No-nonsense brands will prosper in 2009
On September 29th, when the United States Congress rejected the first bail-out plan for Wall Street, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index plunged and all of its constituents fell in value, except one: the Campbell Soup Company. Investors flocked to the iconic brand, which makes some of America’s favourite broths, such as chicken noodle and cream of mushroom, and its shares went up by 0.3%. That is a very good clue to the type of brands that will prosper in 2009: those that represent good quality, no-nonsense and excellent value for money.
To safeguard their own profits, advertising firms always insist that any brand can do well during hard times if owners continue to lavish money on marketing. But the reality is that consumers are likely to change their habits dramatically during a downturn. Fast-moving consumer goods have little to fear, but products priced for status are likely to suffer.
One victim will be organic products. Any brand built around do-gooding notions of organic, corporate social responsibility or caring for the environment may need to rethink, according to Interbrand, a marketing consultancy, as value for money rises up the consumers’ agenda.
Two early beneficiaries of consumers’ changing mood, on the other hand, have been Aldi and Lidl, big German hard-discount supermarket chains which are expanding across Europe and eating into the market share of established giants such as Tesco and Carrefour. It used to be shameful for middle-class families to shop at hard-discounters, but now their brands suggest intelligent buying. Aldi and Lidl and their imitators will gain more ground in 2009.
By: Tamzin Booth, PARIS
Source: The Economist World in 2009 - Print edition
Article from: scott goodson
Posted by: Loïc LAMY
Posted on: levidepoches.fr/contagiousideas
