Consumers Own The Brand

Cadbury Schweppes plc have decided to revive a chocolate bar called Wispa discontinued four years ago.

The reason why? Over 14,000 people joined “Bring Back Wispa“ groups in Facebook asking for its re-introduction. A campaign followed which led the manufacturers to realize that the brand was in hot demand.

What is Cadbury Schweppes’ Global Marketing Code? “We are proud of our brands. They provide fun and enjoyment as treats or refreshment, and are valued for their functional benefits. They can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle. We provide choice by offering variety and through innovation. We encourage responsible consumption, as this is central to consumers continuing to enjoy our brands. Our consumers are at the heart of our business. We are committed to listening to them and acting responsibly in their interests and have done this successfully for generations.
This Marketing Code of Practice ensures we continue to meet our responsibilities to our consumers.
Accurate and truthful.
Attentive to local sensitivities.
Supporting sensible consumption and balanced life style.
Protecting children.

Mr. Heiselman of Wolff Olins sums it up well: “It took discarding the brand for people to really want it. This is a good example of consumers’ owning the brand, versus the corporation.”

Affirming & Adjusting Feedback

Came across a nice post by Mike Chitty. He writes about ” Feedback-Making It Work In The Real World”.

I like his description of both forms of feedback. Affirming and Adjusting.

• Affirming feedback is given when an employee exhibits a good behaviour at work and the manager wants to show that it has been noticed, recognised and appreciated.
• Adjusting feedback is used when the work behaviour or product is not up to organisational standards and the manager wants the employee to consider ‘what they could differently next time’.

Sadly, most of us are busy catching people doing something wrong. In fact, some go out of the way to do so.

As Blanchard & Johnson said in The One Minute Manager: The key to developing people is to catch them doing something right and then reinforce that action.

Organisations & Employee Branding

Some websites grab your attention. “Genius is an African who dreams up snow”-Vladimir Nabakov : is the first blurb to hit you when you reach the web site of Ray & Keshavan, a Bangalore, India based brand identity and design consulting firm.

They have many leading Indian organisations like Infosys, Wipro, Reliance, ITC, Hindustan Lever in their client list.

As they say in their site “The real value of a company often lies outside its business, in the minds of its customers and other stakeholders. To sustain the value of a brand, it is essential that all communication related to it speaks in one coherent voice.”

Sujata Keshavan Guha, a graduate from the Yale University School of Art is the Managing Director and Meeta Malhotra is a Director while Ram Ray, an advertising industry veteran, is the Co-Founder.

Apart from the more obvious impact on customers and business assoicates, the impact the corporate brand has on employees is huge. Organisations can derive tremendous value by building a strong employee brand. Disengagement, says Gallup, cost the US economy $ 300 billion a year in lost productivity.

Which 90 % is Crap?

Bob Sutton writes about the fad to claim everything and anything as being new and a “break through”. He rubbishes this in a provocative piece called “Management Advice: Which 90 % is Crap?”

The way business knowledge is sold, he says, makes it harder to tell good advice from bad.

It is common to see executives and indeed organisations try to implement something because some one else has done it elsewhere. No harm – as long as you do it for the right reasons and have the “wherewith all” to implement it in your organisation.

A case in point is 360 degree assessment. Almost every one wants to do it, but it remains one of the most difficult processes to implement with success.

Reasons for a Job Change

Reasons for a job change can range from a perceived insult by a colleague at work to a deep rooted dislike of job content.

Here are the Top Ten Reasons from Susan Heathfield in About.com- Human Resources.

Understand the motives for seeking a change. Are they strong enough to warrant a move? Are you moving because every one else seems to be doing so.? Will the new place be any better? What are the most important factors for you just now? Is it job content? Compensation? Convenience of Commute? Title? People at work including your boss? Growth prospects?

Answer these questions before you make a move. They will help you zone in on what is crucial in your next job. As the old saying goes ” The grass looks greener on the other side”.

Move by all means if you have to – but move after you have made an informed well thought out choice.