The King is Dead, Long Live the Brand?
Quick game of Brand Family Fortunes, anyone?
OK. Here we go.
Name someone associated with...
#1 Apple
Our survey says:
#2 Manchester United
Our survey says:
#3 Al qaeda
Our survey says:
Some leaders don't just represent their brands.
They've wound up inhabiting and embodying them to such an extent that the brand seems to play second fiddle to the leader.
But what happens to the brand if the leader..
Falls ill
Retires
'Disappears'?
Brands with one focal personality like Apple, Man United and Al qaeda seem far more vulnerable, exposed. In a way that Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Amazon, even Google, are not. We may use their search engine multiple times a day yet how many people would recognise Larry Page and Sergei Brin on the street? Do some leaders deliberately withdraw from the spotlight so that the brand always remains the real star? For a brand to play the long game, this seems to make more sense.
Visible, popular leadership is undoubtedly potent and inspirational but does it also inadvertently steadily chip away at the strength of the brand? A short-term asset may, over time, turn into a long-term liability.
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12 May 11 - 07:48pm
Great post Dan. This has been an interesting topic of discussion in the brand community as we have many charismatic leaders who are nearing the end of their tenure. I’m surprised you didn’t use the poster boy of the one man brand: Richard Branson! I think this debate is set too far in the future though. Surely these guys aren’t the first generation to be leaving the brand having defined it. Are there examples of CEO centric brands who have survived just fine after their departure? None spring to mind but I think the future is fine if you’ve got a strong leader to fill the shoes. I know that Essex boy Johnny Ive is the heir apparent at Apple and for Jose Mourinho, it’s only a matter of time. I would add though that Alex Ferguson is but one of many great geniuses to define the greatest football team (nay brand?) in the world!