The Brands Lectures
The 22nd Brands Lecture
Building Blockbusters: From M&M’s to Pedigree, and Beyond Products to Services
Grant F Reid
What really makes a brand unforgettable? Is it a flash of cultural magic, a campaign that shifts generations, or something deeper, woven into the way businesses are built? In a world of fleeting platforms and shifting consumer habits, the answer matters more than ever.
Few leaders know this better than Grant F. Reid. Over a 34-year career at Mars, he helped steer household names including M&Ms, Snickers, Galaxy, Dolmio, Pedigree, Royal Canin and Whiskas to new heights.
As CEO, he grew sales by more than 50% to over $45 billion, expanded the workforce to...
Past Lectures
Since the year 2000, the annual Brands Lecture, delivered by leading figures in their field, has been a popular event in our members’ year. Each lecturer has focused on a different aspect of branding or its effects. The following gives a taste of each lecture but you can read the full version by clicking on the links to download transcripts of the event.
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The 6th Brands Lecture
The Lovemarks effect
Kevin Roberts, Saatchi & Saatchi
How do you create closer relationships with your customers? Kevin Roberts, Worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, describes the journey from products to trade marks, trade marks to brands, and now from brands to Lovemarks. These are the products that consumers don’t just like or admire, but love, thanks to the creation of enduring emotional connections.
So what’s the secret behind lovemarks? Kevin presents nine ideas for transforming a brand into that elusive creation, arguing that the more companies can inspire love, the greater the rewards.
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The 5th Brands Lecture
Brands beyond business
Simon Anholt
What role can a brand play in emerging economies? This is the theme explored by Simon Anholt of Earthspeak in his lecture, given in May 2005. He looks to the vast economic value of brands and debates why developing countries don’t do branding too. Branding, Simon argues, is the crown jewels of capitalism that, up until now, we have clasped tightly to ourselves. Perhaps it would do us all good to share a little around?
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The 4th Brands Lecture
Hybrids, the heavenly bed and purple ketchup
David Aaker, Prophet
This lecture, given in May 2004 by David Aaker, Vice Chairman of Prophet and Professor Emeritus, Haas School of Business, provides strong insights into the effective management of a portfolio of brands. David argues that, while the concept of brand portfolio management has been around for some time, few companies do it really well and many don’t do it at all. He describes how to bring clarity, leverage, energy, differentiation and relevance to a portfolio, illustrating his points with a number of case studies.