD), is now officially high end. They are selling Allen Edmonds MacNeil Wingtips for $325. Oh so “My Three Sons” and quite classic. Perfect shoes for a recession. My dad says he got his resoled every two months in the 1970s while he was selling paper products for Unijax.
• Boeing is apparently being squeezed by Bombardier and Embraer in the area of short range competitors to the 737. It was once that Bombardier and such were only selling 50 to 70 seat planes, but that has changed. Perhaps it is time for Boeing to restart its Douglas brand to sell a regional jetliner with all new technology.
• L.L. Bean has a new Signature catalog, selling a high-end look. The smallish catalog is filled with classics like bluchers, though my favorite Double L is missing. Two brands that show up in the catalog, albeit hidden, are a mid 1970s Ford Bronco and a temperature gauge from Petit Marine Paint. Pettit is a subsidiary of Kop-Coat of Rockaway, N.J. Great logo.

By Garland Pollard

PHILADELPHIA - The venerable S.S. United States appears headed for the dreaded scrapper in Alang. Once the pride of Virginia (and the nation) the stately ship has no buyer, and NCL does not want to restore her.

If you don’t think it can’t happen, just remember what happened to the stately S.S. France. One day it was taking folks back and forth from Florida to Caribbean islands, and the next it was up on a beach in India.

Apparently, NCL has offered the ship for $1.5 million, but preservation groups can’t raise the money, nor do they have a place to put it. So scrapping is the only hope.

My thought. Sink the ship off Florida. Reasons:

1. Great for tourism, and NCL. NCL could sink it in a place where it takes passengers, as part of the deal.
2. The ship has had all of its asbestos removed; the inside was totally gutted years ago. Most ships have to have all of these things removed in order to sink them, but the United States already has gone through the process.
3. Florida needs a bit of a boost, and the S.S. United States would be just the ticket.
4. $1.5 million is nothing in the scheme of things. Perhaps some of the cost could be offset by environmental funds.
5. Already, dozens of ships and carriers have been sunk, and they are all now great landmarks for diving and tourism. Yet all the ships are Navy ships, and there is no great cruise liner among the assortments.
6. The ship sinkings are excellent for the environment, and help to encourage coral reefs.
7. Perhaps the line could sink the ship in an area where part of it might stick out of the water? That would be difficult to accomplish, but would give it some ability to accommodate even more divers, swimmers and even snorkelers.
8. NCL will get goodwill from the sale, and bookings. In addition, the merchandise and marketing and intellectual property of the ship would be a useful source of revenue over the decades.

There are many groups out there that have done these projects, including the 501c3 Artificial Reefs of the Keys, which sunk the USNS Hoyt Vandenberg.

Purists might hate the idea, as do I, but it might be the only option. And at least NCL turn a potential minor p.r. disaster into a positive.

By Garland Pollard

MARSEILLES - CMA CGM, the French shipping line, is seeking a fresh capital injection from groups like Louis Dreyfus and Butler Capital Partners, according to the Financial Times.

The company is one of the more interesting in maritime circles, as it is led by Lebanese-born entrepreneur Jacques Saade and is the successor company to France’s Compagnie Générale Maritime and the old French Lines, also known as Compagnie Generale Transatlantique.

With a Zaha Hadid-designed headquarters, it’s all a bit James Bond. Unlike other lines, they have paid attention to the various brands merged into the company, using each separate brand as a market niche, all within the CMA CGM family.

Most fascinating is that the company is one of the remaining cargo lines that emphasizes cruise/passenger service, with their Tapis Rouge luxury travel brand and a serious attempt to sell their berths on cargo ships.

They have other great brands as part of the empire:

• CMA CGM purchased the remnants of the reconstituted United States Lines, though it doesn’t run any United States Lines cruises, which are no more. (We here there is an old ship in Philly, if they want it.)
• London based shipper Mac Andrews, founded in 1770.
• Delmas, founded in 1867, originally took goods from France to its African colonies.

The most James Bond aspect of the brand is that the line’s cruise ship was seized April 4 2008 in the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates. Le Ponant was seized while en route from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean. Following the release, French helicopters tracked the pirates from the Djibouti military base to a small town Jariban. French commandos from the Jean Bart and the Jeanne d’Arc moved in when the pirates attempted to flee.

By Garland Pollard

In December, US Mills, the former maker of Farina breakfast cereal, sold brands that included Erewhon, Uncle Sam, Skinner’s Raisin Bran (founded 1926) and New Morning to the company Attune Foods, makers of health food bars. (Farina was sold to Malt-O-Meal.) [Read more →]

By Garland Pollard

BRADENTON - We heard Pepsico CEO Indra K. Nooyi on TV after Davos talking about how they were seeking out healthier options for snack foods. Pepsico was going healthy. Really healthy. We were thinking some kinds of new versions of Quaker Oats or some such.

But when we saw these Tropicana tangerines, we said that she wasn’t kidding. The display was in a front area of a Walgreen’s on Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida. Big old stack. Not sure if they sold, but they sure looked tasty. I am certain it presented all sorts of difficulties in keeping it stocked, but if they moved and sold quickly, who would care.

Last year’s packaging debacle is long gone. They’ve learned. Man, they look tasty.

Good work. We hope it sells.

Now, get on to the next steps. Opening up the Tropicana Plant in Bradenton for tours. Bringing Tropic-ana back. I want to ride on the back of that train, thank you.

By Garland Pollard

A few bits of stuff we’ve seen in recent days:

• Tang: What’s the deal with “New” Tang. Granted, we haven’t purchased Tang in years, nor have we actually seen Tang sold. We would submit to our friends at Kraft that if  you don’t advertise it, you can’t sell it.  And where the heck are the ads with the moon creatures? They haven’t been up for years, but if you want to sell it, you might just think about bringing them back. Of course, if we can’t as Americans be bothered by going into space anymore, what fun is Tang anyway? I don’t think its been right since General Foods days. By the way, Tang went great with Freakies. Tang is a great brand, mind you, it just needs to be get back to its true identity, as a fantasy afternoon elixir for latchkey children everywhere.
• O’Boisie’s: Our reader Brian Stevens tells us that Inventure Group of Arizona has brought back O’Boisie’s Potato Crisps. On the packages it says “Back by popular demand.” Sorry it took so long to post the news bit, Brian! (He sent us the news item back in September.)
• Jeep: A friend tells us of the new Jeep brand concrete floor paint, seen below. Yes, it comes in colors that are traditionally “Jeep” though we thought Army green or gray, or perhaps USPS blue would be sufficient. We know that Chrysler is a bit desperate for some licensing revenue but this is a stretch. Anything for a nickel.
• Folks in Carson City, Nevada are reviving the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. The V&T Railway, the richest short-line in American history, originally operated during the raucous silver strike era of the infamous Comstock Lode from 1869 to 1938. When completed in 2011, the reconstructed track will trace all 16.7 miles of the 19^th century route between Carson City and Virginia City and is expected to serve as a major tourism attraction to the area. The Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau and Carson City have pledged $21 million and Storey County has contributed $2 million to the $54.9 million project.
• Pierre Cardin is licensing its brand for a laptop, says Engadget, calling it the most unlikely licensing of the year. Hmmm. Perhaps its a bit better than Pierre Cardin’s men’s cologne with the phallic bottles, but that’s a real stretch.

By Garland Pollard

We came across another great old brand. Jack Tar Marine Finishes marine paint. It’s made by BLP Mobile Paints of Mobile, Alabama.

The Mobile Paint Company made “Southernized” coatings in Mobile, Alabama’s waterfront district. They developed special formulas for the “subtropical” region and still have a “Caribbean Division.”

Mobile Paint Company eventually bought Mobile  Varnish Works plant and consolidated there in 1934.

Love it if some readers would add some thoughts on the brand in our comments section below. Excellent packaging, particularly the smaller can on the top right.

By Garland Pollard

Pickup collecting is gaining favor as 1970s muscle car prices have gone too high for new collectors. The Wall Street Journal has profiled the top 25 collectible pickup trucks, though any older pickup is now hot, including, at right, the Chevrolet 3100.

Brands include the early British Morris Minor pickups, any Willy’s Jeep pickups, any Studebaker pickup, any International pickup, 1963 Volkswagen Transporter, 1977 Datsun King Cab, 1966, 1978 Chevrolet C-10, 1978 Subaru Brat, 1981 Jeep Honcho, 1966 Chevy C10, 1957 Chevy, 1960 Morris Minor, 1964 Dodge D200 Crew Cab, 1965 Dodge A100, 1951 Ford F100, 1967 Ford F100, 1970 Dodge Adventurer, 1973 Ford Ranchero (really a cut-up Torino!) and 1978 Chevrolet C-10. One amusing pickup they missed was the VW Rabbit pickup (early 1980s) and the Chevy Luv.

A few other items recently in the news:

• MCM Return: The German company MCM, which used to stand for Michael Cromer Munich, has been revived as Mode Creation Munich. Sung Joo Kim, a Korean entrepreneur, is reviving the brand for which she purchased in 2005.
• Canvas Tent Return: Like so many other analog things, canvas tents are back. Brands like Davis Tent and Springbar are some of the brands, and websites like ArmyTents.com sell surplus.
• Independent Marriott: Marriott is relaxing brand visual standards in idiosyncratic ways with its new Autograph Collection brand. The brand will attract a variety of international hotels that did not want to be full Marriott hotels, but wanted the advantages of Marriott’s reservation system. This is a smart idea that allows for hotels to keep part of their original identity but join up with a chain. None of the quality standards are relaxed, though. This move has the exciting possibility of helping to shore up the bookings of independent hotels with long brand identities. While there is a target of only 25 hotels, it is easy to see many other properties that might fit the “Autograph” bill.

By Garland Pollard

A few months ago, we heard artist Tammy Trent talking about Sept. 11, 2001, which for her was also the day she found out her husband had died in a diving accident. She was in Kingston, Jamaica, and crying alone in her hotel room, praying for help. In walked a housekeeper, who consoled her.

Said Trent:

“In a Hilton housekeeping outfit. And there was this precious angel, and she held me and she cried and she prayed and we began to pray together.”

It’s a great story, but also evidence that in branding, all your worrying about logos and design, and all this other brand personality and traits junk, often gets in the way of the people. And truly, it is your employees, your front-line people, who are the ones who are your brand to the public. Your employees, ticked off about some dictum from corporate, will not be the ones to console and pray with a grieving widow.

She has told that story hundreds of times, we are sure, and each time the message sinks in as a message to listeners. The subtext? Hilton people care. Hilton people care. Hilton people care.

If you treat your employees well, they will also treat your customers well, and then it will be measured back to you. This is not only true in the tourism and hospitality business, but any business where employees deal with the public.